What's new
By:
Ram Heavy Duty Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Power Wagon payload help

3

307Jay

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I'm considering a new PW and am kind of torn. I have a 2015 Ram 3500 now with tons of payload. I have a truck bed camper that I use often and it weighs in at 2000 pounds roughly and have no problem with it in my RAM now. I really want the new PW but am really disappointed in the payload.

Is anyone that owns one of these doing anything to help the payload a little like air bags or anything?

Thank you in advance for any insight!
 
That is very true I guess I'm trying to wrap my head around why the regular 2500 has 3300 ish pounds of payload and the PW only 1500 ish pounds? I know its different suspension but is the frame and the body the same as the regular gas 2500?
 
Haha! Very good quote. Id love to hear from someone who has done something with their rear suspension or bagged it or something to know how it works! I also dont want to sacrifice a whole lot of off road capabilities with it too just do something small to get me like 700 more pounds.
 
307Jay said:
That is very true I guess I'm trying to wrap my head around why the regular 2500 has 3300 ish pounds of payload and the PW only 1500 ish pounds? I know its different suspension but is the frame and the body the same as the regular gas 2500?
Click to expand...
Body, frame, engine, brakes etc are the same as a regular 2500. But softer springs, the articulink front control arms, and disconnecting sway bar all play in to why Ram stickers it with a reduced GVWR.

People have done air bags (fairly common actually) or swapped in standard 2500 springs to improve heavy payload performance ... I think the question is what do you desire the extra payload for and how often will you be overloaded.
 
Legally, you may be better off going with a 6.4 2500 and making your own improvements to the suspension setup. You would have a ~3,000lb+ payload rating to play around with stock.
 
btsbarton said:
Body, frame, engine, brakes etc are the same as a regular 2500. But softer springs, the articulink front control arms, and disconnecting sway bar all play in to why Ram stickers it with a reduced GVWR.

People have done air bags (fairly common actually) or swapped in standard 2500 springs to improve heavy payload performance ... I think the question is what do you desire the extra payload for and how often will you be overloaded.
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking. I will use the sway bar disconnect, lockers and winch more then I will use 3,000 lbs payload. I really just want to put a 2,000 lb camper in the back with my gear which would probably total 2500ish. And this would only be on the weekends driving maybe 400 miles max. So the hard part for me is do I build a regular 2500 with a Carli suspension, lockers and a winch for $90k or get a PW and throw some air bags and a rear sway bar for $75k to get me where I need to be with a small camper in the back. Keep in mind I'm not trying to run the Rubicon trial with my camper!
 
I’m not a suspension guy, but it seems the reason for the lower payload is the springs, right? Throwing bags on would help transfer the overloaded weight to the rear end/tires better. 1000 pounds overloaded better? That I don’t know. If I had a PW, I wouldn’t mind 300-500 over with bags. 1000… no idea. Would see how the truck sat/felt with that extra weight before going on any big trips.
 
Last edited:
Tires, rims and springs all play into the lower payload.

I went with 37x12.5r17 Cooper STT Pro tires wrapped around AEV rims.

That basically gave me another 600 -700 LBS of Rear Axle carrying capacity.

I just added airbags Air Lift 5000 + Ultimate and feel so much better towing and carrying heavy loads.

Plus my truck doesn't squat anymore.

Technically my combination would be over weight by the door numbers but those are usually low by about 10% as the factory doesn't want to be liable and it doesn't account for any improvements.

Will I ever be pulled over? Likely not as with the airbags it looks like it is towing well within it's capacity.

My combination feels safe, rides well and I am comfortable with it.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
 
also the more basic a power wagon is the more payload it will have. I have a level one and my door sticker says 1565lbs my buddy with level 2 is 1365lb both 2020's. The Tradesman with PW package I test drove had 1572. Now the kicker is I actually weighed mine and it weighed 6950 so my payload is a bit higher than what the door sticker says at 1615lb and that is with 35's and transmission skid and steps which would add 100lbs or so so it all kind of depends. Unless you were involved in a serious accident it most likely will never be an issue. If you break an axle and your wheel comes off and you cause a serious accident all bets are off. I was LEO for 30 years and routine stuff never heard of anyone ever checking gvwr. Not like a pickup hauling a camper is required to pull into a weigh station.
 
A 2500 is not the best choice for a in bed camper, a Power Wagon is even a worse choice.. It's not only the weight but the high center of gravity of a in bed camper makes it even worse... Stick with your 3500.

.
 
Wouldn't bags be in a way for the suspension articulation when sway bars are disconnected?? I think it would.
OP can also swap their camper for a lighter version if they want to stay within limits.

Also I think there was a PW package one could get on a lover trims 2500s. What would that include??
 
Personally I would not do a camper on a 2500. I would just go straight to a 3500. Put a locker and a winch on it.

I have a Carli Pintop suspension on order for my PW. It adds about 500 pounds of payload. Which should bring me to about 1600 pounds total payload capacity on my truck.
 
MEGA HO 3500 said:
Wouldn't bags be in a way for the suspension articulation when sway bars are disconnected?? I think it would.
OP can also swap their camper for a lighter version if they want to stay within limits.

Also I think there was a PW package one could get on a lover trims 2500s. What would that include??
Click to expand...
Yes, bags will reduce suspension travel slightly. However the “common” ones for power wagons can be safely run at 0psi and don’t affect suspension range of motion by much. Also only the front sway bar disconnects on power wagons

yes there is the tradesman power wagon but it still has the reduced gvwr so I believe you only gain 100-200lbs of payload vs a “base” trim-level power wagon, from it simply being decontented(less speakers, manual seats, etc).
 
Last edited:
MEGA HO 3500 said:
Wouldn't bags be in a way for the suspension articulation when sway bars are disconnected?? I think it would.
OP can also swap their camper for a lighter version if they want to stay within limits.

Also I think there was a PW package one could get on a lover trims 2500s. What would that include??
Click to expand...
air bags if run with daystar cradles will not affect articulation.. The Tradesman can have the power wagon package option and that gives every thing mechanical the power wagon has ie lockers, disconnect, same wheels and tires and suspension. This the tradesman with pw option i test drove before buying mine.
 

Attachments

  • DD58FF67-F67C-473C-8652-28AD511A2068_1_201_a.jpeg
    DD58FF67-F67C-473C-8652-28AD511A2068_1_201_a.jpeg
    281.5 KB · Views: 101
  • 5DBCE900-3C09-4FCC-BA40-E30AA93EDF5F_1_201_a.jpeg
    5DBCE900-3C09-4FCC-BA40-E30AA93EDF5F_1_201_a.jpeg
    275.2 KB · Views: 102
Has anyone tested the articulation with the air lift 5000 with the internal jounce bumper and daystar? Does this combo run at 0 psi impede articulation at all?
 
kumplocke said:
Has anyone tested the articulation with the air lift 5000 with the internal jounce bumper and daystar? Does this combo run at 0 psi impede articulation at all?
Click to expand...
They retain the same hight internal bump stops so it would act the same
 
307Jay said:
I'm considering a new PW and am kind of torn. I have a 2015 Ram 3500 now with tons of payload. I have a truck bed camper that I use often and it weighs in at 2000 pounds roughly and have no problem with it in my RAM now. I really want the new PW but am really disappointed in the payload.

Is anyone that owns one of these doing anything to help the payload a little like air bags or anything?

Thank you in advance for any insight!
Click to expand...
Check out this guy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top