Can/should I?

[Coolzzy]

Hi all, I've recently sold my F150 ecoboost max tow and looking at half ton rams. I have a Ember 26ets with a GVWR of 7600 and loaded tongue weight at or around 1k pounds. My F150 was a first Gen ecoboost with the 6 speed and 3.73 gears, payload 1568. It pulled the trailer without much fuss but gets hot in a hurry with any sort of hill due to the turbos and high ambient temp, and elevation.

Can I pull this with a hemi with 3.92 gears or will I encounter similar overheating problems. I live at 2k ft and often pull grades from 5 to 7k ft in elevation. How much is the motor going to be screaming in the mountains? I'd love to get a 2500 but they're stupid expensive for a low miles used base model. I only camp 7-10 times per summer so would like to use the truck unloaded the rest of the year, and still fit it in the garage. I've found several Laramie trucks with 1500lb payload so I'd basically be like for like. The ecoboost was pretty quiet even at 3500rpm but stressful watching the temp Guage climb north of 240 and having to back way off the throttle and hit 2nd gear to keep the temps under de-rate at 250.

How does the ram handle mountain towing with this kind of weight? I don't speed, and most of these roads are 50mph max, but twisty and steep in places. I don't need to hear that I need a 3/4 ton truck, and am experienced towing rvs with half tons (12 years this season) and a good wdh hitch handling sway.

 

[silver billet]

Hi all, I've recently sold my F150 ecoboost max tow and looking at half ton rams. I have a Ember 26ets with a GVWR of 7600 and loaded tongue weight at or around 1k pounds. My F150 was a first Gen ecoboost with the 6 speed and 3.73 gears, payload 1568. It pulled the trailer without much fuss but gets hot in a hurry with any sort of hill due to the turbos and high ambient temp, and elevation.

Can I pull this with a hemi with 3.92 gears or will I encounter similar overheating problems. I live at 2k ft and often pull grades from 5 to 7k ft in elevation. How much is the motor going to be screaming in the mountains? I'd love to get a 2500 but they're stupid expensive for a low miles used base model. I only camp 7-10 times per summer so would like to use the truck unloaded the rest of the year, and still fit it in the garage. I've found several Laramie trucks with 1500lb payload so I'd basically be like for like. The ecoboost was pretty quiet even at 3500rpm but stressful watching the temp Guage climb north of 240 and having to back way off the throttle and hit 2nd gear to keep the temps under de-rate at 250.

How does the ram handle mountain towing with this kind of weight? I don't speed, and most of these roads are 50mph max, but twisty and steep in places. I don't need to hear that I need a 3/4 ton truck, and am experienced towing rvs with half tons (12 years this season) and a good wdh hitch handling sway.

Stock, yeah the hemi will hit 250F as well or even north of it (though without derating) towing a heavier load.

Good news is that its pretty easy to get it mostly under control. I removed my active grill shutters (just slip your hand in there and pull out everything but two rows of slats) and installed a 180 tstat. Those 2 things alone help significantly, though in reality what it buys you is just time; if you find a longer hill your temps might still hit 250, but you end up driving on the flats with lower temps so you have more runway on the hills before you hit higher temps. And once you hit the straights after a long hill, your temps climb back down cooler than they were stock, just because the coolant temps run cooler again.

That was enough for me, but you can do more like tune your fan to come on sooner as well. I hit 250F on my truck, stock, while towing, and now my truck rarely exceeds 230F, mostly it hangs around 225F or so on the straights and will do that for hours; this temp is what it used to run unloaded on the straights.

But the ultimate fix for this is just installing a dedicated oil cooler that comes with its own thermostat so that its not running too cool all the time.

Also the iron block v8 means it can take far more abuse than the ecoboost/hurricane/pentastar. These 5.7s were used in the 2500's for years as the base engine and though obviously down on power vs todays 2500 v8s, they held together under lots of abuse. The 5.7 is the only iron block left in a half ton, you need to move to the 3/4 ton gassers to find the iron blocks these days.

 

[Coolzzy]

The ecoboost would run 220 on the flats, 230 on any hint of a hill, but the temp increase happens very quickly with any boost. Under load, it's always in boost and even with my huge "full race" radiator the cooling system could not cope. I had thought of installing an oil cooler but the truck is getting tired and the thought of a turbo failure or timing chain repair scared me every time I drove it. Loved it but just need something newer and reliable.

I'm between a ram 1500 and a titan xd gasser with the 9 speed if I can find one, which is unlikely. I don't want a base model truck which is why I'm hesitant to go 3/4 ton ram gasser. I could daily drive a ram on any given day which would be a nice option to have.

 

[LaxDfns15]

With a good WDH setup you should be fine. Titan XD gasser is nice, but you'll enjoy the Ram far more if it's a daily driver. My dad has a 2022 XD Pro4X gas. The VK56 is a hell of an engine (I replaced a 2008 Titan with my Ram), but the comforts, driveability, and overall niceness of the Ram inside and out beats the Titan. My dad's truck feels like it has no shocks. His truck is only for towing/hauling, as he has a different DD.

 

[Coolzzy]

Yah, I have a DD but the Ram would fit in my garage, whereas the XD would not. The regular titans also have a horrible turning radius, even worse on the XDs. If I could score a better deal on an XD (looking at platinum Reserve trims) than a Laramie Ram, I may still go that route just for the improved weight when towing. I have a husky centerline TS hitch with built in sway control and it works really well. I've used it on an expedition prior to my F150 and that thing had soft coil springs but towed fine and stable with the hitch.

 

[silver billet]

The ecoboost would run 220 on the flats, 230 on any hint of a hill, but the temp increase happens very quickly with any boost.

This is going to be the same with a stock hemi. If you're not comfortable modding as suggested then I'm not sure the hemi is what you should be getting. Perhaps it takes a little longer with the hemi to get hotter vs the EB but a bunch of us do mod our trucks to get the temps down.

Under load, it's always in boost and even with my huge "full race" radiator the cooling system could not cope. I had thought of installing an oil cooler but the truck is getting tired and the thought of a turbo failure or timing chain repair scared me every time I drove it. Loved it but just need something newer and reliable.

I'm between a ram 1500 and a titan xd gasser with the 9 speed if I can find one, which is unlikely. I don't want a base model truck which is why I'm hesitant to go 3/4 ton ram gasser. I could daily drive a ram on any given day which would be a nice option to have.

I'd avoid the titan in any form. Its built in very small numbers so for a start, any comparisons with reliability are suspect because we're comparing a truck that sells 2000 units a year vs 500,000 (numbers exaggerated but I guess you know what I mean). The more important thing, parts and service will be much harder on this truck just due to low sales, less used parts on the market, no aftermarket support etc.

If you want to look elsewhere than Ram I'd suggest the previous gen Tundra with the 5.7 v8.

Surprisingly enough the hurricane SO keeps cooler stock than the hemi does. But you're still stuck with a tiny engine making huge power so your turbo concerns are back in play again. Lots of discussion elsewhere on this forum of hemi vs hurricane, for heavy work I'd pick the hemi every time but wanted to mention that strictly from a cooling perspective the hurricane will run a little cooler (stock anyway, you can put a little effort into getting way better temps with the hemi as well).

 

[Coolzzy]

Modding is no problem for me, I've got a shop and a lift. I had already figured on removing the grill shutters, the transmission fluid heater (installing bypass), installing progressive springs or airlift 1000, and LT tires.

The turbo trucks dump crazy heat into the cooling system in a short amount of time. Once it's saturated, it runs away to redline. I had a lower temp thermostat, huge after market radiator and trans cooler, and closely monitored my temps with scan Guage while towing with the F150. I'm hoping the heat is more controllable, linear, and slower to heat up without the turbos.

What boggles my mind, is I've driven 3 hurricane trucks and was not impressed at all with their power. I wonder if all these phenomenal online reviews aren't written by bots. The hurricane doesn't hold a candle to the 3.5 ecoboost in terms of power, and lack of a dip stick paired with the newer electrical architecture that is hit or miss right now kind of crosses that off my list.

 

[LaxDfns15]

Just remember anything added to the truck from OEM (springs/airbags, heavier tires, etc) reduces payload. I've towed near that weight with my Hemi before, and while it wasn't at the elevation you are, it didn't have an issue.

 

[Sp33d Nut]

Yes you can, but I wouldn’t risk it with my families lives. IMO with a TW around 1k then adding two adults and anything in the back of the truck you’ll likely be over your max payload. Which will do more than have your engine running in the red.

Get a different trailer or a 2500/3500. JMHO

 

[Trooper4]

Hi all, I've recently sold my F150 ecoboost max tow and looking at half ton rams. I have a Ember 26ets with a GVWR of 7600 and loaded tongue weight at or around 1k pounds. My F150 was a first Gen ecoboost with the 6 speed and 3.73 gears, payload 1568. It pulled the trailer without much fuss but gets hot in a hurry with any sort of hill due to the turbos and high ambient temp, and elevation.

Can I pull this with a hemi with 3.92 gears or will I encounter similar overheating problems. I live at 2k ft and often pull grades from 5 to 7k ft in elevation. How much is the motor going to be screaming in the mountains? I'd love to get a 2500 but they're stupid expensive for a low miles used base model. I only camp 7-10 times per summer so would like to use the truck unloaded the rest of the year, and still fit it in the garage. I've found several Laramie trucks with 1500lb payload so I'd basically be like for like. The ecoboost was pretty quiet even at 3500rpm but stressful watching the temp Guage climb north of 240 and having to back way off the throttle and hit 2nd gear to keep the temps under de-rate at 250.

How does the ram handle mountain towing with this kind of weight? I don't speed, and most of these roads are 50mph max, but twisty and steep in places. I don't need to hear that I need a 3/4 ton truck, and am experienced towing rvs with half tons (12 years this season) and a good wdh hitch handling sway.

Boy, have you opened a can of worms.
I tow over that quite often, and even on long hard pulls have never had a problem overheating. I have pullud over the Grape Vine in Cal. with no issues, and that is a long pull. As far sn crooked roads, the only thing I did was install the Hellwig, and go to an LT heavier wall tire the get rid if the body roll.
I have the Limited with 20" wheels and the 3.92's, and wouldn't hesitate to pull that weight.

 

[Coolzzy]

I hope I haven't brought out the payload police with my post. I'm an experienced rv puller, and my current setup has never felt unsafe and I drive plenty of highway running. I pulled it up to the Oregon coast from Idaho in hundred degree weather this past summer with 4 of us in the truck, and no water in the trailer, a few odds and ends in the bed. Every time I pull my rv I'm at or maybe slightly over the technical payload but this is really only done occasionally. I could totally get another newer ecoboost and manage the heat as I've been doing, I just want something with a simpler drive train but will miss the quiet boost of the F150. But the math says I get a lot more truck for my money in a Ram than in an F150 and I've had 4 of them so ready for a change.

 

[Trooper4]

I hope I haven't brought out the payload police with my post. I'm an experienced rv puller, and my current setup has never felt unsafe and I drive plenty of highway running. I pulled it up to the Oregon coast from Idaho in hundred degree weather this past summer with 4 of us in the truck, and no water in the trailer, a few odds and ends in the bed. Every time I pull my rv I'm at or maybe slightly over the technical payload but this is really only done occasionally. I could totally get another newer ecoboost and manage the heat as I've been doing, I just want something with a simpler drive train but will miss the quiet boost of the F150. But the math says I get a lot more truck for my money in a Ram than in an F150 and I've had 4 of them so ready for a change.

You won't be disappointed in the trucks ability wit the 5.7 and 3.92's. I run right at , and have no problems. PM?