Can I haul a 50hp tractor with a Ram 1500?

[jwgregory4979]

Howdy Ya'll,
I am thinking of buying a 50hp tractor, mostly to do jobs around the house, but would also like to do some brush hogging. Tractor work for others to supplement my income, and generally help others out too. I have a Dodge Ram 1500, Hemi, 4x4 with tow package (paid for!!). I figure the tractor should come in around 5000#, plus the brush hog, FEL, and trailer....somewhere in the neighborhood of 8500#'s My distant traveled could be up to 50+ miles to and back?! Is this safe? How much strain will I be putting on the truck? I am thinking of trailer brakes to help?! I know in a perfect world I should get a bigger truck, that is the plan?! But could I get by for a year or two, before I could maybe purchase a 2500/3500?!
Thanks in advance!

 

[Soundguy]

i think you have woefully UNDER-estimated your weight. assuming the tractor is 5k.. and the trailer will liekly be a mINIMUM of 2k even for a 16'er.. which i would not reccomend. more like 18' minimum if not 20'.. and that will drive the weight up even more. need the length for ballancing the load... . then a mower? ( 6' ) will be added in.. plus a fel.

I think you may be 2500# light on your estimate..

will the truck pull it? probably? will it stop it? maybee? will the suspension like it? iffy.. what;s the trucks tow rating?

I used to pull with a dodge 1500.. I always knew it needed more truck to be safe. finally got a 1 ton and quit white knuckeling it....

 

[3930dave]

For a rough idea, you can try something like:

Tow Capacity Rating Look Up by Trailers.com - Look Up Tow Vehicle Ratings and Tow Capacity

For a better idea, get a Dodge dealer to run your VIN, that should tell you the exact factory rating.

Depending on tractor era, 5000# may be a little low - mine weighs about that, Dry (no fluids).

I don't know the Dodge ratings well enough to comment. At a minimum, if you go with this, make sure that you have trailer brakes on all axles.

Rgds, D.

 

[jwgregory4979]

You are probably right, it is a dual axle 20' trailer! I think trailer brakes would definitely help! I am more worried about the transmission! lol

 

[Reg]

Again, safety is a lot more about HOW you drive than WHAT you drive.
As long as it is set up properly it COULD BE driven safely.
PART of proper set up includes trailer brakes, most of the rest of it is proper load distribution - and the rest is HOW you drive it.

You didn't mention road type, I have GENERALLY found that any tendency to sway doesn't show itself until 50 or 55.
From this I believe that secondary roads pose less risk - different risks, but at least the risk of sway is reduced due to lower speeds.

Yes, a 1/2 ton truck SHOULD be able to handle it - as long as YOU don't push it too hard.
Just ACCEPT that it slows down on long steep grades, that it is slow off the line, etc.
Assuming it has automatic trans use tow/haul mode most of the time.
If you will be doing this a LOT you should probably change the trans oil twice as frequently, e.g. 25,000 instead of 50,000.
Where "a LOT" means you will be towing it around to make money between 3 and 7 days a week most of the year.

Point of reference; I have a Durango (SUV version of your 1/2 ton truck) that I have towed an 8K mini ex around with.
All up weight is probably 10K and of course I wouldn't admit that it MIGHT be a tad over.
That has gone over 100K miles, it has also towed horses around at an all up weight of probably 7K with tack, water, etc.

 

[RobertBrown]

Hauling it is not a problem.





stopping it in a hurry is a problem

 

[3930dave]

If you stay half ton, plan on upgrading the Transmission Cooler, esp. as you are in TX.

Rgds, D.

 

[DT86]

Hauling it is not a problem.





stopping it in a hurry is a problem

:thumbsup: So many people fail to think this way.

 

[Soundguy]

:thumbsup: So many people fail to think this way.

yep.. wait till that kid on a bike runs across the street in front of you while hauling that way overlaod, and just hoping you can ditch it or jacknife to prevent running them down..

 

[jwgregory4979]

Figured I'd miss something. Most of my driving would be on secondary roads, country and county roads. I work offshore 5 wk on 5 wk off. So only pick up jobs while I'm home. This would be an occasional haul, nothing repetitive, at best somewhat frequent! I do have the transmission cooler as well! I'm 50, so my hot riding is "mostly" past me!! lol I do like the sound of my magnaflow and hemi from time to time!! hehehee But kidding aside, with a haul of that size, caution would be greatly taken. Yeah, I know its hard to prepare for deer and skunks?! No kids to worry about around me! And again, this hopefully would only be for a year or two....its either buy a bigger tractor now, bigger truck later. Or smaller tractor now and hope for a trade in later?! I think I'd rather buy the tractor now, get used to it, build the side jobs up slowly, before buying the truck?!

 

[Code54]

I pull a 50hp with attachments with a 2500 Ram diesel and can tell it is back there. I do it with an 18 eqpt trailer and while it works a 20' would be better.

 

[kenmac]

see if this Dodge Towing Guide - By Vehicle gives your towing specs. Brakes are a + on both trailer axles

 

[2458n]

People have done alot worse then what you would be doing. Brakes on the trailer will make it less of a adventure. Balancing of the load is important also. Towed alot of miles with a old short bed chevy. The one ton 4x4 dually really is a game changer. If it feels wrong park it.

 

[Soundguy]

hope there's no kids where you are going to work...

not trying to be rude.

I used the 'kid' argument as that is what got me to get rid of my half ton dodge and get a truck more suited to hauling.

I was hauling my ford 850 with light duty loader and hoe on it, on my 16' trailer, was coming home from my farm property. had just pulled back in my neighborhood. was going about 20mph. ( speed limit 30 ). kid on a bike.. lil girl.. zoomed right thru a stop sign and in front of my truck from a side street. i jacked the wheel right to hit the ditch and locked up the brakes.

i DID miss the kid. i DID skid into the ditch.. luckilly the 'ditch' in that area was really no swale.. just flat shoulder. I do have trailer brakes...

I turned white... a foot or so more and I'd have run the kid down. Technically her fault.. but that would be lil comfort.

I got rid of that half ton and upgraded to 1 and 1.5 ton trucks i drive now.

I pull many times a week. anything from 8-14k usually. Towing is now 100% afterthought. I have more truck than needed. safety margin went from paper thin to thick as a phone book. trucks are used 99 models.. so weren't much $$

I've yet to ever regret making the decision to be safer and have more capacity than needed.

I'm not saying my example fits your situation... probably doesn't. I also go out of state to fetch tractors to restore.. so my 1.5 ton job pretty much is just a toy hauler for out of state work.. or truly heavy loads.. as it has air bag suspension and extended fuel tanks..e tc. the daily driver is the 1 ton.. the extra rubber cost has not even been an issue. walmart has some good deals on tires.

god bless and be safe.

just relating my experiences and thoughts onthe subject.

 

[kenmac]

People have done alot worse then what you would be doing. Brakes on the trailer will make it less of a adventure. Balancing of the load is important also. Towed alot of miles with a old short bed chevy

I've over loaded my 2500 several times towing my dump trailer with 7 tons of gravel. It's hard to stop driving 60 mph with that much weight

 

[buickanddeere]

49HP is the absolute maximum.

 

[jwgregory4979]

I'm hearing ya, looks like I'll be looking to buy both truck and tractor! Lol The tractor will be a Mahindra 5010 4wd. Maybe selling a sweet 08 ram sport?! If anyone is interested, I'm in East Texas! lol
Thanks to all who chimed in. Take care, Merry Christmas ya'll!

 

[Carykong]

I agree with nearly all the posts. I burned up the transmission on my 150 Ford hauling a gross weight around 8000lbs. Jackknifed because of poor tire pressure,too; nerves are shot towing with 1/2 ton pickup. If you must go with your 1/2 ton, reduce payload anyway you can. Fuel your tractor at destination,for example. I trailer with my bushog ,for example, on the flatbed of my 2500 Dodge never in the trailer. Good brakes and low balanced load and low speed will serve you well. Good luck

 

[joshuabardwell]

If you're over your rating and have an accident and or, god forbid, kill someone, you're done. Nobody thinks they're going to have an accident. Not worth it, IMO.

 

[super55]

Your truck definitely has the pulling power to pull the load. In fact, a 5.7 hemi is putting out about 200 more hp and about 130 more ft/lbs of torque more than the diesel engines in the 1 ton pickups of the late 80's early 90's. Granted this is no where near what todays diesels can do but it's to serve a point that the power you have available was once the norm for heavy hauling.

With that being said. Could your truck haul the load you are planning on pulling. I would say yes but only under these criteria. 1. Got to have have E1 rated tires on your vehicle. You are going to need stiffer sidewalls for the increased load. 2. I would beef the rear suspension with something like the firestone Ride Rite air springs. These will help your vehicle in a normal stance so to speak and keep the suspension from going to the overload springs or stops from hitting a pothole or something similar. Also a rear sway bar might be a consideration 3. A good trailer with dual trailer trailer brakes. A balanced trailer with a good set of trailer brakes actually stops quite reasonably.