Who tows with a '13 or newer Ram

I agree with using Electric over Hydraulic. On other settings the IBC is weak but with EOH I am also running a gain in the 5-5.5 range and get very good braking. I also think the steering is pretty good when you factor in that it's a heavy duty truck with a solid front axle.

One of the things that annoys me is that the exhaust brake stays engaged when I restart the truck as long as a trailer is plugged in but tow/haul mode defaults back to off. It would be nice if both defaulted to the previously set position when a trailer is plugged into the truck. Sometimes I forget to turn it back on.

Searching_Ut wrote:
Have a 2015 SRW Ram, AISIN tranny. For towing a 5er configured as my generally is at just under 15k it does good, really comfortable seats and ride that work for long towing days up to a thousand miles. Quite reasonable fuel economy for a 1-ton.

You're hearing all sorts of pluses, so I'll list a few of what I consider to be faults:

Brake controller doesn't give full braking at slower speed and may or may not give full braking to trailer in a panic stop even at high speed. If you have the center console installing a controller that works is difficult due to space constraints.

Auto rear air suspension and snowy/cold weather don't get along well. Most noticeable if you tow in the cold/snow where it's common to get a "Service Air Suspension" light when you start up after having been parked for a bit. The fixes they've come up with so far for the issue help but don't fix it.

AISIN transmission far more prone to hunting than the Chrysler variants. You end up having to manually select your gearing most of the time when towing.

As mentioned by others, steering is typical Ram somewhat vague feeling setup. Not bad really, but nowhere near as nice as the steering in comparable Chevy trucks for instance. These trucks are definitely freeway cruisers and not for running empty on winding mountain roads.

The factory integrated trailer brake controller works great with the electric over hydraulic disc brakes on our 19,000 lb GVWR Mobile Suites when set to Electric over Hydraulic, Heavy at a gain of 5.5.

Your "hunting" complaint regarding the Aisin transmission is probably more related to the 3.42 rear axle ratio in your SRW truck than the transmission itself. With the 4.10 axle ratio, I've yet to have to select gears manually to compensate for transmission hunting.

The steering isn't as good as my previous 2WD 2011 Ram 3500 dually which had independent front suspension with rack and pinion steering, but it's livable. I suspect it's a consequence of the recirculating ball steering box and solid front axle used on the Ram 4x4s. Of course, with the newer 4th generation chassis, 4x2 or 4x4 is irrelevant since the 4x2 trucks now use a solid front axle as well.

Rusty

Have a 2015 SRW Ram, AISIN tranny. For towing a 5er configured as my generally is at just under 15k it does good, really comfortable seats and ride that work for long towing days up to a thousand miles. Quite reasonable fuel economy for a 1-ton.

You're hearing all sorts of pluses, so I'll list a few of what I consider to be faults:

Brake controller doesn't give full braking at slower speed and may or may not give full braking to trailer in a panic stop even at high speed. If you have the center console installing a controller that works is difficult due to space constraints.

Auto rear air suspension and snowy/cold weather don't get along well. Most noticeable if you tow in the cold/snow where it's common to get a "Service Air Suspension" light when you start up after having been parked for a bit. The fixes they've come up with so far for the issue help but don't fix it.

AISIN transmission far more prone to hunting than the Chrysler variants. You end up having to manually select your gearing most of the time when towing.

As mentioned by others, steering is typical Ram somewhat vague feeling setup. Not bad really, but nowhere near as nice as the steering in comparable Chevy trucks for instance. These trucks are definitely freeway cruisers and not for running empty on winding mountain roads.

I really like my 3500 Ram, pulls great, gets great fuel mileage and is comfortable to drive.

We've got a 2016 3500 SRW crew cab. Got 20,000 miles on it. Recently returned from a 4000mile/5 week road trip out to Texas and back. Towing a 9,500 fiver. I know, it's overkill for that light weight fiver. Comfortable ride, gobs of starting and stopping power. When we first bought the truck had one of those DEF warning messages and engine light activation. But it reset itself and has not had a problem since, although I always am thinking about the darned DEF/SCR issues that some of these trucks seem to have.

rjxj wrote:

mileshuff wrote:

jeepman71 wrote:
2015 3500 CTD 4x4. towed about 9,000 miles with it. It replaced a 2007 2500 4x4 with the 6.7 CTD. Love it, best decision I have made.

What are the biggest differences you are seeing? I currently have a 2007 6.7L. Tows very well, plenty of power. My biggest complaint is the sloppy steering. Added a steering box brace which helped but still not good. Also upgraded linkage to the 2008+ version with little improvement. Wanders right/left on highway even when not towing. No play in wheel. If I could fix this one issue truck would be excellent!

How long has it been that way? Sometimes swapping tires around will cure it.

Since new. Many sets of tires over the years. I've been told that Dodge's steering has never been very good but am hoping newer trucks have corrected it. Most of it is bad flexing of the steering box which adding a brace did help some.

davisenvy wrote:
Sorry if this belongs in the towing section, but I'm only interested in how the newer Ram tows Fifthwheels. I'm interested in feedback of likes and dislikes. You don't have to list how much you're towing so we can keep the weight police out of this.

In one word, awesome.

Pulling a Montana 3790RD (15K pounds) with a 3500 Longhorn, SRW, Cummins, 68RFE tranny with rear air leveling, fifth wheel prep and cargo cam. If I had it to do over again the only change I would make is getting a long bed so I wouldn't have to use an auto-sliding hitch. I average between 9 and 12 MPG pulling depending on the headwind.

The leather seating RAM uses on the Longhorn and Limited trims is a step above, the most comfortable seating I have ever had. It is worth the price bump but you won't know that until you sit in them. After a full day of pulling, the RAM does not leave me fatigued.

mileshuff wrote:

jeepman71 wrote:
2015 3500 CTD 4x4. towed about 9,000 miles with it. It replaced a 2007 2500 4x4 with the 6.7 CTD. Love it, best decision I have made.

What are the biggest differences you are seeing? I currently have a 2007 6.7L. Tows very well, plenty of power. My biggest complaint is the sloppy steering. Added a steering box brace which helped but still not good. Also upgraded linkage to the 2008+ version with little improvement. Wanders right/left on highway even when not towing. No play in wheel. If I could fix this one issue truck would be excellent!

How long has it been that way? Sometimes swapping tires around will cure it.

jeepman71 wrote:
2015 3500 CTD 4x4. towed about 9,000 miles with it. It replaced a 2007 2500 4x4 with the 6.7 CTD. Love it, best decision I have made.

What are the biggest differences you are seeing? I currently have a 2007 6.7L. Tows very well, plenty of power. My biggest complaint is the sloppy steering. Added a steering box brace which helped but still not good. Also upgraded linkage to the 2008+ version with little improvement. Wanders right/left on highway even when not towing. No play in wheel. If I could fix this one issue truck would be excellent!

one_strange_texan wrote:
It has more power than our previous 2004 Ram 2500, even though it tows a heavier rig (I don't think this is a base Cummins engine problem but a control design upgrade, correct me if I am wrong).

Your 2004's 5.9L cummins had far less power than your new trucks 6.7L Cummins! No comparison. I have a ton of power in my 2007.5 6.7L Ram but am told the newer ones are much stronger.