6.4 ram gasser? General gas towing questions

ib516 wrote:
I had two Cummins powered trucks - an 02 and an 07, both modified for more power, then bought a 6.4L Hemi powered 2500 4x4. I towed a 12k 5th wheel that was 37' long and had 3 slides. Our usual trips were to the Canadian Rockies. The Hemi truck had 4.10 axles and the 66RFE auto trans. ***Link Removed***

The truck performed excellent, and had plenty of power. It towed a combined weight (Truck, cargo, passengers, and RV) of 21,000# without a problem. It got 7-9 mpg with that load, usually about 8. Empty, I got better mog than most as the highways here are all flat and have no stop and go, and the speed limit is 62 mph (100 Km/h). I got 16-20 mpg running empty. City stop and go was in the low teens.

On the critical side, the transmission gear spacing was the same Hemi and Cummins, and the gap between 1st and 2nd is too big for the Hemi, as there was a flat spot in the acceleration when it shifted to 2nd. The 4.10 gears helped with this - it seemed those with trucks with 3.73s complained more. The tow rating increases 3000# when you go from 3.73 to 4.10 FYI.

On the Ram truck's transmissions - them being "weak" is about a decade ago. That reputation wasn't helped by the fact that you could add 100 - 150 hp and 200 - 400tq to a Cummins for between $0 and $300 back in the day, but to beef up a trans to handle the extra power is $3000 to $5000 so guess which one people neglected?

Additionally, the 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 now use the ZF 8 speed auto with the 6.4L Hemi. That'd be a sweet combo!