Ok heres what I have. Its an 02 (new body style) 1500 with 5.9 magnum. The tranny is a custom build HD made for pulling(has the Transo heavy duty shift kit, red eagle high performance clutches, HD low stall torque converter). The tranny cooler has been upgraded to an HD cooler as well. I'm pretty sure the rear end is stock, and according to the paperwork is a 3.55. Our camper is an 06 fifth wheel rated at 8600 dry pounds. Loaded its less than 9500 (we figure 9250 since all we take are clothes and some odds/ends) No food or water is hauled in camper while towing, we buy that when we get there and its gone by time we leave, and all tanks are dumped when leaving too.

So, I want the ram to pull the camper better. It does ok as is. I'm afraid of going into mountains (fortunately we only really go to the beach where we encounter very slight hills on the way) but we'd like to take it into the mountains. My thoughts, after reading this forum all afternoon, is to upgrade from 3.55 to 4.10 gears. I'm not too concerned on fuel, as we only drive the truck when camping, so its not my daily driver. What are the thoughts and other recommendations you would suggest for my setup? I know I should look at getting a diesel, but I can't afford to do that now, hopefully next summer though...

 

Depending on your tire size a 4.56 would be ok with that kind of weight.

 

I had not thought about 4.56....what do you mean depending on my size?

 

Well if you were on stock size 265's with 4.56's that be too much. Now some 33's with 4.46's would work.

 

I did'nt notice you said 'tire' size, i just saw 'size'. I am going to keep the stock size, so would 4.10s be my best choice then?

 

Isn't 9250 pounds exceeding your tow rating by about a thousand pounds or so? That doesn't sound like a good plan to me......

 

Well, normally yes. I have the heavy duty tranny, the guys that built my tranny said it should easily pull 10-12k without issues. I'm trying to get it as close to a 2500 as I can, but I realize I just need to trade it in on a 2500 or better. I am getting better leaf springs for the rear(not sure if the 2500 springs are different or not, or just need to add a helper spring?) to help, as well as an air ride suspension(firestone air bags) back there. We will only be using it once or twice this year max. The plan, once its paid for this winter, is to trade it in the spring on a CTD so we will be good to go for next year! For now, I just want to get the rear beefed up so I can get it to the beach in september. We were set, with our old 92 jayco fifth wheel that was 5300lbs that pretty much got destroyed in the last couple storms....this is our replacement camper.

 

As far as legalities, most states honor a waiver for camper trailers.. not toy haulers w/ galley and racks, or horse trailers with same, just camper trailers.. I don't know where the cut off is on those though... It's likely just for tongue trailers and not 5th wheels.. honestly though, while your beefing the gears, you may wanna beef the springs too..

That said, gears and leaves are expensive... You may just wanna go with what you have and wait for that CTD...

 

Since your already making a payment on the truck why not take the money your talking about spending on this truck (probably a couple thousand with everything you listed) and put it on a down payment along with trading in your current truck and see if you can get close to the same payment on a 2500

 

It isn't so much the suspension that I am concerned with, as the Brakes....... The half ton trucks just don't have the braking power to stop something that large, even with brakes on the trailer itself.

I agree with the sentiment of instead of spending money on this truck, (which you will not get back when you sell/trade it in....) spend the money on the truck you really need.