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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / March 2006

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front end weight

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Nathan W. Collier - 27 Feb 2006 15:08 GMT
had someone tell me that the weight of my winch/winch bumper with the weight
of a slide in camper was going to kill the front end on my dodge.  this was
coming from a die-hard ford man and while that doesnt automatically negate
his statements, it does cause suspicion.  he also told me that the arc in
the frame is not meant to directly support weight.  he stated that he has
seen cracked frames (on all makes of trucks) from this.

1- is this a legitimate concern?
2- when front ends do wear out from weight, what components are wearing out?
is there a way to beef them up?
3- ever seen cracked frames from air bag usage?  looking at 4500#
camper/gear weight and then 800 or so pounds of tongue weight from my
enclosed trailer.
thanks,

Signature

Nathan W. Collier
http://UtilityOffRoad.com
http://7SlotGrille.com
http://InlineDiesel.com
http://BighornRefrigeration.com
http://ConcealedCarryForum.com

SnoMan - 27 Feb 2006 18:49 GMT
As long as you have a gas truck, I see no issues. If it is a CTD, you
need to watch it closely as that option iteslf adds about 600 to 700lb
of front end weight to truck. Dodge uses the same frame with gas and
diesel model 3/4 and 1 ton trucks so the gas truck has more reserve
because it is carrying less weight.  

>had someone tell me that the weight of my winch/winch bumper with the weight
>of a slide in camper was going to kill the front end on my dodge.  this was
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>enclosed trailer.
>thanks,
Tom Lawrence - 27 Feb 2006 22:39 GMT
> As long as you have a gas truck

Blah blah blah...  like a freakin' broken record.

>I see no issues.

I do....  the fact that he'd have to install two aux fuel tanks to hold
enough gasoline to get him through the remote areas he plans on taking, as
he's getting 3-4MPG pulling/hauling that load through the trails...
SnoMan - 27 Feb 2006 23:16 GMT
The blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the
extra 600 or 700 lbs of a CTD has no impact at all on vehicle or front
end when in fact it is such a problem in a Dodge that they quietly
upgraded and replaced the front axle in 03 to try to better deal with
the problems fromthis weight it. (gas trucks of same model have same
frame and axle so they have a LOT more reserve capacity than a oil
burner) If there had not been a problem, there would not been a change
because even a Dana 60 was no deemed up to the task by Dodge. I guess
you feel that this weigh is invisable and has no effect on it. The
fact of the matter seem to cause you a lot of problem. Accept them and
work with them rather than preteneding that they do not exist. You
like the BS, I try to stick to the facts and physics of it.

>> As long as you have a gas truck
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>enough gasoline to get him through the remote areas he plans on taking, as
>he's getting 3-4MPG pulling/hauling that load through the trails...
Tom Lawrence - 28 Feb 2006 00:57 GMT
> The blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the
> extra 600 or 700 lbs of a CTD has no impact at all on vehicle or front

No, of course it has an impact...  but your post was completely useless.
"Well, if you had a gas engine...." He doesn't.  Period.  Therefore, any
discussion of that is useless.

> end when in fact it is such a problem in a Dodge that they quietly
> upgraded and replaced the front axle in 03 to try to better deal with
> the problems fromthis weight it.

Absolute bullshit.  DC dropped Dana altogether over pricing, and gave the
contract to AAM.  It had nothing to do with weight considerations.  Hell,
the ISBe of today ways pretty much the same as the first 6BT weighed in '89.
(Cummins lists the weight of the ISBe at 1034lbs.  I've seen the 6BT weight
listed at almost 1100lbs.  Close enough for me).

> burner) If there had not been a problem, there would not been a change
> because even a Dana 60 was no deemed up to the task by Dodge.

See above.  The D60 was perfectly fine for 12 years.
SnoMan - 28 Feb 2006 02:23 GMT
One thing for sure Tom, your posts are worthless because you do not
base yours on facts and you let your hormones control your "advise"
and answers.

>> The blah blah broken record is by people such as you that think the
>> extra 600 or 700 lbs of a CTD has no impact at all on vehicle or front
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
>See above.  The D60 was perfectly fine for 12 years.
montanajeeper@aol.com - 28 Feb 2006 04:39 GMT
qwest sucky news servers miss 2 of 3 messages posted (seemingly) so i
didnt see your replies, only toms reply to your reply.  im responding
here since i couldnt get it there.

> As long as you have a gas truck, I see no issues.

its ctd.  gas trucks (2500/3500) are special order only out here
because they dont sell.  no matter where you travel, youre climbing a
mountain.  gasoline powered trucks have their place certainly.....but
its not here....not if youre pulling a load.

> the gas truck has more reserve
> because it is carrying less weight.

but it doesnt have the balls for the job.  im not knocking gasoline
powered trucks, please dont misunderstand.  but they just arent up to
pulling full rated loads at highway speeds in the mountains.  i see it
all the time, ill be towing 5,000# - 8000#  with the cruise control set
on 75 mph.  on the downhills the gasoline powered trucks fly past me at
90+ mph.  on the uphills i catch those same trucks and pass them, never
having accelerated more than what the cruise control is set on.  after
passing the same truck 4 or 5 times i just look over, smile and wave as
i pass.  i have to wonder how many of those folks end up buying diesels
because of it.  :-)

Nathan W. Collier
http://InlineDiesel.com
http://ConcealedCarryForum.com
Tom Lawrence - 27 Feb 2006 22:38 GMT
> the frame is not meant to directly support weight.  he stated that he has
> seen cracked frames (on all makes of trucks) from this.

The guys over at EarthRoamer.com ran a Dodge 2500 with a big bumper. winch,
and large camper for years - no issues.

> 3- ever seen cracked frames from air bag usage?  looking at 4500#
> camper/gear weight and then 800 or so pounds of tongue weight from my
> enclosed trailer.

I wouldn't be jumping the truck or hitting rough terrain at 60MPH, but no...
haven't heard anyone reporting cracked frames.  In fact, I think the last
guy in here talking about cracked frames was you, back in '96 or so, with
roll-back beds on the 2nd gen trucks  :)

I will tell you, in all seriousness, you're looking to push this truck right
to the limits (or beyond) as far as weight's concerned.  5300# of payload,
on a 7600# (or so) truck, with 400# or so of passengers, you're technically
over the GWVR of the truck (I think it's rated at, what, 12,500#?)

I really wish you didn't have to to the camper/trailer combination....  a
larger 5th wheel would be so much safer (but I understand why - we've been
through all that already).  I hate to say this...  I mean I _REALLY_ hate to
say it...  but you'd probably be better served with an F-450... though I do
hear rumors abounding about the long-awaited release of the Dodge 4500 and
5500 medium-duty trucks here in the States for '07.
Nathan W. Collier - 28 Feb 2006 04:23 GMT
> The guys over at EarthRoamer.com

those guys are awesome......just wish they had offered something for the
dodge.  on the other hand, with their $200,000+ price range you could have a
well equipped unimog camper.

> ran a Dodge 2500 with a big bumper. winch, and large camper for years - no
> issues.

?  why are they using only f550s now?

> I will tell you, in all seriousness, you're looking to push this truck
> right to the limits (or beyond) as far as weight's concerned.  5300# of
> payload, on a 7600# (or so) truck, with 400# or so of passengers, you're
> technically over the GWVR of the truck (I think it's rated at, what,
> 12,500#?)

ive probably over-estimated a bit to be on the safe side, and was including
500# of passenger weight in the 4500# estimate.  my heavy gear can be
carried in the enclosed trailer.  any idea what the gcvwr is on an '05
cummins dually 4x4?  i dont know why, but its not listed on my data sticker.

> you'd probably be better served with an F-450

ill follow the cummins and buy whatever it comes in.  its an amazing engine
(who am i telling, right? :-), and pulls loads through these mountains like
nothing else.

that said, i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta my
head.  that would be sweet!

>... though I do hear rumors abounding about the long-awaited release of the
>Dodge 4500 and 5500 medium-duty trucks here in the States for '07.

heh....in '07 im trading up regardless.  that 750 ft.# cummins 6.7 liter isb
is way to tempting.  would probably be smarter to let them work the bugs out
first, and snag an '08.

as always, thanks for the help tom.
Signature

Nathan W. Collier
http://UtilityOffRoad.com
http://7SlotGrille.com
http://InlineDiesel.com
http://BighornRefrigeration.com
http://ConcealedCarryForum.com

Tom Lawrence - 28 Feb 2006 05:27 GMT
> those guys are awesome......just wish they had offered something for the
> dodge.  on the other hand, with their $200,000+ price range you could have
> a well equipped unimog camper.

YIKES!  Didn't know they were charging THAT much....  yeesh.

> ?  why are they using only f550s now?

Ummm....  probably for the same reasons you're running into...  GVWR issues.

> carried in the enclosed trailer.  any idea what the gcvwr is on an '05
> cummins dually 4x4?  i dont know why, but its not listed on my data
> sticker.

12,200lbs.

>> you'd probably be better served with an F-450
>
> ill follow the cummins and buy whatever it comes in.

Okay...  scratch the 450 (and the 550, too).  Ummm...  FL50, perhaps?  :)

> that said, i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta
> my head.  that would be sweet!

Once upon a time, you used to know how to swap engines.  Go for it!  :)

> heh....in '07 im trading up regardless.  that 750 ft.# cummins 6.7 liter
> isb

<yawn>  750?  That all?  Heh heh...  :)

I hear ya, though...  there's something to be said for the piece of mind of
stock power.
Nathan W. Collier - 01 Mar 2006 05:16 GMT
>> carried in the enclosed trailer.  any idea what the gcvwr is on an '05
>> cummins dually 4x4?  i dont know why, but its not listed on my data
>> sticker.
>
> 12,200lbs.

thats the gvwr, and its listed.  what i cant find is the gCvwr.  any idea
what that is?

>> that said, i just cant get the idea of a cummins powered king ranch outta
>> my head.  that would be sweet!
>
> Once upon a time, you used to know how to swap engines.  Go for it!  :)

heh.....thats great on a $10,000 toy, but not so great on a $45,000 truck.

> <yawn>  750?  That all?  Heh heh...  :)
>
> I hear ya, though...  there's something to be said for the piece of mind
> of stock power.

my thinking is that if its 750 stock, what can she REALLY handle?

Signature

Nathan W. Collier
http://UtilityOffRoad.com
http://7SlotGrille.com
http://InlineDiesel.com
http://BighornRefrigeration.com
http://ConcealedCarryForum.com

Tom Lawrence - 01 Mar 2006 08:12 GMT
> thats the gvwr, and its listed.  what i cant find is the gCvwr.  any idea
> what that is?

Sorry...  missed the 'c'.  According to the towing guide
(http://www-5.dodge.com/vehsuite/TowingGuide.jsp), with a 3.73 axle, your
GCVWR is 21,000lbs.

> my thinking is that if its 750 stock, what can she REALLY handle?

Sledpullers are making over 1,800ft.lbs from the 5.9L....  how much do you
want?  :)
 
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