Anyone ever tow with a reg cab short bed?

[GRMhick]

Ok, i went out last year to buy a cummings 4x4. Well it didnt happen, and i ended up with a 3.55 geared, 33'ed 1500 ram with a 318 auto. I havent tried towing with it yet, but before i go about buying a trailer hitch, trailer brake controler, etc, will it be a real PITA to tow with.. in all honesty, i woudl like otp be able to tow my 77 1/2 ton dodge with it, and i am guessing the truck weighs in at around 6k lbs.. and my 96 ram is 5500 lbs.. so how bad will it be?

thanks
Garrett

[TODDK]

I used to tow my jeep with a dodge dakota! not too bad not good for the truck either! The main problem you are going to have is stopping if you loose trailer brakes you are fawked!!! I do not think that 1500 will tow real good either! no land speed records... I know it is not rated for that much weight..
6000 lbs plus trailer 2000 = 8000 lbs sounds like 3/4 ton at least country

[Brutpwr]

Well extra wheelbase is always better given the same truck but there are many other variables that come into play such as suspension (stiffer is better and tires where shorter and stiffer is better). My 2wd longbed Toyota would tow better than my buddy's full size 1/2 ton std cab 4wd short bed as far as stability was concerned. But then my 2wd truck was set up for racing autocross so it had race tires and suspension that would corner at over .90g where as your normal lifted softly sprung 4wd truck is lucky to ever hit .60 g with out flipping. Soft sticky low profile DOT race tires, Bilstein race shocks with stiff springs and a longer wheelbase goes a long way towards towing stability. My long bed Toyota 2wd had a longer wheelbase than my buddies fullsize shortbed. My truck does not sway any (well maybe a 1/4" each way) when you tug/push on the bed sideway where as my buddies truck would move 2 to 3 inches each direction + the truck would sway a bit---this is why my truck was such a stable platform. Yes my truck is probably 2000 lbs or more lighter unloaded but when loaded for a trip the difference the difference was probably only 1000 lbs as my longbed with tailgate extender could hold a lot more camping/bikes etc in a bed only 16" off the ground where as my buddy truck probably has a bed height of 40" and because of the shortbed and toolbox and no tailgate bed extender another 1000 lbs of camping/bike equipent had to go on the trailer which gives the trailer additional "push" on the truck. Add in a long wheelbase dually style 1 ton truck and it only gets better--stiffer suspension with lots of tire stability in the rear. Rear overhang seems to be a factor also as I have noticed some of the long overhang mini motorhomes make for unstable towing platforms unless trailer loading is near perfect (ie optimal tongue weight). Wide rims with high tire pressue seem to help with minimizing sway from incorrect loading or side winds etc. The worse truck I've ever towed with was a 3/4 ton equiped Blazer with bad brakes and worn out shocks, 38" Super Swamper Radials on 10 x 15 rims and a 10" lift plus 3" body lift. If the shocks were not worn out it would have towed 3 times better but as it was the shocks were shot so when you hit big dips in the road the heavy 3/4 ton Chevy I was towing would compress the suspension of the Blazer and it would recoil quickly and because of the lift it had really bad bump steer! Let me tell you when you tow you never try and turn the steering quickly but when you have bump steer this happens automatically! Well hope some of this info helps...

Jason

[GRMhick]

My truck is actaully rated to tow up to 7800 lbs.. but i know personally that 1000 lbs in the bed really sinks it.. but then the truck is almost dead level, no high up rear.. but the shocks are all good.. and are RS9000's.. woudl turning up the shocks help when towing? oh, and the truck is 6k now.. i still plan on adding 1 ton axles, 40's and tripple treansfer cases (one of those.. i have the cases, so why not). so.. i will bet i will be tippin at around 7k when i am done.. but then by that point.. chances are there wont be much body left either

[Brutpwr]

My buddy with the F-150 had 9000's also. He would click them on 5 in the rear and I believe 4 on the front when towing a car trailer. Made a big difference as you will see!

Jason

[Bill Collins]

my work partner has a dodge 1500 x-cab 2wd with that gear ratio and standerd,he pulls some big ass tractors and it does good.on the other hand i had a 98 f-150 x-cab 4.6 auto,it was the best riding and driving truck i ever owned.but i pulled a 6000 tractor and it started swerving and scared the shit out of me,and the power sucked.so i bought a new f-250 cc psd with auto,and man what a diff.towing.but rough as hell as a dd...

[TEX]

Wheelbase isn't gonna matter much. That 318 is gonna be sucking for air with that kind of load on it. Position the load correctly, get brakes on both axles, and take it slow - as if you have a choice.

BTW, my old tow rig was reg-cab/shortbed Z71.

TEX