The Best Half-Ton Pickup Truck for 5th-Wheel Towing Is Defined by 1 Futuristic Feature
Getting the height of your 5th-wheel trailer just right to hook up your truck can be a pain. And when pulling it with most half-ton trucks you may be worried about your pickup squatting. The Ram 1500’s available four-corner air ride suspension solves both problems. The Ram 1500 is far from perfect, but as half-ton pickup trucks go, it is one of the most convenient for towing your gooseneck or 5th-weel trailer.
Does four-corner air suspension really make the Ram the best truck for fifth-wheel towing?
One of the greatest things about four-corner air ride suspension is auto-leveling in real-time. This often solves the problem of heavy loads squatting your pickup truck. In addition, being able to raise and lower your suspension makes it significantly easier to hook up to your trailer.
Justin Wheeler puts 50,000 miles on his truck every year. He inspects automated diesel engines, often in remote locations. So he is constantly crisscrossing the country with his 2019 Ram 1500 Limited loaded with tools. After 200,000 miles with his fifth-gen Ram, Wheeler says the ease of towing is one of his favorite things about his Ram 1500.
Wheeler often uses his Ram to tow. He owns a gooseneck trailer, so he has set his truck up with a ball in the bed. He often hauls 6,000-8,000 pound trailers. The most he’s ever towed with his 2019 Ram 1500 is 11,000 pounds. That’s obviously above the truck’s official load capacity, so not a great idea to try with your own truck. But it’s good to know the Ram 1500 is capable of it. Wheeler can’t say enough about how his Ram 1500 is the best half-ton for towing a gooseneck or a 5th-wheel trailer:
“Towing with this truck is a different experience than towing with any other half-ton that I’ve had. And it’s a combination of things that makes towing with this truck so much more enjoyable than in a regular half-ton, or the half-ton of 10 years ago. And that is the air ride suspension, which makes hooking up to your trailers an absolute breeze. And it also gives stability while driving; this thing never ever ever squats. So the air ride makes things just convenient and a joy to hook up and pull down the road.” – Justin Wheeler, Truck Central
What are the downsides to Ram’s air suspension?
In extremely cold weather, the Ram 1500’s available air ride suspension cannot lift the truck. It is also a costly option. Finally, the four-corner air ride is only available on the half-ton Rams, not the heavy-duty version.
When Ram first introduced its four-corner air ride suspension, the occasional angry owner took to the forums to report that their air ride had “broken” on a cold day. Justin Wheeler admits that on a couple of cold mornings, his air ride refused to lift up the truck. But he did some investigation and found out that compressing the cold air is difficult for the system, so it automatically shuts off in certain conditions. With its air ride shut down, a Ram 1500 can still drive fine. You just can’t raise its height.
The good news is that you can get the Ram 1500’s “Active-Level” four-corner air suspension on any trim level. But it will cost you $1,805. If you live in a very cold place, the downtime alone might make this option a non-starter.
Finally, if you tow often, the Ram 1500’s air suspension is convenient. But the Ram 1500 is a half-ton truck and won’t have nearly the towing capacity of a heavy-duty truck, and might not be the best option for pulling large loads on a gooseneck or 5th-wheel trailer. Ram offers its heavy-duty trucks with auto-leveling suspension in the rear, but not four-corner.
Who makes trucks with four-corner air ride suspension?
Adjustable air suspension on pickup trucks, straight from the factory, is a relatively rare feature. Most of the pickup trucks offering four-corner air suspension are brand new models.
The Hummer EV pickup and the Rivian R1T are two of the electric trucks currently available. Both come with adaptive air suspension. If you want an internal combustion pickup truck with four-corner air suspension you’ll have to go with any trim of the Ram 1500 upgraded with the “Active-Level” option or the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country, according to GM Authority.
Rear axle air suspension is slightly more common. One benefit of this technology is its lower cost while still being able to auto-level most costs. But it can’t drop the entire truck for fuel efficiency or lift it for off-roading, like four-corner air suspension can. The trucks that offer rear air suspension are the Toyota Tundra, Ram 2500, and Ram 3500. This makes the heavy-duty Rams some of the best trucks for gooseneck/5th-wheel towing.
Next, find out how the best heavy-duty truck for goosneck/5th-wheel towing can haul 40,000 pounds or learn more about the Ram’s air suspension system’s reliability in the video below:
