Good morning. I have a 2005 4wd Ram QC with the 4.7l v-8. A fifth-wheel camper was offered to me for a price I could not refuse. I don't anticipate to drag the camper all over Texas but when I do move it, I'd like to know that I'm not snapping axles or blowing the poor little 4.7 just to get out on the black-top. My considerations are the fairly inexpensive air-bag set-up in the rear and a programmable tuner.

I looked at the SC website and its asking me which tranny I have, 5-45RFE or G238. How do I find this out?

I've read much on the forum about re-gearing to get the max torque from the 4.7 but I'm trying to keep cumulative upgrades below 800.00 to 1000.00.

Good, bad, or ugly, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Do you have the auto trans and standard shift trans

 

Automatic

 

Then you have the 5-45RFE

 

A 5th wheel on a 1500? What size is the RV? If its one of those little single axle 17ft you may be ok. If its a larger model, you will likely have too much pin weight for the payload of the truck. The 4.7L can tow ok, but by spec you are limited to somewhere around 7000lbs. I towed a bumper pull light RV trailer (24ft tip to tip, dual axle) that when weighed had 4400lbs on the axles of the trailer (got to be around 5000 total or thereabouts). It was an ok match. Any wind and freeway speed was max speed though. It was no rocket on hills, but it would get there (mountain passes at 30mp/h on steep grades). Its frontal area was fairly small for a fuller size RV. A 5th wheel will sit taller though, and present more wind drag. You are in the open mostly, I found prairie driving was worse than flat roads in the mountains. The side winds would not allow me to go over 70mp/h even if I tried.

Your biggest problem is the weights though. If you can respond back with size of trailer, and any weight specs it has (GVWR, empty, pin or hitch weight) then we can make a more accurate guess.

 

thanks for the help folks. The camper is 25', Gross Dry Weight is 6520lb and Dry hitch weight 820lb. and Payload 2900lb.

 

Yeah, you definitely won't beat any speed records and air bags are a nice add-on for that. I tow a 5200 lbs 30 ft Trail Lite with my '03 and it seems to pull okay. Of course, I upgraded my gears to 4.56, SuperChips tune and air bags. I'm doing little things like replacing the clutch fan with electric and replaced the stock air intake with a "CAI." Since I had to extend my IAT wire, I just bought a 6" power wire from AIRRAM. It will only help during WOT, but at least I know it's there. I think yours has TOW and OD OFF controls, whereas mine only has OD OFF. Either way, OD is out of the question I would think. And yes, air resistance will be your biggest feat. Stability is key. Air bags help a ton. I typically don't go over 65MPH and usually travel at 60MPH - that seems to be the sweet spot for my little 4.7.

 

airinike- yes, mine does have the "tow" feature which best I can tell allows the tranny to hold each gear longer into the higher torque range.

How pricey was the re-gear? And, what feedback can you offer on the SC tuner?

 

I haven't towed with the tune, yet so I can't give any feed back. I notice the truck seems to have more power throughout the band, which is what I'm looking for. I just needed a little more oomph at highway speeds to help maintain speed and not work as hard.

Gears, I did them myself since I had most of the tools but I've heard of people finding places to do them for about $800, depending on the gears you get. Finding a mechanic in South Florida that was proficient in gear installs seemed harder than just doing them myself. It's not easy. The gears set me back $300 with a kit - added tools, time and new ring gear bolts total probably still around $450-$500.

I glossed over that but I recommend finding a well, reputable installer that knows what he's doing. Most likely, you'll spend less and have less to worry about.

 

By those specs, running an empty trailer (no battery, propane tanks, aircon, food water etc) Add another 1000lbs over dry for a rough approx of what actual running weight is and you will be right about at max tow limit of that truck, if not over.
800lbs seems light for a 5th wheel hitch weight, but if that is it then your truck payload should be able to accommodate that and the in bed part of the hitch. You will definitely want airbags. I know my 1500 rear end dropped lots with just an atv in the back (around 600 or so lb).

I towed with a tuner (SC 3815) and it helps a bit with shifting and such, but tow tune on Superchips doesn't add power. Just helps with shift and timing to avoid ping. You can't tow with the performance mode tune installed. It is selectable though, so you can change it when not towing. (takes 5-10 minutes, I usually leave mine on tow as it helped empty mileage)
Gears would help you lots. I had 3.92 from the factory, and it was adequate. In the open though as I said, maintaining highway speeds was about all it would do.

I think you may be able to get away with the setup, but overall you will be at or over the safety and spec limits of the truck. It may make for a poor towing experience overall and lead to pre-mature wear on the truck.
If you do run this truck/trailer combo, you may wish to upgrade your trucks tires in the future to LT rated ones. Typically the 1500's run P rated tires. Ok for this weight, but not great and tend to blow easier when stressed (gravel, rough roads). Not a must, but something to keep in the radar.