we're just finishing a 8000 km trip with our ram 1500 hemi 8 sp towing 6500(loaded) lbs. no issues at all.
the ram has the standard 3.23 ratio, with the 8 speed, it just shifts down a gear earlier on a hill. performance in stop and go traffic is more than adequate. big plus with the 3.23 ratio is much better mileage and lower noise level when not towing. half of our annual mileage is towing.
fuel mileage was pretty good, 90-100 kph fuel consumption is around 22-24 l/100 km towing, 105 kph, not towing, 9.5-10 l/100km
performance on long hills is awesome, 4500-5000 rpm, it feels like a freight train
on one 2 km long 16% upgrade, we accelerated from 35kph to 80 at wide open throttle(passing a slow poke car), fuel consumption went to 99 l/100km!
coil springs vs leafs? didn't notice any difference. bunch of hocus pocus imho
factory brake controller operated flawlessly
we used the manual shift buttons a few times to limit the highest gear on some very narrow, twisty, steep(up and down) roads, it too works perfectly, no more fumbling with a column shifter. the prnd shift knob? some love it, some hate it, after a couple of uses, you wonder why we had shift levers at all on automatics, especially console levers
if it got written off in an accident, we would get another in a heart beat