Ram 1500 Bumper Notice

[Chromag]

I'm currently towing a Crossroads Z-1 (around 7,000 lbs loaded if I had to guess) with a Nissan Armada. It's a little sluggish as to be expected but it has air bags to lift the back end up.

I just purchased a 2011 Ram 1500 with the Hemi V-8 and towing package (quad cab). I dont have the numbers in front of me but it has a towing capacity of around 10,500 with a payload of around 1,500 lbs. I hooked up the TT to it without the weight distribution so I could swap out the tongue jack and it was really sagging.

On the bumper just above the hitch it states that it has a 500 lb capacity (but to check my owners manual which I dont have).

Is this something I should worry about? We're towing out tomorrow to the Disney campground and I'd rather stop towing with the Armada. I'd like to keep the miles and stress off of it.

I have a Blue Ox weight distribution hitch.

[jmatthews]

APT wrote:

jmatthews wrote:

My only concern is that you have the 3.92 gears because with the 3.55 gear the towing capacity goes way down it is 8500lbs with the 3.55 gear.

8000+ pound RV is too much for 95% of 1500 Rams in people's driveways. Gear ratio and power are not a problem.

I dont disagree with your statement. Most 1500 series run out of payload way before they hit what they are rated to tow. What I was trying to point out is that each truck has a different tow rating and payload. The truck is rated to tow 8500 with the lower gear and it does make a huge difference in how the truck pulls the weight.
But to be clear I understand about tongue weight payload and towing capacity. You should be well under what your truck is rated for. My truck's capacity is 10,500 in the book but... I would never try to get even close to that weight. My TT fully loaded to go camping is just under 7000lbs I use a WD hitch and have weighed it with me the family and I am under payload and my setup tows excellent!!


I used my brothers truck that is the same truck as mine but has the 3.55 gear and it honestly did ok but it struggled a bit getting moving. That is why I bought my truck with the 3.92 gear and I will be adding air bags to help with the sag but the WD hitch takes are of that problem.

[APT]

jmatthews wrote:

My only concern is that you have the 3.92 gears because with the 3.55 gear the towing capacity goes way down it is 8500lbs with the 3.55 gear.

8000+ pound RV is too much for 95% of 1500 Rams in people's driveways. Gear ratio and power are not a problem.

[bbq-breath]

Every Ram I have seen in the CGs or on the road have a horrible squat. The newer ones seem worse. Of course the 2500 and 3500's are a bit better. They are the best looking trucks though, IMHO.

[jmatthews]

I have a 2011 Ram 1500 with the outdoorsman package. It has 3.92 gears and a heavy duty trans cooler. If you have the factory hitch it is a class IV hitch and yes it will sag a little but if you have a weight distribution hitch you will be fine. I have WD hitch and tow my shasta revere that is around 7000lbs also and 30ft long. I can barely tell its back there.
My only concern is that you have the 3.92 gears because with the 3.55 gear the towing capacity goes way down it is 8500lbs with the 3.55 gear. I think you will be better of than the armada either way but make sure you are within the limits of your tow vehicle. Oh and if you dont know the rear gear you can contact a dodge dealer and they can run your vin to tell you exactly what you have.

Happy camping!!

[JJ_Spectre]

I towed last year with my Ram. Lots of power, you won't be dissapointed. But,as it is a coil suspension, squat is to be expected. I ran Airlift 1000 bags in the coils. Take a look at my signature pic. That was with 20PSI in the bags.

We're now a family of 5, so I'm moving up to the Silverado with an extra 250 or so pound of payload. But the Ram was great for the season I towed with it.

Good luck.

[JBarca]

Chromag wrote:
I'm currently towing a Crossroads Z-1 (around 7,000 lbs loaded if I had to guess) with a Nissan Armada. It's a little sluggish as to be expected but it has air bags to lift the back end up.



I just purchased a 2011 Ram 1500 with the Hemi V-8 and towing package (quad cab). I dont have the numbers in front of me but it has a towing capacity of around 10,500 with a payload of around 1,500 lbs. I hooked up the TT to it without the weight distribution so I could swap out the tongue jack and it was really sagging.

On the bumper just above the hitch it states that it has a 500 lb capacity (but to check my owners manual which I dont have).

Is this something I should worry about? We're towing out tomorrow to the Disney campground and I'd rather stop towing with the Armada. I'd like to keep the miles and stress off of it.

I have a Blue Ox weight distribution hitch.

As others have said, the 500# weight rating on the "bumper" is if you are towing in weight carrying mode (raw dead weight, no WD) on the "bumper". They usually limit the pull rating to 5,000# to line up with the 500# dead weight rating. This is regardless if the truck is rated for 10,500# pulling.

To the squat. I think I understand now what you are saying.

You hooked the TT to the truck without putting the WD bars on to change the tongue jack and the back of the truck squatted pretty good? Yes/no?

The truck squat is a fact of the 1500 suspension and is normal for that size truck. When you hook the WD bars up on a properly adjusted WD hitch, the rear squat should be a lot less and more like approx 1 to 1.5 maybe 2 inches from unhitched fender height at the wheels where with no WD, it might be 3 to 4" squat.

The Armada with air bags created a stiffer suspension and less squat however the strain on the truck was still high, just you cannot see it as much.

You did not say where you hitched the trailer to, the bumper or did you have the WD hitch head in the truck 2" reciever? If you are worried you hitched it to the bumper and overloaded the bumper due to the 500# sticker, lets talk some more.

Hope this helps and enjoy the new truck

John

[bbq-breath]

The Ram trucks are known for squatting with any kind of weight on the hitch.

[Turbo_Diesel_Du]

Ditto APT. Bumper wt limits only.

[APT]

Your bumper probably has a hole in it that you could mount a ball and tow up to 5000 pounds/500 pound TW. That's quite common. Hopefully you have a class 3/4 with 2" square opening below that. There should be a sticker similar to this one listing two ratings, with and without WDH.

[pitch]

You didn't see the whole statement imprinted on your hitch. Your old TV said the same thing.
500# non WDH and another weight with WDH probably 7000#