Overthinking?

[juan grande]

Originally Posted by Reevesfamily

I think you know what you have and your spider senses are leading you in the right direction. You're a professional driver so that's not surprising. That TT is too long for a comfortable driving experience with that short wheelbase. Even with a Hensley I don't think you'll be happy, just not enough TV. Big truck traffic will give you fits. I pulled 8500 lbs/35' with our 150 KR for 2 years and finally decided enough of that mess and got my 250 CC 6.7L diesel with 3:73 gear. Night and day better. 14+ mpg towing, not to mention 24 Hwy with no trailer on.

Reevesfamily, how do you get that mpg? You going 50mph? Downhill going and coming?
My ‘17, same truck, is getting like 15/10!

[Reevesfamily]

Just the facts. Fully Deleted. Just returned from 300 mile trip to upstate SC, 14.7mpg. I drive @ 62 tops, speed control, some on this trip @ 55 due to construction. Good fuel, good maintenance, synthetic oil, AC off, and have always used Lucas fuel treatment. That’s all I’ve got. We don’t have those kind of roads here.

[Spdracr39]

Some will say you are flirting with disaster some will say I do it at 80mph up mountains with no problems. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It will pull it. Your comfort with pulling large trailers will determine if you want to do it. With those gears you will be struggling to get up to speed and your truck will be working overtime on hills. The size of that trailer will be sketchy in the wind or on bad pavement. Air bags lift the rear of the truck but they do not fix the problem they only mask it and give you a false sense of security. If you stay fairly local you can make it work and won't be too stressed out. All day trips will wear you down and you won't like it. But again if your are a long time trailer hauler and are very comfortable behind the wheel in adverse conditions it will work.

[Riccochet]

Definitely pushing the limits of the Ram, at least in terms of trailer length. My 27VRL has a dry weight of 6670 and loaded it's right at 7430. I run a '17 Ram 1500 Sport w/ 3.92 gears, Helwig sway bars and AirLift 1000 helper bags. It's just my wife and I. Scaled out I'm literally right at the limits of my payload and rear GAWR. It tows nice and straight and is relatively sway free. High cross winds she gets pushed a bit, but quickly straightens out without any intervention. I don't do over 60 MPH.

I'd say, at the very least, you are going to want some helper bags in the rear. These coil sprung Ram's tend to get a bit bouncy. And rear Helwig sway bar is a must. The OEM hollow p.o.s. pencil thin sway bar might as well not even be there.

[juan grande]

Originally Posted by Reevesfamily

Just the facts. Fully Deleted. Just returned from 300 mile trip to upstate SC, 14.7mpg. I drive @ 62 tops, speed control, some on this trip @ 55 due to construction. Good fuel, good maintenance, synthetic oil, AC off, and have always used Lucas fuel treatment. That’s all I’ve got. We don’t have those kind of roads here.

I’ll have to try the Lucas fuel treatment

[gosupes]

That's a lot of trailer length for the Ram. But, just to add personal experience, my TV is a '15 Ram (6'4" bed crew cab) with the same 3.21 gears. I did go with E rated tires, have Airlift 1000 bags installed and I don't have any issues going down the highway with the exception of mileage, including the initial 300 mile drive home from the dealer, in February, over a mountain pass, in a snowstorm. My 26' trailer is similar in weight, but that extra length and shorter WB would concern me a bit.

[Mtn. Lion]

Originally Posted by docmorgan7

It might be me but I don't see the truck sagging at all.

Good looking rig. Very nice. A panty dropper for sure .

It doesn't look like an accident waiting to happen to me. Is the hitch weight of the trailer over your payload limit?

If it weren't a lease, I'd put a tranny cooler on it for longevity. But it sounds like the main issue is cost of fuel. You are probably going to save money paying for gas at 5 MPG over the price of a diesel for the duration of a lease.

[tuffr2]

My friends tried to tow a 34' trailer for two years with F-150. Now they have a F-250 which, imho, a much better match for their trailer.

I too see a Ram 2500 diesel in your future.