Just finished the first leg of our 5000 mile nearly coast-to-coast trip with our new '16 Ram 3500 Cummins. We took 6 days towing our 5th wheel (almost 13k loaded) from AZ to to the FL Keys (2400 miles).
We've made this trip several times before with our previous truck, a '12 5.7 Tundra. Although the Tundra has arguably one of the most refined drivetrains around, just have to say the Cummins made this trip way more enjoyable and effortless . . . even while towing almost twice as much weight (13k vs. 7k).
We towed with tow/haul on, exhaust brake in "auto", cruise on (off in heavy traffic), and the tranny in 5th. On the flats it had no problem towing in 6th. However, we typically drive a tad over 60 MPH which has the Cummins pulling around 1400-1500 RPM in 6th---a bit low for my tastes. Much prefer the feel of 1700-1800 in 5th. Noticed no drop in MPG's. It did downshift to 4th a few times while tackling some passes in AZ. After leaving AZ it downshifted to 4th one more time while going up one big ole bridge somewhere in LA.
And, yes, the exhaust brake (in "auto" mode) was AWESOME! It maintained 60 MPH perfectly down a number of 7 percent grades. Never had to touch the brake or accelerator. At times the Cummins was producing upwards of 130 HP of exhaust braking.
There were a number of situations where we had to get up to speed very quickly on some very short on-ramps---in where else, but good ole Texas---lol! Pleasantly surprised just how fast that Cummins would get 13k moving from 25-60 MPH. Didn't take long with 30-35 PSI of turbo boost.
Lastly, the MPG's for this leg of the trip was icing on the cake. We averaged 10.8 MPG (hand calculated; EVIC showed 11.5 MPG). The Tundra averaged 8.5 - 9 MPG pulling a trailer that weighed almost 6k less.
So far, so good!
