NEED HELP 2014 Dodge Ram 2500 5.7 V8

[Esdharbour22]

My husband & I currently have a 07 Tundra & a 29ft TT. We're upgrading the camper to a 5ver, 2014 Coachman Chaparral Lite 279BHS, YAY!! But upgrading the camper also means upgrading the truck. We're leaning towards a 2014 Dodge Ram 2500 5.7L V8. He's crunched all the numbers & he knows that this truck will tow the camper but we wanted to see if anyone out there has the same setup or something similar. Does it tow good? He doesn't want to go buy the truck to only find out it lacks in towing. Any info/advise is appreciated! THX in advance & HAPPY CAMPING!

[DieselTech39]

Glad you're aboard. If you look at the tool bar at the top of the page under the irv2.com logo, hold your cursor over the RV Forums and you'll find forums for 5ers. That would be a good place to pose your question too. Congrats on the new digs. Best of luck in your decision for a tow vehicle. Enjoy your adventures and be safe.

[Medico]

Welcome and glad to meet you!

[D Lindy]

Bare in mind that you will likely upgrade your 5ver again to something bigger. While a Dodge 3500 diesel might be over kill for now when you upgrade again you'll still have a truck that can tow that much larger 5ver.

[Fred1609]

I would get into a diesel.....much better towing......and if you upgrade you wont have to take a bath on your pickup.....do it once and get the best.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi folks! Welcome to IRV2! It's great to have you join us!

Congrats on the new rig! Enjoy the forum!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[JohnRR]

Good luck with your choice.

[Esdharbour22]

THX y'all for the info. Unfortunately we can't afford a diesel so that's outta the question. Does anyone have any info regarding the 2014 ram 2500 5.7 v8 & towing a 2014 Coachman Chaparral lite 279BHS? We've both been doing research for over a wk now & can't get a straight answer. All info I could find is about a diesel. We live in Va & we camp pretty close. We just got back from myrtle beach & our current camper was just too small for us. Now were thinking about going to Fl maybe next yr. Other than that we stay w/in 3-4 hrs from home. Would this truck be ok to pull the Chaparral you think?

[Ultrapapa10]

If your going to up grade the truck . Look at 6.4 hemi more tow power then 5.7

[Mekanic]

in the 2500 HD(& 3500) they also offer a 6.4L Hemi also with Multi displacement feature that will help some (mostly when unloaded) MPG.

[JIMNLIN]

Can it tow it question without any weights is asking a lot from us.

Truck ? We have no idea what cab selection/gearing/2wd or 4wd/tow rating/trucks GAWRs and GVWR/etc.

Trailer ?? Same with the trailer. Need a GVWR for it.

Many folks have the same truck but may pull the same weight trailer. It doesn't have to be the same brand trailer.
Help us out with some numbers.

[Ultrapapa10]

4wd is nice but if you don't need it then get the 2wd. Look for 3.73 gear if you can I tow with 3.55 and have no problem and 4wd but if your going to up grade to the ram go with 6.4 Hemi the cost is about the same so go with the 3500

[Esdharbour22]

Lol sorry about that!! I guess some numbers would be helpful lol. We're looking at a 2014 ram 2500 5.7L hemi v8, 4.10 gears, 4WD, crew cab. The 5th wheel is 8870lbs dry, 35'10 & I don't know the pin weight. We're not dead set on this camper but we are looking for something similar. Specs on the truck say it can tow a loaded trailer weight of 13,200#. I have come across some calculators on line that say it can only tow a 5th wheel that is around 9000# max. It' seems like they are adding the pin weight as payload then using the full trailer weight in the calculation. This is where the confusion sets in. I know any cargo/passengers in the truck takes away from the towing capacity but from 13,200 to 9000 seems like a huge drop when none of that was added into the equation. We would LOVE a diesel, but like I said before...it's not in the budget & whatever truck we get will be our only vehicle . I just sold my 07 Tundra tonight & plan on trading in my wife's 2013 Durango ASAP. I have a company car & since my wife is a stay at home mom, she rarely drives

[gggplaya]

6.4L hemi isn't much more money, and it's far better to spend the money now, then have to trade your truck in later. Towing a 5th wheel is asking alot from the rev happy 5.7L. Make sure you get the highest numerical final drive ratio possible.

Also, it's a 36foot total length 5ver with an 11,200lbs GVWR and a 2000lb tongue weight dry. I'm assuming you're getting a crew cab because there's a quad bunk in the back.

I'd recommend a 3500, but if you want the 2500(smoother daily driver), then you should get the 6.4L hemi because the 5.7L only has a payload rating of about 2500lbs for a 4x2 and 2100lbs for a 4x4. You'll easily be over if you load up the kids and yourself, with a full tank of fuel. The 6.4L hemi in most configuration averages about 700lbs more payload. Even then, that's not alot of headroom.

The 6.4L and the 5.7L in the 2500 is probably going to get about the same fuel economy. The 6.4 might even get better highway economy because it was designed for more low end grunt, which enables the cylinder deactivation to stay active much longer. The 5.7L was a design compromise because it was also designed for cars as well. Many of the design and materials used in the construction of pistons, the block, and heads are all compromises for weight savings, and less mass. Meanwhile the 6.4L hemi was designed as a truck engine(while the challenger is cool and the 6.4L debuted in it first, it doesn't make chrysler much money so why design a specific engine for it and adapt it to trucks). It has a cast iron block, and piston oil cooler jets, and is simply built to take some abuse. It's built for towing. The 5.7L is still there for people that tow very infrequently but haul enough to need a HD truck.

If you do get a 2500, then make sure you install rear airbags or helper springs, you're close to the max GVWR, so you're going to need them.