boocoodinkydow wrote:
stumbled across this thread in a quest to find some first hand knowledge of towing capabilities of the new ecodiesel. amazing that in 17 pages of posts there's not been an ed owner chime in so let me be the first. heaviest load i've towed is slightly better than 3000# around some east tenn mountain roads. not much of a test but it performed without a hitch. with 355 gears towing capacity is limited to about 7000# & with 392's it's rating is about 9000# with a payload of less than 1000# in the higher trim levels. not very competitive with ford or gm products in this category so if you're looking for primary tow vehicle, the ram 1500 is not going to be the best choice. my search for the ultimate vehicle, however, included ride comfort, cabin quietness & appointments of a luxury vehicle with the vesatility of a truck & capabilities for towing a moderate sized load & still get phenominal fuel mileage. this new ram 1500 ed has surpassed my wildest expextations in every category. where it really shines is fuel economy. first trip was 450 miles of interstate travel with cruise set at 75mph; netted 28.5 mpg. second tank was combined city/hwy with a results of 26.6 mpg. third tank 575 miles totally in the local area around pigeon forge & sevierville tenn (few level roads around here) & got 24.6 mpg. all of these were hand calculated, by the way, although the evic was never off by more than .5mpg. i'm anxious to hear about some real world tt duty. early on i read a review from a crew in the denver area claiming 19+mpg towing 7000#. don't know if i'd bite on that but i've talked to an owner who towed a 7400# cargo trailer for 400 miles at 65 mph & got 14+mpg. another i spoke with towed a 10000# boat for a short distance. towing & launching were without issue & said he never felt uncomfortable or overburdened. i know some of you brand loyal folks will take exception, but i seriously doubt there's a truck out there that will be able to compete in the area of fuel economy within similar load parameters.
Thanks for some real information on the new 1500 diesel. I'm getting ready to put my truck up for sale and then will order a new Outdoorsman or maybe the Limited. I drove one ant the guy talking about how slow they are going to be needs to take one out on a real test drive and see for himself just how quick this truck is.
But then what would he do with his time then right? Anyway keep us posted how the truck does, with those fuel numbers in a new truck, they should only go up. I'm most likely going to order it with the 3:92 gears.
Don
Here is an article comparing the 1500 and 2500 diesel rams
LINKWe saddled up the EcoDiesel first and loaded it up to 105 percent of its gross combined vehicle weight (GCVW) rating of 12,800 pounds. The Ram 1500 had no issues accelerating from a stop, getting up to speed, or slowing back down. Helping to reign in the load in tow is a factory-integrated trailer brake controller. While not overpowered, the truck never felt underpowered, either. The only place where the trucks showed any sign of weakness was climbing the nearly 7 percent final grade on the push to 5,000 feet of elevation. With the accelerator stapled to the floor, the truck’s speed dropped off to 53 mph, and engine temperature climbed to an almost alarming 244 degrees. Thankfully, as we crested the summit, the engine temperature returned to normal and we never experienced any other engine temperature issues during the remainder of the test. Overall, we were extremely impressed with the truck’s towing abilities. After a 260-mile round trip, the EcoDiesel averaged an astonishing 19.46 mpg, fully loaded.
It’s worth noting that while our test truck (equipped with a 3.55:1 gear ratio) was rated at 6,700 pounds, when the EcoDiesel Ram 1500 is optioned with 3.92:1 gears and the correct body configuration (standard cab two-wheel drive), the tow rating increases to 9,200 pounds. Order the lower gear ratio in the same trim as our tester—Crew Cab four-wheel-drive Laramie with Ram Boxes—and tow capacity jumps to 8,400 pounds. 
