Whew, y'all boys know your trucks! (?) I think... I would like a 3/4 ton, but budget won't allow. I tow 5-6,000 lbs. travel trailer only about 3 times a year, but when I do tow it, it is in HOT weather, in mountains, then to Florida, etc. On interstates, in city traffic, tough conditions for towing - but I expect my truck to do the job.

Here is a copy of '09 Dodge Ram towing capicity from two trucks at local dealers:

Towing capacity: (5,700lbs)
Towing Capacity Max:6350.00 lbs.

Both are 5.7 V8s, don't know why the ratings are different.

 

I did not know that the new coil spring suspension is 40 pounds than leaf springs, great incentive thier for a higher payload and tow ratting. I have driven the new Ram, ride is really a improvement, but, I'm sticking with my opion that coils improve ride, leafs are better for payload.

I'm aware of all the negatives with leaf springs, axle hop, ect, call me old school, but this is how I expeect my truck to ride, its a work horse, not a sports car.

If coils are so great, why did dodge stay with stagerd rear shocks on the 09 Ram and not go wwith with a coil over shock design.

Bottom line is if your going to go strickly by the numbers, Dodge's tow ratting is not the higest in the market, if you want to move a mountain, a 2500, or a 2500 with a CTD is the truck for you.

Kinda funny how every one want's a 400 H/P truck that will get 40 mpg and tow 25,000 pounds.

Fo my self, my 06 2500 Ram is more truck than a 09 Ram 1500 could ever hope for for, but it don't ride any where as nice as a 09 Ram.

 

Axle ratios and tire size, as mentioned, the 20 in wheals kill you in the tow ratiing's

 

has every1 forgot what a half ton has become since about 2002 when the gen 3 ram came out trucks were replacing the car and becoming the do all end all vehicle hold 5 people comfortably then when necessary tow the boat atv etc and cause gas was still cheap no one cared. So besides for gas a 1/2 ton that rides like a car and can tow 9500 lbs hold 5 people go off the beaten trail better than a car or minivan and go to the work and play is awesome means u only need one vehicle to everything and will be more truck then most people will need and now with coils their is no compromises now with the pay load and now the ride so cyclone429 why do u keep comparing a 1/2 to a heavy duty their is no comparison to them different frames ,suspension,axles, gears if u tow a lot then get a heavy duty thats fine a 1/2 will never have the same capacity thats like comparing a ranger to the truck that tows the 62 ton abrams tank

 

just to throw it in you cant have everything and at the end of the day in my opinion if your really gonna be towing more than 6-7k on a regular basis you really need a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup. because even with trailer brakes a 1/2 ton isnt designed to be stopping a trailer. coils or leafs. and my other question what the hell are these people towing? to need this kinda tow rating?

 

exactly.

 

LOL ! I said something very similar back on the first or second page of this topic.

Bang on with your thoughts!

 

The grammar in this thread is just amazing. Some real gems in there.

I don't know who started the tow/haul pissing contest, but Toyota was really big on it when the new Tundra came out. They don't have a 3/4 ton to do big boy work, so they pitched their 1/2 ton as such.

Ford is all about their tow ratings too, and in the weeks before the Titan came out, Nissan and Ford were going tit-for-tat, bumping their tow ratings by 100# when the other did, obviously with no design changes being made.

Chevy is pushing fuel economy and cost of ownership, and Dodge is making goofy reality specials with guys driving through exploding fireballs.

Towing is way more about control than how much you can get moving! In a previous job I towed a 2 axle Haulmark behind a brand new F450. 6.4PSD, 4.88 LSD, it was the truck rated for 24,000 LBS. The trailer had poorly adjusted brakes that barely worked, and it was pretty hairy on I-40 through the mountians of Tennesee. If the trailer isn't doing its part, even a HD truck can have its hands full. And that trailer was maybe 8,000 LBS.

I don't think a truck has to use leafs to be a truck, most minivans and full size sedans from the 30's to the late 90's used leafs. A 5.7L Roadmaster is a beast, but not a truck. All the manufacturers are running IFS now, which people swore up and down was a disaster compared to I-beam 2WD or solid axle 4x4...now it's not an issue. Look at the Chevy and Ford lift kit market for IFS trucks.

I think what is far more offensive than coil spring rears is the over-the-top fake chrome, plastic and internal frills trucks are getting nowadays, the lack of manual transmissions, and the "All New Ram" using a 545RFE that turns 2 out of every 10 horsepower into hot ATF. One of the quotes from the new Ram commericals is:

Meaty Meathead: "We're out here racin' luxury trucks!"

Lincoln Blackwood commercial or Dodge Ram commercial? Someone raised a great point...factory 20" rims on a pickup truck!? Some look good, but I'll take my cheap, strong steelies please. It's the simultaneous mechanical improvements and total pussification of pickups that is very annoying. I could go on all day.

Anyway...IMO the Dodge coil setup opens up alot opportunities for aftermarket kits, if they can sell enough units to entice aftermarket development. Seriously flexible offroad rigs, low and tight street trucks, and *reasonably* heavy haulers are all possible.

 

Real trucks used to have ruber floors, no power stearing, and stump pulling first gears, stright 6 engines, or slant 6 for the dodge crowd.

If you wanted power, 440, 454 460 were your engine sizes..

Real trucks used to ride like trucks, and were a lot cheaper than cars, some where, some got the idea to make real trucks ride like cars and still look like a real truck.

Evey one can define what a real truck is, but todays real trucks seldom get dirty, seldom get stuck, and are in the hands of people who seldom use a real truck to haul what a real work truck will do.

But when real trucks come with h/p numbers, tow rattings amd mpg numbers, the real world consumer cries fowel when all the numbers just don't add up.


If you use your truck to earn a income, It's real....


My truck is as close to old school as you can get, 06 2500, with a 5.7 6sp..

I have no one to impress, just a lot a work to do...

 

Who really cares if a truck rides like a truck? **** on that, I want a truck that rides like it's on a cussion of air, looks like it could win any show & shine, HP enough to kick some *** on the highway, and torque enough to pull my ATV's to the ranch when I go hunting. Guess what, Dodge built the truck I was looking for so I bought one. My whole point here is only you can determine what your needs are and purchase what suits your needs and style. I've seen to many people spend a **** load of money on something just because someone else thought it was cool or the best or what ever. It don't matter which truck you get as long as it does what you want to do with it. I'm not one to give a damn about commercials or articles that compare because none of them use a truck the way I do so what ever opinion they come up with don't mean **** to me. Which ever truck you buy for yourself is the best truck period! Jeff.