1500 3.7L V6 towing questions

I have towed a couple of heavy loads of fence panels on a 6.5x10 utility trailer with my 3.7L before, but not a travel trailer. The 3.7 did better than I thought it would. That engine pulls pretty good, but I wouldn't want to pull heavy with it every day. The safe towing capacity would be the same as any other 1500, but the power would be the only thing holding you back. Actually I have an 850 pound sub box in the bed I haul everyday. That with the 22's make the truck a dog off the line, but once you get it rolling it will hold its own.

Ive towed a golf cart and about 400 lbs in my bed before. Didnt do that bad in my opinion. How big is the trailer?

I haven't bought a trailer yet, I am trying to get enough ancedotal (sp?) information to see if that is an option. I am trying to determine what is the best option for short term living arrangements due to a work relocation.

Besides looking at rental houses, duplexs and apartments, I want to get enough information to determine if the trailer is possible.

So besides reading the truck's tow and tougne weight ratings, I am hoping to hear from others who have used the 3.7L / V6

Thanks

I would say we could probably haul up to a 23 ish foot camper from my guess. Anyone else wanna drop in?

Have a 21 footer and weight is approx 4300 lbs, take in consideration
of a full tank of gas, luggage and whatever else you take with you, your pushing right at 10,000 lbs....it's really a strain on the truck 3.7 or 4.7 Don't forget about the gas mileage getting there, I live in the carolina's which is quite level going to the beach and get about 9 miles to a gallon, If I go to the mountains........5 or 6 miles to the gallon.

i dont personally have a 3.7, but i have towed a 24ft enclosed car trailer from south texas (corpus christi) to north east NC with the truck trailer and everything in it plus a full tank it was 13900lbs. it towed really well for being a 4.7. on flat terrein i got a misierable 8-10mpg. once i got into the foothils i got 11-13mpg(i guess from all of the coasting downhill) i installed a trans temp guage and i only saw about 210* once and it was more from stop and go rather than normal pulling.

Anyone else have any info?

what gears/wheels you got?

does it hold od well or does it down shift alot?

OK... I can answer this one for ya... I tow a 5x8 covered trailer loaded with over 1K lbs of equipment. Given the size of the trailer & my limited knowledge, I would say its all about 2.2K lbs total??? I pull this load about three or four times a week. I have also pulled two 850lb Harley RK's on a 10x12 dual axle trailer, and a 3k lb Jeep.... all of the above with no problems. My 2002 3.7L has about 45k miles, mostly from pulling crap behind it... When I pull a full load... I get about 10-12 mpg... and the engine pulls strong till 70mph in 4th gear... then it runs out of legs... Not sure why??? Hmmm.... maybe I should try some new gears?

Hope this helps!

Quote: The safe towing capacity would be the same as any other 1500, but the power would be the only thing holding you back.

if u ck the towing guide at dodge.com u will see that the 1500 towing capacity is greatly reduced by the v6.

We first need to know what the dry weight of the TT is, then we can help you if your truck will pull it.

Make sure you slap a bigger tranny cooler on that biatch too!

KB

Beachboy said:

Any current or former 3.7L V6 owners have any experience with towing travel trailers with your 3rd Gen 1500?
I am curious about the 3rd Gen 1500 / 3.7L V6's total towing capability with a installed hitch (not 5th wheels).
The tow would be about 500 miles of mostly flat interstate, with the exception of some bridges over rivers (Pearl, Mississippi, Sabine, Trinity, Houston Ship Channel).
I need the bad and good (if there is any) news. Thanks.
My truck is an 05, rc/sb/3.7/at/2wd

Click to expand...

From www.dodge.com/towing:

2005 dodge ram 1500 pickup 1500 ST, REGULAR CAB, 2WD, 6.25 FT Bed, Multi-Speed Automatic Transmission, 3.7L Magnum(R) V6 Engine:

With 3.55 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio You Can Tow 3850 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) = 6350 lbs
Payload = 1831 lbs
Curb Weight = 4519 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2641 lbs/2641 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear = 3700 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) = 8500 lbs



With 3.92 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio You Can Tow 3850 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) = 6350 lbs
Payload = 1831 lbs
Curb Weight = 4519 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 2641 lbs/2641 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear = 3700 lbs/3900 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) = 8500 lbs

Click to expand...

You also have to consider the size and weight of the trailer. At best you can tow a small travel trailer (and I mean small) or a decent sized pop-up.

I don't have a 3.7 but I was thinking that if you got one of those pop up trailers that it would both weigh less and be easier to tow because there would be a lot less wind resistance.

Pop-ups are great...unless you have a large family...then it get's kinda crowded. We had a pop up for a long time and when the kids got to be 7 and 4 we were outgrowing the pop-up.

i towed a ford engine, that i sold and it weighed around 800 pounds, we loaded it on the bed, it acted like their wasnt even any weight on the truck