ditto. my ARB 50 runs 24/7 and has since I got it. If not in the vehicle when camping in the house keeping beer cold. Mine has been on the Rubicon trail, dusy ershim, to Colorado 2X and to moab many times as well as local camping all the time. Not sure why I have not sold my Yeti yet as I never use it any more as totally spoiled by the fridge.
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Why did you buy a 2500
- Thread starter RAMMIT
- Start date
I bought a 2500 because i would not be able to fit anymore in a 3500 and the 2500 did just fine.
Tradesman Hemi don't care.
You can see the older brother peaking round the corner with bed envy. Lil shortbed guy he is.
The only reason 2500's exist is to artificially de-rate the gvwr to 10k. Anything with a GVWR over 10k operating in a commercial environment is subject to DOT regs. This includes sole proprietor contractors towing little tool trailers and skid steers and such. Obviously enforcement various state by state. If this limit was 14k, there would be no such thing as a 3/4 ton pick up. As I regularly tow a commercially registered trailer I run a 2500.
I don't know who decided to even start all of the nonsense about denied warranties and insurance liability about payload a few years (10) ago but I really wish they hadn't. Everyone was just fine hooking up anything with the right sized ball (usually a pintle) to 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for decades. We used to haul a tandem hay trailer that weighed about 30k lbs with a 1984 F250 with a non-turbo'd idi diesel when we were kids.....with no drivers licenses, never had a problem. No one had any idea what the ratings of that truck or trailer were. Make sure the tires had air and you were good to go.
On second thought with a bunch of new to towing RV drivers running 37' long 10' tall triple axle toy haulers, maybe it is a good thing you weight police exist?
2500's are perfectly capable hauling at their gross AXLE limits. As long as you are with in these you and your truck are going to be fine, provided you know how to drive. My truck regularly has a 4k payload, sometimes towing sometimes with out. High winds, high speeds, mountain roads, none of it has ever upset my truck. Rolled over the scales at 31k combined once and proceeded to haul the trailer up the side of a mountain at 65mph. I have never noticed a difference between the towing/load capabilities of my 2500 vs my previous 3500.
I think a few trailering lessons would be much more beneficial for most than all this discussion on GVWR
I don't know who decided to even start all of the nonsense about denied warranties and insurance liability about payload a few years (10) ago but I really wish they hadn't. Everyone was just fine hooking up anything with the right sized ball (usually a pintle) to 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for decades. We used to haul a tandem hay trailer that weighed about 30k lbs with a 1984 F250 with a non-turbo'd idi diesel when we were kids.....with no drivers licenses, never had a problem. No one had any idea what the ratings of that truck or trailer were. Make sure the tires had air and you were good to go.
On second thought with a bunch of new to towing RV drivers running 37' long 10' tall triple axle toy haulers, maybe it is a good thing you weight police exist?
2500's are perfectly capable hauling at their gross AXLE limits. As long as you are with in these you and your truck are going to be fine, provided you know how to drive. My truck regularly has a 4k payload, sometimes towing sometimes with out. High winds, high speeds, mountain roads, none of it has ever upset my truck. Rolled over the scales at 31k combined once and proceeded to haul the trailer up the side of a mountain at 65mph. I have never noticed a difference between the towing/load capabilities of my 2500 vs my previous 3500.
I think a few trailering lessons would be much more beneficial for most than all this discussion on GVWR
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I should add, I think most guys that are towing campers with 1/2 ton trucks would greatly benefit from a 2500. While our 3/4ton trucks are derated, I think the payload/tow wars in the 1/2 ton segment are dangerous. Way too many guys out there towing 7500lb campers behind half tons with p rated tires swaying all over the road. They think they are fine with a 27' long trailer because it only weights 7500lbs while their truck is rated to tow 12k. Or even worse the guys with Chevy Colorado's rated to tow 7500lbs towing these same 20'++ long trailers. Manufacturers test their trucks with a car hauler loaded with steel plates and a big wind screen on the front of it. You can regularly see them testing along I70 in the Colorado Rockies. There is huge difference between steel plates on a car hauler that aren't any taller than your bumper and a 27' long camper on 13" wheels riding along at 75mph.
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jdefoe0424
Active Member
I agree my 2500 will be much better with my 32' 7k TT than my 1500 was. But with a properly set up WDH hitch and sensible driving (I know that's hard to find these days) I had no issues in over 3500 miles. A little sway from tractor trailer passing which I chalked up to the XL rated tires, I think I'm just lucky I had 20's and not 18's as there are lots of people that complain about that sway.
It would be nice to see dealers be more informative than just saying it'll tow XX thousand pounds, I too see lots of scary setups on the highway and it's not limited to 1/2 tons either.
On the 1500 forum I've seen many posts of people go "I bought a Limited and then we looked at a 7k TT...but I only have 1200lb payload." DevilDodge knows what I'm talking about as I see him post in just about every towing thread. I bought my 1500 Laramie the way I did because it had ~1650lbs payload.
Maybe we should start a service where people can drive a 1/2 ton and then a 3/4 ton truck with the same trailer and actually see the difference between the two. Of course they could also rent a 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck for a weekend trip to see if they like it better than their current truck.
I will say i am about to go rent a Rebel and tow my camper. If it tows aa well as these guys say...i will buy one the next day and scrap all 3 of my HeftyDuty RAMS
I can save you the rental. It doesn't tow near as well as any of your HD trucks. Even if they are 20years old. All the guys that say their 1500 is a great tow rig have never towed with a 3/4 ton truck. As someone who doesn't like the amount of time and mess and frozen fingers that comes with just hitching up a ball, chains, and 7pin, I can't fathom all the effort that goes into a weight distributing hitch. I guess if you are just towing a camper a few times a year it might be fine?
Well, my 99 is 22 years old...but it has a 488 cu in V10 Magnum...the 5.7 l Hemi is no comparison to an 8.0l.
My 03 is 18 years old...and has a 5.7l Hemi...it would be close...as the DT 1500 is light years ahead of the 3rd Gen.
And my 2015 makes my other 2 seem ancient...
I already know the answer...which is why I spend so much time trying to get the 1500 crowd to understand all the other requirements...not just the Hemi yanking a trailer so well.
These forums have been great for me. I guess I am fortunate that I am getting a a truck now to pull a travel trailer in the future. I just assumed that a 1500 would pull just about any travel trailer until I learned about payload. But then there was more to it than payload, there was stopping and sway to factor into it. I don't know what trailer I'm getting but I am almost certain it won't be over 30', and I'm sure I could get by with a 1500. But thanks to you guys, I learned that there is no need to push it to its limits and a 2500 is a good choice for not that much more money. Even if my trailer ends up just being 6-7k pounds, I also learned that just the fact you are dragging a long, tall 25-30 foot sail behind you, the 2500 will help for that. Again, I am fortunate to have this choice now instead of realizing it after I already have a truck, so I appreciate all of the wisdom here. A 2500 sounds like a perfect choice even for occasional towing, and it doesn't seem like you are giving up much over a 1500 except a little bit of mpg and maybe a little stiffer ride. But most importantly, I would imagine you would feel more comfortable knowing it is safer for your family.
If you think the 1500 forums are fun for towing, you should see the stuff that makes Reddit. r/GoRVing and r/RVLiving are so full of stereotypes it's almost not fun after a while. r/Ram_Trucks sometimes but it's mostly kids still living at home asking what rims and leveling kit to buy for the 1500.
I have a 33 1/2 ft 7k camper and it was worse than you are making it out to be with everything set up properly. I had the truck first, but unlike a lot of people I actually limited my camper selection to stay well under on all weights. It's that length they don't tell you about and no one wants to listen to afterwards. They don't want to believe a camper or enclosed trailer might tow differently than a flatbed either. Anything over 10 mph winds and I was fighting it. That and stopping every 2 hours for gas which turns into a 30 minute ordeal with bathrooms and big gulps.
The worst part is there was a different floor plan that was 1,000 lbs more that we REALLY wanted but didn't get because I didn't want to approach capacity on the 1500 that was going to struggle anyway for a handful of trips before I upgraded it.
I don't think there is any service that can fix it. Too many people spend every cent they have to pay on every bit of credit the banks will lend them. They simply aren't willing to throttle back to a Big Horn 2500 when they can find 100 morons on the internet to validate their bad ideas. Gotta show off that Limited and pretend they are rich.
Many people tell me they do not like Tradesman because of the vinyl seats and floors. Then they get into my truck, and like it. And then they dislike me because they paid $20K more for the their 1500 Limited. Yah, some stuff is useful, but are heated/cooled seats really needed? My first truck in 1985 was a 72 Chevy C15.
My kids still think our tradesman has leather seats. They also think they are heated and cooled....heated in the sun and cooled in the winter...ha
McHenry2500
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I'd 10000% rather have a Tradesman 2500 than a Limited 1500. Especially considering my payment is probably lower.
I just had this conversation with a neighbor who bought a Ram1500 LoneStar with all the bells and whistles and upgraded 20" rims and is upset now at the low tow rating.
Funny thing is most car leather has been processed so much its basically a vinyl sandwich. No grain, no variation, no natural imperfections.
My Limited has natural imperfections. One very visible scar on the driver arm rest brought up on delivery inspection almost made me make the dealer replace it. Turns out to not be a spot my arm rests on so I'm good with it. There are other natural blemishes throughout.
The Limited and Longhorn, over processed or not, is real leather. The Laramie seating is pretty much all bonded leather. I would have been fine with cloth, sat on it or vinyl for 45 years, but the seating wasn't the only deciding factor in going for the Limited. Gotta pretend I'm rich like all the other moron Limited owners you know.
Epsilon Plus
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kmcoop mic dropped the thread with game, but I'll add to the recent posts by saying base trim means little to the ala carte Ram world. My buddies Tradesman was 66k MSRP. My Big Horn was 68k
They both have options on them that would make some Laramies and higher blush. My truck has 23k in options alone. Not trying to flex, just saying.
They both have options on them that would make some Laramies and higher blush. My truck has 23k in options alone. Not trying to flex, just saying.
Sir Snacksalot
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My Laramie seats in my 1500 were peeling after 23xxx miles.. have a bighorn 2500 now with cloth and I love it. Also my bighorn has just about every option.
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smccar2016
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How’s the Hemi and 4:10s? I have one ordered with the same configuration. I have a TT and a golf cart I take camping. I think the 4:10s would be the better set up.
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Eatonpcat
Well-Known Member
I thought you didn't like Rich, now you are pretending to be him??
Also, this doesn't look like pretending to me: Be proud, you rich guys worked for it!!
You know what I mean. More people buy top level trim than can afford it, and putting on a facade is more important to them than safely towing. They back themselves into a financial corner and justify putting people at risk pulling a camper they know is squirrely, but backwards priorities prevent them from fixing it.
I've got a Laramie loaded up like a Limited so clearly I'm not bashing optioned up trucks. Just the priorities and decision making skills of some buyers.