RAM 6.4 Ike Gauntlet

ShinerBock wrote:
That didn't go to well. Although I would not compare it to the GM's run. There is a big difference in wind resistance in what each were towing with the Ram's being the worst.

Ah, but let's be fair and mention the Chev truck was a more loaded crew cab, likely weighing in at several hundreds of pounds more.

Reading posts here about Ram vs everyone else is like watching the mainstream media and their fully biased news.

Where the heck is this Ike Gauntlet at?

The toughest climb I ever did (it's been a long long time ago so my memory about location might not serve me right) I think was somewhere west of Yellowstone heading toward Yellowstone. I was in a 24' Ford Alumalite class C motor home with a 460. I wasn't towing anything and there were four adults and one baby aboard. I was in 1st gear before I got to the top. Wish I could remember exactly where I was but like I said it's been a long time ago.

alexleblanc wrote:
they should really have the big three Gas 3/4T trucks do a head to head - it would be interesting to see how they match up now with the new 6.4 and also the new SD.

You mean like they did here. Pickuptrucks.com Work Truck Challenge

they should really have the big three Gas 3/4T trucks do a head to head - it would be interesting to see how they match up now with the new 6.4 and also the new SD.

RoyJ wrote:
All in the transmission. The 66RE needs to go, and the 8HP90 needs to go in.

The 5.7 1500 suffered greatly under the 545RFE/65RE, then the 8HP70 showed up and changed everything.

I have that trans in our SRT. It would be an incredible combination.
I'm hoping they come out with an even beefier version for the diesel someday.

I watched the video. Agreed the trailers being used have a lot to do with results. I thought the truck did just fine considering the weight of the trailer and having 2500lb in the bed on top of that.

This is v8 gas towing, high rpm up steep grades with very heavy loads. I'm sure the GM and Ford would do just as well. We really do have some great options to choose from these days. All 3 of the big 3 make good trucks and we all benefit from that.

All in the transmission. The 66RE needs to go, and the 8HP90 needs to go in.

The 5.7 1500 suffered greatly under the 545RFE/65RE, then the 8HP70 showed up and changed everything.

Newer gas trucks are very capable. No doubt. At the 200-400k miles I put on my trucks before I sell them diesels are the only reasonable option.

Bionic Man wrote:
I thought the whole idea of these tests was to try to make the repeatable? Why did they change the set up of towing weight and trailer style?

Either way, I would have expected better performance.

Definitely agree with this. Very disappointed they didn't use the same setup for the gas trucks which makes this an apples to oranges comparison. There is a massive difference in towing trailers with different amounts of aerodynamic drag.

Definitely surprised it didn't perform nearly as well as I expected though. Everyone I know towing with the 6.4L seems pretty happy with the results. They seem to perform very well in the real world. Still glad I went with the Cummins though!

I personally think all of the gas engines available are great engines. Never been a point in history where towing so much weight had so many good options.

I thought the whole idea of these tests was to try to make the repeatable? Why did they change the set up of towing weight and trailer style?

Either way, I would have expected better performance.