Towing with a Ram 1500

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

In this mornings paper. "wholesale shipments of travel trailers were at some of the highest levels in decades, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association." Loren

Not sure what that means. "Some of the highest". Writer needs to start over.

[Loren & Cathy]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Not sure what that means. "Some of the highest". Writer needs to start over.

The article covered boats too. Recreational sales are higher than they have been for decades due to increasing consumer confidence. When gas prices took a big jump in the late 70's, Winnebago almost went under. It's a combination of factors. Loren

[MarksAlot]

Those are wholesale numbers though. Still gotta sell 'em to consumers. Spin doctors at work there.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I read an interesting article about diesel engines designed for passenger vehicles and the ones designed for commercial use . The design criteria is totally different. .The article lead one to believe that the small passenger diesel engines are designed for the lifespan of consumer vehicles that are not constantly operated under full load.and not designed for commercial use . It appears that both the gas and diesel engines used in many passenger vehicles are designed as allways to last their warranty period.

I agree, except that the I would say that both commercial and consumer engines are designed to last for a reasonable service life... and that's a quarter million kilometres for a car and millions of kilometres for a commercial truck. There are costs of longevity - a big truck engine is far heavier, bulkier, and more expensive than a consumer engine in proportion to its power output.

I have never had an engine fail due to defect or simply wearing out in less than a quarter million kilometres, so I don't subscribe to the "just make it out of warranty" theory... but then that's based on mostly my own experience, and only two of my vehicles have been Fords, one of which was totalled in a collision at about 150,000 km and the other of which is only at 30,000 km so far... Sorry, no Ram or other Chrysler/Fiat experience, but is was a Chrysler executive who was quoted in an article I read several years ago as saying that their design life for the for latest engine at the time was 300,000 kilometres.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

The only thing we can be certain of is what a vehicle costs to purchase. Beyond that, the big three... fuel expense, maintenance expenses and the quality of the build of a particular vehicle are unknown.

I understand the point the the purchase price is known and the rest are estimates, but the estimated values are not complete unknowns. Fuel prices are not known, but rough relative values are. For instance

• in our lifetimes gasoline and diesel will not have radically different prices, and will not be cheaper in the long run than they are now
• a Ram 1500 EcoBoost will use less fuel in the same service compared to a Ram 1500 Hemi
• a current diesel will need DEF and SCR system maintenance
• the turbodiesel EcoBoost engine will always be more complex and thus more expensive to maintain than the non-turbo indirect-injection gasoline engines available in this vehicle

Quantifying the cost differences is to some extent a crystal-ball exercise!

[Scuba55]

I picked up my new 5.0 TA last week in Chilliwack with my RAM. I hardly knew it was there, and could have easily gone 70 mph over the mountain passes, and did at times by accident. My only concern was the mpg while towing, I only averaged 15.0 on the 1750 return miles home. I do believe 17 is obtainable, if I complied with the 55 mph speed limit and didn't have so many mountain passes. Love the trailer and my 2014 5.7 Hemi RAM!

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

I picked up my new 5.0 TA last week in Chilliwack with my RAM. I hardly knew it was there, and could have easily gone 70 mph over the mountain passes, and did at times by accident. My only concern was the mpg while towing, I only averaged 15.0 on the 1750 return miles home. I do believe 17 is obtainable, if I complied with the 55 mph speed limit and didn't have so many mountain passes. Love the trailer and my 2014 5.7 Hemi RAM!

Scuba, 15 MPG towing is outstanding in my opinion for such a big engine. I wouldn't feel bad about that at all.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

I picked up my new 5.0 TA last week in Chilliwack with my RAM. I hardly knew it was there, and could have easily gone 70 mph over the mountain passes, and did at times by accident. My only concern was the mpg while towing, I only averaged 15.0 on the 1750 return miles home. I do believe 17 is obtainable, if I complied with the 55 mph speed limit and didn't have so many mountain passes. Love the trailer and my 2014 5.7 Hemi RAM!

Just purchased a 2014 Ram 1500 BH with the 5.7 Hemi . Which rearend ratio does your truck have 3.21 or 3.92 ?

[cpaharley2008]

I have the 3:21 in my 2014 Ram Sport, getting 15 towing and 18 around town. Still only with 1200 miles it needs broken in, maybe get another 1 mpg improvement. I need to drive it more before heading to Osoyoos.

[Scuba55]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Just purchased a 2014 Ram 1500 BH with the 5.7 Hemi . Which rearend ratio does your truck have 3.21 or 3.92 ?

I believe it's the 3.92, but I'll look it to confirm and get back with you.

[gbaglo]

Clips - Season 22: A Man and His Truck - This Hour Has 22 Minutes

[MarksAlot]

According to my window sticker, the stock gear ratio is 3:21. Mine came with 3:55. Cruises at around 1800 RPM at 65

I seem to be attracting some attention with this truck too. "Is that a half ton diesel?" Still getting used to using a green pump nozzle. Never thought I'd own a diesel, but I like it. Sure sounds a lot different too.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

That is better than mine, 21 on highway, 18 around town and 15 towing. I estimate maybe 16 if I had the 19. You have the 3:55 rear if I'm not mistaken. Here is a picture...I love the led lights at night.

Originally Posted by MarksAlot

According to my window sticker, the stock gear ratio is 3:21. Mine came with 3:55. Cruises at around 1800 RPM at 65

I seem to be attracting some attention with this truck too. "Is that a half ton diesel?" Still getting used to using a green pump nozzle. Never thought I'd own a diesel, but I like it. Sure sounds a lot different too.

Thank you. The 3.55 rearend is not available with the Hemi but it is with the Eco Diesel
I had the 3.55's in my 2011 Ram and they are a good compromise between economy and towing capacity ... My 2014 Ram has the 3.92 rear end so I am sure my gas mileage will suffer slightly

[cpaharley2008]

So we have a 3:21 and 3:55 and a 3:92 rear ends, it will be nice to compare results.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

So we have a 3:21 and 3:55 and a 3:92 rear ends, it will be nice to compare results.

It is difficult here to get a true picture of MPG 's because it is winter . Our gas mileage at below zero temps is often 20 to 30% below our summertime gas mileage .We will have to do our comparison in the summer or July whichever comes first.

[cpaharley2008]

The trip to Osoyoos and return will give me some good data- close to 6,000 miles, hopefully with warmer weather and inexpensive gas.

[Scuba55]

Where do you find the ratio, I've looked on my sticker and did not find it?

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

Where do you find the ratio, I've looked on my sticker and did not find it?

Send an E-Mail to or call Ram customer service and ask for your vehicle's build sheet
The build sheet will list every feature on your truck ( Standard or optional)
If you go to the Ram towing guide it will show you the available rear end ratios for your truck
My Ram 1500 with the Hemi engine is only available with the standard 3.21 rearend or the optional 3.92 rearend

[MarksAlot]

That's the only place you can call and ask what's my rear end ratio.

[Brian B-P]

The EcoDiesel and Hemi engines likely have different operating speed ranges, so with the same transmission different final drive ratios would be appropriate. Comparing the same ratio between different engines won't indicate which ratio if most appropriate; comparing performance and economy between ratios with the same engine (and tire size, etc) could be informative.