Dodge's web page for this is way fubar'ed:
http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/vehicl...vehicleFamily=

It says the 1500 can tow 18K, outdoing both the 2500 and 3500. Im pretty sure thats incorrect. And when I plug all the info in, it says I can tow 5000lbs. But if you plug in info for a dakota, it says it can tow over 7000! ?????

Im not sure if I have the tow package with the transmission cooler, but I do have the 7pin plug in the back, and 20" rims. Like I said, its a 2008 RAM 1500 5.7 v8 hemi 4x4 "sport" package. Would I be able to tow an RV camper that loaded was 8000lbs? I have no idea what the rear axle gear ratio is, it wasnt posted on the tag on the inside of the drivers door

The stupid owners manual just refers me to the useless website. Is there an official dodge webpage thatll tell me all what I got from my VIN?

Thanks

 

The tag on the driver's door will not tell you the gear ratio. There should be a tag in the glove box, the rear axle may also contain a tag/sticker.

Tranny cooler is pretty hard to miss, it'll be about half the size of the radiator and will be in front and off to one side of it.

You can always go to the Ram website and request a build sheet that would tell you.

That said, here are the towing capacities. Keep in mind these are MAX and assume all the proper equipment: tow package, weight distributing hitch, etc. These also assume 17" wheels, deduct 1000 lbs. for 20" wheel option.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...am-limits.html

Even if setup optimally and you can legally tow it 8000 lbs is pushing it with a 1/2 ton truck, especially if you don't have a lot of experience towing that much weight.

 

Indeed it appears they mixed up the truck orders or something.

 

It is weird. If you drill down, though, the numbers are there.

 

I have towed 6500 pounds a few times for a short distance. I wouldn't want to pull anymore than that myself as it was a good load on my hemi 4x4 with 3:92 gears. Stopping will be another issue, the brakes on these aren't the best for towing heavy loads.

 

you have great info on many threads here. Thanks! would the fact that its a 4x4 further reduce the capacity?

 

the 2008 dodge 1500 hemi 4x4 is rated to tow around 8000-8700 lbs. i just towed 6000 lbs with my 05 durango hemi with 3:55 gears 900 miles going up and down steep grades. It was fine. I am however going to get a 1500 with the 3:92 gears to make towing that effortless.

 

Mine is an 04 but I imagine the tow rating is similar. Do you have the tow/haul button on your shifter? If so, you probably have the factory tow package. You are probably rated to tow somewhere in the low to mid 8000 lb range. However, 4x4 does subtract a couple hundred lbs. But, the big blow is going to be the 20" wheel package. With that, you lose pretty close to 1000 lb capacity. I've been towing RV's with mine since it was new and had my towing cap figured at about 7200 lbs, loaded. My current RV is 6500 lbs dry so it probably pushes my cap pretty close and, with a distribution hitch, it still tows very well. I've recently switched to 17" rims and load range E tires, so I should have gained some capacity, though I haven't tried it yet.

As for braking - you wouldn't or shouldn't expect the truck brakes to stop something like a 3 ton + RV. RV's have electronic brakes and, for that, you'll need to add a trailer brake controller. My truck came with the factory tow package and had a harness for the brake controller in the glove box. All I had to do was take that and splice a couple of wires to the controller I moved over from my old 2nd gen Ram.

The 500 lbs you read about was probably the hitch weight rating by the way. And, unless something changed since 2004, the Sport package is just an appearance group, it does nothing for you towing-wise.