Exceeding GVWR is not only unsafe, it is also illegal. And no mods will mitigate that. Sacrificing satety of your self and others on the raod is about as sensless and Honey Boo Boo.......just saying.....

 

Sorry but it ain't illegal unless you are running CDL. This truck does not clasify as commercial grade requiring CDL.

Sorry guys, but I am gonna say something strong: Dodge never built the 5.9L Magnums to be a 1/2 ton truck. Underneath it is very similar to the straight 3/4 tons, and in case you did not know some of the early straight 3/4 tons used the exact same axles and springs. It's all emmisions...

Safety? It's a fairly safe truck. Got good brakes, excellent steering. Never had a problem with safety. We have had a friend drive it once while towing and he said it puled like it was made for the job.

Once it's running again gonna post a video of it towing 12K or so.

I do recall one time we rented a skidloader and it towed 20K that time but the trailer was very small and had bent axles so that was really rough. As long as the trailer is balanced good for the load it handles very well.. Hey, I've run it (off road that is, but if it handles well off road it is fairly good).

 

The Light Duty 3/4 tons were rated at 7400 gvw, while the HD's were rated at 8800. The LDs still had the larger brakes, which is where a lot of your tow rating comes from. Sure, the frames are pretty much identical..... but that's where the similarities end.

Should something unfortunate happen while hauling over-loaded, your insurance company has every right to refuse the claim. Read the fine print.

That said..... In Iowa, I am going to guess that the land is about as flat as it gets.... very few if any hills at all, so, it's not AS much of an issue... but, it's still an issue.

 

Haha our 1/2 ton is rated at 7700lbs GCWR. Seriuosly. That's what the manual and bumper says. It's just a LD 3/4 ton under disguise to get around California Emmissions. Dodge has done that several times.

Also we have the 14.5" Disc brakes and 14" Drums on the rear so got good brakes. Despite it being only a vacuum booster it still brakes 10000lbs without a brake controller fairly well.

Frame on this one is the same one as they used on 3/4 and 3/4HD. I checked.

In SE Iowa there are TONS of hills. And not easy hills either. Like I said it handles very well. No sway, easy braking, suspension doesn't give a hoot. We have some special shocks in the rear that have 1/2 coil springs on them. They are very stiff when not under load but put a heavy trailer on it and they ride very smooth.

I've said it several times, but I am gonna have to get a build sheet.

 

Well get one already. You don't even have to leave your computer

 

I lost the link... See if I can find it again.

 

Ok submitted request for build sheet.

 

i have a 2001 modified 1/2 ton, and with a brake controller it struggles to stop an 8k pound trailer. 3/4 and 1 tons arent even rated to tow 15-8k pounds. a 3500 cummins is rated at only 13.5k or so.

youre being/playing dumb towing that much weight, regardless of your mindset. youre asking to kill your self or others.

 

It struggles to stop a 8K trailer? Something is wrong with your brakes. We had no trouble stopping a 10K or so trailer or so without trailer brakes. We now have a brake controller and can stop almost as fast as a normal vehicle. Maybe we just have one of those rare trucks...

 

maybe its because im smart and know how to tow a trailer properly, and know how to set a brake controller. if im going slow it can stop 8k no problem, driving at highway speeds, or anything over 30 mph, its definitely takes a bit of a struggle, and more braking pressure.