Ram 2500 Heavy Duty towing capacity, 2027 chart and earlier

One truck, three GVWRs, three answers

The 2500 chart repeats many configurations once per gross vehicle weight rating. Take the 6.7L Cummins HO turbo diesel I6 4x4 Crew Cab with the 8-foot box: at a GVWR of 11,040 lb it is printed with a payload of 3,160 lb and a trailer rating of 18,220 lb; at 10,000 lb, 2,120 lb and 18,220 lb; at 9,900 lb, 2,000 lb and 17,000 lb (2027 chart, p. 7). The base weight barely moves between the three. What changes is the weight the truck is certified to carry, and on the lowest step the GCWR that Ram assigns as well.

So the GVWR on your door label is the first thing to read, before the engine or the trim. The GVWR and GCWR guide explains what each label figure caps; two trucks that look identical in the yard can carry different limits.

Payload is the real advantage of a three-quarter ton

A half-ton runs out of payload long before it runs out of trailer rating. A 2500 does not: the 6.4L HEMI V8 4x4 Regular Cab with the payload upgrade prints 4,580 lb of payload and still a 17,350 lb trailer rating. Ram's notes say that payload and trailer rating are mutually exclusive, which means the two figures are each computed on their own, and that GAWR, GVWR and GCWR must never be exceeded (2025 heavy duty chart, notes 7 and 8). At Ram's 10% tongue share, the top 20,000 lb trailer puts 2,000 lb on the hitch, plus 75 lb of hitch hardware that Ram counts separately. On the 20,000 lb truck, with 3,990 lb of payload, that leaves room for people and tools. The tool below starts with that payload.

Cummins or HEMI, and the axle that comes with each

In the 2027 chart the 6.7L Cummins HO turbo diesel I6 is printed only with the 3.42 axle and rates between 14,550 lb and 20,000 lb. The 6.4L HEMI V8 comes with the 3.73 or 4.10 axle and rates between 10,530 lb and 17,840 lb; on the gas engine the numerically higher axle matters, because the GCWR rises with it. The Mega Cab Laramie carries the heaviest diesel base weight, 8,144 lb, and holds the bottom of the Cummins range; the Power Wagon, on the 4.10 axle with a GCWR of 18,000 lb, holds the lowest line of all. The 2026 chart was far longer, 244 lines against 71, because it listed each trim one by one. On the Cummins 4x4 Crew Cab with the 6'4" box and a GVWR of 11,040 lb, its ratings ran from 19,990 lb for the Tradesman to 19,570 lb for the Limited with RamBox, all on a GCWR of 28,110 lb: every pound of trim came off the trailer.

Fifth wheel and gooseneck thresholds

The heavy duty chart notes require a fifth-wheel hitch for trailers over 23,000 lb and a gooseneck over 30,000 lb (Ram heavy duty notes 16 and 17). Those thresholds serve the whole heavy duty family, the 3500 included, and both sit above every Ram 2500 conventional rating. Ram counts 250 lb for a fifth-wheel hitch and 70 lb for a gooseneck, with 15% of the trailer on the pin. Our data do not include fifth-wheel ratings for the 2500, so the checker covers conventional towing only. Compare with the F-250, which prints all three hitch types, and read the fifth wheel versus gooseneck guide before choosing a bed hitch.