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Old 02-11-2015, 01:57 PM   #21
JRTJH
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Paul,

Good Luck !!! Most salesmen seem to move from dealership to dealership as they find their commissions drying up. Many of them have never towed with any of the offerings, have no idea what the trucks are capable of doing and their only information seems to come from the brochure that is provided by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, many of those salesmen can't read and interpret what they read, so the information they "spew" to the potential buyers is suspect at best and often downright wrong.

It's difficult, in any dealership, to find someone who is an RV'er and who understands the RV needs and is able to (or willing to) separate his commission from the "honest truth" about the product he is trying to sell. Salesmen usually have a hungry family at home and that makes total objectivity a difficult item to find.

Do your homework, ask questions here and on other forums and try to separate the "chest beaters*" from those who are trying to help you understand the confusing information.

*chest beaters: those who stand on their hood beating their chest and bragging that they do it all the time and you can too... Usually they will use the phrase, "Here, hold my beer and watch this."
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Old 02-11-2015, 02:42 PM   #22
Paul pg
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I Just called the dealership and spoke to the chap who sold the truck to us, he kept saying that the figure on the door, is not the towing capacity of the truck but the weight of the truck.....

After a long conversation about things he seemed to be making up as he went along he asked me to bring it in and see what they can do to fix it.

I was originally told 'yeah this can tow 10'000 lbs and you won't even know you're towing it.'

So as far as I'm concerned I want a truck they sold me 8 months ago.

Anyway thanks for the info, its amazing how many different versions I've heard so far hopefully I will get something sorted.

We only have a little family so I dont expect to be loading up with 2000lbs anyway but obviously with the 3.21 axle ram won't pull the skin of custard.
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Old 02-11-2015, 02:54 PM   #23
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Good luck. Their solution will be to give you a lowball trade on a more capable truck. Caveat emptor and all of that good stuff
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Old 02-11-2015, 02:56 PM   #24
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Paul,

Tell your "salesman" to pull up Ram's own website that spells out the towing capacities for trucks. Give him this link and tell him to explain his towing statements to you and the GM of the dealership.

http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/

Good luck!
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Old 02-11-2015, 03:15 PM   #25
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I know the feeling, when I purchased my 2014 RAM the dealer told me it would tow 10,500lbs. Well I have the 3.55 rear end so I'm really only rated at about 9,000lbs and 1495lbs pay load. Like many here have said you will max payload on any half ton long before you reach max tow ratings. I couldn't imagine pulling a 9,000lbs trailer with my truck safely. Can it be done? I guess as some do, but I wouldn't risk my safety or others safety on the road with an overloaded truck. Its just not worth it, life could change in the blink of an eye. We have an approx. 7,000lbs (fully loaded with propane, gear, water, etc) 24' BH and I have towed that load many times over the eastern Washington mountains with a 2014 RAM 1500 4X4 Quad cab with the 5.7 Hemi and 3.55 rear end. The truck handles the hills fine and I'm sure the 3.92 rear end would be even better but with that said I don't think I would go much over that weight and still feel confident. WDH is obviously a must and I would also recommend air bags (AIRLIFT 1000s) in the rear springs to give a little more confidence with sway and rear sag. Keep in mind the air bags WILL NOT increase your payload rating from the factory but it does stabilize the ride at heavy loads IMO.
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Old 02-11-2015, 10:08 PM   #26
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Thats interesting mate.

So as I understand the only only difference is the different gear ratio?

If everything else is the same, how can the safety be altered?
Surely the only thing that would change would be its ability to towa trailer up or down hill and with a headwind?

So really the only difference would be that your going to burn your engine and transmition out sooner?

You would think that dodge build a safety margine into the figures too, ie if you go one pound over all of a sudden it's now dangerous in some way?

Anyway going to see dodge tomorrow. See what bs they try and spin me.
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Old 02-11-2015, 10:32 PM   #27
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My personal limit with a half ton has always been 7,000# trailer weight. The figures I've seen lately of around 10,000# seem over the top.
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Old 02-12-2015, 07:48 AM   #28
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The 5.7 Hemi is an extremely reliable engine and has more than enough power to pull any of the rated weights listed, same can be said for the trans. The gear ratios come in to play to get the load moving i.e. the 3.21 will take quite a bit longer to get up to speed on the on ramps than say the 3.92 will. The same goes for climbing steep grades, they have nothing to do with how the 1/2 ton chassis handles the weight of a trailer. I feel that the touted "10,000lbs" tow rating is really more of a marketing statement by the big 3 automakers in the 1/2 ton category. The issue with safety comes when you begin to exceed the payload limits of these trucks which makes them very unstable and difficult to control in emergency situations. I just don't see a way you could have a 10,000lbs trailer yet still be at or below a 1,500lbs payload once you figure in hitch weight, gear, WDH, fuel, passengers, etc. I'm by no means an expert but to me the math on that doesn't add up. You will hear from both extremes I'm sure that either they can pull more than 10k with a half ton with no issues or the other extreme that you need a 1 ton to pull a 5,000lbs trailer safely. Just on my experience I feel that realistically a 7,000lbs trailer (loaded "wet") seems to feel and handle the most predictably when heavy braking, side winds, climbing and descending steep grades. And within this trailer weight you are likely to keep your payload in specs for the truck. I have had heavier loads on this truck before and to me it just felt more like the trailer was in control vs the truck, but hey to each their own.
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Old 02-12-2015, 08:02 AM   #29
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good info. Thanks
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Old 02-12-2015, 11:25 AM   #30
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This post is so like many others. Salesman want to sell and close the deal. Really do many care about your vehicles needs or wants. They will say talk to sound like it is what you want if your interested. As a buyer our only hope is to know the vehicle and what is designed for and expected to do by the builder. I think with a truck purchase we should go onto the lot and state we want to deal with a truck salesman. One who really knows them, what they can and cannot do as a truck. Buying a truck to pull rvs is not about mpg or cup holders it is about what can it pull and carry.
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Old 02-14-2015, 06:41 PM   #31
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Paul, I would be very interested to hear the results. It is amazing how fast the cargo capacity goes down. My 1300 lb payload became 1050 with the RamBox option. Good luck getting any satisfaction from the dealer.
Let us know.
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Old 02-14-2015, 06:49 PM   #32
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I spoke with the salesman who obvious answer was a new 2015 truck built to order because apparently the 3.92 axle is hard to come by. We said we weren't going to spend any more on a truck as we just want the truck they told we were getting.

Interestingly..... If anyone has checked out the ram towing chart this week it's now totally different than the week before. Instead of 1050lbs it's now 9700 or something similar.
Perhaps they have started realizing their claims to be false and misleading.


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Old 02-14-2015, 09:20 PM   #33
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Paul

The truck you have is most likly rated for 7500 pds. With a payload of around 1100 pds.

Be careful of what your wishing for here. The truck you have will be better at normal driving and not as good for towing but only at start up. The feel and handle of your truck compared to a 10500pd tow capacity ram1500 will be no different, other then with a trailer hooked up the truck will with the 3.93 rear end will get there quicker.

If you drive your truck not towing 75% to 90% of the time, you may want to keep what you have.
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Old 02-14-2015, 10:06 PM   #34
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I have pondered over this for a while but can't find any info regarding drawbacks for a 3.92 axle?


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Old 02-15-2015, 06:27 AM   #35
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The drawback will be higher rpm's at every speed and slightly less MPG's. It will be better to get going but will have less top speed, which hopefully you won't use. Personally, I'd take the 3.92 ratio. If you want high MPG's, get a car.
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Old 02-15-2015, 10:28 AM   #36
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Has anyone got a 3.92 axle?
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Old 02-15-2015, 12:43 PM   #37
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I've had the Ram 1500 hemi with both the 3.55 and 3.92 axles. I've not driven one with the 3.21 but I've driven older pickups years ago with axles in the 3.2x range.

You will find the 3.21 will have trouble with the load; not because of the engine but because 3.21 is simply too low for towing much. It will be affected by any headwind, any small incline and even small amounts of payload will signifcantly degrade its performance. I pulled an 8000 lb trailer with the 3.55. It did OK but a stiff headwind made it hunt for gears until I just locked it in 4th. Same came for moderate inclines. The 3.92 was considerably better and didn't hunt near as much. I didn't lock it in 4th generally but at times I did. Mileage between the two might have been 1 mpg or so...I really didn't compare but it wasn't much. As the numeric number of the axle ratio goes up the faster the engine spins at a given speed. I've never seen that as an issue. I've had a 4.10 in a 1500 and loved it. I only towed a uhaul trailer with that one.
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Old 02-15-2015, 02:22 PM   #38
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I have the 3.92 and would not consider having anything less. Would have gotten a 4.10 if they offered it.
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Old 02-15-2015, 02:33 PM   #39
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What mpg are you getting?
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Old 02-15-2015, 02:44 PM   #40
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Pulling a the 8000 - 8500lb trailer I got 8-9 (sometimes better, sometimes worse depending on towing conditions) with the 3.55 and really about the same with the 3.92 - the 3.92 just pulled the load easier and stayed in the power band better. On the highway I got anywhere from 15-19 depending on how and where I was going. I live in TX and speed limits are 75. Running 75/80 I got around 15/16.
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