I have a 1977 Dodge Ramcharger. It has a new 360CID (5.9 liter) engine with a 4 barrell, rv cam and rebuilt 727 automatic transmission. I want to use it to tow a toy hauler. I have been looking at the WW lites the I believe 23 and 25 foot trailer that has the bed room up front. Any thoughts I would appricate?

Thanks!

 

motor will pull great, trans will work good if u can add a cooler just manually downshift onhills and if in mtns. use 2nd. install a receiver hitch not a bumper hitch and lastly make sure u install a brake controller. stopping is the dangerious part mike

 

This model came with an extra trans cooler. I know there are some special type hitches that will transfer the weight from the back to the front and an anti sway helper. These items I am thinking I should get as well as the brake system. Thanks for the information!

 

I would be very careful ... many 70's and 80's trucks had a maximum of 4000Lbs to 6500Lbs tow rating. The short wheel base and weak frames (lighten to improve fuel mileage) made bad for towing. It's only the last 15 years that the tow ratings have started to come up. The engine and transmission (if aftermarket cooler installed) could hold up very well ... but I can remember going to the junk yard (in the 80's) looking for parts for my car and laughing at all the light duty ½ and ¾ ton trucks with broken frames. It would seam that the rush to improve fuel mileage during the late 70's early 80's ford, gm, and dodge just started to hack off steel to lower the overall weight and didn't take into account people wanted trucks to haul and tow.

Here is a link to the 1975 dodge ... look at the HP for the option v8 440 with 4 barrel carb. Sad compaired to today!

Here is a link to the 2007 dodge 1500 truck engines ... smaller engines, more HP, and better mileage ... thank god to progress.

 

I would also be concerned with the short wheelbase, that does not work well with towing trailers without a very good sway control system, you do not want to get just a friction type sway control. RV.net has a good toyhauler section that has a lot of info about towing and types of toyhaulers.

 

I found out that the GVW is 6001 to 10000 pounds. Not sure exactly what this means in terms of towing?

 

May be this will help with the terms ...

GCVWR: This term does not exists!

GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight - the actual weight of a vehicle.

GVWR: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: The maximum allowed GVW for a vehicle.

GCW: Gross Combined Weight: The total weight of everything - tow vehicle, trailer, people, stuff in the back, etc.

GCWR: The maximum allowed GCW.

GAW (front or rear): The Gross Axle Weight - the amount of weight on that particular axle.

GAWR (front or rear): The Gross Axle Weight Rating: The maximum allowed GAW.

UVW: Unloaded Vehicle Weight, also know as "Dry Weight". This is the weight of a trailer with no liquids or options. The GVW of the trailer will usually be 500-1500 pounds more than this number.

Tow Rating: The rated towing capacity of a tow vehicle - generally based upon curb weight plus one 150-lb driver. This number is NOT designed as an indicator of what you can tow under normal conditions, but it is useful for comparisons.

Actual towing capacity is about 1,000 pounds less that the tow rating, or, to be more accurate, it's GCWR-GVW, provided that the number you get is less than the tow rating, which it may not be for certain vehicles.

A note on GVWR and GCWR: Sometimes odd things happen with GVWR and GCWR on larger trucks especially. The thing to remember is that neither GVWR nor GCWR can be exceeded safely

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: daviddaniel

I found out that the GVW is 6001 to 10000 pounds. Not sure exactly what this means in terms of towing?</end quote></div>



So your truck weights in at 6001 to 10000 pounds??

Sounds more like the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight MAX) is 6001 to 10000 pounds based on model and options.

So to find out how much you can tow weight the truck at a scale and minus that amount from 10000 pounds (sounds high for that truck) and that would be the max you could tow.

BUT - make sure you don't go over the GAWR for the rear axel.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 20045SP500HO

May be this will help with the terms ...

GCVWR: This term does not exists!
GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight - the actual weight of a vehicle.
GVWR: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: The maximum allowed GVW for a vehicle
GCW: Gross Combined Weight: The total weight of everything - tow vehicle, trailer, people, stuff in the back, etc.
GCWR: The maximum allowed GCW.
GAW (front or rear): The Gross Axle Weight - the amount of weight on that particular axle.
GAWR (front or rear): The Gross Axle Weight Rating: The maximum allowed GAW.
UVW: Unloaded Vehicle Weight, also know as "Dry Weight". This is the weight of a trailer with no liquids or options. The GVW of the trailer will usually be 500-1500 pounds more than this number.
Tow Rating: The rated towing capacity of a tow vehicle - generally based upon curb weight plus one 150-lb driver. This number is NOT designed as an indicator of what you can tow under normal conditions, but it is useful for comparisons.
Actual towing capacity is about 1,000 pounds less that the tow rating, or, to be more accurate, it's GCWR-GVW, provided that the number you get is less than the tow rating, which it may not be for certain vehicles.
A note on GVWR and GCWR: Sometimes odd things happen with GVWR and GCWR on larger trucks especially. The thing to remember is that neither GVWR nor GCWR can be exceeded safely</end quote></div>

Excellent post!

This should be required reading for all those that are considering towing a trailer.