Looking to try to upgrade my 2020 Ram 2500 to handle a fifth wheel - like a 3500

[The_Timmay!]

Hello everyone! I'm fairly new to owning a 2500 (bought the gas version Oct 2020 and upgraded to a diesel June 2022) and now that we have a heavier duty truck, we love how well it tows. We currently have a 38' bumper pull travel trailer that weighs around 10k lbs and with the weight distribution hitch, it's fairly level and easy to tow. I think I have my wife okay with the idea of a 5th wheel, but after shopping them, it's looking like the truck can't handle a medium to large sized 5th wheel. An acquaintance mentioned upgrading the suspension in the 2500 versus buying yet another expensive AF truck and with the new rates today, I'm not excited of financing a more expensive 3500 truck. I see that airbags help to level them out, but I don't see much benefit outside of leveling and I'm having trouble finding kits or anything like that to upgrade the trucks payload capacity. Does anyone have experience with this or input? Maybe some direction to a good website with info to read up on? Many thanks in advance!

 

[gimmie11s]

This is a LONG/BIG conversation and you will get arguments on many sides.

Having owned a 2016 2500 and now a 2021 3500, I will tell you that you cannot make the coil spring 2500 handle, under tow, like a 3500.

That said -- I towed a 35' 14k lb 5er with my 2016 coil spring truck and it did an acceptable job. Nowhere near as confident as my 3500, but it did the job just fine. Where you will most notice the difference is while turning during towing. The coil spring trucks seem to turn much less confidently than the leaf spring 3500s. Kind of like a boat in water feeling during turns.

Add the air bags. They will level the truck with the trailer attached and give you more confidence while you are towing.

 

[The_Timmay!]

This is a LONG/BIG conversation and you will get arguments on many sides.

Having owned a 2016 2500 and now a 2021 3500, I will tell you that you cannot make the coil spring 2500 handle, under tow, like a 3500.

That said -- I towed a 35' 14k lb 5er with my 2016 coil spring truck and it did an acceptable job. Nowhere near as confident as my 3500, but it did the job just fine.

Add the air bags. They will level the truck with the trailer attached and give you more confidence while you are towing.

The airbags are cheap enough and look simple enough to install that I'll probably make that upgrade regardless, but there's not a somewhat simple way to beef up the suspension otherwise? I mean, I'd guess that you'd have to upgrade the coils and struts, but it would seem to me that's all you'd really need. I just don't know enough about it to be okay with doing the upgrade.

 

[LateToTheParty]

I guess it all depends on how good of a fabricator you are. If you were to replace all of the components for the coil spring rear and replace with a leaf spring setup like on the 3500s, I would envision you'd be getting pretty close to what you're after (assuming you never drive through one of those states that cares about the #s).

 

[Finn5033]

The airbags are cheap enough and look simple enough to install that I'll probably make that upgrade regardless, but there's not a somewhat simple way to beef up the suspension otherwise? I mean, I'd guess that you'd have to upgrade the coils and struts, but it would seem to me that's all you'd really need. I just don't know enough about it to be okay with doing the upgrade.

I have a 2500, I pull a bumper pull trailer with a 1,250# hitch weight that I can’t use a WDH with. I tried pulling the trailer when I took the truck home for a test drive and thought the rear felt a little squirmy. After researching on here, what I was told is the reason it feels like that is because the coil springs on the rear of these trucks are set in quite a bit. For my use I added the airlift loadlifter 5000 air bag kit that actually replaces the stock bump stops on the outer edge of the axle. It made a huge difference in how the rear of the truck feels while towing.

Now that of course doesn’t add any payload capacity to the mfg rating. There are lots of people that tow 5th wheels with these trucks I’ll let them speak to their personal experiences in regards to the weights and what they’ve done

 

[Roper46]

Welcome to the forum from south Georgia. This should be an interesting thread.

 

[g00fy]

I'm in the same boat as OP, currently have a bumper pull toy hauler I pull with my 6.7 2500, but I'm planning on going up to a 5th wheel toy hauler in a few years. My plan is to throw a high end set of airbags in the back and send it, I know legally I'm not adding payload, but the 2500 has the same axles as the SO 3500, so as long as I keep it within the axle ratings and drive conservatively (which I always do anyway) I should be fine.

 

[Grateful Dad]

I’ll pass on all the weight rating stuff………airbags will help, they actually sit where the leaf pack would be (outboard of the coils) which will help with lateral stability as well as provide some suspension bolstering.

As stated above, a SO 3500 has the exact same axle and it’s rated for 7k…….

I’m not advocating tossing GVWR and payload completely out the window but going over a bit isn’t the worst thing ever.

 

[CaptainMike]

One big thing you need to fully understand is the liability of towing/hauling over the GVRW/CGVRW. You can pimp out and swap out all of the components you want, but that will never change those numbers associated with your VIN. It's certainly a case of "it only matters when it matters", but when/if it matters it could be financially devastating. I recently made the mistake of not fully researching all of the factors related to the weight of a cabover camper I bought last spring. Once I added all of the weights of tie-downs, people, pets and camping stuff to the manufacturer's dry weight of the camper I was almost 800lbs over my payload capacity. The truck hauled it just fine, but I personally did not want to assume the liability if something were to happen so I sold it. I spent 25 years as a professional fireman, and while many people think "it will never happen to me", sh!t most certainly does happen, and happens with more frequency than most folks realize. The consequences just aren't worth the risk to me.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[The_Timmay!]

I guess it all depends on how good of a fabricator you are. If you were to replace all of the components for the coil spring rear and replace with a leaf spring setup like on the 3500s, I would envision you'd be getting pretty close to what you're after (assuming you never drive through one of those states that cares about the #s).

One big thing you need to fully understand is the liability of towing/hauling over the GVRW/CGVRW. You can pimp out and swap out all of the components you want, but that will never change those numbers associated with your VIN. It's certainly a case of "it only matters when it matters", but when/if it matters it could be financially devastating. I recently made the mistake of not fully researching all of the factors related to the weight of a cabover camper I bought last spring. Once I added all of the weights of tie-downs, people, pets and camping stuff to the manufacturer's dry weight of the camper I was almost 800lbs over my payload capacity. The truck hauled it just fine, but I personally did not want to assume the liability if something were to happen so I sold it. I spent 25 years as a professional fireman, and while many people think "it will never happen to me", sh!t most certainly does happen, and happens with more frequency than most folks realize. The consequences just aren't worth the risk to me.

Caveat Emptor.

I didn't even think about the financial impact of an accident. I suppose that even with upgrading the rig and knowing that it could handle the extra weight, at fault or not, an accident with injury could be financially catastrophic! These trucks are all F'ing pricey, but that would be minimal in comparison to a claim for injury against me personally. Thanks for this - great insight.

 

[CaptainMike]

I didn't even think about the financial impact of an accident. I suppose that even with upgrading the rig and knowing that it could handle the extra weight, at fault or not, an accident with injury could be financially catastrophic! These trucks are all F'ing pricey, but that would be minimal in comparison to a claim for injury against me personally. Thanks for this - great insight.

That was my thought as well. I talked to a couple of CHP buddies about my overweight camper and they said that in itself wouldn't be as big of a deal vehicle code-wise, but it would definitely give an insurance company, ANY insurance company, cause to not cover you in an accident for driving and hauling an over-weight and their eyes unsafe vehicle. That was good enough for me.

 

[Blythkd1]

My insurance agent said they have no choice but to cover an accident even if you're overweight, hauling commercially without the proper credentials, insurance, etc., or whatever, unless it's specifically excluded by a clause in the insurance contract, which is rare. Of course, after they pay they can cancel your ass the next minute, and in a case where you're caught doing something wrong, they probably will cancel you.

And btw, it wasn't me that asked. It was a friend of mine with the same agent and he was hauling commercially without commercial insurance.

 

[BikePilot]

Realistically it's probably better to bite the bullet and upgrade to a 3500 HO now. A typical larger 5th wheel is going to have a pin weight of around 3k lbs. With people, tools, etc you've probably got another 1k lbs in the truck. The truck is probably rated for 2k lbs of payload, putting you around a ton overweight. Plus when you go 3500 you can opt for the Aisin and save a potential transmission replacement cost.

If it happens that the 5th wheel is within your tolerance of being legal and you just want the suspension to work better, then good shocks, a Thuren rear track bar, and airbags will make a big improvement.

 

[gimmie11s]

My insurance agent said they have no choice but to cover an accident even if you're overweight, hauling commercially without the proper credentials, insurance, etc., or whatever, unless it's specifically excluded by a clause in the insurance contract, which is rare. Of course, after they pay they can cancel your ass the next minute, and in a case where you're caught doing something wrong, they probably will cancel you.

And btw, it wasn't me that asked. It was a friend of mine with the same agent and he was hauling commercially without commercial insurance.

Truth. Just like an at-fault accident. You'll still be covered, although high chance they drop you afterwards.