Dodge 1500 5.2 towing question

From : smk17

Q: i have a 1999 dodge ram 1500 with a 5.2 318 motor 4x4 quad cab. i just bought a camper 2003jay flight by jayco27 bh on ebay where the owner said it weighed between 3500 and 4000 lbs unloaded. it was just what we wanted within the weight we were looking for. so i bought it. then i looked up another identical camper on another site and the dry weight was 4895 lbs. but i had already bought the camper. i have searched the archives on this topic but found nothing specific enough for my question. should i be worried that it weighs almost 900 more lbs than i thought in my manual it says this truck can tow 7200 lbs. yet why do i feel that just isnt right after we put some stuff in it were looking at around 5500 lbs. im not sure my gear ratio is. thanks .

Replies:

From : mac davis

on wed 11 jun 2008 102459 -0700 pdt smk17 smk17@cornell.edu wrote i have a 1999 dodge ram 1500 with a 5.2 318 motor 4x4 quad cab. i just bought a camper 2003jay flight by jayco27 bh on ebay where the owner said it weighed between 3500 and 4000 lbs unloaded. it was just what we wanted within the weight we were looking for. so i bought it. then i looked up another identical camper on another site and the dry weight was 4895 lbs. but i had already bought the camper. i have searched the archives on this topic but found nothing specific enough for my question. should i be worried that it weighs almost 900 more lbs than i thought in my manual it says this truck can tow 7200 lbs. yet why do i feel that just isnt right after we put some stuff in it were looking at around 5500 lbs. im not sure my gear ratio is. thanks my 99 ram is also rated at 7200# its a 5.9 gas qq with auto tranny and 3.55 rear end.. i checked at trailerlife.com when we bought the trailer just to make sure and i seem to remember that the 5.2l and 5.9 l had the same max tow weight we have a 28 widelight trailer that weighs 4800#dry.. i estimate it at close to 6000 loaded with household and camping stuff... its no racing outfit but once over about 30 mph it pulls like a dream... we have a good weight-distributing hitch and electric trailer brakes grades are a bit of a problem and will be worse with the 5.2l but manageable if you dont push it.. if your truck is an automatic transmission and your truck doesnt have a tranny cooler add one.. the 2 cute little lines going from the radiator to the tranny dont count when youre towing get an after market tranny cooler.. its a cheap insurance policy and might save your tranny.. remember that the max weight includes people and gear... its amazing how much stuff you collect after a few trips and it all adds weight.. mac please remove splinters before emailing .

From : john g

you need to check two other things. first is the combined vehicle weight which should be ok but more inportant is the load rating for your truck. with the tongue weight of your trailer plus weight of occupants and extra stuff in the truck box---my 1500 dodge has a load rating of only 1300+/- lbs my trailer has a tongue weight of 700 lbs which is marginal by the time i add all the other stuff. the best idea would be to consider air bags which will really help your suspension and also make towing a lot easier. i tow a 4800 lb dry weight trailer with a 06 dodge ram hemi ---rear end is 3.92 which makes a great tow---i still need air bags. hope this makes sense john on wed 11 jun 2008 102459 -0700 pdt smk17 smk17@cornell.edu wrote i have a 1999 dodge ram 1500 with a 5.2 318 motor 4x4 quad cab. i just bought a camper 2003 jay flight by jayco 27 bh on ebay where the owner said it weighed between 3500 and 4000 lbs unloaded. it was just what we wanted within the weight we were looking for. so i bought it. then i looked up another identical camper on another site and the dry weight was 4895 lbs. but i had already bought the camper. i have searched the archives on this topic but found nothing specific enough for my question. should i be worried that it weighs almost 900 more lbs than i thought in my manual it says this truck can tow 7200 lbs. yet why do i feel that just isnt right after we put some stuff in it were looking at around 5500 lbs. im not sure my gear ratio is. thanks my 99 ram is also rated at 7200# its a 5.9 gas qq with auto tranny and 3.55 rear end.. i checked at trailerlife.com when we bought the trailer just to make sure and i seem to remember that the 5.2l and 5.9 l had the same max tow weight we have a 28 widelight trailer that weighs 4800#dry.. i estimate it at close to 6000 loaded with household and camping stuff... its no racing outfit but once over about 30 mph it pulls like a dream... we have a good weight-distributing hitch and electric trailer brakes grades are a bit of a problem and will be worse with the 5.2l but manageable if you dont push it.. if your truck is an automatic transmission and your truck doesnt have a tranny cooler add one.. the 2 cute little lines going from the radiator to the tranny dont count when youre towing get an after market tranny cooler.. its a cheap insurance policy and might save your tranny.. remember that the max weight includes people and gear... its amazing how much stuff you collect after a few trips and it all adds weight.. mac please remove splinters before emailing .