Thinking about getting a new tow vehicle. Anybody driving one of these? What kind of fuel mileage are you getting? Looking at a 2015 Dodge Ram 2500 SRW 6.7L Diesel with the 6spd Auto tranny, 3.42 rear end.

Get a 3500 instead. You will never regret the slight upgrade mow when you decide on something heavier in the future. Fuel economy? Dont worry about it. It is a work and play vehicle not a econobox. But expect 10 towing, maybe 18 highway unloaded.

I have a 2013 Ram Longhorn Laramie Limited Edition and love my truck. I live in the mountains so my mileage may be different than others. On the open highway, running empty, keeping it under 75 MPH 20-21 MPG. Over 75 18-19 MPG. Towing my Toyhauler fully loaded, around 10,000#, on a trip to Quartzsite, Yuma and back up to Northern California, 10.0-10.5. Running around mountains and city driving 17-18 MPG, it drops from there if you are enjoying all the power that it offers. :) There are two different transmissions, best to research the difference before buying. Again, I am very happy with my truck. The seating and cab is more comfortable than my living room, even for long periods of travel. If I was going to buy again, I would be looking for the "Asain" (sp?)Transmission, but only because of it's reputation, not because I dislike what I have.With almost 50,000 miles on it, the truck has not been flawless, I have had the Cruise Control Button replaced twice and I can foresee another in the future. All other issues have been very minor. JH

I just bought a short box version 4x4. Only have 1300 miles on it so no real good mpg but it looks to be 20 or better unloaded on the road and our one camping trip towing our 8500 lb camper it was in the 15 range. This is per the dash read out not hand calculated. It needs more miles to really get a feel. It's dang comfy and has plenty of power though! ( it does have the 3:42 rear end also )

I have a 2014 4x4 short box (live in the city and it is my daily driver too) with almost 14K miles. Heavy traffic it gets about 14.5 to 15.5, empty highway 20 if I keep it under 70, and loaded with the trailer 9.5 to 13. Speed makes a huge difference with the trailer, if I can stay on the smaller roads in the 62 to 65 range it will get 13, but bump it up to 75 and it goes to hell. The truck is comfortable, nothing has gone wrong, and we are happy with it. Only thing I would do different would be to buy a megacab next time for the inside storage space. If the infotainment system is important to you, Ram has the others beaten by a mile. Ford's is Microsoft that they are replacing next year because of complaints and warranty claims, GM's feels crude and designed by a six year old, and Ram's is very nice. I have done a lot of UI design in the past, and Ram nailed this one.

I have the truck in my sig and have been getting 14.5 around town and close to 19 on the hiway at 65mph. It's bigger and geared lower than your 2500 so you should do better.

2015 Dodge 2500 6.7L diesel 6spd Auto 8ft bed | Good Sam Community

rtate
Explorer
May 12, 2015
I have a 2014 srw short bed and was disappointed that I could only get, the 3.42 rear end. But after having it for a while I would not change a thing. When not towing, 3.42 is perfect., I get a a true calculated 22mpg at 70mph. When towing 14, 000 lbs I get 10 to 12 mpg. The worst I ever got towing was 9.5 mpg and that was bucking a 30 mph head wind.

Strong headwinds or hilly or mountain driving I lock out 6 gear.I think that gives me the equivalent of a 4.10 rear end. Driving in those conditions I still get around 10 mpg and can climb any grade.

If I had any choice of rear end, I wouldvgo with them3.42.
goducks10
Explorer
May 12, 2015
Bionic Man wrote:
goducks10 wrote:
With todays HP/TQ, tranny gearing and better cooling I don't think rear gears are as important as they used to be. Manufactures aren't going to gear a truck to tow a lot and have it break down. It's pretty evident when Ram made upgrades to the 6.7 and 68RF tranny in 2013 that the gearing doesn't matter. My 12 2500 with 3.73's has a max tow of 12,400 while a 2013 3.42 has a max tow of 17,300. Same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. I wouldn't sweat the gears personally.

2013 brought substantial changes to the RAM HDs. It is not just the same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. That is why the tow rating went up so much.

I was referring to 2500's. In 2013 it had the same frame as the 12. The 2500 got the new frame and suspension upgrades in 2014. The 3500 got the new frame in 2013. Same everything except rear springs. the 13 2500 also got the engine/tranny improvements that the 3500 got. That along with stiffer rear springs is what gave the 13 2500 a higher payload and tow rating.

The 2013 3500 got everything new from the ground up.
45Ricochet
Explorer
May 12, 2015
Bionic Man wrote:
goducks10 wrote:
With todays HP/TQ, tranny gearing and better cooling I don't think rear gears are as important as they used to be. Manufactures aren't going to gear a truck to tow a lot and have it break down. It's pretty evident when Ram made upgrades to the 6.7 and 68RF tranny in 2013 that the gearing doesn't matter. My 12 2500 with 3.73's has a max tow of 12,400 while a 2013 3.42 has a max tow of 17,300. Same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. I wouldn't sweat the gears personally.

2013 brought substantial changes to the RAM HDs. It is not just the same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. That is why the tow rating went up so much.

X2
To start off they weight ~ 800 lbs more right out of the box. Keep adding goodies they weight about 9K lbs unladen. Which is about 1200 lbs more than my truck weighted when new.
But again mine is a old 2006 with little emission equipment :W , no def tank and a smaller frame size along with a smaller front end suspension. Forgot to mention the weight of transmissions, guess mine is about 200 lbs lighter also. So yes Ram really changed the game back in 2013, more so in 2014, and 2015's added rear air suspension for the duallies.
They are all nice trucks bottom line, even my old 06 does everything I ask of her. Maybe not the fastest any longer, maybe not the most tech savvy but she gets the job done every time. Did I mention cost, yeah a new one costs about the same as some houses. Mine.... well it's been paid for since 2006.
Bottom line is everyone is satisfied in what they have, and some are never satisfied ever. Nothing wrong with that either. Their money not mine :B
cummins2014
Explorer
May 12, 2015
mountainsam wrote:
No choice with my Ram. 3:42 only. It pulls so good I wouldn't change a thing. Has plenty of power with for the 3:42 and gets a little bit better mileage I would think.

Same as you,except a Mega Cab. I tow just over 13K, and find that the 3:42 work well for me.
I personally wouldn't want any lower gears. IMO I would have to be towing a lot more weight , and a lot more often before I would want to go to 3:73 or 4:10.

I get 19-21 on the highway, around town ,which is very little I see around 15-16. My last trip towing a 13K fifth wheel I got right at 12 on one leg of the trip. I average 10.5 -11 . Pretty much the same as everyone else with these new Rams.
Bionic_Man
Explorer
May 12, 2015
goducks10 wrote:
With todays HP/TQ, tranny gearing and better cooling I don't think rear gears are as important as they used to be. Manufactures aren't going to gear a truck to tow a lot and have it break down. It's pretty evident when Ram made upgrades to the 6.7 and 68RF tranny in 2013 that the gearing doesn't matter. My 12 2500 with 3.73's has a max tow of 12,400 while a 2013 3.42 has a max tow of 17,300. Same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. I wouldn't sweat the gears personally.

2013 brought substantial changes to the RAM HDs. It is not just the same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. That is why the tow rating went up so much.
whitecloud
Explorer III
May 12, 2015
I recently purchased a 3500 Cummins SRW and the 8 foot bed. I am very pleased. We use the truck for trips and it gets 20 to 21 MPG. Towed for the first time this weekend and Interstate 26 was pretty clogged so more like stop and go. We got 12.6 MPG. I suspect the mileage would have been 14 to 16 if I could have held a constant speed.
NC_Hauler
Explorer
May 11, 2015
goducks10 wrote:
With todays HP/TQ, tranny gearing and better cooling I don't think rear gears are as important as they used to be. Manufactures aren't going to gear a truck to tow a lot and have it break down. It's pretty evident when Ram made upgrades to the 6.7 and 68RF tranny in 2013 that the gearing doesn't matter. My 12 2500 with 3.73's has a max tow of 12,400 while a 2013 3.42 has a max tow of 17,300. Same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. I wouldn't sweat the gears personally.

Gearing gives you higher GCWR, and helps you tow heavier in the mountains is, more or less, my take on it...With 4:10 and Aisin, my truck has a GCWR of 35,500#.. will never get there, but definitely have room to grow.:)
goducks10
Explorer
May 11, 2015
With todays HP/TQ, tranny gearing and better cooling I don't think rear gears are as important as they used to be. Manufactures aren't going to gear a truck to tow a lot and have it break down. It's pretty evident when Ram made upgrades to the 6.7 and 68RF tranny in 2013 that the gearing doesn't matter. My 12 2500 with 3.73's has a max tow of 12,400 while a 2013 3.42 has a max tow of 17,300. Same truck with different rear springs and upgraded cooling. I wouldn't sweat the gears personally.
mountainsam
Explorer
May 11, 2015
No choice with my Ram. 3:42 only. It pulls so good I wouldn't change a thing. Has plenty of power with for the 3:42 and gets a little bit better mileage I would think.
Water-Bug
Explorer
May 11, 2015
My 2012 RAM 2500 Cummins had choices.