On the show this week our first stop is Uralla, What a lovely country town in the New England Region. Phill talks us through some of the things to see and do in the area. Also this town is famous for Captain Thunderbolt the bushranger.
Uralla is a town on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and Thunderbolts Way, 465 kilometres (289 mi) north of Sydney and about 23 kilometres (14 mi) south west of the city of Armidale.
At more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level, Uralla’s high altitude makes for cool to cold winters and mild summers.
Boasting a rich history, Uralla has more than 50 buildings and sites of heritage significance which can be easily explored on foot or by vehicle.[2]
The community collectively bought and restored McCrossins Mill in the 1980s and 1990s, and this is now a multi-award-winning museum, gallery and function centre still run by volunteers.[3] This is also the starting point for the heritage walk.
The legend of Thunderbolt is exhibited at McCrossin’s Mill Museum in Uralla and includes the series of nine paintings by Phillip Pomroy of the events that led to Fred Ward’s death.
Thunderbolts Way is a road that extends from Gloucester to Inverell, following much of his original route between the Hunter Valley and the North West slopes and plains. “Thunderbolt’s Trail” is a 4WD fire trail located in the Barrington Tops State Forest which follows part of his original route.
Phill chats with Kent Mayo the curator of the museum as he tells us a little of what can been seen here, take the time to wander the wonderful exhibits, admire the old building that as been restored and view the fabulous painting depicting the last days of Thunderbolts life.
Check out the website for more information and what to see in this wonderful museum. https://uhs.org.au/
Next on the show Phill chats with Jim Smith who owns Smith Pies at the Mundi Mundi Bash out from Broken Hill. Jim first started baking at 13, which is 69 years ago and still going strong. He owns and runs a mobile bakery that gets out and about to festivals.
Not only do they do pies, they also bake fresh bread for those early mornings and potatoes and chicken. Jim’s bakery is the only mobile bakery in the world. They have even made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
The custom-built $1 million dollar prime mover is 18-metre-long and fully kitted out as a commercial bakery, with two coldrooms, a freezer, deep-fryers, packaging areas, a food prep area, commercial dishwasher and, most importantly, large ovens that can churn out 30 dozen fresh pies every 20 minutes.
Here are the facts on this monster mobile bakery’s capability:
– Can produce 1,000 freshly baked pies per hour.
– Cooks 800kg of roast at one time.
– 100L of meat cooked every 40 minutes.
– 3,000L of water on board.
– Feeds 4,000 people without restocking.
Smiths Pies is a family affair with Jim’s son Dennis, grandson Dillon and daughter-in-law Sherri together making pie magic.
Keep an eye out the next time you visit a major festival, Jim and the family might be there, cooking fresh pies and bread.
Next on the show is Jeff DeAth and the topic this week is the big American style utes. Jeff mentioned he had done a blog so to make it easier I have added his blog to make it easier for you.
its a question we have been asked from time to time by caravan owners who have found their current to vehicle may not be 100% suitable for their current set up.
I have weighed only one RAM towing a caravan that weighed 3000kgs.
So keep in mind whilst reading this blog. At Check Weight we have weighed over 160 caravan and vehicle combinations.
Should I buy a RAM 1500?
Firstly the entry level 1500 express (4X4) costs $79,950, while the range-topping Laramine (4X4) lists at $109,950.
RAM trucks are owned and built by Fiat Chrysler and the trucks are converted to right hand drive in Melbourne by RAM trucks Australia.
THE HYPE
Can tow UP to 4.5 tonne
Eats utes for Breakfast
Integrated towing function with Trailer (thats pretty cool)
Brake control built in.
A Massive 3450 GVM and and 7237 GCM
They sound like a great vehicle for touring Australia and towing a caravan.
But are they?
So here’s the specs on the RAM 1500 Laramie Crew Cab
- GVM 3450 –
- GCM 7237
- Front axle Maximum 1770
- Rear Axle Maximum 1770
So fully loaded (impossible to do exactly) at the rear and the front that adds up to 3540
Kerb Weight (kerb weight includes the vehicle with a full tank of fuel and all standard equipment excluding occupants) is 2650 kg and GVM of 3450 kg so a payload of only 800 kg. In comparison a Landcruiser has about 610 kg payload and a RANGER XLT 1069 kgs.
(Disclaimer on RAM Website re payload and weights)
But if your towing 4500 kg then you tow ball download is going to be at least 400-450 kg. So assuming tow ball payload of 400 – you now have only 400 kg left.
So two people at 100 kg and 70 kg. Equals 170 kg
You now only have 230 kg left for all your gear to go in that gigantic tub ! So put in some kids, a dog, some drawers, esky and some chairs, tools and your at (or over) your maximum GVM !
Tow Bar is at least standard and included already.
Rear Axle weights
Before I weighed the RAM the rear and front axle weights concerned me – most dual cab utes have a higher loading on the rear axle than the front, but on the RAM they are the same.
But after weighing the RAM I think I know why.
When we weighed the RAM empty (except for a driver) and not hooked up to a caravan the front axle weighed 1530 the rear 1220 – Maybe that big Hemi 5.7 weighs a bit ?
Hooked up to a caravan with a tow ball weight of 290 kg – the front axle now weighed 1410 kg and the rear axle 1650 kg.
So a 290 kg weight attached to the tow ball increases the weight on the rear axle by 148 %.
However the RAM has a limit of 1770 kg so that leaves only 120 kg left before you exceed the rear axle weight.
Now if it had 1950 kg limit like a Landcruiser – that would be awesome.
Now if your towing 4500 kg, and put 400 kg on the tow ball – that means you add 592 kg to the rear axle (148%) that means 1812 kg on the rear axle.
Which means you have exceeded the rear axle weight – with nothing in the back !!
So how can you tow 4500 kg with a RAM 1500 ?
Well we are currently watching a TV series called Heartland on Netflix – its all about horses – and I truly believe the show is sponsored by RAM and Ford because everybody has a truck. But interestingly all the horse floats (it’s a show about horses and cowboys after all ) are all what we call a 5th Wheel arrangement.
With a 5th Wheel trailer (or Caravan) the weight is entirely over or in front of the rear axle. So you don’t get the multiplication factor on the rear axle – and therefore it might still be under (depends on what weight it is…)
(RAM 2500 shown)
So if you want to tow a 4.5 tonne caravan (or a 3.5 tonne for that matter) with a RAM 1500 make sure you have a 5th Wheeler because otherwise you be overloaded if you put stuff in the tub – and after all what’s the point of having a massive tub if there’s nothing in it !
Other Pluses for a RAM
* You can at least put stuff in the tub in front of the rear axle – in other dual cabs like a ranger the rear axle is at the front of the tub
* The Wheelbase is bigger – giving you more stability
* The motor is powerful – really powerful
* There’s more headroom legroom – well there’s just a lot more room, because they are big.
Minuses
- RAM sold 245 vehicles in August out of an Australian total of 60986 vehicles – that’s just 0.4% market share.
- If you’re out in the sticks, and you break down, how many mechanics will have worked on a RAM ?
- They cost a lot.
- Fuel costs can be high whilst towing.
So the answer to the Question…..
Should I buy a RAM to tow my 3500 kg caravan?
Well my answer is – maybe – maybe not…..
If you overload the back tub then its not much different to any other dual cab being over the rear axle weight.
If it had a greater rear axle load then it would be a big YES. but I would like to weigh a few more to get a better picture.
If you are unsure about Axle Weights read our other blog at
