Haul it or trailer it

[SHobbs]

I have a vacation coming up next month and I am heading back to CO for a couple weeks. I will be taking a four wheeler which tips the scale at around 620 pounds and I have a choice to trailer it or tow it. If I haul it in the bed the combined cargo weight would be just under 1k pounds when you add me, necessities and the four wheeler. Sticker inside the door states the cargo limit is just shy of 1200 pounds. Being this is my first ever half ton truck with a four corner air ride and my first ever automatic I have a few questions.

1) How much will the air ride take before protection mode is enabled, I have looked everywhere and can't find the answer.
2) Should tow/ haul mode be used for either option
3) Wonder if I can load the four wheeler with the truck in entry mode
4) Curious which would be better for mileage, trailer or haul it.

Thanks
Scott

 

[S.Morris]

Better mileage hauling it.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Nephew has a couple of those Quads his are Yamaha Grizzly's,( to give you an idea of the weight) he puts them on a Diamond back carrier made to load these things on in the bed of his Dodge 1 ton. Besides having a 1 ton and air bags on his Dodge, I DON'T LIKE THEM BACK THERE LIKE THAT. He got hurt one time and I drove the truck home with them loaded. Its a very TOP HEAVY feeling.

BIG

 

[crispyboy]

What Big said is correct - it will be top heavy. I would try it because it will get better mileage hauling vs. towing. I would have a tendency to use the tow/haul mode which will help keep the transmission temperatures down.

 

[mwilson]

I think Big was referring to these types of carriers...big difference between this and loading one on the floor of the bed. I would put in back and motor on.

 

[mwilson]

Like this....

 

[AH64ID]

I would haul it, better mileage.

Just make sure your tires are at the sidewall pressure.

Nephew has a couple of those Quads his are Yamaha Grizzly's,( to give you an idea of the weight) he puts them on a Diamond back carrier made to load these things on in the bed of his Dodge 1 ton. Besides having a 1 ton and air bags on his Dodge, I DON'T LIKE THEM BACK THERE LIKE THAT. He got hurt one time and I drove the truck home with them loaded. Its a very TOP HEAVY feeling.

BIG

Tell him to put a sway-bar on, I don't even noticed my 2 quads up there. Running up and down winding mountain roads at the posted limit the truck is no less stable than an empty bed.

#ad

 

[DonFitzwater]

I would haul it, better mileage.

Just make sure your tires are at the sidewall pressure.




Tell him to put a sway-bar on, I don't even noticed my 2 quads up there. Running up and down winding mountain roads at the posted limit the truck is no less stable than an empty bed.

#ad

I run a similar "sled deck" and love it. Haven't noticed it being top heavy and I Cary everything on it from side x sides to outboard motors. It's great because it keeps your ability to tow a trailer also.

 

[SnoKing]

I would haul it, better mileage.

Just make sure your tires are at the sidewall pressure.



Tell him to put a sway-bar on, I don't even noticed my 2 quads up there. Running up and down winding mountain roads at the posted limit the truck is no less stable than an empty bed.

#ad

That helps explain the 19.5" rims and tires!

 

[AH64ID]

That helps explain the 19.5" rims and tires!

Yep!

I was able to get to, or slightly above, the 17" tire rating without 2 quads so 19.5's where the first step.

Having had the 19.5's I can say that so far they are superior to LRE's in just about all uses, and certainly a worthy upgrade.

 

[B.G. Smith]

Yeah, haul it. Just make sure there is not something potruding from the front of the 4-wheeler that will take out the rear window and make sure the ramps are secured to the truck when you load---slowly. bg

 

[JR]

And do yourself a favor and stay away from the chincy 1" ratchet straps. They may have the rating but speaking from personal experience they are prone to working loose, especially if they get wet. Depending on the type of ATV they are right at their limit and don't offer much of a safety buffer if something were to happen. At a minimum I would use 1-1/2" straps, I tend to use my 2" ratchet straps that I have for my flatbed trailer.

 

[mwilson]

I stock the Kinedyne Cinchtite 6 (15470) here, nice ATV or Bike straps. Roll down to the bottom of the page in the link...

Should be able to find them for around $25.00 per pair. Good quality stuff. Made to wrap around tie down points rather than dig them up with a hook.

http://www.kinedyne.com/products/358/cinchtite-series.html

 

[sag2]

I would suspect the bags have some margin of safety built in. Load it up and see what happens. Do it before you leave in case it is too much weight. Also keep in mind some of the weight will be on the front axle too, so again it may not over load the rear bags.

 

[Powder Extreme]

I hauled a Can-Am 1000 Outlander 2 person machine along with some gas cans and gear which would be more weight than you are carrying in my 1/2 ton crew cab with factory air ride. Never had a problem hauling it over 1,000 miles. Yes, you can put the suspension in entry mode to make it that much lower to load.

You will get better mileage hauling, but you will be surprised how much it will cut you down, I was.
If you have a small, aluminum single or two place trailer you will get better mileage towing it due to the wind resistance difference.

It actually takes quite a bit of weight before the suspension will go into "limp" mode. I only managed to do it once in mine when I hitched it up to my loaded 30' enclosed trailer which weighed around 10k and probably 1,800lbs tongue weight. (I tow the trailer with my 1 ton, just needed to move it around in my shop and the 1 ton was hitched up to another trailer)

 

[SHobbs]

Thanks for the input. I have always had a dually with a manual transmission so I feel like a duck out of water with this truck. I was hoping to run light this trip to see just how far I could go on one tank. I just can't leave the four wheeler behind there are too many places to explore where I am going. I will have a ninety mile trip home after I pick up the machine which will give me an idea of the mileage hit. I have access to a small trailer if needed but it may be easier to just haul it and easier to get into the places I intend to ride.

 

[RangerGress]

Re. airbags. I've read of a couple guys going a couple hundred lbs over capacity and their airbags did fine. This is certainly less than Powerder Extreme's report of 1800lbs tongue weight (wow! +1 for Ram designing in a nice performance margin). I've no personal knowledge, I have springs with aftermarket airbags inside of them.

Re. tire air pressure. AH64ID said to ensure your tires were at max sidewall pressure but I'd go even more than that. The OEM tires are weak sidewall passenger tires. If you go over cargo capacity, consider putting 5psi over the rated max into the tires. This will give the weak sidewalls some help with the load. This sort of thing is common when folks overload cheap trailer tires.

 

[JR]

Be careful about airing up over max pressure as it will likely increase from extended highway driving, especially in hotter climates.

 

[JR]

I stock the Kinedyne Cinchtite 6 (15470) here, nice ATV or Bike straps. Roll down to the bottom of the page in the link...

Should be able to find them for around $25.00 per pair. Good quality stuff. Made to wrap around tie down points rather than dig them up with a hook.

http://www.kinedyne.com/products/358/cinchtite-series.html

http://www.kinedyne.com/products/434/auto-tie-downs.html
Mike I don't see any prices on the website anywhere. I was looking at these straps here through Mac's. Any idea where I can get some more specs and prices? The ones that Mac's carries are rated for 10k lbs, I believe that is the standard for any automotive tie down strap.

 

[RangerGress]

Be careful about airing up over max pressure as it will likely increase from extended highway driving, especially in hotter climates.

One gains about 1psi per 10deg F increase. As long as the tire isn't getting stressed by something, it shouldn't gain much temp. Humans can always screw things up tho. If you set tire pressures at dawn in the high desert in Summer it can be 50deg. Then you lose some altitude and it's 110deg with direct sunlight adding 20 more deg. As with all things, a person has to use some common sense.