How big are you going with 1500?

[Swamp Donkey]

I'm pulling a White hawk 23mrb with a dodge 5.7 6 speed 3.92 4x4. I'm new to this, but it seems to struggle. Maybe I just need to downshift and go..

I see folks here pulling bigger TT's with suvs and it amazes me.

I have an equalizer WDH and Timbren bumps

Is the White hawk just that much heavier? Says 5200 #'s.

But I tend to drive conservative.

[Mikedebb]

We have the 2016 23 MRB and we were towing with an 07 Silverado 5.3 and I felt that I was on the top edge of its ability. With that said we just moved up to a GMC Sierra 2500 HD and wow now we are towing.

[pawpaw]

We tow our TT (about 9,800 lbs) with our GMC 1500 that has a 6.2 liter gas engine & 3.73 gears. Absolutely no problems at all. We've towed all over the central US, and up and down the mountains. Truck is rated for 11,700 lbs. Does your truck have a tow/haul mode? Are you selecting the gears manually or letting the automatic transmission do its thing?

[2edgesword]

I think you're going to notice it (engine rpm, transmission temperatures, shifting, sound, etc.) anytime you run any truck near its limits. While the truck is designed and engineered to handle that load it may not be the most pleasant driving experience so the question on whether to make a switch to a truck with better towing capacity is more a matter of personal choice versus "can this truck tow this load".

[Bstar1952]

I tow a 2013 Whitehawk 30DRSE (34') with a '17 F-150, no serious problems. Traded a '15 Chevy gasser 2500 and no regrets so far. 2500 also towed great but the 13 mpg solo was a killer. Powerwise the F-150 actually pulls better but the 2500 was more stable. OP, in my opinion, with the 3.92 rearend, you should easily be able to tow the 23MRB.

[curver900]

Originally Posted by Swamp Donkey

I'm pulling a White hawk 23mrb with a dodge 5.7 6 speed 3.92 4x4. I'm new to this, but it seems to struggle. Maybe I just need to downshift and go..

I see folks here pulling bigger TT's with suvs and it amazes me.

I have an equalizer WDH and Timbren bumps

Is the White hawk just that much heavier? Says 5200 #'s.

But I tend to drive conservative.

what do you mean struggle? going up hills, in the mountains at elevation? starting out from a light? your truck should have no issues pulling that... 3.92's are killer for towing practically 4.10's....

maybe you just need to put your foot into it... that solves allot of problems..

[wags999]

Typically you run out of cargo capacity, how much weight your truck can carry, long before you hit the towing capacity. if you look at your drivers door post you should see a yellow sticker with cargo capacity as built. That is the total of passengers, cargo in truck, hitch, fuel etc PLUS the tongue weight of your RV with propane, batteries and cargo as loaded for travel. Do not assume your tongue weight is what the mfg lists as many times that does not include propane, batteries and your RV cargo. That number is a good deciding point. Yes, you can drag huge RV's behing many vehicles, but being overloaded not only put's additional stress on your truck, but on yourself also. Staying within the "specs" typically makes for a more enjoyable trip.


Good Luck and Happy Camping.

[bap]

We have a 2013 Ram 1500 Tradesman Quad cab, with the 5.7L and 3.55 rears. We pull a 2009 Jayflight G2 29 BHS. It has no problems pulling the trailer including pulling 2-3 mile long hills in the interstate doing 65mph. Make sure you have the tow/haul on and keep pushing the gas pedal down.

[Colorado]

Originally Posted by Swamp Donkey

I'm pulling a White hawk 23mrb with a dodge 5.7 6 speed 3.92 4x4. I'm new to this, but it seems to struggle. Maybe I just need to downshift and go..

I see folks here pulling bigger TT's with suvs and it amazes me.

I have an equalizer WDH and Timbren bumps

Is the White hawk just that much heavier? Says 5200 #'s.

But I tend to drive conservative.

What says 5200#? The sticker or the Scale you drove on to get a real world weight?

[scottraycraft]

I have a 2017 chevy sliverado 5.whatever litre ecotech engine
I tow a 29' 11" jayflight
no problems towing or stopping...no sway

I have a short bed and put little to no weight in bed
full coolers, bikes, heavy stuff in camper over axel

[nisbitch]

I'm with you on the struggle. My 2013 1500 Sport with 3.92's seems to struggle with our 27bhs. I can't keep any speed going up any hills. I always use tow/haul mode. Might be time to upgrade the TV.

[JeremyFr]

I tow a similar trailer (23RB) that scales around 6k with my EB F150 and half the time I don't even realize the trailer is behind me. Sounds like you may want to scale the trailer and see what the real weight is if you're just going by the "dry" sticker weight on the trailer. The other thing to remember is that on a gasser all your torque (torque is what tows) is gonna be in the upper RPMS (3500+) So you're not gonna have power until your engine is screaming just how it goes and exactly what they're designed to do.

[ALJO]

I'm a conservative driver too, but I'm loaded 6500 lbs. in the trailer and the truck is also on the max. So I'm talking about 13500 lbs. total. But have no problems in the Rockies here in BC. How fast do you want to go?
I use tow/haul in the mountains and on the flat it is off.
Semi's when hauling they slow down too. Sure when they are empty they might pass you, but if you would pull a flatbed with your truck you'll go faster too.
Another rule is; gear up is gear down. Know your limit and stay within it!

[scottraycraft]

Originally Posted by ALJO

I'm a conservative driver too, but I'm loaded 6500 lbs. in the trailer and the truck is also on the max. So I'm talking about 13500 lbs. total. But have no problems in the Rockies here in BC. How fast do you want to go?
I use tow/haul in the mountains and on the flat it is off.
Semi's when hauling they slow down too. Sure when they are empty they might pass you, but if you would pull a flatbed with your truck you'll go faster too.
Another rule is; gear up is gear down. Know your limit and stay within it!

rig is in my sig
my tow/haul is always on...I didn't know peeps turned it off...

[Murff]

Swamp Donkey (OP) doesn't say what year his Dodge 1500 is, so it's hard to say why his experience isn't good. IIRC, the White Hawk 23MRB has a GVWR of either 6500 or 7000 pounds, which shouldn't be a problem for his TV, especially with 3.92 gears.

I agree with the comments above, step on the gas pedal a little harder.

Murff

[12ptdroptine]

Just went through this. 2017 F150 5.0 liter super crew cab. 2017 Jayxo 265RLSW 6020lbs dry. Equalizer hitch. Yes the truck "could...would" do it. But properly? I dont think so. It was a handful for the truck loaded. About 7k loaded. There are those who will swear their half ton's can do it. Mne was.rated to tow 9k...so it was in the 80% of max range. It would.do it...but it didnt like it. Just not.stable.enoigh for me. You are going to hear everybodies setups and opinions....and you could dig a basement theoretically with a shovel also. Do deep research and driv some other vehicles. I wnded ip going with a 3/4 ton. It does the same.job...so much better. It is rated to tow 11500 I believe. It is a night and day differance for me

[jlechmanik]

My 28bhbe is about 8,000 lbs with the tanks empty (real weight, 6,300 lb dry). I pull it with a 2017 Ram 2500 CTD CC LB. I LOVE it. Has the torque to power up the hills. BUT with the engine braking and tow/haul mode it is a joy on the downhills. I seldom brake. So while MAYBE your 1500 (note I traded one in) might pull it there are other parts of driving (I live in the PNW, hills and downhills are always in my travels)...

BUT I miss my Ram 1500 around town....

[dee]

Originally Posted by jlechmanik

My 28bhbe is about 8,000 lbs with the tanks empty (real weight, 6,300 lb dry). I pull it with a 2017 Ram 2500 CTD CC LB. I LOVE it. Has the torque to power up the hills. BUT with the engine braking and tow/haul mode it is a joy on the downhills. I seldom brake. So while MAYBE your 1500 (note I traded one in) might pull it there are other parts of driving (I live in the PNW, hills and downhills are always in my travels)...

BUT I miss my Ram 1500 around town....

Your post in basically what I would say! I had a 1500 ecodiesel. the 28bhbe was just too much to feel comfortable. I towed the trailer 300 miles home with it when I bought it, then started shopping for a 2500. I ended up with a cummins 2500 and don't regret one second while towing. As you said, I do miss the 1500 and the ecodiesel mileage during the week commute!

[ttavasc]

I would agree with those who've suggested simply "put more foot in it". The Hemi certainly has the power but as noted it needs some rpms to deliver it. For our combo crossing the passes here in the PNW we typically run around 3400 rpm to maintain 60-62 on the upward climb. I believe the 8-speed transmission was first available for the RAM 1500 in 2013 and that would also help compared to the 6-speed the OP has. I've seen similar posts on the RAM forums with the same observation regarding the 6-speeds.

[Neo1130]

My 2017 Ram Rebel has absolutely zero issues towing our 26BH which when fully loaded is close to 8,000lbs. I also have the 8 speed transmission which helps out tremendously.