I don't have the manual for my truck, and I'm having issues finding it online.

Whats the stock, unloaded aproximate weight of a 4x4 1500 5.9L?

and what is its max safe hauling capacity?

 

Max weight is listed on the sticker inside the drivers door. Your truck is 'rated' for a thousand pounds, with a bit of wiggle room.

 

My 1997 Ram 1500 / 4x4 / 5.9L / auto/ extended cab / 8 ft. box is 5,500# and door sticker is GVWR 6,400#


My truck is stock with a hitch and soft cover over the box.

 

my 1996 club cab short box 4x4 with the 5.9L weighs in between 5800 and 6200 depending what i have in the bed. (empty is about 5800lb) of course i do hae a heavy front steel bumper, a winch, 33-1250-15 mud tires, a tool box, steel wheels and other goodies.

 

GVWR- for your vehicle is 6400lbs thats the most it can legally weigh at any given time.

Curb weight for the truck depends on alot of things and best thing to do is go to a certified scale with a full tank and weigh your truck. My guess is somewhere around 5000lbs.

GCWR- is 12500lbs take away the curb weight of the truck and you have how much you can tow

 

Safe hauling capacity, if you are referring to towing capacity, can be found in the FAQ section.

 

A bit of advise. If a person is asking for certain help, telling them it's in the FAQ section isn't help. Chances are they've tried looking everywhere else with no luck. Hence the need to ask the question. I was hoping someone would have given the answer, as I'm currently having an issue finding the exact specs for my truck. I've looked everywhere online. My truck didn't come with a manual as I bought it used. I need to know exactly what size trailer I can pull in my 1998 Dodge ram 1500 SLT club cab 4x4 5.9l automatic with the package. I'm wanting to purchase a pull behind camper trailer to live in. I will need to move it from time to time. I've read anywhere from 6000 to 8000. That's a pretty big difference. I really don't want to kill my truck cause I purchased a trailer to heavy.

 

Best info I can find is "a bit less than 8000 lbs"....... what is a 'bit' though? That, I don't know.

You can also look on the data plate inside the drivers door. It will list GVWR, and GCWR. Subtract the first from the second, and there is how much you can tow.

 

My 1500 can tow about 6000lbs although it struggles a bit going uphill sometimes with that much weight. I haven't modified my truck much yet and I expect to someday get it to where it can tow about 10,000lbs. I figure a stroker kit will get it there with maybe a few more mods to add more torque power. I understand that torque is what gives pulling power. I figure I'll also probably need to add a trailer brake controller to be able to get the trailer to stop when I'm going down hills.

My payload capacity is about 1000 pounds although the rear end drops quite a bit at that weight. 1000 pounds is plenty for me to haul bark and compost and trash to the dump but I'm planning to add helper springs to keep my truck level when towing and hauling.

 

Keep in mind that the "GCWR" is there for a reason. Should you decide to pull more than that, regardless of what you have done to the truck, get in an accident while over weight, and your insurance company may simply not cover you. At all. The meaner motor will make towing easier, but, it won't make it safer.......