Just bought a '00 Ram 1500 Sport 4x4 with the tow package and 5.9 motor. We are planning a move from Iowa to Tucson AZ, about 1750 miles. I was wondering how big of an enclosed trailer I can pull with this setup? Is there anything I could do to increase my towing capacity? I have towed trailers with my old Ram before, but nothing of great size or distance. Thanks

 

You can definetly pull the biggest U-haul they got...hell, I pulled the 12' one with my wifes Liberty from Grand Forks, ND to Fort Worth, TX. Good luck and have fun in Tucson.

 

How about a 24ft?

 

I think you might be pushing your luck trying to tow a 24 footer with a 1/2 ton truck. The 5.9 would have adequate power- barely- but I think your biggest issue would be the suspension isn't enough to handle it. Depending on how many hills you will hit, and I'd imagine you will hit plenty, you may have some overheating issues also. A lot would also depend on how heavily you have it loaded. A 24 footer fully loaded would be a lot of weight. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

16ft - 18ft trailer would be about all I'd try towing with it.

If you have the tow package, you shouldn't have too many issues with overheating. I do believe it adds an aux. cooler...at least it did on the HD trucks.

 

Aux. cooler is part of the tow package.

 

I agree, your pushing it there. But if you got the stuff mentioned then you should be alright.

 

Seriously, I think all you guys are scared. Dude, if your moving furniture, there really is no weight there. You should be able to pull a 24 footer with no problem. For that matter, I had a 99 dakota 4x4 club cab with the 5.2 and auto, and I used to pull a 30' party boat, 26' camper, 24' Baja, actually I would try to pull anything someone threw at me. The best was the day I went to Home Depot and bought a full 2000lbs of wood pellets for the stove and told them to throw it in the bed. The look on the guys face was priceless.

 

I towed a 24ft enclosed car hauler EMPTY with my 96 1500 and it did ok at best. I went about 20 miles with it and power wasn't the problem. It was the suspension. Everytime I hit a bump in the road, it felt like the front end was going to pop a wheelie. If this is a bumper pull trailer, you might be pushing the stock suspension a little bit if your going to tow a load.

 

Thanks guys for the feedback, DBG I like your attitude!!! I picked up the trailer on Wednesday and pulled it 177miles back home, and for the most part did not even know that it was there. Of course it was empty, but still weighs in at about 3,500 lbs. I think the tow package on my truck helped out big time!! When I hooked up to it, the suspension didn't squat more than an inch. Now if the tranny can just handle all that torque!!