Bias to Montana

[jaybird]

I think my wife and I got just damn lucky. In '06 we wanted a 5er so bad that I think our homework was short sided but 4yrs later and our 2955RL that we use a ton in Wash, State, is a dream. I haven't seen many 5er's I'd rather have. Of course the bride now wants 3 slides instead of two, and we have seen 3/4 ton Dodges pull bigger units but--damn I love my Montana 5er. Can we now say that a 3/4 Dodge '06 can pull bigger 5er's????

[CmdrDewey]

The simple answer is "yes" but really only you can make that decision. I suggest you have your current rig and your truck weighed together and separately when ready for travel. Then you should to be able to approximate what you usually carry. All the numbers are available either on the stickers on the truck and the trailer you are looking at or on the web site. Do all the calculations and then make your decision.

By the way, your slide issue was discussed today at the Fall Rally in Goshen and the Lippert tech suggested you get a 50 amp breaker. He did not encourage using two in parallel. He said the cost was about $4.00 and it was a ten minute fix. I have to do it too.

Update: My wife was at the service center today and a woman came in with that slide problem. Darrel went and got her a 50 amp breaker and When Kathy heard that we got a new 50 amp as well. Lippert says the manufacturer dictates the size. YMMD





f

[ols1932]

Sure they can pull it. However, can you stop? I pull with an F-250 Power Stroke. No problem pulling but I really try to anticipate my stops, allowing as much distance as possible. Panic stops are a different animal.

Orv

[Lambchop]

I pull a 4 Slider with a Gasser...no problems

Roy

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by CmdrDewey

The simple answer is "yes" but really only you can make that decision. I suggest you have your current rig and your truck weighed together and separately when ready for travel. Then you should to be able to approximate what you usually carry. All the numbers are available either on the stickers on the truck and the trailer you are looking at or on the web site. Do all the calculations and then make your decision.

By the way, your slide issue was discussed today at the Fall Rally in Goshen and the Lippert tech suggested you get a 50 amp breaker. He did not encourage using two in parallel. He said the cost was about $4.00 and it was a ten minute fix. I have to do it too.





f

Sounds to me like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. See this PDF.

[BB_TX]

From that pdf is the statement Wiring and breaker sizes are to be supplied by the RV Manufacturer. That seems to indicate that they suggest you may need to increase wire size if you increase breaker size. Only makes sense unless the original wire was greatly oversized, which is not likely.
I replaced my 50 amp with another single 50 amp and it solved my problem of slides stopping.

[CmdrDewey]

I just actually looked at the breaker Darrell gave us and it is 80 amp.
Keystone must feel the wiring is adequate

[Tom S.]

I don't know the difference in Dodge's 3/4 and 1 ton, but I do on the GM's and I suspect they are alike. GM's only difference is the springs on the rear end, and the dual wheels - if you get the dually. If you get the SRW, then the difference is the tire ratings ("D" vs "E") and in years before, the wheels (Aluminum in the 3/4 and steel in the 1 ton).

Everything else is identical between the two trucks, including engines, drive trains, axles, brakes and frames. But those springs are a major factor. They determine what pin weight the truck is capable of supporting. Adding the springs from a 1 ton to a 3/4 ton won't 'legally' make your truck a 1 ton, but it will get the job done. Again, this is in regard to GM, so you need to investigate to see if Dodge is the same way.

[JimF]

My dodge is a 2001 2500 Cummins, however it does have the "camer special group" which is 1 ton springs. I supplemented them Firestone Airbags, handles the weight nicely. While in Vegas my son, who is a truck mechanic for GM, took the truck in and went over it front to rear, was looking at putting 1 ton brakes on it. Found out that the dodge 3/4 and 1 ton have the same disc brakes front and rear, same caliper and brake pads. Have pulled a 3400RL for 4 years and 25K+ miles with no brake or suspension problems. The trailer does have good brakes and a good controller is a must, went from a Reese standard controller to a Prodigy II. Have had a couple of emergency braking situations and with the Prodigy the trailer did not push the truck and the stopping distance was quite respectable considering we are at 23,000lbs total. On the previous controller an emergency stop was a heart stopping and underwear changing event. Properly set up that scare factor is gone. We don't hesitate to tow cross country, from east coast to west and back. Do it every year in fact, happy trails and enjoy your little Dodge, safe travels.

As a note, being a 2001 2500 the rearend ratio is a 3:55. The son was going to put a 4:10 in it but after putting a Hypertech controller on it there is enough power that the hills out west were not a challange and we do apprectiate the extra MPG we get towing, 12.5 to 13.6 on the flats, climbing the rockies we were down to 9.6 to 11.5, I'll take that.

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by jaybird

I think my wife and I got just damn lucky. In '06 we wanted a 5er so bad that I think our homework was short sided but 4yrs later and our 2955RL that we use a ton in Wash, State, is a dream. I haven't seen many 5er's I'd rather have. Of course the bride now wants 3 slides instead of two, and we have seen 3/4 ton Dodges pull bigger units but--damn I love my Montana 5er. Can we now say that a 3/4 Dodge '06 can pull bigger 5er's????

As has been noted before, any diesel can "pull" any Montana. However, with a 3/4 ton truck, the Montana will exceed the truck's GVWR. I got a dually to insure I stay within all the manufacturer's specs...in case I was in an 'at fault' accident.