Ram owners; Ram 1500/2500 ownership question
I've been doing a bit of research about my next truck. We are looking at an older Airstream to restore for retirement travel; weighs about 7,000 loaded. The trailer will be paid for cash, so we have a...
Forum Discussion
I had a 2009 5.7 1500 RAM Crew cab with the 545RFE trans and 3.90 gears short bed. I towed a 8,000-8,500 lb Keystone with it and it did well but I was always sort of in a state of being maxed out. I now have a 2015 RAM 2500 Mega cab 4X4 with the 6.4 and 66RFE trans, 4.10 gears. It tows like a beast. This truck is a Big Horn with every option except the bed liner and of course the diesel. The price was $45K before tax and tags.
Comparisons---
The 2500 tows circles around the 1500, much more power and stability.
The 1500 had a slightly better ride on the street but I attribute a lot of that to the 2500's straight front axle.
The much shorter wheelbase 1500 was much easier to park and do U turns with.
Towing MPG on both trucks is about the same, 9 MPG or so but I tend to tow much faster with the 2500. I think a side by side comparison going down the road at the same speed the 2500 would get better mileage.
Empty mileage on the 2500 is worse than the 1500. On long freeway trips my 1500 would get between 21-23 MPG with a best of 24.2. The 2500 gets about 18 mpg with 19.8 being my best trip. I check my mileage via calculator not the evic. I only have 10K miles on the 2500 so I expect mileage to get better.
City mileage on my evic for the 1500 was about 12-13. The 2500 gets between 11 and 12.
If you go 2500 you can get the auto level air suspension on the rear which is slick, but if you ever decide on a bigger 5th wheel with a dry hitch weight of over 2,000 lbs you may not want the auto level as it could get over taxed quickly.
The diesel models cost about 10K more and are not rated to tow most 5th wheel trailers. You see a lot of 2500 Diesel models out there towing big (2,000 lb plus dry hitch weight) 5th wheels but just know they are over the cargo rating with them. The 6.4 has about a 1,000 more cargo rate capacity than the CDT. Of course as we all know the only difference between a 2500 and 3500 is the rear spring rating. They have the same axles, wheels, tires, bearing etc. The 3500 uses leaf springs and the 2500 uses coils.
Towing/driving 10-15K miles a year the big Hemi would be a smart choice for a 10K or less weight trailer. It takes a long time to re-coop the extra cost of a diesel and the maintenance cost is much less. The diesel models do have a better trade in value and they do get better mileage though.
Comparisons---
The 2500 tows circles around the 1500, much more power and stability.
The 1500 had a slightly better ride on the street but I attribute a lot of that to the 2500's straight front axle.
The much shorter wheelbase 1500 was much easier to park and do U turns with.
Towing MPG on both trucks is about the same, 9 MPG or so but I tend to tow much faster with the 2500. I think a side by side comparison going down the road at the same speed the 2500 would get better mileage.
Empty mileage on the 2500 is worse than the 1500. On long freeway trips my 1500 would get between 21-23 MPG with a best of 24.2. The 2500 gets about 18 mpg with 19.8 being my best trip. I check my mileage via calculator not the evic. I only have 10K miles on the 2500 so I expect mileage to get better.
City mileage on my evic for the 1500 was about 12-13. The 2500 gets between 11 and 12.
If you go 2500 you can get the auto level air suspension on the rear which is slick, but if you ever decide on a bigger 5th wheel with a dry hitch weight of over 2,000 lbs you may not want the auto level as it could get over taxed quickly.
The diesel models cost about 10K more and are not rated to tow most 5th wheel trailers. You see a lot of 2500 Diesel models out there towing big (2,000 lb plus dry hitch weight) 5th wheels but just know they are over the cargo rating with them. The 6.4 has about a 1,000 more cargo rate capacity than the CDT. Of course as we all know the only difference between a 2500 and 3500 is the rear spring rating. They have the same axles, wheels, tires, bearing etc. The 3500 uses leaf springs and the 2500 uses coils.
Towing/driving 10-15K miles a year the big Hemi would be a smart choice for a 10K or less weight trailer. It takes a long time to re-coop the extra cost of a diesel and the maintenance cost is much less. The diesel models do have a better trade in value and they do get better mileage though.
