Call me crazy but need some advise
Record Breaker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,130
Likes: 1
From: Eastern, NC
This one for the wheel/tire info:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...dodge-ram.html
For the hitch or sway bar setup, google the brand of your hitch.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...dodge-ram.html
For the hitch or sway bar setup, google the brand of your hitch.
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
This one for the wheel/tire info:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...dodge-ram.html
For the hitch or sway bar setup, google the brand of your hitch.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...dodge-ram.html
For the hitch or sway bar setup, google the brand of your hitch.
Thanks!
Veteran
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 405
Likes: 0
It seems that you're not minding the performance too much but rather making sure you are safe and sound. You're definately getting to the higher limits of our trucks and although yours weighs about 600-700# less, it seems you make up for it by carrying a lot more stuff than me. The truck will haul it all day long but you need to make sure you can control it. One of the softest link in your whole setup is your tires. Load range E tires will take a lot of the wiggle out of your ride and I agree that 17" should be on your list with the stock size 245/70's on there in E range. It'll give you plenty of capacity and the narrow tires are great for mileage. The next thing is to make sure you hitch is properly setup and you can sort that online as mentioned. Just make sure that when you're moving weight around in the trailer, you don't remove too much weight from the tongue. If you don't have enough on the hitch of the truck, you will make things worse. otherwise, take your time and enjoy the ride.
Moderate User
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,003
Likes: 21
From: Albany, NY
Weight Distribution hitch will prevent any "tail sway" which can be very dangerous and cause you to lose control. Cost is between $200-400
Airbag suspension kit for the rear. I have airbags and love them. Prevents any squat and makes the truck handle fantastic when towing with full weight. They cost around $200-250 and take about 1-2hrs to install in your driveway. Pretty easy.
As far as the 17" vs 20" towing capacity. The MAIN REASON behind the additional towing capacity is the overall diameter of the tires, NOT necessarily the wheels. Yes the wheels play a very small, small contributing factor, but it's the tire size that make the most difference of all.
The OEM 20" wheels have 275/60/20 which are 33" tall tires. The OEM 17's have 265/70/17 which are 31.5" tall tires. That 2.5" in diameter is what gains you additional towing capacity because they provide a better torque curve at lower speeds because they rotate faster thus bringing up the rpm some.
Go and put 33" tires on a 17" wheels and it will tow EXACTLY like a 20" wheel with 33" tires on it.
For those that are thinking rotational drag....That makes it's impact when stopping, not as much when accelerating. ;-)
Why do 4cyl Jeep Wranglers suck when people lift them and put big 35" tires on them? Because the tires reduce the overall effective gear ratio due to the large tire diameter.
Towing weight. Here is the breakdown by cab/model
http://dodgeram.info/2004/load-tow/1500.html
Airbag suspension kit for the rear. I have airbags and love them. Prevents any squat and makes the truck handle fantastic when towing with full weight. They cost around $200-250 and take about 1-2hrs to install in your driveway. Pretty easy.
As far as the 17" vs 20" towing capacity. The MAIN REASON behind the additional towing capacity is the overall diameter of the tires, NOT necessarily the wheels. Yes the wheels play a very small, small contributing factor, but it's the tire size that make the most difference of all.
The OEM 20" wheels have 275/60/20 which are 33" tall tires. The OEM 17's have 265/70/17 which are 31.5" tall tires. That 2.5" in diameter is what gains you additional towing capacity because they provide a better torque curve at lower speeds because they rotate faster thus bringing up the rpm some.
Go and put 33" tires on a 17" wheels and it will tow EXACTLY like a 20" wheel with 33" tires on it.
For those that are thinking rotational drag....That makes it's impact when stopping, not as much when accelerating. ;-)
Why do 4cyl Jeep Wranglers suck when people lift them and put big 35" tires on them? Because the tires reduce the overall effective gear ratio due to the large tire diameter.
Towing weight. Here is the breakdown by cab/model
http://dodgeram.info/2004/load-tow/1500.html
Veteran
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 405
Likes: 0
More on the tire size thing..... If looking for E range tires, you will have a lot more options and better pricing on the 17".
Rich - The 2wd's typically came with 245's and they're 30.5" tall. 265's were an option on all but Laramie trim I believe.
Rich - The 2wd's typically came with 245's and they're 30.5" tall. 265's were an option on all but Laramie trim I believe.
Last edited by hemi4109; Aug 31, 2012 at 08:18 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
you need a minimum of 10% buffer east of the rockies, and 20% on and west of the rockies..
I'd invest in a weight distribution hitch system.. they are golden.. a brake controller is too..
yup- the trucks are rated to tow more with smaller wheels.. true story.. mine is rated 1100# more if I had 17's.. but that is only because of a direct relation with overall gear ratio..
I DO NOT recommend it, but I have towed well over my rated weight.. I felt comfortable because of the terrain, the lack of traffic, and having that brake controller and the weight distribution hitch.. those two creatures are magic..
edited to add: brake controller ~$75, five minute installation.. weight distribution hitch, a good one, ~$200, slaps right on.. both together will give you ridiculous confidence once set up right.. word of caution: dial your controller in correctly.. it's best done by holding the freak switch with the load behind you- you want it to slow the truck while coasting, not lock up or grab the truck.. if it does that (slows the truck but doesn't jerk it), then the trailer brakes are managing the weight of the trailer as it is 'sposed to do... for the hitch- don't chock up too tight on the chains/cables.. you want the truck to distribute weight evenly on the front axle, not bear down on it.. I've seen front tires eaten alive under 200 miles when there is too much weight forward.. don't do that.. shoot for distributing the load with the slightest of rear end sag, and you'll be great..
I'd invest in a weight distribution hitch system.. they are golden.. a brake controller is too..
yup- the trucks are rated to tow more with smaller wheels.. true story.. mine is rated 1100# more if I had 17's.. but that is only because of a direct relation with overall gear ratio..
I DO NOT recommend it, but I have towed well over my rated weight.. I felt comfortable because of the terrain, the lack of traffic, and having that brake controller and the weight distribution hitch.. those two creatures are magic..
edited to add: brake controller ~$75, five minute installation.. weight distribution hitch, a good one, ~$200, slaps right on.. both together will give you ridiculous confidence once set up right.. word of caution: dial your controller in correctly.. it's best done by holding the freak switch with the load behind you- you want it to slow the truck while coasting, not lock up or grab the truck.. if it does that (slows the truck but doesn't jerk it), then the trailer brakes are managing the weight of the trailer as it is 'sposed to do... for the hitch- don't chock up too tight on the chains/cables.. you want the truck to distribute weight evenly on the front axle, not bear down on it.. I've seen front tires eaten alive under 200 miles when there is too much weight forward.. don't do that.. shoot for distributing the load with the slightest of rear end sag, and you'll be great..
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
I don't know how to PM me. How much do you want for them?
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
I was away for a few days and just read all the posts. Can't thank you all enough for all your help.
Even though I'm a bit over my head with the lingo I think I'm getting it and sent off all the info to my husband to make sure I understand what I'm reading.
Sounds like we have all the equipment we are supposed to have, but the 17" rims and proper tires would make it less stressful.
My 15 year-old keeps talking to me about this "super" air filter what will help the performance of the truck. I'm not looking to carry more weight, just looking to not feel like the trailer is in charge of which direction the truck will take us.
Again, we've got all the equipment you all suggested, outside the rims and tires.
So my next questions are:
What about that super air filter?
How about running those balloons on the tires along with 17" rims, etc. (we do have a weight distribution hitch, and one sway bar, and breaks inside the cab for the trailer.)
My husband insists we have a transmission cooler but he ain't no mechanic and has yet to show me exactly which device under the truck houses it. In other words we bought a couple year old truck several years ago and it came with a hitch and the ability to push a button on the gear shifter than says "tow Mode" or something like that. So should I just assume we have a tranny cooler that came stock?
We are flat-landers from Florida where the highest elevation is about 24' and now live in an area where mountains abound. We've lived here two years and are still having a hard time scaling the staircase from our driveway to our living room. I can't recall at the moment how many times all of us have tumbled head over heals down those dam stairs just to check the mail.
So here we are in the most amazingly beautiful mountainous country and all I wanted to do was have a trailer we could camp and travel the great mountainous of the Northwest and am afraid to drive the damn thing 30 miles down the road.
Husband has a lead foot. So please tell me if I'm wrong, but when we went to bend over 5,000ft mountians, he just had this "need" of some sort that compelled him to keep his speed up. In other words, Louise was laboring at 55mph, in the "D" for drive position.
My thought was to ease up on the gas peddle or at least maintain the pressure on the gas peddle and let her slowly decrease speed. You know, let her do her thing and when she had enough of earnestly putting all her effort in that gear, then let her steadily slow up then down shift into second when she was ready for a break. Seemed to make sense to me.
But husband pushed her with peddle to the metal, then shifted her into second and she was still raging just as hard. In other words he was shifting her into second gear while she labored at 45 mph?!?!?????
Am I wrong or am I thinking maybe we should have let her decrease her speed naturally to that 35 mph mark, then shifted into second where it seemed she came back to life and had all kinds of power she wanted to reward us with.
Ok, sorry. Talking too much. I just love my truck like one of my kids and want to treat her as I would each of them.
Anyway, I want to drive her over the Rockies. I feel she is up to the task if she has smaller tires and someone guiding her who respects her power and her limits. Which I feel she is limitless if she is being guided by someone who appreciates she's not "wonder woman"
Even though I'm a bit over my head with the lingo I think I'm getting it and sent off all the info to my husband to make sure I understand what I'm reading.
Sounds like we have all the equipment we are supposed to have, but the 17" rims and proper tires would make it less stressful.
My 15 year-old keeps talking to me about this "super" air filter what will help the performance of the truck. I'm not looking to carry more weight, just looking to not feel like the trailer is in charge of which direction the truck will take us.
Again, we've got all the equipment you all suggested, outside the rims and tires.
So my next questions are:
What about that super air filter?
How about running those balloons on the tires along with 17" rims, etc. (we do have a weight distribution hitch, and one sway bar, and breaks inside the cab for the trailer.)
My husband insists we have a transmission cooler but he ain't no mechanic and has yet to show me exactly which device under the truck houses it. In other words we bought a couple year old truck several years ago and it came with a hitch and the ability to push a button on the gear shifter than says "tow Mode" or something like that. So should I just assume we have a tranny cooler that came stock?
We are flat-landers from Florida where the highest elevation is about 24' and now live in an area where mountains abound. We've lived here two years and are still having a hard time scaling the staircase from our driveway to our living room. I can't recall at the moment how many times all of us have tumbled head over heals down those dam stairs just to check the mail.
So here we are in the most amazingly beautiful mountainous country and all I wanted to do was have a trailer we could camp and travel the great mountainous of the Northwest and am afraid to drive the damn thing 30 miles down the road.
Husband has a lead foot. So please tell me if I'm wrong, but when we went to bend over 5,000ft mountians, he just had this "need" of some sort that compelled him to keep his speed up. In other words, Louise was laboring at 55mph, in the "D" for drive position.
My thought was to ease up on the gas peddle or at least maintain the pressure on the gas peddle and let her slowly decrease speed. You know, let her do her thing and when she had enough of earnestly putting all her effort in that gear, then let her steadily slow up then down shift into second when she was ready for a break. Seemed to make sense to me.
But husband pushed her with peddle to the metal, then shifted her into second and she was still raging just as hard. In other words he was shifting her into second gear while she labored at 45 mph?!?!?????
Am I wrong or am I thinking maybe we should have let her decrease her speed naturally to that 35 mph mark, then shifted into second where it seemed she came back to life and had all kinds of power she wanted to reward us with.
Ok, sorry. Talking too much. I just love my truck like one of my kids and want to treat her as I would each of them.
Anyway, I want to drive her over the Rockies. I feel she is up to the task if she has smaller tires and someone guiding her who respects her power and her limits. Which I feel she is limitless if she is being guided by someone who appreciates she's not "wonder woman"
