I have a boat that's 5,000 lbs "wet" (Full tank of gas, battery ,etc). It's a Mastercraft 230 VRS with a dual axle trailer and surge brakes.

I purchased an '04 1500 Hemi Quad Cab w/ 47,000 mi to pull this but it didn't have a complete "tow package". It had the large bumper crossmember (Do they all have this?) and the 4 pin trailer wiring (Appears to be factory).

I'm not sure of the rear end ratio but either one should be sufficient for this load. I looked on the VIN sticker, in the glove box and even got under the truck with a creeper to look for a tag on the diff.

I installed an OEM hitch that mounts to the crossmember. This says it's sufficient for my boat weight but if I want to go heavier I'd need to get a weight distributing setup. I'm wondering if I should have gotten a heavier duty, aftermarket hitch that went from framerail to framerail in one piece but I wasn't sure if the truck in general just wasn't supposed to exceed 5,000 lbs without a weight distributing hitch. The OEM one was used and only $30 so I couldn't beat the price.

It has a small transmission cooler in front of the radiator. I won't be doing too many long hauls and I live in really flat country. Will this be sufficient or do I need a larger one? The last thing I want to do is kill the transmission when a $50 cooler and an hour of time could have prevented it. If I need to upgrade it what's the most plug and play option?

Also, my trailer has 5 pin wiring. The 5th wire is for the surge brake lockout when the truck is in reverse. Typically I've connected it to the 7 pin round type of vehicle harness with an adapter. This activates the solenoid and prevents the trailer brakes from resisting the truck when in reverse. I could just wire up a 5 pin connector on the truck side but I thought it would be slicker to get the Dodge 7 pin round harness with the connector that fits in that hole next to the license plate. I've seen those harnesses online for like $70 but I've been told by a person on the MasterCraft forum that they got one from the Dodge dealer for like $15. Are these online prices inflated for some reason or is this person mistaken/lucky? Does anyone have any experience with adding this harness to a truck that didn't have it from the factory?

I plan to change the trans fluid/filter early and often. Is there anything else that I should be thinking about?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

BTW, also wondering if I should install a trans temp gauge. Any thoughts on this? Am I overthinking this for a 5,000 lb load?

 

5,000 pounds is like half the maximum weight for the Hemi. IMO you are totally fine.

 

i agree, maybe a good idea if you lived in the mountains, but on flat ground 5000lbs is nothing, you should hardly feel it

 

Can anyone comment on using a universal 7 way connector like this one:
http://www.etrailer.com/p-37185.html

Vs. using the OEM Dodge one like this:
http://www.rampartsstore.com/product...b12f2799b0f85d

I won't be using electric brakes so I won't even need that component of the setup at the moment. I assume the dodge one bolts right up to the spot next to the license plate but would the universal one mount there just as easily?

I'm leaning towards saving the cash and going with a universal one and just leaving the electric brake wires coiled up there for the time being in case I ever wanted to wire them up.

Alternatively I could just get one of these:
http://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Draw-Tite/20016.html

cut off the factory 4 pin, splice the wires back together and then tap the reverse light circuit for the blue wire effectively converting my 4-flat to a 5-flat

 

if you get me your vin i can look up what came with it from the factory.
ie. - gear ratio, trans cooler, oil cooler, heavy duty cooling, etc

 

PM sent. Thanks.

 

Ya the universial will work fine i got one that has a 7pin round and a 4 pin flat buit it, also i tow a car on a trailer quite often about 4500 pounds on the factory hitch and i only feel it when i go down hill pushing me lol, the hemi will get'r'done lol.
Brett could you look up my truck

 

4 Wheel Disc Rr Anti-Lock Brakes
Corporate 9.25 LD Rear Axle
26 Gallon Fuel Tank
GVW Rating - 6650#
5.7L ENG (EZA)/5SPD A/T 5-45RFE(DGQ)
3.92 Rear Axle Ratio
Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle

 

I looked up the '04 1500 Hemi w/ 3.92 gearing on the Dodge Towing Guide and got two different possible tow capacities:
Both show the same GVWR and will be sufficient for my boat towing needs but what's the variable between these two specs that accounts for the 1000 lb difference in GCWR?

Thanks,
Jeff