Need New Truck

[CROW]

2005 dually with only 91K got rear ended and insurance company will total it. Fortunately no one was hurt. Person who hit me had no insurance and not even a drivers license. Tow a 5th wheel of about 15K and am considering going to a single axle rather than the dually since I do not tow the 5th wheel a lot. Trailer pin weight is about 3500.

Dealer does not have a 2018 brochure.

1. What is the rear axle capacity of a 2018 long bed single axle truck?

2. What is the actual weight of the rear axle of a 2018 bed truck? Hopefully there will be enough to accommodate the 3500 pin weight with a margin to spare. See in the 2017 brochure where the payload is 4,380 but guess some of this will be transferred to the front axle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CROW]

This would be a long bed 3500 truck.

 

[dfb]

That 4380 must subtract occupants, fuel, hitch,etc..it's easy to subtract 800 lbs.. I easily exceeded my rear axle weight on a 2015 ram 3500 srw..I got a dually and say I don't care about weight..

 

[Cummins12V98]

I am Sure SNOKING will chime in as his truck is similar (Just a little shorter on one end ) to what you are thinking about and tows a fairly heavy and LONG 5er.

 

[gsbrockman]

This would be a long bed 3500 truck.

The link below is for the 2017 model year, but I suspect the information will be very similar.

https://www.ramtrucks.com/assets/towing_guide/pdf/2017_ram_3500_towing_charts.pdf

 

[stickk]

The extra stability from the dually is worth it in my opinion. Passing Semi's on a 2 lane HWY, the dually is rock solid. I have a Keystone Raptor DS3612, pin weight about 2800-3000 lbs, total weight loaded about 16k. I was towing this with a '15 RAM CCLB 2500 for 2 summers. Power wise the 2500 did fine. Decided to get the dually summer of '17. Aisin-3.73. I also think it is better towing a tag trailer as well for side to side stability. Pulled a 26' enclosed from Denver to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. Never felt any sway from wind running across I-40. I use this truck as a daily driver as well, 35k+ a year. Is it as nice to drive that many town miles as my '15 2500? No. To me it is worth it to have for the few miles, in comparison, towing. Look into the OEM air bag set up. It has fewer leaf springs and may be a better town ride. I don't have that option.

 

[GSykes]

CROW,
check this site www.rambodybuilder.com it has all the information you are seeking on vehicles from 04 - 18.
Takes a bit of navigation though but all the info is there. CCLB 4X2 SRW: front axle FAWR 5500, rear RAWR 7000.

 

[CROW]

I thank all for your responses. This was the info I needed. I had a similar experience to Stickk towing with a single axle truck and than a dually. The dually was so much more stable, but many use single axle trucks and do fine. Love towing with the dually but it is a pain in the city I live in. My sense is that I will replace with a dually since being safe is really the most important thing in the world.

 

[Brocky]

I have to agree with Stickk.. I have over 40 years and 4 million miles of tractor trailer driving.. I had a F-250 then bought a 32 foot/102 wide gooseneck hitch enclosed car trailer. Even with Firestone air bag helpers on the 250 it was still not "comfortable" with the new trailer.. Bought a crew cab 3500 C&C with a steel flatbed.. The whole unit now handles like a baby!! You hardly know the trailer is back there.. I live in a rural area so traffic does not bother my size, even when I go into a large city for business. Just have to look for a larger parking place, and park further out and take 2 spaces or where ever possible back into a curb where there is lawn beyond it.

 

[RVTRKN]

A 3500 SRW and 3:42 rear diff, as the only option, kills it for me. The SRW would handle that, at its max limit, but your driving habits will have to change to compensate for less stability. Its not your driving that you have to worry about, its the other idiots that can cause disaster. Slow it down, keep plenty of room in front of you, and it will be fine. However, the first time you find yourself with another idiot causing you to maneuver aggressively, you will miss the DRW.

 

[AH64ID]

All 3500's have a 7000 lb RAWR.

A 4x4 has about 4000 lbs of rear axle payload, and a 4x2 has about 4100lbs of rear axle payload.

You could add a 3,500lb pin weight and be right at the RAWR and slightly under the tires. For part time use it would likely work just fine.

I do highly recommend the auto-level air assist suspension.

2018 data can be found here.

https://www.ramtrucks.com/ram-commercial/body-builders-guide.html

CROW,
check this site www.rambodybuilder.com it has all the information you are seeking on vehicles from 04 - 18.
Takes a bit of navigation though but all the info is there. CCLB 4X2 SRW: front axle GVWR 5500, rear GVWR 7000.

Those should read FAWR: 5500 and RAWR 7000. GVWR is Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and separate from axle ratings.

 

[GSykes]

Oops, guess that will teach me to get in a hurry.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"3:42 rear diff, as the only option, kills it for me."

Please tell us why.

 

[AH64ID]

"3:42 rear diff, as the only option, kills it for me."

Please tell us why.

I don't like it either, but I spend a lot of time towing up steep single lane roads at 5-15 mph. For 99% of users that spend 99% of their time in gears other than 1st I don't think it's too horrible.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"IF" you have an AISIN there should not be any issues towing up to 28K combined with 3.42's.

ONLY issue I had with my 11 HO is 1st on a grade. I had to take it easy or it would want to hop. After it got rolling it was GREAT. I towed in 5th.

My Son's 15 3500 SRW has the AISIN and I have driven it with a 14K OVERLOADED dump trailer behind taking off on a grade about 27-28 combined, it took off with ease! The AISIN is the key to this gear ratio towing heavy with a SRW or even a DRW.

 

[AH64ID]

It’s not an issue with getting a load moving, but rather miles and miles of sustained slow speed towing. The ability to get into 2nd and lock the TC will happen sooner with 4.10’s and that will help on those long pulls.

The rest of the time it won’t matter.

 

[SnoKing]

As Ron said we tow a 39'4" 16K Bighorn full high profile 5th wheel at a combined weight of 24,500 with a 2015 3500 SRW 4x4 SB and it works great. We were full timing in it for a year plus, so the truck boxes were loaded heavy also.

The trick is that the new trucks chassis and 18" tires and wheels make for a great rig up to it's 17K+/-ratings.

I would have ordered 3.73 gears if they were an option. After 2.5 years and 38K I know that would have been a mistake. With the Aisin transmission 3.42 work great. We did 1400 miles in the first 48 hours of ownership, Greeley, Co back to NW Washington. 80 MPH is only 1750 RPM hour after hour.

Best of all worlds for trailers that size. We drove in 40 MPH wind in Nevada without issues. Truck has been Wash to Arizona three and a half times. Would not change a thing. Picture available in sig line if you click it. SnoKing

 

[Slow Six]

Yeah, many of those single rear wheelers do fine until something goes wrong. That is when the tail wags the dog. If some is good, more is better and to much is just right!

 

[RVTRKN]

4:10 has better fuel millage towing at the Max weight ratings. Also, it puts the Cummins at the best RPM range for economy and acceleration when towing heavy. Empty, the 3:42's will cause the RPMs to run below 1100rpm at low (50mph) crusing speeds causing shuddering and pinging.

You all can drink the coolaid if you want, but a serious towing rig has no business running 3:42. I regret opting for 3:73's instead of the 4:10 option, and regret it accelleration up every steep onramp to a freeway.

 

[Cummins12V98]

RVTRKN I have owned both, I don't think you have. I see you have a stick, auto's are another story. My 11 towed a combined 29K @ 9.5mpg, my 15 tows a combined 33K @ 9mpg.

Same RPM's with the 11 in 5th and my 15 in 6th. Same roads both RV's wide body MobileSuites.

Now when it comes to solo mileage they both performed about the same.

ONLY reason one get's "shuddering" is if they don't use tow haul mode.