Hey guys I'm looking at a used dodge diesel it is rated at towing 13,300lbs with the 3.55 rear end ratio it has, but if it had a 4.10 rear end ratio it would be rated at 14,700lbs.

Can I just buy it and switch the rear end ratio to get the extra rating?

Is it illegal to tow over what a vehicle is rated at?

Is there a sticker or somthing on a truck the tells me what it is legally allowed to tow?

I'm trying to decide if I want to buy this truck today so any help would be appreciated. I am looking to buy a trailer with a GVWR of 15,000lbs so would like a truck that can tow as close to that as possible.

 

You want to look at the GCVWR of the truck. It's the total combined weight of truck and trailer. Can you tow more than what the truck is rated at? The answer is yes...should you? NO Yet you see guys going down the road with 5er's and such on SRW diesels that have no business hauling the weights that they do. What year dodge is it? 12v? 24v? automatic? manual?

Yes you can change out the rear end gear on it...but it will be pricey if you don't do it yourself and it's a pain in the **** to do it yourself if you've never worked with heavyduty components(i'll give you a hint...depending on the year the rearend gear in a dodge is almost a foot in diameter). Not to mention again...depending on the rear if it doesn't have the 4.10 in it there is a good chance it doesn't have the tow package either....for an automatic that is vital otherwise your transmission will eat itself towing that big of a trailer. I had a cooler on mine and it still ate itself within a year of towing a 15k gooseneck.
Throw out a little more info on the truck and us truck guys on here can help you out a bit more.

Justin

 

ok sounds great.

It is a 2001 dodge 3500 dually with the HO diesel and a six speed two wheel drive.

 

I'd get a 1999-2002 Ford 7.3L Powerstroke best truck you can buy. I know I tow with my 95 Powerstroke and the newer 7.3's are great. Stay away from the 6.0L Powerstroke they aren't worth there wait. You can get the newer 7.3l in 3.73 or 4.10 in manual or automatic. I'd check one out before you purchase anything.

 

Do you have an enclosed trailer yet? Does the truck come with a trailer brake controller? I can tow 7700lbs with my V6 truck, I am using trailer brakes and I have Hawk Pads up front so it stops great. The biggest thing is what are you going to tow, now and in the future. Do you really need to tow 14K lbs? Your Civic is light even with a bunch of spare parts.

Do not bother with a Ford anything. the Cummings engine is much better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turboteener &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Your Civic is light even with a bunch of spare parts.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

He has to tow TWO civics with differents spares.

 

Well in that case you need something with a towing capacity of 20K+. Perhaps you should skip right to an 18 wheeler and car hauler. Then you could carry the full shop and two cars, maybe even three. he must be one of those big money guys.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turboteener &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">..... he must be one of those big money guys.</TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL...I wish if I was one of those I would not have even been looking at old trucks I would have went to the dealer and dropped 50K and been done with it.

 

A Ford 7.3 or Cummins is heading in the right direction.

Also budget for a couple of must-have towing accessories:
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/
http://www.rvwholesalers.com/c...id=60

 

every diesel out there has people that love them and those that hate them.

i have a '99 7.3 DRW with auto and love it.

a guy i work with has an older 3/4 ton cummins manual and likes it as a truck but says it is awful for towing cause when in any kind of hills, he can't rev it high enough to shift up and be at a decent rpm in the next gear.

another friend's dad is retired and loves his duramax.

only advice i have is get more than you need. a one ton diesel anything with DRW is likely what you want unless you go toter home.

 

Thanks for the advice guys I'm not considering anything that is not a one ton dually.

 

I pull a 16 foot trailer and my 2000 pound CRX with a DOHC 1998 V6 4X4 explorer, and it does great. Witht hese little cars you don't need so much truck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hagakure &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I pull a 16 foot trailer and my 2000 pound CRX with a DOHC 1998 V6 4X4 explorer, and it does great. Witht hese little cars you don't need so much truck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slammed_93_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">He has to tow TWO civics with differents spares.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

sorry for not reading carefully.

 

an 01' DC with a 6spd huh? I would say that's a safe bet for towing anything you won't have the transmission issues that plague the automatics. The 5.9 cummins make great useable power. I would still go more for a 4.10 rearend for towing purposes. Trailer brakes are essential and if you are going to be driving in any kind of hills i'd highly recommend an exhaust brake (I love the fact they come stock on the new ones).

***I think it was said earlier, but like any other vehicle you are going to get guys that will trash talk any brand that they don't like. I personally like DC's, but best thing if you are unsure of which manufacturer to go with. Go to a dealer and test drive a few, see what you like.

 

HEY! WAIT! Just buy two Nissan Titans... Those things are bad ***.

 

The dodge cumins 5.9's are amazing engines, quiet (at least my brothers 04 is) and very torquey. He had an 01 F350 w/ the 7.3 and the dodge with the 5.9 is a way better truck!

With that said, if you can find a duramax with an allison transmission in your price range, get it, period. That transmission is flat out unbelievable. It knows when your going through the mountians and when it should not shift, even if your engine is at or slightly over redline.

 

I've had a customer of ours break the case on his Alison tranny w/ Duramax in front of it. The truck had ~38k miles on it and the dealer nor the regional warranty guy would cover it. It was towing an EVO on open trailer in New England. Not necessarily the most grueling conditions, so it shouldn't have failed. Another data point, for what it's worth.

My 1986 F350 dually with a 94 7.3 turbo IDI motor has been around the odometer a few times and still chugs along just fine. It's cheap to run, zero electrical gremlins (only 1 wire will keep the truck from running!) and insurance is pretty much free on it. It will haul a 14k lb load without much complaint, and still consistently get 12-13 MPG. It gets around 20+ unloaded.

 

lol, this is also an issue of mine, but im not looking for anything big or expensive. I just need something that could pull my civic and an open trailer. The cheaper the better, suv or pickup. I just have no idea what can do it and what cant. Until i saw this thread i thought that there was no way that i could get away with a v6. Im looking for something from the mid to early 90's. Just looking for some advice, to set me in the right direction.

 

interesting...brothers friend has an 06 with about 100K miles already, and a good chunk of that was towing a 42' trailer with 2 rock crawling rigs

 

you could get a mid 90's f150 or chevy/gm 1500 for cheap and tow that easily....with a v6. the 1500WT (work truck) is a regular cab, no extra's truck with a v6 that you can beat the **** out of and it will still work w/ 4x4

 

I found an intereseting article on edmunds regarding ford vs chevy vs dodge diesel duallys

http://www.edmunds.com/insidel...15662

 

Thanks good article

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deviate &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">HEY! WAIT! Just buy two Nissan Titans... Those things are bad ***. </TD></TR></TABLE>

A little birdy has told me that Titans will have diesels in the coming years...give it a couple years.

 

I have a dodge 2500 cummings and it puonds the road and have never had a problem. I tow a 40' weekend warrior to the desert and not to mention love the 22mpg on hwy 18-19 city. 261,000 miles and no problems yet