towing capacity for dodge ram 2500

[qttire1]

I have a 2004 dodge ram 2500 with a small lift and 35 inch tires. I was pulling a 33' rockwood ultra lite. Some small delam occurred above the slide and my insurance company totaled the camper. Now I am out shopping for a new tt and want to make sure I don't get to big for my truck.

My last tt was 33' 8" with a 8313 gwar and with the 35's was slow start and tough up hills but ok when it got going. I was thinking about changing my gears from 3.73 to 4.10 which will give an extra 2000 lbs towing capacity.

The new tt I am looking at is 35' 4" and has a dry weight of 7125 and gwar of 8990. Does anyone have this combo or know if this will be a good fit for this truck / tt combo.

[APT]

I still say skip 4.1 and go to 4.56/4.88. Most people that change gears go at least two "steps".

[qttire1]

stupid auto correct, meant gvwr. Thanks that is more helpful. I was towing a 6125 lb dry weight / 8313 gvwr rockwood with my truck with the 3.73. I have a friend that will do the gears cheap so that is not a big deal, we don't travel that far so mpg is not that big of a deal either. The main issue is, with the big tires it took off slow and was a little hard to climb hills with my old tt. We are looking at bigger ones but I don't have enough experience in the whole changing gears / lifted truck / tow capacity. We have been looking at a 8800 dry weight which will be about 10,000 gvwr but changing the gears, I think basically gets me back to stock towing capacity with the big tires. If that is the case, I don't want to max it out and be in the same boat I was in, instead I will stick with tt's in the 7500 lb dry weight and deal with it. Over 8000 lb are much nicer tt's, that's the only reason we have been looking at them.
thanks for the reply though

[jaycocreek]

I personally would not worry about it.I towed large trailers all over the hills with the old 454 and 460 which are anemic in horsepower to modern engines.Never had a problem,just used the column shifter alot like a manual in the hills.I have know idea why everyone is in such a hurry anymore..Take your time and enjoy..Lifted rigs pull just fine..The draw back for them is pickup campers,not trailers.

And I do have experience with lifted rigs!

[lanerd]

Ok, I apologize. Poor choice of a statement on my part. But, you get me wrong as I'm not bashing you and I do indeed like a good looking truck...lifted, big tires, nice rims, lights etc.

But, it's just not practical for a towing vehicle. Lifting, big tires, all run against having a vehicle that is well equipped for towing. To have both can be done, but it kinda runs against the grain and will be expensive.

Changing your gear ratio from 3:73 to 4:10 will help (at the expense of poorer mpg), but you are still a long ways from having the efficient tow vehicle that your truck is capable of, and it will not change your towing capacity rating.

And I still don't have the slightest idea what a "gwar" is.

Again, sorry I came on strong to you. Good luck in your quest.

Ron

[qttire1]

First I want to thank everyone that provided positive input to my question. I guess I searched the wrong forum for answers as I posted the same question on a dodge forum and got very good insight from people instead of people bashing because I have a lifted truck. I see lifted trucks all the time at camp sites and don't consider it odd to find out the best gear ratio and tow capacity for a particular vehicle. Yes, like a lot people, I do care about appearance but you can have both, just because you don't like it (Ron) does not mean it is not practical. Some people here provided some good insight and to those of you I say thank you.

[lanerd]

Obviously, your preference of appearance over performance is your main concern. So any further recommendations from us is irrelevant.

good luck

Ron

[qttire1]

I forgot to mention, its a 5.7 hemi gas not a diesel which is part of the problem. I am sure the truck can pull it no problem, I am just looking to improve it and find the best fit for what I currently have. I like the way the truck looks so don't really want to go back to stock just to pull a trailer when there are other options.

Thanks for all the input so far.

[APT]

The effective gearing of larger tires is not quite a linear change in performance. Larger tires weigh more, sometimes a lot more if they are AT or MT tires vs. OEM highway tires. If you want to change gears, 4.56/4.88 would be better match especially if it is mainly a tow vehicle.

Also, I would not spend $2000 on new gears for an 11 year old truck.

[Zeppe807]

qttire1 wrote:
I have a 2004 dodge ram 2500 with a small lift and 35 inch tires. I was pulling a 33' rockwood ultra lite. Some small delam occurred above the slide and my insurance company totaled the camper. Now I am out shopping for a new tt and want to make sure I don't get to big for my truck.

My last tt was 33' 8" with a 8313 gwar and with the 35's was slow start and tough up hills but ok when it got going. I was thinking about changing my gears from 3.73 to 4.10 which will give an extra 2000 lbs towing capacity.

The new tt I am looking at is 35' 4" and has a dry weight of 7125 and gwar of 8990. Does anyone have this combo or know if this will be a good fit for this truck / tt combo.

Just to make sure we are all understanding correctly, but just by changing the gears will not change the capacity. The capacity is dependent on the door sticker, Only. The gears will make it easier to tow more weight, since the tires have a negative effect on gearing... but the truck is rated to tow the manufactures rating <<< don't exceed that.

I have a '06 Dodge CTD - 3.73s with 35s, my trailer is about 9400 totally loaded (rated for 9,900lbs), and I don't think the power or gears is an issue towing it through the mountains. (I have my own issues that many will claim is due to the 35s, but a HA is taking care of those.)

I have a friend with 37's and he tows a bumper pull Toy Hauler that is about 10k, with 1,400 TW. He has the 6.7L CTD, and recently changed his gears from 3.73s to 5.88s! He can't go down the highway at 75mph empty well, but it tows well.

Joe.

[Golden_HVAC]

So are you concerned about going 2' longer? If the weight where exactly the same, it would tow just the same.

Are you concerned about the 600 pounds higher GVWR of the next trailer? The overall GCW will only increase by what? 5%? That is really no change at all either.

Diesels like the low RPM range. Especially the Dodge, it is not high RPM engine like the V8's. The larger diameter piston and longer stroke require a governor at a lower RPM.

You stated "Slow to start out" and yes the taller tires prevent quickly moving up to the 2000+ RPM that starts to make the full 300 HP output. But still it will cruise along at 60 MPH in drive, and make plenty of power in the right gear.

It will work fine with your truck. The truck should have plenty of weight capacity too!

Fred.

[3oaks]

ScottG wrote:
Those tires are killing your tow capacity. Even if you change gears they will still decrease your ability.
If your concerned then get a set of tires no bigger than 285/75 - and only go that big if you have added power.

Exactly!

[JIMNLIN]

Going from 3.73 to 4.10 may give another 2000 lb tow capacity but that comes only with stock LT265/70-17 E at about 31.5" diameter tires.

Part of the tow rating numbers is determined by engine rpms.
stock 31.5" tires and 3.73 ratio @ 60 mph = 2387 rpm direct drive.
...................... 4.10 ratio @ 60 mph = 2624 rpm dd.

35" tires with a 4.10 gears at same speed = 2361 rpm dd.

Point is the 4.10/35" tires puts the engines rpm back in rpm range for stock tires.
Now if you used the 4.56 gear set/35" tires = 2626 rpm. Now you have gained a 2000 lb tow capacity. However 35" tires are heavy/tall with lots of parasitic drag compared to stock tires.

One thing in your favor is the Cummins. Tall heavy tires don't affect the diesel power like a gasser.

Just something to chew on

[Houston_Remodel]

What about swapping the tires just when towing the TT ?

[ScottG]

Those tires are killing your tow capacity. Even if you change gears they will still decrease your ability.
If your concerned then get a set of tires no bigger than 285/75 - and only go that big if you have added power.