I just returned from towing my small travel trailer over 4,000 miles with my new Ram 1500. In general, the experience was really great. This vehicle feels vastly more capable than my 2008 Ram. My new truck is a Big Horn model with the 5.7 eTorque motor, and it's a crew cab 4x4 with the "trailer tow group", the 3.92 gear ratio, and 275/55-20 tires. I used an EAZ-Lift weight distributing hitch, which when set up properly had the front and rear of my truck sitting at exactly the same height as the unloaded measurements. My tongue weight was at 550 lbs. when measured before I departed - I'm sure this changed throughout the trip as I moved things around, used the tanks, etc.
The combination of the Hemi, the 3.92 gears, and the glorious 8-speed trans made climbing the Rockies hauling around 4,500 lbs an absolutely wonderful experience. My older Ram struggled to maintain speed on the steeper grades, but not this one. I've also towed this trailer with a 2013 Range Rover Sport - it had no trouble with the grades but definitely got squirelly in fast curves. So far the only truck that's given me a better towing experience with this trailer was a (rented) Ram 2500 with the diesel motor back in 2014.
I love the towing mirrors, the built-in brake controller, and especially the excellent downshifts in "tow/haul" mode. I'm so happy I decided to go with the 3.92 gears, because the gearing just feels right for towing, whether at low speeds crawling through town, hitting 75 mph on the interstate, or climbing steep Rocky mountain grades at 65 mph.
Gas mileage was predictably awful. Heading West I was on I-40 much of the time and set cruise control around 73 mph. This resulted in about 9 to 9.5 mpg on average. On my return I drove much of the western half of US-50, a smaller highway with lower speed limits mostly around 65 mph. This resulted in more like 10 - 10.5 mpg. I find these numbers to be similar to most other towing experiences with various vehicles and this trailer (except for the diesel, which did a little better). With my 26-gallon tank this meant stopping for fuel about every 2.5 hours. That's rough on a 32-hour (each direction) trip.
My only other complaint is a strange "groaning" noise from under the truck. From browsing the forums, this seems like the "dying whale" noise that some have attributed to problems with the ANC system. I'll take the truck to the dealer this week and see if they can come up with a fix. This was unrelated to downshifting, and occurred most frequently at low speeds (35-45 mph) around town.
Happy to answer any questions!
Curt
The combination of the Hemi, the 3.92 gears, and the glorious 8-speed trans made climbing the Rockies hauling around 4,500 lbs an absolutely wonderful experience. My older Ram struggled to maintain speed on the steeper grades, but not this one. I've also towed this trailer with a 2013 Range Rover Sport - it had no trouble with the grades but definitely got squirelly in fast curves. So far the only truck that's given me a better towing experience with this trailer was a (rented) Ram 2500 with the diesel motor back in 2014.
I love the towing mirrors, the built-in brake controller, and especially the excellent downshifts in "tow/haul" mode. I'm so happy I decided to go with the 3.92 gears, because the gearing just feels right for towing, whether at low speeds crawling through town, hitting 75 mph on the interstate, or climbing steep Rocky mountain grades at 65 mph.
Gas mileage was predictably awful. Heading West I was on I-40 much of the time and set cruise control around 73 mph. This resulted in about 9 to 9.5 mpg on average. On my return I drove much of the western half of US-50, a smaller highway with lower speed limits mostly around 65 mph. This resulted in more like 10 - 10.5 mpg. I find these numbers to be similar to most other towing experiences with various vehicles and this trailer (except for the diesel, which did a little better). With my 26-gallon tank this meant stopping for fuel about every 2.5 hours. That's rough on a 32-hour (each direction) trip.
My only other complaint is a strange "groaning" noise from under the truck. From browsing the forums, this seems like the "dying whale" noise that some have attributed to problems with the ANC system. I'll take the truck to the dealer this week and see if they can come up with a fix. This was unrelated to downshifting, and occurred most frequently at low speeds (35-45 mph) around town.
Happy to answer any questions!
Curt
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