Towing with Ram 1500- has anyone done it?
From : chauncey gardiner
Q: chauncey gardiner wrote i have a 2003 ram 1500 4x4 qc with the 4.7 liter engine. it has the tow package with the 3.921 limited-slip differential. i did not buy this truck with the intention of towing anything but now i would like to. i may be able to get a good price on a small 23 5th wheel. dry weight is around 4800 lbs. i figure if i am careful not to load more than about 1000 lbs into it i will be well under dodges recommended maximum of 7000+. i have heard that a 5th wheel tows more efficiently than a trailer and so im hoping this will work to my advantage. i saw a recent discussion here that seemed to conclude that one would be crazy to try to tow anything as heavy as 5000 lbs with this truck. im just wondering- has anyone actually tried it does anyone have any recommendations about what the maximum weight should be i have a 2001 ram 1500 qc 4x2 with the 5.9l engine. i pull a 3800lb dry trailer. its close to 5000lbs loaded. it tows quite well but is slow up the grades. previously i had a 2000 ram 1500 with the 5.2l. it struggled to pull the same trailer. even on flat highways it had trouble maintaining 60mph while towing out of od. i cant imagine trying to pull 5000lbs with the 4.7l especially the heavier 4x4. if you live where its flat like kansas you might do ok albeit rather slow. .
Replies:
From : mac davis
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From : snoman
like you got to have mud flaps so you have to drill a couple of holes to install them right. how about protecting the wheel well lips. do you leave the metal bare and use touch up the paint once in awhile for any chips im asking these questions because im going to get it painted and not putting anything back on. i have the mopar running boards they are ok and they are mounted to the underside. they help prevent damage to the rocker panel. fmb suggested xliner will look into that. as for assuming responsibility for my actions you are wrong on that part. dodge sold me the wheel well covers even though they werent mopar and installed them for me. like if they told me not to put them on and why i would of never had them put on. yesterday the sales manager told me that they now realize they should be taken off once in awhile and cleaned. they are finding out im not the only one having trouble. only mine the paint started to lift and surface rust is showing up. and also they are still installling them. and im not in denial ford trucks are not an inferior product. lusardi stevenospam@lusardi.de wrote dale there are times when common sense applies and this is one. yes the installer should have known better but so should you. anytime the paint and or the zinc coating is violated you risk this problem. when i received my 2004 the first thing i did was put the truck up on jack stands and looked for all those things the factory didnt paint and properly protect. the factory had done a pretty good job in comparison to both ford and gm and it still took me 3 days to dissassemble paint and reinstall. ultimately the vehicle is yours. you bought it and you also bought all the problems or advantages that come with it. step up to the mirror and address the guy you see and tell him to assume responsibility for his actions. furthermore if you use this as justification to switch to ford and a clearly inferior product you are in denial. steve my 2003 has rust. i had chrome wheel well covers put on by the dodge dealership where i bought the truck new. also had moulded dodge mud flaps put on.put these on to protect the truck from stone chips. just a couple weeks ago i took of the flaps off to clean them. some sand got trapped inside the flaps and washed them. then i decided to take the chrome wheel well covers of to see if anything needed cleaning. found the paint was bubbling and peeling in two spots. about the size of a silver dollar. where the holes were drilled to fasten the mouldings the paint around them was rusting. my local dodge dealer who didnt sell me the truck took pictures of this and sent them out to the area rep. they tell me on thursday that dodge will not fix the rust. its not the fault of the truck. the installation of accessories is not covered. so who ever drilled the holes to install the guards will have to cover the problem. had two estimates to have the four fenders pained about $1300. now the shop foreman where i bought my truck at dodge city in saskatoon is going to talk to the same area rep. i know dodge will tell him its not the trucks fault that the holes should never been drilled. question is dodge sells these mouldings through parts so how are you suppose to install them screws come with them. anyhow i know im going to be stuck with the painting. got to get it fixed can not have it get worse. im going to get the truck painted even if i have to pay for it. so anybody out there dont put those moulding on. salt and sand gets between them and the paint. friday went out and drove a 2005 ford f250 crewcab. very nice riding truck. might have to go monday and price it out. dodge has really disappointed me after 5 dodge trucks maybe time to switch. dale . 222 304189 dddmh8$hn6$01$1@.t-online.com i had the same experience on my 96 but the cause was a water leak from the the bed lamp. the lens was cracked and water entered there and flowed between the double panel around the rear window and to the floor. it took me 9 monthes to find that leak. steve is anyone else experiencing problems with rusting seat brackets under the seats. i noticed the brackets under my front seats and the dealer replaced them under warranty. however my back seat brackets are also rusting . i guess im wondering if this sold as new truck might have been partially submerged. i cant imagine rust forming on metals that are in a dry cab and protected from the elements by not only the cab itself but also the seats. gary .
From : snoman
i had to smack that sucker with a hammer and spray with penetrating oil to get it to loosen up. by the way ive been to menasha wi.. right accross from pierce fire equipment when i was working for swift transportation. saw some nice old vehicles too.. anyway your cab is put together in such a way that youd have to cut the inner side of the roof loose to get at the welds for the outer roof..not fun. aargh! i can do without that roof job. ill let the body guy worry about the roof and just take care of the stuff i can handle. the last guy that had this truck loused-up the e-brake set-up so it is unuseable. as a matter of fact he just let the whole thing go to pot. more work. i was going to replace the valve cover gaskets before winter too but it doesnt seem to leak alot. where it does no rust problems so let it leak awhile longer! my wife has an aunt somewhere over near menasha. its almost straight east across the state of wi.from here. anyway back to drip rail hunting. chrysler dropped the part and there isnt a stocking dealer left anywhere. .
From : mac davis
friday went out and drove a 2005 ford f250 crewcab. very nice riding truck. might have to go monday and price it out. dodge has really disappointed me after 5 dodge trucks maybe time to switch. dale dale before you go to ford take a 05 ctd for a spin. yea that makes sence. dodge screws him with damage that they caused with their parts and service so he punishes them by buying another and more expensive dodge yea that will teach em lol. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : miles
tom lawrence wrote what kind of symptoms come with a bad iac idling problems... vehicle wont idle after starting or dies when coming to a stop. would that also cause the vehicle to hesitate when first started i notice this more as the temp gets lower. i just start it and put it in gear and when i push on the gas it will hesitate. sometimes it backfires. sometimes the engine even dies. once going though there is no hesitation. .
From : bob
yea with the current employee discount i would have bought the superduty instead. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i went and bought a new f150 4x4 lariat instead tow package etc. ah well... your loss .
From : hawkeye65
i went and bought a new f150 4x4 lariat instead tow package etc. ah well... your loss .
From : miles
i replaced the o2 sensors. there were actually only two one upstream and one downstream. downstream went on like a charm upstream stripped the threads off the old sensor and had to drive all over town to find an 18mm tap to clean out the cat converter hole! what a pain!!!!! finally got it tapped out and 5 hours after starting the second sensor is in. now i am afraid to drive it since it will depress me if i just spent 130 bucks for two un-needed sensors... -jerry p.s. i bought the gasket set for the manifold so i may be busy tomarrow too! - .
From : chauncey gardiner
naw ... 72 hours ago our fearless leader was still vacationing. how dare you expect any immediate action. un-frickin-believable. craig c. .
From : mac davis
on mon 12 sep 2005 152228 -0700 dimbo spams cuervojoseremove@jps.net wrote thats the problem in this group a guy asks a legitimate question and gets seven responses 6 of which are just irrelevant drivel and loud mouth bantering. geez just answer the question or stfu............................. so which of the choices did you make rofl we upgraded the speakers on our 01 dakota... the difference between buying the speakers on the web or buying them at a circuit city and getting free installation was about $75... for $75 i wasnt going to be pulling door panels off... we had cc mess with it.. ymmv can anyone please give me advice on how to remove the front and rear panels so i can install the new speakers i bought mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : mark filice
only ones i would recommend. they are slightly more expensive that some other brands but they are better. i think tom l. will agree with this... lets see. as long as we agree that that list is in no particular order then sure agreed... in fact i think chevron makes the stuff for both mopar and valvoline. mike i run a bottle of techron through my v10 every 5-6k miles or so... seems to keep things from gumming up. one of these days im going to buy me one of those lighted borescopes then ill see if i need to run any cc cleaner through my engine. .