Yeah, although hard to find and likely not worth having, there are 5.7 HEMIs in 3500s. They are bad enough in a 2500 so i cant imagine it in a 3500

 

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I didn't think there were any 3500 hemi Megacabs. Just 1500s and 2500s.

I'll leave Weedahoe to being the big Dodge expert. The only thing I know much about is the differences between the 1500 and 2500 MC .

 

Hey now, I dont know much about the difference between the 1500 and and the 2500MC so you might be one up on me (or more)

 

If it is an every once in a great while thing, you should be fine. I've towed upwards of about 12,000 lbs with my 1500 Quad Cab with 3.55 gears...It pulled it like nothing, but quite slow acceleration, but didn't seem to really struggle...Now if I did it frequently, it'd be a different story, I'd at least need a gear swap (which I am looking into anyway) But you have the 2500 frame anyway, so you should be fine if it is not a frequent thing.

 

Hehe, that's because it's a great big Dodge secret shrouded in mystery for all time. Not even the dealer mechanics can answer what those differences are. I ended up looking at the mitchell's crash book and I'm not even sure that was accurate.

edit: @Weedahoe

 

I thought the Hemi was suppose to be a mad *** engine with all kinds of power. Sounds to me like it's weak if it can't pull 8k pounds. What are some modifications I can do to increase the towing capacity without changing out the rear end ratio? This is all very good and helpful information.

 

It's not really the HEMI everybody is worried about, it's the tranny that might take a beating.

 

I did some of my own homework. I looked into OEM parts and found the only difference between the 1500 and 2500 MC is are the shocks, leaf springs and front coil springs. The brakes and calipers are identical. If I convert to the 2500 suspension I will be able to tow 1k Ibs more. Is there anything I can do, besides doing this like add air bags or helper springs?

 

It's just the Megacab. It's almost a thousand pounds heavier than a quad cab which comes right off the top of your tow rating. The 2500 quad cab is closer to 10k lbs of towing all other things equal just because of the weight difference.

 

How often will you be towing a load this size? Cuz as it stands, by adding the 2500 suspension components, or after market components, all you will (really) gain is ride comfort when pulling this load...The only thing that willl really help is lower gears, which will take a lot of stress off the tranny...which is a common weak link in Dodge trucks for some time. If you are not pulling this load more than a few times a year, I wouldn't worry about anything, unless you want a little smoother ride. I've pulled loads WAY too big for my truck at least 3 times a year and over 100 mile trips since I've had it, and I have had 0 problems...as of yet...That's not to say that I haven't caused excessive wear and shortened the life of prolly the tranny, but 73,000 miles everything is still A-OK...and that is with 3.55 gears and 285/70/17 tires, which actually lowers the gear ratio a bit.