Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

[arto98607]

..............snip................

As far as the Cummins outlasting the gas offering, all I'll say to that is somebody should tell the guys on the Ram HD forum that. They are constantly posting about the problems with their engines, particularly the late model engines that have gone to new roller valvetrains. Those things almost never see 250k miles anymore.

Guys on the Ram HD internet forum!

Hah, all you are seeing there most likely are few guys who have had problems with their newer Ram trucks and you will hardly ever hear from the vast majority who have been trouble free.

I don't have a Ram, Dodge or Cummins and probably never will.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Far as driving at 80, last time I checked in most every state (at least around here), 80 is criminal speed and can and will garner you a ticket if you are stopped and pulling any trailer at 80 anywhere is asking for trouble, especially when it comes to stopping when loaded.

Well, much like the terrain and weather, speed limits vary across the nation.

When on an Interstate with an 80 mph speed limit I still stick to 80, getting passed by cars and some tractor trailers in the process. Nothing criminal about it.

On the basic highways with 65 mph limits, is doing 80 where the road's straight enough to allow it criminal? Sure, I could get a speeding ticket, but generally there's nobody around to witness my speeding, and the elk and deer doesn't seem to care.

On the highways with a 55 mph limit, the cops don't care as long as you're not doing much over 70. And if you're pulling a trailer or not has nothing to do with it. California is the only state I know of that has a lower speed limit for vehicles that are towing.

 

[Hay Dude]

A Ram 5500 Cummins gets 12-15 UNLOADED. With that kind of weight behind it you're single digits just like the gas trucks. But...wait a second....diesel fuel is running a full dollar per gallon more than gas where I live and has been all year. So that gas bill suddenly doesn't look so bad.

Listen, I have owned & operated my Ram for 50,000 miles. PLEASE…DON’T TELL ME what fuel mileage I get.
K?

As far as the Cummins outlasting the gas offering, all I'll say to that is somebody should tell the guys on the Ram HD forum that. They are constantly posting about the problems with their engines, particularly the late model engines that have gone to new roller valvetrains. Those things almost never see 250k miles anymore.

Let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t read into people who complain on the internet too much. For every one negative complaining owner, there’s 1,000 happy owners.
Been there, done that WAY too many times.

If RAM/Cummins was having drivetrain issues, then why in 2020 when I bought my truck, was RAM offering a longer drivetrain warranty than Ford??

Keep dreamin gas is close to diesel in towing capacity, too. lol

 

[deserteagle71]

But...wait a second....diesel fuel is running a full dollar per gallon more than gas where I live and has been all year.

Sounds like you need to complain to your legislators and find out why you're being screwed....pic taken as I fueled my dually Thanksgiving weekend:

 

[5030]

I still stick to 80, getting passed by cars and some tractor trailers in the process.

I believe you are imagining that. Only TT that might pass you would be an owner-operator with a large car, no fleet truck would be allowed to run that fast because their insurance carrier forbids that. Typically, a fleet truck is governed to 65 max and no exceptions and far as I'm concerned any truck OO or fleet driving 80, their ticket should be pulled anyway.

 

[Peter 315]

I believe you are imagining that. Only TT that might pass you would be an owner-operator with a large car, no fleet truck would be allowed to run that fast because their insurance carrier forbids that. Typically, a fleet truck is governed to 65 max and no exceptions and far as I'm concerned any truck OO or fleet driving 80, their ticket should be pulled anyway.

My mack tractor was town owned and maxed out at 67mph....

 

[5030]

Your comments remind me of the JJ Keller driver education movie, 'Unsafe at Any Speed'. My last 2 years of employment I was the fleet safety and compliance person and I terminated a couple drivers that had your philosophy concerning driving a tractor trailer. I don't like terminating anyone and causing them to loose the income stream but sometimes it's necessary whether I liked it or not, our insurance carrier demanded it. Modern trucks with their electronic logs also have a 'black box' that records a multitude of events including excessive speed, excessive brake application and many other aspects while the truck us being driven and access to that real time data is easy to access with a laptop and the correct data key as well to law enforcement and the Federal and State DOT's and modern trucks data recording is accessed using Bluetooth wireless technology so I didn't have to physically be inside any of the trucks, just parked beside them in my car with my laptop and I checked every truck when they were yard parked on weekends. Part of my job if I liked it or not was not relevant. Most employment always involves aspects you don't like, in reality that applies generally to life.

 

[5030]

My mack tractor was town owned and maxed out at 67mph....

Top governed speed entirely depends on the insurance carrier and posted speed limits in the state the truck is domiciled in.

In my past employment and pre electronic instrumentation, I drove big trucks well capable of exceeding 100 mph. Having said that and knowing it, never exceeded the posted limit on any road or limited access highway by more than 2 mph over the posted limit.

Pretty easy to tell of a big truck will run or not is by looking at the speedometer. If the speedo reads to 100 mph, it's runner and if it lists 80 as the top speed (both ungoverned), deems it a turd. I never drove turds and the one I presently own (an International Eagle long nose conventional with a 3406 550 Cat and 18 speed roadranger has a 100 mph clock. I've never run that over 65 either. on the expressway and no more than 2 over the limit on any other roads.

Pretty sure with 323 rears and the 18 double over, it will easily run serious triple digits but not with me driving it.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I believe you are imagining that. Only TT that might pass you would be an owner-operator with a large car, no fleet truck would be allowed to run that fast because their insurance carrier forbids that.

Imagined or not, there are lots of owner operators out there. And they drive whatever speeds they want/can.

Not sure why you'd say that it's my imagination. Guess I can take photos next time...although with today's technology they could be altered. Looks like I'm losing this argument.

 

[deserteagle71]

I believe you are imagining that. Only TT that might pass you would be an owner-operator with a large car, no fleet truck would be allowed to run that fast because their insurance carrier forbids that. Typically, a fleet truck is governed to 65 max and no exceptions and far as I'm concerned any truck OO or fleet driving 80, their ticket should be pulled anyway.

And I think you need to spend some time out of the Michigan woods and drive I-15 or I-80 in Utah or Nevada and see what happens in the real world.

Over Thanksgiving I went to visit some friends living about 200 miles from me. About 135 of those miles were on I-80. Speed limit is 80 mph; since most push the limit a bit I'd estimate most traffic was moving ~ 85 mph. I was driving my diesel dually loaded with a big cabover camper and towing a loaded trailer behind me, estimate about 16,000 lb total weight so I had the cruise set at 70. It made me a bit nervous to have traffic coming up behind me with such a big speed differential. That includes 18 wheelers. I-80 is the major artery for the big rigs crossing the state; 18 wheeler traffic was heavy despite it being Thanksgiving. At 70 mph I did not pass even one 18 wheeler - they were all passing me as if I were standing still. So evidently their "65 mph" governor was disabled!

 

[Hay Dude]

And I think you need to spend some time out of the Michigan woods and drive I-15 or I-80 in Utah or Nevada and see what happens in the real world.

Over Thanksgiving I went to visit some friends living about 200 miles from me. About 135 of those miles were on I-80. Speed limit is 80 mph; since most push the limit a bit I'd estimate most traffic was moving ~ 85 mph. I was driving my diesel dually loaded with a big cabover camper and towing a loaded trailer behind me, estimate about 16,000 lb total weight so I had the cruise set at 70. It made me a bit nervous to have traffic coming up behind me with such a big speed differential. That includes 18 wheelers. I-80 is the major artery for the big rigs crossing the state; 18 wheeler traffic was heavy despite it being Thanksgiving. At 70 mph I did not pass even one 18 wheeler - they were all passing me as if I were standing still. So evidently their "65 mph" governor was disabled!

Yep.
PA Turnpike is 80 west of Harrisburg to the Ohio line and 18 wheelers do 75-85 like it was nothing.

 

[5030]

Last tine I was out your way it was via airplane. Just stating how it is here and what fleet trucks are governed to. Really don't care as I'm out of that business and retired. Again, it's you fuel dime, not mine and I too have a slide in TC and I pull a trailer behind with the side by side on it, but at a sane rate of speed. Never in that big of a hurry anyway.

Like Newton said, 'a body in motion tends to stay in motion' That apples in spades to the difference between a sane rate of speed and an insane rate of speed when impacting a stationary object like a bridge abutment or a utility pole and another vehicle that in not moving and braking distances multiply exponentially as well, especially loaded. At 80, the distance travelled before your brain can command your foot to apply the brakes is quite large in itself. Neither here no there and I really don't give a dam what you do or don't do. I know what I do and that is all that is important to me, my wife and my loved ones.

My final comment is: People whine about high fuel prices but then drive at excessive speeds which does nothing for their overall fuel mileage, the faster your speed is, the more fuel your ICE consumes and conversely the faster the KW's get consumed in an EV. Nothing changes that, it's a matter of physics.

I don't and neither does my wife. What everyone else does isn't relevant to me. I'm the one buying the dinosaur juice. It's my dime 100%.

People in this country are generally wasteful anyway. U guess so long as you can afford to pizz away fuel I'm good with it. I'm not and even if I was, I'd still not, it's a simple matter of I'd rather keep the money in my wallet versus paying for fuel that I wasted. Especially at today's prices.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I can often save some money by going a bit faster.

One common place I go is 450 miles from here, where I drop off and/or pick up cars. If hitting the road somewhat early I can get there, do the paperwork with the sales guy, tie down the vehicle on a trailer, and be back home in time for a slightly late dinner.

If going slower I'd most likely have to stop and sleep, as my limit is generally 16 to 20 hours. Stopping at a motel is a waste of time and money for me. I can't sleep in one anyway. So by driving faster I avoid the cost of a room.

Obviously I have to stop for fuel (110 gallons only goes so far), but that's also the only thing I stop for. No eating while on a trip as it would likely mean stopping twice.

In my case, going 20-25% faster does work quite well.

 

[Renze]

Obviously I have to stop for fuel (110 gallons only goes so far), but that's also the only thing I stop for. No eating while on a trip as it would likely mean stopping twice.

You guys dont have a mandatory tachograph in the trucks, registering drive and rest hours ?

Here in Europe they check if you keep your mandatory rest periods, and dont exceed daily driving hours. Too many people got killed by truckers that fell asleep behind the wheel, so since 1974 an analog tachograph became mandatory, and since 2006 a digital one. Fines are heavy if you dont take breaks.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

You guys dont have a mandatory tachograph in the trucks, registering drive and rest hours ?

That stuff is only for commercial use here.

I can be at 39,000 lbs. total (with a 25K trailer) on a basic drivers license since I only transport out own stuff. No CDL, no stopping at scales, etc.