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hey guys have a 97 5.9 manual trans 3500 cab and chassis it has a Dana 80 rear ( says on the sticker under the hood ) which when I look up that rear has a rating of 11,000 lbs however dodge lists the rear rating at 7,500 on all the aftermarket publications I can find I don’t know if they are confusing it for just the 3500 Regular pickup dually. I’m looking to put a lot of weight on the back and am confused as to the capacity. I have the owners manual and it doesn’t go into detail on the cc config of the 3500 anywhere.
I’m also confused as to why the 3500 pickup can haul 14,000k but the 3500 cc only 11,000k. I know these pics are from the 99 towing guide but it’s the colestest thing to the 97 and towing ratings hadn’t changed as I know when I called the dealership they said my 5.9 manual with 3.55 gears max towing was 11,000 ... I find this hard to be accurate as many guys pull up to 20k with good trailer brakes but they might have the 4.10..... what do you think I can pull I would like to get up to 14,000k I just can’t believe the 11k on this vechicle?
If this is the case I’ll just sell it and get a 5.7 tundra that can haul 10,600
It'll tow what it will tow. The weak point is the factory tow hitch. I tow a 15K lb. Seaswirl not considering the truck and all the gear I load into it. The d-80 will tow a lot of weight. You need good tires, good lube, air bags or similar, a good trans/clutch and an appropriate class hitch. A 97 12 valve can handle a lot, sell it off to one of the members here who will love it and burn up a Toyota in the next few years if you want....they won't be hard to find.
Ya I kinda started thinking that about that 5.7 too... the hitch is good. I would prob pull more goose neck than bumper at 14k anyway.
However the other thing that’s bugging me is with the bed on cab and chassis it weighs 9,900 lbs with 5,600 lbs on the rear Dana 80 however the gvrw is 11,000 which leaves me 2,200lbs payload which seems insane to me, whats the point of this truck being made if it only has 2,200 lbs after putting a steel bed on .... this ties in to the first part of my original question too on that rear weight rating if I follow the 7,500 and 11,000 gvwr I get 2,200. If I follow Dana 80 ratings and ignore the gcwr I get 5,400. The cc has a thicker frame than the 3500 pickup 5” vs r” on the reg 3500 if I remember right...
Not trying to be ignorant just trying to figure out how conservative dodge was with these numbers
That looks like a worker....I slept on my comment and remember when I first got on this forum how many were saying how much weight these pigs could handle, and safely with good tires, brakes, exhaust brakes etc...and looking at the gvwr's on the new ones seems insane. My take would be assessing the risk of being above the weight rating, which is not necessarily overweight, but would come up if an accident occurred and the state troopers found it negligent. I'm not sure what state you are in but Washington state takes it's highway safety very seriously so I regulate what we haul pretty closely.
My truck hauls that load, 2 guys and all our gear pretty well. It's about as heavy as I feel comfortable with, but good trailer brakes, tires, truck brakes, airbags and an upgraded hitch about the only thing I'd like to add is an exhaust brake. It'll get things moving nicely, stopping is the biggest factor in my opinion. And of course, dual rears would be ideal.....but you got that covered.
PS I've got 3.53 gear ration, 4.10 would probably be easier on the driveline...
Thanks for the comments guys is anybody have any idea on the payload capacity on the bed.? With the whole truck weighing 9900 pounds now and with a gvwr I have 11,000 pounds that only leaves me with 1100 pounds to put on the bed. However on the scales my rear axle has the weight of 5000 pounds on it with the Dana 80 taking 8000 (according the dodge) that leaves me 3000 on the bed however I will be over gvwr by 1,900 lbs. the Dana 80’s capacity is 11,000 pounds so what is my limiting factor here are the Dodge’s under rating the Dana 80 or that it’s the springs and frame limit and how conservative do you think that rating is? I would really like to put at least 2000 lbs on the bed and occasionally 4,000.
just saying I’ve seen people laugh at the tow ratings saying they are way u dear what the truck can do is is the same here?
04-26-2019, 09:03 PM
