Question about Dodge Truck & Toy Haulers

[joekosoglow]

My wife and I want to purchase a Toy Hauler but a couple people have told me my Dodge truck can't handle it unless I sell it and purchase a "dually".

All the RV dealers I've talked to says "no problem" but others are telling me "the toy hauler is too heavy for my truck"

We are wanting to purchase a Raptor 375TS. And now we are so confused on this purchase.

We have a 2014 Dodge RAM 2500 Diesel 4WD truck. Can someone help me understand whether I can purchase this or do I have to go smaller.

Our heart is set on a 5th Wheel Toy Hauler.

Thanks for your assistance.

[roller183]

Your truck will pull the load just fine. My 2013 2500 RAM is rated at 25,000 GCVWR as is yours.

We both have 3:42 rear gears. I put airbags on mine because I have leaf springs on the rear.

You, as 0f 2014 have coil springs. I dont know if you can do anything to assist the coils.( I have read that some have load leveling air bags on them.)

I put on 10 ply tires, 3750lbs per tire so mine was equal(7500lbs worth of tires) with the 3500 SRW.

Axles are the same 2500-3500 SRW, not dually. The RAM dually now has a 11.8"housing (38000 GVWRC) vs 11.5 for the stardard AAM(American Axle Manufacturer) RAM axle.

I cant find the spec on the unit you listed but that should give some more info to deal with.

[lincster]

1. Dually.
2. Don't ever listen to salesman.
3. Get your truck weighed and back calculate from there.

[N-Trouble]

cchristanis wrote:
Which is exactly what I said.look at the ram site. My original point was gearing makes a difference even in diesels. You just showed that yourself.

otrfun wrote:

cchristanis wrote:
Just a minute cause if you go on rams towing guide and look at their tradesman 6.7 3500 with 3.42 it has a 17000 pound capacity. Now u change the gearing to 4.10 and it jumps to 30000 pounds! I know its not the same truck, but thats quite a difference to me!

The 4.10 rear end alone doesn't get you the 30,000 lb. tow capacity. In order to reach 30,000 lbs. of tow capacity ya gotta have a Cummins Diesel, DRW (dual rear wheels), the $3000 Aisin tranny, and the 4.10 rear end. As far as I know, the only rear end available on the Cummins Ram 2500 and Cummins Ram 3500 SRW (single rear wheel) is the 3.42. The gasser 2500/3500's only have two rear end ratios available, the 3.73 and 4.10.

Man just let it go... I don't know why your so stuck on the whole gearing thing. Everyone has already pointed out he's way overweight so why care about gearing at this point???

[kaydeejay]

GCSuper wrote:
The TH has a pin/hitch weight over 1,000 more than the rating on your truck, so no it won't. A few pounds over, OK, but a grand, no.

That is 1000# over BEFORE he adds the weight of passengers, hitch, fuel and any other "stuff" to the truck, or anything loaded into the TH.
He'll be a LOT more than 1000# over.
Way too much for the 2500!

[cchristanis]

Which is exactly what I said.look at the ram site. My original point was gearing makes a difference even in diesels. You just showed that yourself.

otrfun wrote:

cchristanis wrote:
Just a minute cause if you go on rams towing guide and look at their tradesman 6.7 3500 with 3.42 it has a 17000 pound capacity. Now u change the gearing to 4.10 and it jumps to 30000 pounds! I know its not the same truck, but thats quite a difference to me!

The 4.10 rear end alone doesn't get you the 30,000 lb. tow capacity. In order to reach 30,000 lbs. of tow capacity ya gotta have a Cummins Diesel, DRW (dual rear wheels), the $3000 Aisin tranny, and the 4.10 rear end. As far as I know, the only rear end available on the Cummins Ram 2500 and Cummins Ram 3500 SRW (single rear wheel) is the 3.42. The gasser 2500/3500's only have two rear end ratios available, the 3.73 and 4.10.

[TexasChaps]

nah, won't work.. you'd better pony up for a Kenworth or Peterbilt.. 🙂

[GCSuper]

joekosoglow wrote:
My question to you all is this because I'm really new at purchasing a TH;

what do I look for to determine whether my truck can pull the TH. This is the "specs" from the Raptor web site for the TH we are interested in

Shipping Weight: 13421
Carrying Capacity: 3079
Hitch 3230
Length 37' 8"
Height 13' 2"
Fresh Water 112
Waste Water 39
Gray Water 78
LPG 60

Will my 2014 Dodge RAM 2500HD Diesel 4x4 pull it?

The TH has a pin/hitch weight over 1,000 more than the rating on your truck, so no it won't. A few pounds over, OK, but a grand, no.

[otrfun]

cchristanis wrote:
Just a minute cause if you go on rams towing guide and look at their tradesman 6.7 3500 with 3.42 gearing it has a 17000 pound capacity. Now u change the gearing to 4.10 and it jumps to 30000 pounds! I know its not the same truck, but thats quite a difference to me!

The 4.10 rear end alone doesn't get you the 30,000 lb. tow capacity. In order to reach 30,000 lbs. of tow capacity ya gotta have a Cummins Diesel, DRW (dual rear wheels), the $3000 Aisin tranny, and the 4.10 rear end. As far as I know, the only rear end available on the Cummins Ram 2500 and Cummins Ram 3500 SRW (single rear wheel) is the 3.42. The gasser 2500/3500's only have two rear end ratios available, the 3.73 and 4.10.

[coolbreeze01]

If you have already bought too much trailer for the truck, look at 5th wheel tow dollys.

[cchristanis]

Just a minute cause if you go on rams towing guide and look at their tradesman 6.7 3500 with 3.42 gearing it has a 17000 pound capacity. Now u change the gearing to 4.10 and it jumps to 30000 pounds! I know its not the same truck, but thats quite a difference to me!

N-Trouble wrote:

cchristanis wrote:
Gearing will make a difference (can be thousands of pounds) in his towing capacity , I know it wont for the payload. If you have a truck with 3.21 that can pull 8000 pounds and a truck with 3.92 that can pull 10000 pounds, I think thats something that needs to be considered... There are 2 variables in towing, not just payload. I didnt know the specs on the raptor or his truck as far as how much weight the TH was and how much he can pull. Thats all I was getting at.

N-Trouble wrote:

cchristanis wrote:
What kind of cab (Regular, Quad),....which model (tradesman, laramie, etc.), what gearing, Im assuming 3.42. Its not happening. New truck or different trailer.The gearing makes a huge difference.

Has nothing to do with gearing.. It's all about ACTUAL pin weight and real world payload you get with a 3/4 ton truck (regardless of brand).

If his TV were gas then yes gearing would absolutely be a factor. THe fact he has a 2014 Cummins, gearing is a non-issue. That motor will pull that trailer just fine regardless of gearing option. 3/4 ton payload and pin weight are the limiting factors at play here.

[otrfun]

joekosoglow wrote:
My question to you all is this because I'm really new at purchasing a TH;

what do I look for to determine whether my truck can pull the TH. This is the "specs" from the Raptor web site for the TH we are interested in

Shipping Weight: 13421
Carrying Capacity: 3079
Hitch 3230
Length 37' 8"
Height 13' 2"
Fresh Water 112
Waste Water 39
Gray Water 78
LPG 60

Will my 2014 Dodge RAM 2500HD Diesel 4x4 pull it?

joekosoglow, there are TWO major issues at play when towing a trailer with your truck (2014 Ram 2500 diesel, 4x4).

Issue number ONE: How much can your truck PULL (tow capacity)?

Issue number TWO: How much can your truck CARRY (payload capacity).

Your truck HAS to be able to do BOTH (PULL & CARRY) in order to safely "tow" your TH.

Your truck empty can PULL approx. 17,000 lbs.

Your truck empty can CARRY approx. 2,300 lbs.

Your TH can weigh up to 16,500 lbs. fully loaded (assuming you don't overload it). This is the weight your truck has to PULL.

Your TH has approx. 3230 lbs. of pin/hitch weight empty--probably more when loaded. This is the weight your truck has to CARRY. Your truck can only CARRY approx. 2300 lbs. when empty. The empty pin/hitch weight of your TH exceeds the amount your truck can CARRY (payload capacity) by almost 1000 lbs.

So, the bottom line is this: your truck can "technically" PULL this TH, but it canNOT CARRY it. Again, your truck HAS to be able to do BOTH (PULL & CARRY) in order to safely "tow" your TH.

[N-Trouble]

joekosoglow wrote:
My question to you all is this because I'm really new at purchasing a TH;

what do I look for to determine whether my truck can pull the TH. This is the "specs" from the Raptor web site for the TH we are interested in

Shipping Weight: 13421
Carrying Capacity: 3079
Hitch 3230
Length 37' 8"
Height 13' 2"
Fresh Water 112
Waste Water 39
Gray Water 78
LPG 60

Will my 2014 Dodge RAM 2500HD Diesel 4x4 pull it?

Pull it yes, handle it safely is another question. The 13K GVWR that Bedlam pointed out is where you really need to be with that truck. That generally means a dry weight of 10K lbs or less.

[N-Trouble]

cchristanis wrote:
Gearing will make a difference (can be thousands of pounds) in his towing capacity , I know it wont for the payload. If you have a truck with 3.21 that can pull 8000 pounds and a truck with 3.92 that can pull 10000 pounds, I think thats something that needs to be considered... There are 2 variables in towing, not just payload. I didnt know the specs on the raptor or his truck as far as how much weight the TH was and how much he can pull. Thats all I was getting at.

N-Trouble wrote:

cchristanis wrote:
What kind of cab (Regular, Quad),....which model (tradesman, laramie, etc.), what gearing, Im assuming 3.42. Its not happening. New truck or different trailer.The gearing makes a huge difference.

Has nothing to do with gearing.. It's all about ACTUAL pin weight and real world payload you get with a 3/4 ton truck (regardless of brand).

If his TV were gas then yes gearing would absolutely be a factor. THe fact he has a 2014 Cummins, gearing is a non-issue. That motor will pull that trailer just fine regardless of gearing option. 3/4 ton payload and pin weight are the limiting factors at play here.

[Bedlam]

The shipping weight + carrying capacity will be the GVWR of the toyhauler. Use this number as the worst case for all your calculations. Pin weight will be 20-25% of the GVW, so now you know that you need a truck that can pull 16,500 lbs and has a payload capacity sufficient to haul your family, gear, hitch and 4125 lbs of pin weight.

For this toy hauler, I would expect 8000 lbs on your rear axle once you are hitched and loaded and GCW around 24,500 lbs.