Towing with a smaller truck

[Tractor Seabee]

This continuing saga gets more scary as we keep posting. I stand by my earlier post; we have a responsibility when on t5he road to consider those around us not just our little world we try to rationalize based on the almighty $. If you cannot afford the right equipment you need to reassess your life. If you can afford two hay burners and a fancy trailer what is the problem getting a proper tow vehicle. When I bought my tractor I knew full well that the first cost was only the beginning. Yes I do try to tell folks how to spend their money when it could be the lives of me and mine at stake out their on the interstate. Remember many commercial truck accidents are caused by: speed, inattention by driver, poorly maintained equipment, and inability to react to emergent situations due to the longer stopping distances. A car can stop in 1/10th the distance a loaded truck of any kind can.

Ron

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. I tell ya. one day i was pulling my legally, but to the hilt, loaded 16' flatbed on my 1/2 ton dodge. it was right then the trailer brakes decided to fail as I approached a stop lamp near a jiffy, and the guy inthe lil cherry-bomb muffler boom-boom car decided he wanted to pull out 10' in fornt of me so he's be at the redlight first. That's when I got a lil concerned and seen the ERR flash ont he brake controller and felt the truck get funny.

Yeah.. i stopped.. it took a lil funny driving and a swerve.. that moment right there i knew if i had another couple tires on the ground, and the extra weight associated with a 1 ton.. that the trailer brake failure i had just been thru would have been a non issue.. the extra capacity of the tow vehicles would be that much more insulation between 'bad' and me.

 

[aczlan]

yep.. I tell ya. one day i was pulling my legally, but to the hilt, loaded 16' flatbed on my 1/2 ton dodge. it was right then the trailer brakes decided to fail as I approached a stop lamp near a jiffy, and the guy inthe lil cherry-bomb muffler boom-boom car decided he wanted to pull out 10' in fornt of me so he's be at the redlight first. That's when I got a lil concerned and seen the ERR flash ont he brake controller and felt the truck get funny.
Yeah.. i stopped.. it took a lil funny driving and a swerve.. that moment right there i knew if i had another couple tires on the ground, and the extra weight associated with a 1 ton.. that the trailer brake failure i had just been thru would have been a non issue.. the extra capacity of the tow vehicles would be that much more insulation between 'bad' and me.

That's also where a couple of nice train horns sitting behind the grill would give the driver of the aforementioned boom-boom car reason to change his shorts and (possibly) think twice about pulling out in front of someone again...

Aaron Z

 

[cockeyedMFer]

This continuing saga gets more scary as we keep posting. I stand by my earlier post; we have a responsibility when on t5he road to consider those around us not just our little world we try to rationalize based on the almighty $. If you cannot afford the right equipment you need to reassess your life. If you can afford two hay burners and a fancy trailer what is the problem getting a proper tow vehicle. When I bought my tractor I knew full well that the first cost was only the beginning. Yes I do try to tell folks how to spend their money when it could be the lives of me and mine at stake out their on the interstate. Remember many commercial truck accidents are caused by: speed, inattention by driver, poorly maintained equipment, and inability to react to emergent situations due to the longer stopping distances. A car can stop in 1/10th the distance a loaded truck of any kind can.

Ron

I think the OP is trying to determine if he has the proper tow vehicle. Seems like a reasonable request.

 

[Soundguy]

That's also where a couple of nice train horns sitting behind the grill would give the driver of the aforementioned boom-boom car reason to change his shorts and (possibly) think twice about pulling out in front of someone again...

Aaron Z

believe me.. i honked the horn a few times. more to tell him to watch out.. I may be coming thru and he may want to move..

 

[RobertN]

I would not be so concerned about towing near the limit of the OP's Dakota. Had friends with an '87 that had 318 in it; they towed a small 5th wheel. They did fine.

But there is this thing about horses...

I have had horses, towed them(well, in trailer...) locally. Towing 5000lbs of horse and trailer is definitely different than 5000lbs of my flatbed trailer and lumber/hay/concrete block etc. I had once, where one horse got upset, started stomping and making a ruckus. I could sure feel it, even though I was towing with an F250.

I have also had to make an emergency stop towing about 5000lbs behind my current 3/4 ton. Even with that diesel Ram, it was pucker factor... And 5000lbs is well below the tow limits for my truck.

So, rethinking my original thoughts on this thread... towing livestock, I really do prefer to have "too much truck". don't need a Kenworth(sorry Renze; fan of "Movin On" growing up in the '70's; KW W900VIP all the way ), but like to have extra capacity there...

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. hauling livestock is kinda like swinging beef or water tanker. you get 'live loads' feels different when 1000-2000# of your load starts moving...

 

[crashz]

I think the OP has a fair question, and opinions have been given. But legal is legal, and if the OP can manage to tow the load legally within capacity of the truck and trailer there should not be a problem.

With that being said, the numbers are only a starting point. Actual axle weights at the typical tow loads (all the gear, horses, fuel, people and added equipment) need to be checked, ideally at a scale house. You may find that you are overweight on one axle with no way to correct it. Especially at the theoretical limits.

An example is my 2004 GMC 1/2 ton. With the accessories and all, my GMC weighed quite a bit more when empty than I thought and well over the published curb weight. The plow mount (minute mount), toolbox, bed liner, plastic rain guards etc all added up and significantly reduced my capacity. Even upgraded "E" range tires added weight (though entirely worth the extra few pounds).

 

[VirginiaAgent]

It's difficult to compare apples to apples, so I figured out the weight to tow ratio of several vehicles. I chose Dodge just because there system was easy to navigate.

The Dakota weighs 61 percent of what the 3500 Cummins diesel weighs, and can tow 45 percent of what it can tow.

The concern presented by most here appears to not be pulling, but stopping. But if the trailer has brakes, then why couldn't a small truck pull, and stop, a percentage of it's weight as effectively as a larger truck can pull and stop that same percentage.

I routinely see "Big" trucks pulling in excess of the following tow capacities, and from a physics standpoint, that's no different than pulling 10k in a dodge dakota. It's just as poorly equipped to pull and control 10k pounds as a 3500 Cummins is to pull and control 18k pounds. But if both are operated within their respective ratios, I would think that it's all relatively the same.

If we are talking about a 6k pound truck pulling a 2k pound trailer, there is clearly a major weight to tow ratio advantage and control would be much higher. But a 6k pound truck pulling 18k pounds is no different than a 4k pound truck pulling 12k pounds.

Year Model Engine Gears Curb Weight Tow capacity Wt to tow ratio
2006 Ram 3500 SLT 5.9 Cummins 3.73 7165 15700 219.12%
2006 Ram 3500 SLT 5.7 Hemi V8 4.10 6043 10800 178.72%
2006 Ram 2500 SLT 5.7 Hemi V8 4.10 5469 11400 208.45%
2006 Ram 1500 SLT 5.7 Hemi v8 3.92 4734 9100 192.23%
2006 Dakota SLT 4.7 Magnum V8 3.55 4403 5950 135.14%
2006 Dakota SLT 4.7 Magnum V8 3.92 4403 7150 162.39%

 

[cockeyedMFer]

VirginiaAgent, you bring up a good point. This is what has confused me over the years as GCWRs have increased dramatically. The trucks haven't gotten that much heavier, the tires aren't much different, the brakes are better but not incredibly so...But power has definitely gone up. Seems like the towing ratings are directly related to horsepower/torque and transmission/final drive gearing.

Granted, there's a noticeable difference between single and dual wheel trucks as trailer weight increases, but at some point even 6 contact patches can't resist a swaying trailer.

What makes a 2014 ram that can tow 30lk lbs significantly different than a 2012 with similar options that's rated for half that?