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Very nice looking. Does RAM require 2,000 miles before towing like Chevy?
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Winnebago TT 2101DS & 2020 Silverado LTZ Z71. 300 watts WindyNation solar w/MPPT, 2 Trojan T-125s. TALL flag pole. Prefer USFS, COE, BLM, USF&WS, NPS, TVA, state/county camps. 14 year Army vet-11B40 then 11A - old MOS 1542 & 1560.
Very nice looking. Does RAM require 2,000 miles before towing like Chevy?
Short answer, No, with a couple of best practices as outlined on page 13-14 of the diesel supplement manual. In fact the manual mentions running with a light load or towing a light trailer will actually extend the period before full efficiency and power is achieved. Basically the old adage - "Drive it like you stole it."
That said, engine warm up is important before applying full power to tow a heavy trailer or sprinting out on the interstate. 140 degrees is the recommend point as per the manual before applying full power. The ability to increase idle speed via the cruse control makes this a very quick warm up.
The Cummins is different then the Duramax or Ford V-8's. Not better or worse, but a different design with those 6 much larger pistons then the V-8's. Reading the manual is always a good idea. It is quite extensive and complete.
Nice truck, wish you had posted questions about the hitch before going with the Curt.
Already had he Curt Q24 hitch for many years in my GMC and really liked it.
I only bought the RAM Puck Mount brackets for my current Curt Q24 Head.
Removed the old "Rail" mount legs from the Q24 head and installed the new Puck Mount brackets on the head, all went right in the RAM puck mounts with ease.
The Curt Hitch is what RAM is installing if you order the hitch from the factory with the truck.
Yes, we have the MorRyde IS 8K Axles, MorRyde Pin Box (dumped the original Lippert Trail Air Pin Box after a major failure on the road), 17.5" G114 Goodyear tires with Kodiak Disc Brakes and a Titan Disc Brake Controller
Awesome ... that's the same setup we have and LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. Every time I look under the rig and see all that steel reinforcing my frame I'm glad I spent the money.
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
Did our first test tow with 2018 RAM and our 5th Wheel.
Everything worked great, truck bed to trailer clearance was good at 7 inches, trailer is level and the Disc Brakes worked great.
To quote an old movie phase: "You choose wisely."
BTW, Rob, you know with the MORryde IS you have about a 3/4" to 1" lift available to raise the rear if you so choose. There is another set of bolt holes allowing the IS to lift the trailer. Based on your note perhaps a consideration sometime? A thought for next inspection time?
Please show where the second set of holes are that allow the raising?
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Link didn't work. But just look at the plate to which the rubber "spring" is mounted. You will notice a second set of bolt holes which can be used to raise the trailer by shifting the rubber springs "up." How much lift depends on how far toward the rear the axles are located. But it is between 3/4" and 1" on most trailers.
The intention in the design is actually to level the trailer by raising one side of the trailer in case it is more heavily loaded on one side then the other. But one can raise both sides and gain that ~ 1" of lift as might be desired.
That capability has been on every IS I've ever seen, FWIW.
Yes, we have the MorRyde IS 8K Axles, MorRyde Pin Box (dumped the original Lippert Trail Air Pin Box after a major failure on the road), 17.5" G114 Goodyear tires with Kodiak Disc Brakes and a Titan Disc Brake Controller
What is a Major failure of the TrailAir, there are thousands of them out in the world and I have never heard of any type of failure
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2005 Cedar Creek 30RLBS/RV Flex Armour Roof / MORryde Independent Suspension/ Disc Brakes
Sorry, should have been more clear, it is the Trail Air Tri Glide Pin Box.
There are many documented failures out there on the Tri Glide Trail Air Pin Box, Lippert is replacing them at no charge in most cases with the Flex Air Pin Boxes.
They fail in the Glide Section of the Pin Box, there are 3 shafts in the Glide Section, my Tri Glide broke two of the Shafts, I had to have emergency welding done to repair temporarily.
I got the MorRyde because Lippert was not taking responsibility for the failures at that time and replacing them with the Flex Air Pin Box.
We made our first trip with our new RAM and our Redwood 5th Wheel. The truck pulled our Redwood great, Disc Brakes worked well with the RAMs Trailer Braking system (set to Electric over Hydraulic Heavy).
Our RAM rode very good (I was really impressed with the ride) with the RAM Rear Air Suspension Assist package, entry and exit off interstate bridges was very smooth.
The Cummings Engine and Aisin Transmission package worked great and with the 4:10 axle ratio we ordered, starting off on a hill and pulling is effortless with our 5th Wheel.
The RAM Cummings / Aisin transmission combo does work quite different than our previous GMC Duramax / Allison transmission did, it will take a little getting used to but no problems with our first trip.
Rob Fla you IMHO have the perfect tow vehicle! Just happens to be like mine that is 3 years older. I tow 33-35K with ZERO issues all over the West.
A tip for you when unhitching go into settings to suspension and select "tire jack mode" this will stop the air system from moving and make unhitching easy.
Nice truck,i have a 2012 diesel swr ram 3500 and is the best truck i've ever owned,i was a Ford owner for years but Fords are prone to problems....good luck with the truck...happy trails to you....
Curious, what is the truck rated to tow 5th wheel wise? We are toying with the idea of switching from a MH to a 5th wheel and that's the truck we are considering but have not gone out and looked yet.
Curious, what is the truck rated to tow 5th wheel wise? We are toying with the idea of switching from a MH to a 5th wheel and that's the truck we are considering but have not gone out and looked yet.
The simple answer is over 31,000lbs trailer weight by specs for the RAM 3500HD DRW. However, and this is true of all Class III pickup trucks - 3500HD's F-350's, F-450's - one will almost always run out of rear axle capacity (think pin weight of trailer plus other items such as fuel, hitch and perhaps a hauler bed) long before one will run out of "what can it tow" capacity by specifications.
Long discussion made short. Towing capacity, at least for the Diesel trucks towing a true 5th wheel, not a goose neck, is seldom the limiting factor. It's almost always the weight the truck can carry on the rear axle, are they physically big enough (think truck weight vs. trailer) to control the trailer, as well as not to exceed the truck's Gross Combined Weight Rating - which is the full loaded weight of the truck plus the fully loaded weight of the trailer. That is true scale weight of the total rig, loaded, whatever that number is.
Dozen's of discussions over the years on the forum outlining this but I'm sure that discussion can begin anew. :) Good place for info.
Winnebago TT 2101DS & 2020 Silverado LTZ Z71. 300 watts WindyNation solar w/MPPT, 2 Trojan T-125s. TALL flag pole. Prefer USFS, COE, BLM, USF&WS, NPS, TVA, state/county camps. 14 year Army vet-11B40 then 11A - old MOS 1542 & 1560.
Curious, what is the truck rated to tow 5th wheel wise? We are toying with the idea of switching from a MH to a 5th wheel and that's the truck we are considering but have not gone out and looked yet.
The simple answer is over 31,000lbs trailer weight by specs for the RAM 3500HD DRW. However, and this is true of all Class III pickup trucks - 3500HD's F-350's, F-450's - one will almost always run out of rear axle capacity (think pin weight of trailer plus other items such as fuel, hitch and perhaps a hauler bed) long before one will run out of "what can it tow" capacity by specifications.
Long discussion made short. Towing capacity, at least for the Diesel trucks towing a true 5th wheel, not a goose neck, is seldom the limiting factor. It's almost always the weight the truck can carry on the rear axle, are they physically big enough (think truck weight vs. trailer) to control the trailer, as well as not to exceed the truck's Gross Combined Weight Rating - which is the full loaded weight of the truck plus the fully loaded weight of the trailer. That is true scale weight of the total rig, loaded, whatever that number is.
Dozen's of discussions over the years on the forum outlining this but I'm sure that discussion can begin anew. :) Good place for info.
Thanks for that, we are probably not that far off in reality to switching from the motorhome to a 5th wheel and even though I have always been a for guy and have not done a bunch of research we are thinking the Ram 3500 just might be the truck we go with when it's time. Oh, and we are toying with the idea of the New Horizons like we mentioned to you at the rally in Pahrump.
-- Edited by Hdrider on Tuesday 29th of May 2018 06:26:35 AM
I tow 33K combined and when I tow the Motorcycle trailer behind the RV I am at 33K. I am at or within axle and combined ratings. My DRV weighs 23K with two axles. I could easily tow any triple axle dRV since they are all triple axle and they will have a lower pin than I do.
Bottom line buy what you want. Combined weight 29K or less get the 3.42's and AISIN trans. Above that 4.10's, forget the 3.73's.
Thanks for that, we are probably not that far off in reality to switching from the motorhome to a 5th wheel and even though I have always been a for guy and have not done a bunch of research we are thinking the Ram 3500 just might be the truck we go with when it's time. Oh, and we are toying with the idea of the New Horizons like we mentioned to you at the rally in Pahrump.
-- Edited by Hdrider on Tuesday 29th of May 2018 06:26:35 AM
If you are considering a larger New Horizons I'd like to recommend you consider the Ram 5500HD. Simply put many NH owners have gone to this truck to allow lots of rear axle headroom and weight allowance for aux fuel and a hauler bed, with a lot of etc.'s thrown in. Many feel, as I do, for a larger NH this is just a more optimum choice. Yes, the 3500HD can tow a 23,000lbs and without a hauler bed it can be OK on the rear axle, but close - depends. You will be required to have an air-ride hitch in any truck and that adds about 325 or so extra lbs. It's just the larger Ram Class V true MDT class truck seems more suited in many's opinions for the much larger trailers.
The hauler bed upgrade really gives you absolute trailer to truck bed rail clearance that is not available with a pickup and unless you opt for the largest NH trailers it is almost impossible to overload the rear axle of the 5500HD. We enjoy the comfort of ours with the full air-ride. No springs. As many say, "no towing or controlling drama."
Just opinion and info, FWIW.
On edit, I should have mentioned considering the aux tank comments, the 5500HD OEM tank alone is 52 gallons so for some, perhaps like you, aux fuel is not a concern. Just is for us as I commented.
-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Tuesday 29th of May 2018 01:24:55 PM
I switched my 32 Gallon OEM Tank on my RAM 3500HD to a aftermarket Titan 55 Gallon Tank.
So far been very happy with the switch and the 55 Gallon range is quite enough for us without an aux fuel tank.
But again, everybody has different needs and wants for their lifestyle and budget.
I switched my 32 Gallon OEM Tank on my RAM 3500HD to a aftermarket Titan 55 Gallon Tank. So far been very happy with the switch and the 55 Gallon range is quite enough for us without an aux fuel tank. But again, everybody has different needs and wants for their lifestyle and budget.
Excellent upgrade Rob. Honestly hadn't thought of that for the Ram. Transfer Flow?
I switched my 32 Gallon OEM Tank on my RAM 3500HD to a aftermarket Titan 55 Gallon Tank. So far been very happy with the switch and the 55 Gallon range is quite enough for us without an aux fuel tank. But again, everybody has different needs and wants for their lifestyle and budget.
Excellent upgrade Rob. Honestly hadn't thought of that for the Ram. Transfer Flow?
I switched my 32 Gallon OEM Tank on my RAM 3500HD to a aftermarket Titan 55 Gallon Tank. So far been very happy with the switch and the 55 Gallon range is quite enough for us without an aux fuel tank. But again, everybody has different needs and wants for their lifestyle and budget.
Excellent upgrade Rob. Honestly hadn't thought of that for the Ram. Transfer Flow?
Remove the OEM sending unit, filler and vent hoses from OEM Tank and install on new Titan Tank
-- Edited by Rob_Fla on Wednesday 30th of May 2018 05:48:04 AM
Excellent find, Rob. Had not seen that one and the 55 gallons is as large as I have seen for an OEM replacement.
Here we go again with, "a choice." That's about the same price as an in-bed 60 gallon (50 state legal) tank which would give ~ 92 gallons total for the 3500HD. But one does loose bed space and then there's that weight thing again. But at 55 gallons, probably something like 52 usable, that's a nice choice for some applications like yours.
I just always hate to have fuel issues. Guess it comes from having those back when we had the supposed "gas crisis" in the '70's. When one gets ~8 to 9 MPG with ~30 gallons usable that means for 200 miles one more or less has to get fuel during or at the end of a travel day. Works for some, not so much for us. Again, a choice, but one worth discussing to make an active decision. Glad you found the product that works well for you and sharing it for others.
Pleased you are enjoying the truck.
FWIW for those reading along - The 5500HD has a second OEM tank available mounted mid-ship. The main OEM 52 gallon tank is mounted in rear. While that is an option that mid-ship location is a prime real estate to mount the compressor and air-tank for the full rear air-ride. So once again, choices to be made. Love options.
I could be happy with less chrome too. (bumpers, running boards in particular) But it's not a deal breaker. Love those wheels, they're a must but they are polished not chrome.
Rob... the 55 gal tank is a great compromise, will give it some serious thought for our future application too.
Chrome Mirrors (not a big fan of the flat black mirrors), Chrome Bumpers (do not like painted bumpers as bugs and stuff will take the paint off), Chrome Grill, (like it better than the black grill) Chrome Running Boards, (not really Chrome, polished), Aluminum Wheels (not really Chrome, polished)
Personally I like some chrome, I got the Laramie package, had the right level of Chrome and the leather interior I was looking for, did not want LongHorn or Limited, they are a little too much for me.
-- Edited by Rob_Fla on Thursday 20th of September 2018 07:07:04 PM