Fuel mileage difference 1500 5.7 hemi vs 2500 6.4 hemi towing?

[suber81083]

Just wondering what the fuel mileage difference is between these 2 trucks hauling around 2500 lbs is? Thinking about trading my 2019 2500 in for a new 1500 since that would be all I need the truck for. We’re thinking about selling our travel trailer.


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[kevin588127]

I'm going the opposite direction but have alot of towing on my 1500. My 2014 1500 has the 8 speed and 3.92 gears. It got 20 mpg on the stock tires (Goodyears) but as soon as I upgraded to an actual truck tire, mileage dropped to about 16 mpg hiway. Pulling my 14' aluminum trailer drops me to 12 mpg. Pulling my 20' tilt deck with anything on it puts me in the 10-12 range and towing my 28' toy hauler is 8-10. 72 mph is the max that I tow at and 65-70 mph seems to be the sweet spot where the truck is happy when pulling a moderate load.

My advice would be to stick with the 3/4 ton unless you really want the convenience of the smaller truck or the slightly better ride quality.

The 1500s are way under sprung in the rear and a coil upgrade or airbags are needed to reduce squat, even on a lightly loaded trailer. In my case I did springs, bags and heavier tires. These things helped towing immensely but also hurty unloaded ride quality. The '19 2500 that I test drove rode better than my 1500 does.

 

[suber81083]

I'm going the opposite direction but have alot of towing on my 1500. My 2014 1500 has the 8 speed and 3.92 gears. It got 20 mpg on the stock tires (Goodyears) but as soon as I upgraded to an actual truck tire, mileage dropped to about 16 mpg hiway. Pulling my 14' aluminum trailer drops me to 12 mpg. Pulling my 20' tilt deck with anything on it puts me in the 10-12 range and towing my 28' toy hauler is 8-10. 72 mph is the max that I tow at and 65-70 mph seems to be the sweet spot where the truck is happy when pulling a moderate load.

My advice would be to stick with the 3/4 ton unless you really want the convenience of the smaller truck or the slightly better ride quality.

The 1500s are way under sprung in the rear and a coil upgrade or airbags are needed to reduce squat, even on a lightly loaded trailer. In my case I did springs, bags and heavier tires. These things helped towing immensely but also hurty unloaded ride quality. The '19 2500 that I test drove rode better than my 1500 does.

Thanks for the info. That’s what I was thinking. Sounds about the same mileage on
mine 8-10 towing a 7500lb TT. The 2500 rides fine to me and is a lot more truck so that’s what I’ll probably do is keep it.


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[jdefoe0424]

Both trucks will get roughly the same mileage towing, highway mileage will be roughly the same(maybe a little worse on the 2500, due to overall size). In city/burb mileage will definitely be worse with the 2500, due to the extra mass.
I went from a 19 1500 w/ 3.92 to a 19 2500 w/ 3.73

 

[akaustin]

My 2020 PW gets the same towing my camper as my ‘09 1500 5.7 with 3.92 gears did. Around town, however, I get about 7 mpg! That is half of what the 1500 got.

 

[SL1]

I had a 2020, 4x4 1500 crew cab with the 6.5 bed for a year. That truck had the tow package with the 3.92 gears. I can't speak comparing the 2500 hemi as I opted for the cummins. However after a solid year with the 1/2ton I can say on average it did about 12-14 in town and 19 on a long highway. My all time average for the year was about 14mpg. Hook a trailer up and forget about it, best was 6.5 to 7.5 pulling my 6000lb travel trailer. I will say that it was a fine truck and it rode far better then a 3/4 ton, but it also didn't have e rated tires. I believe adding e rated tires to 1/2 ton would have stiffened the ride considerably(and hurt the milage). My 1500 handled a load fine but, I did add airbags. Only reason I traded was we started traveling/camping more, timing was good.

If I was in your shoes, I would keep the 2500 since the only gain seems the better ride, and that changes with opinions.

 

[kevin588127]

I had a 2020, 4x4 1500 crew cab with the 6.5 bed for a year. That truck had the tow package with the 3.92 gears. I can't speak comparing the 2500 hemi as I opted for the cummins. However after a solid year with the 1/2ton I can say on average it did about 12-14 in town and 19 on a long highway. My all time average for the year was about 14mpg. Hook a trailer up and forget about it, best was 6.5 to 7.5 pulling my 6000lb travel trailer. I will say that it was a fine truck and it rode far better then a 3/4 ton, but it also didn't have e rated tires. I believe adding e rated tires to 1/2 ton would have stiffened the ride considerably(and hurt the milage). My 1500 handled a load fine but, I did add airbags. Only reason I traded was we started traveling/camping more, timing was good.

If I was in your shoes, I would keep the 2500 since the only gain seems the better ride, and that changes with opinions.

Interesting that your mileage with a 6k trailer was that low. I have a 28' and basically the same 1500 truck. I've never had that bad of mileage. I do keep it 70ish or below. Wondering if your trailer is actually the weight that you think it is. Mine is listed as weighing 6200 dry but the damn thing is slightly over 8k with just our usual weekend camping supplies. Seems like these RV companies may fudge the numbers a bit to get their claimed dry weight. I have basically the same reason for upgrading to the HD. Increased the distance and frequency of our TT towing and feels like I'm abusing the half ton. You are also correct about the E range tires. They drastically reduce the ride quality of the 1500.

 

[SL1]

My trailer weight is a guess on my part because I've never weighed it so I could be way off. The height is 10'11" and I run with 54 gallons of water too. Your probably correct about being closer to 8K. I should probably weigh it one of these days I guess.

 

[kevin588127]

My trailer weight is a guess on my part because I've never weighed it so I could be way. The height is 10'11" and I run with 54 gallons of water too. Your probably correct about being closer to 8K. I should probably weigh it one of these days I guess.

It is usually an eye opening experience. My old thor was quite a bit heavier than listed but not as bad as my current forest river.

 

[OldRamNewRam]

Just wondering what the fuel mileage difference is between these 2 trucks hauling around 2500 lbs is? Thinking about trading my 2019 2500 in for a new 1500 since that would be all I need the truck for. We’re thinking about selling our travel trailer.


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Truck #1: Our 2020 Ram 1500, 5.7L w/ 3.21 gears pulling a 6,000 lb, 29 ft travel trailer = 9.5 mpg @ 65-70mph.

Truck #2: Our 2022 RAM 2500, 6.4L w/ 3.73 gears pulling a 10,000 lb 5th wheel varied going down from Illinois to Alabama w/ 1,000 miles on the engine we averaged 8.4mpg. Coming back up from Florida to Illinois with almost 4,000 miles on the engine, we averaged 9.6mpg with a fair amount of idling during disconnect / connect process to keep the dog cool. Average speed was 62mph (varied from 48 to 73 going up/down hills worst case).

 

[G’Dave]

If you’re looking for a 1/2 ton that pulls well and also gives decent fuel mileage, the best option is the EcoDiesel.

I just stepped up to the 2500 Hemi, but my ED always got around 22 around town, 27 on the highway, and 14 pulling a 5000 lb 7x14 cargo trailer (6’6” interior height, V nose).

I bought it new and did over 160k (miles, not km’s)

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[Redfour5]

I'm going the opposite direction but have alot of towing on my 1500. My 2014 1500 has the 8 speed and 3.92 gears. It got 20 mpg on the stock tires (Goodyears) but as soon as I upgraded to an actual truck tire, mileage dropped to about 16 mpg hiway. Pulling my 14' aluminum trailer drops me to 12 mpg. Pulling my 20' tilt deck with anything on it puts me in the 10-12 range and towing my 28' toy hauler is 8-10. 72 mph is the max that I tow at and 65-70 mph seems to be the sweet spot where the truck is happy when pulling a moderate load.

My advice would be to stick with the 3/4 ton unless you really want the convenience of the smaller truck or the slightly better ride quality.

The 1500s are way under sprung in the rear and a coil upgrade or airbags are needed to reduce squat, even on a lightly loaded trailer. In my case I did springs, bags and heavier tires. These things helped towing immensely but also hurty unloaded ride quality. The '19 2500 that I test drove rode better than my 1500 does.

My experience with a 28 foot travel trailer at 6700 lbs and mileage on a 1500 is the same running 8 to 9 here in MT consistently and having had both a 3.92 rear end (2015 Outdoorsman) and a 3.21 (2021 Big Horn) they are very little different with the 3.92 maybe doing a very slight bit better. Those two got there differently with the 3.21 doing it with transmission and the 3.92 doing it more with the gearing, but not a substantive difference.

New 2022 Laramie 6.4 Hemi 2500: I actually get approximately the same gas mileage with my 2022 maybe a tad better in my 2500 towing the trailer. I was surprised. My first towing mpg on a 300 ish mile run with one low pass and a few 6% runs was 8.7 and I was pleasantly surprised with this. AND this is with an unbroken in 1100 mile new 2500. Now for running around town, I definitely suffer a bit vs a 1500 on mpg but not as much as I had thought I would.

Now, as far as comfort goes? The 1500's are noticeably more comfortable, easier to get into, easier to park. The new 2500's are very comfortable and not much different inside, but there is NEVER any doubt you are in a truck daily driving. In a 1500, even the old 2015, you could be in a luxury SUV and forget you are driving a TRUCK. A whole lot more stiffness and bounce in a 2500. The 1500 has a much bigger back seat area, like four inches wide. We put big dogs in the back flat floor down and noticed. You will get a couple mpg better gas mileage between a 5.7 and a 6.4 daily driving maybe more depending upon your drive (highway vs urban) and now days an extra 10% plus in gas mileage is nothing to sneeze at in relation to your pocketbook.

Now if you are going to tow, a 1500 with a 6K up travel trailer and all the accoutrement associated, you will NEVER forget you have the trailer on the back and upon occasion and certain environmental and road conditions the trailer may argue with the truck on just exactly who is in charge with you along for the ride for a few seconds. The 2500 is always in charge is my observation and I am able to relax much more over a six hour or more day of towing thereby giving a peace mind that is much better at the end of the day.

I have a Jeep Renegade as a daily driver as it gets roughly double MPG of any of the Rams I've had. I am fortunate that I can dedicate the RAMs to trailer towing, transfer station runs and project support at Home Depot/Lowes etc. I do around 8K a year on the truck and maybe 10K on the Renegade. Hey, it gets me the low mileage discount on my insurance... And, of interest, I have been offered what I paid for the Renegade (18.5K) new after three years and 25K miles from my dealership... Strange world.

 

[Eatstone]

My 1500 5.7/3.92 did 16-19 mpg mixed. As soon as anything contacted the trailer ball it dropped fast. 13.5 with a sled and single axle trailer weighing 2000lbs roughly. 8000lb 27’ trailer and it ran at 9-11 mpg.

I’ll see over the next 4 months what my new 6.4 will do towing but same daily driving empty its at 14-15 mixed.

 

[Chris1911]

I am still pulling the same 32'/7200 lb travel trailer that i was pulling back when i had my 1500 (with 3.92 gears). Both 2500 6.4s that i have had since got pretty much the same mpg as the 1500, maybe even a little better. I get between 8 and 10.

 

[Redfour5]

I am still pulling the same 32'/7200 lb travel trailer that i was pulling back when i had my 1500 (with 3.92 gears). Both 2500 6.4s that i have had since got pretty much the same mpg as the 1500, maybe even a little better. I get between 8 and 10.

Same as what I'm seeing Travel Trailer within 500 lbs of yours. Did you notice that with the 1500, it never let you forget the trailer was behind you while the 2500 is much more stable, planted with much less stress over a long day of towing?

 

[Chris1911]

Same as what I'm seeing Travel Trailer within 500 lbs of yours. Did you notice that with the 1500, it never let you forget the trailer was behind you while the 2500 is much more stable, planted with much less stress over a long day of towing?

Oh yeah, way more stable and comfortable to tow with. Passing trucks don't do anything and the winds have to be stronger before it bothers me. If i'm cruising down the interstate and spacing out, i almost forget it's back there. The equal-i-zer hitch helps things too.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Never owned a 1500 ram but I got better MPG towing my ~6500lb trailer with my 5.3 suburban and my 5.4 ford and my 4.7 tundra than I do with my gas 2500. Half ton trucks just have always gotten better mileage for me.

 

[raven_dt]

Just wondering what the fuel mileage difference is between these 2 trucks hauling around 2500 lbs is? Thinking about trading my 2019 2500 in for a new 1500 since that would be all I need the truck for. We’re thinking about selling our travel trailer.


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I had a 2019 1500 BH 4wd 5.7 3.92 pulling a 2020 Flagstaff 25BRDS. It pulled it fine, small fuel tank, usually was 7.5 mpg @ 65mph. We then pulled the 25BRDS with our 2021 2500 BH 6.4/3.73; similar mpg but was a much more stable towing platform especially if you tow long distances. You can get a 36 gal fuel tank in the 1500, but 31 is the max on the HD unless you get a longer wheelbase model.

 

[Redfour5]

I had a 2019 1500 BH 4wd 5.7 3.92 pulling a 2020 Flagstaff 25BRDS. It pulled it fine, small fuel tank, usually was 7.5 mpg @ 65mph. We then pulled the 25BRDS with our 2021 2500 BH 6.4/3.73; similar mpg but was a much more stable towing platform especially if you tow long distances. You can get a 36 gal fuel tank in the 1500, but 31 is the max on the HD unless you get a longer wheelbase model.

Pretty much my exact experience including both a 3.92 and 3.21 Ram 1500's. I pull a 28 foot TT one slide, about 6700 lbs loaded, 800ish tongue weight loaded. I got a Hemi 2500 and my experience reflects yours. Overall, MPG towing is virtually the same on all three rigs maybe a tad better on the 2500 living in Montana. I found very little difference towing with the 3.21 and the 3.92. The ride and MPG towing were the same, the trucks just went about getting the job done a bit differently with the 3.92 relying on ratio and the 3.21 relying more on transmission. The 3.21 was notable on the regular driving getting quite a bit better on the highway like in the 15 Plus range... I noticed very little difference in towing MPG with a 22 foot TT at 5500 lbs loaded and the bigger TT and figure it has more to do with the sail behind me instead of weight.

With the 1500 and the new rig, you were NEVER allowed to forget it was back there. The 2500 is PLANTED and always in charge vs the 1500's. I had a 2013 1500 5.7 quad cab short bed with the 3.55 gears and in some ways, that was the most fun to drive. It had a more visceral kick when you wanted it to go than the newer ones... Mileage about the same overall. All good trucks... I wish the 2500 crew cab had the cab space of the 1500, or rather the dogs wish it.