I thought all 20" wheels had the 3.92's. Just be safe. Regardless, a dry weight of 7150lbs on any 1500, seems a bit high or right at max. Check this site out, it calculates for everything, people, cargo, tongue, etc. http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-...eight-tt.shtml. Base what you can tow from your GVWR (i.e. 12,500 lbs.) it'll give you a more accurate estimate versus what Dodge says you can tow with a specific number. It varies depending on cargo.

 

I've got a trans cooler and bought a Superchips tuner earlier this year but it would never successfully program my truck because it kept saying the stock settings weren't stock. Superchips support worked on it for a couple of weeks but was never able to get it to work, so I sold it.

Also, I have the 3.92 rear end with no LSD.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't able to get the RV I was looking at anyway, so I'll keep looking and keep the info in my back pocket...

 

There are some nice RVs out there at around 5000 lbs dry - just need to look. I bought a slightly used Trail-Lite 29' with small slide out and it weighs 5200 lbs dry. Was actually looking at something a little shorter (around 26') but couldn't pass up the deal. I did the calculations on that site I posted and with everything I'm about 1127 lbs. under and that's with 10% "margin of error." Eventually I'll get a 2500 with CTD but until then, the little 1500 will suffice for a few more years.

 

Yep, am aware of that. I had a 31' that was in the 5700 lb range that I sold a couple of months ago. And there are plenty of brand new ones that are nicer, yet even lighter. The RV I was looking at was nice layout and was being auctioned off and would have been a steal at the price I had hoped it would go for. But it ended up being bidded out of my price range so I didn't buy it. It will still be a good deal for someone at the price it sold at but only if everything works and doesn't require expensive repairs. It's been sitting and used as storage for 3 years and it was being sold as-is, so who knows if the fridge or ac or something needs repair. Or if anyone blew out the pipes before letting it sit through 3 winters of freezing temps.

I'd love to have a nice 5th wheel and I know they make a few now that are supposedly half-ton towable. But I'd feel better towing a fiver with a 2500 truck. The problem is, I have no use whatsoever for a heavy duty truck the 90% of the year I wouldn't be towing an RV.

 

I hear you there. I think if we had 2500's, we'd use them more than 90%!