Truck Question

[Kevin D Pem]

Looking for advice. I have a 33’ TT, GVWR 9,400lbs. I’m searching for a truck capable of safely towing this TT. I’m considering a 2017 Ram 2500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4, 6.4L V8 Hemi, 6 speed Auto 66RFE Trans, 4.1 axle ratio. The Dodge charts give Max payload 3037lbs. Max Tow 15,837lbs. I know I need to look at door sticker for actual numbers. The truck has 14,500 miles. Dealer is asking $37,500. Any opinions?

Question: Does this rig have coil springs? If it does I would not worry about sway. RAMs box frame and multi point suspension handles very well. Rims wider than factory actually cause suspension problems in the future, and can lead to unsafe conditions. Why because the vehicle geometry is changed for the worse. Stick with factory engineering for best results.

More:

You are well within capacity of the truck. Somehow long seems to scare people. Maneuvering is the big issue for me. If the trailer has been built properly and you are properly loaded then have fun. you should be fine.

Equalizer hitch for that weight is best it keeps proper weight on steering wheels.

Problem I have with what you have said so far is, the weekend warrior statement. Safety comes when you can change your travel plans to accommodate weather. For instance: The popular weather forecast leads you to believe they can forecast 7 days out. Accurately they can forecast 3 days at best. that makes the 3 day weekend in question. As long as your plans are during a fairly docile month or season then no problems with a weekend joy ride.

The point is, For your use weather is key to a safe journey. The truck is capable, the trailer can be effected by wind.

 

[Lunge motorsport]

Question: Does this rig have coil springs? If it does I would not worry about sway. RAMs box frame and multi point suspension handles very well. Rims wider than factory actually cause suspension problems in the future, and can lead to unsafe conditions. Why because the vehicle geometry is changed for the worse. Stick with factory engineering for best results.

More:

You are well within capacity of the truck. Somehow long seems to scare people. Maneuvering is the big issue for me. If the trailer has been built properly and you are properly loaded then have fun. you should be fine.

Equalizer hitch for that weight is best it keeps proper weight on steering wheels.

Problem I have with what you have said so far is, the weekend warrior statement. Safety comes when you can change your travel plans to accommodate weather. For instance: The popular weather forecast leads you to believe they can forecast 7 days out. Accurately they can forecast 3 days at best. that makes the 3 day weekend in question. As long as your plans are during a fairly docile month or season then no problems with a weekend joy ride.

The point is, For your use weather is key to a safe journey. The truck is capable, the trailer can be effected by wind.

Kevin...
Changing rim width does not change the geometry of the suspension. The suspension geometry is tied to ball joint location inside and out and the plane at they articulate. Also geometry changes when the control arm pick up points are changed but wider wheels do not have an effect. Wider wheels with no regard to offset may however change the scrub radius of the tires and can also cause heavier load forces to be applied to the bearings. Wheels spec'd that have the rims additional dimension split to each half of the rim (outer and inner) measured from the hub face will load bearings equally. Best results are achieved with wider wheels within reason and with consideration.
I had an old 90's 3/4 ton Suburban than was supplied with 16x6.5 steel wheels from the factory. The corporate rear axle had a 4' narrower track than the front track was. This truck never felt planted with the factory wheels. New (at the time) Alcoa front 16x8'' wheels were spec'd and 16x10'' rears with +2'' negative offset cured the track issue and provided outstanding tracking. I put about 150k miles on that vehicle and most of the miles were towing. I sold that truck to a acquaintance of mine and it is still performing well. Ball joints at 125K were the only maintenance issue performed by me.
Wider, load rated wheels on heavy tow vehicles are decidedly better and should not be recommended against...
Cheers

 

[Msdpok]

We owned a 2016 32’ Prowler Lynx, fully stocked around 9000lbs. Pulled it with a pretty much stock Dodge Ram 2500, diesel, with a 2 1/2 inch leveling kit, rear adjustable air bags with bilstien shocks and Cooper all terrain tires.
We towed that trailer all over the place and the only issue we ever had was keeping the wife from driving once she got used to it!
Go enjoy your camping trips, drive within your limits and have a good time!

 

[Retired]

The factory rims are just fine. Dodge and others match them to the load capacity. Dont exceed the load capacity and you will be fine.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Kevin...
Changing rim width does not change the geometry of the suspension. The suspension geometry is tied to ball joint location inside and out and the plane at they articulate. Also geometry changes when the control arm pick up points are changed but wider wheels do not have an effect. Wider wheels with no regard to offset may however change the scrub radius of the tires and can also cause heavier load forces to be applied to the bearings. Wheels spec'd that have the rims additional dimension split to each half of the rim (outer and inner) measured from the hub face will load bearings equally. Best results are achieved with wider wheels within reason and with consideration.
I had an old 90's 3/4 ton Suburban than was supplied with 16x6.5 steel wheels from the factory. The corporate rear axle had a 4' narrower track than the front track was. This truck never felt planted with the factory wheels. New (at the time) Alcoa front 16x8'' wheels were spec'd and 16x10'' rears with +2'' negative offset cured the track issue and provided outstanding tracking. I put about 150k miles on that vehicle and most of the miles were towing. I sold that truck to a acquaintance of mine and it is still performing well. Ball joints at 125K were the only maintenance issue performed by me.
Wider, load rated wheels on heavy tow vehicles are decidedly better and should not be recommended against...
Cheers

People will do what they do. However if you must do what you do do it safely. I present a link to rim/tire size. Follow the links on the page to determine other important mechanical factors. https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre-wheel-calculators/wheel-rim-size-calculator

 

[Lunge motorsport]

People will do what they do. However if you must do what you do do it safely. I present a link to rim/tire size. Follow the links on the page to determine other important mechanical factors. https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre-wheel-calculators/wheel-rim-size-calculator

And people will say what they say.

Over the years, all my running gear mods are based on safety and performance, if good looking accompanies that, it is an added bonus. Manufacturers recommendations are just that, recommendations. Having an extensive automotive background has been helpful to me in determining which mods are most beneficial and which are "not so much". I will say that I have made mistakes in the over 40 yrs of building high performance vehicles. If you don't make mistakes you don't learn from them. Some of the things that I have modified have not met with the intended results. Different camshaft grinds for example make power in different rev ranges. They work well at some tracks and not others. If you want to go fast all the time, gear changes, wheel and tire changes and even camshaft changes can make the difference between a top 3 finish and an also ran.
Street vehicles are a different animal, but, wheels are a HUGE influence on performance for a heavy duty truck. When I say performance I believe I need to clarify something. I drive a street car like your Grandmother, mostly at the posted limit and mostly out of everyone's way. I have no intention of showing everyone what I or my vehicle are capable of. My intention is to travel at a reasonable pace with very little excitement. I do however want my vehicle to perform at it's maximum when called upon out of necessity. It's why I modify. I try to stay away from blanket statements but one I believe in, and have the most faith in is...under nearly all conditions, a well thought out wheel and tire combination increase in width will almost always yield superior results compared to doing nothing. Singularly the most under rated of all mods you can perform.
Take a look at the average 10k coach. Mine happens to be rated at 10,3k and came with 15x6'' wheels, my 86 VW Jetta came with 6'' wide wheels 35 yrs ago and weighed 2500 lbs! My coach has the wheels recommended by the manufacturer, do you think it was determined by a safety consideration or that they are the absolute minimum that they were required to provide. Guess what the manual recommends in regard to changing wheels.
BTW, I appreciate the link you provided to the site with wheel and tire sizing info. It's a little too conservative for me but is a helpful reference to someone interested in making a performance change within industry standards. It's just that my standards are higher than the recommendations I read there. But...you do you, it's okay with me.
Anyone interested in viewing some of the mods I have done are invited to view them in the gallery with my screen name attached.

Cheers

 

[Retired]

Just because it fits doesnt mean you should do it.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Guess what the manual recommends in regard to changing wheels.
BTW, I appreciate the link you provided to the site with wheel and tire sizing info. It's a little too conservative for me but is a helpful reference to someone interested in making a performance change within industry standards. It's just that my standards are higher than the recommendations I read there.

Most people here ask questions only because of safety concerns. Most consider that Auto manufacturers understand liability and steer to avoid issues. We have grown all to familiar with aftermarket usually meaning lower quality than factory standard.

Now onward. Sway bars, Air shocks(maybe), On @Lunge motorsport idea, lower profile large dia rims keeping tire radius the same(remembering that low profile tires frequently fail with road hazards) they do however have a better feel when it comes to handling. All these will help with stability. I will maintain there is nothing better than stock profile. Weather windows are a big thing in safety. I think we will agree that white knuckles are the result of bad conditions more often then bad choices in equipment unless we really under do on equipment. Well, the condition that seems most prevalent is improper loading.

 

[Lunge motorsport]

Most people here ask questions only because of safety concerns. Most consider that Auto manufacturers understand liability and steer to avoid issues. We have grown all to familiar with aftermarket usually meaning lower quality than factory standard.

Now onward. Sway bars, Air shocks(maybe), On @Lunge motorsport idea, lower profile large dia rims keeping tire radius the same(remembering that low profile tires frequently fail with road hazards) they do however have a better feel when it comes to handling. All these will help with stability. I will maintain there is nothing better than stock profile. Weather windows are a big thing in safety. I think we will agree that white knuckles are the result of bad conditions more often then bad choices in equipment unless we really under do on equipment. Well, the condition that seems most prevalent is improper loading.

Nowhere in my posts is there a recommendation for lower profile tires and lager diameter wheels. In fact, I have specifically advocated for using the same tire and wider wheels. While this will slightly reduce the aspect ratio number, the rolling diameter of the tire will be nearly the same. Sidewall flex will be greatly reduced which will improve tracking and also reduce the influence a trailer has on pushing around the tow vehicle.

Sway bars have little effect on a bumper pull travel trailer as there is little influence on body roll from a trailer attached to a receiver.
I still like the idea of sway bars as they limit body roll of the tow vehicle. Note that at the limit of traction, roll stiffness will increase understeer or oversteer depending on which axle roll stiffness was in increased.

Air shocks are a bad idea in my mind. They provide very little controlled dampening through suspension articulation compared to a high quality shock absorber like a Bilstein. I want to allow the shock to perform it’s intended duty with dampening and not act as a spring resisting suspension travel.
Air bags on the other hand will help with ride height leveling while allowing proper dampening through the shock absorbers travel.

I’m willing to PM with anyone who has questions regarding these mods but I’m pretty much talked out on this thread.

Cheers

 

[Retired]

Air shocks are horrible. They transfer the weight of the vehicle from the suspension to the shock mounts. The shock mounts are not designed to carry the vehicle weight and can easily fail.