I towed with diesels in the past and now with a 5.7 Hemi. Since I downsized to a 30 ft 8500 lb loaded weight 5 wh, I couldn't justify the up front cost and added operational cost of a diesel. So far, we pulled our trailer from Pa to Ca to TX, Fl and back to Pa. We wintered in Tex for the past three years with our present truck, a gasser. We are very satisfied with the performance, including pulling the grades in the western states and the 11 mpg when flat ground towing doing 60. It will be interesting to see if the engine last 150,000 miles. If it does without issues we will definitely stay with a Hemi. Has anyone towing with a similar rig been satisfied with their choice?

our son's work truck is a state vehicle. the last one was a dodge hemi. at about 125K miles he got a new ford, the old dodge went to rangers at parks.he did lots of towing with it, towing a 10,000 lb v nose filled with motorcycles quads and side by sides around the state. His co worker with the same truck is getting a replacement. I believe his co workers has around 150K miles on it. he also tows the same trailer around the state as well.Neither has had any engine, transmission or drivetrain problems. Few other problems with some other functions, but nothing major.

I think the hemi is a great motor. I do know of a chp charger that had valve train failure and went to auction at 95k miles. In its defense it needed rear tires and brakes every 5k miles from rapid acceleration runs. It is a nice alternative for towing lite but for my 13.5k fiver the cummins is king of Mopar. I think I have sidestepped the which brand is best argument. LOL.

I don't see any reason you can't get 200,000+ out of it or even more.

My '05 5.7L Hemi powered 2500HD had 125k miles on it when I traded it for my F250. Other than the AAM rear end, ball joints and a/c evaporator, it was a good truck. The 5.7L Hemi ran like a new engine. No oil consumption, Hemi tick or any problems. We towed our 10,400 lb weighed high profile 5th wheel all over the southeast with it. The 545RFE faux 5spd trans had the worst ratios and no way to lock out O/D but it never gave any trouble.

My aunt has a 2500 seri s dodge with the 5.7 pulling a heavier fifth wheel. Yes over 150k at this point and no issues. Any gasser if taken care of will pull its expected wieght and last a long time. I have spoken with many GM 6.0 owners that have over 200K pulling campers that are full timers. Again no issues, and they last. Now there are other things that go wrong on the truck of course.... But that's another story. Seems like drive trains these days will outlast the truck...lol

hemi longevity | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

camp-n-family
Explorer
Jul 16, 2017
Road Phantom wrote:
Struggled? You must have gotten a Monday lemon. We pulled our 8500 5th wh with a 2014 5.7 Hemi all over the western states with no issues at all and with power to spare. So far, the estimated tow miles is around 15-20,000. The truck has over 60,000 miles on it. Great truck. Hope it last until 150,000. I would be satisfied with that. A diesel for this kind of weight would be a bit of an overkill.

Like I said, the Hemi was good for the weight and had plenty of power. The transmission is the weak point. Maybe it was a lemon as I had a lot of problems with it but the gears are poorly spaced to make use of the power. Ive read others with the same complaint.

I've got no problem winding the engine out to redline if necessary but when it can't accelerate up a hill beyond 1st gear it's a problem. If you hit a hill at speed it would be ok, but starting below 3rd gear it couldn't accelerate.

The 3.73 gears matched with it didn't help either.
mileshuff
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
Towed for many years with my 2004 5.7L durango. Trailer was only 6000lbs loaded but lots of steep mountain towing. Stopped towing with it at 95000 miles. Now have 165000 and going strong.
Camper_G
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
I believe any gas engine from the big 3, if maintained properly will go 250k+ without much effort. I wouldn't worry about it. Just take care of it and it'll take care of you
TurnThePage
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
I specifically chose my 2015 Ram because the hemi is a tried and true powerhouse backed by a very reputable 8 speed transmission. Not the newest tech, but it was and is well regarded for longevity.
kzspree320
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
I had a 05 with a 5.7 hemi and got 100K trouble free miles before trading. I researched before buying my 2016 Ram 2500 with 6.4 hemi. There are a lot of high mile hemis. I would expect to get 150K miles with your 5.7 hemi towing your rig. I saw a video with a Ram engineer that said the new 6.4 hemi was designed for 250,000. Some people think a gas engine is struggling when they get over 3,000 - 3,500 rpms on a grade. Not so. They are running in the power band and are designed to do that for long periods.
Road_Phantom
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
Struggled? You must have gotten a Monday lemon. We pulled our 8500 5th wh with a 2014 5.7 Hemi all over the western states with no issues at all and with power to spare. So far, the estimated tow miles is around 15-20,000. The truck has over 60,000 miles on it. Great truck. Hope it last until 150,000. I would be satisfied with that. A diesel for this kind of weight would be a bit of an overkill.
camp-n-family
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
Just got rid of my '14 2500 5.7. Traded for a diesel. The Hemi engine was good, plenty of power but it struggled pulling my 7600lbs tt. The problem was in the tranny and gearing.

Went through 4 transmission rebuilds in 1 year, all for different reasons.
kw_00
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
My aunt has a 2500 seri s dodge with the 5.7 pulling a heavier fifth wheel. Yes over 150k at this point and no issues. Any gasser if taken care of will pull its expected wieght and last a long time. I have spoken with many GM 6.0 owners that have over 200K pulling campers that are full timers. Again no issues, and they last. Now there are other things that go wrong on the truck of course.... But that's another story. Seems like drive trains these days will outlast the truck...lol
Hannibal
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
My '05 5.7L Hemi powered 2500HD had 125k miles on it when I traded it for my F250. Other than the AAM rear end, ball joints and a/c evaporator, it was a good truck. The 5.7L Hemi ran like a new engine. No oil consumption, Hemi tick or any problems. We towed our 10,400 lb weighed high profile 5th wheel all over the southeast with it. The 545RFE faux 5spd trans had the worst ratios and no way to lock out O/D but it never gave any trouble.
Rubiranch
Explorer
Jul 15, 2017
I don't see any reason you can't get 200,000+ out of it or even more.

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hemi longevity

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