Any thing special I should add to my Dodge RAM 2500 Big Horn

[gearhead]

I would go with the 3500. No matter what you think now, you, or a family member, may want a heavier trailer in the future. It’s not really financially sound to buy a new truck every time you upgrade.
Most important…whether you go 2500 or 3500, gas or diesel, get the biggest fuel tank available. The Ram 31 gallon tank has me thinking about the next fuel stop before I leave the last one.

[dutchmensport]

Heated seats, especially if you live in snow country.

Also, heated rear view mirrors (again if you life in snow country). And, motorized mirrors that extend out and retract back in for towing and when not towing. (priceless).

If you get a diesel and live in snow country, you'll want the electric heater for your engine. You simply plug into a normal wall socket and it helps keep the oil and other things warm in your engine. It makes for faster heat inside the cab and makes for easier starting in really cold weather.

If yours does not come factory with running boards, get running boards. That first step is really high. You can also get them installed after market.

Get the bed sprayed with bed liner. You'll never regret doing this, no matter which truck you end up with.

[Gretchen]

Thank you all for the suggestions of going with a 3500. I actually just went and did a test drive. You all are correct the ride was basically the same as the 2500 and the price difference is about $2000, so seems worth it. I also now have the option of a dually do you all recommend that?

[JRTJH]

You do not "need a dually" for the Cougar 25RES. You won't be "in dually territory" until you start looking at toyhaulers in the 12K GVW range or conventional fifth wheels in the 13K range. Those are trailers ranging from 37' to 40' in length. A single rear wheel 1 ton truck (350/3500 series) is all you'll need for almost any Cougar fifth wheel. If you do decide to buy a truck for a "future fifth wheel" make sure you get the engine/transmission/axle ratios needed to tow the anticipated weight. That means a big gas engine or a diesel.

That said, a "big block" 1 ton gas truck will handle the 25RES extremely well and give you "growing room" for most mid-size fifth wheels to around 40' and the smaller toyhaulers up to about 37'.

[jasin1]

i got the dually even though i could have stayed with a srw…if you get a shortbed srw your gonna need a slider hitch …either manual or auto

order the bed step and 50 gallon tank if it’s still an option…i just went to Ram builder and didn’t see the 50 gallon opt on there…maybe supply chain issues?..but check with the dealer

i have the air suspension and basically all the bells and whistles although i do not use the 360 cameras as much as i thought i would…i do like the adaptive cruise control

fog lights and heated seats,steering wheel are always good

i also have the Aisen transmission and it’s known to be durable

if you like bells and whistles id just get a laramie with level 2 options…it’s just about everything a limited has…i’ve been happy with mine..the larger screen is nice

[sourdough]

Like John mentioned you don't need either a dually or diesel for your trailer. It all depends on what your plans are; is this your last trailer? Is the size of the trailer plenty big and you don't want/need to go to a larger trailer in the future if you got another one? << If the answer to that question is yes you don't need to spend the money to go with a dually or diesel. If no, you need to think through what you might want OR decide you would upgrade trucks if and when you bought a bigger trailer. Remember too that a dually brings additional trade offs. If it's going to be your only vehicle they are more difficult to park in parking lots. Some will say they park like a car because they've driven them for a long time and think they do...they don't. Example; sitting at Harbor Freight in Tallhassee FL about a week ago. A guy came in with his dually and tried to park in that lot - no go. The spaces are narrow and the little roads between spaces are narrow. He gave it 2 shots and drove out to the N 40 and parked. So, keep that in mind as well.

[jasin1]

Sourdough is right about the parking as far as i’m concerned…if your a particular type of person your gonna be uneasy parking anywhere other vehicles park..i’ve always parked at the far end of parking lots with all my vehicles but on vacation in little towns it can be difficult finding a safe spot to park.
If your a “ it’s a truck…what’s a few dings and dents” kinda person it won’t be as bad.

Most of my other trucks were shortbed Rams and it does feel weird having an extra couple of feet on the back.

i mostly use mine for towing and drive something else daily

it does tow really nice and stable and the extra space in the bed is great for trips

[dutchmensport]

Dually? I towed an 18 foot travel trailer with a long bed, crew cab dually and my 41 foot fifth wheel with a long bed, crew cab dually. The tow vehicle before that was a Suburban 1500. We went with a dually LONG before we actually needed on and never looked back. The ride was so stable towing everything and anything, it truly was (and still is) such a comfortable ride, it is very, very easy to forget you are actually towing something.

The choice of a dually truly is your choice. Granted, they have their limitations on turning radius and some parking situations. But only YOU can decide, which is more important... A truck that will never have to be upgraded again if you ever decide to switch out towing "anything" or the convenience of parking in the "small car" parking section of your local shopping establishment.

True story: We had our current (in my signature below) tow vehicle and we had recently purchased our fifth wheel. I'd come from years and years of bumper pull trailers.

We were returning back to the campground after doing some running around when we saw, coming the opposite side of the road a broken down truck towing a 35 foot travel trailer and oil from under the engine draining all over the road.

I stopped and offered to tow his trailer anywhere he wanted to go. He had just left the campground and was on his way home when the engine blew something and died, right there. He was able to unhitch, pull the truck forward a little bit. We put his weight distribution hitch on my truck, and his wife traveled with us back to their house on the North East Side of Indianapolis. The trip was about 40 miles 1 way. He stayed with the truck waiting on a tow vehicle.

I was able to tow his trailer to his house without even giving anything a single thought. I knew my truck would handle his trailer just fine and my bumper-pull trailer towing skills were still sharp as nails (not being converted to fifth wheels in my experience yet).

If I would have had a smaller truck, I would have probably not even bothered stopping to help.

Point made, if you get the bigger truck, you have... pretty much ... unlimited options what you can tow, who you can help, what you can handle in your future without having to go through the pain of purchasing yet another truck.

You have to decide which way you want it. The bigger and wider the truck the more logistics you have to figure out for parking and storing. But when it comes to towing .... you'll never be disappointed.


And oh... the only thing about helping that guy and his wife? When he fastened the coupler to the hitch ball, he placed a pad lock through the coupler level on the trailer. When we got to his house, the wife did not have a key to the pad lock. I was a bit bewildered because I didn't want to wait for hours for him to return home with the key. I ended up pulling the cotter pin form the pin that slid through the receiver shaft, pull the pin and pulled the truck forward leaving the hitch attached to the coupler. It was all I could do to separate. That was the only "challenge" I had helping those people.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Like John mentioned you don't need either a dually or diesel for your trailer. It all depends on what your plans are; is this your last trailer? Is the size of the trailer plenty big and you don't want/need to go to a larger trailer in the future if you got another one? << If the answer to that question is yes you don't need to spend the money to go with a dually or diesel. If no, you need to think through what you might want OR decide you would upgrade trucks if and when you bought a bigger trailer. Remember too that a dually brings additional trade offs. If it's going to be your only vehicle they are more difficult to park in parking lots. Some will say they park like a car because they've driven them for a long time and think they do...they don't. Example; sitting at Harbor Freight in Tallhassee FL about a week ago. A guy came in with his dually and tried to park in that lot - no go. The spaces are narrow and the little roads between spaces are narrow. He gave it 2 shots and drove out to the N 40 and parked. So, keep that in mind as well.

Sourdough, just because you can’t adapt doesn’t mean others can’t.
We full time, our long bed diesel dually is our only vehicle. Parking lots, parking garages, city streets doesn’t mater. If you think it is huge, it will be huge. We know it isn’t a smart car, but it isn’t the Titanic either.
I laugh all the time at drivers of small cars, the think their 6’ wide car is 10’ wide and put tires over the center line to not rub the guard rail that is at least 4’ away!

Our DD has a RAM crew cab long bed to tow her horse trailers with, no issues with driving, backing, or parking.

No the OP doesn’t need DRW, and likely won’t until she moves to a 5th wheel close to or at 16,000# GVWR.
Personally I would strongly recommend a long bed for towing a5th wheel.

[jasin1]

not speaking for sourdough but for me i can park my dually anywhere i want to..i can drive,maneuver and get down any street almost anywhere BUT i don’t like parking next to other vehicles or parallel parking with my fenders right up against traffic…
i’m a very good driver but alot of car drivers are not good at keeping it between the lines….why do you think they have foldable mirrors?

if you travel in the Northeast in little seaside towns or down in the Keys your often relegated to tight parking spaces..yeah i can fit..but the person that ordered the extra desert at the restaurant will be squeezing their behind along my fender to get to their suv…and god forbid if little kids are involved…Wife got a brand new Challenger RT in 2009…she parks up close with the rest of the pack…kid flung opened their door and hit my wifes door…Pain to try and get fixed and will never be right

That’s why i park away from everyone

( why do people insist on parking right next to a truck or car with 20 spaces all around???) frustrating

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Sourdough, just because you can’t adapt doesn’t mean others can’t.
We full time, our long bed diesel dually is our only vehicle. Parking lots, parking garages, city streets doesn’t mater. If you think it is huge, it will be huge. We know it isn’t a smart car, but it isn’t the Titanic either.
I laugh all the time at drivers of small cars, the think their 6’ wide car is 10’ wide and put tires over the center line to not rub the guard rail that is at least 4’ away!

Our DD has a RAM crew cab long bed to tow her horse trailers with, no issues with driving, backing, or parking.

No the OP doesn’t need DRW, and likely won’t until she moves to a 5th wheel close to or at 16,000# GVWR.
Personally I would strongly recommend a long bed for towing a5th wheel.

Uh, what? I can't adapt? I figure I can park your truck as well as you can, but, this is about the OP. And no, you cannot park your truck in many, many of these parking spaces (most) in these parking lots...that's just a fact. When your vehicle is exactly the width of the space, 2-3' longer and all spaces but that one are full...I'll watch in that 12' driving lane. Dings or not unless you want to pull their bumpers off, crease the side of their vehicles and push them into the next vehicle etc. it ain't gonna happen. I've driven millions of miles in all kinds of vehicles - I can adapt and I know reality vs misleading folks. Duallies have their place, but like diesels, they have their drawbacks as well.

[sierraman68]

I pull my 2020 Cougar 25RES with a Ford F250 with a 6.2 L gasser and 4.30 rear end. By staying with gas I have a lot more payload and less upkeep than diesel. I have had no issues with having enough power and I drive mountains all over the West. Absolutely no need for a dually if you are pulling the 25RES. For me I have enough payload with the F250 but I will probably go with a F350 next time around just to have more available if I should ever need it.

[Badbart56]

Get what you're comfortable driving. My point in this thread is trying to make sure you have enough truck to get the job done, but also to give insight that in the event you may go to a larger RV or whatever you may tow in the future, that you don't have to trade up to a more capable platform.

Many folks aren't comfortable with a dually. No, they don't fit well in crowded parking lots. But whether I'm driving my dually or my car, I always park away from the crowds to preserve my perfectly straight fenders and doors. When you are towing your RV the dually works just like a SRW truck. Those back fenders aren't any wider than your mirrors. But it's a lot more stable than a SRW truck and the payload is significantly higher.

As for the diesel engine, you either like them or you don't. In the grand scheme of things, checking that $9K or $10K option box isn't really a big deal to me to have all that torque when you need it. And the fuel is more expensive, so if it just doesn't fit your budget, I can understand that.

My current RV weighs in at 18K pounds. That's out of range for a SRW gasser in my opinion. But even when we had a Gulfstream Sedona, it was more comfortable towing it with a dually.

YMMV.

[Ramtop]

Do you have a budget? If so, then work within that budget and don’t get talked into spending more than you intend to. Very easy to spend someone else’s money on the internet and recommend that they buy a fully loaded with every option available, 3500 dually diesel. But for your own situation, what do you actually need for truck capacity, power and options. Make a list of your wants and needs, then find the truck that fits it.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by Ramtop

Do you have a budget? If so, then work within that budget and don’t get talked into spending more than you intend to. Very easy to spend someone else’s money on the internet and recommend that they buy a fully loaded with every option available, 3500 dually diesel. But for your own situation, what do you actually need for truck capacity, power and options. Make a list of your wants and needs, then find the truck that fits it.

Beware of dealers telling you what you need also. Keep in mind, many F-150's are priced higher than an XL F-350 Crew Cab Dually. I see these XL's going for $51-$60K at some of the dealers near me. They don't stay on the lot long either. Sadly, the dealers are still short on 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks in many areas and some feel the need to tack on a premium to the MSRP. Take your time, don't get pushed into a bad deal.

[sourdough]

OP some good points are being brought up on pricing. The way things have been lately used prices are ridiculous. New pricing, especially when ordering, didn't seem to be following that same trend...to the same extent. Last quarter of last year I was contemplating ordering a truck (can't find what I want new on a lot) and the dealer (friend) said I would pay what the msrp was. Not what I wanted to hear but discounts, even when I bought my current truck, had dropped a lot from years gone by. If ordering don't let them gouge you as I've heard some places try to do.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Uh, what? I can't adapt? I figure I can park your truck as well as you can, but, this is about the OP. And no, you cannot park your truck in many, many of these parking spaces (most) in these parking lots...that's just a fact. When your vehicle is exactly the width of the space, 2-3' longer and all spaces but that one are full...I'll watch in that 12' driving lane. Dings or not unless you want to pull their bumpers off, crease the side of their vehicles and push them into the next vehicle etc. it ain't gonna happen. I've driven millions of miles in all kinds of vehicles - I can adapt and I know reality vs misleading folks. Duallies have their place, but like diesels, they have their drawbacks as well.

Well looking up parking lot standards, standard space (minimum) is 9' wide, our DRW is 8' at the hips, so 6" on both sides. 12' is only allowed on angled spaces. If a lot is 90 degrees, isle should be 24'. The not so secret to parking a crew cab long bed is to back in. We have a Trader Joe's with a tight parking lot, and backing in is a piece of cake.

To the OP's questions, Duchmensport hit a lot of great options, I will add backup camera, this allows getting within inches of a car or wall behind you. Also the Puck system for mounting a hitch of Gooseneck ball.

The DRW discussion is somewhat mute, unless the OP has plans to keep the truck for a long time and move to a larger trailer.

OP doesn't state if she is looking at a 4X2 or 4X4, I would suggest 4X4 as it is cheap insurance.

We bought our 2016 Ram used and wanted power seats so was looking at Big Horn trim or higher. We landed a Laramie the package had heated/cooled leather (trimmed) powered seats (both driver and passenger) seats, great sound system. Parksense is also great.

Once again, for the 5er you are looking at you will do well with a 3500 SRW gas or diesel engine choice is up to you.

Good luck with your order.

[wiredgeorge]

Camper gross weight is 10K lbs. 2300 pin weight estimated. Add hitch/stuff in truck to include passengers. 3K pin weight. There is a good chance you can scrape by with a 3/4 ton but since there isn't a lot of price difference go one ton. As far as options, heated this and that and leather massaging seats, etc. are up to you. I like BASE work trucks with bench seats, A/C and a radio. My truck is a 4x4 and I have only had to use that feature once. All the options depend on where, how and why you drive the truck. Mine is a tow vehicle and a once in awhile heavy stuff hauler in the bed. Your usage will vary.

[RickV]

I started with a used F250 with the 7.3 diesel because we where looking at our first RV a small 5th wheel. 3 years later upgraded to a 13K 5th wheel bought a used Durmax 3500 Dually. We started spending more time on the road, around 5 months a year and where planning on an upgrade. The Durmax had a maximum 5th wheel towing capacity of 15,600 lbs. When we started looking for a new bigger 5th wheel everything we were looking at was over that maximum and the Durmax needed new injectors so I started shopping for a brand new truck. Ended up buy a brand new F350 Dually Diesel it has a tow rating of 32,000 lbs. I used to build PC for people I would tell them let me build more than you need because a year or two down the road you'll need more. I wish I had followed my own advice when we started RVing. It would have saved me some money in the long run. Buy the Dually Diesel more payload more towing capacity.

[jxnbbl]

Besides the 3500 instead of 2500 I got my window sticker and went through this weekend and made a list:


Wish I had:

Remote start (Uconnect requires subscription)
Built in inverter in cab

Heated Seats
Rear sliding window


Would make sure to have and do have:

** I installed


Defroster on window and mirrors
Trailer package mirrors, power folding
Winter package (engine heater and bra for diesel)
Rubber floor mats ** (OEM)

Clearance lamps (snowbanks where we live)
LED bed lighting
bedliner **

side steps **

tonneau cover **
Folding bedstep ** (OEM option)