towing capacity 93 W250 diesel

[DES93Dodge]

What is max towing capacity for a 1993 W250, diesel, club cab, 8ft. bed? I asked at a dealership, they said 11,000lbs, of course the trailer people say 15,000lbs, is OK. I looking for a 5th wheel. 1st time trailering. Truck has the 5spd manual transmission.

 

[Budpwr66]

From personal experience, moving the weight is not the problem. I towed my 37' Toy hauler 15K when loaded with my 92 W250 for the first year I had the trailer. My fear was getting it stopped, the brakes on 1st gens were not meant for the heavy stuff. I would try to stay around the 10,000 - 11,000 range max.

Don't let it bother you when a 3rd generation blows by you on the a hill running 80mph, that's how I ended up with the '06'


Chris

 

[GAmes]

Automatic or manual shift? If you have an auto with an aux cooler (mounts under the bed from Dodge) then you might be able to handle 8k, but win no speed contests. Without the cooler, I'd say 7000 max. A manual trans equipped engine has more HP/TQ so 10k I think 10k is OK.



If you care about Dodges ratings, the auto w/o a cooler GCWR is 12k, with a cooler 14k. I may get corrected on this but I think a manual trans was 16k. I had a 92 auto and it was such a pig towing that I came very close to trading it in on a Ford.

 

[PToombs]

Look at the sticker on the drivers door jamb. Dodges GCWR, gross combined weight rating, is listed there. The truck will haul more, I've seen lots of,"I towed 18k, 20k,... " threads, but that is recommended. I've hauled more myself, I just go slower and watch closer.

Like was said, it's the stopping you need to worry about.

 

[KSears]

legally or realistically???????



probably 10- 11 k legally, realistically sort of unlimited , but then I dumped over 3 ton in the back of mine and kept getting up ,, used and abused it reguarly and it just kept going and going,,,,,

 

[GAmes]

Look at the sticker on the drivers door jamb. Dodges GCWR, gross combined weight rating, is listed there.

Really? I don't remember that from my 92, in fact I have never seen a GCWR listed anywhere but in brochures and owners manuals. The GVWR is on there for sure, but that is the vehicle, not combination.

 

[PToombs]

Really? I better look again! I'm probably wrong, my wife tells me that all the time! Maybe the book is where I saw it, and the GVWR on the door jamb.

 

[RGrizzle]

i had a 96 2500 auto and it was rated at 10k . i can't remember if i saw this on the door jamb or if it was in some of the papers that came with the truck but that was what it was factory rated for . the only problem i had with 10k was in the mountains . it would heat up with the factory transmission cooler when pulling a steep mountain .

 

[Bill Stockard]

What is max towing capacity for a 1993 W250, diesel, club cab, 8ft. bed? I asked at a dealership, they said 11,000lbs, of course the trailer people say 15,000lbs, is OK. I looking for a 5th wheel. 1st time trailering. Truck has the 5spd manual transmission.

I dusted off my '92 Dodge truck literature and it shows a W250 Club Cab truck's Maximum Trailer Weight Rating, when equipped with the Cummins and in combination with either the 5-speed manual or the 4-speed automatic transmission, at 11,100 lbs and 17,000 lbs GCWR.



I assume the '93 model year specifications are the same.



Bill

 

[EZeis]

90 through 93 trucks are 17,000 GCW with manual trans and 4. 10 gears, 16,000 GCW with 3. 54/3. 55 gears and manual trans, 12,000 GCW with auto with any gear ratio, and 14,000 GVW with auto trans and optional super cooler under bed with any gear ratio.



Weigh your truck and subtract it from your GCW and that's what your truck will handle. Mine 93 weights 5,580 lbs with me in it, so I can tow 10,420 lbs since it's GCW is 16,000. Don't forget to figure for hitch weights.



Earl

 

[Bill Stockard]

90 through 93 trucks are 17,000 GCW with manual trans and 4. 10 gears, 16,000 GCW with 3. 54/3. 55 gears and manual trans, 12,000 GCW with auto with any gear ratio, and 14,000 GVW with auto trans and optional super cooler under bed with any gear ratio.



Earl

That's much more realistic information than the '92 sales literature I have which listed the tow ratings. What I posted was directly from the sales literature.



I bought a new '92 D350, Club Cab, automatic transmission, and 3. 54 ratio rear axle to tow our 29' Hitchhiker II 5th wheel. The truck struggled towing in the mountains, but did a better job than the Ford F250 with a 6. 9L diesel with an added Banks turbo it replaced.

Bill

 

[93w250cummins]

Brand new to forum, but after looking over this old thread it sure seems like these tow capacity numbers are quite low. My 93W250 Cummins club cab (auto) probably weighs close to 7K with passengers and gear so if u deducted that from the highest GVW that's like 9,000 lbs max! My truck is bone stock with some miles on her and I towed a K5 BLAZER on a 7 ton equipment trailer which is probably 4k easy. That's at least 10k! Are u sure that's not supposed to be excluding the truck? I thought these trucks towed 10-15k not including the truck....

 

[93w250cummins]

Here is my rig.

 

[NIsaacs]

Post 10 is good info, that is the ratings that Dodge set. I would guess that they take into consideration hot days and the Rocky Mountains. I haul more than that with my '91 D-250, however it is not stock, has an exhaust brake, air bags and 5-spd. With a bumper pull trailer 10k is a good number, a gooseneck will allow more. Driver experience plays a big part. Welcome to TDR!

Nick

 

[GAmes]

Brand new to forum, but after looking over this old thread it sure seems like these tow capacity numbers are quite low.... I thought these trucks towed 10-15k not including the truck.

Those are Dodge numbers, used mainly for advertising (the capacity wars are still raging) and was a way to deny warranty coverage. The numbers are low because the 1st gen trucks had a fraction of the power the new ones have, and in the 90s there were very few who knew how to turn them up. My first Dodge/Cummins was a '92 auto. I hated it. It was constantly broke down and would barely pull my 9000 pound 5er. If the Ford dealer had had a duelly with 3.5 gears on the lot in '97 I would be driving a 7.3 powerstroke. I took a chance and bought the truck I have now and couldn't be happier. The combo behind your truck in the picture pulled OK because it has very little wind resistance compared to RV trailers. Try hooking a 10,000 pound TT up and towing it at 60 mph. You will see why the ratings are low.

 

[EDankievitch]

If I recall corectly my 89 was rated for 11,900 lbs towing. I had the Auto transmission. That said I regularly towed 16,000-18,000 lbs and once 24,000 lbs these were boats that I was delivering. I had an extra heavy duty hitch installed and I converted the truck to a Dually set up and I had cab controlled Vac over Hydro Breaks on all the trailers. THe truck did the job,never had a over heat issue. some long drags up hill took a bit longer than others. That said the truck was happiest when towing around 12,000lbs. Boat in pic is a 34' Sea RayAprox 14,500Lbs and 13' wide. I so miss that truck.....

 

[ringneck]

had a 94 5speed with e brake,10500 to 11000 30 foot to 32 5th.it was a 3500 dw 4by4,and all it wanted.it didnt stop to good before the ebrake,good luck.

 

[Federico]

I have a 93 with the 5 speed totally stock andh ave pulled a 11000 pound fifth wheel from Oregon to AZ afew times..over the Santiam Pass the highest point in all of I5 and other then going 30-35 uphill had no problem at all getting it slowed going down with just the compression on the engine or slight touch of the trailer brakes.

Here pulling my 22 footer with the trailer with rock and water tank 125 gallon...definitely

have to plan ahead on this deal..and well don't even think bout backing up lol