RAM 1500 Ecodiesel, anybody seen one in the wild?

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:
I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah here is a post from a owner of a Eco-diesel not some arm chair know it all.

RangerGress wrote:
The trip was ~725miles. I paid attention to gauges and had the Android Torque app running on my phone on the way out. Half flat, half rolling hills. Ambient temp 90+deg, 7400lb 24' enclosed trailer, 64mph for most of the way, except I back off a bit when going up hills. Airlift airbags @35psi. Weight distro hitch set darn tight.

14.2mpg on EVIC. Previous testing indicates EVIC mpg is dead on. This is ~1mpg better than my "pre-EPA" 2000 Ford F-250 diesel got, and 1.5mpg better than my buddy's late model Ram Cummins.
EGT's were usually 1000-1100deg F when I was in serious boost.
Turbo was usually 10-14psi. I did not note it going higher than that, altho it was often lower.
Coolant, 222deg F which put it dead center of the analog gauge. Oil 242deg F, Tranny 179deg F.

I played around with Tow/Haul mode a bit on (fairly) flat stretches. With Tow/Haul off I seemed to be in 7th gear at 2000rpm. With Tow/Haul on I seemed to go to 6th gear at 2300rpm. Fuel mpg seemed to go slightly better when it went from 2000-2300rpm, but I would have to play around with that more before I believed it.

Link to the site

Don

Don, what do you think the difference is in fuel economy, trailering a a big old wind sail behind you, at, oh 55 MPH and 65 MPH? 10/55 = 18%. Take his 14.5 MPG and add 18 to 22%, because E = MV squared. Which puts my numbers of 15 to 17 MPG as being what to expect, at 55 MPH. Traveling speed makes all the difference in the world in your MPG when pulling an ultra light travel trailer. 12,000 miles towed in 2013 by me, with all fillups logged, says it's so, in a 3 liter turbo diesel motor. Fuel gets consumed over time, over the amount of work to be done. A lot of that work is wasted fuel consumed in wind resistance by the travel trailer pushing air out of the way.

Guess my real world experience trumps your theoretical arm chair expert.

The RAM is nice, but I'd prefer to see a 4.0 liter inline Cummins 4 banger in it instead with 550 ft lbs of torque, or a bit more.

jerem0621 wrote:
I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah,
Unless you are in a hurry to buy something in this class right away, it might be worth waiting a bit. It looks like this class is about to get crowded indeed. The new 5.0 V8 Cummins ( 325 approx HP, 500 ft-lb ) is supposed to hit the streets in one or two model years in the 1/2 ton class Tundra and Titan.
This could become a very interesting.

Looks like "my choice" will never happen here. I want the Navarra ( Frontier ) with the renault-based 3.0 V6 with my six speed manual from my current gas Frontier.

Sorry for the hijack....back to the regular scheduled Ram eco-D thread...

jerem0621 wrote:
I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah here is a post from a owner of a Eco-diesel not some arm chair know it all.

RangerGress wrote:
The trip was ~725miles. I paid attention to gauges and had the Android Torque app running on my phone on the way out. Half flat, half rolling hills. Ambient temp 90+deg, 7400lb 24' enclosed trailer, 64mph for most of the way, except I back off a bit when going up hills. Airlift airbags @35psi. Weight distro hitch set darn tight.

14.2mpg on EVIC. Previous testing indicates EVIC mpg is dead on. This is ~1mpg better than my "pre-EPA" 2000 Ford F-250 diesel got, and 1.5mpg better than my buddy's late model Ram Cummins.
EGT's were usually 1000-1100deg F when I was in serious boost.
Turbo was usually 10-14psi. I did not note it going higher than that, altho it was often lower.
Coolant, 222deg F which put it dead center of the analog gauge. Oil 242deg F, Tranny 179deg F.

I played around with Tow/Haul mode a bit on (fairly) flat stretches. With Tow/Haul off I seemed to be in 7th gear at 2000rpm. With Tow/Haul on I seemed to go to 6th gear at 2300rpm. Fuel mpg seemed to go slightly better when it went from 2000-2300rpm, but I would have to play around with that more before I believed it.

Link to the site

Don

NinerBikes wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:
I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

How fast do you tow? At 55 to 57 MPH with my 21 foot TT at 4000 lbs, I get 16 to 18 MPG in a VW 3 liter Diesel AWD TDI. Touareg weighs 5000 pounds.

I think the Dodge should see 15 to 17 MPG, it's not as aerodynamic with the truck bed and cD being higher. All bets are off, as you increase your towing speed, MPG drop like a plutonium hammer.

I'm very conservative towing. I pull at 55-60 MPH. 65 MPH if I am passing or something like that. Generally, I don't pass. Lol.

My V10 got 7 mpg doing that

jerem0621 wrote:
I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

How fast do you tow? At 55 to 57 MPH with my 21 foot TT at 4000 lbs, I get 16 to 18 MPG in a VW 3 liter Diesel AWD TDI. Touareg weighs 5000 pounds.

I think the Dodge should see 15 to 17 MPG, it's not as aerodynamic with the truck bed and cD being higher. All bets are off, as you increase your towing speed, MPG drop like a plutonium hammer.

I think you also need to check tow capacity, your trailer may be too heavy for the RAM truck. It's limit is 5500 to 6800, depending on configuration. I don't recommend trailering anywhere near the design limit specified. That's overworked, for a small 3 liter motor.

I had a 97 F150 with a 5.4 with 235 hp and 335 lb ft of tq. I pulled my TT that weighed 7000 lbs all over Tennessee. The truck handled well and accelerated fine, it wasn't winning any races but it wasn't slowing traffic down.

Now this Ram EcoDiesel has a little more HP (at lower RPM) and a what 90 more lb ft of torque? That with a better transmission and lower rear axle ratios will make a light duty towing beast that will get much better MPG.

I may have to look long and hard at buying one of these. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and tend to travel 500 plus miles on vacation.

Anyone have any idea what kind of MPG this thing will get towing a 7-8000 lb travel trailer?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
Ninerbikes that was sarcasm my friend. Directed at mister you have to have 1000 HP or you won't get up the hill.

Don

Don, clarification appreciated.

Ninerbikes that was sarcasm my friend. Directed at mister you have to have 1000 HP or you won't get up the hill.

Don

Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:

EmersonTT wrote:
We have towed our 21 foot TT (4500 lbs) with the 2014 JCG Eco-Diesel over Loveland, Vail and Wolf Creek Passes. I don't have any problem with lower speeds going up the inclines as long as there is plenty of power at lower speeds, which the Eco-Diesel has. In fact, instead of flooring it, I held the rpm's to 2000-2500, which kept both speed and oil temps lower (maxed out at 246). With our previous gasser, I felt I had to keep the peddle to the metal because I knew the car would keep slowing down as we climbed, and I always feared a stall. But with plenty of power at lower speeds (the Eco-Diesel hits its max 420 lbs torque at 2000 rpms),I have no need or interest in pulling a trailer up those inclines and switchbacks (for Wolf Creek Pass) at 50+ MPH.

Quoted for truth and accuracy. I see the same thing in my 2013 VW Touareg TDI Sport turbo diesel. I try to keep the rpms up steep stuff at 2200 to 2350, in the meat of the torque curve where it can make 406 ft lbs. Based on my scan gauge II, you make 10.5 HP per gallon of diesel fuel burned. I try to keep my vehicle burning a maximum of 4 to 5 gallons per hour when climbing. Look at my MPG instant rating on my Multi Function Dash Display, and look at the speed I am maintaining, and I am usually good to go. 9 MPG instant MPG reading and I'm doing 45 MPH up the grade, I'm burning diesel at a rate of 5 gallons a hour. Self imposed fuel burning limit I impose on that 3 liter motor. Sure, it will do more, I just don't want to push it harder, it's an $18000 motor, I want it to live a long life and not have to work too hard or run it into the ground unnecessarily...

OMG your a menace to society driving that slow up those grades, had you bought a real vehicle with real payload and real HP you could run 70 MPH up those grades! :W:W:W:W

Whatchatalkinabout, Willis? Speed limit with a trailer in California is 55 mph. Speed limit on my 14" tires on the tandem axles on my 21 foot travel trailer is 55 MPH. It's a non issue for me... deal with it, pass on the left. 55MPH is all you'll see me doing, tops.

Being retired = No job, no deadlines, no paycheck, no wife = no major responsibilities. I have all the time in the world now, I left the rat race behind. You might want to consider trying it, too. Much more relaxing to drive at 55 MPH, period.

My Touareg is a real vehicle, and really nicely appointed, too. Let's just say it's a Wolf, in Sheep's clothing... It's lineage is pure Porsche/Audi, not VW. And it drives like it. Especially in canyons and mountains out west, instead of the dead flat Mid West.

It's quite comfortable. 1050 miles in it, in two days of driving. No problem sitting behind the wheel that long in this vehicle, at all, for me. 425 to 450 miles of towing per fill up, when trailering, 800 plus when not trailering. 26.5 gallon tank, er 100 liters. As well as a couple of 36 to 37.5 MPG tanks on diesel when not trailering. Not bad at all for an AWD SUV that weighs 5000 pounds.

NinerBikes wrote:

EmersonTT wrote:
We have towed our 21 foot TT (4500 lbs) with the 2014 JCG Eco-Diesel over Loveland, Vail and Wolf Creek Passes. I don't have any problem with lower speeds going up the inclines as long as there is plenty of power at lower speeds, which the Eco-Diesel has. In fact, instead of flooring it, I held the rpm's to 2000-2500, which kept both speed and oil temps lower (maxed out at 246). With our previous gasser, I felt I had to keep the peddle to the metal because I knew the car would keep slowing down as we climbed, and I always feared a stall. But with plenty of power at lower speeds (the Eco-Diesel hits its max 420 lbs torque at 2000 rpms),I have no need or interest in pulling a trailer up those inclines and switchbacks (for Wolf Creek Pass) at 50+ MPH.

Quoted for truth and accuracy. I see the same thing in my 2013 VW Touareg TDI Sport turbo diesel. I try to keep the rpms up steep stuff at 2200 to 2350, in the meat of the torque curve where it can make 406 ft lbs. Based on my scan gauge II, you make 10.5 HP per gallon of diesel fuel burned. I try to keep my vehicle burning a maximum of 4 to 5 gallons per hour when climbing. Look at my MPG instant rating on my Multi Function Dash Display, and look at the speed I am maintaining, and I am usually good to go. 9 MPG instant MPG reading and I'm doing 45 MPH up the grade, I'm burning diesel at a rate of 5 gallons a hour. Self imposed fuel burning limit I impose on that 3 liter motor. Sure, it will do more, I just don't want to push it harder, it's an $18000 motor, I want it to live a long life and not have to work too hard or run it into the ground unnecessarily...

OMG your a menace to society driving that slow up those grades, had you bought a real vehicle with real payload and real HP you could run 70 MPH up those grades! :W:W:W:W