Hi I am new here but not to towing. My wife drives an '07 1500 Hemi QuadCab SLT Big Horn and is going to be doing some traveling between our 2 homes in Las Vegas and southern Utah moving horses back and forth. We have a 1 ton diesel and 34 ft Sundowner GN, but she would rather drive her Dodge and the bumper pull as she is just more comfortable in it, and she doesn't like the smell sound etc of the diesel.

My question is our loaded trailer weight is about 6600 lbs, 3 horse 2 axle bumper pull, anyone pulling horses with a little truck like this ? How does it do up hills ? What kind of mileage are you seeing ?

I was thinking about adding some Firestone or RideRight airbags to firm the rear end up a bit, has anyone here bagged a 1/2 ton ?

I would rather send her out with the big trailer and big truck but if she wants to run the small truck there is not much that will change her mind.

Thanks for the input !

tr0y

 

That is the weight of the trailer when it is loaded right..?

You shoud be fine, my horse trailer with horsed weighs almost 8k pds. She better plan on going slow. 65 is about the most your gonna get out of it. Slow up hills. I get 9-10mpg when pulling out railer on the highway.

That is close to the max capacity though. Just for peace of mind, i would be taking the diesel, just my opinion though.

 

whats the gear ratio on the dodge?

if shes not comfortable with such a long trailer, why not hook up small trailer to the diesel?

 

Yes that is loaded weight, the truck has 3.92's per the build sheet. It is not the big trailer she doesn't like, it is when she gets to the mountain house she hates driving the diesel CrewCab long bed. the going to the store parking etc and honestly that little Ram is fun to drive quite a bit more of a hotrod than the F350, yes I know its a Ford ...Flame away ....

 

Nothing wrong with your ferd, i have one too (dont tell) I understand that the 1/2 ton rides better and is quieter but my thoughts are this.

Your pushing the limits of the 1/2 ton, that a long, hard pull for it.
You can just have her take the diesel, it will pull better, be more economical, and have less wear and tear on your vehicle. saving you money in the long run.

 

well, they say that the HEMI can pull 9600. so she should be fine. but then again, diesels are def. the way to go!!

 

06's are rated and 7700 and 8500 i believe. So those were the numbers i was using.

 

a ford??? Driver Returns On Foot (hint for the morons out here spell ford backwards and youll get it)

my buddys dad has 8 or 9 2002 f350 diesels with 8 inch lifts. bad *** is all i can say, he chipped his truck and that SOB hauls ***.

 

I have Firestone airbags on my truck. I've done some short runs with it, and have had no problems. I will be towing my trailer from FL to AZ, it weighs 3000# empty. I added 4000# of construction products to it and it towed just fine. The diesel will get better gas mileage, and will tow a little easier. The Hemi engine is the SAME engine they put in the 3500 Dually gassers. The engine has more then enough power and strength to pull anything you put behind her. your only limit is the frame and suspension. I put the airbags on and have had excellent success with them thus far. I have towed without the airbags from AZ to FL pulling this trailer with a house full of furniture... I estimated around 6500#. I had no problems.... This is just my .02 worth.

 

With a tow package, proper weight distrobution, she will be fine (although I hope the trailer has brakes). If not done on a steady basis, the wear & tear won't be bad. The 3.92 gears are the min. I would have to undertake the trip. Just remember she/youwill have tolive with horrible gas mileage it's gonna get pulling that kind of weight.

Air bags would help quite a bit and if you don't go for all the bells & whistles like on board compressor, auto level, etc. they are very cheap and very easy to install yourself.
I have the Airlift Ride Controls. They are fantastic and took about 2 hours for me to install in the driveway. I just ran the fill valve through an existing hole in the rear bumper. The only deviation I made from the instructions was that I welded my brackets to the frame rather than drilling holes and using the bolts that come with it.




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