The previous owner of my Hemi used to tow around 8000-9000 pounds with it, without much trouble. But, he was towing quite a bit and needed a bigger truck so he bought a Ford F-550 diesel with a dump bed 4WD, and dualies in the back. He now tows his 8000 pound trailer along with 4 pallets of Sod, or 3-4 yards of dirt in the dump bed. It is perfect for his side work, but he's doing landscaping/light excavating part-time so he really puts the truck to use.

I don't know what kind of mileage he got when he was towing with my Hemi, but he was happy with it's ability to tow even with the 3.55 gears.

 

man, a sc/sb with 3.55 towing 9000lbs...scary

 

I tow a 3300kg fully loaded 5th wheel trailer with my ram 1500 hemi, i tow regular through the summer months (10-12 times a year) Im getting 12 mpg US, i have no trouble with transmission temps but i am in the cold and wet UK, hope this helps

Cheers

Neil

 

My vote is a CTD but thats because I also want one as well.

 

The fortunate thing is that the factory tires were only 31 or 32 inches. Imagine trying that with 35's!

 

Its not the power we are talking about but that short wheel base and underpowered braking is what is crazy. The longer the truck the more leverage you have over the trailer and that truck is the shortest possible.

 

The longer the truck, the harder it is to maneuver in tight spaces. I'm afraid that I don't understand the 'leverage' thing. What do you mean?

The trailer he uses has electric brakes. I still have the controller. The truck has big disk brakes on all 4 wheels. Do they actually put different brakes on the 4-door and longbed trucks?

 

I was more talking about the gearing and the weight of the truck...I know our ski boat made my lightning skid a few times when braking

 

Yeah, the power issue, I can understand. 3.55 gears don't mesh well with heavy towing. Thankfully, the Hemi has decent torque.

I was questioning the concern over braking made by another poster - regardless of the length of the truck, a properly loaded trailer with its own brakes should not present a problem for a 5000 pound truck. I could see an issue if the trailer were loaded way too far back but my friend has a pretty good idea of what he's doing.

 

I actually went to buy a new '04 CTD 4x4 when I ended up with my Hemi, as with all the rebates and discounts my Hemi which stickered for only $9k less, actually came out to $17k less than the diesel. Since I don't tourney bass fish anymore and have a daily driver, I only put about 8k miles a year on my truck, so for that kinda money difference, I just couldn't justify the CTD.

But I've had both and to a point I agree with you. Fuel economy is pretty much a wash, diesel costs more, but you'll enjoy better fuel economy. Tune-ups can cost 3x more, but you only have to do them a third of the time compared to a gasser, so that's a wash.

What gets you with a diesel is the cost if something breaks! My local dealer charges more than double just for the diagnostic check (I have no clue why, since they hook up the same damn machine!), and repairs are through the roof. I had an injector go in my Furd diesel and the stealership wanted $900 (yes that's NINE-HUNDRED DOLLARS!) to replace it. Luckily, I had/have a buddy who is a certified big rig mechanic who changed it out with me. If I don't know how to do something, I'd prefer to do it, but love it when I have a mentor over my shoulder, LOL.

Repairs are just STUPID high on a diesel. Some people just want one and can afford it and some people NEED a diesel, I just couldn't justify it...