10,000 mile RAM 5500 report

[bdog]

Are the tow ratings on these things still screwy? When I was looking at rams maybe three years ago the 3500 dually was rated by ram to be able to tow more than the 5500. Made no sense to me. The 5500 was rated for massively more payload capacity but less towing.

 

[Hay Dude]

Are the tow ratings on these things still screwy? When I was looking at rams maybe three years ago the 3500 dually was rated by ram to be able to tow more than the 5500. Made no sense to me. The 5500 was rated for massively more payload capacity but less towing.

No, now it makes sense. 4500/5500 rated to tow a bit more 43,000 GCWR
GM's 3500 has higher GCWR than GM 4500/5500/6500
Really stupid, otherwise I may have bought one. I didnt like the size of the truck for everyday driving, either.

 

[gtbensley]

How come you are looking for a deck over dump trailer? Or are you going goose neck dual tires and axles big boy?

Nice truck. Have always loved the idea of a 5500 or f550. Have no practical use for one though.

Gentleman on the cummins forum bought a 5500 and single rear swapped it, full kedlman air ride, and had a pickup bed made for it. Pretty nifty setup.

 

[crashz]

Thanks for sharing Hay Dude! That is a nice looking rig you have.

The new Rams are just nice looking trucks and seemingly well built. I'd love a new Cummins powered rig, but its a bit out of my price range

 

[Hay Dude]

Thanks for sharing Hay Dude! That is a nice looking rig you have.

The new Rams are just nice looking trucks and seemingly well built. I'd love a new Cummins powered rig, but its a bit

How come you are looking for a deck over dump trailer? Or are you going goose neck dual tires and axles big boy?

Nice truck. Have always loved the idea of a 5500 or f550. Have no practical use for one though.

Gentleman on the cummins forum bought a 5500 and single rear swapped it, full kedlman air ride, and had a pickup bed made for it. Pretty nifty setup.

Thanks, Crashz. Get an older Cummins powered truck. They are really nice pullers, too.

gtbensley- I want a deck over dump so I can haul 4x5 round bales butted together in a double row, then stack a second row on top. The 7' wide dump trailers wont do that. Also like having the fold down sides, for my pallets of materials. The way things are going, it wont be a possibility until late summer. PJ has shut down deck overs. Most others are not actually 8' wide inside. Very few build anything above 16K GVWR. I'd like something over 20k GVWR for stone.
I am starting to shift to a "plan B" of buying 2 trailers instead of the one 20k deck over dump:
(1) a 14-16k deck over 8x20 bumper pull for the smaller loads of hay
(2) a 7' wide dump (with fenders on the outside). The 8x16 deck over dump I want is $20,000 from PJ. I can do the plan B, 2 trailer scenario for a few thousand less and use the bumper pull to replace my aging equipment trailer.
Might make more sense in the long run.
Its a lot to think about and hay season is about to hit like a sunami.

 

[gtbensley]

Sounds logical. I used a smaller 8x16 deck over with folding sides to haul firewood last fall. Worked great for that but was a little overkill for my 2500....and I had debates bout how well the folding sides would hold up. One good hit to bend them out of place and they won't be folding very well. Believe Suretrac was the maker of it.

Plan B sounds like a good option from here.....more trails always seems better.

I have a baby 7x10 7k dump and use it for everything. Next trailer will be a 7x12 12k however. I run out of weight too quickly.