8bm

Thinking of getting a 5500 to tow my 5 ton mini excavator on a gooseneck trailer. Right now I piggy back it on an older 5 ton GMC t-7500. You guys think a 5500 auto 4x4 is up to the task?
Looks like tow weight will be around 16K, maybe a bit more. I know these 4500/5500 trucks make less power than the new 3500 H.O.'s do but I'm thinking gearing and beefiness make up for that.

Colo_River_Ram

The 5500 with 4.88 gears will give you all the power you need..

ubet

I would seriously consider a manual tranny.

Pirate

I pull over 20K with my 3500 and Gn trailer. Had the whole rig scaled at 35,900 at one point. Don't pull that much very often but it does happen. Based on my experience I would expect the 5500 to handle 16k GN trailer weight with out much of a problem.

carl48

i tow at 44,000 cgw on my 3500's no problems and expect and get 1,000,000 out of them. three things stay as far away from a auto as you can. two get a bd exhaust brake and forget the built in turbo brake and third get a maxbrake controller. get your deletes done as soon as you pick up the truck and get the smarty jr

8bm

I can't tow that much up here legally with a 3500, hence the need for a 5500. I also would prefer a manual but need to get an auto because of problems with one of my legs.

I spoke to a local hay supplier today and he has 2 Sterling Bullets, similar to a 2009 style Ram 5500. Both trucks are auto, stock emissions still and over 270K on each. He swears by them! That was encouraging.

Colo_River_Ram

The only issue I have had with the tranny is you loose the lock-up / VGT braking at 15 mph. I doubt this will be an issue for you as most city streets are not 45*.