Diesel instead of gas

[miles]

I currently looking at buying a new truck and was set on going 3/4 ton Ram Bighorn level 2 with all the cameras.(I don’t like leather but like lots of extras)

I have had two ram diesels in past, first one I put 515,000 Kms, second one 300,000 Kms.

currently driving a Ram 1500 bighorn and looking to get into a 3/4 ton for better ride but diesel I will lose payload and the extra cost of ownership of diesel is a lot more especially if warranty is done and repairs are needed.
Most of my driving is no load, I do pull a RV trailer sometimes (only weighs 7,800 lbs) my 1/2 done does not handle it very well but it could be I was spoiled because of the almost 1 million Kms I put on my Ram diesels in the past (last diesel was a 1 ton Laramie duely).

 

[MikeXM]

You say the 1500 doesn't handle your RV very well. Not sure what you mean by that. Lack of power? Not stable on the road? or ???
The 2500 Gas has the same engine as your 1500 but you can get a 4.10 axle ratio with it. So that will help. Other than that... there won't be much of a difference.
If you need a diesel, buy a diesel.
If you need payload and a diesel, 1-ton it is.

 

[miles]

Not lack of power, the truck gets moved around on the highway by Semis and wind when pulling the trailer.
Also is overweight when attached with the equalizer hitch, 400 lbs over. I put airlift 1000 air bags that install inside the rear springs. (One failed last time I pulled the trailer). The issue is I live in Alberta, Canada and do travel to B.C. where the weight police show no mercy.

It’s time for a new truck and I’m definitely buying a 3/4 or 1 ton.
The current 1/2 ton I have, I bought when I still had a 1 ton that sat on my RV pad most of the time and all winter (I had a 36 ft. 5th wheel with 3 slide outs at the time)
I downsized the trailer and the 1 ton was 13 years old at the time, the 1/2 is rated for 9,950 trailer (3.92 gears)
My 1/2 ton is a 2011 and rusting badly, just did the cam and lifters so I’m expecting more problems with it. (time for new truck)

MikeXM, the 2500 has a 6.4 liter not the 5.7 litre motor. When the 2500 did have the 5.7 it had less power then the 1500 motor has.

I may be new to the forum but not new to Ram.
1986 Dodge 3/4 ton -360 (320,000kms)
1992 Dodge 3/4 ton - Cummins 12 valve (515,000kms)
1996 Dodge 3/4 ton - Cummins 12 valve (sold because it was 2wd needed 4wd)
2001 Ram 1 ton - Cummins 24 valove (300,000 Kms)
2011 Ram 1500 - 5.7 (185,000 Kms, time to move on)

Also some Fords, I’m not going to list

 

[elephantrider]

you'll be going from the 5.7l hemi to the 6.4l if you get the 2500, and with the 4.10
gears, it will feel like a totally different truck.

 

[miles]

you'll be going from the 5.7l hemi to the 6.4l if you get the 2500, and with the 4.10
gears, it will feel like a totally different truck.

I’m was going to get the 2500 with 6.4 but am having second thoughts about thinking maybe I should get the Cummins again (I was very happy with them in the past).
More of a want then a need.

I did look a Fart but was turned off by the intierer and the feeling of no power from the 6.2 when I test drove compared to the Ram 6.4.

 

[elephantrider]

sounds to me like the 6.4l would fit your needs, but the big 6 is calling.

I could have gotten by with the gasser as well. would have been a little less enjoyable towing, that's about it.

I wouldn't want to tow anything of weight with a 5.7. we have a few farm trucks that are 3/4 ton chevy's with the 6l ls engine and they suck towing anything more than a few head of cattle.

 

[MikeXM]

Not lack of power, the truck gets moved around on the highway by Semis and wind when pulling the trailer.

Humm... If it's your only problem, just get ride of the equalizer hitch and get a Hensley Arrow. It will solve everything you mentioned here.
Definitively looks like you are experiencing some (mild to medium) sway problems. If your trailer has a tendency to sway, it may continue even with a heavier truck. The HA will make sway virtually impossible (unless the trailer can lift all 4 wheels of your truck!).

 

[miles]

The trailer doesn’t sway, the truck gets blown around from the wind wash from semis and cross winds. My previous 3/4 tons and 1 ton never had that problem

 

[CurtJ]

You can’t have too much truck.... Go for the CTD, you won’t be sorry! Loads of torque and great mileage towing. No issues towing a 8.5x16 with 2k lbs of Harley’s inside of it. I’ve got the 19’ 2500 CTD and love it! My son has the 19’ 3500 CTD SRW and loves his as well.
My 19’ 1500 with a Hemi was terrible towing and the mileage was worse. Took a 6x12 MC trailer out to D.C. for a friend empty and came back with 1 Harley Dresser in it . 1200 mi RT took 240 gallons of fuel and sounded like it was gonna blow up the entire trip. Glad I got the BigBoy now..... It doesn’t even know a trailer is connected.....;-)))

 

[MikeXM]

The trailer doesn’t sway, the truck gets blown around from the wind wash from semis and cross winds. My previous 3/4 tons and 1 ton never had that problem

So your truck does the same thing when not towing?
Okay.

 

[Gondul]

More of a want then a need.

Given your description of use.. then yes, the 6.7 is more of a want than a need.
Sounds like the 6.4 will be fine in your circumstance... in my circumstance the 6.7 is just more expensive all around and nothing I will ever need, I'm not a fan for overpaying on something I will realistically never need.

 

[miles]

So your truck does the same thing when not towing?
Okay.

No the truck does not get blow around when not towing. It is actually a one of the best handling trucks I have ever owned.
When I pull my boat it is fine but the boat only weighs 3,800 lbs and isn’t a big sail like RV trailers are, also overweight on the truck GVW just not overweight for the GCWR.

 

[MikeXM]

No the truck does not get blow around when not towing. It is actually a one of the best handling trucks I have ever owned.
When I pull my boat it is fine but the boat only weighs 3,800 lbs and isn’t a big sail like RV trailers are, also overweight on the truck GVW just not overweight for the GCWR.

That's what I thought. You are experiencing some trailer sway, there are no ways around it. Your other trucks were most likely much heavier being 3/4 and 1 ton which was enough to keep things under control. Also tire side flex can contribute to the problem.

 

[Distillusion]

The 6.4 Hemi is a good bit more powerful than the 5.7 Hemi in the 1500s. 392 cubic inches versus 345. It's got about 10% more hp than the 1500s. Plus you get another 1,000 lbs of curb weight from the HD truck itself. You should be happy with it for what you're describing doing.

If I were you, I'd ask your dealer to let you test drive a 6.4 while towing the trailer. Any new or used 2019/2020 2500, as long as it has the 6.4 and the 8-speed tranny, will give you exactly the answers you need.

 

[Canadian Mopar]

Not lack of power, the truck gets moved around on the highway by Semis and wind when pulling the trailer.
Also is overweight when attached with the equalizer hitch, 400 lbs over. I put airlift 1000 air bags that install inside the rear springs. (One failed last time I pulled the trailer). The issue is I live in Alberta, Canada and do travel to B.C. where the weight police show no mercy.

Go for a 2500 w/ the 6.4L and 4.10s. With the current prices of diesel in AB and BC ($.20-$.30/L) it'll take a long time of towing to recoup the price difference from the diesel vs gas. Plus the extra headaches / maintenance of owning a modern diesel, especially if it's your daily driver.
I have a '17 2500 w/ the 6.4L (6 speed and 3.73s) and tow this enclosed trailer (~6-7k) to BC in the winter no problem. Truck is solid as a rock, even passing / getting passed on HW2.
I'm sure a '19+ with the 8 speed and 4.10s would be even better.

 

[LossPrev]

I had/have a very similar situation to yours. Towing a 33' toy hauler, I was a couple hundred pounds over payload and although I was within my GCWR/tow rating, that size of a trailer would push my 1500 all over the road. I'm sure the super expensive WD hitches would help but physics are physics. If the trailer gets pushed it's going to push the truck and a sub-6000 lbs truck with soft suspension and shorter wheelbase is going to move. We bought a bigger trailer knowing we'd probably be upgrading but after the first 5 miles of towing my trailer I knew the 1500 was getting retired ASAP.

We went CTD for several reasons but it was definitely still a "want" over a need. Trying to use numbers or math to justify it doesn't work for most scenarios, I simply wanted to own a diesel and have the towing experience that comes with it.

 

[miles]

I have a WD hitch.
LossPrev knows what I’m talking about when towing the RV trailer with the 1500.
I’m 2,200 lbs under my GCWR (total combined towing weight rating) but 400 lbs over the payload.

 

[Haas14]

I live in Nwt and regularly tow through Alberta and B.C. There’s something to be said for having a heavy duty truck when you’re towing for hours on end, even if a half ton will technically do it. And that’s what you’re doing in western Canada a lot of the time, everything is far (especially for me). And exactly why I use an HD to tow my 18’ enclosed car hauler around with the fun car inside.

 

[MikeXM]

I had a 1500, towing a 32ft, 7500lbs travel trailer. I experienced the same problems as described above. BTW, a WD uses friction to try to minimize sway caused by wind or passing trucks. It might work but sometimes, it is not enough. You still get those moments where you get pushed. And it's no fun.

The solution for me was to get one of those fancy hitch. I went with Hensley's but I know there are at least one another out there. After that, I never experienced that problem ever again. I even found myself looking forward for passing trucks just to see how good it worked. It had put a smile on my face. The truck was now rock solid.

There are three main causes for a trailer to sway that I know about: lateral wind, improper loading and in rare occasions, alignment problems. The last two are self explanatory and can lead to disasters. But the first one is the most common and (usually?) less dangerous.

When a truck passes by, the air it pushes create a wave on the trailer: It will first push one end of the trailer and then push the other end. The trailer will pivots on its wheels. That rotation pushes the rear of the truck in the same direction at the hitch. That's the start of the sway. That's what the driver has to react to. And that's pretty much it. Same thing for lateral winds. A WD will damper to some extent those waves.

I'll try to explain how the fancy hitch works: They eliminate sway not by inducing friction in the loop hoping it will be enough to counter a wave but by using simple geometry at the pivot point. Basically: the truck can turn the trailer, but the trailer can't turn the truck. It's simple but very effective. Regardless of truck's position from the trailer, from the trailer's perspective, the truck is welded to it like a solid bar. It no longer can push the rear of the truck in any direction. So, in order for the trailer to move the truck it would have to move the whole rig like it was a single unit (trailer and truck), basically dragging all 4 wheels of the truck at once. That requires too much force so the trailer can't move the truck and the sway is eliminated.

There are plenty of reasons to get an HD truck. I'm just putting that information out here as it might help someone like it did for me.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

I live in Nwt and regularly tow through Alberta and B.C. There’s something to be said for having a heavy duty truck when you’re towing for hours on end, even if a half ton will technically do it. And that’s what you’re doing in western Canada a lot of the time, everything is far (especially for me). And exactly why I use an HD to tow my 18’ enclosed car hauler around with the fun car inside.

Yep! And bliss is a TV that barely breaks a sweat while towing a 8500 lb dog house up the smasher at the posted speed limit. Well, it did downshift to fifth for a bit.