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4th gen vs 4.5 (5th) gen 2500 towing

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Interested in everyone's views on the new Ram 2500 HD towing. Is it worth switching from a 2015 3/4 ton to a 2020 3/4 ton?

I am currently towing around 12,000 pounds but some times it gets closer to 18,000 pounds. Would stay with the 6.4 Hemi. Don't need the extra costs of the diesel. I like the look of the new trucks but am still paying on the 2015.

Any features that really improve towing/hauling on the new trucks? An integrated brake controller as standard is a must. Would a 1500 eco-diesel fit the bill for the smaller towing (<12,000 pounds)?

This is my first post so thanks in advance to everyone!
 
Towing capacity listed for a 1500 Tradesman quad-cab with the eco diesel with 2 wheel drive is 12,750 lbs. If you want 4wd, towing rating drops to 11,470 lbs. It's fine for towing 6-8k around. At 12k, you're working right at the truck's max. You'll wish you'd gone with a 2500 minimum.
 
I had a '12 3500 srw cummins, ccsb 4x4 and 3.73

Now I have a '19 2500, same trim, same options except with the 6.4 and 8sp, and I have more towing and payload than my old '12

Plus I'd argue my new gasser is a better daily driver as well
 
Here’s my 4th gen and what it tows almost every weekend in the summer.
Still trying to buy a 2020.
 

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So, some more serious thoughts on this.

2013 to 2018 the trucks are about the same. Someone with a 2012 or older will make an even bigger change. 2013 was when the 2500 got a pretty big boost for towing with the change to a class V hitch. 2014 brought the 6.4l HEMI and the first time a RAM gas truck hit 10k GVWR (the 5.7 was only 9000)

So, for 2019 the RAM HeftyDuty got some more love. Between the new frame and some weight loss...about 200 extra pounds of available payload.

For the long bed guys...they finally fixed that and now a longbed has more payload than a short bed...in a 4th Gen the shortbed had more payload.

Sounds like a good idea to upgrade to a 4.5 Gen already.

And as mentioned...the 8spd takes care of my only complaint and one mentioned already...the 2nd to 1st gear drop.

Now as far as GVWR and GCWR the numbers are about the same.

The 2500 has 10000lb GVWR with both the Hemi and the Cummins.

The GCWR will depend on rear gear ratio.

With 3.73 GCWR will be 21500
With 4.10 it will be 24000

This is up from 19800 and 22800...so that is a substantial reason.

So about 1700 more pounds towing with 3.73 and 1200 pounds more with a 4.10

The only downside so far I have found on a 2020 over my 2015 is with the tradesman trim you do not get the floor console and the RamBins in the rear. We have the answer to adding these...so not a problem if you want them.

The 4.5 HeftyDuty is much better than the 2015 and worlds better than the 2010 to 2012 years.

Hope this helps.
 
And as far as the ecodiesel. It has less towing tham the Hemi.

The eco with 3.92 rear has 15600 GCWR and the Hemi with 3.92 has 17000. So it tows 1400 lbs less than a similarly equiped Hemi.

And for info...the tow ratings right now...they are just GCWR minus base weight. You can not within capacity tow that number. This is because it doesnt even allow for a driver.

A quick math equation to show this.

Most 1500s seem to avg about 1450 lbs of payload and most 2500 Hemi avg about 2800.

So follow along.

A eco Diesel has 7200lbs of GVWR. With 1450 lbs of payload this means thr base weight is 5750

The 2500 Hemi has a GVWR of 10000 so with 2800lbs of payload this is a base weight of 7200 lbs.

So the eco Diesel will have a max tow of 9850 and the Hemi 2500 a max tow of 15600.

So what this means is you can add a total of 9850lbs to the truck with a trailer.

First you have to subtract driver weight and hitch

Lets just say 300...200 for the driver and 100 for the hitch. So that 9850 is down to 9550...but this includes tongue weight. A camper will have about 12% so tw is 1146...add the 300lbs and you are at 4 lbs til payload.

I can continue...but you can see the math.

The eco Diesel is out for 12000lb trailer. But the 2500 is real close to max at 12000lbs too.
 
oaklandopen said:
I had a '12 3500 srw cummins, ccsb 4x4 and 3.73

Now I have a '19 2500, same trim, same options except with the 6.4 and 8sp, and I have more towing and payload than my old '12

Plus I'd argue my new gasser is a better daily driver as well
Click to expand...
Wow, really? I would not have thought that a new gasser would have more towing capacity than an older cummins. Good to know.
 
DevilDodge said:
So, some more serious thoughts on this.

2013 to 2018 the trucks are about the same. Someone with a 2012 or older will make an even bigger change. 2013 was when the 2500 got a pretty big boost for towing with the change to a class V hitch. 2014 brought the 6.4l HEMI and the first time a RAM gas truck hit 10k GVWR (the 5.7 was only 9000)

So, for 2019 the RAM HeftyDuty got some more love. Between the new frame and some weight loss...about 200 extra pounds of available payload.

For the long bed guys...they finally fixed that and now a longbed has more payload than a short bed...in a 4th Gen the shortbed had more payload.

Sounds like a good idea to upgrade to a 4.5 Gen already.

And as mentioned...the 8spd takes care of my only complaint and one mentioned already...the 2nd to 1st gear drop.

Now as far as GVWR and GCWR the numbers are about the same.

The 2500 has 10000lb GVWR with both the Hemi and the Cummins.

The GCWR will depend on rear gear ratio.

With 3.73 GCWR will be 21500
With 4.10 it will be 24000

This is up from 19800 and 22800...so that is a substantial reason.

So about 1700 more pounds towing with 3.73 and 1200 pounds more with a 4.10

The only downside so far I have found on a 2020 over my 2015 is with the tradesman trim you do not get the floor console and the RamBins in the rear. We have the answer to adding these...so not a problem if you want them.

The 4.5 HeftyDuty is much better than the 2015 and worlds better than the 2010 to 2012 years.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Great, thank you @DevilDodge! This is exactly what I was looking for. Good to hear the 8spd takes care of the transmission gearing.
 
DevilDodge said:
And as far as the ecodiesel. It has less towing tham the Hemi.

The eco with 3.92 rear has 15600 GCWR and the Hemi with 3.92 has 17000. So it tows 1400 lbs less than a similarly equiped Hemi.

And for info...the tow ratings right now...they are just GCWR minus base weight. You can not within capacity tow that number. This is because it doesnt even allow for a driver.

A quick math equation to show this.

Most 1500s seem to avg about 1450 lbs of payload and most 2500 Hemi avg about 2800.

So follow along.

A eco Diesel has 7200lbs of GVWR. With 1450 lbs of payload this means thr base weight is 5750

The 2500 Hemi has a GVWR of 10000 so with 2800lbs of payload this is a base weight of 7200 lbs.

So the eco Diesel will have a max tow of 9850 and the Hemi 2500 a max tow of 15600.

So what this means is you can add a total of 9850lbs to the truck with a trailer.

First you have to subtract driver weight and hitch

Lets just say 300...200 for the driver and 100 for the hitch. So that 9850 is down to 9550...but this includes tongue weight. A camper will have about 12% so tw is 1146...add the 300lbs and you are at 4 lbs til payload.

I can continue...but you can see the math.

The eco Diesel is out for 12000lb trailer. But the 2500 is real close to max at 12000lbs too.
Click to expand...
Thanks for helping with the math. I've looked for some of these numbers before, but it can be hard to find on Ram's (or any other manufacturer's) website. I think this safely puts my eco diesel idea to bed. I'm not worried about maxing out the towing on the 2500. I've done so with the 2015 and apart from the transmission gearing it took it like a champ.
 
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