Why would RAM send them a truck without a 4.10 rear? SMH.
It did best the Chevy uphill and comparison to a big block with a 4.30 rear is just lame.
It did best the Chevy uphill and comparison to a big block with a 4.30 rear is just lame.
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TFL got an 8 speed 6.4, will be running Ike
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The Ram was also pulling less weight. Having had a 6.4 with the 66RFE, I have to say I expected the ZF to be dialed in a whole lot better than all that gear hunting and confused behavior. I absolutely agree it should have had 4.10 gears, but, TBH, I doubt the results would be substantially different.
If they had had the 4.10's, I think they would have added another 2000lbs to it to put it at max tow, so it probably would have equaled out. the Chevy also had a 3.73 rear end, and was towing 2000lbs more. Looking at the transmission gear ratios, the Ram is geared lower in first, and most other gears (8sp vs 6 sp), but the highest gear the trans is the same.
LoL, I agree! I like to find the good in any brand, I'll tell you what drove me to the ram 2500 cummins; best interior, straight axles, coil springs, straight six, et cetera. I do like the free-wheeling hubs on the ford, but the rest of the front suspension is virtually identical to ram. So Chev/GM has IFS, which is great, but then the conestoga wagon leaf springs in the rear. Only ram has a high-tech rear suspension. By the way, I have owned 4 gas powered GMC 2500hd's and 3 duramax powered ones... SHALOM
Here is the truck that Ram sent us for the week, a fully-loaded 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon.
Kimo7
HDRams' Official Greeter
I have essentially the same truck, a 2019 model though and tow a 10,000 lb+ TT with no issues. I’ve also owned a 2017 2500 Limited with the 6.7 Cummins so I have a basis to compare. I don‘t tow on any extreme terrain like the Ike but there are some decent mountains in Virginia. I have no issues at all. I don’t use cruise control very often or at all while towing and the truck shifts fine. After a short time driving you can figure out how to make the tranny shift if the terrain is right. The truck doesn’t struggle in any aspect. I’m amazed that the temps on all the operating systems stay the same as when I’m not towing. The difference is the Hemi uses gearing to make it happen whereas the diesel uses torque. The RPMs are a little higher in the Hemi while towing but thats what makes the magic happen. There are a lot of strong opinions on the gas vs diesel engines but having owned both so far I prefer the Hemi.
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I couldnt agree more.
We just towed our camper to the river. Although I truly miss towing my own with the 99 V10 5 5spd...i really dont miss that 13 Cummins.
I finally got my wife to realize the HEMI has to turn. After she nearly cried at how much our 03 HEMI screamed. The V10 and Cummins just chug along.
I still hate the gap from 2nd to 1st. But I hear the 7 spd fixed that.
If gear selector kept the truck in the gear (didnt allow the downshift ) I would be very happy.
@JC
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Towed my loaded with RZR+ gear ~4500# enclosed trailer with my daughter's Sportsman in the bed of my Power Wagon into a 35mph headwind up and down lightly rolling hills across the middle of SD with the cruise set at 65 and got right at 7.1 mpg hand calculated. Just enough to make it the ~200 miles between scheduled pit stops. Transmission rarely left 6th, sometimes 5th up a hill or 7th down but pretty steady in 6th most of the way. I was touching 10mpg headed the other way (same route/rolling hills) with little to no tail wind.
Boat. No issues, I had it set at 62 and was passing others up the hill. It never missed a beat and never dropped 1 MPH.
New 2020 2500 6.4 owner checking in! My TT is about 7500lbs loaded and I pull some pretty decent hills here in ID. My old truck was a lifted Chevy 1500.
Having towed with the new rig 3 times now, there is no comparison between the two trucks. The 6.4 with 3.73s simply gets after it! The 8 speed tranny is a game changer for me and makes my trips so much more enjoyable.
It is a thirsty bitch though, but I will say, I was getting after it to see what it could do.
I’m blown away to say the least! I couldn’t come to terms with buying a diesel because I honestly didn’t need it, and I always wondered if I made the wrong decision. After my first trip with the TT, my decision was solidified and couldn’t be happier!
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Having towed with the new rig 3 times now, there is no comparison between the two trucks. The 6.4 with 3.73s simply gets after it! The 8 speed tranny is a game changer for me and makes my trips so much more enjoyable.
It is a thirsty bitch though, but I will say, I was getting after it to see what it could do.
I’m blown away to say the least! I couldn’t come to terms with buying a diesel because I honestly didn’t need it, and I always wondered if I made the wrong decision. After my first trip with the TT, my decision was solidified and couldn’t be happier!
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Kimo7
HDRams' Official Greeter
You’ll find a lot of discussion on here about fuel consumption and gas tank size !! They’re all thirsty but that’s the compromise. For me it’s worth it. Glad to hear you’re liking your decision to go with the Hemi.
In my opinion, if you tow anything and you’re worried about fuel mileage, there are other issues at hand! LOL!!!
I personally don’t care about gas mileage all that much. It would be nice to have better mileage around town though, but I only drive my truck every other week and even then it’s not that much!
I just found this forum and some others and learning a ton about my first Ram!
If Chevy made a solid axle 3/4 ton, I wouldn’t be here!
But damn, I love this truck!
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I personally don’t care about gas mileage all that much. It would be nice to have better mileage around town though, but I only drive my truck every other week and even then it’s not that much!
I just found this forum and some others and learning a ton about my first Ram!
If Chevy made a solid axle 3/4 ton, I wouldn’t be here!
But damn, I love this truck!
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These gassers all get about the same mileage when towing. 1/2 or better of my miles are empty and it's doing better than my 5 Star tuned F150 did. Towing it also seems to be better and no power issues. Do I wish it had 450 HP vs. 410 sure. I can also run 87 vs 91 which is saving money. The tune I ran was an 89 tow tune but with the turbo motor I was always nervous about knock so I ran 91. The F150 also ran like crap on corn gas and here only the 91 is ethanol free. So far so good at 4000 miles. Still hate the right side mirror and the A/C has issues like others have reported.
I've been shopping/researching these trucks for quite a while, as I'm going to be moving into a HD when my 1500 lease is up. Yesterday I revisited both of TFL's tests: the 2014 6.4L with 6-speed trans and the 2020 6.4L with 8-speed trans on the Ike Gauntlet.
I came away with more thoughts and questions than I had before I watched. Lol.
First of all, everybody was whining about the 3.73 axle ratio in the 8-speed truck. But the 3.73 in the 8-speed still puts it at an advantage over the 4.10 in the 6-speed truck they tested prior, and the 4.10/A6 truck struggled a lot more up the hill. Secondly, we’re talking 150 RPM at highway speed between 3.73 and 4.10. Guys, that’s totally undetectable. If that is the reason your truck loses speed on a steep grade then the problem is not the axle ratio.
Other question I had was about programming. Looks like the Ram had been programmed to NOT run at redline up a hill like that, probably to preserve the powertrain. I wonder if that hindered performance in terms of time it took to climb the hill? Sure, the 7.3L Ford smoked it climbing the hill three full minutes faster! But is the 7.3L going to last as long doing hot rod work at that pace? Maybe Ram engineers want to keep the 6.4L alive for 300k so they tune it to not rip as hard on purpose?
Still, if I were buying I’d try to find both the 8-speed AND the 4.10 axle. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a deal breaker.
I came away with more thoughts and questions than I had before I watched. Lol.
First of all, everybody was whining about the 3.73 axle ratio in the 8-speed truck. But the 3.73 in the 8-speed still puts it at an advantage over the 4.10 in the 6-speed truck they tested prior, and the 4.10/A6 truck struggled a lot more up the hill. Secondly, we’re talking 150 RPM at highway speed between 3.73 and 4.10. Guys, that’s totally undetectable. If that is the reason your truck loses speed on a steep grade then the problem is not the axle ratio.
Other question I had was about programming. Looks like the Ram had been programmed to NOT run at redline up a hill like that, probably to preserve the powertrain. I wonder if that hindered performance in terms of time it took to climb the hill? Sure, the 7.3L Ford smoked it climbing the hill three full minutes faster! But is the 7.3L going to last as long doing hot rod work at that pace? Maybe Ram engineers want to keep the 6.4L alive for 300k so they tune it to not rip as hard on purpose?
Still, if I were buying I’d try to find both the 8-speed AND the 4.10 axle. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a deal breaker.
Redfour5
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They have done that with a Hemi 6.4 and 3.73 gears. I watched this while I was considering getting one. I always thought it was interesting how they said it "struggled" going up the Ike...
I think I beg to differ on the results of this. I watched it when looking for mine. It was pulling 14,330 lbs of trailer... I pull 7K of travel trailer. I frankly wouldn't use a Hemi if I was hauling that kind of load ON THE IKE. That is definitely diesel territory... But, all things considered, it did a pretty decent job for a one off...in my opinion. I saw this video and said, OK, there it is at its very max tow (6.4). And not bad all things considered.
jetrinka
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If given the choice with towing I'd always choose the 4:10 gears. Engine RPM is a small part of the story - the larger part is the added torque multiplication the higher gears give to the drive axles.