RAM Truck 2011 User's Guide download pdf (Page 9)

20

1

1

TRAILER LIFE Towin

g

Guid

e

|

9

parasitic

l

oss uses up energy. More important

l

y,

4WD s

y

stems add wei

g

ht — easil

y

up to 400

p

ounds on some HD

p

icku

p

s — and tha

t

wei

g

ht frequentl

y

comes off the tow ratin

g

.

Un

l

ess t

h

e gcwr an

d

gvwr are

h

ig

h

er, a 4W

D

version will probably tow a

f

ew hundred

p

ounds less than its 2WD counter

p

art

.

Towin

g

Packa

g

e

:

I

f

y

ou can order a tow-

i

n

g

packa

g

e, do so. Not onl

y

is it usuall

y

re

-

q

uire

d

to get t

h

e top tow rating,

b

ut t

h

e con

-

t

ents rarely can be duplicated

f

or the origina

l

cost

—

a

n

d

i

t

will

add

to

r

esa

l

e

v

a

l

ue

. Y

ou

ca

n

p

lainl

y

see the hitch receiver or electrical re

-

c

eptacle, but there are often other chan

g

es t

o

t

he wiring system

(

including up-rated wir

e

a

nd

f

uses), alternator, battery, cooling system,

p

ower steerin

g

and lubricants. In some cases

,

i

nte

g

rated brake controllers are also offered

.

Bed Len

g

th/St

y

le: If there’s a difference

,

a

l

ong

b

e

d

truc

k

may rate s

l

ig

h

t

l

y

l

ower in to

w

c

apacity — a

b

out 150-250 poun

d

s —

b

ecaus

e

t

he lon

g

er bed adds wei

g

ht. In other cases

t

here is no chan

g

e because the lon

g

er wheel-

b

ase is beneficial. Note that the more “st

y

led

”

b

eds marketed under a variety o

f

names typi

-

c

a

ll

y are

h

eavier t

h

an conventiona

l

s

l

a

b

-si

d

e

d

b

eds, and that cab-and-chassis

f

igures do no

t

r

e

f

lect any bed unless otherwise noted. A steel

b

ed for a medium-dut

y

cab-and-chassis coul

d

q

uickl

y

eat up an entire ton of its

g

cwr

.

S

in

g

le or Dual Rear Wheels:

M

ost

p

eo

-

pl

e assume t

h

at a

d

ua

ll

y pic

k

up wi

ll

h

ave a

h

ig

h

er tow rating t

h

an a sing

l

e-rear-w

h

ee

l

u

nit, but this is not alwa

y

s so. In man

y

cases

t

he

g

cwr is limited b

y

factors other than th

e

n

umber of rear wheels and does not chan

g

e

,

a

nd in those cases the weight o

f

the wider

a

x

l

e,

b

igger

b

ra

k

es an

d

two more tires an

d

w

heels is subtracted from the

g

cwr. The duall

y

n

o doubt provides a more stable towin

g

plat

-

f

orm for the heavier trailers, althou

g

h not al-

w

ays wit

h

t

h

e

h

ig

h

est tow rating. A

d

ua

ll

y wi

ll

h

ave a

h

ig

h

er gvwr

b

ecause t

h

e

d

ua

l

-w

h

ee

l

r

ear axle mi

g

ht have a 10,000-pound

g

awr

,

f

or example, compared to the sin

g

le-rear

-

w

heel truck’s 6,824-pound

g

awr. Gawr is no

t

a

lways an exact calculation o

f

the tire capacity

t

imes the number o

f

tires. A dually-equipped

t

ruck will be better for haulin

g

a heav

y

slide-in

t

ruck camper and handlin

g

heav

y

fifth-whee

l

p

in wei

g

hts because of the wei

g

ht concentrat

-

ed

on t

h

e rear ax

l

e as compare

d

to t

h

e con

-

v

entiona

l

trai

l

er’s

h

itc

h

weig

h

t.

T

ir

es

:

W

heel sizes continue to

g

row com-

m

ensurate with their popularit

y

, with some

t

ow vehicles offerin

g

20-inch wheels as factor

y

o

ptions. However, using a

l

arger w

h

ee

l

an

d

l

ower-pro

f

ile tire means a smaller air cushion

a

nd lower tire sidewall

,

to the extent that tow

r

atin

g

s

g

enerall

y

drop whenever the wheel

s

iz

e

in

c

r

eases

—

a

n

d

ri

de

co

mf

o

r

t

ca

n

be

c

ompromised. Read the

f

ine print on the

p

ackaging care

f

ully

.

Research

B

e

f

ore purchasing any vehicle

f

or towing, en

-

s

ure that the e

q

ui

p

ment re

q

uired is available

f

or

y

our vehicle. You ma

y

find that the new-

k

id-on-the-block is a ver

y

capable tow vehicle

,

b

ut no one makes a

f

i

f

th-wheel hitch

f

or it

.

(

Ford remedied this quandary on 2011 Super

D

ut

y

trucks; GM also offers the option). Als

o

b

eware of hitch-ball and receiver ratin

g

s, a

s

so

m

e

t

r

uc

k

s

a

r

e

r

ated

fo

r h

ea

vi

e

r l

oads

t

h

a

n

a

ny easily

f

ound hardware can handle, an

d

t

here

f

ore may require special-order parts.

Before purchasin

g

a vehicle, we su

gg

est

y

ou acquire the manufacturer’s comprehen

-

s

ive towin

g

g

uide, available online or at deal

-

e

rships. Be sure to read the

f

ine print because

i

n many cases t

h

e maximum rating may app

l

y

o

nl

y

to one particular version and be for

a

f

ifth-wheel trailer; man

y

lar

g

er pickups ma

y

h

ave their actual tow ratin

g

limited b

y

the

h

itc

h

an

d

h

ar

d

ware. q

TL1102 TG Selecting a Tow Vehicle LO.qxp_Towing Guide 12/7/10 3:26 PM Page 9

User Guide Contents

Go To:

.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 44 45

Comments to this Manuals

No comments