Anyone a mega cab owner. I have a 1500 mega cad 4x4. Any common problems with them? What about towing a fifth wheel? Thanks for your responses.

 

Hemi or CTD?

 

He's got a 1500 so hemi. The truck itself, frame and everything is excellent just the hemi is a little under powered for the truck. It'll tow a small trailer but will be sucking the gas and you won't be going very fast up hills. What size 5th wheel do you have in mind?

Is you truck completely stock? 2wd? If its lifted then forget about towing.

 

I cannot comment on the Hemi's ability to move the beast of a truck that is a megacab, but in our 3500 CTD configuration we love it. There's an incredible amount of space for carseats, and passengers in comfort in the back. I did own a 2007 Hemi Quad cab, and as mentioned, you MIGHT make it from one gas-station to another... if your lucky.

 

Thaks for the info. The truck is completely stock and is 4x4. I havent had a problem with engine power as of yet but havent towed anything either. Im looking at a 27.5 foot fifth wheel and hoping it will do the job. As far as gas is concerned it makes it from gas station to gas station now, doesnt get very good mileage thats for sure. The room in the truck is great and from the research ive done its built on the 2500 frame. What about the transmission and rear end, any info?

 

I'm no expert, but from my research I've found that the tranny is on the lower end of the scale... although it doesn't seem any HD truck maker has a descent one. Even slags on GM's allison transmission are quite common.

The rear ends on the Dodges are, from what I've read, some of the best. Most truck owners have heard of Dana rear ends.. I guess GM owners want 'em... well, Dodge has'em. Again, if you don't beat on it too bad, or if you do, maintain the crap out of it, it should last you.

 

Dodge quite using Dana axles (in the 3/4-1 tons) when the 3rd gens came out. They now use AAM axles (American Axle Manufacturing)...




Ashconft, is the trailer you want to tow within the trucks towing capacity?

 

Yeah, no Dana axle in a Ram since the demise of the 2nd Gens. AAM (Chrysler Corporate) is the axle maker, but they are a very solid axle and despite the fact that DANA has the reputation, most seasoned axle shop guys say that given the same diameter, the AAM is actually a stronger axle.

The axle failures you hear about in the 1500 non-megas are more a result of the poorly designed LSD than the axle itself.

BUT -- here is my issue with a Mega gasser. The truck has the same powerplant as the 1500 half ton trucks BUT weighs A LOT MORE! As a result, this huge behemoth doesn't tow any better than a Quad Cab truck and cannot tow as much as a regular cab. Dodge specs the 2008 Rams at a max towing capacity of 8700# (when properly equipped) in the Mega and Quad. Tow capacity is 8900# in a regular cab and you can take that 8700# towing capacity down to 7400# in a Mega Cab 4x4 with the standard 3.73 gearing.

When comparing the Mega 1500 4x4 to a Quad Cab 2500 it comes up VERY Short in towing capacity at 8400# compared to 10,800# and that's giving the Mega the benefit of having 4.10 gears.

So basically to answer your fifth wheel question, you have a BETTER vehicle for towing with a Ram 1500 RC with Hemi than a 1500 Mega Cab. When comparing rated towing capacity.

IMO, the Mega should only be offered with the CTD, unless they decided to bring back an updated version of the V10 gasser...

 

Thanks for the info. I humbly accept the correction.

 

It's not the length of the trailer that really matters. There are some 27ft. light trailers that can be towed because they are made of all lightweight materials. I have seen some 30ft. TT weigh as little as 6k lbs. dry. That's pretty light for a 30ft. trailer! You need to provide us with the dry weight of the trailer and the loaded weight. For example, my TT is 6300lbs. dry, and can weigh as much as 8300lbs. when the tanks are full. I only tow it empty and then fill the water tanks when I arrive at my camping destination. Then dump and flush the tanks before traveling home. Sometimes it is a pain, but I recommend this method to anyone towing a TT because it helps the truck not strain so hard while towing, and gives better mileage as well. An extra 1-2,000 lbs. is a lot!