front end weight
From : nathan w collier
Q: had someone tell me that the weight of my winch/winch bumper with the weight of a slide in camper was going to kill the front end on my dodge. this was coming from a die-hard ford man and while that doesnt automatically negate his statements it does cause suspicion. he also told me that the arc in the frame is not meant to directly support weight. he stated that he has seen cracked frames on all makes of trucks from this. 1- is this a legitimate concern 2- when front ends do wear out from weight what components are wearing out is there a way to beef them up 3- ever seen cracked frames from air bag usage looking at 4500# camper/gear weight and then 800 or so pounds of tongue weight from my enclosed trailer. thanks -- nathan w. collier http//utilityoffroad.com http//7slotgrille.com http//inlinediesel.com http//bighornrefrigeration.com http//concealedcarryforum.com .
Replies:
From : snoman
as long as you have a gas truck i see no issues. if it is a ctd you need to watch it closely as that option iteslf adds about 600 to 700lb of front end weight to truck. dodge uses the same frame with gas and diesel model 3/4 and 1 ton trucks so the gas truck has more reserve because it is carrying less weight. on mon 27 feb 2006 080856 -0700 nathan w. collier nathan@nospam.com wrote had someone tell me that the weight of my winch/winch bumper with the weight of a slide in camper was going to kill the front end on my dodge. this was coming from a die-hard ford man and while that doesnt automatically negate his statements it does cause suspicion. he also told me that the arc in the frame is not meant to directly support weight. he stated that he has seen cracked frames on all makes of trucks from this. 1- is this a legitimate concern 2- when front ends do wear out from weight what components are wearing out is there a way to beef them up 3- ever seen cracked frames from air bag usage looking at 4500# camper/gear weight and then 800 or so pounds of tongue weight from my enclosed trailer. thanks .
From : snoman
the blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the extra 600 or 700 lbs of a ctd has no impact at all on vehicle or front end when in fact it is such a problem in a dodge that they quietly upgraded and replaced the front axle in 03 to try to better deal with the problems fromthis weight it. gas trucks of same model have same frame and axle so they have a lot more reserve capacity than a oil burner if there had not been a problem there would not been a change because even a dana 60 was no deemed up to the task by dodge. i guess you feel that this weigh is invisable and has no effect on it. the fact of the matter seem to cause you a lot of problem. accept them and work with them rather than preteneding that they do not exist. you like the bs i try to stick to the facts and physics of it. on mon 27 feb 2006 223951 gmt tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote as long as you have a gas truck blah blah blah... like a freakin broken record. i see no issues. i do.... the fact that hed have to install two aux fuel tanks to hold enough gasoline to get him through the remote areas he plans on taking as hes getting 3-4mpg pulling/hauling that load through the trails... .
From : tom lawrence
the blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the extra 600 or 700 lbs of a ctd has no impact at all on vehicle or front no of course it has an impact... but your post was completely useless. well if you had a gas engine.... he doesnt. period. therefore any discussion of that is useless. end when in fact it is such a problem in a dodge that they quietly upgraded and replaced the front axle in 03 to try to better deal with the problems fromthis weight it. absolute bullshit. dc dropped dana altogether over pricing and gave the contract to aam. it had nothing to do with weight considerations. hell the isbe of today ways pretty much the same as the first 6bt weighed in 89. cummins lists the weight of the isbe at 1034lbs. ive seen the 6bt weight listed at almost 1100lbs. close enough for me. burner if there had not been a problem there would not been a change because even a dana 60 was no deemed up to the task by dodge. see above. the d60 was perfectly fine for 12 years. .
From : snoman
one thing for sure tom your posts are worthless because you do not base yours on facts and you let your hormones control your advise and answers. on tue 28 feb 2006 005745 gmt tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote the blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the extra 600 or 700 lbs of a ctd has no impact at all on vehicle or front no of course it has an impact... but your post was completely useless. well if you had a gas engine.... he doesnt. period. therefore any discussion of that is useless. end when in fact it is such a problem in a dodge that they quietly upgraded and replaced the front axle in 03 to try to better deal with the problems fromthis weight it. absolute bullshit. dc dropped dana altogether over pricing and gave the contract to aam. it had nothing to do with weight considerations. hell the isbe of today ways pretty much the same as the first 6bt weighed in 89. cummins lists the weight of the isbe at 1034lbs. ive seen the 6bt weight listed at almost 1100lbs. close enough for me. burner if there had not been a problem there would not been a change because even a dana 60 was no deemed up to the task by dodge. see above. the d60 was perfectly fine for 12 years. .
From : nathan w collier
the guys over at earthroamer.com those guys are awesome......just wish they had offered something for the dodge. on the other hand with their $200000+ price range you could have a well equipped unimog camper. ran a dodge 2500 with a big bumper. winch and large camper for years - no issues. why are they using only f550s now i will tell you in all seriousness youre looking to push this truck right to the limits or beyond as far as weights concerned. 5300# of payload on a 7600# or so truck with 400# or so of passengers youre technically over the gwvr of the truck i think its rated at what 12500# ive probably over-estimated a bit to be on the safe side and was including 500# of passenger weight in the 4500# estimate. my heavy gear can be carried in the enclosed trailer. any idea what the gcvwr is on an 05 cummins dually 4x4 i dont know why but its not listed on my data sticker. youd probably be better served with an f-450 ill follow the cummins and buy whatever it comes in. its an amazing engine who am i telling right - and pulls loads through these mountains like nothing else. that said i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta my head. that would be sweet! ... though i do hear rumors abounding about the long-awaited release of the dodge 4500 and 5500 medium-duty trucks here in the states for 07. heh....in 07 im trading up regardless. that 750 ft.# cummins 6.7 liter isb is way to tempting. would probably be smarter to let them work the bugs out first and snag an 08. as always thanks for the help tom. -- nathan w. collier http//utilityoffroad.com http//7slotgrille.com http//inlinediesel.com http//bighornrefrigeration.com http//concealedcarryforum.com .
From : Annonymous
qwest sucky servers miss 2 of 3 messages posted seemingly so i didnt see your replies only toms reply to your reply. im responding here since i couldnt get it there. snoman wrote as long as you have a gas truck i see no issues. its ctd. gas trucks 2500/3500 are special order only out here because they dont sell. no matter where you travel youre climbing a mountain. gasoline powered trucks have their place certainly.....but its not here....not if youre pulling a load. the gas truck has more reserve because it is carrying less weight. but it doesnt have the balls for the job. im not knocking gasoline powered trucks please dont misunderstand. but they just arent up to pulling full rated loads at highway speeds in the mountains. i see it all the time ill be towing 5000# - 8000# with the cruise control set on 75 mph. on the downhills the gasoline powered trucks fly past me at 90+ mph. on the uphills i catch those same trucks and pass them never having accelerated more than what the cruise control is set on. after passing the same truck 4 or 5 times i just look over smile and wave as i pass. i have to wonder how many of those folks end up buying diesels because of it. - nathan w. collier http//inlinediesel.com http//concealedcarryforum.com .
From : tom lawrence
those guys are awesome......just wish they had offered something for the dodge. on the other hand with their $200000+ price range you could have a well equipped unimog camper. yikes! didnt know they were charging that much.... yeesh. why are they using only f550s now ummm.... probably for the same reasons youre running into... gvwr issues. carried in the enclosed trailer. any idea what the gcvwr is on an 05 cummins dually 4x4 i dont know why but its not listed on my data sticker. 12200lbs. youd probably be better served with an f-450 ill follow the cummins and buy whatever it comes in. okay... scratch the 450 and the 550 too. ummm... fl50 perhaps that said i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta my head. that would be sweet! once upon a time you used to know how to swap engines. go for it! heh....in 07 im trading up regardless. that 750 ft.# cummins 6.7 liter isb yawn 750 that all heh heh... i hear ya though... theres something to be said for the piece of mind of stock power. .
From : tom lawrence
thats the gvwr and its listed. what i cant find is the gcvwr. any idea what that is sorry... missed the c. according to the towing guide http//www-5.dodge.com/vehsuite/towingguide.jsp with a 3.73 axle your gcvwr is 21000lbs. my thinking is that if its 750 stock what can she really handle sledpullers are making over 1800ft.lbs from the 5.9l.... how much do you want .
From : tom lawrence
the frame is not meant to directly support weight. he stated that he has seen cracked frames on all makes of trucks from this. the guys over at earthroamer.com ran a dodge 2500 with a big bumper. winch and large camper for years - no issues. 3- ever seen cracked frames from air bag usage looking at 4500# camper/gear weight and then 800 or so pounds of tongue weight from my enclosed trailer. i wouldnt be jumping the truck or hitting rough terrain at 60mph but no... havent heard anyone reporting cracked frames. in fact i think the last guy in here talking about cracked frames was you back in 96 or so with roll-back beds on the 2nd gen trucks i will tell you in all seriousness youre looking to push this truck right to the limits or beyond as far as weights concerned. 5300# of payload on a 7600# or so truck with 400# or so of passengers youre technically over the gwvr of the truck i think its rated at what 12500# i really wish you didnt have to to the camper/trailer combination.... a larger 5th wheel would be so much safer but i understand why - weve been through all that already. i hate to say this... i mean i really hate to say it... but youd probably be better served with an f-450... though i do hear rumors abounding about the long-awaited release of the dodge 4500 and 5500 medium-duty trucks here in the states for 07. .
From : tom lawrence
as long as you have a gas truck blah blah blah... like a freakin broken record. i see no issues. i do.... the fact that hed have to install two aux fuel tanks to hold enough gasoline to get him through the remote areas he plans on taking as hes getting 3-4mpg pulling/hauling that load through the trails... .
From : nathan w collier
carried in the enclosed trailer. any idea what the gcvwr is on an 05 cummins dually 4x4 i dont know why but its not listed on my data sticker. 12200lbs. thats the gvwr and its listed. what i cant find is the gcvwr. any idea what that is that said i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta my head. that would be sweet! once upon a time you used to know how to swap engines. go for it! heh.....thats great on a $10000 toy but not so great on a $45000 truck. yawn 750 that all heh heh... i hear ya though... theres something to be said for the piece of mind of stock power. my thinking is that if its 750 stock what can she really handle -- nathan w. collier http//utilityoffroad.com http//7slotgrille.com http//inlinediesel.com http//bighornrefrigeration.com http//concealedcarryforum.com .