2011 ram fuzion 405

[CAbelmann]

How well will a 2011 ram 3500 srw 3. 73 pull a fuzion 405

 

[rasteck]

Does the SRW Mega have enough payload (after loading it up with people, gear, diesel, etc) to handle a pin weight that could go as high as 3600lbs? Looks like the GVWR of that beast is 18k.



EDIT:

I looked at the Ram site and it looks like the max payload you'll get is only 3050lbs (which only includes a 150lb driver and half tank fuel) so that's not going to handle the pin weight of that trailer. If you're not worried about going way over the GVWR of the truck (may be a warranty issue) you'll need to make sure you don't go over the RAWR and what the tires are rated for!

 

[Wertles]

It can do it safely in my opinion and experience with a few modifications to your truck. I asked the same question 4 months ago. In short, you need 19. 5 tires to increase your weight capacity. You will be at or overweight on stock tires. I would also suggest air bags or Timbreens to level out the heavy pinweight of the trailer. The last thing is a good brake controller and the only one ever recommended here is the Max Brake and I will personally endorse that one. Get a 20K hitch for some added safety margin and you will be as safe as you can make it.

 

[HBarlow]

How well will a 2011 ram 3500 srw 3. 73 pull a fuzion 405

The real issue is never whether a Cummins-powered Ram can pull a trailer. All of them can tow one.

The important issue is always will the truck be geared correctly to perform as intended, will it have sufficient carrying capacity to carry the kingpoin weight, will the tires have sufficient capacity with a margin for safety, will kingpin weight be within the truck's GVWR and considered "legal" if you are ever required to scale weigh the loaded rig, and will it be comfortable and a pleasure to tow all the time or will it be miserable to tow and handle and make the buyer regret the purchase.

A SRW truck may be adequate with modifications like 19. 5" wheels and tires and air bags which will cost you a lot of money but it is not intended by the manufacturer to haul that load.

The trailer will significantly exceed the GCWR and towing rating issued by Ram. The maximum rating is only valid for a truck with 4. 10 gears and 68RFE six speed automatic. Ram deducts about 3,000 lbs. for a truck with 3. 73 gears.

A dually with 4. 10 gears would be far more capable and comfortable to haul a trailer like that and would not require modifications to achieve minimum capability.

I guess I will never understand why a prospective buyer will select a truck not rated or capable of towing the heaviest trailers as built then go out and buy a monster trailer beyond the truck's rated capacity. Years ago buyers didn't have a choice. All the trucks had to be modified to tow large trailers. That is no longer true. Ram builds dually pickups, 3500/4500/5500 cab and chassis trucks, and all can be factory equipped to tow the larger and heavier trailers.

 

[Hoefler]

The real issue is never whether a Cummins-powered Ram can pull a trailer. All of them can tow one.



The important issue is always will the truck be geared correctly to perform as intended, will it have sufficient carrying capacity to carry the kingpoin weight, will the tires have sufficient capacity with a margin for safety, will kingpin weight be within the truck's GVWR and considered "legal" if you are ever required to scale weigh the loaded rig, and will it be comfortable and a pleasure to tow all the time or will it be miserable to tow and handle and make the buyer regret the purchase.



A SRW truck may be adequate with modifications like 19. 5" wheels and tires and air bags which will cost you a lot of money but it is not intended by the manufacturer to haul that load.



The trailer will significantly exceed the GCWR and towing rating issued by Ram. The maximum rating is only valid for a truck with 4. 10 gears and 68RFE six speed automatic. Ram deducts about 3,000 lbs. for a truck with 3. 73 gears.



A dually with 4. 10 gears would be far more capable and comfortable to haul a trailer like that and would not require modifications to achieve minimum capability.



I guess I will never understand why a prospective buyer will select a truck not rated or capable of towing the heaviest trailers as built then go out and buy a monster trailer beyond the truck's rated capacity. Years ago buyers didn't have a choice. All the trucks had to be modified to tow large trailers. That is no longer true. Ram builds dually pickups, 3500/4500/5500 cab and chassis trucks, and all can be factory equipped to tow the larger and heavier trailers.

Ditto!!



Also, being a Mega cab short box, you will not be able to get the pin far enough forward to properly load the vehicle. You will be light on the steer axle or you won't be able to turn very tight.



I don't understand why some people will spend $1,000's of dollars to modify or improve an inadequate truck, than spend a few dollars more to purchase the correct one to begin with.

 

[CAbelmann]

So whats the point of having the 2500 and the 3500 srw if you cant tow anything with them maybe ram should drop them and have the 1500 for people who dont tow and the 3500 drw 4500 5500 for people that tow then i guess

 

[HBarlow]

So whats the point of having the 2500 and the 3500 srw if you cant tow anything with them maybe ram should drop them and have the 1500 for people who dont tow and the 3500 drw 4500 5500 for people that tow then i guess

I would not mind if Ram did just that.

However, the Ram 2500 and 3500 SRW can "tow" but not the huge and heavy fifthwheel you are asking about.

Why did you ask if you didn't want an answer?

Perhaps you should have added a qualifier to your post:

"I do not want any replies that disagree with or disapprove of my choice. "

 

[CAbelmann]

If i didnt want a answer i wouldnt of put a post on here and the camper only would get pulled 3 or 4 times a year about 60 miles from home And its only for a couple years till i can get a 4500

 

[mwilson]

So whats the point of having the 2500 and the 3500 srw if you cant tow anything with them maybe ram should drop them and have the 1500 for people who dont tow and the 3500 drw 4500 5500 for people that tow then i guess

You can safely tow smaller fifth wheels which a lot of us own.



It's not an issue if you don't try to tow a trailer the size of the Taj Mahal.



Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

You've already bought the wrong truck so you're committed. Feel free to go right ahead and buy the wrong trailer and tow it as you wish. It sounds like you've already rationalized your choices in your own mind so have a great time with it.

 

[CAbelmann]

Will do thank you

 

[rasteck]

The Mega Cabs are so heavy to begin with that they cut deep into the GVWR not leaving as much payload; that's all that's really happening here. I certainly wouldn't call a 12,000 lb trailer "nothing". But we're talking an 18,000 lb trailer with a pin that starts at 1. 5 tons.



The engine, trans, rearend, frame are all the same as the dually. If you want to skip the ratings and make the mod's (tires/wheels, probaby air bags) you'll be able to do it.



Is this the right truck for an 18K lb trailer? No, not according to what Dodge rates it for.

Can it do it with the right mod's? Sure. But I'm not a Dodge engineer either.

Would I tow an 18K lb trailer with anything less than a 4500? Nope.



Don't drive past your dealer with that thing; they'll blame any issues you have on going way past the ratings.



Good luck!

 

[Wertles]

It doesn't sound as though he has rationalized his decision to me. He asked a question and gotten a few different points of view. My point of view might mean more to him than yours Harvey because I have a heavy trailer and a SRW Mega cab. I have been in his shoes very recently. I don't believe you have ever mentioned if you have towed with a SRW or a modified SRW like mine to compare to a DRW. He would like to know if he can get this trailer an hour away from his home a couple of times a year. I believe it can be done and be done safely with a few modifications. Is his set up ideal? No. A 4500 or even 5500 would hands down pull it better. In fact, they both would pull your trailer better and my trailer better than our trucks. I understand perfectly where you are coming from though. I have a few miles on the my trailer now with 800 more coming this weekend and 600 next weekend. It takes a lot of patience and concentration to pull these trailers with an 'undersized' truck and if I were a hot shot hauler where time is money or a full time RV'er going long distances, I would be worn out quickly. But for a few weekends a year, I leave my temper and road rage at the door and take my sweet time going on an enjoyable weekend somewhere nice with the family.

 

[HBarlow]

The original poster didn't say anything in his opening question about only towing short distances once in awhile.

Yes, your post probably does mean more to him than mine because you have already made the same mistake and are defending it. He probably prefers to read your answer.

Have I ever towed a huge trailer with a SB SRW truck? Nope, I've never taken off in an airplane with no fuel in the tanks either. You're pretending that only someone who has made the same bad decision is the only one qualified to have an opinion. That is a false premise.

I have hauled for professional RV transport companies with tens of millions of miles of experience and high standards. They would not hire anyone with a SB or SRW truck. I have seen amateur RV transporters with shiny new trucks leased to less professional companies with bashed in cab corners. Have also seen photographs and read the reports of the wreckage of light trucks that crashed hauling oversized RV trailers beyond the capability of the truck.

Dodge factory brochures will tell you what their truck limits are and their limits are overstated for marketing goals.

It is not necessary to make bad choices to learn that it is a bad choice. I prefer learning by reading and observing.

 

[Wertles]

Again Harvey, I agree with you 90%. If he had bought the trailer first then bought his current truck to tow it, it would have been a mistake. But at the time he got the truck, there was no camper. He plans have definitely changed since his purchase. In early 06 I bought the biggest truck there was available at the time for my family of 6, two of which were in car seats. A quad cab simply did not work with the small back seat and at the time I placed the order, there was no talk yet of the dually. Also, here in western NYS, we get ALOT of snow. In the winter, I tow a 4 place enclosed trailer and even with aggressive AT tires, I can easily break my tires loose, intentionally or not. DRW would be worse with the added floatation the other 2 wheels provide.
Any transporter who drove a SRW 2500 short wheel base short bed would be an idiot in my opinion. It's not the right tool for the job. You have stated in the past that you have bought many tools from Wal-Mart knowing they were of good value and would do the work you had planned for them. No one here judges you for purchases (ok, some did but not me) and said that if you didn't have Matco, Snap-On etc tools that you had made a mistake in your tool selection. However, if you showed up at a Cummins repair shop as a mechanic with a plastic tool box filled with Wal-Mart tools, you would be escorted out the door before your name badge was printed.
Please don't think I am making a direct comparison of Wal-Mart tools to trucks. This long explanation is not to justify my purchases or his or yours, but to go through the decision making process of how I found that in 2006, a 3500 Mega Cab SRW was the best truck for me. You are fortunate that you have a dedicated truck to pull your camper and have a car and an awesome motorcycle to ride at 40 mpg when diesel prices are 4+ a gallon. Not everyone is that fortunate and their trucks must perform many different jobs. Some days my truck plays grocery getter and soccer dad duty, some days it is hauling stone and backhoes, some days hauling the camper and some days it's my date night vehicle. My truck does all of the jobs I have for it quite well but is not optimal for any single one job. I wish I could have a 5500 long haul for the camper, a 3500 pick up for the backhoe and stone, a 1500 for the snowmobile trailer and a Dakota for the grocery getting but I'm sure my accountant is going to disagree with me.
One of these days Harvey I want to come down to Texas, sit in your barn, have some beverages, shoot the bull. As my wife states frequently, I have a knack of being able to agree with people in the most disagreeable way. I call it having fun conversations.

 

[CAbelmann]

Well its kinda hard to take off in an airplane with no fuel cause it aint gonna run. Why are most of the camper makers building some for shortbox pickups if its so stupid to pull with a megacab

 

[CUMMINZ]

Well its kinda hard to take off in an airplane with no fuel cause it aint gonna run. Why are most of the camper makers building some for shortbox pickups if its so stupid to pull with a megacab

CA, A couple of things. All is not lost. I started out pulling a 29' Sprinter with a 2004. 5 QCSB 2500. When I bought my 04. 5 I never dreamed I would ever buy a 5er. Well I did and I did everything I could to help the towing and make it safer. I even upgraded the tires to 16" 10ply on the 5er. I added a rear sway bar, 2 extra rear leaf springs. I went to 315 8 ply tires because at that time 10 ply were not available and installed a 24k slider hitch.



When I upgraded to the 36' Cedar Creek it towed OK but still had a little swish in the steering at higher speeds. And then I had to make an emergency mananuver at about 55 on I-24 north of Nashville and as soon as we stopped the first words out of my wife's mouth was thank GOD and when we get home buy a dually. About 2 weeks later we traded for an 06 Dually & then traded up to our 37' DayDreamer.



Since then I have added 19. 5s which worsened the ride but the truck now is like a brick going down the road.



Said all that to say this: Your best investment now while keeping your MegaMonster is to invest in a set of 19. 5x245xas high a ply as you can buy. The air bags can come later. The 19. 5s will make your truck a different truck. After that be happy. 373 gears is not the best gear and that is why is suggested 245s. 225s would not look right on your Monster. Where you tow is also a factor.

 

[mwilson]

"some days it's my date night vehicle. "



I wish I had owned my Mega-Cab back while I was in school... ... ... ... .



The ultimate date night fold the back seat flat nookie-mobile!!!!!!



Sigh, just imagine.



Mike.

 

[CAbelmann]

I wanted 4. 10s but the dealer said it would let them select em. But i might put them in later

 

[HBarlow]

Wertles,

I understand your reasoning and have no argument with almost everything you said. The only point I disagree with was about the traction of a dually.

As a transporter I pulled all year in all weather. I made many trips westbound across I-94, I-90, and I-80 in snow and pulled many a snow and ice covered mountain pass with Ram duallies. The highways were usually fairly well cleared but parking lots often were not. With a trailer on I never had the slightest bit of trouble even in 12" snow in parking lots. I never chained up, even when the signs or lights directed me to. I pulled Snoqaualmie Pass in WA state many times both loaded and unloaded when the big trucks were slipping and sliding and stopping to chain up. If I had ever lost traction and blocked the highway the ticket would have been very painful.

It is not accurate to automatically dismiss duallies as ineffective on snow or ice.

My only argument with you is over your trailer decision. I have pulled enough huge and heavy fifth wheels with a Ram dually to know I simply would not do it with a SRW truck or shorter wheelbase. Some of the 43' to 45' Travel Supremes, Alfas, and Weekend Warrier toyboxes I pulled were not comfortable. I never lost control or ever even got into a tight situation but I would not choose to haul some of those big trailers I pulled for hire as my personal choice. I felt they were unsafe on a dually.