RAM EcoDiesel a Flop for Towing

larry barnhart wrote:
I never thought fast was always the better way but the drivers of today seem to want fast.

chevman

I was thinking the same thing. When I went to buy a diesel truck I bought the truck that had the best reputation for long jevity and their motor. I could care less how fast it is. To me that was a Cummins turbo diesel. I also laugh at guys that think towing 10 and 12,000 pound campers with a half ton truck is okay. It simply is not as the brakes and everything else on that truck are not made to handle that situation. I think the ecoboost started this craze and now the eco-diesel is following suit. Just because that motor which is mainly run by turbos can handle the weight doesn't mean the rest of the vehicle can

So how do the europeans work out with their trailers and rv's. I see in magazines and even here occasionally compact pickups pulling fifth wheels and small c class units that look like small pickups underneath. Do they not care how fast they get there and how much weight they pull or just different laws. Just asking as I have no idea.

I think it did fine. I drive this stretch of road a couple times a month and I can tell you that it is a tough stretch to climb. I will be interested to see how the new Titan climbs it with the Cummins, I am sure it will rip that trailer up the grade just as well as the Ecoboost and if that combination gets within a couple of mpg's of the Mitori diesel, Fiat is going to need to rethink things a bit.

:h

Wow. Some enthusiastic opinions here on this one.

Glad we got posters who really do know how to tow in mountainous terrain such as the video portrays.

jus2shy wrote:


Well then, I guess all the Semi-Trucks that were towing up that mountain that the Ecodiesel passed in that video were failures as well by that same logic. Again, the truck meets the SAE standards that were agreed to by all manufacturers. The truck has been marketed as a fuel miser for occasional towing and it delivers on that front.

I am not talking about a commercial trucks like Peterbilts. I also don't care about the SAE certification either. In my opinion, the 30 mph requirement is too low. Also, the SAE J2807 is not law and the manufacturers do not have to abide by them. They just use them as a standard of a maximum rating a truck can be rated for.

However, a manufacturer can still rate it lower then that maximum. Case in point is that Ford 2.7L Ecoboost. It will out perform that Ecodiesel in every way yet Ford gave it a lower tow rating then what Ram gave the Ecodiesel. Why? Maybe because Ford does not consider not being able to at least do the speed limit towing. Maybe their standards for towing is a bit higher. What ever the case maybe, it still stands that the F150 2.7L Ecoboost that Ford gave a lower tow rating to will easily hold the rated speed limit while the 1500 3.0L Ecodiesel that Ram gave a higher tow rating to is barely able to hold 10 mpg of the speed limit. If the F150 2.7L can hold the speed limit then why can't the Ram Ecodiesel?

Regardless of some SAE standard or not, it is still unacceptable to me and is a failure in my opinion. If my 2014 Ram 2500 CTD was only able to do 30 mph going up that hill towing 80% of it's rated weight, I would be sending it back to Ram asking them WTF. Unlike some, I don't make excuses for a brand like fanboys do. I also do not change or lower my expectations just so that a favorite brand fits that criteria. I have my reasonable expectations and if a truck manufacturer can't meet them then I will find one that will. In this case, the F150 2.7L met my expectations by being able to tow the rating it was given while maintaining the speed limit. The Ram Ecodiesel on the other hand.... didn't.

ShinerBock wrote:
It may not have failed in your opinion but it did in mine. I call a truck that is barely able to hold within 10 mph of the speed limit when towing only 80% of your rated weight a failure especially when another truck and engines that is towing 95% of its rated weight is able to do so with power to spare. Like I said, that is unacceptable to me in this day and age. Towing at 40 mph WOT may have been acceptable to people 20 years ago, but not today where the bar has been raised. Either that tow rating needs to be lowered to a rating that the Ecodiesel can better handle or Ram has some explaining to do.

Well then, I guess all the Semi-Trucks that were towing up that mountain that the Ecodiesel passed in that video were failures as well by that same logic. Again, the truck meets the SAE standards that were agreed to by all manufacturers. The truck has been marketed as a fuel miser for occasional towing and it delivers on that front. It was never marketed as being a bad ass tow monster, however it seems like some people were hyping it as such because of the fact that it was a diesel. Spend some time on RAM's interactive tow guide and you will find that specific truck was probably right next to being maxed out. Just for argument's sake, I picked a crew-cab RAM Big Horn with the 6'4" bed in 4x2 configuration. GCVWR is 13,750 lbs. Curb weight according to RAM is 5,400 lbs. Those 2 guys are probably 250 lbs a piece, so about 500 lbs of payload gone there. So now you're at 5,900 lbs in the truck. That leaves only 7,450 lbs left for the hitch and towing. I would say they are as close to the limit as you can be. However, this specific truck is rated to tow up to 7,950 lbs, if the driver was the lone passenger and weighed 150 lbs (again, which is the standard that all OEMs use to rate tow vehicles).

ShinerBock wrote:

mtofell1 wrote:
I just don't think it's fair to call something a "flop" that hasn't failed to do what it didn't promise to do.

It may not have failed in your opinion but it did in mine. I call a truck that is barely able to hold within 10 mph of the speed limit when towing only 80% of your rated weight a failure especially when another truck and engines that is towing 95% of its rated weight is able to do so with power to spare. Like I said, that is unacceptable to me in this day and age. Towing at 40 mph WOT may have been acceptable to people 20 years ago, but not today where the bar has been raised. Either that tow rating needs to be lowered to a rating that the Ecodiesel can better handle or Ram has some explaining to do.

This is not the only instance of this either. In both the Fourwheeler.com and the Pickuptrucks.com tow tests with the Ecodiesel found them backing off speed well below the speed limit at wide open throttle at a less elevation and less grade hill. Also, like another poster said as well, imagine that thing with an RV on it which is what this site is all about. That thing would be going 30 mph up that hill. I don't know about you, but I don't expect my truck to go 30 mph when towing what it is rated to tow.

Sounds like the SAE towing standard isn't going to satisfy all future buyers like it was suppose to. Thirty mph is the minimum required speed while towing the Davis dam as part of the various requirements to meet this new towing standard.

mtofell1 wrote:
I just don't think it's fair to call something a "flop" that hasn't failed to do what it didn't promise to do.

It may not have failed in your opinion but it did in mine. I call a truck that is barely able to hold within 10 mph of the speed limit when towing only 80% of your rated weight a failure especially when another truck and engines that is towing 95% of its rated weight is able to do so with power to spare. Like I said, that is unacceptable to me in this day and age. Towing at 40 mph WOT may have been acceptable to people 20 years ago, but not today where the bar has been raised. Either that tow rating needs to be lowered to a rating that the Ecodiesel can better handle or Ram has some explaining to do.

This is not the only instance of this either. In both the Fourwheeler.com and the Pickuptrucks.com tow tests with the Ecodiesel found them backing off speed well below the speed limit at wide open throttle at a less elevation and less grade hill. Also, like another poster said as well, imagine that thing with an RV on it which is what this site is all about. That thing would be going 30 mph up that hill. I don't know about you, but I don't expect my truck to go 30 mph when towing what it is rated to tow.

ShinerBock wrote:
I kind of agree with the OP. I know a lot of people that were expecting this diesel to be like the bigger towing diesels in the HDs

People can expect all they want. It's not how it was marketed or intended. I'll agree that I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't more of the HD truck everyone on these message boards has been talking about. I personally thought something like an F150 HD (or whatever brand) with this engine would have taken off and sold well.

I guess that's why I'm just a guy on my couch and Ram is a big truck company. I just don't think it's fair to call something a "flop" that hasn't failed to do what it didn't promise to do.

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

8iron wrote:
This test was done with a relatively low drag car hauler. What will happen when you pull a TT acting like a parachute?

Beat me to it.

If you nail up 4 sheets of plywood in front of that Bronco and then tow with that oil burner you will be introduced to Mr. 30's MPH real quickly. :B

But it's SAE certified... So what's the problem! :W