Help needed... I was pulling my 5th wheel camper out of it's storage spot for the winter. There was some snow on the ground, but I thought the old 4X4 would get the job done. Well..... I ended up paying a tow truck to pull my entire rig out.

Here's what was happening: I put my 99 RAM2500 V-10 into 4X4 low, reversed up to the camper, hooked-up, and tried to pull out in forward. Well, the front wheels weren't spinning at all. The back wheels spun one at a time, just like the diffrential was trying to spin only on wheel. Needless to say, the rear wheel that was the easiest to spin, was spinning (drivers side). Not the one digging in for traction. I know this becuase I disconnected from the camper, put clean plywood under the tires, and tried again. Well the plywood shifted, and came out from the passengers side. Well the passenger wheel started spinning in the snow. So there was a change.

As for the front wheels, they would spin if I hit high RPMs, but not when trying the slow approach to keep from pulling the camper in half.

So, what was I doing wrong? My father-in-laws truck has hubs that lock the front wheels. Does mine? Give me some insight as to what was happening, and what to do next time.

Thnx GP

 

Your hubs are auto locking i believe you can get manual locking hubs for this truck and i would reccomend getting them if they are available they are simpler and in my opinion much better..... as for the front tires only spinning at high rpm it could be a bad hub...

 

The hubs on these trucks are not "auto-locking". They are not disconnectable. The axle shaft on the passenger side is a two piece unit. The outer half free-wheels with the right tire when in 4x2. The inner half connects to the differential ... just like the entire driver's side axle shaft. That whole unit spins along with the left tire. When in 4x4 ... a collar slides over the two passenger side axle halves ... joining them together ... forming a solid front axle. Better explained here: http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/4X4/4x4_engagment.htm

The problem you were experiencing was due to the fact that you have open diffs in both axles. Whichever side has the least traction gets all the power and happily spins away ... doing nothing.

 

Well if the front wasn't spinning at all something is wrong, and all that could be wrong is that the front axle isn't engaging. Thats a simple vacume problem. Was the 4WD light on or did you not notice?

I had to pull our car trailer out of the snow that was totally burried for the last 2 monthes and I got it out in 4low no problem.

 

i've had some problems with my 4x4 acouple times too.. would put it in 4hi/lo and wouldnt engage.. .light wouldnt come on or anything.. doesnt anymore but i had to put it in 4hi and drive around for acouple minutes at about 20 or so mph before it would engage. try that and see if it'll engage

 

I've had that problem when I try to shift to 4wd at a stand still, if you're moving when you do it, it works much better. Kind of dumb because sometimes you don't know you need it until your starting to go from a stop

 

I always shift into 4hi before I go to 4 low, just real quick. Like if I'm pulling something/somebody out I'll throw it into 4hi while I'm backing up to them (make sure it engages) then once I get there I'll shift in into 4low and I haven't had any problems.

 

Thnx for all the replies and suggestions. I do know the light came on, on the dash. As I pulled up to my camper, I shifted into 4 wheel low, then backed up my tuck to met up with the camper. It could've been too short a distance to allow the axels to lock.

I did just fine in the snow this year. I know I had 4 wheel hi. I may just have to take this rig off road when it warms up and puts it thru it's paces. I am the 3rd owner.

It's nice to know that I wasn't screwing up by not locking in hubs. I will try putting my truck in 4 hi, then 4 low, and make sure I am truly engaged next time. I am a total newb for 4 wheel drive.

Went from a 2001 Ram 1500 with 318 5 speed manual, ordered new. That truck pulled the heck out of my 30 foot RV 5th wheel with fiber glass sides. No one could believe I could do it. But I figured it would certainly get destroyed doing that too much.

I will do further test to confirm all the suggestions. Thnx GP

 

If this is the axle with the vacuum motor on the axle, look for an iced line. This was a problem on the earlier Rams. Moisture woud get into the line then freeze so the motor wouldn't shift the collar over the axle and lock it.