looking at different truck, L o.t back story

[Mike Henry]

I drive an 08 gmc 1500 4.8 work truck, 2doors 78k on odometer. bought it 2 yrs old with 9k on it. Wife drives 09 chevy avalanche with 5.3 same miles plus or minus few. She went to town and bought a bigger travel trailer. Come home saying she bought a 28' puma by palimo, big slideout. I say how you pulling it. says with chevy. I show her the weight limit on pulling and explain it has to do more to being able to stop as well. Says salesman tells her it is a 6500 lb trailer. I look it up in many books, and finally get to see tag. 8500 empty. Chevy drug it home. Really tounge heavy and could have used a few more ponies as flat ground 60 was top speed and engine at 3500 rpm. tow haul activated. With this all in mind. Looking around at a about same age low mile 3/4 ton with maybe sm. diesel or bigger gas engine. Am a gm man but looking at it all. see a lot of dodge 1500 with the 5.7. look them up and they got just over 400hp. No the chevy has 325ish. But I am unfamiliar with rear ratio what I am seeing is 3:90 or so. My gmc has 3:73 and I know I only have 4 speed and the dodge is 5 or 6. is that better for pulling and gas milage. Need help.

 

[marloweg]

ok we had a 2007 ram 1500 ext.cab short box with 5.7 4x4 pulled our 28ft. outback by keystone to Florida for 4 winters camper was [[[loaded]]changed axles and springs on camper from OEM 3500 to 4500 axles and tires from 14 in to 15in. put air bags on the ram .ram had 20 inch tires ran 60 lb. in bags had Honda Goldwing in the box [[[ yes it fit made a power loader for motorcycle ]]]. the 5.7 played with it only bad thing was a side wind in ILL.other then that it pulled with no problem. spent 4 winters in FL. from our house to RV park it was 1100 miles made the tripe in 2 days . we now have a 2017 2500 ram with 6.4 pulls a little better but eats more gas the 5.7 got 10.5 to 11 the 6.4 9 flat

 

[DIM]

I have a 2014 Silverado half ton Chevy. The Chevy is 5.3 v8 with 6 speed transmission. Just pulled a 6500 pound RV from Indiana to Wyoming. Running 65 mph went right over every hill and never lost over 4 mph. I don't care what you are pulling a trailer with forget about mpg. I looked up the new trucks and the diesels Ford has more hp and tork than Chevy and Dodge. The Chevy has more than Dodge. The gas engine are the same Dodge comes in last. My Chevy has got as high as 28.5 mpg but pulling a trailer 11 mpg top but mostly 8.2. Cummings are like John Deere your buying a name

 

[kcm.MN]

What you need is something like this for the rear of your truck:
https://www.amazon.com/Air-Lift-572...s&qid=1562500035&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Once you use them, you'll wonder how you ever got along without them!

You can set up your truck with a pressurized air system that will always keep air in the bags, or go the low-cost route and just check the air in the bags every so often. There is a minimum pressure, and no warranty if it drops below that minimum, which likely will not be a problem unless/until the truck has a heavy load.

Only takes a decent manual air pump to air the system manually. Can also connect them so that one side has more air pressure than the other -- this will help regulate an unbalanced load.

 

[M Nut]

Any fairly new (within the last 15 years or so) 3/4 ton or 1 ton should pull that camper trailer fine. An equalizer hitch will help with heavy tongue weight. I pull a 29ft (body size, more like 32ft with the hitch included) with a 2009 Chevy 3/4 ton crew cab with the 6.0 liter gas engine. Gas mileage is not great, a little under 10mpg, but I have pulled it over 1000 miles in the last month with no issues on power. I always use the tow haul mode for the transmission on the end of the shifter. It really helps with both towing and stopping the load. Of course, good working brakes on the camper trailer are a must too.

 

[Pitch]

I pull a 6k travel trailer with my 5.7 Ram. Its a pulling SOB. But like any gas engine it needs to rev to make power. Kick it down into 3rd gear run near 4k rpm and let the rig do what is was designed to do. Just pulls like a freight train.
The engineers didn't make 8 speed transmissions so they could run in overdrive all day.

You SUV is severely under built for the task at hand,you should go back to the place she bought the trailer and beat the Hell out of the slime bag that took advantage of her. Did he at least sell her a Weight Distributing Hitch?

8500 is a hell of a load for any half ton I would want a 3quarter for that,figure once you are loaded with your gear and several hundred pounds of water,you will be pushing 10k

 

[Pitch]

Any modern truck will have the HP. Hell my parents towed from NY to Utah with an 85 hp buick back in the fifties.

 

[BarryfromIA]

The Weight Distributing Hitch is a good idea for travel trailers especially with a 1/2 ton. Anti sway control also helps also. Remember this getting away from it all involves a certain amount of taking it with you.

 

[DR. EVIL]

The 5.7L Hemi in the RAM 1500 is rated 395 hp. I bought one. With the 3.92 axle ratio it can tow a 10,000# trailer. Truck is rated 15,970# gross or something close to that number, truck without cargo and passengers is around 5500#.

But I would step up to a RAM 2500 with a bigger gas engine if your going to tow that 8500+# trailer much.

My RAM 1500 should tow my Farmall M with Stan-Hoist loader as well as my '96 F250 with 7.3L diesel and 5-speed did, haven't tried it yet, but not sure I'd 100% believe the RAM brochures.

 

[Leroy]

Use those all the time.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I may be of a different mindset, but I would get a dually. Whatever brand you like. The handling and braking, will be much better, and safer. The dually will be built with larger, stronger brakes, and beefier suspension. And probably a larger engine. No modifications needed. Mark.

 

[VADAVE]

OK Mike let's first look at what you have. A 4.8 motor--that is not a big engine, about 300 c.i. or less. AND your rear axle is 3.73. That is a fairly tall gear. You probably get pretty fair gas mileage but you suffer for carrying a good sized load and pulling a trailer. You say you came using the tow/haul mode in the transmission--that does not give you another gear IT LOCKS OUT TOP GEAR. So instead of a 4 speed transmission you now have a 3 speed. Of course the engine rpm were elevated.

Now let's talk about the trailer. At that weight it should have brakes--probably electric or surge brakes. You can tell if you only hooked up the ball and the electric connection is a flat four pin connector--surge brakes. Brakes are applied when the trailer surges against the tow vehicle as you apply the brakes.
IF when you hooked it up the electric connection was 5 or more pins and you have level by the steering wheel--- electric magnetic brakes. The brakes can be applied when the brake lights go or when you mover the lever. THAT GETS THE TRAILER STOPPED or helps.

So now how you use the truck and trailer. If your use of the truck is mostly (say 75 to 90%) picking up kids, groceries or doing errands then I wouldn't change trucks. It'll be inconvenient the truck will work hard but it is doing the job. The gear is a little tall and a 3.90 is better but that burns more gas around town and the rpm will always be higher. Why do I say that? You'll start camping or partying a little later and the you do not need a new truck.

Sorry I blabbed on so long.

 

[Philip d]

If you can find a gas that will suit your needs I?d shy away from a diesel. I say that because there?s a lot of people running down modern diesel emissions equipment unreliability and people avoiding them like the plague once the warranty is almost up. I see lots of 1/2 tons towing camper trailers with gas engines.

 

[Mike Henry]

thanks everyone. we do have the hitch and sway bar as this is our 3d camper. With the salesman talking her into a way to big a trailer (there is just us 2)the trucks we have are just to sm. I have found a 2010 dodge 2500 with the 5.7 that I like the looks of price and mechanicly at least. Now if dealership is of the mind to deal maybe we will have this figured out. By the way, forgot that I need to make this tractor related. I am planning on taking the old farmall to the bridge crossing this year and this would also help drag that around.

 

[504]

I have been looking at the 2500 Rams too. My 1/2 ton will pull the load, but it will be a white knuckle ride. The 5.7 Hemi will out pull my 5.7 Chevy any day,

 

[SVcummins]

6500 whoopty do my gooseneck weighs more than that empty I get 12.5 to 13 mpg pulling 25000 gvw on two lanes in Idaho Wyoming and Utah so your are bragging about get less miles mpg pulling a lot less weight ?

 

[SVcummins]

Actual 2013 Ford F-350 gas mileage 6 speed automatic freeway and highway miles weighs 8500 pounds dually regular cab

I would shy away from the newer Diesel engines especially the throw away light duty ford And chevys and anything with emissions

 

[DIM]

Are you compareing apples to apples. My friend pulls a great big and tall RV With his Duramax diesel and gets 18 mpg. but his truck cost over 50,000 dollars. I was not bragging about the mpg. I was saying that you can do it with a smaller truck.

 

[Determined]

2006 Silverado 3500 8.1L (496) with Allison 6 speed automatic.

Only problem is once in a while you will look in your mirrors and start giggling to yourself because performance wise you forgot that you had a 30 foot trailer behind you.

 

[krm]

Everyone talks about can you pull it when you should be talking about can you stop it, you can get anything on wheels rolling but can you stop it.

 

[Pitch]

(quoted from post at 07:22:27 07/08/19) Everyone talks about can you pull it when you should be talking about can you stop it, you can get anything on wheels rolling but can you stop it.

That is why there are brakes on each trailer axle. I can pinch my controller and smoke all four tires.
Only folks who say that do not tow or they tow with un roadworthy equipment!

 

[Mike Henry]

504, I went to my brother and bargained to use his 1500 dodge with 5.7 hemi 5sp tranny. Brought it home and hooked stuff up and went for a ride for a couple hrs. Hit back roads,hills, and hiway speeds. Im thinking Im liking the handling. Our avalanche would be dragging bumper and groaning for more power on same roads. Only thing I didn't get to try against was high wind. But must say the ride changed my mind about the dodge thing. Now researching as to is there a better year to look at as far as mechanical, tranny, electrical maladies. Hope that will help you as well. I sure hated the idea of switching brands. Have always had good luck and longevity with my gms. For some reason over the 30 driving years if I were to buy a ford it would be trashed by the 7 month age. We shall see.

 

[WESnIL]

For me that heavy of a trailer dictates a 3/4 ton pickup. It won't be hard to increase the weight of the trailer with clothes, food, etc. beyond what the sticker or sales literature shows. My money would go toward a 2500 Ram with the 5.7 or better yet the 6.4. With their 6 speed transmission one can lock it in tow haul mode and 5th gear and let it pull. That will mean 2,000 RPM at 62 mph (fast enough for me with that much of a load behind it) instead of 1,700 RPMs in 6th gear. I just put 1,700 miles on my 2500 5.7 Ram with 3.73 rears and grossing 17,700 pounds. When getting close to home I scaled it with 10,000 pounds on the trailer and 7,700 pounds on the truck. The empty truck weights 7,000 pounds. There is no need for a diesel for your application unless you have $9K+ to burn.

 

[DIM]

Mike good luck with your Dodge. I have friend that runs a big company and they are very hard on their trucks. They use Dodge Trucks. Seems like every time I'm in their shop they are working on a Dodge. They are rebuilding the front end or pulling the bed off to weld the frame. One year they could not get a deal on Dodge. They bought two Chevy trucks. 200,000+ miles later they went back to Dodge trucks. I ask what did you have to fix on the chevys. They said nothing. I guess they just like to work on trucks.