I own a 2002 dodge ram 4x4 with the 4.7 engine. Im looking into buying a small camper and ive looked up the towing limits and i keep getting different numbers i was wondering if someone would be able to help me out..

thanks and god bless

 

we need some info on your truck
2 or 4 wheel drive.
single or quad cab
short or long bed
axle ration
tire size
all of those factors affect towing capacity

 

Gears are gonna be a biggie here. You must determine what gears you have. There should be a sticker in your glove box that will tell you, if not there is a label on your rear axle.
If you determine you have 3.55 gears towing is gonna suck with all but the lightest loads. Not to mention it will adversely effect your tranny as it will constantly be shifting in a effort to find the correct gear.
If you find that you have 3.92's (comes with the towing package and a good bit of other option packages) you will be ok, however, (and I know you don't want to hear this) I know you are looking into bigger tires. Larger than stock tires will effectively change your ratio. So, for example, if you stick 35" tires on your truck and have 3.55's your effective ratio will be even worse, and the truck will not be able to get out of it's own way. If you determine that you have 3.92's and stick those big meats on, you may actually find your effective ratio is as bad or worse than a stock truck with 3.55 gears.
I (and many others) believe that gears should be changed to 4.56 with 35" or taller tires. As the proud owner of a 4x4, you will find that this is not cheap because you must change front gears as well. A gear swap for you would be in the $1200 range with labor. Of course, the 4.56 gears have many other HUGE benefits besides towing and are a fantastic mod, probably one of the best single mods I have done.
If the cost of changing gears is not in the cards for you right now, and you plan on doing a good bit of towing, then maybe stay down a little smaller on your tires (maybe 33's instead of 35's) and if you find that you do indeed have 3.55's then I think you're still gonna have to bite the bullett if you are gonna want to tow a good bit.
I have a friend with an '03 4.7 4x4 who tows a small single horse trailer. He has 3.55's and I have no idea what the weight is with the horse in it, but his gas mileage drops to single digits when he hauls it, and he is constantly griping that the tranny is shifting all the time.

 

i hauled a u-haul trailer about 600 miles and averaged 13-14 mpg on the hwy vs. 21 without it according to my overhead computer. i have a hemi and 3.92 gears and 20's. 2wd rc. If your going to be doing lots of towing then you may consider geting a cummins. but anyway, to answer the question. I think you'll tow a small camper with no problem. Your not going to get any kind of fuel economy, but it'll pull it.

 

I had an 04 quadcab with 4.7L and towing package with 3.55 gears and pulled an upright travel trailer (19 ft ~ 3500 lbs.) No Wind with marginal up and downs on hills.

Results:

Couldnt go any faster than 60 miles per hour
Tranny was dying just trying to maintain 58 miles per hour
I ended up baby'n the thing to our destination (240 miles each way), and ended up getting 6.5 mpg.

I couldn't believe it - BUT ITS TRUE []

 

shoulda got the hemi, i have a 2500 with 4.10 gears.

like the other guys said though gearratio makes a huge difference.

 

Factory tow or aftermarket? I've never seen the factory tow package come through without the 3.92 gears, although I have to admit, I've not paid a lot of attention to the 4.7 packages.

 

I have a 2005 HEMI factory tow package w/3.55 and an open diff sucks . but gives me a chance to upgrade to 4.10s and an aburn diff.

 

Wow, i have a 02 Ram QC with a 4.7 Ltr V-8, so you're saying that i will have problems towing a trailer? I thought if your vehicle came tow ready, they installed all heavy duty components to aid in towing?

 

Your towing limits are in the owner’s manual.

I tow a 17ft enclosed livestock trailer loaded. I have a 4.7 4X4 with 3.55 gears and stock size tires. I turn the overdrive off any time the trailer is hitched up. No problems so far and I live in the “hills” of east Tennessee.

A lot of common sense plays here. Towing with much weight requires the proper hitch set up with brakes. When towing you don’t need to be going over the speed limit anyway. When towing you need to be more careful and watch your mirrors constantly. This shouldn’t leave much time to worry about throttling up and making a blast to the next red-light. When towing you need to be smooth not fast.

My gas mileage towing is about 10-11 mpg and I have never had a problem with speed.