Mountain towing - Ram 1500 ecodiesel (3.92 Rear Axle Ratio)

ScottG wrote:
Do the new ED's have an exhaust brake yet? If not then coming down hills would be my biggest concern. Keep speed down with quick on-off jabs to the brakes so they don't heat up.
Otherwise, have a great trip!

My thought exactly. If it has an exhaust brake, you should shift down to a gear that will help hold you back, and do brief, firm braking as needed. Riding the brake all the way down is a newbie mistake that can cause the brakes to fade and fail, and maybe end in disaster.

Eager to hear how the truck does. Despite what all the EcoDiesel/RAM haters on here post, it seems to be a very capable engine.

And, by the way, the real mountains are the Rockies. Not the hills in Smokies, or the hills in the PNW.....

Yes these trucks do not have an exhaust brake. But it is not really needed, more of a luxury. What you do get is tow/haul a computer controlled grade shifting which works well. This goes all the way back to the first torque shift ford trans and has been tried and true. It will down shift and raise RPM's to maintain speed descending hills. Of course steeper the grade the more braking you will need to use to offset it.

I've towed the camper through the mountains out west and through the hills of KY & TN. And never once had an issue.

Like others mention, my query is mainly aimed at tips while going downhill since that is where things can go awry.

STANG23L wrote:
Set tow haul and try to keep RPM's at or around 2000. It will pull hills with ease with minimal gear changes and give best MPG.

That is what I was also thinking. I have noticed in the short amount of time for which I have owned this truck (bought in December 2017) that is does a good job of down shifting when going down a slope (in or out of tow/haul mode). I live in the Charlotte NC area and so far my camper trips have been to the beaches on the east, this will be my first trip to the moun...err...hills :-).

Short jabs at braking for meaningful slowdown is also good advise, thanks!

I do have a WDH with sway control, so that should also help.

Plz keep the comments coming. It is good for me to hear about experiences others have had on such trips.

Sanjeev wrote:
Like others mention, my query is mainly aimed at tips while going downhill since that is where things can go awry.

STANG23L wrote:
Set tow haul and try to keep RPM's at or around 2000. It will pull hills with ease with minimal gear changes and give best MPG.

That is what I was also thinking. I have noticed in the short amount of time for which I have owned this truck (bought in December 2017) that is does a good job of down shifting when going down a slope (in or out of tow/haul mode). I live in the Charlotte NC area and so far my camper trips have been to the beaches on the east, this will be my first trip to the moun...err...hills :-).

Short jabs at braking for meaningful slowdown is also good advise, thanks!

I do have a WDH with sway control, so that should also help.

Plz keep the comments coming. It is good for me to hear about experiences others have had on such trips.

Ignore those who think all you have in NC are little hills and not mountains, you have to get a kick out of the my mountains are bigger than yours comments, funny stuff those posts. Those are the people that end up in situations like in this picture, which is in NC by the way, Fancy Gap on 77. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security on our little hills here in the East. I've seen more than my share of RV's going down our little hills while smoking their brakes off. I could take some of those people with the real mountains on some roads here in PA or in WV while their pulling their rigs, and they would probably be checking their pants afterwards.

Yup. A steep grade is a steep grade regardless of the LAT/LONG. Let the transmission tow/haul mode do its thing. I found the slower I crest the pass the easier time I have on the downhill side. That way you are not starting out on the wrong side of the potential energy curve.

I have seen more than a few western state plates with smoking brakes coming down our hills .

mordecai81 wrote:
... I found the slower I crest the pass the easier time I have on the downhill side. That way you are not starting out on the wrong side of the potential energy curve.

Very sound advise, thanks!

fireman41 wrote:
I have seen more than a few western state plates with smoking brakes coming down our hills .

Are you in the western PA or ever had the pleasure of traveling state rt 31 from the crest of Laurel Ridge down into Jones Mills? (5 miles of 6-7% with a couple in places in excess of 13% for good measure, or Rt 40 from Chestnut ridge into Hopwood PA?

Rt 31 gets lots of weekend travel trailer traffic descending that grade to get to the PA turnpike interchange at Donegal coming from the State and Private Parks on the other side of Laurel Ridge. All it is on a Sunday late morning / early afternoon is people smoking off their brakes and stinking up the woods.

Not long ago I was descending that grade in 2rd gear doing about 35mph and a guy pulled out and passed going down with a 30+' TT in tow being pulled by an F150, and disappeared out of sight in quick order. When I caught back up to him in Donegal a few miles down the road, the TT brakes were still smoking and not a little either. It looked like fog had set in. He had Colorado tags FWTW.

Ralph Cramden wrote:
...When I caught back up to him in Donegal a few miles down the road, the TT brakes were still smoking and not a little either. It looked like fog had set in. He had Colorado tags FWTW.

There are clueless people out driving and towing all over this country. Just because they had CO plates is absolutely no indication they know or should know how to drive mountainous terrain. There are people moving here from out of state constantly which makes it even worse.

I see it almost every time I drive from the mountains down into the Denver area, people riding their brakes the entire time. You'd also think that tractor trailer drivers would know how to drive and avoid smoking their brakes too especially when there are a handful of traffic signs warning them about the extended, steep grades they are coming up on.



OP, gear down when descending and as mentioned, stab the brakes if you need to use the brakes. There isn't a whole lot more to it.