Towing 5,000 lbs. Wiring, trans cooler, etc.
#1
Towing 5,000 lbs. Wiring, trans cooler, etc.
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
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
Last edited by Jeff d; 07-14-2010 at 11:24 PM.
#5
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
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
#7
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#8
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
Brett could you look up my truck
#9
#10
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
With 3.92 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio [i] You Can Tow 7850 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 6650 lbs
Payload [i] = 1649 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 5001 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2817 lbs/2817 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 3650 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 13000 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 6650 lbs
Payload [i] = 1649 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 5001 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2817 lbs/2817 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 3650 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 13000 lbs
With 3.92 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio [i] You Can Tow 8900 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 6650 lbs
Payload [i] = 1680 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 4970 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2805 lbs/2805 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 3650 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 14000 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 6650 lbs
Payload [i] = 1680 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 4970 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2805 lbs/2805 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 3650 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 14000 lbs
Thanks,
Jeff