2015 Ram 1500 towing?

[phishheadmi]

Hello all,

Well, here I am again, at the end of a truck lease cycle. I've been leasing trucks every 2 or 3 years for the last 20+ years...it works for me.

My current truck is a 2013 Ram 1500 Bighorn (the first generation 2013...before the 8 speed trans). Before that, I had a 2010 Toyota Tundra...LOVED the tundra, but at $100/month more than the Ram, I didn't love it that much. Before the Tundra were a couple other Ram leases (in Detroit area, they lease out really well). I feel like the Toyota towed much better than the Ram (towing a 26' TT loaded up to around 8,000 LBS).

My question is about the new Ram truck...I've found a pretty good deal, but even the dealer is telling me they reduced the towing a payload a bit when they switched over to the new style and 8 speed trans in 2013.

Who's towing with a late model 2013 to 2016 Ram truck? What are you towing? How do you find it compares to other trucks you've owned/used? Any other suggestions? I have a buddy who swears by his Ford eco boost V6...says it tows better than his old F150 V8...he's towing more than I am, but I don't think he's as aware of how/what he's towing.

Anyone have a new model Ram and had the older model and can compare the two? I'd love to jump up to a 2500, but they don't have any lease deals on those at all so they wind up being double the lease rate!

[RoyJ]

Heck, found my old post, here're the numbers:

Originally Posted by RoyJ View Post
With the 8 speed, the ratios are so tight if you were to drop a gear in the 3.21 truck, you're almost bang on with the 3.92 truck in a higher gear. Let's take 60 mph as an example:

3.21: 3rd (4118rpm) 4th (3275) 5th (2530) 6th (1961) 7th (1647) 8th (1314)

3.92: 3rd (5029rpm) 4th (3999) 5th (3089) 6th (2395) 7th (2012) 8th (1604)

With a big trailer 8th is out of the question for either truck.

If the 3.92 truck can pull it in 7th, by dropping to 6th, the 3.21 truck is at nearly the same rpm (2012 vs 1961).

If the 3.92 need 6th, the 3.21 can use 5th (2395 vs 2530). If the 3.92 need 5th, the 3.21 can use 4th (3089 vs 3275). And so forth.

[RoyJ]

Levidada wrote:
I guess I could have been more clear. I do have multiple issues and I am trying to attack all of them on all fronts. The handling I am hoping is due to the tires, which we will see this weekend, and I am going to play around with the 4 point to see if I need to make some adjustments.

As for the gears, this was mainly to help me out with the inclines. California topography is very diverse. you cannot go 100 miles without hitting some major grades. This was an issue I noticed as many large toyhaulers were smoking me on the grades. And reading throught this forum, everyone seems real happy with their Ram 1500's using the 3.92 gears, while I am way down at 3.21. Not that I want to just piss away money, I just want to get my truck in as prime of towing condition as possible, so I can deal with it for another 3 years or so until i can upgrade.

So you're only having problems with highway speed grades? If so, a gear swap will NOT help. Here's why:

A while back I did the calculations on Ramforumz, and because the 8 spd ZF's ratios are so tight, the difference in RPM between a 3.21 truck and 3.92 truck is exactly 1 gear apart!

Meaning, if you're at 4500 rpm in 5th gear, you'll be at almost exactly 4500 in 6th gear on a 3.92 truck. If you get 3.92 gears, you'll be at the exact same RPM (and therefore pulling power), but only 1 gear higher. Or backwards, if you dropped 1 gear lower, you'll be the same as a 3.92 truck.

The only time a 3.92 truck has an advantage is starting off on an extremely steep hill, we're talking 10,000 lbs trailer on 20+%.

If you're interested in the exact numbers I'll try to find my old post.

[JohnnyE_]

Levidada wrote:

Would you suggest a 3.92 upgrade from 3.21 with. $1000 price tag?

I've never experienced the difference between a 3.21 and 3.92 but I did enough research that it drove me to actually look for the 3.92 on the spec sheet before I purchased the 1500. Yes, I would most definitely upgrade to 3.92.

[Levidada]

JohnnyE! wrote:
I pull my 28BHR with a 2013 Ram 1500 Big Horn Crew-cab 4x4, 5.7L, 3.92, 8 speed, Fastway e2 hitch, Air Lift 1000s. Pulled it all over Colorado and to California and back during the winter. I'm probably a couple hundred over the max payload but accept it. Tows well and the 8 speed with two/haul enabled keeps me relaxed on the up and down hills.

All that being said...I'm saving my money for a Ram 2500 with a Cummins diesel engine.

Would you suggest a 3.92 upgrade from 3.21 with. $1000 price tag?

[JohnnyE_]

I pull my 28BHR with a 2013 Ram 1500 Big Horn Crew-cab 4x4, 5.7L, 3.92, 8 speed, Fastway e2 hitch, Air Lift 1000s. Pulled it all over Colorado and to California and back during the winter. I'm probably a couple hundred over the max payload but accept it. Tows well and the 8 speed with two/haul enabled keeps me relaxed on the up and down hills.

All that being said...I'm saving my money for a Ram 2500 with a Cummins diesel engine.

[alexleblanc]

tragusa3 wrote:
It's probably my skewed perspective because I own one ;), but the EB seems to be widely accepted as the current engine of choice for towing in a half ton.

having towed 20000 km's with my 2011 F150 Max Tow EB (7000lb TT) I concure, heck it towed a lot better than my fathers 2010 Tundra as well. Power wise, it didn't feel far off from my 6.7 Diesel. My one and only real issue with the Ram 1500 is the real world payload numbers, they are a fair bit lower than Ford/GM. Great riding and performing truck otherwise.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

I would do the gear swap not only will it help you with the grades it will also help the truck last longer. If it were me I would find someone other then the dealer to do the swap. Find a shop that does this a lot. Not that the dealer can't do the work but my bet is they do very few gear swaps or replacements.

Don

[Levidada]

ttavasc wrote:

Levidada wrote:
So I just took my 1500 in for service and had them tell me my gear ratio. Seems I am only running 3.21. I assume this is the reason for my towing struggles. $1100 to upgrade to 3.90. They say tell make a world of difference. What do y'all think? Is the outcome worth the price tag?

I think I'd put the gear swap at the bottom of the list unless you tow the majority of the time or almost exclusively in the hills. As others have suggested there are some behaviors detailed that won't be impacted at all by that change. Fine tune your hitch/weight distribution and ensure you have adequate tongue weight. The LT tires you've upgraded to should definitely help. Also, make sure to use the Tow/Haul feature - it makes a big difference once you hang the trailer off the back. Bear in mind that you may need to lock out the overdrive when climbing longer hills with the gear selector on the steering wheel to avoid gear hunting.

I guess I could have been more clear. I do have multiple issues and I am trying to attack all of them on all fronts. The handling I am hoping is due to the tires, which we will see this weekend, and I am going to play around with the 4 point to see if I need to make some adjustments.

As for the gears, this was mainly to help me out with the inclines. California topography is very diverse. you cannot go 100 miles without hitting some major grades. This was an issue I noticed as many large toyhaulers were smoking me on the grades. And reading throught this forum, everyone seems real happy with their Ram 1500's using the 3.92 gears, while I am way down at 3.21. Not that I want to just piss away money, I just want to get my truck in as prime of towing condition as possible, so I can deal with it for another 3 years or so until i can upgrade.

[Levidada]

nofoolin wrote:
The OP has not participated in his/her own thread since the first post 2 weeks ago. Carry on as you choose.

Oh well. Ill keep on going as long as you guys keep on helping me!

[nofoolin]

The OP has not participated in his/her own thread since the first post 2 weeks ago. Carry on as you choose.

[ttavasc]

Levidada wrote:
So I just took my 1500 in for service and had them tell me my gear ratio. Seems I am only running 3.21. I assume this is the reason for my towing struggles. $1100 to upgrade to 3.90. They say tell make a world of difference. What do y'all think? Is the outcome worth the price tag?

I think I'd put the gear swap at the bottom of the list unless you tow the majority of the time or almost exclusively in the hills. As others have suggested there are some behaviors detailed that won't be impacted at all by that change. Fine tune your hitch/weight distribution and ensure you have adequate tongue weight. The LT tires you've upgraded to should definitely help. Also, make sure to use the Tow/Haul feature - it makes a big difference once you hang the trailer off the back. Bear in mind that you may need to lock out the overdrive when climbing longer hills with the gear selector on the steering wheel to avoid gear hunting.

[Levidada]

Probably so, but I'm to new into my truck now that I'm not about to trade in. And if I do I'm going up rather lateral. Really liking the 2500 Cummins

[tragusa3]

It's probably my skewed perspective because I own one ;), but the EB seems to be widely accepted as the current engine of choice for towing in a half ton.

[TurnThePage]

Bear in mind that those new tires may be capable of more air pressure than your wheels. I used to run my BFGs around 50 PSI, which worked great for my situation.