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Towing a heavy trailer!

8107 Views 59 Replies 26 Participants Last post by  Moparman, 
U
Well, here it is.
I've been searching the net for over a year about people who have a 2500 Cummins pulling more than the recommended weight. After not finding out much, I went ahead and did it.

I bought a 40' 5th wheel Toy Hauler, 13,100 lbs unloaded and 17,000 loaded.

Let me tell you this...it pulls GREAT!

I have a leveling kit and 35" x 12.5" tires and the truck does everything it should, pulls it fine, no stopping issues and no swaying issues. I did add the ride rite air bags but that was it.

I've put over 3K miles pulling it so far and some people have came up to me asking how it tows and I always tell them great.

But here's something to ponder for you guys. The point of having a dually is for more stability and pin weight, correct? Well, if you have 4 8" wide tires in the back, that equals 32" of rubber on the ground. But if you have 2 12.5" wide tires, you have 25" of rubber on the ground. It's only 7" short, so wider tires most definitely help out stability when pulling, but not equal to a dually of course, but much better than stock where you have 2 8" wide tires for only 16" of rubber on the road.

What's your input on this...
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2nd Gen Domination
I have never listened to reccomended towing weight on any truck I have owned personally. Last time I went home on leave I was pullin a 30' Dove tail with 12 ton (24000) on my truck yeah sure it squated the hell out of the truck first time but after new springs and the ride rite air bags very lil squattin and still pulls it like a champ. Not the smartest thing in the world but gotta do what ya gotta do:w::peelout
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turbo_baer
wider tires often have softer sidewalls and cannot carry as much weight. just like you say, you have 6 tires pulling the trailer straight vs 4
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ynots57
imho you can never compare a srw to the dually for stability. running 4 load E tires on 1 axle is hard to beat on hd towing. the airbags were a smart decision. just make sure the tires have the proper load range for the job
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U
These "wider" tires are the Toyo M/T's and they're an E rated tire.
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ynots57
umlify said:
These "wider" tires are the Toyo M/T's and they're an E rated tire.
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my cousin pulls his 5th/38'er (15,000)with his "03" 2500 and no bags. he was impressed with it, has 08 now. i loved my drw but prefer my srw as its also my daily driver. running 800lb tongue wt im a little bouncy at times, i could use some bags! donations accepted:lol3:
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HarleyMedic
I pull a 39ft 16k toyhauler. No problems with 295/70 Nitto Terras. If you are like me, you are a recreational hauler, which is not a high percentage of the time. I had thought of trading for a DRW but didn't see how it was worth it due to the low pull time. There is no doubt a DRW gives you more stability with a heavy load and a MDT more than a DRW and so on. The question is do you need it or want it.
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Ram3500Dually
The increased stability of a dually comes from having 4 sidewalls instead of two. The sidewalls will fight each other and not let the tires "roll" on the sidewalls. I pull a 38 foot 5'r that weighs in at 18K loaded and wouldn't pull it with a single axle no matter how wide the tires.
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haulin-rv
I don't care how good you think it pulls, but when your in a panic type aggressive zig, zag, or stop you'll then go man I wish I had a dually. I look at it this way, the safety of my 2 kids in the back seat are worth it.
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SmokinCummins
I prefer to pull with my SRW, but I did have one instance towing a 30 foot travel trailer with my dually. I swerved HARD to miss the stupid deer and cleared him with the truck, but he nailed the trailer. I went back to see if he was dead and found black marks left by the trailer from where I swerved. I am glad I was driving the dually that day.
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turbo_baer
Ram3500Dually said:
The increased stability of a dually comes from having 4 sidewalls instead of two. The sidewalls will fight each other and not let the tires "roll" on the sidewalls. I pull a 38 foot 5'r that weighs in at 18K loaded and wouldn't pull it with a single axle no matter how wide the tires.
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count again... its 4 sidewalls vs 8 :T: on the rear.... so 8 vs 12 on the whole truck :butt:
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TrickTruck
I'm about to run down the same path as the OP. Except I plan a 3500 w/ 20"on37"s pulling the same 40' toyhauler (13k empty and 18k loaded - knowing me, it'll be loaded most of the time, if not overloaded ;) .)
At this point I have nothing so it's all planning and reading for now.
I'm thinking a 04.5-07 Cummins 3500 quad short box automatic SRW 4x4 w/ forged 20" & 37" toyos (the load capacity is 3860ea or 7720 for 2x.) Surprisingly the load cap on 17"x37" is almost 500lbs more per tire @4300 or 8600 for 2x.
GAWR Rear Axle Load rating on the SRW is 6200 and DRW is 9350lbs, max vehicle is only 600lbs more on the dually. Which I guess means that the 17x37 very nearly had the rated capacity of a DRW, but the 20x37 has a much lower sidewall which should give more stability and 7720 should give enough capacity for the task. The 17" are a lot less $, but the 20"s would IMHO 'look' better and I'd think give better stability.
Since the plan is a 5'r that should distribute a lot of the load to the front - NO?
Use a sidewinder pinbox to get around the cab clearance issue.

Of course a blowout could be scary, but remote temp/pressure monitoring should greatly reduce the chance of a blowout.

I'm playing the middle ground because I'd dump my Toyota pu and make the Dodge my daily driver - a long box dually just won't make a good DD. Probably run it on B100 homebrew as well.

Just throwing my thoughts out there to see the reaction to aid in planning and I'm interested to see what the experienced users say.
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SouthernCummins


If my 2500 could do this then you aught to be good with that camper...I have a 36' triple slide Cardinal 5th wheel(15,000# dry). Now I have a 3500, but I did pull them with my 2500. It can be done...:lol3:
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C
Safety.Their is a direct correlation between the weight,size,length,brakes,traction,tow capacity,and condition of the tow vehicle and load and your safety.The brute strength of the cummins can mislead you,it is under the severest conditions that will test your tow vehicle and load.Think highway speed rear tire blowout,or 6 mile steep mountain descent with harsh crosswind.The majority of truck and trailer combos that end up,upside down in the ditch do so because the driver is inexperienced as to the above.Power is only one of the factors involved in towing,and returning safely.Talk to a commercial driving instructor
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C
"ditto'

Challenger said:
Safety.Their is a direct correlation between the weight,size,length,brakes,traction,tow capacity,and condition of the tow vehicle and load and your safety.The brute strength of the cummins can mislead you,it is under the severest conditions that will test your tow vehicle and load.Think highway speed rear tire blowout,or 6 mile steep mountain descent with harsh crosswind.The majority of truck and trailer combos that end up,upside down in the ditch do so because the driver is inexperienced as to the above.Power is only one of the factors involved in towing,and returning safely.Talk to a commercial driving instructor
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Agreed, The tow ratings on all vehicles deal with the trucks ability to stop a heavy load as well as pull it. (tail waggin the dog) I pull a 38 ft toyhauler 5er thats 13k empty and 17k loaded with toys, water, and supplies with an 7.5 MegaCab 6.7l. The truck pulls like a dream but when I had to make a panic stop one day because of an idiot in a semi drivin his rig like a sports car and barely side swipin me I am glad that allowed extra distance that I learned from my friend who was a driving instrutor. When your pulling 100k plus in money you want to be overly cautious and have the right safety equipment like airbags or extrasprings, E rated tires, and most importantly common sense.:agree2:

Congrats on your purchase what did you get? :thumbsup
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Ram3500Dually
turbo_baer said:
count again... its 4 sidewalls vs 8 :T: on the rear.... so 8 vs 12 on the whole truck :butt:
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I was counting one corner but thanks for the correction :butt:
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turbo_baer
Ram3500Dually said:
I was counting one corner but thanks for the correction :butt:
Click to expand...

haha



BullyDogCummins you are nuts towing that large of a load with a pickup. just as Challenger stated, try swerving to avoid a collision with that at 50mph and see where you end up. that dozer will puch you around as if you were on ice. we have an older jd 350 and put it on our 24 ton tag-a-long behind a pete 6 wheeler dump. its heavy behind that, cant imagine behind a pickup.
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SouthernCummins
Yea it was very heavy. I pulled it about 20 miles round trip. It was kinda an emergency....You see what I'm driving now huh?....LOL
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U
Congrats on your purchase what did you get? :thumbsup[/QUOTE]

I got a 2009 Keystone Fuzion 403. New floorplan for '09. Looks great, and we've had 4 trips in it so far and love every minute of it!
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S
turbo_baer said:
haha

BullyDogCummins you are nuts towing that large of a load with a pickup. just as Challenger stated, try swerving to avoid a collision with that at 50mph and see where you end up.
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Yep and that's why you see drivers dead..

If you had to swerve you sure as s__t weren't paying attention...

I hold a cdl and permits for loads up to 120,000 lbs....Have driven more overweight loads and oversize loads even beyond that weight, with 26 tires....if you think a dually is saving you.... yep you'll be in the ditch next or even dead

It is not the tires, or lack of tires getting people upside down and in ditches...

It is the driver not understanding the effects of the weight on the entire vehicle and making stupid moves.....
Unless you take that truck out and push your luck, you have no idea what it is capable of avoiding..

Yeah avoiding the idiot that should have gotten rear ended and sent to the hospital so you can be in a coffin....smart move

Better pay attention to what you are avoiding, like i tell many wanna be pro drivers, sometimes the idiot has to buy it, don't help him by screwing yourself
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