Ram Eco Diesel towing 3500# 1300 miles

[Diamondpilot]

You're obviously infatuated with the Ram diesel. You keep posting about a product you don't even own. Why don't you just go buy yourself one so you can have real experience, instead of sitting on the internet writing lame negative threads based on specs, and second hand stories?

I don't need to own one. My company has a half dozen and I have had the opportunity to drive them. They are a very nice truck but the motor lacks what the gas offerings do.

The 25 mpg daily driving and 28 mpg highway are nice but I buy a truck to do work, not haul the kids to soccer like some.

Chris

 

[toddbailey]

The truck isn't being marketed as a HD towing truck it's being marketed as a 1/2 ton truck that gets good mileage (which from all I have read it does that very well) if you need a truck to tow lots of weight then buy one spec'ed to do so And don't complain about how this truck doesn't do what it's not supposed to do!

 

[MinnesotaEric]

As many of you know I am a corporate pilot. Yesterday I flew out to Bozeman Montana to pick up 3 of our upper level management guys. They had driven a 2015 Crew Cab Ram Eco Diesel from Indianapolis to Bozeman pulling a 12' single axle 3500# trailer lightly loaded with company uniforms primarily.

Long story short on the flight home I asked them how they liked the Eco Diesel. They all loved the interior and ride. What they didn't like was the power. They averaged 12 mpg. Our trucks are all monitored by GPS through our safety depth so I am sure they obayed the speed limit. They also said in the Rockies it plain stunk. They stated it got passed by everything and all 3 felt they would have been better off power wise and at least as good economy wise in one if our late model 5.3L Silverado's or 5.0L F150's.

I kind of suspected the power portion but not that poor of economy.

Chris

For comparison, my 3.5L F150 got 10-12.5mph pulling an ill-trailering (wheels were mounted too far to the rear causing balance problems) eighteen foot V-nose rental trailer loaded with house junk.

 

[aczlan]

The truck isn't being marketed as a HD towing truck it's being marketed as a 1/2 ton truck that gets good mileage (which from all I have read it does that very well) if you need a truck to tow lots of weight then buy one spec'ed to do so And don't complain about how this truck doesn't do what it's not supposed to do!

Dodge rated it to tow a 9000# trailer, sounds like a lot of weight to me. The only problem is that it has a max payload of something like 1200#, so with 600# of people and gear, one can only tow a 6000# trailer and have 10% tongue weight.

Aaron Z

 

[Raspy]

The truck isn't being marketed as a HD towing truck it's being marketed as a 1/2 ton truck that gets good mileage (which from all I have read it does that very well) if you need a truck to tow lots of weight then buy one spec'ed to do so And don't complain about how this truck doesn't do what it's not supposed to do!

Well said.

So many keep trying to run down the Ecodiesel because it won't do what a Cummins does. There's more to life than being the first one to the top of the hill and if someone wants to tow 9,000 lbs all the time, they should buy a 1 ton.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Interesting read. I just test drove one the other day along with a 5.0 and 3.5EB. I currently own a 2011 Ram 1500 with the Hemi. The EcoDiesel was by far my favourite.

One of the big local heavy construction companies owns a bunch of them and from several different sources, the guys love the new diesel. The trucks are always loaded with gear and they all drive with a heavy foot (we joke that you can't get a job with them if you have a clean driving record). They are pushing 1000 km per tank regularly which makes for 30+ mpg. Lacking for power a bit towing the few times a year seems like a reasonable trade off for far better mileage empty or just carrying a bunch of tools.

 

[handirifle]

Interesting read. I just test drove one the other day along with a 5.0 and 3.5EB. I currently own a 2011 Ram 1500 with the Hemi. The EcoDiesel was by far my favourite.

One of the big local heavy construction companies owns a bunch of them and from several different sources, the guys love the new diesel. The trucks are always loaded with gear and they all drive with a heavy foot (we joke that you can't get a job with them if you have a clean driving record). They are pushing 1000 km per tank regularly which makes for 30+ mpg. Lacking for power a bit towing the few times a year seems like a reasonable trade off for far better mileage empty or just carrying a bunch of tools.

Yea that's a perfect example of what this truck was made for. I used to drive mini vans (when the kids were little) that were "rated" for 5000. Yea, not if you wanted to drive it more than 20 miles. Even with the new SAE standard, I will always tow well below the trucks rating. I learned the hard way.

For those that want the tow ability of older 3/4 ton trucks, the Nissan (if it ever arrives, AND it lives up to the hype) will be more to their liking. Personally, I never plan on getting rid of my '06 GMC 2500. I am not ashamed to pull my 12ft aluminum boat behind it when I fish, or not concerned when I hook up my 35ft 5th wheel.

 

[Copperhead]

For comparison, my 3.5L F150 got 10-12.5mph pulling an ill-trailering (wheels were mounted too far to the rear causing balance problems) eighteen foot V-nose rental trailer loaded with house junk.

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

 

[Egon]

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Clarity of reality

 

[Ford850]

As a comparison to the Ram 1/2 ton diesel and yours, my Detroit 60 in a Freightliner 228" wheelbase sleeper truck, pulling a 53' Stoughton van trailer, weighing in at 32,500 lb full of fuel, with an average freight payload of 35,000 lb, has averaged almost 8 mpg for its 476,000 mile life. Darn shame that the pickups can't do significantly better.

Yeah, but your Freightliner is difficult to park at the mall, unless you go to the docks.