99 Dodge 3500 Tow Rating

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tvengineer

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I am looking at a 99 Dodge 3500 diesel dually 4x4.  After looking up the towing guide for this truck I almost cannot believe that it may not be sufficient (by the numbers).  Ram 3500 4WD 5.9 TD* 13,600d/e,k,m/....Ram 3500 4WD 5.9 TD* 9,600b,d,k....Ram 3500 4WD 5.9 TD* 11,600b,e,k.
I have a 2006 31ft Wildwood with a GVWR of 10,680 lbs.  Not knowing the actual stats of the truck I am looking at yet it appears this could be marginal.  Am I looking at this incorrectly?  I mean if I wanted to pull the wildwood and a 1000 lb golf cart in the bed,  the numbers basically are against this.
Thanks, Zane
 
The 13,600 number will hold only if you have the manual 5/6 speed and a 4.09/4.10 rear end.  That combo should be OK for the goft cart and the 10,680 GVWR pof the Wildwood.  With the lesser tow ratings your rig would be overmatched by the tow.  To tow the Wildwood and cart and allow a 10% factor for truck passengers, cargo and hitch gear, you will need a tow rating of 12,980 lbs, minimum.
 
That's the way I understood it.  I do not know the gearing but it is an auto trans.  It's just hard to believe such a beefy looking truck has such pitiful numbers.  Looks like if I am going to purchase around that model I will need to look at fords and chevys.
Thanks
 
If you are looking at 1999 vintage, you are going to find that Ford usually has the largest numbers. And the Powerstroke engine of that era was a great engine.  I would stay away from the Chevy/GMC of that era with the 6.5L diesel - it was problematic.
 
We had several of those dodges where I worked at that time. The automatic transmissions were a problem in the late 90's Dodges with Diesels when pulling heavy trailers.  We started buying nothing but 5-speed manuals because of all the torque converter problems.  Traded off several as quickly as they were out of factory warranty.  The engines were terrific and had great luck with the trucks in general, but not with the automatics.  The mfg may have been holding the numbers back due to the problems with the automatics.
 
Thanks for the replies on this,  I guess I am finding it difficult to understand how a 3500 dually would be at its max or a little over just pulling a 31 ft camper not even including the golf cart.  Trying to understand why its rated low.  I feel like the power is not the problem or the truck itself but must as you say be limited to the transmission.  I do understand tires would have to be properly rated also.  I owned a 94 dodge ram 1500 4x4, it was a great truck and had 320,000 on it when I sold it, but it also had 3 transmissions in it over its life with me.
 
I know of several people that tow well beyond the GVWR of the truck... I know this not a good practice but its very common with the Dodge Truck line...

http://i39.tinypic.com/9k3uqw.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/16kxh78.jpg

Bit extreme but very common...
 
I think it all comes down to the frames of the older trucks.  They just weren't built as beefy as they are now.  Even when it comes to horsepower, the newer engines are literally twice as powerful as 10+ year old trucks.
 
lone_star_dsl said:
I think it all comes down to the frames of the older trucks.  They just weren't built as beefy as they are now.  Even when it comes to horsepower, the newer engines are literally twice as powerful as 10+ year old trucks.
Click to expand...
I would agree with this except if you look at the stats for this same truck with the manual transmission and the proper gearing it is almost 4k lbs more towing capacity.
 
If you email Dodge with the serial number, they will email you the build sheet for the vehicle that will list the components (axle sizes, etc.) at no cost. Use the actual truck components to get the correct answer.
 
I had a 2002 3500 Ram 4x4 Quad cab with the Cummins and I can promise you that those ratings are WAY under the capabilites of the truck.  Whereas I try to be an advocate of following weight limits/speed limits etc. If you are towing at the max rating for that truck you aren't going to have any problems.  Dodge has always been known to under-rate their trucks by a good margin, part of the reason being that the tranny wouldn't last behind the torque that the Cummins puts out at such a low RPM, hence you have a good margin of torque management on the 47re (your tranny).  The tranny would never last past the warranty that they offer towing the weights that the trucks are capable of.  The torque converter on the 47re is very innefficient, but add a billet TC and aftermarket valvebody and it is a great transmission.  If you look around enough on the roads you'll see a lot of hotshotters running 2nd gen dodges (a lot of 12 valves) for a good reason.  You should be fine with what you are trying to accomplish.
 
I have a 99 Chevy dually extended cab with the automatic and 6.5 diesel. I did some minor mods to the engine to get better horsepower out of it (260 compared to factory 180) and pull 12,400 with it. Never have any issues pulling or stopping. It was a dog when I first got it, but it had been played with way to much by someone that did not know what they were doing. IE timing retarded to +16 instead of -1.94. It was a mess but now much, much better. Rides fairly well, both loaded and unloaded. Is my trailer too heavy for the truck? It is if you go by the gvrw, but like most people think and some know, these trucks were grossly underrated.
 
Keep in mind that the tow ratings not only consider the ability to pull, but also the ability to stop. You might be able to pull a load much heavier than the rating, but in a panic stop or long downgrade, you might be in trouble.
 
I have a 99 3500 Dodge Dually 4x4, and have towed alot of different trailers with it.  It is a 5 speed, with 4.10 gears, and in the past I have pulled 41' toyhaulers. 
 
i know this is an older thread, but one thing i didn't see anyone mention are two things about this truck that add to the weight of the actual truck itself, which is part of the GCVWR, it's four wheel drive, and it's a dually. those factor in to towing, but strangely enough they don't seem to matter as much when it comes to hauling something in the bed
 
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