25,400 GCVWR; Tu-tone paint; 19.5 tires?

[Wiredawg]

Wow, I'm impressed w/ 25,400 lbs GCVWR... I like the two tone paint too.

What are the tires 19. 5 or 17 inch? Pls tell me its 19. 5!



Can't wait to see one in person.



Wiredawg.

 

[HBarlow]

There is excess capacity in a set of six 17" tires on a 3500, even with the slightly increased GVWR/GCWR offered on the 2010s so I doubt Dodge would put 19. 5" wheel on a 3500.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



Understood. I actually asked the quest w/ expectation of hearing 17s but wanted to be sure. After I posted, I gave it more thought... the 2010 Dodge 3500 is not a 4500 w/ a bed. Dodge seems to be specifically trying to keep this truck under 26K GCVWR, unlike Ford w/ thier F450 p/u.

Still not a deal breaker for me. I need to see it and drive it. 25,400 is close enough to 26,000 for me.



FYI, I came so close to getting a wicked good deal on a leftover loaded '08 C&C on the Internet. Still came down to having a tow body or flatbed, which I don't want. Vivian and I just want a p/u w/ high GCVWR to pull our Travel Supreme legally



We'll see when the 2010s get here.



Wiredawg

 

[SNiebaum]

Harvey,



Understood. I actually asked the quest w/ expectation of hearing 17s but wanted to be sure. After I posted, I gave it more thought... the 2010 Dodge 3500 is not a 4500 w/ a bed. Dodge seems to be specifically trying to keep this truck under 26K GCVWR, unlike Ford w/ thier F450 p/u.

Still not a deal breaker for me. I need to see it and drive it. 25,400 is close enough to 26,000 for me.



FYI, I came so close to getting a wicked good deal on a leftover loaded '08 C&C on the Internet. Still came down to having a tow body or flatbed, which I don't want. Vivian and I just want a p/u w/ high GCVWR to pull our Travel Supreme legally



We'll see when the 2010s get here.



Wiredawg

FWIW, there are a few companies who make 'bed conversions' for the C&C trucks... .



Warner Bodies



the other was Go Big Garage but their website seems to be down...

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey,

Understood. I actually asked the quest w/ expectation of hearing 17s but wanted to be sure. After I posted, I gave it more thought... the 2010 Dodge 3500 is not a 4500 w/ a bed. Dodge seems to be specifically trying to keep this truck under 26K GCVWR, unlike Ford w/ thier F450 p/u.
Still not a deal breaker for me. I need to see it and drive it. 25,400 is close enough to 26,000 for me.

FYI, I came so close to getting a wicked good deal on a leftover loaded '08 C&C on the Internet. Still came down to having a tow body or flatbed, which I don't want. Vivian and I just want a p/u w/ high GCVWR to pull our Travel Supreme legally

We'll see when the 2010s get here.

Wiredawg

Wiredawg,

I understand your dilemma and what you are trying to accomplish. I haven't found a desirable solution.

Unfortunately it seems all the choices come with unwanted consequences. I really wanted a 4500 when they came out but tried driving a couple of them and reluctantly concluded I simply wouldn't be able to stand one of them as an unloaded daily driver. To say they are uncomfortable when unloaded doesn't convey the actual ride quality.

My 3500 C&C came with a couple of advantages I wanted . . . heavier suspension than the equivalent pickup, slightly heavier GVWR, and Aisin six speed but, no bed. By the time I added an aftermarket flatbed, which is heavier, I gained little, if any, additional cargo carrying capacity. I don't love the look of the flatbed but have grown accustomed to it. It is actually pretty practical as it offers much greater space for hauling large objects. And it costs a lot more than a standard factory bed. No easy choices!

If Dodge offered a 4500/5500 with air suspension it would probably be a good choice but the cost would probably be on the wrong side of $60k and way outside of my budget.

One of the great things about our Dodge-Cummins trucks is they are capable of reliably pulling/hauling loads far in excess of factory rated capacity for hundreds of thousands of miles. A cheap set of Timbrens or air bags makes a reasonable compromise on any Dodge 3500.

On edit: One point I forgot to mention. The design and construction of the rear spring pack on a 3500 C&C is very different than the rear spring pack on a 3500 pickup. The same kingpin weight that compresses the rear leafs six inches or more on a 3500 p/up barely compresses the springs on a C&C. I absolutely had to have Timbrens (or air bags) on my '06 3500 p/up but with the same Transfer Flow fuel tank, more tools, and the same 5th wheel kingpin weight, my C&C settles very little.

 

[Wiredawg]

SNiebaum:

COOL! I went to website and asked for a cost quote for a C&C bed conversion. If it ain't too high, I might try to chase another 4500 C&C deal.



Harvey:

I test drove a 3500 C&C 4X4 QC auto... it was sweet. Problem is I would still be exceeding GCVWR by over 1K lbs with my Travel Supreme with the 3500 C&C GCVWR of 23K Lbs. I swore I would not buy anything to replace my '02 3500 unless I could be completely legal weight wise. I'm a little excited about hearing there actually is an aftermarket P/U bed that allows the heavier duty components of the C&C.



All: Depending on actual unloaded weight of 2010 3500 and of C&C w/ bed conversion, I'm betting I'll have about 1,400 lbs headroom with 3500 and about 2,000 lbs w/ C&C.

 

[46mech]

Does anyone know....

I thought I saw someone say they were getting a 3500 C&C and that the dealer they were getting it from was going to put a p/u bed on it. Anyone know if this is possible? Not whether the bed can be installed, but whether a dealer would do it.

 

[Larry Willard]

I was just at Keene Dodge in Jarrettsville, Md. having my recall done. They had a 5500 with a pickup bed on it, had fabricated a piece of metal to close the gap at the cab. The salesman says they did it in house.

Larry

 

[Wiredawg]

Big Larry,



Took three days for the bed fabricator listed earlier in the post to contact me to tell me to contact a distributor for a price quote. l'm gonna call them tomorrow to see if the cost mathes up with the cost of a 4500 I'm looking at. If so, I might just jump off the deep end. I like the fabricated bed because it doesn't have filler panels... just more bed. gotta like that huh?



Just getting all the facts before I decide. One little consideration... we don't have a 4th Gen yet... it would be ashamed to not have a complete set.



Talk atcha soon,



Wiredawg

 

[Wiredawg]

Ouch! $12,400 for the 9' bed (w/ turnover ball 5th wheel, Class V hitch, bed ). I just might wait for the 2010 4th Gen.



Wiredawg

 

[FFeiller]

a year ago i had a quote direct from Warner for about 9600, cost must have gone up. the catch was i had to drive to warner for installation. they do make beautiful beds.

 

[HBarlow]

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....
Harvey:
I test drove a 3500 C&C 4X4 QC auto... it was sweet. Problem is I would still be exceeding GCVWR by over 1K lbs with my Travel Supreme with the 3500 C&C GCVWR of 23K Lbs. I swore I would not buy anything to replace my '02 3500 unless I could be completely legal weight wise. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . quote]

Are you sure about the C&C's GCWR? I'm out at my farmhouse and don't have all my brochures and "stuff" but I'm thinking the GCWR of my '08 C&C is 24,000#.

Hauling a Travel Supreme with any 3500 will put you at the outer limits of its capability if not over regardless of individual truck outfitting details. Even my relatively smaller and lighter HitchHiker exceeds GCWR when fully loaded. A 4500 would be a better choice IF, and that's a huge IF from my point of view, you are only going to use the truck to pull the Travel Supreme. I think you'd be very satisfied with a 4500 as a tow vehicle.

I suppose someone could have a 5,000# block of concrete poured that would fit inside a pickup bed with a reinforced steel hook set deep in the concrete. After dropping your heavy fifth wheel travel trailer you could lift the concrete block on a chain hoist or industrial strength forklift, back your new Dodge Ram 4500 under it, lower the concrete block into the bed, and have a tolerable riding tow vehicle until you were ready to pull your fiver again. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

[Wiredawg]

The 2007. 5 (or whenever the C&C 3500 was introduced) the GCVWR was 23K, which did very little for me. The newer one's may have higher GCVWR, but my mark is 25K plus. Yeah, tell me about going over "a little" pulling a TS w/ a 3500.



FYI: There was an Internet deal 4500 SLT for $32K which would make the Warner bed tolerable. Problem, it disappeared (probably sold). There's another one I'm going to see if they will negotiate. If I get a good enough price on the truck, I may eat the cost of the bed. BTW, if I get the price on the truck, I may try to negotiate the price of the bed. Worse case, Take a regular 3500 bed and put a spacer (like maybe an aux tank) in the gap. Still lots of moving parts. I have nothing to lose, so I don't mind holding firm on lower prices.



I'll keep you informed.



Wiredawg

 

[HBarlow]

As tough as the car business is right now I'd think it would be easy to find a dealer who would sell you a 4500 for something less than invoice after deducting all the incentives offered by Dodge. A skinny deal would be better than no deal at all and that would be one inventory unit off the monthly flooring interest payment due.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvy,



Got a quote for $40,080 on a $51,200 2009 4500 4x4 slt QC truck and 48 mo. s zero interest. I have the dealer putting together quote for a nice low-pro utility bed for me. Close to making the deal. Bright white for this hot TX weather. I think before I close I'm gonna ask if they want to throw in a set of stainless wheel simulators.











I'll keep y'all posted on this

 

[HBarlow]

Wiredawg:

Sounds good. I have a CM bed on my C&C and consider it an excellent product. Mine is only a basic flatbed with four boxes under the bed though, not the fancy one you're considering.

Have you considered the height of the front storage section of that bed in relation to the front overhang of your TS? The fifth wheel hitch will have to sit down lower relative to that box in order to tow level.

My frame rails on my 3500 C&C as delivered were about 31" from the pavement. A 4500 will be something like 33" or 34". You can find the measurement from the pavement to the top of frame rails on the Dodge Commercial website. It will be taller than my 3500 and considerably taller than your current 3500 p/up. The deck of a towbed or flatbed ends up being about 7 1/8" above the frame rails due to 4" bed rails running parallel and on top of the truck's frame rails plus another 3" of height due to the cross rails (floor joists) plus 1/8" of deck thickness.

These figures added together will mean you can't simply bolt a standard fifth wheel hitch from a pickup to the deck of the flatbed or towbed. If you try it will be considerably higher than your fifth wheel towing pad on a 3500 p/up and give you a severe nose up towing attitude.

I had the CM dealer I bought mine from cut 4" off the frame of my old Reese 20k Fifth Wheel hitch to get the hitch down so that I could restore the horizontal towing attitude.

Another solution is a Reese 30k hitch which is a lower profile intended for MDTs or, if you want to spend the big bucks, one of the TrailerSaver air ride hitches for MDTs. Either of those solutions cost considerably more than cutting the frame of my old Reese 20k.

Keep us posted of your progress.

 

[Wiredawg]

Moving Discussion to 3rd Gen C&C

All,



In fairness to the rules of posting, I'm going to roll over to 3rd Gen C&C since I'm no longer discussing 4th Gen.



Hope Y'all make the hop... I have lots of info and questions.



Thanks, Wiredawg

 

[CUMMINZ]

There is excess capacity in a set of six 17" tires on a 3500, even with the slightly increased GVWR/GCWR offered on the 2010s so I doubt Dodge would put 19. 5" wheel on a 3500.

There may be excess on tires but not the wheels. The wheels are only rated at 2600#s.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Where do you get that number? My '98 2500 is rated at 6084 lbs rear GAWR - so the wheels HAVE to be rated for at least 3042 lbs. From what I can find out there the rear GAWR on a 3rd gen SRW 3500 is 6,600 lbs so those wheels HAVE to be rated for at least 3,300 lbs each.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I just looked at the specs I received at the press intro and the SRW 3500 chassis cab has a rear GAWR of 6,200 lbs so it's wheels are rated to at least 3,100 lbs each. The DRW 5500 is rated at 13,500 lbs rear GAWR so it's wheels are rated at least to 3,375 lbs each.