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2022 Hemi vs Diesel Towing advice needed

Grateful Dad said:
Just out of curiosity, what is the GVWR on the sticker. That kind of payload is awesome for a 2500 diesel……….I’m thinking it’s got to be over 10k. I ask because my buddy has a 2020 GMC with the x31 package, his payload is less than 1,700 lbs (and I thought Rams were the worst).

And good on you for finding a truck that fits your needs, enjoy the summer!
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11,350 on the sticker.
 
GMC raised the GVWR on their 2500s with their last update, '20 I think. Ford just raised theirs in '21, its time for RAM to follow suit. The 10k limit is to keep the truck class 2. I think I heard that some states may require a CDL at class 2. It may also affect insurance ratings. That's also why 3500s are capped at 14k GVWR. Over that everything is CDL.
 
Grateful Dad said:
Just out of curiosity, what is the GVWR on the sticker. That kind of payload is awesome for a 2500 diesel……….I’m thinking it’s got to be over 10k. I ask because my buddy has a 2020 GMC with the x31 package, his payload is less than 1,700 lbs (and I thought Rams were the worst).

And good on you for finding a truck that fits your needs, enjoy the summer!
Click to expand...
Are you sure the truck with a 1700 pound payload is a 2500? I ask because I recently traded in an optioned up Sierra 1500 SLT with 6.2L and x31 and it's payload sticker was 1645. On the Chevy/GMC 2500 diesels the GVWR gets bumped up to 11000 or more so you don't take the big payload hit like you do with the RAM.

For a gas 2500, I prefer the Ram (now have a 2500 Bighorn with 6.4 and 4.10). But if I wanted a 2500 diesel and didn't want kto go up to a 3500, I think GM is the better choice. I've only been on 1 trip so far with the RAM, but so far it seems pretty well matched to my travel trailer (7051 empty as measured on a CAT scale and probably 7500 to 7600 loaded).

Final thought: everyone keeps talking about the effect of hills. But don't forget wind's when towing an RV that acts like pulling a parachute behind you. For our first trip we wnt 3.5 hours away from home in the rolling hills of MN. Not a mountain for a thousand miles. On the way out, with a moderate tail wind I got 9.6 MPG. Going home by the same route but with a moderate head wind, I got 7.4 MPG. It probably averages out to about 8 MPG. That's almost identical to what I got with the Sierra 1500 with 6.2L, 10 speed, and 3.21 when pulling our old trailer that was about 1500 pounds lighter. 3ven though the old trailer was lighter and 4 ft shorter, the frontal area was the same. So weight isnt the only factor to consider. I think my Ram could handle most travel trailers but im doubtful id want to do a fifth wheel with it.
 
Ratman6161 said:
Are you sure the truck with a 1700 pound payload is a 2500? I ask because I recently traded in an optioned up Sierra 1500 SLT with 6.2L and x31 and it's payload sticker was 1645. On the Chevy/GMC 2500 diesels the GVWR gets bumped up to 11000 or more so you don't take the big payload hit like you do with the RAM.

For a gas 2500, I prefer the Ram (now have a 2500 Bighorn with 6.4 and 4.10). But if I wanted a 2500 diesel and didn't want kto go up to a 3500, I think GM is the better choice. I've only been on 1 trip so far with the RAM, but so far it seems pretty well matched to my travel trailer (7051 empty as measured on a CAT scale and probably 7500 to 7600 loaded).

Final thought: everyone keeps talking about the effect of hills. But don't forget wind's when towing an RV that acts like pulling a parachute behind you. For our first trip we wnt 3.5 hours away from home in the rolling hills of MN. Not a mountain for a thousand miles. On the way out, with a moderate tail wind I got 9.6 MPG. Going home by the same route but with a moderate head wind, I got 7.4 MPG. It probably averages out to about 8 MPG. That's almost identical to what I got with the Sierra 1500 with 6.2L, 10 speed, and 3.21 when pulling our old trailer that was about 1500 pounds lighter. 3ven though the old trailer was lighter and 4 ft shorter, the frontal area was the same. So weight isnt the only factor to consider. I think my Ram could handle most travel trailers but im doubtful id want to do a fifth wheel with it.
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The low payload is the result of a 10k lb GVWR and a diesel engine, the Cummins is a good 800+ lbs heavier than the Hemi. Once you add other options like the sunroof, rambox, off road group or go up in trim levels. Some of those options can be pretty heavy.
Ford and GM provide increased GVWR's for the diesel equipped 3/4 ton trucks to negate the added weight.
 
Here's my two cents......... I made an expensive mistake last year buying a new Ford F250 with the 7.3l, 10 spd to tow my 11k trailer. It did OK towing on flat land MN but once I got into small hills the 10 spd tranny downshifted multiple gears incessantly. Also, the engine would rev over 4k and tranny temps kept above 225 deg. Then with headwinds came I could hardly control the rig, couldn't drive over 60 mph on the interstate. It was so unstable even after I added helper springs. I think it was too light weight. The last straw was when I took it to some "mountains" of the badlands. It struggled mightly. Finally, overall fuel mileage towing only averaged 6.5 mpg. What to do? I traded the Ford in for a new RAM 3500 with the 6.7l and 6 spd. I couldn't be happier. With 14.5k miles behind me (75% towing) all of my towing concerns are gone. Towing mileage is 50% better at 10.5 mpg. Not only does the engine/tranny easily handle the load but the stability pulling the load at 70 mph with head winds is amazing. I love the 6 spd as it hardly ever downshifts. Even with diesel prices a buck more than gas the better mileage and massive torque makes up for it IMHO.
 
Bluecoral said:
Here's my two cents......... I made an expensive mistake last year buying a new Ford F250 with the 7.3l, 10 spd to tow my 11k trailer. It did OK towing on flat land MN but once I got into small hills the 10 spd tranny downshifted multiple gears incessantly. Also, the engine would rev over 4k and tranny temps kept above 225 deg. Then with headwinds came I could hardly control the rig, couldn't drive over 60 mph on the interstate. It was so unstable even after I added helper springs. I think it was too light weight. The last straw was when I took it to some "mountains" of the badlands. It struggled mightly. Finally, overall fuel mileage towing only averaged 6.5 mpg. What to do? I traded the Ford in for a new RAM 3500 with the 6.7l and 6 spd. I couldn't be happier. With 14.5k miles behind me (75% towing) all of my towing concerns are gone. Towing mileage is 50% better at 10.5 mpg. Not only does the engine/tranny easily handle the load but the stability pulling the load at 70 mph with head winds is amazing. I love the 6 spd as it hardly ever downshifts. Even with diesel prices a buck more than gas the better mileage and massive torque makes up for it IMHO.
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Good, honest review.
 
Ratman6161 said:
Are you sure the truck with a 1700 pound payload is a 2500? I ask because I recently traded in an optioned up Sierra 1500 SLT with 6.2L and x31 and it's payload sticker was 1645. On the Chevy/GMC 2500 diesels the GVWR gets bumped up to 11000 or more so you don't take the big payload hit like you do with the RAM.

For a gas 2500, I prefer the Ram (now have a 2500 Bighorn with 6.4 and 4.10). But if I wanted a 2500 diesel and didn't want kto go up to a 3500, I think GM is the better choice. I've only been on 1 trip so far with the RAM,
Click to expand...
Ratman6161 said:
but so far it seems pretty well matched to my travel trailer (7051 empty as measured on a CAT scale and probably 7500 to 7600 loaded).

Final thought: everyone keeps talking about the effect of hills. But don't forget wind's when towing an RV that acts like pulling a parachute behind you. For our first trip we wnt 3.5 hours away from home in the rolling hills of MN. Not a mountain for a thousand miles. On the way out, with a moderate tail wind I got 9.6 MPG. Going home by the same route but with a moderate head wind, I got 7.4 MPG. It probably averages out to about 8 MPG. That's almost identical to what I got with the Sierra 1500 with 6.2L, 10 speed, and 3.21 when pulling our old trailer that was about 1500 pounds lighter. 3ven though the old trailer was lighter and 4 ft shorter, the frontal area was the same. So weight isnt the only factor to consider. I think my Ram could handle most travel trailers but im doubtful id want to do a fifth wheel with it.
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Yep, it’s a 2500, GVRW is 9,900 lbs. Not sure if that’s the purely due to the X31 package but his truck does not have the higher GVWR to offset the weight of the Duramax.

Wind is indeed a MPG killer, anything over 55-60 and wind is the biggest factor for any vehicle, adding a 5’ver that’s a pinch over 12’ tall just exasperates the issue. No complaints here though, MPG’s suck but for my needs the Hemi gets it done nicely.
 
Bluecoral said:
Here's my two cents......... I made an expensive mistake last year buying a new Ford F250 with the 7.3l, 10 spd to tow my 11k trailer. It did OK towing on flat land MN but once I got into small hills the 10 spd tranny downshifted multiple gears incessantly. Also, the engine would rev over 4k and tranny temps kept above 225 deg. Then with headwinds came I could hardly control the rig, couldn't drive over 60 mph on the interstate. It was so unstable even after I added helper springs. I think it was too light weight. The last straw was when I took it to some "mountains" of the badlands. It struggled mightly. Finally, overall fuel mileage towing only averaged 6.5 mpg. What to do? I traded the Ford in for a new RAM 3500 with the 6.7l and 6 spd. I couldn't be happier. With 14.5k miles behind me (75% towing) all of my towing concerns are gone. Towing mileage is 50% better at 10.5 mpg. Not only does the engine/tranny easily handle the load but the stability pulling the load at 70 mph with head winds is amazing. I love the 6 spd as it hardly ever downshifts. Even with diesel prices a buck more than gas the better mileage and massive torque makes up for it IMHO.
Click to expand...
I’ve seen quite a few reviews lamenting the 10 speeds propensity to shifting and getting on the warm side. I will say, I’m impressed with the 6.4/8 speed (I did have the 5.7/8speed in my 1500 FWIW), it doesn’t “hunt” with my setup and the temps stay consistent @ 167-168 while towing, Ram has got the trans temps on these 2500’s under control, temps on the 1500’s were much higher. It hit 170 once for about 20 seconds, that was on a long grade @4k rpm in 4th gear……….sounded damn good and was accelerating up that grade (pushed her a bit to see how she’d do).
 
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