I just bought a 2015 Dodge Ram 1500 eco Diesel crew cab with 3:55s. Of course, I did my homework after I bought it and found out I’m right up against the towing limits of my camper which is 6200lbs. Dry. On the door of the truck iI find that the GVWR of the vehicle itself is 6900lbs. I looked up the GCVR (what it can tow including the weight of the loaded vehicle) and it’s 13,700 which leaves me only 6400lbs. Of towing capacity for my 6200 lb. dry weight trailer. I’m moving on from a 2002 Chevy Suburban with 3:73s. (270hp, 321ft. Lbs of torque). The dodge is rated at 240 ho and 420 ft. Lbs of torque. I was thinking 100 more fr pounds would give me a lot more power to tow than my suburban did but now I’m second guessing. Haven’t towed the camper with it yet.
How much are you towing?
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Hi: MikesRam... WOW... I thought I was up against the wall towing aprox. 4500#s!!! 16 loaded EcoD. Laramie Ram with 3:55's.
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.
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I just sold off my 2015 with 3.92 gears. I towed many thousands of miles with it. My boat/trailer/gear came in at 8600 pounds then add around 700 pounds in people weight. I never felt unsafe towing it. The GDE engine brake was awesome on long down hills....I live in the Utah Rockies. I towed from Salt Lake City to Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona (and all over Utah) going to different lakes over the years. I really had to watch my oil temps while climbing some of the larger hills and back out of it often, sometimes down to 45mph when the oil temp got over 260*. Oil temps always dropped quick after cresting the hills. I never derated and saw temps at 266-268 often. Of course this was always summer towing with 100+ heat. Only mod besides the GDE engine and trans tunes were axle to frame airbags which really helped control the load. My coolant or transmission temps NEVER got hot.
Keep in mind, this truck is identical to the hemi truck which is rated to tow 10K. Same brakes, axles, wheels, tires, etc. The Eco's are limited only due to engine temps (mostly oil). I would never sweat towing 6000 pounds.
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Keep in mind, this truck is identical to the hemi truck which is rated to tow 10K. Same brakes, axles, wheels, tires, etc. The Eco's are limited only due to engine temps (mostly oil). I would never sweat towing 6000 pounds.
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Something's fishy about those numbers...
The axle ratings on our trucks are 3900 pounds both front and rear. Now the payload numbers are stupid low usually - my Laramie Longhorn is 840 pounds! (So 3 passengers plus me as the driver plus a full load of fuel and I'm over payload? Really??? It's a joke.) The exact same truck with a Hemi has a payload rating of 1300 pounds or so - and no the EcoDiesel isn't that much heavier than the Hemi - there's only 80 pounds difference.
So...
The lowered numbers are just as @UNSTUCK said above - the truck is lower rated simply due to the cooling system.
Now, there are tow police all over the inter webs who will tell you that the sticker on the door is written by the Lord Himself and if you go over that number you and your grandchildren's children will be forced to eat broccoli for the rest of your lives or some such nonsense. Personally I take my cues from the folks on here to tow for a living and keep weights below the AXLE ratings. Our travel trailer for typical trips weighs around 6800 pounds but it's been one 7000 pounds frequently. The rear axle has never exceeded 3900 pounds (usually less than 3750 or so) thanks to a dialed-in weight distribution hitch. The truck has never felt overmatched nor do I feel unsafe - and I'm very OCD when it comes to safety for my family.
@VernDiesel on here can give you more perspective but - in my opinion - you'll not have any issues towing your trailer or one slightly heavier, say up to 7000 pounds. Your comfort level may dictate more truck or less trailer but I believe you'll be fine. The Hemi guys do it all the time and there's no difference in the driveline or chassis between the Hemi's and our EcoD's.
Bob
The axle ratings on our trucks are 3900 pounds both front and rear. Now the payload numbers are stupid low usually - my Laramie Longhorn is 840 pounds! (So 3 passengers plus me as the driver plus a full load of fuel and I'm over payload? Really??? It's a joke.) The exact same truck with a Hemi has a payload rating of 1300 pounds or so - and no the EcoDiesel isn't that much heavier than the Hemi - there's only 80 pounds difference.
So...
The lowered numbers are just as @UNSTUCK said above - the truck is lower rated simply due to the cooling system.
Now, there are tow police all over the inter webs who will tell you that the sticker on the door is written by the Lord Himself and if you go over that number you and your grandchildren's children will be forced to eat broccoli for the rest of your lives or some such nonsense. Personally I take my cues from the folks on here to tow for a living and keep weights below the AXLE ratings. Our travel trailer for typical trips weighs around 6800 pounds but it's been one 7000 pounds frequently. The rear axle has never exceeded 3900 pounds (usually less than 3750 or so) thanks to a dialed-in weight distribution hitch. The truck has never felt overmatched nor do I feel unsafe - and I'm very OCD when it comes to safety for my family.
@VernDiesel on here can give you more perspective but - in my opinion - you'll not have any issues towing your trailer or one slightly heavier, say up to 7000 pounds. Your comfort level may dictate more truck or less trailer but I believe you'll be fine. The Hemi guys do it all the time and there's no difference in the driveline or chassis between the Hemi's and our EcoD's.
Bob
Thanks, I am more worried about it having the power to tow what I need to. My Suburban has the same GWAR as the new truck and it rows the camper fine as far as stability with the weight distribution. The Ram also has 100 more ft. Pounds of torque than my Suburban and an eight speed trans so I’m thinking as far as power, it should be fine.
@MikesRam just a thought that I had as I read your reply. There is a standardized test for tow ratings, SAE J2807. When the suburban was given a tow rating, this standard didn’t exist. So this isn’t apples to apples. Having said that, there could be only one limiting factor that does not allow for a higher tow rating by the SAE standard. Depending on what that is, you could imply that the ram could safely tow more weight if that issue was mitigated, whether that is the suspension system or cooling system.
If you have a tune (you can check by trying to set cruise at 15mph) you will be fine as far as power. If it is stock post-aem tune you will find a tune especially the trans. will make it tow much better. And drive so much better overall and reduce soot. Just giving my experience with mine. (GDE epa-compliant tune). Many are happy with other tunes too....
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i haven’t towed with my 2021 longhorn yet.
‘I did do a lot of towing with my 2015 ecodiesel with 3.55 rear end. It was awesome.
I had a WD hitch on my 5500lb trailer. In hindsight, a better set of shocks might have helped with some “surging “ sensation.
‘if you are really worried ( and I would not be in your case) about being close to max weight, remove your tailgate. (Approximately 100lbs) You may even go the drastic measure of getting a lighter spare tire( not a great suggestion,but..you might shave 20lbs).) also look into the weight of your current tires and see if you can do some weight saving there.( for all I know your truck could have 35’ knobby “tires that weigh a ton. You night fing a fancy new battery that weighs a lot less for the same output. (10Lbs)I always kept my DEF tank at 50%.(10lbs)
get creative! (I know I could shave 50 lbs by me just going on a diet.lol)
look at saving weight in the camper as well. You might find a new mattress that weighs less. Light weight battery.
BUT,to be honest, your truck will tow it just fine. You won’t even know it’s back there.(lol) mine towed great.
‘I did do a lot of towing with my 2015 ecodiesel with 3.55 rear end. It was awesome.
I had a WD hitch on my 5500lb trailer. In hindsight, a better set of shocks might have helped with some “surging “ sensation.
‘if you are really worried ( and I would not be in your case) about being close to max weight, remove your tailgate. (Approximately 100lbs) You may even go the drastic measure of getting a lighter spare tire( not a great suggestion,but..you might shave 20lbs).) also look into the weight of your current tires and see if you can do some weight saving there.( for all I know your truck could have 35’ knobby “tires that weigh a ton. You night fing a fancy new battery that weighs a lot less for the same output. (10Lbs)I always kept my DEF tank at 50%.(10lbs)
get creative! (I know I could shave 50 lbs by me just going on a diet.lol)
look at saving weight in the camper as well. You might find a new mattress that weighs less. Light weight battery.
BUT,to be honest, your truck will tow it just fine. You won’t even know it’s back there.(lol) mine towed great.
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Great write ups from experienced ED towing folks.
A tune helps you up & down the mountain and typically gives you about 30 HP & 60 TQ, The turbo brake which put with the factory trailer brake controller makes controlling speed while descending any say interstate grade with anything the 4th gen 1500 was rated to tow easy safe & confidence inspiring. Tunes also in my experience dramatically minimize time spent in the shop for both trivial & more major things.
I would also recommend a WDH with built in sway control for better safer TT towing. Many here love the Andersen myself included. But any of them will work wonders when adjusted using CAT scales to replace your unloaded steer weight and get your tongue weight around 12 percent.
Axle to frame air bags are great on their own for bed loads or to compliment a WDH for better suspension dampening & control. Many here have great success with the Timbergroves. Quality parts good design good service & the best axle to frame pricing. If you don’t want air the Sumo springs also work well.
Last the SLT honeycomb style grill measurably helps cooling over many of the grills such as what my Big Horn came with. It can be bought for a few hundred online and is a simple swap. If you don’t “need” to tow your camper at 70 plus mph you will really love how this truck tows and the fuel economy. If you have to tow your TT at 70 plus you will work the cooling system really hard and be more stressed.
Typically people add about 1,000 pounds from dry to camp ready. So at say 7,300 pounds wet for OP, I would adjust my WDH & loading to see about 12 percent tongue weight or 860-880 pounds per CAT scales. When using a WDH tongue weight is no longer static but becomes dynamic or variable as it redistributes weight not only to the steer axle but also back to the trailer axles. So when using a WDh tongue weight is determined by first weighing just your truck then truck plus trailer and subtracting one from the other. You can add the tongue weight number to the trailer axles weight number to find your gross trailer weight. Tongue weight divided by gross trailer weight gives you your tongue weight percentage.
Additionally if you have after adjustments roughly replaced your unloaded steer axle weight you will have the safest most stable setup. Typically two fingers driveable.
A tune helps you up & down the mountain and typically gives you about 30 HP & 60 TQ, The turbo brake which put with the factory trailer brake controller makes controlling speed while descending any say interstate grade with anything the 4th gen 1500 was rated to tow easy safe & confidence inspiring. Tunes also in my experience dramatically minimize time spent in the shop for both trivial & more major things.
I would also recommend a WDH with built in sway control for better safer TT towing. Many here love the Andersen myself included. But any of them will work wonders when adjusted using CAT scales to replace your unloaded steer weight and get your tongue weight around 12 percent.
Axle to frame air bags are great on their own for bed loads or to compliment a WDH for better suspension dampening & control. Many here have great success with the Timbergroves. Quality parts good design good service & the best axle to frame pricing. If you don’t want air the Sumo springs also work well.
Last the SLT honeycomb style grill measurably helps cooling over many of the grills such as what my Big Horn came with. It can be bought for a few hundred online and is a simple swap. If you don’t “need” to tow your camper at 70 plus mph you will really love how this truck tows and the fuel economy. If you have to tow your TT at 70 plus you will work the cooling system really hard and be more stressed.
Typically people add about 1,000 pounds from dry to camp ready. So at say 7,300 pounds wet for OP, I would adjust my WDH & loading to see about 12 percent tongue weight or 860-880 pounds per CAT scales. When using a WDH tongue weight is no longer static but becomes dynamic or variable as it redistributes weight not only to the steer axle but also back to the trailer axles. So when using a WDh tongue weight is determined by first weighing just your truck then truck plus trailer and subtracting one from the other. You can add the tongue weight number to the trailer axles weight number to find your gross trailer weight. Tongue weight divided by gross trailer weight gives you your tongue weight percentage.
Additionally if you have after adjustments roughly replaced your unloaded steer axle weight you will have the safest most stable setup. Typically two fingers driveable.
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Hi: MikesRam... The only non factory equip. my truck has are red air bags installed by the OP. When my 5th. wh. is hooked up they help keep the ascend up off the road. The Ram does have the trailer tow pkg. and the first owner used it to pull his enclosed const. trailer.
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.
How do I know if it has the tune?
I see what you did there--did you censor yourself intentionally? That trailer looks so sweet. It just looks like it would tow like a dream. What is the weight?
I'm not familiar with the Suburban engine, but I think the biggest difference you will notice is climbing hills at 3000 RPM where you would have been at 4,000--and maybe at a higher speed. My trailer is around 5,000 # loaded, and I am used to passing the gassers on the hills. On the flats, it's around 2,100 RPM @ 60MPH, and I'm not sure if your old rig would have been at a higher RPM there also. Mine is a 2019 Classic with stock tune and 3.55s..
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I can vouch for the stoutness of the Ram"s axles and rear differential. On my last Ram, a 2005 Hemi Thunder Road, had dealer install an extra rear leaf and Rancho 9000 shocks. I drove it for 300,000 miles, heavy towing and also heavy bed loads. I used it to deliver heavy marine diesels, up to 3,500 lbs in the bed. Had a 10,000lb 5th wheel and the heaviest 5th wheel load towed was 16,000 lbs. Also had a race cam and 3,000 rpm stall converter and ran a 100 shot of nitrous at the drag strip on the weekends! As good as that hemi Ram towed, the Ecodiesel does it with much less fuss. Just keep an eye on your oil temps. The 3d gen Ecodiesel is rated to tow up to 12,500 lbs, basicly the same truck with better cooling design. I wouldn't sweat being a couple lbs over, it's a Ram and a good tow platform. Truck will be happy towing.
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You'll do well towing that camper. My heavy Laramie has 3.55 and I regularly tow 7500-8k. Stage 1 tune and transmission tune helps but the truck would still be plenty capable without. Just follow the advice on here when setting up the WDH, dial in those trailer brakes, and keep an eye on the oil temp.
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Some excellent advice has been given in this thread. I want to add my own experience dealing with towing and my ecodiesel as well as experiences I have had with other peoples vehicles and towing. My wife and I rent travel trailers. Because of this we not only tow a lot (20,000-30,000 miles a year), we work with a lot of different people with different vehicles. We have had 4 customers call us and complain that they had to pull over to let their vehicles cool down when towing our 8000lb trailer. All 4 were GMs. 3 were Suburbans, and 1 was a Tahoe. 2 of them had cruise set at 75, and attempted to "set it and forget it" and that didn't work so well for them. One of them yelled and cursed at me on the phone, claiming my trailer weighed more than I said it did and his vehicle never had any issues towing their utility trailer (which was single axle and weighed no more than 3klbs fully loaded). I told him that if he wanted to go to a scale and weigh the trailer with and without his equipment in it, and let me know what the weights were, I would gladly refund him the rental fee if the trailer was more I told him it was. He decided to drive a little slower and luckily didn't have any issues the rest of their weeklong trip.
My brother is a huge GM fan and they have a 2008 suburban with the 6.0 v8. He towed their trailer, which was about 1000lbs less than mine, behind us as we journeyed 200 miles to a location in UT for a family camping trip. 6 people in my truck, 7 in his suburban. But again, my trailer weighed about 1000lbs more. He was unable to keep up with my truck going up a 6% grade that lasted about 2 miles. And after the grade, he had a warning his transmission was overheating. He had to stop and let it cool and me and my family continued on. We ultimately made it to our destination an hour and a half before he did and we had 0 problems.
We have had over 300 people rent our trailers over the last few years. By far the majority of our renters drive f150s. We haven't had any of them experience any vehicle issues while towing. The Ecoboost engines perform very well, as do the new 10 speeds. However, they all complained about their fuel economy. The 3.5 ecoboosts were all in the 6-8mpg ranges, and the 2.7 ecoboost have been in the 7-10mpg range.
My ecodiesel is always in the 12-16mpg range, depending on which trailer I'm towing, which route I'm taking and how fast I want to go. I towed my 8000lb trailer from St George UT, to my home in Eagle Mountain, UT, which is about 290 miles, and got a hand calculated 14.6mpg for that trip. I stayed in the 55-66mph range.My oil didn't go above 238.
If you learn how to treat your truck when towing, what its limits are and stay within them, you will be very happy towing with the ecodiesel. As mentioned above, a WDH is HIGHLY recommended for towing. In some states, its required and we have found renting trailers that without one, insurance may not cover you if in an accident. If you expect to hook up a trailer and drive 75+ everywhere you go, this isn't going to be the truck for you.
My brother is a huge GM fan and they have a 2008 suburban with the 6.0 v8. He towed their trailer, which was about 1000lbs less than mine, behind us as we journeyed 200 miles to a location in UT for a family camping trip. 6 people in my truck, 7 in his suburban. But again, my trailer weighed about 1000lbs more. He was unable to keep up with my truck going up a 6% grade that lasted about 2 miles. And after the grade, he had a warning his transmission was overheating. He had to stop and let it cool and me and my family continued on. We ultimately made it to our destination an hour and a half before he did and we had 0 problems.
We have had over 300 people rent our trailers over the last few years. By far the majority of our renters drive f150s. We haven't had any of them experience any vehicle issues while towing. The Ecoboost engines perform very well, as do the new 10 speeds. However, they all complained about their fuel economy. The 3.5 ecoboosts were all in the 6-8mpg ranges, and the 2.7 ecoboost have been in the 7-10mpg range.
My ecodiesel is always in the 12-16mpg range, depending on which trailer I'm towing, which route I'm taking and how fast I want to go. I towed my 8000lb trailer from St George UT, to my home in Eagle Mountain, UT, which is about 290 miles, and got a hand calculated 14.6mpg for that trip. I stayed in the 55-66mph range.My oil didn't go above 238.
If you learn how to treat your truck when towing, what its limits are and stay within them, you will be very happy towing with the ecodiesel. As mentioned above, a WDH is HIGHLY recommended for towing. In some states, its required and we have found renting trailers that without one, insurance may not cover you if in an accident. If you expect to hook up a trailer and drive 75+ everywhere you go, this isn't going to be the truck for you.
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