Im truck shopping and finding a lot of 4.7 Rams. Who here has a 4.7 Ram and tows a car with it? I test drove a couple trucks and they seemed to have no nuts as far as torque and such.

Opinions?

Is there a "tune" you can do to the ECM ?

I know...I know....get a Hemi
I found 2 Hemi Rams but they are 156k and 187k on them

The older 5.2/5.9 trucks are pretty rough around here.

I have owned or driven a couple of 4.7 vehicles. In a Grand Cherokee, the 4.7 performs well. In a heavier PU just "OK". With correct gearing (eg. 4.10) it may handle a 5-6,000 lb trailer OK. Beyond that I don't think so.

Also the 4.7 is very "maintenance sensitive" and can have costly failures... maybe why they are lower cost used?

IMO both the 5.9 and Hemi are much more robust.

The RFE transmission alone makes the 5.7 worth the higher cost of admission over anything 5.9/46RE

I have a 4.7 quad cab, 2wd, RFE and 3.55 rear end. Its nothing special by any means but having also driven comparably equipped 5.7's I wasnt blown away by the extra power and needing/recommending 89 octane, -both engines still have to spin the tachometer before they come on-

I have done a couple semi local flat tows with it, nothing over 6500. You know its back there for sure. gas engines just dont have the lower end, everything is tuned for HP and marketing fluff nowadays.

The 5.7 has a fairly robust aftermarket. The 4.7 kinda came and went w/o any notice.

well, my 96 dakota pulled the trailer great with a 318. Will a Ram or Dakota 4.7 perform equal ?

318 will blow away a 4.7 in pulling. Empty they run about the same except you got to turn a few more RPM but when they are loaded the 4.7 got no nuts. I have had many of both trucks and towed with most every one of them. The 4.7 engine issues far outweight the 5.2 trans issues.

My current 2011 ram 5.7 is the best towing vehicle I have ever driven including souped up 12V stinkys and a couple 24V stinkys. It needs a few more RPM but so what, 300,000 and the motor looks new inside except a worn out cam lobe and that is still cheaper than diesel fuel injection pump, or decent injectors or many other expensive diesel issues.

My 2011 Hemi ram gets the same MPG as my 07 4.7 dakota (actually better when towing). The 4.7 V8 and near twin 3.7 V6 are the reason the dakota (as a new truck) no longer exists. Word spread about what a pile of garbage they were and sales went through the floor, that and the butt ugly styling.

Its a nightmare finding a decent truck within my budget.

Drove a 04 Hemi ram today...rusted to hell with 158k on it..

Does the 5.7 hemi have any common issues?

Some have the infamous "Hemi Tick" where it has what sounds like a sticky lifter.
I have 294,000 on my 2007 and it had the tick for awhile but it stopped about 50,000 miles ago.
The 4.7 is a 287 cubic inch engine. The quad cab trucks are 5000 lbs in 2wd form, add 4wd and you are at 5200. The EFI helps but it is still cubically challenged.

Well, what's your budget?

Know where there's an '07 Hemi Sport with 9,800 miles on it. Obviously, no rust and not abused.

It's expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Brother had a nearly new 4.7 quad cab 2wd, with 4.7.
Ok fuel mileage, light loads towed OK,
But Heavy load...5K and anything but flat ground was a total waste of time.
He actually had to push it to overheat limit just to get a load of wood home from the lumber yard thru some hills... ( not mountains).

better off buying a southern or west coast second gen with 5.2 or 5.9.

6K

Drove a decent 04 hemi ram / 4wd / quad cab ...today--usual bed and rocker rust and 187k on it--loaded / leather , ran perfect. I can get it for around 5k or less so i put in an offer.

Some of them have had issues dropping valve seats. Not overly common, but still happens.

if you're looking for something for towing there was a pretty clean 93 2500 2wd CTD for sale in Sioux Falls SD for $4500 a couple weeks ago

I towed a light weight Samurai on a 14ft tandem axle trailer with my old 04 1500 4.7 QC 4x4 w/3:92's and it was a pig in the numerous mountain ranges here in Nevada. Running near redline pulling the grades. But on flat or relatively flat ground it did fine.

The big thing is there isn't a whole lot of difference in fuel mileage between the 5.7 and 4.7. To me, getting the 5.7 is a no-brainer as far as the older trucks if you plan on towing. I know the newer 4.7's have more hp, so no doubt are better than the earlier ones. Although I have no experience with them.

just bought an 04 quad cab / 4wd 5.7 for $4500 !

Good move! What gear? They run ok with 3:55's, but 3:92's really help with towing. Congrats on the purchase.

not sure on the gear--doesnt feel low like a 392 , its got the Tow Mode button

I dig the truck--its got the usual rust over the wheels and rockers..but runs/ drives perfect . Loaded with leather int.

SO--how hard are the plugs to change ? The drivers side looks fun......

There is one down the street from me at a lot for $3000 that matches that description, I am trying to figure out how to get the cash to buy it, don't know why.

The plugs are not as hard as they look once your in there doing them. 2.5 hours is average book time and I had no problem doing my first set in 1.5 hours, got em down to about an hour now useing air ratchets and such for speeding up turning all the little bolts. I can't remember what year they got rid of the stupid plug wires going under the intake, my tip on those is to pull the wires all out and just loop em all back to where one coil fires both plugs on one cylinder, they run a hair smoother firing both plugs on power stroke and the next plug change is waaay easier. Don't forget to zip tie em out of the way of moving parts like steering shaft and hot exhaust parts. You can also buy the short jacobs wires to make it clean and neat. An even cleaner way to do it is to buy a set of the later coils and matching valve covers and get adapters for the primary plug-in.