RAM trucks

bgt · Guru

RAM trucks

Whenarewethere · Guru

In Manly yesterday saw 2 of them, ideal vehicle for picking up the groceries! Probably doing the school run tomorrow!

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

There economy is not as bad as you may think ? Its transmission keeps rpm Low, saves fuel . You still use as much fuel or energy to move anything . No matter engine size .

Dougwe · Chief one feather

They are a great looking vehicle for sure and I have wanted one for while when I grow up HOWEVER I have heard they are light in the rear end for towing heavy vans. I am now very keen on the F350. I was told the other day a truck licence is needed even for the F250. I have one so no problem for me. I wonder if the Ram is the same.

yobarr · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
They are a great looking vehicle for sure and I have wanted one for while when I grow up HOWEVER I have heard they are light in the rear end for towing heavy vans. I am now very keen on the F350. I was told the other day a truck licence is needed even for the F250. I have one so no problem for me. I wonder if the Ram is the same.

There is NO WAY that a Ram 1500 can safely tow a caravan (PIG trailer) that weighs much more than about 3000kg because of the lightweight 1770kg rear axle.At tare,the rear axle weight is over 1000kg,and a 300kg towball weight (10%) puts around 450kg into the car's rear axle.....but still we have not included the weight of the actual towbar structure,we have no driver, no passengers,no fuel,no tools,no luggage and no hope.The ONLY way a Ram 1500 can safely and legally tow a 4500kg trailer is if that trailer is a DOG trailer.Period.BUT,to answer your question,Doug,you can drive a Ram 1500 on a car licence as the GVM is a miserable 3450kg.Not sure what the GVM is on an F250,but I will find out,and post same shortly.Cheers.

Quick search shows that GVM ranges from around 3900kg to just over 4200kg,so all legal on car licence,but I have yet to determine GVM on latest model F250s.Mind you,at over $130,000,you'd have to be pretty keen! Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 18th of July 2020 07:30:45 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

RAM has dropped the maximum payload on the 3500 from 1713 kilograms to 894kgs so it can be driven on a standard car licence while maximum towing weight remains the same at 6171kgs.

The de-rated 3500 which can be operated with a regular car drivers licence is aimed at creating a version of the Ram 3500 Laramie that is ideal for use with fifth wheel and gooseneck towing according to RAM Australia general manager Alex Stewart.

This is thanks to all the existing RAM towing advantages combined with the leaf spring suspension in the 3500, compared to coil set-up in the 2500, to produce a strong and stable towing platform, he said.

An optional RamBox storage system for 2500 models also form part of the MY 2017 changes and will add to the cost by $3400, bringing the price up to $142,900.

bgt · Guru

The 3.92:1 rear end is rated for 4500kg. Don't confuse the early imported RAMs with current specs. But my bet is that many/most folks out there have no idea of what they have hooked up to their tow bar. One day the boys in blue will have a field day with caravaners. The RAM is no different. Give it a max load and folks will exceed it.

yobarr · Guru

bgt wrote:
The 3.92:1 rear end is rated for 4500kg. Don't confuse the early imported RAMs with current specs. But my bet is that many/most folks out there have no idea of what they have hooked up to their tow bar. One day the boys in blue will have a field day with caravaners. The RAM is no different. Give it a max load and folks will exceed it.

If you are referring to the Ram 1500,the 3.92:1 rear end may well be rated to tow 4500kg,but there is NO WAY known that you can get witin cooee of that if you wish to tow a PIG trailer.Not a snowflake's chance in hell,with 3000kg being about the limit,assumimg 10% towball weight.DOG trailer,maybe,PIG trailer...no way known.Cheers

travelyounger · Guru

Can you actually tow a dog trailer with a ute ,I thought you can only tow a dog trailer with a prime mover or heavy rigid truck but I could be wrong

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
Can you actually tow a dog trailer with a ute ,I thought you can only tow a dog trailer with a prime mover or heavy rigid truck but I could be wrong

You most certainly can tow a Dog Trailer with a ute.A Dog Trailer is a trailer with 2 axle groups of which the front axle group is steered by connection to the towing vehicle.Many road trains have 5 axle Dog Trailers,but I am sure that there would be bigger trailers used off-road in the mines etc.A Dog Trailer is significantly more stable than a Pig Trailer. The fact that there is very little weight,maybe only 10-15kg,on the towball,and therefore on the car's rear axle,means that these lightweight utes can be advertised as being capable of towing loads that they could never tow in Pig Trailer configuration.Someone may elaborate,but I believe that tow rating is somehow based on the car's ability to tow a certain load up a specified gradient.I will study this when I get a minute,but I'm sure someone like Montie,or Peter'n'Margaret,would have the answer? Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 19th of July 2020 10:12:58 AM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Not many would go to the trouble of dog trailer etc

yobarr · Guru

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Not many would go to the trouble of dog trailer etc

Hi Graeme.....probably a good thing for all concerned,going by the number of people who struggle to reverse even a Pig Trailer caravan.Reversing a Dog Trailer is an art mastered by few,although the latest generation of drivers cheat,using a dolly lock,something I had not even heard of when I was driving trucks and dogs...Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 19th of July 2020 01:49:24 PM

bgt · Guru

Yobarr you had better have a talk to the folks at RAM. They are saying 4500 is ok on some models.

Eaglemax · Guru

Plenty of caravanners will buy a Ram to tow their 2000kg atm caravan. Not everyone wants to tow a retirement home. Ps yobarr- your frothing again

yobarr · Guru

bgt wrote:
Yobarr you had better have a talk to the folks at RAM. They are saying 4500 is ok on some models.

And I believe that they would be wrong if they want 10% towball weight,fuel,a driver,passengers,luggage and anything in the tray,if the trailer is a PIG trailer,and safety is of any concern.There is little doubt that that car is a great car,powerful,comfortable,and can safely tow 4500kg,but only as DOG trailer.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 19th of July 2020 03:59:55 PM

Craig1 · Guru

Yobarr, what happens to your Dog if a front tyre blows?

yobarr · Guru

Craig1 wrote:
Yobarr, what happens to your Dog if a front tyre blows?

Hi Craig...sorry,but I don't understand your question? What exactly are you trying to determine? Are you referring to the front wheel of the car,or of the trailer? Cheers

dieseltojo · Senior Member

This without animosity....

I was put off the ram trucks simply because the are too stupid to build them once for right hand drive. Nope they come here fully finished Left Hand Drive ready to be pulled apart. In fact they are so stupid as to send them to Australia with the front end and parts separately to be assembled here in Australia.

You might think I am being a bit harsh, But I look at this from the new buyers perspective. You see there is a certain amount of reliability and quality control goes into a factory assembled vehicle. a correct order of building the thing.

So how would you feel about your car coming here to OZ fully built, then being dismantled and then put back together in what is a fair amount of work, and in this case I believe, even the motor has to come out.

It does not abode well to me regarding the same quality or warranty soundness of factory built.

I imagine the vehicle being rolled away and some bits left on the ground.....Bugger they are not that important mate , chuck em in the spares bin. We are just talking friendly here aren't me?

If you are laughing it is because I have seen similar actions in other cases and you might not have. smile

-- Edited by dieseltojo on Sunday 19th of July 2020 05:51:27 PM

-- Edited by dieseltojo on Sunday 19th of July 2020 05:52:53 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Craig1 wrote:
Yobarr, what happens to your Dog if a front tyre blows?

You stop and change it.

Cheers,

Peter

bgt · Guru

dieseltojo what have you been smoking? The Australian market is so small Fiat can't justify the factory costs for righthand drive. So next best option is to set up shop here in Australia via a 3rd agent. So it seems you would rather nothing at all. Keep in mind that what is happening to RAM in Melbourne is no different to many other imported vehicles. Camero to name but one. And many other expensive toys. (Not to mention semi prime movers). If RAM puts a tow figure on one of their trucks that wasn't true then I would imagine there would be hell to play from buyers and their lawyers. Like any vehicle on the market it's up to the buyer to ensure they are using as per the manufacturers specs.

yobarr · Guru

bgt wrote:
dieseltojo what have you been smoking? The Australian market is so small Fiat can't justify the factory costs for righthand drive. So next best option is to set up shop here in Australia via a 3rd agent. So it seems you would rather nothing at all. Keep in mind that what is happening to RAM in Melbourne is no different to many other imported vehicles. Camero to name but one. And many other expensive toys. (Not to mention semi prime movers). If RAM puts a tow figure on one of their trucks that wasn't true then I would imagine there would be hell to play from buyers and their lawyers. Like any vehicle on the market it's up to the buyer to ensure they are using as per the manufacturers specs.

A bit like trying to safely tow 3500kg with an LC200 or any of the main-stream twin-cab utes.Can't be done with a PIG trailer. The rules are circumvented by these vehicles being able to safely tow 3500kg as a DOG trailer,but the vast majority of people cannot understand this.C'est la vie.Cheers.

yobarr · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Craig1 wrote:
Yobarr, what happens to your Dog if a front tyre blows?
You stop and change it.
Cheers,Peter

Nice one Peter! Cheers

travelyounger · Guru

There seem to be a lot of lc200 and mainstream utes towing big rigs every where I go all over Australia and they seem safe maybe it is the driver or circumstances which make them unsafe much like the truck industry or cars on the roads that have accidents which are not always the drivers fault.

delatite · Veteran Member

If you go down to Walkingshaws and see the setup with a tour down there, I would think they are probably better assembled than original. There is virtually nothing left on the front of the truck during conversion. This is the same with the Chev trucks. The amount of re-tooled parts made here and at OEM suppliers is huge. I would back either as being as good as the original without a problem.

yobarr · Guru

travelyounger wrote:
There seem to be a lot of lc200 and mainstream utes towing big rigs every where I go all over Australia and they seem safe maybe it is the driver or circumstances which make them unsafe much like the truck industry or cars on the roads that have accidents which are not always the drivers fault.

You may be interested to learn that it is neither the driver,nor circumstances,that makes these vehicles unsafe.It is simple physics.You may be further interested to learn that well over 80% of fatal 'accidents' involving both a car and a truck are caused by the car driver.Cheers

travelyounger · Guru

I guess there must be a lot of unsafe vehicles on the road then

Craig1 · Guru

Sorry I asked a serious question Yobarr

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Give up Craig.

yobarr · Guru

Craig1 wrote:
Sorry I asked a serious question Yobarr

Craig,I offered to help,but first I need to know exactly what you are trying to establish? The front tyre blowing on a dog trailer is no bigger an event than any tyre blowing on any axle,perhaps with the exception of a tyre on the car's steer axle.Cheers.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Keep in mind theres more than one Ram truck . The lighter smaller engines are no different to Jap makes with load etc . No
Matter the brand you cant beat or fight physics!! The LAW will always win too !!