You'd be over capacity. There are road laws on towing.

 

Are half tons really that week? This is the fist half ton I've ever owned so I have no experience with there capabilites. Fortunately I don't plan on towing much at all with it.
I've towed almost 30K with a 2500 CTD with no problems at all.

 

Tried to paste a graph but wont copy right...here the link showing towing rating for 5.7 liter with 4x2.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ion_specs.html

 

As others have pointed out you would be reaching or over reached the max capacity of the 1/2 ton. If you plan to tow that much weight regularly, a larger truck would be in order or a smaller trailer. Others are correct that technically it is illegal to over gross your vehicle. Its when the slight chance that you are involved in a accident and it found out that you were overweight, the result you may be cited. If the truck breaks and you are asking for warranty work and Dodge investigates, Dodge may not honor the claim.

Sorry that you found my first post unhelpful. I should have expanded more and explain why the 1500 would not be ideal for towing the 5th wheel you have in mind. I'll strive to do better in the future.

 

So far I've pulled a 6500lbs bobcat mini excavator. And on monday I'll be towing my 02 TJ trail rig a little over 220 miles. No problems whatsoever. Obviously you need to load things properly to avoid too much tongue weight as to not sag the suspension.

As for the quote about gas mileage...honestly 8-10mpg isn't all too bad for a 1500, what did you think you were going to get?

I'll let everyone know how the trip works out. I doubt I'll have any troubles.

 

From what I can read we should be able to pull max 9100lbs and still have an 1800lb payload. I would for sure put the bags in. I have a 30' travel trailer that is prob aroung 7000lbs and my old 2006 4X4 Hemi pulled it without any problems. Do more research on the net, there has got to be a chart somewhere. Hope this helped a bit.

 

On the Dodge.com website you can find towing capacity for your truck. I've tried to paste the link here.

http://www.dodge.com/hostc/towing/ca...Code=CUD200913

Basically it looks like your limit is around 7300 lbs. when you have 4x4 with the 3.55 rear end. You'd do better if you had the 3.92 rear end with 17" wheels.

I'm not an expert but it seems that those that pull 5th wheel trailer move up to 3/4 ton trucks or larger. Better safe than sorry.

Good Luck

 

Ok, here's a helpful suggestion: Overload your 1/2 ton, it'll be alright. If you should happen to wreck while overloaded or damage the truck, just tell them that the people that sold you the trailer said it would be fine.

Look, if you choose to get pissy at someone when they give you an honest answer you didn't want to hear, that's your choice. It doesn't mean everyone else is gonna cheer you on about what a great decision you made when you bought too little truck to safely do what you're trying to do. It also doesn't make you look terribly smart, so you might wanna tone that particular aspect down juuuust a little.

I suggest you go ahead and hook it on up. Air bags will help if it puts your truck on the bumpstops before you move an inch. A good trailer brake controller will help stop it, and the hemi will help move it. As long as you don't blow a tire on the trailer, have someone else hit the trailer, or have anything unforseen happen, you'll probably be alright. There are more reasons for weight ratings than the truck's ability to accelerate or stop the load. The sheer weight of the truck plays a large role in helping prevent the trailer from manhandling the truck if something unexpected goes wrong. I can tell you from personal experience that having a trailer start manhandling your truck will make you reconsider your choice of whether you bought enough truck. But don't take my word for it, go ahead and try it yourself!

In fact, if you wanna make a quick buck, try to have a lump of charcoal between your buttcheeks when the trailer jerks the truck around. You'll have a diamond when it's over-it's that scary.

 

a 4x4 crew cab with 3.55 gears and 20" rims is. The 20" wheels lose you 1000 lbs. of capacity right there. From the specs posted on the truck:



Same specs on a reg cab 4x2 long bed hemi with 3.92 gears and 17" rims; the one with highest ratings (could handle the trailer, but would not be pleasant):

 

Ok, I'm having a hard time making sense of those last tables. If the 3.55 axle ratio truck has a higher GVWR and higher GAWR (both by 200 lbs), why is it rated to tow 2200 lbs less? I thought the GVWR and GCWR were interrelated, and if the GVWR went up the GCWR would also go up. But in this case the one with the higher GVWR has a lower GCWR.