So last weekend I received the opportunity to do some good. About 3 Weeks ago, a series of tornadoes ripped though Alabama. The devastation was horrible. Me and a group of other men drove a couple of hours to go help out in the recovery. We were equipped with a full size Dump Truck, a *Post Edit-> 2008* F-250 with a covered utility bed for catching chipper mulch, a 1996 F-150 (p.o.s. work truck), 2 Bobcat T300 Skid Steers, and my 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab TRX4. We were the last swing of clean up crews and were left with all of the hard stuff i.e. massive fallen trees, Massive uprooted tree trunks, and Large devastation clean up. While the Bobcats did most of the dirty work, I was able to stretch my Hemi's Muscle a little bit. I pulled out 2 tree trunks 25' in diameter, and pulled a 250 year old tree off of an elder man's home (we had a professional tree remover and landscaper in our group so we knew what we were doing.) Of course we had many loads of timber to haul off, no big deal though. But the real test came on the trip home. The Bobcats were towed there by the dump truck and the F-250.


About 20 mins in to the trip back, the F-250 could not handle towing the Bobcat anymore and started to overheat dangerously. (Were talking white smoke cloud when hood opens and everything.) So I said I would be more then willing to tow the Bobcat home. At first everyone was like...WHAT?!. I have the TRX4 which has a Class IV Hitch, 17" wheels, 3.92 gears, and Crew Cab (Crew Cab has increased towing capacity over Standard Cab). I had also added the integrated trailer brake controller for when I haul a small utility trailer. I knew that except having Class-D Tires and an airbag kit, I was in the best case scenario for towing with this truck. WOW was I surprised. Never did I feel unsafe or loosing control. I have towed quite a few things in many different vehicles, but man... This truck handled all 10,004lbs like a champ. The trailer was heavy but nice, so it balanced the weight well, there was not much sag. Power was no Issue at all, The drive was mainly all hilly interstate driving, lots of uphill passing. I ended up towing the bobcat better then the Dump Truck did, So I Took the Lead in our convoy. When we got back home, everyone was shocked. The professional Tree Remover and Landscaper both own their own business. Both owning the largest company in their respective field in the State of Georgia. Both told me,"I will never buy anything other than a dodge truck from now on". These are people who purchase 10-20 new vehicles a year for there companies. I said I told ya so, unhitched and drove home. And to top everything off, on the way there I averaged 21mpg. On the way back, towing with 4 people in the cab I averaged 13mpg. That was better then any other vehicle in the convoy. Just another reason why I love my Truck!

 

Awesome story. Don't tell it to the Ford fanboys though they'll start their incessant babbling about how the Ecoboost is the second coming of Jesus.

 

Good story. SOunds like you and the truck did well!

 

heheheheheheeeeee, EcoPOOOOOOOOOF
A buddy of mine that tried towing a heavy trailer & load with his brand new ecojunk, POOOOOOF, now sitting at the dealership waiting for a new engine. The rods are nicely resting on the pavement while it sits in the back row of the dealership parking lot. Of course you KNOW i had to tell him that thats what you get when you send an ecojunk to do a hemi`s job.

Jesus has already arrived, he showed up in a hemi to finish the job

 

i don;t need to tell you that you were overwight in your towing....

My father has a 2011 F-150 and it's geared much better than the Rams. He has 3:73's, and I have 3:92's. His truck pulled your exact set-up with ease as compared to my Ram that struggled to get moving even with the Superchips advanced trans tuning! I only went a few miles to see how it would pull, never went on the highway. I've towed alot with my truck. I do like it alot, but I've towed alot with his 2011 F-150 as well. His F-150 is a smoother and stronger pulling truck hands down.
I'm not a F-150 lover at all, but it def tows better/easier.
You cannot compare a 1996 15yr old or whatever that F-250 was to a 2010 Ram. Apples-oranges. 1996 Rams have like 230hp, so F-250's of that same era are similar to that 200-ish HP and lower torque numbers.

 

That's an impressive story!

I wish I found that to be the case, but unfortunately I can't. One of my best friends has an '09 Ram 1500, QC, 4x4, Hemi. Now granted he only has 3.55 gears and no air bags, along with 20" tires. But we pulled a tractor and rough cutter from his granparents farm to our small piece of farm property to mow with. About 7700 lbs. plus the weight of a 21' dual axle trailer and his truck handled really poorly to the point he pulled over and asked me to drive it and he followed in my truck. Power-wise no issue at all, even with the **** poor gearing, but it was VERY hard to control the load on the road and I have to admit I was a little white-knuckled when we got there (28 mile trip). On the way back I towed it with my '04 Ram - now I have to say that I have 4.56 gears and air bags plus ride on 17" tires, but the difference was night/day. I've also pulled that same load with another friends '03 Ford F150, 5.4 triton, bone stock except tires and a cat-back and it handled the load better than my truck did.

I dunno, maybe the 4th Gens NEED the bags to handle towing, but his left me knowing for sure that if/when I get rid of my truck it's gonna have to be for a 2500 4th Gen with good, old leafs in the rear.

This isn't to diminish your story or in any way bashing 4th Gen 1500s, just plainly my observations.

BTW, you're lucky the man didn't pull you over, I have a bunch of friends in south Georgia who have been pulled over and fined HEAVILY when pulling over rated capacity not to mention having to unhook the load and make arrangements for the proper tow vehicle to come get it. I have one friend in particular (the above mentioned '03 Furd owner actually) who pulls peanut trailers in season with his truck and the standard practice is to tandem two 8,000 lb. trailers and he's gotten a stack of fines, LOL...

 

Your also comparing a 3rd Gen Hemi to a 4th Gen Hemi and a 2011 F150... Apples to Oranges.

 

No, Not really. 2011 f150...320hp/390ft.lbs(very comparable to 3rd gen) Actually, has less output than 3rd gen!
Does 4th gen tow better than 3rd gen, yes but the difference isnt a friggin miracle.

I knew I would step on someone's toes and potentially hurt feelings.....lol

Little difference yes, but it's a MUCH closer comparison that what OP is using which was my whole point! F250 weight and mid 90's low power compared to lightweight 1500 with much more power! Ofcourse it would do better.
I have Superchips advanced trans tuning for my truck which blows away stock trans tuning for shifting. The difference wasn't minor between trucks, it was major. I've towed without the tune and the stock Ram sucks. It's off the line power is terrible because of the trans gearing.

My whole point was that OP wasn't using fair comparison. Even with the greater HP/Tq numbers of 4th Gen, the newer F150's will pull better off the line. Sorry to say it. I think they are Fugly and would never own one, but they are just better trucks to tow with when comparing same year trucks! Not trucks 15yrs apart that are diff weights as well.

 

Yes, these 1500s are definitely capable vehicles. I've posted my story on towing a 8500# load (trailer, cycles, gear, people) several thousand miles through the steep mountain passes in WY and elsewhere some time ago (search under my ID). I also tow a skid steer loader at least once a year for doing brush mowing for my snowmobile club. This year I rented a JD 323D with a brush mower, which is probably 8500# plus another 1200# for the mower. Together with the dual axle trailer I'm guessing this was about 11,500#. Never felt like I didn't have enough power or enough brakes for this combo. Would I do it regularly? No. But it pulled down the road at highway speeds just fine. The key is having proper weight distribution and good trailer brakes.



Rob

 

Ohh yeah Hammer I agree with you... The thing I was worried about most was police. Also, as far as this truck goes, If I was ever going to tow anything heavier than 8,000lbs more than twice a year, I would have gone with a 2500 all day long. This was just a unique situation that was givin to me being stuck in "Podunk, AL" (no offense to anyone who lives in AL). I also know that towing is not all about power, its about finesse' and control, The Hemi is a super stout engine and that's why Dodge decided to included the same motor available in the 1500 in the 2500. But Being able to control your load and Brake properly without endangering others around you is the most important thing. What good is passing a big rig, going up hill, towing if you can't control your trailer from swaying or jumping... Since I have owned this truck, I just had not received a chance to give it a good work out...

(Please Hold)... "Phone Rings"...

Although It is going to have to happen again... just a couple of hours ago, 12 Tornado ripped through Georgia, 10 alone in my county. Everyone is alright, But estimates of over 2 billion dollars of damage done... Just got word that the same group of people that went to AL with me, are going to be put back to work in my county to help on the clean up and recovery. Time to put back on my work boots and get to helping. It does help to know people though, the man who owns the landscaping business, is also a major icon for the legal system for the County... (...meaning Police Escorts where ever we need to go...) So In summery, I wish I had a 2500 for this scenario, it would be much safer. But by no means am I sorry I purchased my 1500, because... its just and odd situation.