Anyone Towing with the V6 Pentastar 3.6?

[Willyq711]

Greetings all,
So trying to see what the real world max will be for towing with the V6 Pentastar... With the 3.55§its rated at around 7700, so if gather realnex ld would be a comfortable max of around 5500 lbs. 6800 on the 3.21, so probs around 5000 lbs. I really need the better mpg, even if it is only 3 or 4 mpg as I put on plenty of miles for work (don't hall anything except people & occasional home materials). Íbamos like that the V6's have the highest payload ratings. Will tow a 5000-5500 lb (that's GVWR btw, not dry weight, with tongue at around 800 lbs loaded) RV camper trailer 4-6 times a year.

That's said, anyone here tow any RV's in the 5000-6000 lbs range? This towing will mostly be on the flats and warm weather of Florida.

 

[silver billet]

Greetings all,
So trying to see what the real world max will be for towing with the V6 Pentastar... With the 3.55§its rated at around 7700, so if gather realnex ld would be a comfortable max of around 5500 lbs. 6800 on the 3.21, so probs around 5000 lbs. I really need the better mpg, even if it is only 3 or 4 mpg as I put on plenty of miles for work (don't hall anything except people & occasional home materials). Íbamos like that the V6's have the highest payload ratings. Will tow a 5000-5500 lb (that's GVWR btw, not dry weight, with tongue at around 800 lbs loaded) RV camper trailer 4-6 times a year.

That's said, anyone here tow any RV's in the 5000-6000 lbs range? This towing will mostly be on the flats and warm weather of Florida.

I have no experience; but I've read reviews that are suggesting not to do it. 6 times a year would most likely be painful.

But in the end its going to come down to what you're comfortable with and nobody can tell you that except yourself. The truck will absolutely get you there, you just may not enjoy the experience.

If your unloaded driving is mostly freeway, the hemi comes into its own and the mpg gap closes considerably especially with the 3.21 at low speeds.

Maybe double check fuelly.com for real world differences, I don't think you'll get 4 mpg avg better with the 3.6. 2 sounds about right IIRC.

 

[silver billet]

The 3.6, avg = 19 mpg
The 5.7, avg = 16 mpg

Ram 1500 MPG - Actual MPG from 264 Ram 1500 owners

The most accurate Ram 1500 MPG estimates based on real world results of 7.4 million miles driven in 264 Ram 1500s

www.fuelly.com

Ram 1500 MPG - Actual MPG from 3,045 Ram 1500 owners

The most accurate Ram 1500 MPG estimates based on real world results of 82.8 million miles driven in 3,045 Ram 1500s

www.fuelly.com

Guess the difference is a little bigger than I remembered. Still, I regularly get 20 to 23 mpg on the freeway travelling very conservatively. And my last towing trip I got about 10.5 towing about your weight.

 

[Willyq711]

That sounds about right. I heard from forum users that Heminlands around 15-16 while V6 at around 18-19, so this coincides. I hear towing anything over 4500 may not be the best experience as I will encounter high revs consistently, but that has depending factors like anything as most of that feedback comes from mountainous and hilly areas if the US, not flat FL. The Hemi will be a hard buy for me as that mpg will kill me with my line of daily use for work and such. The ecodiesel is the answer, but then there's the reliability and maintenance issues, although the 3rd Gen having been redesigned 80%+ seems to have been the winner (but now discontinued)

 

[silver billet]

That sounds about right. I heard from forum users that Heminlands around 15-16 while V6 at around 18-19, so this coincides. I hear towing anything over 4500 may not be the best experience as I will encounter high revs consistently, but that has depending factors like anything as most of that feedback comes from mountainous and hilly areas if the US, not flat FL. The Hemi will be a hard buy for me as that mpg will kill me with my line of daily use for work and such. The ecodiesel is the answer, but then there's the reliability and maintenance issues, although the 3rd Gen having been redesigned 80%+ seems to have been the winner (but now discontinued)

The ED will be more expensive than what you can find a v6 tradesman for, so have to account for the increased purchase price of ED and what that would buy you in gas too. I do remember them building ED tradesmans but I don't know how popular they got, most EDs seem to be in more expensive trims/trucks.

If you can, take a v6 for a towing test drive. My truck pulls my trailer at 2200 RPMs though it will drop to 1700/1800 if I let it on the straights. From what I've seen in YT reviews a v6 would be sitting closer to 2800 and maybe low 3000s. Not the end of the world. You didn't mention how long the trips would be, an hour is quite a bit different than 5 etc.

 

[silver billet]

This guy has pulled the same 8000 lb load with a lot of trucks on the same loop, here is the 3.6 version:

And the 5.7 hemi for comparison:

But keep in mind that 8000 lbs with a little brick is still different than 6000 pounds with a massive sail, all that wind resistance on the front is worth a lot of weight.

If you look around he does other trucks too, the 2.7 chevy, the eco boosts, the v8s from gm, the diesel from gm etc.

 

[Threesuns1]

I tow my 4000 lb boat/trailer, every couple weeks, 15 miles to fill it. The roads are flat and I hardly know it's there. It's a jon style boat and does not catch a lot of wind traveling down the road so that would be quite different than a travel trailer. With this said, if I was towing a travel trailer, I would have purchased the hemi, I knew the limitations going in. If I was towing a travel trailer often I would have a 3500 diesel.

 

[Willyq711]

The ED will be more expensive than what you can find a v6 tradesman for, so have to account for the increased purchase price of ED and what that would buy you in gas too. I do remember them building ED tradesmans but I don't know how popular they got, most EDs seem to be in more expensive trims/trucks.

If you can, take a v6 for a towing test drive. My truck pulls my trailer at 2200 RPMs though it will drop to 1700/1800 if I let it on the straights. From what I've seen in YT reviews a v6 would be sitting closer to 2800 and maybe low 3000s. Not the end of the world. You didn't mention how long the trips would be, an hour is quite a bit different than 5 etc.

Trips would be 250-500 miles one way .

 

[Willyq711]

The ED will be more expensive than what you can find a v6 tradesman for, so have to account for the increased purchase price of ED and what that would buy you in gas too. I do remember them building ED tradesmans but I don't know how popular they got, most EDs seem to be in more expensive trims/trucks.

If you can, take a v6 for a towing test drive. My truck pulls my trailer at 2200 RPMs though it will drop to 1700/1800 if I let it on the straights. From what I've seen in YT reviews a v6 would be sitting closer to 2800 and maybe low 3000s. Not the end of the world. You didn't mention how long the trips would be, an hour is quite a bit different than 5 etc.

I can deal with 3000, and the V6 revs high to 6500-7000. My towing would be a call rved box rv at 5500 lbs +/-

 

[Willyq711]

Anyone else out there towing 5000*+/- lbs or an RV with the V6?

 

[Shaft546]

Hello, Willy. I have 2021 3.55 with the V6. I pull a 23 foot hybrid with mine. It is roughly 4,300 lbs dry, around 5000 or a little more after gear and family. Around 5 or 6 trips a year.

Our trips are usually less than a few hours, but I am happy with the performance and have no regrets not getting the V8. I get 12.5 MPG on the highway at 65, revs are over 3000. You can hear the engine at that speed, but none of us have complained so far. I don't likely get better MPG towing than the V8 would get, but I do get 22-23 average without towing, and that is why I got the V6.

I also haul firewood on occasion for personal use. Again around 5000 lbs, but no air drag like the camper. Revs are lower then, and MPG is a few better.

As long as you don't mind not getting up to speed that quickly, it works well. Even in the hills of northern Michigan. I have put 17,000 on the truck, 1,100 of that was with the camper, and another 400 or so with a utility trailer.

My decision for the v6 was for upfront and ongoing costs, and personal expierence with this engine in a few past vehicles. I do not have a need for speed, and towing has been at least 2000 under max capacity the whole time. I hope this helps.

 

[Gren71]

I used to pull the same camper I do now with my 3.6 penta in my gladiator.

It did absolutely fine…revs a little higher but the 3.6 makes its power at higher RPMs. Towing experience from the drivers seat is subjective so take it with a grain of salt. But i think youll be absolutely fine. Just pay attention to your hitch weight and payload

5,500-6,000 lbs 30ft travel trailer pulled all over the place with the 3.6. I did a couple thousand miles a year, with trips as long as 500+ miles one way on the east coast.

 

[Willyq711]

Excellent info guys. You've reignited my confidence in the V6. Being that most of my row ng will be within the flats of Florida and one way trips will be 250-500 miles, I think the V6 will do just fine. While towing is a requirement, mpg is more important for me due to my daily driving use, else I'd just get the Hemi.