Troop2865
Active Member
Today was the first time I have towed with my new Bighorn .ORG with 3:92’s and Hemi without etorque. My youngest son purchased a 1977 Jeep Wagoneer from a guy in Springfield, Missouri. I live about an hour north of St. Louis, so I pulled my 18 foot long car hauler to my son’s house just outside St. Louis, picked him up, and we hit the road.
Missouri is fairly hilly down I-44. I set the cruise at 70 and averaged 13.9 MPG. My trailer weighs about 1800 pounds empty. I tried using the tow mode and without it pulling the empty trailer. I thought the truck actually did better without tow mode on the way down.
We loaded the Wagoneer, which is supposed to be about 4800 pounds. With the trailer we had about 6600 pounds in tow. I did use the tow/haul mode on the way back. It did a great job of holding speed on the long down hills. I set the cruise at 65 and the transmission shifted down as low as 5th gear on a few long, steep hills. Generally, if it down shifted, it would go to 7th or 6th.
I am sure the 3:92 gears made a big difference. With that much weight and winds resistance, I thought I would be happy getting 10 MPG. I hand calculated the mileage and got 11.35 MPG. Needless to say, I am pleased with that.
I sold a 2011 Ram 2500 with a Cummins. Needless to say, a great truck for towing. I became less than enthusiastic about the truck when the emissions started acting up (new turbo due to soot build up and other things). I sold it at 115,000 miles. I will say it brought a great price.
Anyway, I give the new 1500 an A for its first towing trip. I now have 2500 miles on it. I suspect it will get a little better yet. As a note, I did tow with the stock wheels and tires since I have my 35’s and after market wheels off for the winter.
Missouri is fairly hilly down I-44. I set the cruise at 70 and averaged 13.9 MPG. My trailer weighs about 1800 pounds empty. I tried using the tow mode and without it pulling the empty trailer. I thought the truck actually did better without tow mode on the way down.
We loaded the Wagoneer, which is supposed to be about 4800 pounds. With the trailer we had about 6600 pounds in tow. I did use the tow/haul mode on the way back. It did a great job of holding speed on the long down hills. I set the cruise at 65 and the transmission shifted down as low as 5th gear on a few long, steep hills. Generally, if it down shifted, it would go to 7th or 6th.
I am sure the 3:92 gears made a big difference. With that much weight and winds resistance, I thought I would be happy getting 10 MPG. I hand calculated the mileage and got 11.35 MPG. Needless to say, I am pleased with that.
I sold a 2011 Ram 2500 with a Cummins. Needless to say, a great truck for towing. I became less than enthusiastic about the truck when the emissions started acting up (new turbo due to soot build up and other things). I sold it at 115,000 miles. I will say it brought a great price.
Anyway, I give the new 1500 an A for its first towing trip. I now have 2500 miles on it. I suspect it will get a little better yet. As a note, I did tow with the stock wheels and tires since I have my 35’s and after market wheels off for the winter.
