What realistic towing capabilities does an 06 Ram 4x4 Quad cab with the 5.7 hemi have? Say I have 4 adults and all my camping gear. How heavy trailer can I tow, going up mountain grades,etc.? Any help?

 

My 04 2x4 pulled a 7000lb trailerthroughthe AR mountains and hardly noticed the trailer back there.

 

I pretty much agree with stroker. I think that a 1/2 ton should cap off around 7500# towing. I think the manual will have something in the ballpark of 7,200# The new trucks that are advertising 10,500 towing (2007 Ford F150, 2007 Tundra, Titan?), are nuts. Personaly, I think that kind of weight should be pulled and stopped with the heavier frames and brakes of a 3/4 ton truck.

 

The actual tow rating of my truck is 9200# but I just knoe that 7000# is light enough that a Hemi will hardly notice it. On the other hand I pulled a 5000# camper on flats and with the added aero drag that load had I worked the heck out of it at 75.

 

Yes, I see that the tow ratings have gone up for Dodge also. I was gauging by my '98 1500 with 5.9 which is rated at 7,200#. With my rig, I know that I wouldn't want to tow much more than that, at least not for any distance. I do know that the brakes are a lot improved and that may have a lot to do with the increased ratings. I really don't have to worry about it, because I don't have anything over 5,000# to tow. Where I get into troble somtimes is payload.

 

MyY2KQUAD

Is your vehicle a 1500? Whatever it is, check to see what your maximum towing weight is and plan to stick well below it. A lot depends upon what kind of terrain you will be doing most of your towing in, but for the sake of argument I would assume that you will be in hilly country as its best to anticipate the worst conditions when making these choices.

You are correct in assuming that you will need to count the weight of the passengers, along with anything else you might have in the bed of the truck. You will also have to consider the weight of your hitch (you definitely need to use a weight distributing hitch) and the weight of the trailer, loaded as you would normally have it equipped. When you know the total weight of everything as listed above, you need to subtract that weight from your total towing capacity to see what margin you have left. It doesn't take long for weight to add up when you start loading all your gear into your truck and trailer.

I tow my trailer often and it is usually around 4800 to 4900 pounds, as towed, and I have found this to be a pretty comfortable weight. It is my personal opinion that you should stick to around 2500 pounds of your maximum towing weight, that is if you want to be comfortable while towing. I have seen reports of people pulling 7000 pounds and over, claiming that the truck hardly knows the trailer is back there, but that is not my experience, and not that of many more that I communicate with. While you may pull a good bit more weight than I am recommending, you will do it at the price of high RPM's, and much lower gas mileage, along with slower speeds for passing and just all-around uncomfortable towing.

If you really want more scoop on the subject, go to the RV Net and read a few of the post's in the towing forum there. Read it a while and see what some of the full-timers have to say about towing. I have pulled as high as 5400 pounds worth of trailer when I was delivering some during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and that weight was in the comfortable range with my truck also, of course it was empty of any optional equipment at the time.

The bottom line is, you can tow heavier loads, but there will be a price to pay for doing so, and I think you will be much more satisfied sticking to the above guidelines.

 

Go to www.trailerlife.com and take a look at the trailer towing guides. Dont be fooled. 7000k is too much for that truck to tow.

The tow ratings have gone up as a direct result of the discontinuation of the 7/70k coverage.

You need to consider the EXACT weight of truck, all fluids, all aftermarket additions, people, cargo, tongue weight etc etc ....
basically Im saying, go weigh your truck and start from there.

Also, there are two very serious things to consider with the 06 Rams.
You must get the TSB flash to correct the problem with the towing harness / TIM. There was a change in the wiring harness from the 05 to the 06. If your trailer draws to many amps, it could cause TIM malfunction - you could loose trailer wiring harness. No lights ....

The second is there is currently a recall to replace the ABS module. Mines already been done ... I approached the dealer about the wiring harness flash .... coincidentally neither was listed on the manufacturer web page.

I actually have jpbs of the differences in the wiring harnesses and the tsb numbers but they are on the hard drive of my other pc that got zapped by lightning while I was on vacation .. gotta get off my butt and get that stuff off the hard drive ...

Careful man ... I tow a 5k lb camper with a 06 Mega cab. Does ok with the Hemi, but I wouldnt go much more ...

Good luck and

 

I took 4 passengers, all their gear, a TON of beer (figuratively, not quite literally) and towed my 21' Proline Center Console from Cape May NJ to Port Orange, FL in search of grouper and redfish.... The truck sat level... Braking felt perhaps 10% heavier, and I noticed little difference in acceleration.

I drive with a soft foot for the most part.
Put her in tow/haul mode 'till I hit the flat roads south of VA then let her go into od/mds.
Got great mileage and actually had to remind myself I have 13,000lbs of boat/fuel/gear dragging behind me.

The majority of "feel" when it comes to towing is from tongue weight and having adequate braking power....
Rams EXCELL at braking.

 

Well that 7000# was probably a little exaggerated but the car was 3600# I am guessing 2000# for the trailer which has a large storage box and a tire rack with 4 tires on it. The box was full of spare parts (500#?). Then the Generator, air compressor, and tools were in the back of the truck another (600#?). That’s a grand total of 6700# but the only weight I am positive about is the car. The trailer had hydraulic brakes so stopping was no problem. I have also been driving 18 wheelers for the last 10 years so I think I know a thing or two about hauling a load unlike some weekend vacationer towing a camper every now and then. BTW can you imagine the law suit if somebody hauling a heavy load caused an accident because the load was more than the truck could handle. I am sure Dodge thought about that when they determined the tow rating and made sure to be conservative to keep from being sued.

 

THeres a ladder leaning up against the house.

I dont know ... maybe a 20 foot latter. Would you jump backwards off the first rung ? The second ? The fifth ? The tenth ?

Its all about the risk ones willing to take.


I choose to tow within the limits of the trucks frame, brakes, rear, rims etc etc. If you dont. Hallaulah to ya !!! ..and yippie for the 18 wheelers .. plenty of those guys shouldnt be on the road either. Just because you can doesnt mean you should.

The weekender ....