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Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 #2942850
07/14/21 12:22 AM
07/14/21 12:22 AM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
Kern Dog Offline OP
Striving for excellence
Kern Dog  Offline OP
Striving for excellence

Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
I want to buy a car trailer. I sometimes come across parts cars, neglected projects and other stuff and I am tired of renting trailers all the time.
The truck is a 2007 regular cab 2wd short bed. It does have the 4 and 7 pin electrical terminals as part of the factory towing package.
I have towed several cars over the years and it handles the job well. I live on pretty flat ground though.
I have read that the 545 RFE isn't a heavy duty transmission. When I tow, I do engage the TOW-HAUL mode.
The truck has 364,000 miles. The engine-trans-axle are all original and have not been rebuilt. Well serviced, but not rebuilt.
I do wonder if I am on borrowed time by towing with this "seasoned" drivetrain. I am already planning on replacing the engine but.....I don't know at what point that it makes sense to rebuild the transmission. It makes no noise, it operates as it always has. I service it every 50,000 miles and the fluid has never been burnt or smelled bad.

Ram A 2 (2).jpg
Re: Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 [Re: Kern Dog] #2942909
07/14/21 06:46 AM
07/14/21 06:46 AM
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 5,946
Greenville, PA
redraptor Offline
master
redraptor  Offline
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 5,946
Greenville, PA
I don't know the answer but you should get somekind of award for longevity. Unless you're getting into the hauling business, I would keep it maintained as you are. You're fortunate that you live somewhere that's nice most of the year that potholes and such don't beat the vehicle to death by 300k.

Re: Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 [Re: redraptor] #2943229
07/14/21 08:24 PM
07/14/21 08:24 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,486
Freeport IL USA
poorboy Offline
I Live Here
poorboy  Offline
I Live Here

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,486
Freeport IL USA
At 350K + miles, I'd say a trans rebuild in somewhere in your future. It has already outlasted 90% of them. At the risk of sounding stupid, plan for a rebuild, but drive it until it needs it. This one may go on forever, or tomorrow might be its last day.

Towing may hasten the event, but it sounds to me like you have already been towing with it, so I don't see how owning the trailer as opposed to renting a trailer will make much difference. Just be sure the trailer is in good shape and keep the maintenance up on it as well. Gene

Re: Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 [Re: poorboy] #2943624
07/15/21 05:36 PM
07/15/21 05:36 PM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
Kern Dog Offline OP
Striving for excellence
Kern Dog  Offline OP
Striving for excellence

Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
That is the tricky thing about transmissions....It is hard to tell if one is ready to fail if the symptoms are not obvious.
A transmission failure while towing has to be a huge inconvenience.
I've posted about the planned engine upgrades in the 3G Hemi forum here. I have 3.55 gears now but plan to swap to 4.10s for general performance improvement and better towing ability.

Re: Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 [Re: Kern Dog] #2943710
07/15/21 08:39 PM
07/15/21 08:39 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,060
Atlanta, GA
M
mgoblue9798 Offline
super stock
mgoblue9798  Offline
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M

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,060
Atlanta, GA
Originally Posted by Frankenduster
That is the tricky thing about transmissions....It is hard to tell if one is ready to fail if the symptoms are not obvious.
A transmission failure while towing has to be a huge inconvenience.
I've posted about the planned engine upgrades in the 3G Hemi forum here. I have 3.55 gears now but plan to swap to 4.10s for general performance improvement and better towing ability.

Maybe an 8 spd swap instead of rear gears?

Re: Towing with a 5.7 Ram 1500 [Re: mgoblue9798] #2943788
07/16/21 01:13 AM
07/16/21 01:13 AM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
Kern Dog Offline OP
Striving for excellence
Kern Dog  Offline OP
Striving for excellence

Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 18,493
Granite Bay CA
If it was as simple as just bolting it up like the good old days, I would do just that. There is a maze of electronics associated with all new automatic transmissions so for me, it is impossible.
The 8 speed uses a knob for a shifter too.







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