Looking at Dodge's information on the 4500 and 5500, I find it hard to know why anyone who wanted to tow a fifth wheel would choose the 5500 over the 4500. They have the same engine and transmission. Their wheels are the same(19.5"), which should give you the same stopping power. Their weights are about the same, so the frame and springs must be about identical. If you go from 4500 to 5500, you still have the same GCWR and the maximum trailor weight goes down slightly. The only advantage for the 5500 over the 4500 is its higher GVWR. This would be of interest to those who carry their weight in the truck rather than in a trailor. I'm comparing 4 models of the 2009 Ram, all with the 6.7L engine, Auto. trans., 60" CA, 4.88 axle ratio, and DRW. .............................4500 ................5500 ................4500 ...............5500 ...........................2WD ................2WD ...............4WD .............4WD GVWR ............16000 ...............18750 ...............16000 ............18750 payload ..............8480 ...............11200 ...............8130 .............10840 Base wt. .............7523 ...............7551 ...............7875 ...............7912 Base wt. front ....4441 ...............4495 ...............4796 ...............4807 Base wt rear .......3081 ...............3055 ...............3079 ................3105 GAWR Front ....7000 ...............7000 ...............7000 ...............7000 GAWR Rear .....12000 .............13500 ............12000 ...............3500 GCWR ..............26000 .............26000 ............26000 .............26000 Max trailor ........18350 .............18300 ............18000 .............17950
There is not an RV being made that would overload a 4500 GVW. You can very easy overload the GCVW and you are right there is no advantage. If you were towing some type of gooseneck that was double tandem and really loaded the ball I can see an advantage of a 5500 except you will run out of GCVW capacity.
