vall17

I have a 2011 4500 dodge and I do hotshot work in thew oil field. I feel safer and in more control with the 4500 and an engine brake. Use to pull with a 350-ford and had to take the median a couple of times. The 350's and 3500 seem to have more problems after a while of pulling the loads we pull. 7000# trailer and average about 7000 to 8000 on the trailer. The limit is 15000 which happens a little.Go with the 4500, it's better to have more than not ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!

Colo_River_Ram

The Dana D110 rear-end is HD that's for sure. The 4500+ units have 19.5 rims and bigger disc brakes.

However after driving my 5500 for 3 yrs I am about 2" shorter

White Ghost

i love my 5500 . like vall 17 said it is way more safe than the 3500 and the fact i have put 10k on the bed is nice i would like to see you do that with a 3500

eb290

Either one will work fine. If you are going to haul a lot of weight on the bed, a 4500 or 5500 would be better. I have run 3500's for years with no problems. I hotshot in the oilfields in South Texas pulling a 40 ft gooseneck trailer. Combined truck and trailer wt. is 19,520 empty. I will put upwards of 16,000 payload on the trailer regularly. My last truck was sold with over 345,000 miles on it and my present truck has over 372,000 miles on it. With the 3500 you will get better fuel mileage and a better ride. With the 45-5500 trucks you will have to run combination plates, (at least in Texas) your insurance will be higher, fuel will be more,ect. Basically it is just going to be more expensive to operate. It is an individual choice, they will both do the job. One thing I will say is if you are going to pull a trailer, get one with disc brakes. Way less problems, much more stopping power. It might save your life.

White Ghost

Eb290 if you are over 26k you should have aportioned ( not sure about spelling) plates any way. When you put 15 k on a trailer with 3500 you are pushing the limits of the truck . I know i have done so many times and I have had some close calls .I have over 400k on my 3500 and most of those miles are with a trailer . With my 5500 I feel better about pulling my 40'trailer with heavy loads.

eb290

Don't need to be apportioned, truck and trailer are registered for 13,900, and 24,000 respectively. Went through a scale in Ok. a few weeks ago at 30,600, was pulled in. After he looked at my registration papers and saw that I had the road use and fuel permits he said have a good day. If you aren't apportioned and don't have IFTA, you must buy the proper permits for what that state requires then you can go where ever you need to. In the 15 years I've been doing this I've been all over the country and have never had any problems.
Yes, putting 15k on the trailer is all the company I work for will allow on a gooseneck and is a pretty good load, most of the work I do is with 5-10 k on the trailer. The old trailer I had with the magnet brakes was scary with a big load but the trailer I have now (for 3 years) with electric over hyd disc brakes, it is much more comfortable and safer.

White Ghost

I don't see how you are getting away without the apportioned plates . Maybe the ifta tags are throwing them off. From what dot has told me anything with a combined weight of 26k or more needs to be apportioned. Thats why I have a class a with hazmat and the right tags. Do you run a log book?

eb290

The way I understand it , weight has nothing to do with apportioned plates. We have a couple of flat bed hotshots (1 ton and 3/4 ton trucks) that are apportioned, it just has to do with how often you go out of state. The main reason they did it was to save the sales tax when they bought the truck. Like I said, I have gone all over and have never had any problems. I believe it just has to with road use fees, (permits) it keeps you from having to buy them before you enter the state or at the entry scale. I do know that you can't run regular license plates on trucks that are over 1 ton if you run commercially and pull a trailer. You must run either combination or apportion plates even if you run intrastate, at least in Texas.

White Ghost

Ok I see what you are saying . But you do have to run a log book when you go out of Texas . Am I right ?

eb290

I have to run a log book all the time. My registered wt is over 26,000, that is where the log book requirement starts. Actually, the company I'm leased to requires all trucks to run a log book, even the smaller flatbed hotshots. I go by the same rules as the over-the-road trucks, 11 hrs. driving, 14 hrs. on duty in a 24 hr. period ect.

338Lapua

I will be upgrading to the 5500 when I get the new fifth wheel. I recently took a close look at a 5500 the local steeler had on the lot, compared it to my '06 3500, and the '11 3500 dually they had next to it.
The size of the brakes on that 5500 blew me away!!! The rear axle is HUGE!! the frame is C-channel compared to my 06's tube, but it is THICK.
My trailer is about 13.5K, maybe a little more, but the new one has an 18K gross, I can see me using every pound of that. With the wife-n-kids and all there stuff, you know how that goes. I will be going with the Kelderman 4-bag rear suspension, or something similar. I will be keeping my '06 though, never selling that thing.

Link to the Ford version
http://kelderman.com/old/productdetails-4491.php

Delmar

Who are you leased to??? One of the big 3???

eb290

No, it is a small private company. (about 20-30 trucks, hotshot through 30 ton pole trucks) To many alliances and special rate deals with the big three. The driver (or owner-operator) takes it in the shorts like that. We have the same rates with everyone.

RamGazer

Do any of you know what kind of hotshot delivery a 2500 SRW mega cab could do like my truck that is listed in my sig? From what I have read and posted in the towing forum, the only thing I can do is RV transporting. Put everyone is saying their is really no money to be made it that line of work. It's not even worth it to put a goose-neck in my bed the way everyone is talking about 2500's can't tow much of anything! Right now the only thing I pull is my 5,000lbs Joey Layton Lite travel trailer.

eb290

To be honest with you a 3/4 ton truck is kinda the odd man out. Especially a short bed one like the mega cab. There are a lot of 3/4 ton trucks doing hotshot work but they mostly have flatbeds on them. You can just do much more with them. Wouldn't spend the $ on one unless you have a job to go to work. Check around, there is a lot of work for a 3/4 ton with the right company. Not towing though, unless you have a small trailer, the only problem with that is everyone will be wanting to overload you.