A good friend of mine has a 02" Dodge 2500 5.9TD Quad cab 4Wd drive Long box "Sport" and 3.55 gears, and he wants to upgrade to a larger 5th...problem is we can't find the tow ratings for these trucks and 5th wheel trailers.

I tried tailer life , but they only rate one weight, where for GM they show ratings for 5th's and pull trailers.

As per trailer life ratings for his 02' Dodge...9,450lbs can't be right for this truck when my 03' GMC Dmax is rated at 15,400lbs

There must be complete towing info available somewhere ???

I just saw this, but it isnt good news... http://www.carsdirect.com/2002/dodge/ram_2500

nevermind, that was a huge waist of time, sorry. i've looked and looked and don't see it on google or anything...Does he have the owners manual??

12,800 if I recall. Is it an auto or stick? The trucks will handle much more, especially is the trans has been upgraded, whether its an auto or stick with a heavier clutch.

It's not 9,450! It's about 12,800. One more thing, it's Cummins, not Cummings. ;)

He could pull a house with it if he wanted to, but you need to find out what the gear ratio is first. It could be 3.55's or 3.73's in a 2500(not many 4.10's in a 2500). If it's 3.55's it will be doggy towing heavy. A friend bought an 01 3500 that had been special ordered by somebody and they backed out at the last minute, so he got it for a song. He later found out why, it was ordered with 3.55's. He could barely pull a 25 foot AQUASPORT(around 9,000 pounds with trailer) and maintain 70 on flat interstate.

nevermind, that was a huge waist of time, sorry. i've looked and looked and don't see it on google or anything...Does he have the owners manual??


No, he doesn't have the owner's manual, they purchased the truck used.

Thanks for trying

12,800 if I recall. Is it an auto or stick? The trucks will handle much more, especially is the trans has been upgraded, whether its an auto or stick with a heavier clutch.


Sorry the truck is a 4 speed auto, it's a sport model and most likely 3.55 gears.

Trailer lift rates this truck at 9,450lbs but that just doesn't sound right for a Cummings 3/4 ton quad cab diesel 4x4 long box truck.

How do you identify the gear ratio on a 02' 2500 Dodge...option code like GM ?? or other way ??

How do you identify the gear ratio on a 02' 2500 Dodge...option code like GM ?? or other way ??


Open the glove box door and there is a stiker in there that tell you what gear ratio.

My owner's manual says 9300 lbs. for the long bed auto 2500 w/3.55s, 11300 w/4.10s-IMHO, the 48RE (in stock form) automatic trans is the weak link here (that's why I got one w/the NV5600 6 speed)-they are known to have problems towing heavy. The GCWR is 16000 w/3.55s, 18000 w/4.10s, the manuals are all 20000 regardless of ratio. If it makes you feel any better-the 3500s are even worse with automatic trans-ONLY 9050 w/3.55s!!

Sorry the truck is a 4 speed auto, it's a sport model and most likely 3.55 gears.

Trailer lift rates this truck at 9,450lbs but that just doesn't sound right for a Cummings 3/4 ton quad cab diesel 4x4 long box truck.
the 9450 lbs is most likely the gross weight rateing on the truck axels,not 5er tow capacity,or gorss combination weight rateing.the gross combo is at least 20k.

the 9450 lbs is most likely the gross weight rateing on the truck axels,not 5er tow capacity,or gorss combination weight rateing.the gross combo is at least 20k.


Ya the max rate trailer weight shows 9,450lbs for 3.55 gears as per trailer life truck tow ratings. 11,450lbs with 4.10 gears

Then you subtract 100-150lbs for the long box

My 03 Dmax is rated at 12,000lbs (pull trailer) with 3.73 gears, so I'm thinking that the 9,450 lbs is most likely correct for pull trailers and this Dodge truck...but we're looking for the tow weight for 5th wheel trailers, so 9,450lbs can't be right.

Keeping in mind that my Dmax has a 15,400lb 5th wheel tow rating the Dodge must be around 12,000lbs - 12,500lbs for 5th wheels.

I'm just looking for info to confirm that 12,000lbs is the right tow weight for 5th wheel towing.