First Big Tow Trip

[jkempken]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give an update on my first big towing trip with the truck. For the past week and a half me and some buddies took a trip out west snowmobiling pulling a bumper pull 20+3ft enclosed call hauler trailer with our sleds and gear in it (approx 7-8k lbs with another 500 or so in the bed). We traveled at between 80-85 MPH the entire trip, right around 1900-2000 RPM. Total for the trip was right around 2800 miles.

Positives

• Truck was great to ride in, everyone was fighting to sit in the back of the mega cab with the reclining seats and tons of leg room.
• Ram boxes worked great for holding additive (Hotshots EDT and Hotshots Anti-gel) - was about -5 F through ND on the way out

Negatives

• Truck used a ton of DEF, had a full tank leaving home, had to put 3 - 2.5 gallon jugs of def in over the course of the trip and have about a quarter tank left right now. I figure truck used about 11.25 gallons of def in 2800 miles or 250 mpg - was expecting way better since the LML Duramax we traveled with didn't need to fill with def once.
• Truck's DTE is way off - we would routinely go to what we thought was an 1/8th tank and only put in 22-24 gallons of diesel. One stop the DTE was 19 miles but only filled the truck up with 26 gallons, and anther the truck said "Low" for about 10 miles and we put in 27 gallons. Truck is supposed to be a 31 gallon tank.
• Fuel mileage was not what I was expecting - We averaged 8.7 MPG over the course of the whole trip. Some of the tanks were up around 10-11 MPG when we were going slower (around 50-60 MPG average). Most tanks were right around 8 MPG traveling at 80-85 MPH.
• The 68RFE likes to downshift way early and not lug during cruise control- we would pull short 3% grade hill get halfway up holding speed then all of a sudden I would hear the engine roar and downshift to fifth. The engine would flare from 1800 RPM in 6th to about 2500 RPM, then the TC would lock and come back down to around 2200 in 5th to finish the hill. I would have thought the Cummins could pull small hills in 6th on cruise control just fine like the Dmax. Previous years same trip my buddies L5P wouldn't downshift for anything, just hold the gear and lug along. When not using cruise control it didnt downshift nearly as much and I could let it lug up the hill.
• The cup holders in the back seat do not accept larger cans or bottles. We could not get 16oz monster cans to fit properly.
• I have the on board WIFI and I payed for a full year. It would work each way until the first fuel stop then not work. Extremely annoying as we traveled through some dead zones where the truck's WIFI would have still worked. It worked after turning the truck off for about 25 minutes but we never turned the truck off at fuel stops because we were at each one for less than 10 minutes.
• On the way out the on board NAV quit working at the first fuel stop same as the WIFI. Luckily I was able to hook up my iPhone and use Google Maps over Carplay.

Thanks for reading my little experience and let me know if anything seems out of line and i should have the truck looked at.

 

[McHenry2500]

What was your trailer set up? Bumper pull or gooseneck? Enclosed?

I'm surprised at how low the MPG dropped but that maybe due to the 80-85MPH speed. I've noticed the "sweet spot" for optimal MPG seems to be 68-75 in mine.

 

[jkempken]

Sorry I should have added that info, all of the sleds and gear were in an enclosed car hauler 20+3 ft bumper pull. I updated the original post.

 

[bfs673]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give an update on my first big towing trip with the truck. For the past week and a half me and some buddies took a trip out west snowmobiling pulling a bumper pull 20+3ft enclosed call hauler trailer with our sleds and gear in it (approx 7-8k lbs with another 500 or so in the bed). We traveled at between 80-85 MPH the entire trip, right around 1900-2000 RPM. Total for the trip was right around 2800 miles.

Positives

• Truck was great to ride in, everyone was fighting to sit in the back of the mega cab with the reclining seats and tons of leg room.
• Ram boxes worked great for holding additive (Hotshots EDT and Hotshots Anti-gel) - was about -5 F through ND on the way out

Negatives

• Truck used a ton of DEF, had a full tank leaving home, had to put 3 - 2.5 gallon jugs of def in over the course of the trip and have about a quarter tank left right now. I figure truck used about 11.25 gallons of def in 2800 miles or 250 mpg - was expecting way better since the LML Duramax we traveled with didn't need to fill with def once.
• Truck's DTE is way off - we would routinely go to what we thought was an 1/8th tank and only put in 22-24 gallons of diesel. One stop the DTE was 19 miles but only filled the truck up with 26 gallons, and anther the truck said "Low" for about 10 miles and we put in 27 gallons. Truck is supposed to be a 31 gallon tank.
• Fuel mileage was not what I was expecting - We averaged 8.7 MPG over the course of the whole trip. Some of the tanks were up around 10-11 MPG when we were going slower (around 50-60 MPG average). Most tanks were right around 8 MPG traveling at 80-85 MPH.
• The 68RFE likes to downshift way early and not lug during cruise control- we would pull short 3% grade hill get halfway up holding speed then all of a sudden I would hear the engine roar and downshift to fifth. The engine would flare from 1800 RPM in 6th to about 2500 RPM, then the TC would lock and come back down to around 2200 in 5th to finish the hill. I would have thought the Cummins could pull small hills in 6th on cruise control just fine like the Dmax. Previous years same trip my buddies L5P wouldn't downshift for anything, just hold the gear and lug along. When not using cruise control it didnt downshift nearly as much and I could let it lug up the hill.
• The cup holders in the back seat do not accept larger cans or bottles. We could not get 16oz monster cans to fit properly.
• I have the on board WIFI and I payed for a full year. It would work each way until the first fuel stop then not work. Extremely annoying as we traveled through some dead zones where the truck's WIFI would have still worked. It worked after turning the truck off for about 25 minutes but we never turned the truck off at fuel stops because we were at each one for less than 10 minutes.
• On the way out the on board NAV quit working at the first fuel stop same as the WIFI. Luckily I was able to hook up my iPhone and use Google Maps over Carplay.

Thanks for reading my little experience and let me know if anything seems out of line and i should have the truck looked at.

I'm new to the 4.5 gen and haven't pulled with mine yet; below comments are based on my '14. I look forward to seeing how my '21 compares!

• DEF Usage appears very high. My experience with my '14, towing ~ 16k never went through DEF like that. I only used 5 gallons or so in a 3k+ mile trip pulling my 5ver. Def usage should be roughly 2% of fuel. If you got 8.5mpg over 2800 miles, would expect you to use 6 to 7 gallons of DEF.
• DTE has always been shorter than actual. My '14 would get to 20 miles or so, and still have more than expected fuel in the tank. The smaller fuel tank doesn't help!
• Fuel mileage at 80 - 85 MPG is not going to impress you, empty or towing. Towing does drop the mileage pretty good, and the speed makes a huge difference . Pulling a 16k 5ver my '14 would get 8.5 - 10 MPG. Cannot comment on a lighter trailer.
• Pulling my 5ver, I've always locked out 6th gear. The 3.42's weren't helping anything with this weight, so I'm looking forward to the 3.73! Downshifting shouldn't concern you too much. Running the higher RPM isn't bad for the motor at all. I'm sure it could pull the hills in the higher gear, but nothing wrong with getting the RPMs up a bit. My '14 would hold 5th gear impressively well with the 16k, so maybe there is a difference while in 6th? Additionally, I don't think the downshifting is affecting the fuel mileage much; Still uses the same energy to pull the load up a hill, but a small difference is expected.
• My passengers have 4 legs and have only complained about stepping into the cup holders
• The onboard WiFi relies on a cell phone service; the carrier escapes me, but thinking AT&T. If there is no cell phone service, there will be no WiFi. This could be a different carrier than what your phone uses, so it's possible for one to have coverage without the other.
• The Nav going out would be disappointing for sure!

Best of luck, hopefully you get some of the issues resolved, and find peace with some of the things you're not likely to change.

 

[gimmie11s]

[*]I have the on board WIFI and I payed for a full year. It would work each way until the first fuel stop then not work. Extremely annoying as we traveled through some dead zones where the truck's WIFI would have still worked. It worked after turning the truck off for about 25 minutes but we never turned the truck off at fuel stops because we were at each one for less than 10 minutes.

I had a similar experience with the WiFi on our maiden voyage driving our new 3500 home to SoCal from Seattle... Paid for a year in advance only to have it stop working about an hour into our trip... granted, my kids were all using it to stream videos so im wondering if ATT throttled us down even though I paid for "unlimited" service for 12 months?

What did you figure out on yours?

 

[Epsilon Plus]

Locking out 6th and forcing 5th will suffer no ill effects. You think it would, but Cummins is a weird fish. You'll likely get a tick better MPG and save your OD clutches. Long straight pull, I'll let it ride 6th towing. Up and down little hills every couple hundred yards or a grade, and 6th is getting locked out to avoid that flare you're talking about. The 6.7 ISB makes about the same torque from 1,600-2,800 so it's a different experience than you'll get from other combos for sure. Also, Cummins don't like to lug like your L5P example. Not even in the big ISM/ISX big truck world. As far as diesel engines go, they are the rev happiest ones I've driven. Ram probably has the TCM programming such to favor dropping a gear knowing lugging will overload the weaker OD clutches and that the ISB give's no Fs living at 2,100+ and, again, getting the same MPG you'd be seeing at 1,600 (while towing 8k+).

Just my .02c

 

[regal2800]

I had a similar experience with the WiFi on our maiden voyage driving our new 3500 home to SoCal from Seattle... Paid for a year in advance only to have it stop working about an hour into our trip... granted, my kids were all using it to stream videos so im wondering if ATT throttled us down even though I paid for "unlimited" service for 12 months?

What did you figure out on yours?

you only get unlimited till about 22 gb of usage per month, then they throttle you for the month during peak usage times. very annoying.

 

[Will_T]

living at 2,100+ and, again, getting the same MPG you'd be seeing at 1,600 (while towing 8k+)

Wow! Really? That is good to know. I have not towed our TT yet but with my small utility trailer I did lock out 6th for much of the time as the truck seemed to want to go into 6th unnecessarily. As you said the RPM's went to 1,900 to 2,200 in general. I just figured that all was good except for a little less MPG. And I thought on long 1,000 mile trips with the TT that would add up to some extra fuel. But maybe not so much?

 

[Epsilon Plus]

It didn't for me pulling 7,600lb TT. I did 10.2 on a trip using mostly 6th and mostly 5th on the way back and still ended the trip at 10.2.

Cummins RAMs don't care if you are pulling 5k or 20k, you're getting 9-10 MPG either way

 

[Will_T]

Cummins RAMs don't care if you are pulling 5k or 20k, you're getting 9-10 MPG either way

OK. I am always surprised when I read this 9-10 mpg towing since I am getting almost 20 empty. My old 2001 V-10 got 9 towing. Of course it got 11 empty! And it did not like going uphill. And I did not like it pushing me down the other side of the mountain and having to overheat the brakes. I am really looking forward to the first long trip with the TT. Hope I am as happy as everyone thinks I will be.

 

[gimmie11s]

you only get unlimited till about 22 gb of usage per month, then they throttle you for the month during peak usage times. very annoying.

Thank you. That was my gut feeling, glad someone else confirmed.

Moral of story... NOT unlimited! Pisses me off lol

 

[MEGA HO]

Wow! Really? That is good to know. I have not towed our TT yet but with my small utility trailer I did lock out 6th for much of the time as the truck seemed to want to go into 6th unnecessarily. As you said the RPM's went to 1,900 to 2,200 in general. I just figured that all was good except for a little less MPG. And I thought on long 1,000 mile trips with the TT that would add up to some extra fuel. But maybe not so much?

Well not really, I think he's exaggerating a little, but it's true the MPG is the same whether you're towing in 5th or 6th. I've had a smallish 4500lbs TT and rowing it through the Rockies, I found the mpg was the same regardless of gear. I've got just under 15mpg for that trip I believe.
My truck doesn't "flare" on downshifts as others mentioned but mine is a HO with Aisin

 

[Will_T]

the truck said "Low" for about 10 miles and we put in 27 gallons. Truck is supposed to be a 31 gallon tank.

I know the original post is a bit old but I was looking to see what this thing called "flare" that is referred to is and saw your note about the tank size. The first thing I had done to my truck was to swap the OEM 31 gallon tank with a 52g Titan. The installers wanted an almost empty tank when I went in so I drove it for about 15 miles with the "Low Fuel" light on. Still when they removed the tank there was probably 4 gallons of diesel left. So there is a big safety margin with the 31 gallon tank after the "Low" warning comes on. Because I have been told several times not to run a diesel truck low on fuel, I figured the 31 gallon tank has max 28 gallons of useable fuel.

When we tow we are often out in the middle of nowhere in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, etc., so I was not happy with the idea of only having 27 or 28 gallons of fuel to work with. With my old V-10, with a 40 gallon tank, I still had four RotoPaX fuel containers mounted in the bed. With my Ram's 31 gallon tank, I would have had to do the same RotoPaX setup, at the very least. I did not want to take up bed space with a aux tank, and did not want the long bed, so I felt forced by Ram to upsize the under bed tank. These trucks are made for towing, even the short beds should come from the factory with more than a 350 or so mile range between fuel stops. OEM I would have been probably about 325 miles when towing. With the Titan I should be about 575 miles. That extra 250 miles is peace of mind when all you can see in any direction is Sage Brush, mountains, and horizon!

 

[jeffn]

85 mph is going to eat into MPG and DEF consumption. Increased velocity is a multiplier on air resistance and the other end of the trailer contributes to this as the air moving around your trailer creates turbulence that is pulling you backward. Sweet spot for me is 65-70 but I am willing to give up a little by stretching it to 75. Anything above that and I see my mileage drop big time, and DEF increase big time, which adds insult to injury of my $ per mile.

The DTE observation is spot on. I would be damn near empty and the truck would still have 8 gallons in the tank. I swapped out for a Titan 50 gallon tank with a Fleece lift pump. My gauge is accurate, DTE is not (I have yet to reprogram with AlphaODB but I can still do the math based on trip miles). I figure I can get 600-650 miles towing my car hauler, 800 miles not towing, in fact I just came back from San Diego and only filled up once on the trip down and back to the Bay Area. Highly recommend this upgrade.

I have not had issues with wifi or nav. I actually really like the nav in my Ram on the big screen. It may not be as good as google on re-routing but it is still really good and I prefer it over carplay and Google. Ram did a nice job on the nav and this is a first for anything in a factory vehicle for me. I really like the send-and-go feautre but have to admit I get really annoyed that the keyboard is locked out in motion (but not enough to spend $ on the bypass).

 

[MEGA HO]

85 mph is going to eat into MPG and DEF consumption. Increased velocity is a multiplier on air resistance and the other end of the trailer contributes to this as the air moving around your trailer creates turbulence that is pulling you backward. Sweet spot for me is 65-70 but I am willing to give up a little by stretching it to 75. Anything above that and I see my mileage drop big time, and DEF increase big time, which adds insult to injury of my $ per mile.

Actualy the sweet spot will be 50 but nobody got time for that. Even driving my wifes X-Over we get incredible mileage if going this slow. In Western Canada there is only a few roads with 120kmh (~75mph) speeds, most are 100-110kmh (62-68mph) and if I don't speed I generally do very good. With a huge sail (TT)behind a brick shaped truck, even going from 65 to 70mph will make a noticeable difference in MPG, and the faster you go the worse it gets.

 

[jeffn]

notice I said the sweet spot “for me” is that range. Most of my driving is on 75 mph limit interstates, if you drop down to 60-65 the safety risk goes up quite a bit, not to mention losing 100+ miles a day in the process. I run closer to 70 as a good compromise.

 

[jkempken]

Just got back from the second Snowmobile trip from Wisconsin to West Yellowstone., just over 2800 miles.

This year I installed a Thuren Sway bar, 35x12.5R20 Ridge Grapplers, 50 Gallon Titan Tank, and picked up a 2022 Legend 26+5 x 7.5 Wide explorer trailer. Overall this trip had similar experience as the previous trip with the exception of the fuel stops. We ran into some nasty roads through the second half of North Dakota and the first 50 miles of Montana on I94. I94 from Glendive to Miles city was closed for almost 12 hours due to severe ice and wind when we were rolling through. Luckily we were only stopped for about 1.5 hours in Glendive until they could get some brine down and the sun came up and melted everything off. We are able to make between 350 and 380 miles (about 5.5 hours @ 80-85 MPH a tank this year thanks to the 50 gallon Titan!! Averaged about the same MPG (8.65) with the bigger tires but a bit more aerodynamic trailer with 5 sleds in it. NAV and Wifi worked great going out but the Wifi crapped the bed on the way home after coming out of the mountains. I did have the dealer to a Radio update in fall after mentioning the WiFi Dropping on several occasions. Def Usage was significantly better this year as i only had to put in 5 gallons and ended just over 1/4 tank when I parked in the shed.

Looking forward for the Y78 recall update to put a CP3.3 in the truck and then will be looking at Calibrated power to do a tube to the truck to help with holding 6th up some hills and hopefully a bit more passing power.

 

[Firebird]

I pull a 35’ travel trailer with my dually, roughly 10,000 pounds loaded. I will get in the 11’s on economy, but I usually pull between 65-70mph. I would imagine 85 mph would suck down some diesel and DEF!

 

[jkempken]

I pull a 35’ travel trailer with my dually, roughly 10,000 pounds loaded. I will get in the 11’s on economy, but I usually pull between 65-70mph. I would imagine 85 mph would suck down some diesel and DEF!

Speed limit in Montana is 80 on I94 and North Dakota majority is 75 on I94. Running slower would net better fuel Economy but add about 2 hours to our trip each way, we aint got time for that lol.