Anyone towed yet with the Hemi 6.4?

[diver110]

I am looking for a TV and am intrigued by the new Hemi 6.4. Anyone towed with it yet? MPG?

[ib516]

The 5.9L Cummins is about the most perfect towing engine there is (JMHO), but if you buy a new truck - its not an option 😞

[john_bet]

If the numbers that are posted for the 6.4 are true I will pass on owning one. My CDT 5.9 did better than that new and a lot better now.

[e-light]

Just did a 10 mile test tow of my 28' travel trailer. Had to get the WD hitch adjusted, trailer brakes setup, etc.

The integrated trailer brakes work great. I ended up with the brake set on heavy electric, 6.5. Braking was excellent.

The 6.4L Hemi handled my 8000 lb trailer with ease. On the back roads the engine wasnt working hard at all to move the trailer. Tow/haul mode worked great. The tranny heald gears and didnt have to keep downshifting. On the expressway the engine rev'd to about 4k while merging into traffic. I set the cruise control to 60mph and the tranny held gear up and down the hills.

The ride quality while towing was significantly better than my 2013 Tundra. But not as drastic as I had expected. The Tundra is a good towing platform. The biggest things I could I thought were drastically better were just the overall handling of the weight of the trailer, bouncing over bumps, turning and manuvering, braking, etc. Also the tranny/engine combo seemed to have much more power and didnt have to downshift and rev as much as my Tundra.

I watching the gauges on the EVIC carefully and strangely the tranny seemed to run cooler. During my normal driving the tranny temp stays around 165-168. While it was running about 155-158. Maybe just a fluke or perhaps the tranny liked holding the gears longer in tow/haul mode.

This was just a 10 mile test run of mixed driving. But so far I am very happy. I will post an update after day one of my long drive on Saturday.

[e-light]

If you are comtemplating the 6.4 Hemi you should really do yourself a favor and test drive one. It really is a helluva engine. Lots of low rpm torque and the Hemi purrs like a sewing machine. The quality improvements in Ram trucks in the past decade are astounding. The new models are incredibly refined for a HD truck and you can see and feel the quality in materials and engineering.

I really think this is the motor that bridges the gap that provides the grunt to tow heavy loads and also gives you the day to day driveability of a gas engine. I love everything about my new Ram. I havent towed with it yet, but I have a 700 mile journey through the Smokey mountains starting next Saturday. So Ill be sure to post a report when I stop over in Ashville next Saturday evening. I really cant see this engine having any trouble with my 8300 lb TT. Even in the steep mountain grades.

After 400 miles I am seeing about 12mpg city and 16mpg highway. I am still learning the truck though and I know Ill be able to improve those numbers.

Go and test drive the truck. Look under the chassis. Notice the feel of the brakes, the switches, the turn signals...set the cruise control at 55 on a hilly highway and listen to the Hemi purr effortlessly up and down hills. Its a great truck...i think youll be impressed.

[Bigfoot_affair]

A buddy of mine picked up a 2014 Ram 2500 CC 4*4 with the 6.4. This is a picture of the EVIC when he got home, all hwy and he said he drove the speed limit.

[bmanning]

Food for thought: when I had my 7.3L I noticed that relying on remote start tended to destroy my overall MPG (which I found a bit surprising since I'd thought it would just sip #2 at idle).

Not the most convenient thing but try a tank without using remote start just as an experiment...

Probably going to pick up a. 6.4L Hemi myself; don't really need the CTD, I do a lot of short city trips, and I am afraid I'd outgrow a 1500 Ecodiesel before I could pay it off.

[mowin]

mtofell1 wrote:

diver110 wrote:
Hard to justify a diesel with those mpg numbers. I will probably do a TC first, then a FW.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong but my 6.4 is averaging 11.7 mpg through 670 miles with no towing so far. I've been doing about 50/50 city and hwy driving and no towing yet.

We do still have winter fuel here which I know kills me 10% or so and I've done the remote start the last couple mornings and let it idle for 5 mins. Also, after grinding through the 500 mile break-in period I had to really lay into a couple times to see what she's got (and it's a lot 🙂 ).

I'm thinking 13ish going to be good average for me. I can't imagine seeing 16.5 unless it's just highway driving and keeping your foot out of it.

Its tuff keeping your foot out of the 6.4. Puts a smile on my face every time. Im seeing 14.4 around town going easy with tne right foot. No heavy towing untill it warms up.

[mtofell1]

diver110 wrote:
Hard to justify a diesel with those mpg numbers. I will probably do a TC first, then a FW.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong but my 6.4 is averaging 11.7 mpg through 670 miles with no towing so far. I've been doing about 50/50 city and hwy driving and no towing yet.

We do still have winter fuel here which I know kills me 10% or so and I've done the remote start the last couple mornings and let it idle for 5 mins. Also, after grinding through the 500 mile break-in period I had to really lay into a couple times to see what she's got (and it's a lot 🙂 ).

I'm thinking 13ish going to be good average for me. I can't imagine seeing 16.5 unless it's just highway driving and keeping your foot out of it.

[diver110]

Hard to justify a diesel with those mpg numbers. I will probably do a TC first, then a FW.

[oweninthekeys]

I love mine! 16.5 MPG avg running empty and the first few tows of 2+ hrs gave me just short of 10 MPG. What do you plan on towing, TT of 5th? If its a 5th you may want to look at the Andersen Ultimate Hitch as when I purchased mine the hitch manufactors were scrambling to produce adapters for the new 2014 truck rails.

I love my hitch, no popping and cracking noise and very easy ro remove for a clean truck bed. Took it out last night in under 5 minutes.