Do you TOW ?

[RAM MAN]

need helper springs ?

special suspension ?

What do you tow ?

[03RAMVAN360]

I'm going to be towing a car carrier with a combined weight of 6000 lbs in the near future.

Will probably add Rancho5000 or Reflex shocks to the rear. Maybe an add-a-leaf kit.

[DANVAN]

I tow a 19 foot Mallard camper, weights 5000lbs loaded. 21 total feet.

I have a weight distribution hitch with load leveling bars so I probably could have gotten away with stock shocks, but I added load levler springs in the rear, the type that have a coil spring around the shock, monroes. I added a add-a-leaf to my last van, but it gave me too much height, this one wouldnt fit in the garage if I had done that.

Also have a 10,000 lb tranny cooler, hooked in line with the rad, I had to upgrade the rad to a 3 row, after about 10years of use it wasnt keeping the eng as cool as I liked, the 3 row made a big differance, I can tow up hill all day in 90 degree heat with the ac on.

A trans temp gauge and a vacume gauge are also handy when towing. And a tachometer

Finnaly my biggest mod for towing would be the rear end gears. I have no intention of getting rid of this van any time soon, so to save on engine and tranny wear and to give me more power I switched out my 3.55 for 3.92 gears.

My van weights about 6000+lbs, so I was close to my gross veh weight rating before changing gears.

Lots of towing info over at rv.net

Good luck

[03RAMVAN360]

Thanks for the advice DANVAN! And Welcome! :cool:

I'm surprised your van weighs so much! I've had mine on the truck scale and it weighed in at 5400lbs exactly with nothing in it and a full tank of gas. Maybe the older body style weighed more?

I won't be towing that much weight very frequently... Will I be okay with just the 3.55 gears? Close to $1000 for a gear change is pretty steep, I didn't think it would cost that much...

[DANVAN]

I was wrong, went outside to look, it weights 5700lbs, sorry. Your gears will probably be fine if u dont tow alot. I go on long trips with lots of big hills and wanted to relieve some of the strain on the drive train.

[mkeogh]

With my '94 B-150, I tow a 2440lb Neon on a steel, dual axle, open trailer. In the van I removed the third-row bench seat so I could carry a full set of tools and some spares. I had to add 1,000lb helper coil springs on top of the rear axle along with air shocks. At the end of last season I also added a tranny cooler (it may have been too late). Recently, I boxed-in the rear cargo area with with flake-board with places for my tool-boxes, jacks, etc.

[Nomadic Girl]

I'm going to be moving from Texas to West Virginia in a month and plan on towing a trailer full of a decent amount of stuff (a small apartment's worth). My van is a '99 3500 one ton. I think I'll be using a 5' x 8' trailer. There is a bumper hitch ball on my van right now, but I'm wondering if that is good enough or do I need something beefier. What do you guys suggest?

[Dodgevanman]

Well, it all depends on how much weight your going to tow. Of course the van can handle the weight, but it's the bumper hitch thing that bothers me. Your bumper is only held on by so many bolts and if you tow too much weight, that ball will rip right out of worse pull the bumper off.

There are hitch assemblies available that bolt right to the frame of the van and are made of heavy duty steel and welded. There are basically three classes of hitch assemblies..Class I, Class II, and Class III. Class I being able to tow light loads, while Class III can tow very heavy loads. In my opinion I wouldn't take any chances with the bumper hitch, especially the distance your travelling. I would consider at least a Class II hitch set-up. That way if you ever have to tow anything again, you won't have to worry about the bumper hitch.

Here's a question for you....is your van set-up to tow? For example, do you have the extra transmission cooler and/or heavy duty cooling package?

Follow this link to Draw-Tite, it has more information on hitches and towing than you can handle. http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/

[Nomadic Girl]

I'd say that would probably be a negative on the towing set-up. I'm dirt poor, so the least I have to do is all I want to do. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to get a Class II hitch installed? That is what UHaul recommends. I'm thinking of calling some junk yards to see if they have anything available.

[Nomadic Girl]

Oh, and what hitch(es) are compatible... if you by chance know? Or if you know the best place for me to look that up.

[mkeogh]

I bought a Class III hitch at Northern Tool (formerly known as Northern Hydraulics) for $100. I installed it myself, its pretty simple.

You'll also need the wiring harness. You can purchase a harness that plugs into the existing pig-tail at the back of the van (if so equipped). And, depending on the trailer and weight, you may need a trailer brake controller. I don't think you'd need the controller if you are towing a U-Haul.

[mkeogh]

You could try www.hitchfinder.com

[Nomadic Girl]

Grrrr.... I have a step bumper and it is quite expensive to get one that is compatible. Is it okay to just remove my bumper for the trip or is there some reason why this would be a bad idea?

[Dodgevanman]

You could remove the bumper for the trip...I mean you'll have the trailer back there. If the step bumper is in the way, they make longer "goosenecks" (hitch part) that slides into the receiver that would clear the bumper. If you click on the link to the Draw-Tite site that I put in my earlier post, there looks to be a wealth of information.

Sorry I actually never have had a hitch installed...my van came with a frame hitch. If your mechanically inclined you could install the hitch yourself, it comes with all the hardware you need and instructions.

[mkeogh]

I guess I lucked out, the Northern hitch fit my step bumper equipped van perfectly.

[Nomadic Girl]

mkeogh, i looked on the Northern Tool web site and couldn't find anything listed for dodge vans. do you know which one you ordered? maybe i can find it somewhere else.

[mkeogh]

When I get home, I'll have to see if there is a lable on the hitch. I got it at the local store from stock.

[mkeogh]

The hitch is a Hitchmaster manufactured by K-Bar Industries, item #337707.

Please note that my van is a 1994 model, I don't know if the later models have different rear sections.