What does everyone think of using a 3/4 ton to pull a living quarters trailer? Should be allright as long as it's not a huge LQ. Tell me what you think.
Posted 2007-01-17 1:41 PM (#53986 - in reply to #53984) Subject: RE: Dodge 2500
Veteran
Posts: 148 Location: columbia tn
well i hope this helps you.. a year and a half ago i had a 02 dodge ex cab 4x4 diesel.. at that time i was pulling 3h steel 5'short wall semi lq.. i bought a new cimmeron norstar 10' lq (full lq).. the weight on the trailer was around 9000.. i hooked it up and went for a test drive with the new trailer before i bought it.. the 2500 would of worked ok..but it was for sure loaded my thinking was it could of used some air bags or something to help underneath and this truck came with overload springs heavy duty.. my other issue was the mirrors were going to have to be upgraded or buy some extentsions because it just was no seeing behind you good without towing mirrors.. so the next week i went a bought a 3500 dodge 4x4 4 dr truck pulls this trailer great feels alot more stable on the road.. i dont mind living a little on the edge but when it comes to driving down the road with a trailer loaded with horses to me its JUST NOT WORTH IT TAKING THE CHANCE you add horses water tanks hay feed dogs people food and it goes on and on your talking alot of weight... the down side is having to drive the dually around town but i have gotten used to it... good luck
Posted 2007-01-17 1:42 PM (#53987 - in reply to #53984) Subject: RE: Dodge 2500
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 544 Location: Claxton, Ga.
If it is a diesel I wouldn't go any larger than an 8 foot LQ. The pin weight will be your major concern (rear axle weight). This is just my opinion. Some people pull larger with a 2500 but I would not.
Posted 2007-01-17 8:37 PM (#54004 - in reply to #53984) Subject: RE: Dodge 2500
Member
Posts: 29
I went to the cat scale with a 2500 RAM Diesel with an 8 ft 3H Kiefer Genesis LQ trailer and it was at the max payload for the truck. No horses, not water, no passengers, just the truck and the empty trailer.
Posted 2007-01-18 9:04 AM (#54029 - in reply to #53984) Subject: RE: Dodge 2500
Veteran
Posts: 247 Location: La Crosse, WI - God's Country
Ah, the 2500/3500 debate...
If I recall correctly, in single rear wheel configuration for the 3rd gen Rams, the 3500 only has 600 or so lbs. more carrying capacity than a similarly equipped 2500. But let's get back to the point.
Let the numbers guide you. Consider the gross carrying weight capacity of the truck, as well as the pin weight your truck can handle.
In my case, I've got an aluminum 4H LQ that has a gross rating of 13,000 lbs. My truck's max towing capacity is 13,050. Most of the time we're only hauling 2 horses and it's the little lady and me... So on paper and in theory, I'm legal and I do feel quite safe in this rig. At no time in crosswinds, hills, etc. have I felt unsafe because I didn't have a bigger truck.
If I were to get weighed with a full load of 4 horses, passengers, and gear? Like the poster above, I'd probably be overloaded.
In my case it's a balancing act - I'm within the rated capacity of my vehicle, I feel safe after 3 years of driving this rig. I also had the need for a daily driver when I bought the truck - that's why I've got a short box quad cab and would have preferred not to drive a dually every day. I did have some "squat" issues so I added Timbren overload bump stop springs - and I'm very happy with those. They're cheap and when I'm not hauling, I don't know they're there. I also upgraded my shocks to Bilsteins.
If I were to buy a new truck? Well, I don't have the need for a daily driver right now and it would be nice to have the added margin of additional capacity and perception of safety - so I'd buy a dually. But then there's the money issue...
Dodge 2500
