I believe my 05 was rated to 8,000. However, if you read the fine print, that is with one of those load distributing hitches on the trailer. With a regular hitch it is only 5,000. And how often you see someone actually using a load distributing hitch with the bars and chains and all that? And there is the issue of brake controllers. Try stopping a big heavy trailer on a downhill slope without one. You may suddenly find that trailer pushing your *** down the road like you're nothing.

Not only that, just because your truck is good for 8,000, some of your equipment might not be. Your hitch bar, your receiver, your hitch ball, etc, may have lower ratings and you are only as good as the weakest one.

Needless to say, 18,000 lbs is asking for a catastrophe. And like I said, you hit somebody with your vehicle that overloaded they're gonna call that gross negligence and you'll quickly find yourself in court.

 

USAA (my insurance) will cover me no matter what. As long as what I have behind me is attached to my truck and tied down properly there will be no problems. I do have a brake controller. You also act like I'm driving through town running 75-80mph. When I have a load on my truck I drive like a grandpa.

 

Any opinions why the 20's would cut down on the amount that the truck can tow?

 

Not sure on that one... Less tire sidewall?

 

I know I have 20's and my truck says 9100lbs. The 20's are heavier, I don't think enough to matter. I believe they have bigger rotors too. Not sure on that one though. I know my 06 f150 would out tow my dodge. On to another subject. I saw a dyno sheet on my truck (2007 qc hemi 4x4) 360+- hp but at the wheels it only had like 280. That seems like an awful lot of hp loss in the drive train. If dodge would fix that problem they would have one hell of a truck. those numbers may be wrong but I know it was like 80 or 90 hp lost in the drivetrain.

 

Damn 18,000lbs with a 1500 hemi. I had 20,000 behind my 2500 with a 5th wheel and v10 and electric brake and that was considered stupid by many. Way to push it!!

 

18K is just an estimate. It's a medium size back hoe and a 22' equipment trailer. But I'm sure it's close. It actually pulled it pretty well. I allowed plenty of distance for braking and didn't gun the **** out of it starting off.

 

well if the machine wasnt too big...(was it a small kubota?) and its a 22' trailer (low boy or deck over?). figure a medium size skid steer weighs about 4-6k lbs and the trailer maybe 2k lbs...so at the most you might have been around 10k lbs, but that all depends on how big that machine actually was, i think if it was 18k you would have had some issues.

 

Putting that much weight in the back regardless of air bags or helper springs, you still have a 1/2ton truck. The GAWR(gross axle weight rating) isn't enough to support the weight of what you put in there. Helper springs only help with so much. putting that much weight back there is asking for trouble. If a spring broke, no telling what could happen.

Towing weight and bed load weight are 2 diff things.

 

I got the tow rating form dodge, and from numerous articles when i first bought my 04..... everybody says it, even dodge