I have a 2000 ram 1500 5.9 4x4 I’ve had it for a few months now and it’s been a good truck but it’s really lacking in the braking department. I frequently tow 3 quads or 3 snowmobiles (one in bed) with a single axle dual place trailer without brakes. Does all right on the highway but going up and down the passes I would really like better brakes especially coming in and out of the forest service roads I do. leaving it in first just isn’t enough sometimes. And yes I know getting a trailer with brakes would help tremendously but I’m 19 and don’t have a lot of money so my question is can I do the 2500/ LD3/4 ton brake upgrade i’ve read into this quite a bit on the forum and understand the process but can’t seem to find whether or not it works for 2000 and 2001 i’ve had a guy tell me that it will and another guy tell me that 99 was the last year you could do this so are the calipers not the same size for the 2000 and 2001? And if I can’t do this what are the other alternatives preferably ones that won’t break the bank but every once in a while breaking is important and I’m willing to spend the money if you guys have some worth while suggestions thanks to anyone that replies! completely off topic is it all right to go long distance with the overdrive off at highway speed’s 60 to 70 I don’t have nearly enough power with it on to do anything even on flat ground (loaded anyway) and I obviously don’t want my transmission jumping around but am I doing any damage running it at 3K from Washington to Montana. This is my first truck and first ram vehicle three grand just seems high but I really don’t know. My last truck was a 99 suburban and I put two remanufactured transmissions in that thing really don’t wanna have to do that again. Thank you guys any information is great!

 

I think you already have dual piston calipers up front? No upgrades on those that I am aware of..... I would more suspect that some aspect of your brake system isn't working properly........

The only thing driving with O/D off will hurt, is your gas mileage. If you engine is that down on power, I would take a long, hard look at the plenum. Pull the air filter box, crack the throttle wide open, (engine NOT running..... ) and take a look in there. See oil pooling? Then time to fix the plenum. (and that sounds a LOT like what your lack of power problem is, possibly a clogging cat as well.....) If you have over 100K miles on it, it really wouldn't hurt to change the timing chain and gears as well. That one change made the biggest improvement in how my truck ran. (my 96, that I don't have any more.)

Might not hurt to plug in a scanner, see if there are any codes, and if there are any pending codes.......

 

Awesome thank you for clearing that up for me and I will definitely check the plenum gasket. I was suspecting that myself but figured I get brakes taken care of first. Just got done doing the ball joints top and bottom on both sides and did shocks and the steering is way tighter now. Would putting a better steering stabilizer on help at all with steering? The one on there isn’t seeping and looks to be in good shape is this something worth doing? Also thanks again you’ve actually answered a ton of other questions I’ve had on other threads! Also so if I’m just sticking with the calipers I have now I know I need new rotors and one of my calipers is shot so does anyone have any suggestions for pads rotors and calipers. Do you think the bigger cylinder in the back would help very much?

 

As for braking, I'd venture it may be cheaper to add trailer brakes than to convert brakes on the truck. Complete kits for 3500 lbs axles are $160 on "the river" (brakes, drums, new bearings) and a basic proportional brake controller is ~$50. Then you would have a proper setup instead of a trailer trying to push the rear of the truck around. The only catch is if the current trailer axle and wheels are somewhat oddly sized.

 

No, It probably would hinder them because the master cylinder needs to be changed also. Bigger cylinder needs more fluid being pumped to it. The 1500 master cylinder will pump less than the 2500. And most of the braking is done with the fronts.

 

You can change the brakes I will list them from cheapest to expensive.
Chevy 1ton rear wheel cylinders if you have drums
Rotorpros front brake kit (rear to if you have discs in the rear)
Hydroboost
Brembo brake kit

 

Think I would start with making sure the existing system works the way it is supposed to. Make sure your pads/rotors are in good shape, the calipers aren't seized on the guide pins, and the rear brakes actually work.