How Much Does a RAM 3500 Dually Squat With 4,400 LBS of Payload? // Ultimate RAM Air Suspension Demo
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- Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
- After publishing a video about a month earlier featuring all the build details on my special order 2021 RAM 3500 Dually truck, I've gotten several questions on the RAM Air Suspension and specifically how it functions along with all the different settings. Today's video features real-world testing to demonstrate not only what 4,400 lbs of payload looks like on the RAM 3500 with air suspension, but also how it handles 4,400 lbs of fifth wheel pin weight across all the different air suspension settings available on the truck.
I'll pull out an old fashioned measuring tape and measure the height from the ground to the wheelwell across all the different air suspension settings. I'll even tag in some bonus footage at the end specifically for bumper pull (travel trailer) folks that will be helpful featuring the bed lowering function for eaiser hitching and unhitching.
Let me know if you think the RAM Air Suspension is worth it in the end, by leaving a note in the comments below.
00:00 Intro
03:36 Close-up Views of Suspension
05:24 Unloaded Normal Ride Height
06:14 Loaded Normal Ride Height
09:46 Loaded Alt Trailer Height
12:34 Bed Lowering Feature
17:39 Air Suspension Settings
22:12 Bumper Pull Lowering Feature
23:54 Final Thoughts
Jayco Pinnacle In-Depth Video Series Playlist:
• Jayco Pinnacle Series ...
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#ram3500 #ramtrucks #ramairsuspension 
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Absolutely a great video explaining how the system works 👍👌
Completely different leaf pack with overloads. JB reviews has a good video about the difference in leaf packs.
Waiting on my 3500 DRW to be delivered this week! Got the air suspension option and now I have a jump on the learning curve. Thanks.
Tom - how long did it take from order to delivery? Where are you located?
Niiiice detailed comprehensive video on the operation and function of the factory air suspension!!!
Thank you
This is a rock solid video that’s slam full of useful information
Thank you, appreciate the kind words :)
Please do more videos like this one if possible. Thank you!
Thank you, appreciate that.
That is a sweet, sweet truck.
Great comprehensive video.
Bed lowering without a load will only drop a 3500 about 1" at most. Some lightly optioned trucks with no gear or pax or hitch will not noticeably drop.
The 2500 air trucks will drop 2-3 as they're riding on 100% air.
The bed lowering will cancel at 8MPH and put air back into the bags.
Leaf spring trucks have ~3" of rake built in, the air trucks only have ~1" of rake built in.
Very informative, thanks! I have a 2018 Ram Dually with air suspension. I also have the button for alt trailer height, but I've never noticed the bed lowing option on the Uconnect screen. I will be checking tonight when I get home! P.S. my truck is the twin to your truck except for the updated front end style. I want to upgrade! LOL.
Nice! Thank you!
I think I’d spend the extra money on the air suspension as well. I was against it for awhile but now I’m sold!
Thanks for that sir.
Nice build on your truck congrats.I have no airbags but I do have a total of six springs Four lower Springs and it looks like two upper helper springs With two spacers to separate the upper from the lower Springs. The lower springs ride on Three spacers. Im putting air bags on within the next week
I’m new to trucking. “DD 214” RUclips channel had an issue with his front tires feathering due to the trailer weighing down the back end of his truck. That raised the front of his truck. He has a different work-around, but I think the air-bag adjusted ride height will save some money on tires in the long run.
I have a 21 with the Air and it's sweet 👍
The Alt/Alternate trailer height is to level the truck.
Stock ride is about 3/4 of an inch rake.
When towing you want the truck level so when the trailer pushes everything is in line.
At Stock height the trailer would/could push the rear of the truck Upward.
Im in love with ur truck My friend
Thank you. Very blessed.
We literally just bought the exact same rig as you are showing here. Will be getting the truck next week and camper next week, We got the Pinnacle 36SSWS and the RAM 3500 Limited Longhorn. Good to know this info buddy, keep em coming. Been watching alot of your video and I've picked up a lot of tips!
Glad to hear! Hope the delivery all goes smoothly. Great combo.
Love the longhorn trim. Absolutely stunning.
Got a big week coming next week. We live in WV and have to drive to Texas to get the truck then drive to Richmond Va to get the camper then back to Beckley WV! Shew, if the equipment don't get a work. out we sure will! lol
Good video thanks
My mega night edition dually will be delivered soon!! I can’t wait to hook my 5th wheel up
Nice! Hopefully it'll come sooner than later.
Awesome video. Have a RAM 3500 Longhorn MegaCab with the HO Cummins & air. Have not had a chance to experiment with the air system yet, but now I understand how it works much better. Love the ride! Very comfortable & great ride on the highway at 80-85 mph. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Thank you!
Great video, I'm currently waiting on my 3500 SRW to be delivered that I ordered back in November. I ordered air ride also. I believe that the non air ride's have an overload spring added to the leaf pack.
Thank you. Hope your new delivery goes smoothly.
Im not interested in any TT that is over 30 feet but your videos are good.
I have the same system on my 3/4 ton ram, and love it,,
Iv got a pull behind trailer, ,,e trailer height before I back up,
So I can hitch up, useing the air bags,,, it wor great,,,,
So I do adjust th
One reason for me to purchase my 3500 ram Laramie to transport my dream 5th wheel!!!
Great info. on this video. Just ordered a 23' 3500 dually, unfortunately I opted out the air system which I'm kinda regretting. However it may not be too late to see if the dealer can add it hopefully the build have not gone that far where they can perhaps still add it. That said, I would be curious when you were doing a few of those measurements if the legs on the 5th wheel was still completely off the ground? I felt like perhaps getting the exact same measurements when you use the "bed lowering" feature vs. The other lowering feature if possibly the jack stand on the 5th wheel touched ground? Just curious
Thank you. Basically the other settings more or less dump the air out of the airbags, so that's why they're the same measurements, but I imagine there's different parameters that must be in place whether it's speed or having a load, etc. In video there's about an inch or so on the landing gear to ground when the bags are empty.
thanks makes me feel better that i ordered this option.... how much space is there between your tailgate when down and the front of the trailer after backing? i was kinda worried when u were backing, i see some folks get out and put their tailgate up while backing??
I'd guess about 6 inches? I cannot squeeze through with my legs...have to put tailgate up to get through.
The dually without the air suspension has a complete different leaf pack and obviously a different spring rate. They hold up some pretty good weight as well without air bags
My 2020 3500 Silverado dually crew cab long bed 4x4 has a payload of 6576 pounds pretty crazy what these new trucks can handle.
@@Back_door_bandit_98 that is impressive
Correct. My 2018 3500 DRW has the conventional spring pack (non air bag) and I only added the torqlift lower stable loads. With my 4500lb truck camper in bed the rear hub to wheel well measurement is 1/2” lower than the front. Empty there is a rake (rear is higher)
I just got my 2022 Laramie dually , I went with the Firestone air bags, I run a welding rig and also tow a skid steer
@@Back_door_bandit_98 So Your 1 ton dually weighs 7424 pounds. That is incredibly light! Is it gas?
My 15 ram 3500 single wheel has factory air bags. I’ve always loved it even though people criticized it “ something else to break” I wouldn’t buy another with out it. Now the guys at work have installed crappy aftermarket bags to try and be like my tow pig.
I'm with you!
Regular cab will have more but hey sometimes I wish I had four doors. Mine does great without airbags.
😍🔥
Love the truck and your videos. Q: wouldn’t the “Alt trailer height”, if lowering rear by inch -cause nose to point UP more? Headlights will point up even more. Just a thought
Thank you! Sorry, I should have clarified. On the nose I meant to say nose of the fifth wheel itself. You are right though if my truck nose was pointing up to begin with then the alt height would make it worse. Right now I'm pretty level with the alt trailer height setting in my setup, or at least as level as I can get with adequate bed rail clearance and such.
The dually that lacks has an additional leaf , it’s a beefy one right under the main pack
You know he's way in depth
Thanks for the great videos. I ordered a 2022 RAM 3500 DRW. I am struggling to decide on which hitch to purchase. I definitely want to leverage the puck system - what exact hitch are you using? Im looking at the Reese 27k M5 & the 25k BW Companion. Thoughts?
Congrats on order! I have not used the Reese, but I hear it's a great hitch. Use the Curt A25 right now, but also used B&W and liked it too. Curt was on a good sale at time around $800ish and so went with that...same as RAM OEM essentially. Don't think you can go wrong with all three of them.
@@AdventureRocks I use a Curt A25 as well and it's a great hitch.
The B&W is a great hitch. I use a Curt A25 and it's a great hitch as well. Truck setup at the time I bought didn't work for the Companion so I got the Curt (rail setup) and then converted it from rail to Puck for the new truck.
I have the ram 2500 Laramie turbo diesel 2017 mega cab and i absolutely love my truck I’m getting 21 miles to a gallon it has the room of a SUV and also have the bed in the back i love my truck
Very nice!
What if / You use trailer lift to get
Set up close first....then /
Activate truck bags to safe bags system. ( Last longer bags & air)
nice presentation, how much bed height loss was due to tire squat.
I think there was about a 5/8" difference in height between unloaded and loaded with the air suspension boost, it never did raise it all the way up to the unloaded height. So maybe that is due to tire squat, I don't know for sure though.
You have a multi-leaf pack with two overloads on top which are position to go against the frame rails with heavy loads my 1-ton 3500 I've never had it to squat I pulled upwards of thirty thousand pounds and it's came close to hitting the overloads Butterfly by another Ram check out the airbag system
Hi. I got same truck as you do 👍 and I like your tires, what size your tires are?
They are actually the OEM factory tires, but the all-terrain option. I spec'd them just to have a little extra traction while maneuvering at campgrounds on unpaved surfaces. Size is LT235/80R17.
Just curious what the height of the front finder well of your truck unloaded in the standard setting is? I know it was 39” in the video but wondered if it was different at all? I bought a used 2020 dually Limited with air ride and it’s has some suspension upgrades with Fox 2.0 shocks and was wondering if there was a small leveling kit added as well..
In garage 100% level, I just checked front and is 39-5/8 to center of fender flare. Hard to get accurate with the bulging wheel on front, but that should be pretty close. In video the rear is level, but slight grade down on front.
I had a Cadillac and when I hit 50k miles the air bags and compressor went out. It cost me about $5k for the rear and $1500 or so for the front to replace the air bags and compressor.
DO you have any idea if these parts are covered and to how long?? My parts were covered for 50k miles or 3 years which ever came first. I drove a lot so the 3 years was of no consequence.
thanks for the detailed video.
I'm considering the RAM or the F450.
Whoa that's an expensive repair! Sorry to hear. I believe it's just the standard 3 yr / 36K on air suspension. Haven't heard of any significant owner issues on the air suspension, so hopefully it'll be reliable long-term.
Curious about unloaded ride comfort? Air bag assisted suspension vs traditional springs. I bet it is significant.
I've wondered that myself as that would make sense. I had a 19 Chevy 3500 dually prior with just leaf springs, and never thought it was horrible on the ride. Although I didn't drive them back to back so kinda subjective. Have not had a chance to drive 2x RAMs back to back, with and without. I've had a lot of people comment that dually suspension is so rough and unbearable as a daily driver, but for me personally I drive it almost every day, and it certainly is more firm compared to a 1/2 or 3/4 ton coil sprung truck, but honestly I don't mind it and have never thought it is rough unladen to the point of being even close to unbearable. I think it rides pretty nice considering how big and heavy it is. Chevy without air suspension rode fine in my option too, so maybe I'm just not as picky.
Air spring trucks ride better unloaded because the leaf spring pack is less. Loaded, they're all about the same. Dropping tires pressures when not towing will also make a huge difference in ride quality.
I have a 21 3500 HO SRW without factory air and the Leafs look like yours. My trailer has the same pin weight and before I modified the suspension it would sag like yours did at the lowest setting. Just for reference for people
Thanks for sharing, that is helpful.
@@AdventureRocks dually without airbags have overload springs on top of the pack srw trucks do not have that
I own a 2022 Laramie with the HO Cummins and regular suspension, and let me tell you, the leaf springs under my truck compared to a truck with air bags is unbelievable. I have two sets of spring packs, plus two overload springs, one massive one under the entire pack. Our 5th wheel has a pin weight of around 3400 lbs, and the truck doesn't even go level when I put that weight in the back. It's not even hitting the overloads yet. So you can't compare yours to one like mine. Totally different suspension.
They'll carry very close to the same payload. The only difference is the weight difference between the two systems. You know HDT's run on air suspension right?
I have the 3500 Drw without the air, 4 leafs with 2 overloads, I have a constant 2000 pounds and I’m on the overloads springs is that normal?
I am not 100% sure about that. It does sound a little odd with only 2K on a DRW to hit the overload springs...I would think more 3K+ or so? If you have 4+2=6 that should mean it was built without the air suspension though. I have heard of folks buying secondhand where previous owner ripped out the airbags not realizing the OEM leaf pack with only 4 wasn't designed to function alone without the airbags. Maybe other viewers with 1 ton DRW no air suspension can comment here and share if their experience aligns with yours.
My 2019 is setting at a dealer in wy they refuse to fix it ,motor may be ruined by a bad high pressure pump it is still under warranty with a recall on the pump? I’ll never by a ram again
Sorry to hear that. If you haven't already done so, I'd reach out to leadership at RAM corporate (not dealer). I've seen RAM and Cummins step up and replace full engines under warranty.
4400 lbs on your hitch weight how did you overload your truck and trailer by at least 1490 lbs by my calculations… please tell me I’m wrong.I’m considering this trailer and I don’t want to get a dually truck. I’m watching a video from lazy acres out of Canada that list the pin weight for this trailer at 2915lbs ( not kgs) I know the numbers can be off but is it really 3000 lbs off, please explain where all your weight is coming from thank you very much.
Great question. So the advertised pin weight on any fifth wheel is merely what the average model weighs coming off the production line, but it's completely empty without all your personal belongings, propane, battery, not to mention any factory options such as a generator or washer dryer. The advertised pin weight is not a max limit of how much it can weigh on the front/nose, but rather just an estimate of the average coming off the production line. In fact, the pin weight can change from trip to trip, just depending on your tanks and how things are loaded. Some floor plans carry more weight up front depending on the location of the axles, as is the case on my particular floor plan. When it comes to trailering, you just want to make sure you don't exceed the gross vehicle weight rating of the trailer itself, which in this case is right at 17,000 lbs. And then of course you don't want to exceed the gross vehicle weight rating of the truck itself with the pin weight of the fifth wheel factored in. In my case, I have 5,000 lb of payload on my dually truck, and so the 4,400 lb pin weight plus the weight of occupants and cargo was pretty much maxed out on the truck's payload. So everything was within the limits, although it was just about maxed out. If you're looking at the 37mdqs, you'll definitely need a dually. It tends to carry more weight up front. Typically you'll run out of payload on just about any truck before you run out of towing capacity. Hope this helps!
@@AdventureRocks thanks for the fast reply I might have to reconsider I really appreciate your content it helps a ton. Take care keep up the good work.
Does the air suspension change the trucks gcvwr?
No, no difference to GVWR or GCWR considering all other factors the same. But, probably slight difference on curbweight/payload. I'd guess air suspension components add weight compared to traditional 6-leaf pack without air suspension...but could be mistaken. I can say on mine it is still the 14K GVWR.
I owned 2022 Ram 3500 Laramie SRW HO with no auto leveling airbags and no overload springs.
Nice!
How did you determine your actual pin weight. Are you estimating the weight in the fifth wheel?
CAT scale. Same way the truckers do it.
To explain more, it's hard to estimate pin weight accurately since it's not a 1-1 correlation of weight added to coach given the way axles act like a see-saw. Definitely recommend the CAT scale though. If you use the mobile phone app they provide, it's super easy to do without interacting through the intercom at the stations, and you get the results in a digital format emailed.
Loaded axle weight minus the unloaded rear axle weight. Does the manufacturer give you the rear axle dry weight?
@@stevedenoyer5956 I think it's possible to calculate it that route as you suggested, but in my case I just do two separate back to back weighs on same CAT scale, one just like a tractor trailer, and then a second with the fifth wheel detached all on the trailer scale section, and then I have both combined and separate weights on two tickets so I can calculate the exact pin weight by noting difference on the drive weight scale (rear truck axle, center scale) or trailer scale (last). Hope that makes sense. Basically I isolate the trailer on second back to back weigh.
It would be even more accurate if I just had a dedicated tongue weight scale, which they make, but I don't have one (the accurate ones are expensive).
@@AdventureRocks yes
how did you get the pin weight of 4400lbs?
Cat scale, by back to back weights hitched and unhitched.
One thing to keep in mind when towing heavy stuff is, if the combined gvwr of your truck and trailer is over 26,000 pounds you have to have a CDL. In this case, class A.
Just putting it out there for folks, me included, whom this would never occur to.
Great point! It's my understanding the laws are different for each state. The vast majority have an exemption for recreational vehicles (RVs), but here's a helpful article that outlines which states require, and which have an RV exemption: www.campanda.com/magazine/rv-special-drivers-license-requirements/
not true for all states...for example RVs are exempt from that in Louisiana
@@alanb.4660 Your point was already made by the channel owner.
2016 duramax dually, barely squats with my pinnacle 32rlts .don’t need air. If you need more , put a helper on the leaf pack, keep it simple.
Great tip! One nice benefit of air suspension is the ride quality, both loaded and unloaded.
My dually duramax rides like a Cadillac loaded or empty.
Haters gonna hate.
When I test drove big 3 duallies. I found the Chevy to have the choppiest ride. Not sure about pulling though
You need a 5500 Ram lol
What’s the deal with those tires, man?
On the 1-ton duallies RAM exclusively sources the Nexen tires as OEM, so only two choices during build...Nexen highway tires or Nexen A/Ts. Eventually replaced them with Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws: ruclips.net/video/z9jlBAIC8Yk/видео.html
@@AdventureRocks Didn’t know that. Thanks man. Nice demo of the Air Suspension. I know I’m ordering a 3500 HO SRW but not sure if I’ll regret not getting the air suspension. I’ll be doing a 3.25” Carli lift and will be building a gooseneck Pace America Race Trailer.
@@DarkHorse08 sounds like a nice build 💪🏻
Buy F450
Nah, I don't want to be fixing or repairing daily 🤪
You know the F450 has less payload than an F350 right?
@@rjterry21 legally yes (derated) but mechanically it’s a medium duty truck like Ram/Chevy
It better not squat at all! My srw has a payload of 4100! Dually better have at least 5700