Why I would never have a 3/4 ton...

[JL penner]

the 3rd gen 3500's have an overload leaf pack on top of the main springs that the 2500 does not have.

my second gen has this! (camper package)..... does that really make it a SRW 1 ton???????

 

[hasselbach]

7) Some people like the 3500 badge because it makes them feel more macho.

A big plus if you weigh less than 136 lbs.



If I tow really heavy I use my Dually, but its a pain in the tail to park, so most times its covered in the shop.



I found that the clearance lights help with the directional stability, so another plus going with the 3500.



(this post has been reviewed for political correctness and user friendly content. If this post offends anyone on this site, I apologize)

 

[Heavyweight]

I like the air deflector on the 3500 as well. When I am traveling at 150-160MPH, it acts like a vertical stabilizer, creating a vortex of ram air, articulating over the leading edges of the unibody!~ But, at the proving grounds,,, we found out that the 3500 emblem does ad additional weight! The extra 20 to 30 pounds does diminish top end and drag coefficient!

 

[JL penner]

I like the air deflector on the 3500 as well. When I am traveling at 150-160MPH, it acts like a vertical stabilizer, creating a vortex of ram air, articulating over the leading edges of the unibody!~ But, at the proving grounds,,, we found out that the 3500 emblem does ad additional weight! The extra 20 to 30 pounds does diminish top end and drag coefficient!

Yeah, but don't forget that the 3500 emblem is good for another 5-10 horse power :-laf

 

[Heavyweight]

Well, I have other evidence regarding Corrected RWHP and the vaunted, 3500 emblem!

You see, during my days working on the Manhattan project, we came across this magnetized material called compound "X". It had it's own unique properties, verified by an independent laboratory in a top secret military facility outside Las Vegas Nevada. Anyways, to the point, this material in conjunction with common plastic, would give you gravity polarity. So if you placed the material in a directional pattern, you could feasibly create your own "gravity"! We sold this technology to the Daimler corporation. From what I can understand, they accidentally replaced the assembly line stock, with compound "X"! You guessed it, that was the part of the line where the Ram 3500 badges where installed! We are under the impression, that the badge reduces the overall gravity affect on the Truck by 2,000 maybe 3,000 pounds. So essentially, your horsepower to weight ratio will be that of a Ford Mustang Cobra, or Corvette. That is the same thing as gaining 200-300 RWHP! So anyone who thinks that the 3500 badge is all fart and no bark? Try again, over.

 

[gsbrockman]

(this post has been reviewed for political correctness and user friendly content. If this post offends anyone on this site, I apologize)

:-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[JHardwick]

I wish I had pictures of our 77 GMC shortbed halfton truck hooked up to our 24 ft gooseneck stock trailer with 8 horses and fully loaded down with feed and tack. Of course we "modified" the truck. It had 1. 5 ton springs on it and a circle track 454 "built" sitting in the front. We could do 70 up the hills, and 90 on the flats. At the time (1992) nobody in our group could keep up with us, but then again, nobody was driving a dodge either. :-laf

Didn't have much grunt did it? Since circle track engines are built to perform from 4,000-5,000 RPM on up to 8,000 RPM or so.

 

[67guzzler]

7) Some people like the 3500 badge because it makes them feel more macho.

A big plus if you weigh less than 136 lbs.



If I tow really heavy I use my Dually, but its a pain in the tail to park, so most times its covered in the shop.



I found that the clearance lights help with the directional stability, so another plus going with the 3500.



(this post has been reviewed for political correctness and user friendly content. If this post offends anyone on this site, I apologize)

Commentary removed because it's been deemed antagonistic.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

my second gen has this! (camper package)..... does that really make it a SRW 1 ton???????

YUP - so does mine - you may be on to something there!

 

[JL penner]

Didn't have much grunt did it? Since circle track engines are built to perform from 4,000-5,000 RPM on up to 8,000 RPM or so.

You could spin the tires on it while it was hooked up. The motor was pulled from a circle track car, but was overhauled. We put 396 corvette heads on it and a edelbrock performer intake with a rochester sitting on top. It also had an 80 gallon fuel tank in the bed. When it wasn't hooked up, you could floor it and the tires would spin til it caught second gear... ... . yeah the truck had plenty of grunt. :-laf



Note: the only significance of it being out of a circle track car was that the cylinders were bored out.

 

[JJuday]

I pull a 12K dozer and I haul it on a GN with 14K axles, I bet the trailer itself weighs around 4K empty. Sure it squats the 2500 some, but I still have no need for a 3500, single or dualed. I also pulled my father in-laws 31' bumper pull camper back from Texas with no problems.







2003 QC, H. O. 6spd. 4X4

66' D500 Dump truck, 4spd/2spd rear, 318 wide.

 

[JL penner]

I pull a 12K dozer and I haul it on a GN with 14K axles, I bet the trailer itself weighs around 4K empty. Sure it squats the 2500 some, but I still have no need for a 3500, single or dualed. I also pulled my father in-laws 31' bumper pull camper back from Texas with no problems.

What Tim started out saying was that according to Dodge's weight ratings, the extra 900 lbs you get by buying a 3500 vs a 2500 will keep you "legal", not what our trucks are actually capable of towing. I personally think that those numbers there on the side of the door are a bunch of b. s. Tow how you wanna tow, Tim was just pointing out his opinion and stating the obvious.

 

[BK]

Weighed my truck today (loaded).



My trailer is 20' long and weighs 3,080 lbs empty. Truck is a 3500 SRW, shortbox.



Anyway, here's the weights:



Front axle 4280

Rear axle 4280

Trailer axles 7480



Gross Weight 16040



That was with me in it, and my girlfriend not.



Truck weight 8560. .

I'm sorry but something just doesn't make sense in those numbers and the totals or I'm missing something??????

Your trailer is 3,080 , 20' empty?

So what was in your trailer that weighed 4,400 lbs??????

Did you have to drive off the scale to measure the trailer while the truck was off the scale, but still attached?







On the 2nd gen, the 2500 vs 3500. . both being oil burners,

the main difference was 1/4" in the ring of the D70 vs D80

and the HD tranfercase was optional on the 2500, but the standard in the oilburner was still a one ton case (actually rated working weight was much higher than the application calls for). The TC was different in the gasser a smaller NP TC. And the auto's are very different between the gassers and oilburners in the 2500, but the oilburner 2500 and 3500 use the same auto trannys.



It was commonly known that the 2500 oilburner was an underbadged 1 ton in reality. While the gassers were true 3/4tons.

Hence why DC finally did the right thing and just labled it as such. They didn't have to make a new model. . it was always there.



And in the earlier 2nd gens, the gassers had a smaller frame then the oilburners. About 97 or so, I think is when DC stopped offering the smaller lighter frame in the gassers and stuck with the larger oilburner frame across the board. My Friend has a dually, I have a SWR, everything is the same, he just has two extra tires and 1/4 larger ring (D80 vs D70) which gives him a little extra capacity, but the oilburnering 2500 are not truly 3/4tons. . they are 1 ton... the 3/4 ton badge should have been left with the gassers, cause they are the 3/4ton.

 

[MFalkinham]

Ughh, not this thread again!

Just don't hold your breath waiting for Tim to respond to your questions. He hasn't posted anything new since last August.

 

[EEdmondson]

I miss Tim. He was fun and he knew everything.

 

[BK]

Well his numbers made no sense, and I didn't see ( I admit I skimmed the posts) anyone challange them. There's not magic to a trailer (assuming a camping trailer) going up in weight, but from 3Klbs (dry) to 7Klbs, that's magic. Their grosses are only 1klbs or so more than their dry weight.

I can see the truck ~8Klbs. I've had mine on the scale.

But a 3Klb trailer become 7klbs-8klbs... Magic!!!

OR I'm really missing somthing like it was really a car trailer and there was a car on it.

 

[GaryCarter]

... I've been preaching to 3/4 ton truck owners forever ... .

Your intentions may be good but you know what they say about the road to hell.

Looks like the weight police lost ground on this encounter.



Gary



Also, FWIW you can run up to 26k in FL with a half ton -or anything- if you're so inclined. Legally. Call FDOT if you don't believe me. That should be enough to light the fires again, so I'm outta here! Oo.

 

[JDinNY]

This thread is a joke!

 

[kernen]

A big plus if you weigh less than 136 lbs.



If I tow really heavy I use my Dually, but its a pain in the tail to park, so most times its covered in the shop.



I found that the clearance lights help with the directional stability, so another plus going with the 3500.



(this post has been reviewed for political correctness and user friendly content. If this post offends anyone on this site, I apologize)

Please educate me how the clearance lights help w/ directional stability ,Thanka in advance.

 

[DavidBurt]

Must have something to do with down force and aerodynamics, especially when traveling over 150mph.

Dave