Today I took my new Ram for its longest tow to date, a 350 mile trek through Ky and and the Smokey Mountains ending the day in NC. This was a good test with light to heavy rain all day, low visabilty and lots of elevation and long sweeping turns at grade. Overall the Ram performed amazingly.
The cargo was my 8000 lb travel trailer, my family of four and my 60 lb pit bull. The 6.4L hemi handled the workload with ease. On flats I was able to run 60-65 at around 2000 rpms in 5th gear. On slight grades 4th gear and 2500-3000 rpms did the trick easily. On severe grades 3rd gear at 3000-4200 rpms was the ticket. 99% of the time the truck stayed between 1900 and 2500 rpms. The low rpm torque is evident, especially coming from a Tundra that loved to rev.
The transmission is also great. In tow mode it holds gears perfectly up grade and downsifts to utilize engine braking on the way down. On severe grades I used the manual mode to hold gears up and down the slopes. I rarely had to use the brakes, only when slower vehicles left me pinned in a lane. And this was all the way through I40 and the Smokey Mountains to Ashville. Quite a workout for sure. The Ram handled it with ease.
Temperatures stayed consistent all through the trip. Coolant running 195-210, oil temp 195-215, trans temp stayed at 160-165.
I am extremely happy with my purchase. I love my truck.
A shot at the campground this evening.
The cargo was my 8000 lb travel trailer, my family of four and my 60 lb pit bull. The 6.4L hemi handled the workload with ease. On flats I was able to run 60-65 at around 2000 rpms in 5th gear. On slight grades 4th gear and 2500-3000 rpms did the trick easily. On severe grades 3rd gear at 3000-4200 rpms was the ticket. 99% of the time the truck stayed between 1900 and 2500 rpms. The low rpm torque is evident, especially coming from a Tundra that loved to rev.
The transmission is also great. In tow mode it holds gears perfectly up grade and downsifts to utilize engine braking on the way down. On severe grades I used the manual mode to hold gears up and down the slopes. I rarely had to use the brakes, only when slower vehicles left me pinned in a lane. And this was all the way through I40 and the Smokey Mountains to Ashville. Quite a workout for sure. The Ram handled it with ease.
Temperatures stayed consistent all through the trip. Coolant running 195-210, oil temp 195-215, trans temp stayed at 160-165.
I am extremely happy with my purchase. I love my truck.
A shot at the campground this evening.
parkersdad wrote:e-light wrote:mowin wrote:e-light wrote:Buck50HD wrote:e-light wrote:LimogesMan wrote:
This was a great read and that's what keeps me coming back to RV.net
Thanks everyone.
Thanks for reading...we all love talkin' trucks thats for sure ๐
Just did another test for the guy that asked how the fuel mileage would be while lightly loaded. Had to pickup a scoop (cubic yard) of mulch for the house today. Family of four in tote and 800-1000 lbs of mulch and you really couldn't tell it was in there. About a 7 mile highway ride home showed normal economy numbers on the EVIC, just like normal highway driving at 60 mph (prob around 19 mpg average in my HILLY area, hills limit the amount of time MDS can run). I turned on tow/haul...even though it probably didn't need it, just to see what it would do economy would do. Looks like it averaged about 16 mpg @ 60 mph with tow/haul engaged.
To the guy that asked, with a 700 lb load, you wouldn't need tow/haul in the flats. You would get a lot of MDS use at 60 mph and you would get good fuel economy. Prob 17-20 on highways and 14-16 city. Light foot as always!
The 6.4 is starting to sound like the prius of gas 3/4 tons around here. I'm skeptical and the forums seem to tell a different story. But, it doesn't seem to do any worse than the other gas options which is promising.
Its all in how you drive it. If you are zipping around town in city traffic with quick starts and stops you are going to see 9-10 mpg easy. If you pay attention to your right foot and take it easy and drive the posted limits you can get some good numbers for a truck like this.
Here is my EVIC after 100 miles of mixed driving including some ligbt hauling that I me tioned earlier.
Its a disease called "Hemi Foot". Its hard to overcome....
I am finding this out more and more ๐
My last tank of almost all city driving was 13.8 mpg. Still not bad for a big truck...man I love this truck though. No buyers remorse here, Id buy this truck again in a second! In fact I'd prob even get more options...starting to think I will never need a Cummins, actually I know Ill never NEED a Cummins, but my want is growing less and less.
Just don't drive a Cummins and you will be ok. I drove one and traded my gas 2500.
I drove a cummins many times, and I still bought a gasser. ROI is the main reason. It would take several yrs to break even.
