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Towing with new 6.4L

Nobl3s

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2019 Ram 2500 6.4l w/8-speed Transmission and 3.73 Gears. 285/65R20 BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 (stock size: 285/60R20)
Made a 800 mile round trip to South Dakota from North Dakota over lots of hilly terrain pulling a 32' 7600# TT. Cruise was set 65 m.p.h. and averaged 8 mpg.

970
 

Jeffmc306

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Completed a 2,500 mile trip to Rocky Mountain National Park up and down several passes a week ago and averaged 10 MPG overall towing a 7,000 lbs trailer. On the way out I kept it to 65-70 MPH. On the way home we kept up with the 75 MPH speed limit.

I used Tow-Haul mode most of the time but one time forgot to turn it back on. The mileage crept up to 13 MPG because the trans shifted up to 8th gear, RPM’s dropped to 1600 and occasionally the ECO light would come on at 65 MPH! Gotta love the 6.4 Hemi + 8 speed trans combo. 59A4FB50-109B-4470-B5E7-377182B59877.jpeg
 

SethTN

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I am going from a 2015 2500 with 3.73 and the 5.7 to a 2019 6.4 with 3.73. The old travel trailer was 6500 lbs empty. The new one is expected to be in the 9000-10000 lb range empty (and be a 5th wheel). Be interesting to see how it pulls with the bigger engine and 8 speed transmission.
 

Jim Severence

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Just completed a the longest tow so far, only 185 miles of mixed terrain interstate driving. Traveling from eastern to western part of New York to the Finger Lake region. Averaged 10.3 mpg on the 6.4L Hemi and with TOW/HAUL selected. The only problem I had was after setting up 5th wheeler my truck lost the camera system. On boot up it said camera system not available. Poked around and opened the fuse box and push down on the fused to make sure they were seated correctly. The problem has disappeared so far, will have the dealer check when I get home from camping. Anybody interested the Fuse is #95 for the camera system.
PS. Truck total mileage is 3400 miles.
 

Stavo

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Just completed a week of camping up in Michigan. Day 1 was ~400 miles from the Chicagoland area to Mackinaw City. Trailer is 3900 lbs plus all our stuff we were close to 5k. Almost all highway and kept to the posted limits which, once past Grand Rapids is 75. Averaged 8.3 MPG on the way up there. In Tow/Haul mode, set the cruise at the speed limit. On the way back we took more secondary roads and speed limits were 55-70 most of the way and we averaged just over 10 MPG.

There aren't a lot of big hills to climb but on those that we did have to tackle, the 8 spd is a dream. I am coming from a 3 spd with OD so, take my opinion with a grain of salt as it is a huge upgrade. The RPM change at 75 between gears is ~500. I think only one time did it shift down into 5th to maintain 75. Even then the cabin noise was quiet.
 

oaklandopen

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I finally got my 500 miles so I could start the break in tow. I have 3.73 gears and the trailer sticker claims about 6400lbs dry. Around town the truck was great in handling, braking and acceleration. I did climb one hill which is pretty steep but only about 3-4 miles long. Halfway up there is a stoplight which I of course got stuck at. Acceleration was smooth and steady until I backed out at 55 mph and if I recall the rpms were around 3300 at that speed. The climbing performance is quite a bit different than my Cummins was but I was expecting that. The computer said I got around 10.2 mpg for the nearly 100 miles of mostly flat terrain. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with how the truck performed. It isn't a Cummins, but for the 5-6 times I tow per year it will do a great job.

That's essentially my setup as well. I was using a '15 1500 with a max tow of like 8,000lbs and the TT is a claimed dry 6,300lbs.

When I bought the 2500 I was already done camping for the season due to multiple factors, but maybe I could squeeze in a quick weekend before winterizing. Really looking forward to towing it with the new truck

Only thing I've done so far is a couple loads of metal to scrap on a little 5x8, and I helped my brother in law move 3 crossfit tires that I put in the bed. My guess was about 1,000lbs of rubber total... made the ride soooooo much smoother
 

AndyS

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2019 Ram 2500 6.4l w/8-speed Transmission and 3.73 Gears. 285/65R20 BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 (stock size: 285/60R20)
Made a 800 mile round trip to South Dakota from North Dakota over lots of hilly terrain pulling a 32' 7600# TT. Cruise was set 65 m.p.h. and averaged 8 mpg.

View attachment 970
What size rim and offset is that? Black Rhino?
 

eaukland_7

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I thought I would post a little update on my towing experience so far. I have a 2019 2500 6.4L tradesmen Crew cab long bed 4x4 4:10 axle ratio. I have towed my 14,000lb fifth wheel 4,800 miles so far. The gcvw is just a little under 22,000lbs. I have driven from Wisconsin down to New Mexico. Across to California and up to Oregon now. I have averaged 8mpg towing. The gas tank at 32 gallons is not nearly large enough for towing. Only 250 miles on a tank. I travel with a child so I have to stop that often anyways. But if I were alone I would not satisfied. I tow at 65mph everywhere i go. Usually 3-4Mpg going up 6 percent grade. And 99 going down. Steepest grade I have towed is 6 percent up and down. And a lot of them. When I start up a big grade if I am doing 65mph I can hold that speed forever. But usually you get stuck behind a semi or something and get slowed down. Once I am slowed down it is possible to get back up to 65 while going up the grade. The temperatures do start to get hot, but never hot enough to concern me or turn on any warning lights. I will post a picture of the hottest temperatures I have seen while towing so far. Going down a 6 percent grade I find the gear selection engine braking to be very effective. Cruise control will manage speed very well going uphill and downhill. I usually manually set it to gear four. And most of the time I maintain 65mph with very minimal braking. Never on the brakes for more then a couple seconds to help engine braking. I find the brakes to be a little lack luster in emergency situations. When I have to slam on the breaks they feel pretty spongy and do not slow the truck nearly as fast as I am comfortable with even with the help of the trailer brakes. I plan to do a bleed and maybe steel braided lines if the bleed doesn’t help. The drive itself feels great. On flat stretches I forget the trailer is even back there. Some one told me on his forum that once I’m up to speed I won’t even notice I didn’t get a diesel. I couldn’t agree more. Even getting up to speed I don’t have any complaints. I am usually doing 65 by the end of the on ramp. And don’t have any problems making passes. A large concern of mine before getting a gasser was loud engine noise screaming up a mountain. After driving up several it is not a concern at all. The new zf 8 speed keeps it right at the power band 4500ish max torque up hills. And noise canceling cab makes it so you can hardly tell. Noise is at a very reasonable level. I absolutely love the truck and would recommend the 6.4l to anyone.B207B7AB-074D-4C30-BFBB-496C3887ECB6.jpeg3F9C7756-4EF6-4165-B968-5C41E222EE01.jpeg2A090618-DA0A-41E9-AB65-7C9BD1BED4E1.jpeg
 
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AndyS

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That was a great review! Thank you for sharing that. I'm curious how the numbers would compare if it was diesel.
 

horsepower488

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Took my 2019 Laramie 4x4 6.4 with 4.10s towing 15k 5th wheel (23780 Gross at cat scales) on Vacay from Richmond Va. to Wyoming and Montana and all points in between. Including beartooth pass.
Truck did awesome. 6313 mile round trip in August. 6.5 mpg average for trip. Lots of low 5s in the mountains and lots of high 7s on the flats. Cruise set at 72 the whole way. And every gas station had gas. Thats on of my reasons for sticking with the gasser. Had a 2014 with the 6.4 six speed. I thought it was great until I got the 2019 with the 8 speed. Game changer is an understatement. My 2018 trip ( with the 2014 ram) to California was 6.2 average over 8035 miles. So just a little better on mpg but a lot better performance from the 2019.
 

slimchance

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Jeffmc306

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@Jeffmc306 and @Nobl3s .... i see you both have tow hooks on the front of you 2019 Ram 2500s ..... i have been looking on Amazon for tow hooks to fit my trk .... ask questions on Amazon and all i get are ppl with 2018 2500s ... i looked thru my grill and did not help ... this is what i am looking at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GDHRJQ...colid=UA7QZKL2CZJU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
what do you guys think ... thanxs for helping me
Hi Slimchance,
Sorry for the delayed response. I checked out the Amazon link and the hooks definitely look functional If that’s what you need. Personally I prefer the one-piece unit that can’t rattle. I checked my Monroney sticker and the hooks were part of the Chrome Appearance Package that included the full length running boards and belt moldings for $995.

I didn’t detect a specific question in your post - are you asking about esthetics or fitment?

Thanks!
Jeff8F4DD51F-338C-4A29-A42A-653B2476CF55.jpeg
 

Zrojas

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@slimchance if you are looking for the factory tow hooks, the part numbers are:

68349551AB for the black ones, 2 needed
68360942AB for the chrome ones, 2 needed

4 bolts, 06512808AA and 4 nuts, 06512809AA

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

slimchance

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i was asking about fitment ... the ones on Amazon are not clear IF they fit the 2019 2500, there are two different mounting types and neither look like they would fit my trk
 

Zrojas

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i was asking about fitment ... the ones on Amazon are not clear IF they fit the 2019 2500, there are two different mounting types and neither look like they would fit my trk

@slimchance I attached pictures for how the 2019 Tow hooks attach vs the 4th gen tow hooks. I hope that helps!
 

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slimchance

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thanxs .. that is what i was looking for .. the pixs of the 2018 hooks just did not look like they would fit and now i am sure they will not ...... thanxs again
 

BGaero

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Completed a 2,500 mile trip to Rocky Mountain National Park up and down several passes a week ago and averaged 10 MPG overall towing a 7,000 lbs trailer. On the way out I kept it to 65-70 MPH. On the way home we kept up with the 75 MPH speed limit.

I used Tow-Haul mode most of the time but one time forgot to turn it back on. The mileage crept up to 13 MPG because the trans shifted up to 8th gear, RPM’s dropped to 1600 and occasionally the ECO light would come on at 65 MPH! Gotta love the 6.4 Hemi + 8 speed trans combo. View attachment 1105
 

Jeffmc306

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What axle ratio do you have in that beast?
BGaero, just the stock 3.73 axle. Gotta love the torque of the Hemi.

By the way, I just read an article that Ram updated ECU program to keep the engine in ECO more often. I do notice the 6.4 does stay in ECO around town more than my 2019 5.7 1500 did.
 

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