We are in route to Arizona and our mid sized 29' 5th wheel is load to the gills and along with the boxes in the truck. Our GCW is 22,050. On flat roads towing 60-63 we are averaging 12-12.25 MPG. Rear axle on truck is at a surprising 6750 with empty holding tanks and full water in the very rear. After a few days of moving the water forward to the other tanks I saw 6950 on the rear axle! RGAWR is 7K.
We diverted around the Siskiyou Mountains via 101 and the coast. Mileage dropped to 10.5 on this hilly and windy route. I questioned the performance of the new combination under these driving conditions as being similar to my Old Blue 2001.5 RAM that we built to tow this trailer, although the 2015 combo is 1500 lbs heavier.
Then I got a chance on CA-58 from Bakersfield to Tehachapi 400' to 4000' with several 6 % areas to give it a good test. I have to say the new RAM walked up this in 4th gear at 2100 RPM quietly and using only part throttle at 58 MPH, and I could accelerate at will.
Using the new VGT based exhaust brake has been a learn experience. On first blush Old Blues Banks Exhaust brake worked better and was more predictable. With more gears, I am slowly learning that I have to gear down a lot more to get the new exhaust brake to match the old setup.
Comfort, ride and features are all great as we are all experiencing moving from earlier TV to this latest round of refinement that is on the market now. Just watch your weights carefully as I am maxing our 3500 SRW SB with a mid size trailer(packed for snowbirding).
If you have not driven one of these new trucks, go for a test drive, they are so quiet and powerful, and loaded with features! Now learning to use all these neat features takes a few trips to the owners manual. Yesterday morning I went to remote start the truck and set of the panic alarm. Try as I could, I could not stop it. I did everything except push the panic button again after 3 seconds(yep it is in the manual). 2 minutes later it stopped!
Chris
2021 F150 2.7 Ecoboost - Summer Home 2017 Bighorn 3575el. Can Am Spyder RT-L Chrome, Kawasaki KRX1000. Retired and enjoying it! RIP DW 07-05-2021
