1500 vs 2500

[mr61impala]

The trailer we are looking at weighs #5595 according to Grand Design, with a hitch weight of #505.

We will get a new tow vehicle to handle this weight, I am considering 1500 Eco Diesel, 1500 Hemi and 2500 Hemi. I absolutely love the smooth and quiet personality of my 2010 1500 with 4.7L engine, so my initial thought is to go with the 1500 as it will be my daily driver.

I will look for 3.92 gearing as it made a huge difference in my 1996 1500 with 318 when I re-geared it from 3.55 to 3.92. (actually 39 ring gear teeth and 10 pinion teeth equals 3.90.)

I've heard the 6.4L is a beast in the 2500, but the 5.7L in that application will tow almost twice what this trailer weighs. Any thoughts in that vein?

How about rear coil vs leaf springs in the 2500 application?

We travel relatively lightly so hitch weight will be OK either way.

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

Dry trailer at 5595 will translate to the ballpark of 7,000 loaded. If you put 13% on the hitch (reasonable for a bumper pull) that is 910 lbs. Add 100 lbs for the hitch and sway bars and you are at 1010 lbs.

Now take a look at the payload sticker on the door jamb of the trucks you are interested in and see how much payload you have left for yourself, passengers and whatever you want to carry in the truck. Also pay attention to RAWR (rear axle weight rating). You may choose to budget a little extra to give yourself some room. This may help you decide what truck will work for you.

If you go the 1500 route make sure it has a tow package with a transmission cooler and a larger radiator. LT tires are much nicer for towing.

Good luck,
Stu

[TurnThePage]

BenK wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
snip...
And for the uninformed there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in the ride between a new 1500 and 2500.

But...that wallowing and uncontrolled feeling when fully loaded is nothing I like...my personal preference...

Yes, have driven all three 2018 half tons. Both empty and fully loaded while helping folks dial in their setups

Define "wallowing" and "fully loaded". My half ton admittedly came with a very forgiving suspension. It's soft. Rides great empty. REALLY great empty. It does squat under load. But there is NO WALLOWING. It remains right where it's supposed to with no wagging or other squirming. It's simply squatting.

ShinerBock wrote:

TurnThePage wrote:
So, once again, if the OP is talking about the NEW Ram 1500s, as in 2019 model year, which are just becoming available, their payload has been improved. And they now also sport 6 lug axles just like everybody else.

The OP asked a question about 20 rims being the reason behind the low payload numbers of a non-2019 truck.

The OP also asked about new Rams. Having paid attention to half ton specs for a while, I'm pretty sure the 20 inch rims are no longer the lower defining limit.

[bikendan]

Durb wrote:
My son just bought an Ecodiesel crew cab Laramie. Payload is less than 1,100 pounds. Not enough.

Pretty common in Ram 1500s.
Dodge is supposed to have addressed this in the 2019 line.

OP, pay more attention to payload capacity than towing capacity and GVWR than fictional dry weights.

[wilber1]

For me, a big consideration would be the 8 spd transmission in the 1500 vs the 6 spd in the 2500. If the weights worked and I had no intention of getting a heavier trailer in future, I would be looking at the 1500.

[mooky_stinks]

Went from a totally loaded LTZ Silverado with 6.2/8 speed 4WD with 20"rims to LT 5.3/ 6 speed 4WD and weight difference was 65 pounds.

[stein4]

Second Chance wrote:

stein4 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^ What Shiner said.
On another note, anyone who “won’t see the differences” in how a 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton rides and handles (any brand) probably isn’t observant enough to be towing a traielr!

My F250 is great for towing but it is not my daily driver - fun to drive but the ride is terrible

I don't know what year or trim your F250 is. Our 2013 Sierra 2500HD with the Duramax and Allison had a great ride. It was my daily driver to work, pulled a travel trailer (and then the fiver) and had 3,200 payload per the CAT scales. It was our car of choice for road trips before we replaced the Corolla. Our 2012 F350 DRW (6.7 PowerStroke) rides stiffer - but it also has 4,500 lbs. more payload. We have used it for road trips when not towing and it was quite comfortable. I would not have any qualms buying a newer 3/4-ton for use as a daily driver.

Rob

I have a 2015 F250 XLT FX4. - Glad the Sierra has a smooth ride. California roads are the worst and a 4X4 probably doesn't help. Sometimes I think I should throw a saddle on the F250.

[ShinerBock]

TurnThePage wrote:
So, once again, if the OP is talking about the NEW Ram 1500s, as in 2019 model year, which are just becoming available, their payload has been improved. And they now also sport 6 lug axles just like everybody else.

The OP asked a question about 20 rims being the reason behind the low payload numbers of a non-2019 truck.

[BenK]

Plus...the OP's trailer in consideration is a less than 10% dry tongue weight, which IMHO, will NOT tow well when fully loaded (both TV & trailer). Worse yet in a Mr Murphy situation

[BenK]

TurnThePage wrote:
snip...
And for the uninformed there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in the ride between a new 1500 and 2500.

But...that wallowing and uncontrolled feeling when fully loaded is nothing I like...my personal preference...

Yes, have driven all three 2018 half tons. Both empty and fully loaded while helping folks dial in their setups

[crazyro]

I don't know if you're considering new trucks or older, but let me throw something else into the mix. We love our older 1500 5.7 HEMI Mega Cab (even tho it only has the 3.73 gears). It's got the 2500 frame, rated to tow 7,700+ and the longer wheelbase is great. Wheels are 8 lugs.
Ride quality? Probably not as smooth as your 1500 though.

[TurnThePage]

So, once again, if the OP is talking about the NEW Ram 1500s, as in 2019 model year, which are just becoming available, their payload has been improved. And they now also sport 6 lug axles just like everybody else.

And for the uninformed there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in the ride between a new 1500 and 2500.

[Second_Chance]

stein4 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^ What Shiner said.
On another note, anyone who “won’t see the differences” in how a 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton rides and handles (any brand) probably isn’t observant enough to be towing a traielr!

My F250 is great for towing but it is not my daily driver - fun to drive but the ride is terrible

I don't know what year or trim your F250 is. Our 2013 Sierra 2500HD with the Duramax and Allison had a great ride. It was my daily driver to work, pulled a travel trailer (and then the fiver) and had 3,200 payload per the CAT scales. It was our car of choice for road trips before we replaced the Corolla. Our 2012 F350 DRW (6.7 PowerStroke) rides stiffer - but it also has 4,500 lbs. more payload. We have used it for road trips when not towing and it was quite comfortable. I would not have any qualms buying a newer 3/4-ton for use as a daily driver.

Rob

[old_guy]

my son is a ram dealer and he says the econ diesel is for mileage only. don't buy it for towing anything. I did drive one the other day, they are a nice truck , real quiet. nice truck for a second vehicle

[mr61impala]

ShinerBock wrote:

mr61impala wrote:

Durb wrote:
My son just bought an Ecodiesel crew cab Laramie. Payload is less than 1,100 pounds. Not enough.

I have heard it's those shiny 20" rims that kill the payload, that payload increases significantly with the normal looking rims. Anyone else heard that?

For the Ram 1500's, there is a little more to it than that. The Ram 1500's are the only ones with 5 lug axles and soft linear rate coils(not to be confused with the progressive rate coils on the 2500). These are some of the main reasons why the Ram 1500's have much lower GVWR's(and therefore lower payloads) than the other big three. Add in the added weight of the Ecodiesel and you get even less payload.

A Ram 1500 5.7L or even a 3.7L will tow what you need to tow with enough payload for what you are towing. I would still recommend beefier coils or air bags though. The coils are so easy to swap out that my friend just swaps them on his 1500 for when he takes his 7k trailer down to the coast in the spring and then again when he brings it back in the fall. Also remember that a weight distribution hitch will distribute some of that hatch weight.

Thanks for the logical explanation.

[mr61impala]

mtofell1 wrote:
If you're not stuck on Ram you might try looking at 1/2 tons from Ford and Chevy/GMC. For some reason Ram 1/2 tons have really low payload ratings. A buddy has a newer F150 loaded (4X4, etc.) and still has roughly 1900# payload. Another buddy has a similar Ram with 1070# payload. The trailer you describe would probably be okay with either but there's is a HUGE difference between 1100# and 1900# of payload.

Also, while I generally agree not to go with dry weights I disagree with the "go by GVWR" crowd. I don't know why this information is thrown all over as it is really bad advice. Just because a trailer CAN hold a given amount of weight doesn't mean a person WILL load it to that. CCC (difference between dry and GVWR) vary widely. I've seen them as low a 900# and as high as 4700# for different trailers. Why on earth should I go buy a truck capable of carrying and extra
4000# if I don't need it?

Ram because around here Fords are very pricey, probably because what they use here for ice melt causes the GM trucks to dissolve.