How big?

[The Adam Blaster]

Anyone know how big of a tire you can put on the Ram 1500 (off-road pkge) from the factory?

[GRMhick]

I believe that 33" tires come stock. But i have heard that 33" will fit fine. Though, honestly, if it were my truck, I would keep those rims and just throw on some procomp muds, but then, I drive about 99% of the time on road, and I can see the benefit of 17".

[drnut]

I think you mean 35's will be fine and they should with the off-road package.

[The Adam Blaster]

35's??? hmmm...
Well, my plan is to get a 1500 or 2500 for towing (eventually). But also for the occasional mud bath. I think it would be pretty cool to be driving down the highway just covered in mud, towing an equally muddy trail rig. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">
I'd be looking to put probably an A/T type tire, just for longevity and better gas mileage. Put the swampers on the trail rig. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[GRMhick]

NO, I Believe the 33" fit with the off road package. 35 with minor trimming, I believe. My 96 1500 with a 3" rancho lift is just about exactally the same higth as an Off road package. My 33x12.5's on 15x8's are about .25" from hitting at full flex. I would be worried that 35" would hit, and I don;t feel like trimming. As for towing, Cummings Kick Major ass, and you can get 20 mpg unloaded, unlike that off road which gets about 12. Just an FYI, I get 11-12.5 WIth in my 96 with a 318 auto, 3.55 gears and the 33" bfg muds.

[The Adam Blaster]

Yeah, i'm thinking i may go with the 2500 and Cummins. I'm going to be getting the truck mostly for towing, picking up crap for my place, moving friends etc...
So i might as well get the diesel, the only thing that i was hesitant about is the noise, them diesels are pretty loud, and i'll always be living in the city. And i doubt my neighbours would really enjoy hear the big Cummins warming up for 10 minutes on the street out front. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
But seeing as it will probably not be an every day occurence, it shouldn't matter.

What's the tow rating on the 2500's anyway?

[GRMhick]

What's the tow rating on the 2500's anyway? A sht load. I see em driving aroun san jose with 5 cars in tow, and still not be maxed out. I wanna see one maxed out, because I haven;t seen it yet.

[Dick Hertzer]

I've got a 95' 1500 sport w/ a 3" body lift and got 35x12.5x15 Dunlop Mud Rovers on 15x8 rims. I can drive anywhere on the street, but I don't really wheel it. Mostly just an everyday driver and a tow rig.

[Patman]

Originally posted by PW:
<STRONG> What's the tow rating on the 2500's anyway? A sht load. I see em driving aroun san jose with 5 cars in tow, and still not be maxed out. I wanna see one maxed out, because I haven;t seen it yet.</STRONG>

You have input on everything don't you??? <IMG SRC="smilies/thefinger.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/thefinger.gif" border="0">

First of all, show me a 5 car carrier that hooks up to anything but a Fuckin' Pete!!!

Second of all, just because you've seen it, doesn't mean it's not overloaded. Let's do the math shall we?? (if you need help just ask your math teacher, once summer is over and your back in school <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> )

5 cars that average 2750 lbs. (not mini's, but not Caddy's either)

A trailer to hold them.....4500lbs. (this is a very light estimate for a trailer this big, even if it's aluminium)

for a nice light weight of 18250 lbs. Which is almost 3500 lbs over what my 3500 is rated to tow, and 8250 lbs over what legally I can tow in the state of california without a commercial license. (unless it was an RV).

I've personally been involved in a 2500 towing about 11250 lbs of brick on a 1800 lb trailer (rated for 7K <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> ) and OMFG did it feel it!!!!!

Technically the factory hitch on the 2500 and 3500 is only rated for 5k lbs (10K with a weight dist. hitch) My 3500 4x4 is rated to tow a max of 14910, and I'm not sure on the exact max of the 2500.

[The Adam Blaster]

I'm thinkin if i ever get to head all the way down to Cali for some wheelin, i'd probably be goin down for a long time, cause it would take me like 5 days to get there...
So i was thinking, i might even want to take a little car, for runnin around town too.
So, a 2-car trailer, no idea what they weight??? A trail rig, 4500lbs or so, and then the street car, probably les than 3000lbs, that be cool for the 2500, or am i getting closer to the need for a 3500?
Or should i just get me a "T-Rex"?
I saw one in upper NY state in early July, for sale, wanted $16,000. It was just a copy of the Chrysler concept, but man was it cool looking. :d <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Patman]

You should be ok with a 2500. Unless your setup looks dangerously unsafe, the cops won't bug you, and the rig will hold up fine. But I don't see the need for an extra car. Around here half the people have dually's for everyday drivers!! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Hayraker]

The 2500 Heavy duties have a 1 ton rating, they are basically a 3500 with single rear wheels as Dodge does not make a single wheel 3500, almost all the Cummins 2500's are heavy duty. I even had to register mine as a 1 ton (more $$$), and it came from the factory with the same rear springs as a 3500, cab lights, and a D80 rear=1 ton

[The Adam Blaster]

As for city driving, i like being able to squeeze into little parking spots, i can't even do that with my "little" truck right now. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
Plus, another project i want to have goin is a fast, good-handling Subaru (all wheel drive). Not a ricer with a whale tail and stupid yellow stickers all over the frickin place. Something that can actually handle a few fast laps at a track. Would be nice to get some track time in some of the tracks in the South West.

That's kinda cool about the specs on the 2500's. I was thinking i'd get one of those huge flat trailers that can hold a couple cars. That way i could also tow a buddy's rig around if need be.

[pcorssmit]

All Cummins 2500s are HDs, and come with the 70 rear (auto) or 70/80 Hybrid (manual). I would highly recommend the manual for towing.

Pete

[The Adam Blaster]

I gotta go auto, motorcycle accident, fawked up right arm=i gotta use an auto.

Which is a real bummer, because getting an auto sports car is just not right...

[Rudezuk]

I have an offroad and the biggest stock that i was able to put on Was a 33" BFG MT on a 15x8" rim....now i have 40's!!!!

[Hayraker]

The autos they put behind that cummins are plenty good for towing, dont be scared of it,I drive one and I pull everything I used to pull with my old Cummins 5-speed dually, 32' cattle trailer, 24' flatbed loaded down, hay trailers, everything, plus they will haul a$$, 110mph with 4.10 gears

[The Adam Blaster]

I like those numbers hayraker. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
And i was planning on getting the 4.10's, especially since i want to take it on the occasional trail ride through the mud. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[Bgcj5]

I have 33 x 12.5 swampers on my 1500 and they rub a little at full lock. not a big deal but I lost some turning radius and I have to be careful not to cut the wheel to hard at speed because the swampers would grab my inner fenders and throw them right off the truck

[gunracer]

that cummins will pull way more than it is rated for. my neighbor pulls boats for a living and i see him pull 30+ ft. boats all the time. and he uses a auto, but beware if you take off to quick you can wreck the converter with a 15k+ load. if you ease into it you are fine but if you hammer it, you will feel it shudder and you have about 1 sec to get back out of it before it pukes. my neighbor blew 2 before he figured that out. if you want more power its a plug in module away[100 fpt] it will out last anything out there i just sold my 93 with 217k on it and it ran great but didn't have the power that they have now. the pumps just didn't develope over 1800 psi the new pumps will do 2600 i think. i am about to get a dually in the next month or two to haul my trailer. you wont be sorry my 2 cents mike

[csutton7]

The Adam Blaster---we can make that cummins rock and pull if you want or just leave it stock---

1) if you're gonna rock you'll need guages
2) upgrade the torque converter and valve body and your tranny will be fine($1400 + labor, it ya can't install it yourself)
3)Power Edge comp box($900)
4) bigger injectors($400-$1000 depending on houw much HP you want)
5) bigger turbo($800)
6) 4" exhaust($500)

this will make almost every vehicle you encounter cringe--mustangs, vettes, camaros...well I think you get the pic---we got one 2 whl drive cummins thumping out 644 hp--he ran 113mph in the 1/4 at 13 seconds--another buddy of mine ran a 12.67 at 103 with his 4x4 and there are a few more out there that are in the 14's and even more in the 15's---

if you buy the cummins-which I highly recommend and you want to make it a hot rod that you can drive daily--let me know....I'll point you in the right direction......chris

[The Adam Blaster]

Thanks for the info Chris!!!
And i had heard of some duallies running in the 13's, man, that's just crazy!!!
But, i would just want the extra power for pulling a trailer.
And gunracer, thanks for the tip. But with a trailer that big, the thought of gunning it off the line would probably never occur to me. hehehe

But it looks like my plans have been shoved back a ways...
I was planning on using some of my insurance settlement money towards this project. But last month met withmy lawyer, and the lawyers on the other side. My guy says it's going to take at least another year.
Putting me at the end of 2002.
Fawk..........

But that's not gonna stop me from planning it all. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">