What do you tow your 80 with? (1 Viewer)

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Moved a tool box I bought (600 pounds empty ?)

Round trip was 80 miles or so
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I have an 07 5.9 2500 with a hallmark guanella and a Carson half dove 7k flatbed. I really like this setup, though I am very close to gvw on both the truck and trailer.

I had an 02 gmc 2500 8.1 gas motor/5 speed Allison combo before the dodge and it got 5mpg towing an fj40 from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The first trip with the dodge and the camper I got 11.5 over 800 miles and never dropped below the speed limit.

Lessons learned - I won’t buy another short bed truck, no more gassers for towing, and I will not buy another 2500. The payload capacity for my dodge is less than most half tons. The truck will handle much more than gvw, but there are more and more weigh stations popping up. My next trailer will be at least a 10k gvw, and an 18’ half dove if possible. Full dove tail trailers drag everywhere and flatbeds are tough to get lowered cars on without 12’ long ramps.

Since getting the dodge and camper combo, I tend to use it a lot. The dodge wheels better than any full size truck I have ever had, and it rides pretty good on FS roads with airbags and some other upgrades.

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I have an 07 5.9 2500 with a hallmark guanella and a Carson half dove 7k flatbed. I really like this setup, though I am very close to gvw on both the truck and trailer.

I had an 02 gmc 2500 8.1 gas motor/5 speed Allison combo before the dodge and it got 5mpg towing an fj40 from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The first trip with the dodge and the camper I got 11.5 over 800 miles and never dropped below the speed limit.

Lessons learned - I won’t buy another short bed truck, no more gassers for towing, and I will not buy another 2500. The payload capacity for my dodge is less than most half tons. The truck will handle much more than gvw, but there are more and more weigh stations popping up. My next trailer will be at least a 10k gvw, and an 18’ half dove if possible. Full dove tail trailers drag everywhere and flatbeds are tough to get lowered cars on without 12’ long ramps.

Since getting the dodge and camper combo, I tend to use it a lot. The dodge wheels better than any full size truck I have ever had, and it rides pretty good on FS roads with airbags and some other upgrades.

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Really nice looking setup!
 
Spent some time looking at trailers yesterday - Looks like I'm going to order a 20' Diamond C LPX w/ 2x 8k axles. Overkill for the 80, bit the 8k axles step up to oil bath hubs and a nice set of brakes. Also future-proofs somewhat so when I build a buggy on Meritor planetaries and 52s I'm still good to go!

The white one in the link is close to what I'll order with a 102" wide deck and drive-over fenders.
LPX-GN-equipment-trailer-frame-extensions.jpg


Downside is the trailer will weigh over 4k dry.
 
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Spent some time looking at trailers yesterday - Looks like I'm going to order a 20' Diamond C LPX w/ 2x 8k axles. Overkill for the 80, bit the 8k axles step up to oil bath hubs and a nice set of brakes. Also future-proofs somewhat so when I build a buggy on Meritor planetaries and 52s I'm still good to go!

The white one in the link is close to what I'll order with a 102" wide deck and drive-over fenders.
LPX-GN-equipment-trailer-frame-extensions.jpg


Downside it the trailer will weigh over 4k dry.

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Spent some time looking at trailers yesterday - Looks like I'm going to order a 20' Diamond C LPX w/ 2x 8k axles. Overkill for the 80, bit the 8k axles step up to oil bath hubs and a nice set of brakes. Also future-proofs somewhat so when I build a buggy on Meritor planetaries and 52s I'm still good to go!

The white one in the link is close to what I'll order with a 102" wide deck and drive-over fenders.
LPX-GN-equipment-trailer-frame-extensions.jpg


Downside is the trailer will weigh over 4k dry.
Nice looking trailer 😎
Sweet Brown is on 40s no?
If you get those swing down ramps you have to use them no matter what.
In most cases sweet Brown can just drive up and down with ramps if you get the stowaway ramps & a dove tail. Also if you need to haul something a bit longer then the trailer then the swing downs are in the way.
And they make way more noise going down a bumpy dirt road.
 
Nice looking trailer 😎
Sweet Brown is on 40s no?
If you get those swing down ramps you have to use them no matter what.
In most cases sweet Brown can just drive up and down with ramps if you get the stowaway ramps & a dove tail. Also if you need to haul something a bit longer then the trailer then the swing downs are in the way.
And they make way more noise going down a bumpy dirt road.
I'm getting the ramps that stow under - there just weren't any pics on the site
 
Have them add extra D-rings if you can. You always need more than you think. I'd personally have them on the front, rear and about every 30 inches down both sides.
I had them add 4 (for a total of 8). I also added full length rub rail and stake pockets so I can tarp efficiently.
 
Looks like some dodge frames have been cracking...https://www.thedrive.com/news/broken-ram-3500-dually-shows-a-camper-can-still-overload-a-big-truck
Yeah, i saw the article. Dude had been driving 2k overloaded with a bumpy Baja road finally doing him in.

Going to chalk that one up to Darwinism and not a bad design.
 
I have an 07 5.9 2500 with a hallmark guanella and a Carson half dove 7k flatbed. I really like this setup, though I am very close to gvw on both the truck and trailer.

I had an 02 gmc 2500 8.1 gas motor/5 speed Allison combo before the dodge and it got 5mpg towing an fj40 from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The first trip with the dodge and the camper I got 11.5 over 800 miles and never dropped below the speed limit.

Lessons learned - I won’t buy another short bed truck, no more gassers for towing, and I will not buy another 2500. The payload capacity for my dodge is less than most half tons. The truck will handle much more than gvw, but there are more and more weigh stations popping up. My next trailer will be at least a 10k gvw, and an 18’ half dove if possible. Full dove tail trailers drag everywhere and flatbeds are tough to get lowered cars on without 12’ long ramps.

Since getting the dodge and camper combo, I tend to use it a lot. The dodge wheels better than any full size truck I have ever had, and it rides pretty good on FS roads with airbags and some other upgrades.

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I'm hesitant to go diesel because they are expensive to maintain and repair which I'm sure you know. Also when I calculate out the difference in fuel mileage between the 2 and compared to the difference in the cost of the fuel itself it's basically a wash. This also makes me feel better in my decision to do a v8 swap on my 80 vs a 6bt swap. If I was towing really heavy than diesel may enter the equation.
 
2010 Tiffin. Flat tow.

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Every truck has a sticker on the door jam that tells you just what that truck can haul.
My friends Dodge Diesel 2500 has a payload 2100lb that includes everything, passengers, any cargo, camper, trailer tongue weight.
A heavy trailer will eat up more than half of that capacity 1200 to 1500 lbs add passengers and gear and your done before you put anything in the bed 🤷‍♂️

Even over loaded I would not expect catastrophic failure like that. I suspect there's a issue with the frame.
 

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