Arlight so im getting ready to purchase my first dodge ram, Its a 98 dodge ram 1500, it has 54k miles on it 8 inches of lift and 3 inches of body lift. The current tires on it are super swampers ( and i know there going to be loud going down the road but im only 18 and dont mind it) but im planning on putting on a set with better highway tread. Im going to be using the truck to pull a racecar trailer about 25-30 mins. away from my home, the load is about 4000 pounds. Im just wondering what to look for when purchesing the truck and if its a crazy idea to buy it and pull the trailer with it.

 

Wicked cool graphics man!

What gears are in the axles? Are those 37 or 38" boggers?


And welcome to the world of Dodges!

 

yeah the graphics are pretty nice they need to be touched up in places. Im pretty sure that the swampers are 36's but im going to plan on getting something a little better for the highway. and as far as the gears go i would have to look into it.
Thanks for the reply!

 

Its pretty, but you gonna need one hell of a drop hitch to tow and kind of trailer and keep it level. What kind of trailer will you be towing? Open? Enclosed? Size? If already not installed, a brake controller for the trailer brakes is mandatory. Do not rely on the trucks' brakes alone. Othe than some pretty pictures you have said absolutely nothing about the truck expecot for year and mileage. How is it geared? Automatic? Manual? Trans been rebuilt? Got a Trans Cooler on it? Better get one if you plan to tow. Don't get suckered by big shiny wheels and some vinyl stickers. Look under the surface before you buy. And oh yeah welcome to DF, are you aware of our "search" feature?

 

I have a 97 Ram 1500 and not a 98, but I imagine the towing specs are similar.
Depending on the transmission, engine, and axle ratio, you can tow as little as 3400 lbs or as much as 8100 (at least that's the range given in the manual for my 97 for the 1500 Ram) . So before you fork over the money, you better check out how the truck is equipped. You may like the way the truck looks etc with it raised, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to tow something as heavy as a car and trailer with something that has a high center of gravity. And will the altered suspension allow it to tow as much as the original configuration?
not to mention the trouble you may have finding a hitch receiver to drop the ball low enough to keep your trailer level.

 

Thanks for the replys, The trailer is a open dual axle 8foot wide and 16feet long. I already have a brake controller and as far as the drop hitch im still searching for one. the gearing im going to have to ask about but the trans is a automatic not sure if its been rebuilt or not but the truck had nice firm shifts compared to my chevy.

 

nice find look purdy you have the 5.9 or 5.2

 

The big thing is you need to know the weight of the trailer and of course the car. That should probably be your starting point in determining if that specific truck will be suited for what you want to do. The truck looks cool...but if you want a tow vehicle you may or may not want to get it.
If you just want a truck to drive, that one looks nice.

 

these trucks are work horses throw w/e on, i atruck just to drive i see your happy with your dodge lol

 

Cant find a drop hitch? Just build one up. Make sure its strong enough tho! And braced up good. I seen acouple of people with big lifts over on PS that made there drop hitches. Not sure if there towing cars with em tho... Probly not..


Looks like a nice truck! Like people have said, get a good tranny cooler and you may want to look into the check valve delete mod.