Can I take my big truck with me?

[etruitt]

04 Dodge 2500 long bed 4 door cummins turbo diesel truck towed by 09 35' Holiday Rambler Neptune 340 HP cummins diesel with 6 speed Allison World transmission and 9000 lb. hitch. Already have the truck from pulling trailers and carrying slide-in truck camper in the past. If this combo will work I won't have to find a toad and can keep our truck. We travel cross-country each year. Any advice and opinions welcomed and appreciated. Usually our trips are 2-3 months and 7-8K miles. Not being the brightest light in the barrel I just looked in the owners manual for the truck and found out it can be towed.

[C20]

I have that exact truck year and model and tow it behind mine with the Harley in it all the time

[UsualSuspect]

sh4717 wrote:

UsualSuspect wrote:
As long as you are within your weight limits go for it. I pull a Chevy 2500 Crew Cab Long Bed Duramax behind mine. You won't get a land speed record, but on the hills in California I am not the slowest, nor am I the fastest on long climbs. Just take your time, keep an eye on your mirrors, especially in stop and go traffic.

What type of setup are you using to pull your truck?

Like the OP, I recently acquired a class A diesel and would like to pull my Ram 3500 Crew Cab SB instead of having to buy another vehicle for a toad. I'm only going to use it maybe 3 or 4 times per year.

Thanks

I am using a Blue Ox Aventa LX tow bar and Blue Ox base plate. For brakes I stayed away from the surge brakes as they are rated for a maximum 7,500 lbs. My supplemental brake is a RoadMaster Even Brake, which I picked up used for a few hundred bucks. I went with diodes for the lights. I have towed it for around 10K, and no issues.
The baseplate will come with 10K safety cables for the coach to truck, and baseplate to truck frame. I installed the emergency breakaway cable as a last resort and hope it never gets used.

[Jarlaxle]

Note: the same engine and trans is used in 26,000+lb trucks, except they make LESS power! (26K lbs and 220HP is common.) The MH engine will handle the weight fine.

[Ivylog]

OP, pretty sure your 340HP engine is the same as what a 09 Dodge PU has so essentially you want it to pull it self plus a MH??? A 9000 lb hitch rating is unusual so it probably has to do with marginal tranny (doubt it's a 3000 Allison) and the brakes on the MH.
Will it do it... barely Will it stop it... most of the time. Only way I'd do it is unhooking and driving the PU over any serious hills. When the tranny goes out you will be able to tow the MH to a safe parking spot.

[sh4717]

UsualSuspect wrote:
As long as you are within your weight limits go for it. I pull a Chevy 2500 Crew Cab Long Bed Duramax behind mine. You won't get a land speed record, but on the hills in California I am not the slowest, nor am I the fastest on long climbs. Just take your time, keep an eye on your mirrors, especially in stop and go traffic.

What type of setup are you using to pull your truck?

Like the OP, I recently acquired a class A diesel and would like to pull my Ram 3500 Crew Cab SB instead of having to buy another vehicle for a toad. I'm only going to use it maybe 3 or 4 times per year.

Thanks

[10forty2]

Hitches are typically rated for how much they can pull and how much tongue weight they can handle. In other words, you'll probably find a rating somewhere on the hitch that says something like 500lb max tongue/5,000lb max tow. In my example, that means it's rated to handle 500lbs of direct downward force from the tongue and 5,000lbs of pulling force.

[Terryallan]

You probably can. But getting around in the smaller, historic towns will NOT be easy with that truck.

[UsualSuspect]

As long as you are within your weight limits go for it. I pull a Chevy 2500 Crew Cab Long Bed Duramax behind mine. You won't get a land speed record, but on the hills in California I am not the slowest, nor am I the fastest on long climbs. Just take your time, keep an eye on your mirrors, especially in stop and go traffic.

[Executive45]

I suspect that's too much truck for your coach.

Regardless, to tow four down requires:

1. A tow bar.
2. Some way to attach the tow bar to the front of your towed vehicle.
3. Two safety cables attached to the frame of the coach and the FRAME of the towed vehicle.
4. An umbilical cord for lighting.
5. An auxiliary braking system.

Generally, the tow bar is of your choice. I prefer one that is left on the coach not on the towed vehicle. My choice is the Ready Brute from Night Shift Auto. The sweet thing about the ReadyBrute is it incorporates a braking system into the tow bar eliminating the need for #5 above. About $1200.00 new. It will include the safety cables #3 above.

The simplest way to attach the tow bar to the toad is through a baseplate that is permanently mounted on the toad. BlueOx, Roadmaster and Demco are three although there are others. About $350.00 new.

Lastly, the umbilical cord is personal preference. They come in different sizes from a four pin to a seven pin. I prefer the seven pin configuration as it allows for a 12V hookup to the towed vehicle. About $75.00 which includes the diodes to prevent backfeed between the two vehicles. On sale at Camping World.

As a security measure, look at adding a break away switch which will stop the towed in it's tracks should it break away from the coach. About $100 at NSA.

Be safe, travel safe, enjoy the trip.....Dennis

Ready Brute Tow Bar
Blue Ox Baseplates
Universal Towed Car Wiring Kit
Break Away Cables

[msturtz]

We tow a 07 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 4 down behind our Thor Palazzo 33.3. It has an ISB 300 with an Allison MH2100. In our setup the weak link is the transmission which is only rated to 30,000# GCWR. My setup weighs less than that. I notice the Tahoe behind us.

OP, you will need a Blackhawk 2 All Terrain 10K tow bar and matching base plates plus you will need a braking system in the Dodge as well as either auxiliary lights or a magnetic light kit. This assumes that your Dodge is a 4x4 with a transfer case that can be put into neutral. As said by other posters the critical thing is you don't exceed you GCWR or GVWR. You can if need be upgrade your hitch as long as your coach CCWR isn't exceeded. You will suffer fuel economy loss when accelerating and going up hills. I suggest you completely load your rig for a trip and get 4 corner weights plus the full combined weight. These rigs are made to be operated at their maximum weights.

[Executive45]

There are several things you'll need in order to make an intelligent decision as to towing the vehicle safely. Those are:

1. The Gross Combination Weight Rating, (GCWR) of your coach. Usually found on the sticker by the driver's seat.
2. The weight rating of your tow bar.
3. The weight rating of your hitch.
4. The weight of your coach ready for travel.
5. The weight of your towed ready for travel.

Once you have these numbers, in general, the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the LESSER of the following:

• the GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (includes fuel, fresh water, food, clothing, people, pets, supplies, etc.)

• the weight rating of your tow bar

• the weight rating of your hitch

Good luck and safe travels.....Dennis

[wa8yxm]

I do not know if the truck can be towed 4 down, Google Remco Towing and enter the truck's specs on the left frame and fine out.

IF it can (most 4WD's with manual transfer can be towed, Some others, RWD's can be modified for towing). then I suspect the truck is well under the 9,000 tow hitch rating, Do not know if the Motor home can pull that much.

Blue ox and others make Tow bar systems in teh 10,000 pound rating range

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN AUX BRAKING SYSTREM ON THE TRUCK so that it helps stop the consist when you stand on the motor home brakes.

And other than towed lighting.. That's about all I have to say.

[jorbill2or]

You asked how much.... tow bar, base plate , wiring and brake system probably 3 grand give or take what you do yourself

[msmith1199]

etruitt wrote:
msmith1199 California is a beautiful state. We have RV'd a large part of it. We usually go to see our daughter in Oregon and explore after that. Have to cross the Appalachians, Rockies, and the Cascades to get there. My mountain driving makes my DW nervous.

If you're heading out here then there is no way I would tow the weight you're talking about with it, but that's just me. I think my Dakota is about 4700 pounds last time I was on the scales at the dump with it. In the motorhome world that is a pretty large vehicle for a toad. You are talking about something almost 3000 pounds more than that with your Dodge truck. I know I would not be happy with that much extra weight on my motorhome based on what it felt like for me to go from the liberty to the Dakota.