8500lbs toy hauler question

[Steve Slade]

Towing a carbon bumper pull toy hauler with my 2011 ram 1500. Wondering if I should use 4wd while towing. Will that make it easier on the transmission and drivetrain or should I just keep it in 2wd while towing with the tow/ haul on. I tow as dry as possible since my truck is only rated for 10000 max. Also would it be a little safer towing in 4wd anyway. I unfortunately can't upgrade to a bigger truck yet. Anyone else out there have any experience on towing this kind of weight with a 1500.

 

[doorfx]

I tow with a 1/2 ton and I have never used 4x4 on the highway. Your truck will work a lot harder in 4x4.

 

[hbar218]

I think if you drive at HWY speeds on dry pavement in 4x4 you will probably be replacing driveline parts, lol

 

[Steve Slade]

Thanks. I guess I'll stick to the 2wd then

 

[X-Treme]

I think if you drive at HWY speeds on dry pavement in 4x4 you will probably be replacing driveline parts, lol

^^^^ this. Definitely not a good idea to leave a truck in 4wd on dry pavement. Towing or not.

 

[gordhunt]

Yup never use 4wd on dry pavement unless you like buying parts

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[catman1]

Sway bars are your best bet if you don't already have them

 

[the_real_wild1]

Is this really a serious f'n question? If it is sell your truck and trailer right now!! No really.

 

[Merc63]

Is this really a serious f'n question? If it is sell your truck and trailer right now!! No really.

Lol no kidding wowzers

 

[Steve Slade]

Is this really a serious f'n question? If it is sell your truck and trailer right now!! No really.

Try pulling 11000 lbs with a half ton and see if you won't wanna try anything to make it a bit more stable. I've got air bags ,super springs and e rated tires and an excellent sway bar , weight distribution set up. This thing is still crazy to tow so I was just asking if 4wd would make it a little more stable.

 

[Puba]

You need a bigger truck.

 

[arff]

I am thinking crazy to tow is all over the road and sways.

Basically pushing the truck around.

A temporary solution that may help is a sway control bar. You tighten the resistance to stop the sway. They are around 100.00

Imo the best solution is a different tow vehicle one day.

 

[arff]

 

[the_real_wild1]

Maybe look at renting a one ton for when you need to haul your trailer until you can afford the right truck. I don't know why you would even buy a trailer that big unless you have the truck to haul it.

 

[pipes]

Try pulling 11000 lbs with a half ton and see if you won't wanna try anything to make it a bit more stable. I've got air bags ,super springs and e rated tires and an excellent sway bar , weight distribution set up. This thing is still crazy to tow so I was just asking if 4wd would make it a little more stable.[/QUOTE

Sad that you ask a question on here looking for some advice and get the responses that you did. Sorry to say that driving in four wheel drive will not ad stability in your situation. What you have is a case of the tail wagging the dog. Too much trailer for the to vehicle. I would recommend that you bu a 1 ton truck and your problems will go away. Now I know that someone will pipe up and say that you can get away with a 3/4 ton, but for the difference in price why stop there. With a 1 ton you open up your options as to how big a trailer you can safely tow. That's not to say that you can't overload a 1 ton. just yesterday I towed home a toyhauler for my brother with my 1 ton and I could see right away that I didn't have enough truck.

trailer was empty. can you imagine how much my truck would squat with the water tanks all watered up and all the necessities of life in the trailer. Some of these bigger trailer require a 4500 series truck to be legal to tow them.

 

[Merc63]

Way way under trucked. Time to upgrade. Maxing out a truck is fine around the city but a whole different ball game on the highway.

 

[doorfx]

Is it 8500 lbs or 11,000 lbs ?

 

[Summitric]

Yah, 8500 lbs is fine for a half ton pulling weight..... My dodge 1500 with the air ride option is rated at 10,650 lbs towing capacity. I'd never pull anything close to that, but my 27ft travel trailer is about 8000 lbs and its no problem(especially with the air ride... Auto levelling)


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[Steve Slade]

Yes I'm gonna have to bite the bullett and get another truck much sooner than I wanted. You're right I'm gonna go one ton so there's no more worries on being overweight. When I bought it I figured I would just tow it dry and it would be ok. Towing it dry was ok but it's just not very practical. Oh well I've wanted a diesel for quite some time. I guess it's time for a trade in. Didn't think it would be all that bad to tow since my last trailer was 6800 dry and I had no problems with that at all even with my quad up on the sled deck it towed great.

 

[Summitric]

Big weight difference for sure.... Post up a pic of the new truck


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