Towing with RAM 1500 V8 4x4

[steve dunham]

As my dear departed father use to say " Don't ask me and waste my time cause your just going to do what you want anyway "

Since we did not have a 5th wheel trailer to experiment with , we made a simulated test . We needed concrete for a home project so my son and I drove to Menards and purchased 18 - 60 lb bags of concrete mix . We spread the bags evenly in the bed of my 2011 Ram truck, we climbed in and headed home . It took us over an hour to drive the 30 miles home . I will admit it was windy but we needed both lanes of the county road to stay out of the ditch.
Maybe this is not a very scientific testing method but it answered my questions about towing an Escape fifth wheel.

[davidmurphy02]

padamas, I have always been partial to Ram trucks. I see many comments about the handling with a 5th wheel since they went to coil spring rear suspension. Have you experienced any issues with bounciness / bottoming? And do you have any additional suspension items like air bags in the rear springs?

[padamas]

The Ram handles the trailer without any difficulty, and has plenty of power for the grades through the mountains. There have been no issues on any type of road including Branscomb Road from Laytonville to DeHaven on the Calif coast. (I won't do that again!)
Mileage for the trip from Langley, BC to Petlauma, CA and back was 11.9 mpg according to the truck's computer.

[padamas]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

padamas, I have always been partial to Ram trucks. I see many comments about the handling with a 5th wheel since they went to coil spring rear suspension. Have you experienced any issues with bounciness / bottoming? And do you have any additional suspension items like air bags in the rear springs?

There have been no issues with the suspension other than having to pay an extra $400 to install the hitch from my Chev because the Ram has coils. It needed something different under the box.

[Y is Me]

Originally Posted by padamas

The Ram handles the trailer without any difficulty, and has plenty of power for the grades through the mountains. There have been no issues on any type of road including Branscomb Road from Laytonville to DeHaven on the Calif coast. (I won't do that again!)
Mileage for the trip from Langley, BC to Petlauma, CA and back was 11.9 mpg according to the truck's computer.

Thank you for that info and the MPG, that is great information to have. It also makes me very, very glad that I got the larger gas tank for extended mileage. The last time I towed anything of significance (beyond a U-Haul moving trailer) was decades ago.

*looks at the stretch of road in question on Google maps* If your Ram can handle the TA on that road without issues, I think I'll be good to go!

[Rossue]

Checked out the Laytonville to DeHaven road; used to be dirt until 2011. Wondering if anyone has done the Nacimiento Ferguson road from Kirk Creek to Ft. Hunter-Liggett which is about the same distance. Did it once back in the 80's and it was dirt then, looks paved now too though. Signs say not recommended for trailers, but that doesn't mean Escapes does it

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by padamas

There have been no issues with the suspension other than having to pay an extra $400 to install the hitch from my Chev because the Ram has coils. It needed something different under the box.

Probably not because of the coils. They're different trucks, so their frames are different, so different brackets would be used... so the installation in the Ram would be starting from scratch and not re-using the frame brackets from the Chev.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by Y is Me

Thanks so much for posting this thread and all of this information, guys! I have a 2017 Quad Cab 1500 4x4 with the 5.7L Hemi, tow package, 8 speed and 3.92 rear axle. Dodge says the max towing is 10,150 pounds, but judging from what I read here and using the Travel Trailer Weight Estimator over at Changing Gears, I think I will eventually be going with a 21' instead of the 5.0 (one person full time, no critters). Hopefully, a weight distributing hitch will compensate enough that the 200 pounds over recommended weight within margin will be sufficient.

You haven’t stated your payload? That should be on a sticker inside your door.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

As my dear departed father use to say " Don't ask me and waste my time cause your just going to do what you want anyway "

Since we did not have a 5th wheel trailer to experiment with , we made a simulated test . We needed concrete for a home project so my son and I drove to Menards and purchased 18 - 60 lb bags of concrete mix . We spread the bags evenly in the bed of my 2011 Ram truck, we climbed in and headed home . It took us over an hour to drive the 30 miles home . I will admit it was windy but we needed both lanes of the county road to stay out of the ditch.
Maybe this is not a very scientific testing method but it answered my questions about towing an Escape fifth wheel.

🤔 So your truck can’t even handle the rated payload without handling squirrelly? I’ve owned 8 pickups over the years every one had to be significantly overloaded before exhibiting handling no where near as bad as yours. Think maybe somethings wrong under there?

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Chotch

�� So your truck can’t even handle the rated payload without handling squirrelly? I’ve owned 8 pickups over the years every one had to be significantly overloaded before exhibiting handling no where near as bad as yours. Think maybe somethings wrong under there?

You are "assuming " we were not over our rated payload limit because you are only looking at the dry weight of the concrete.
I don't know why we have these types of threads or why I am so stupid as to participate, they accomplish little IMHO

[thiggins]

I feel your pain:

"No good deed goes unpunished"...

[cpaharley2008]

Steve,
Perhaps if you provided full disclosure on the details then these assumptions would not happen. Either way, as you pointed out earlier, most people will do what they want, regardless of anything posted here.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

You are "assuming " we were not over our rated payload limit because you are only looking at the dry weight of the concrete.
I don't know why we have these types of threads or why I am so stupid as to participate, they accomplish little IMHO

✌️No offense.It was question not an assumption. From my experience you would have to be drastically overloaded to handle as you described or have serious mechanical issues ✌️

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Steve,
Perhaps if you provided full disclosure on the details then these assumptions would not happen. Either way, as you pointed out earlier, most people will do what they want, regardless of anything posted here.

You are 100% Correct . In addition to the 1080 lbs of concrete , I also had over 500 lbs of passengers / dog , the weight of my rubber bed mat , the weight of my fiberglass topper and a bag of groceries.
I was probably 40% over my payload limit
Yet if I wanted to tow an Escape 5.0 TA with the same truck , I only need to make allowances for the 600 lbs of dry pin weight and everything else doesn't count or matter.or it's no problem
If I got on this forum and stated that I towed an Escape 21 with a Geo Metro and I had no problems does that make it true ?
I would rather be told the truth and be unhappy, than misled .

[Anachr0n]

Is it just that I’m still uneducated in the world of pickups, but shouldn’t the Ram 1500 be in the same class as, say, an F-150? If there’s a thread about towing a 5.0 TA with a Nissan Frontier, how is this full sized truck with a V8 at its limit? Is the payload and gcvwr really that low?

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Anachr0n

Is it just that I’m still uneducated in the world of pickups, but shouldn’t the Ram 1500 be in the same class as, say, an F-150? If there’s a thread about towing a 5.0 TA with a Nissan Frontier, how is this full sized truck with a V8 at its limit? Is the payload and gcvwr really that low?

They are called 1/2 ton trucks for a reason. Yes, if read the yellow door sticker, a lot of Rams can only carry 1200-1400 lbs. So with passengers and tongue or pin weight any remaining free amount is limited. I'm not familiar with Fords numbers. The Ram hemi can pull a lot due to it's motor, but carrying is it's weak spot. Still I like mine a lot and can live with it's restrictions.

[Donna D.]

This is the Payload for my 2014 Ford F-150. Yes, I wish it was higher. But I too can live within it's restrictions.

[thiggins]

Here's mine. 2012 Fx4 SCREW, 5.0

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Anachr0n

Is it just that I’m still uneducated in the world of pickups, but shouldn’t the Ram 1500 be in the same class as, say, an F-150?

Yes, the Ram 1500, Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 / GMC Sierra 1500, Toyota Tundra, and Nissan Titan are all in the same general "class" of truck, with similar dimensions and specifications, regardless of body size.

Originally Posted by Anachr0n

If there’s a thread about towing a 5.0 TA with a Nissan Frontier, how is this full sized truck with a V8 at its limit? Is the payload and gcvwr really that low?

There is a huge range of variation within this group of "light duty full-sized pickups"... even within one model. The most appropriately equipped (for hauling) truck of a given model may have 50% more payload capacity than one equipped for driving to work or the grocery store (which is what most people do with their pickups). So yes, in many cases the payload is too low to comfortably accommodate a 5.0TA, hitch, driver and passengers, and cargo in the truck; however, the Gross Combined Weight Rating is rarely if ever a problem for these trucks with any Escape.

Ford and GM offer optional "payload packages" which provide higher capacity than FCA offers in the Ram 1500 (and higher than Toyota offers in the Tundra).

The Frontier is a smaller truck, with payload comparable to the lowest-capacity "full size" pickups. Whether it has the capacity to tow a 5.0TA depends on the details of the trailer's pin weight and what else the truck is carrying... as with any pickup of similar carrying capacity.

Also, the "V8" part may be misleading: a big engine does not give a truck more payload capacity - in fact, it weighs more and unless the manufacturer equips the V8 truck with a higher-capacity suspension to compensate (as they often do), the heavier engine will reduce payload.

[Brian B-P]

For quite a few years, Ford has given the F-150 and the Super Duty (F-230, F-350, etc) trucks entirely different cabs and suspensions, so it's not surprising that Ford allows a buyer to option-up to a higher capacity while staying with the F-150 if that suits them.

Since the Ram 1500, Ram 2500, and Ram 3500 trucks use nearly the same cabs, Ram pickup buyers might be expected to buy the next series up, rather than putting a high-payload package on the lower-series truck. That's just my speculation.

I did a quick comparison, of the most comparable configuration of a Ram 1500 and Ram 2500 (using the 2017 specs which I found readily available):

• Crew Cab (largest cab for 1500, middle cab size for 2500)
• 5.7 L Hemi V8
• 6-speed transmission (closest match available: 65RFE in 1500, 66RFE in 2500)
• 4X4
• 1.9 m (6'4") box (longer box of 2 available for 1500; shorter box of 2 available for 2500)

1500

• GVWR = 3,130 kg (6,900 lb); payload = 676 kg (1,490 lb)
• implied curb wt = 2454 kg (5410 lb)
• this is the only GVWR offered
• 3,869 kg (8,530 lb) or 4,572 kg (10,080 lb) max trailer, depending on final drive ratio and thus GCWR
• wheelbase: 3,797 mm (149.5")

2500

• GVWR = 4,082 lb (9,000 lb); payload = 1,075 kg (2,370 lb)
• implied curb wt = 3007 kg (6630 lb)
• this is the only GVWR offered
• 5,080 kg (11,200 lb) or 5,983 kg (13,190 lb) max trailer, depending on final drive ratio and thus GCWR
• wheelbase: 3,782 mm (148.9")

So you can have a Ram pickup with the payload you need for a loaded 5.0TA, hitch, passengers, and some cargo totalling over 1,500 pounds... but you need to buy a much (22%) heavier (even though it is not larger) truck to get it. You also get a stronger transmission, bigger brakes, and all the other bits that come with a truck intended for heavier loads. With the 2500, you lose the better-riding and better-handling independent front suspension of the 2500. The max trailer capacity goes up too, but that's not relevant to towing any model of Escape.

Or, you can live with between 1400 and 1500 pounds of payload (just like some F-150 owners), and manage what you are carrying appropriately.

The choices within pickup trucks are bewilderingly complex; I don't blame people for being confused.


Perhaps all the specs will change for 2019.