What's new
By:
Ram Heavy Duty Forum

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Towing with new 6.4L

just James said:
One other thing. When I brought the trailer home from the dealership I had the truck in tow/haul mode. Even on flat ground it never got above 5th gear at 60mph. It seemed to me that it could have pulled 6th OK, but maybe not? I was thinking about trying it it in normal mode on the flats, as long as it doesn't start doing a bunch of shifting.
Opinions?
And yeah, I know that I am basically pulling a giant barn door.
Click to expand...
Shifting is fine. Revs are fine. Put it in tow/haul and let her eat.
 
Dave01 said:
I'm towing 8000 lbs. at 65 rear, 55-60 front. You are going a bit heavier plus I don't have the giant wind catcher you have, but I find it to be about right for handling feel and traction. Before reading more about tire pressures on this forum I'd tend to run 70-75 rear when towing and what I've found with the drop to 65 rear is less tire spin from a stop on anything loose and the ride "feels" about right. Maybe you could go to 70 if you really are over that 10,000 lb. point but I'd try 65.
Click to expand...
"Maybe you could go to 70 if you really are over that 10,000 lb. point but I'd try 65." I bet the laws of physics might have something to say about it. I got a sneaky feeling that those laws may dictate his speed and it could be in the 60 or lower range. I can see a shuddering dynamic that could develop. I have a bit of background in fluidics so understand the kinds of dynamics in play on something like that but in no way could predict. That front porch is an aerodynamic variable I cannot even begin to consider from a flow dynamics standpoint. It's over 13 feet high. He needs to be watching the bridges also. I'm 11 7 and watch... This app is for trucks and navigation. MIght be worth it even for a trip... https://smarttruckroute.com/

From an article on highway heights "Most states allow a maximum legal height of 13 ft, 6 in., while some states may permit heights up to 14 ft. The problem is that a load that is just a few inches higher than the maximum legal height may become a superload in terms of planning and costs." That is the height of what he is towing. https://oversize.io/regulations/height-limits-clearance-by-state

Now, don't get me wrong. I like this trailer. We have two acres of land in the black hills with electric onsite and would have to drill for water put in a septic system. We were going to build on it, but are getting older and she won't retire so something like that Timberwolf is very interesting as an affordable "cabin" for us so I'm paying close attention. That is nice and ready to go. You can winterize it and be ready to go in the spring summer... Looks comfy and nice. With a washer dryer... and decent fridge. So, that is a possibility and I'm thinking of logistics.
 
just James said:
One other thing. When I brought the trailer home from the dealership I had the truck in tow/haul mode. Even on flat ground it never got above 5th gear at 60mph. It seemed to me that it could have pulled 6th OK, but maybe not? I was thinking about trying it it in normal mode on the flats, as long as it doesn't start doing a bunch of shifting.
Opinions?
And yeah, I know that I am basically pulling a giant barn door.
Click to expand...
I would expect you to get into 6th for sure and maybe 7th, unless I'm just underestimating the wind resistance. What rpm were you at in 5th, must be over 3k?
 
Redfour5 said:
"Maybe you could go to 70 if you really are over that 10,000 lb. point but I'd try 65." I bet the laws of physics might have something to say about it. I got a sneaky feeling that those laws may dictate his speed and it could be in the 60 or lower range. I can see a shuddering dynamic that could develop. I have a bit of background in fluidics so understand the kinds of dynamics in play on something like that but in no way could predict. That front porch is an aerodynamic variable I cannot even begin to consider from a flow dynamics standpoint. It's over 13 feet high. He needs to be watching the bridges also. I'm 11 7 and watch... This app is for trucks and navigation. MIght be worth it even for a trip... https://smarttruckroute.com/

From an article on highway heights "Most states allow a maximum legal height of 13 ft, 6 in., while some states may permit heights up to 14 ft. The problem is that a load that is just a few inches higher than the maximum legal height may become a superload in terms of planning and costs." That is the height of what he is towing. https://oversize.io/regulations/height-limits-clearance-by-state

Now, don't get me wrong. I like this trailer. We have two acres of land in the black hills with electric onsite and would have to drill for water put in a septic system. We were going to build on it, but are getting older and she won't retire so something like that Timberwolf is very interesting as an affordable "cabin" for us so I'm paying close attention. That is nice and ready to go. You can winterize it and be ready to go in the spring summer... Looks comfy and nice. With a washer dryer... and decent fridge. So, that is a possibility and I'm thinking of logistics.
Click to expand...
That porch is on the back. And yeah, I plan to limit my speed to 60mph max.
 
Redfour5 said:
"Maybe you could go to 70 if you really are over that 10,000 lb. point but I'd try 65." I bet the laws of physics might have something to say about it. I got a sneaky feeling that those laws may dictate his speed and it could be in the 60 or lower range. I can see a shuddering dynamic that could develop. I have a bit of background in fluidics so understand the kinds of dynamics in play on something like that but in no way could predict. That front porch is an aerodynamic variable I cannot even begin to consider from a flow dynamics standpoint. It's over 13 feet high. He needs to be watching the bridges also. I'm 11 7 and watch... This app is for trucks and navigation. MIght be worth it even for a trip... https://smarttruckroute.com/

From an article on highway heights "Most states allow a maximum legal height of 13 ft, 6 in., while some states may permit heights up to 14 ft. The problem is that a load that is just a few inches higher than the maximum legal height may become a superload in terms of planning and costs." That is the height of what he is towing. https://oversize.io/regulations/height-limits-clearance-by-state

Now, don't get me wrong. I like this trailer. We have two acres of land in the black hills with electric onsite and would have to drill for water put in a septic system. We were going to build on it, but are getting older and she won't retire so something like that Timberwolf is very interesting as an affordable "cabin" for us so I'm paying close attention. That is nice and ready to go. You can winterize it and be ready to go in the spring summer... Looks comfy and nice. With a washer dryer... and decent fridge. So, that is a possibility and I'm thinking of logistics.
Click to expand...
I meant maybe you could go to 70 psi, not mph.
 
just James said:
Yeah, that is what I thought you meant.
If that truck and trailer combo gets up to 70mph, you can rest assured that it ain't me driving. Lol
Click to expand...
I think if you check the spec sheet on the trailer it will go airborne at about 85 mph, could shorten the trip quite a bit. :D
 
just James said:
BTW, what air pressure do you guys figure would be appropriate for the pickup when towing a trailer of that size? Tongue weight will be around 1,600-1,700 I figure. And yeah, I have a fancy torsion weight distribution hitch.
Click to expand...
Whatever the Load/Inflation table reads for the tires you have....
 
just James said:
One other thing. When I brought the trailer home from the dealership I had the truck in tow/haul mode. Even on flat ground it never got above 5th gear at 60mph. It seemed to me that it could have pulled 6th OK, but maybe not? I was thinking about trying it it in normal mode on the flats, as long as it doesn't start doing a bunch of shifting.
Opinions?
And yeah, I know that I am basically pulling a giant barn door.
Click to expand...
Let the computer do what it does in regards to gear and RPM.
 
I finally remembered to get a pic of the truck doing actual work. It has almost 32k miles now with roughly 8k towing miles logged in.
 
Well we headed out a couple of days ago from southern Oregon to southern Utah pulling the rv trailer that my daughter has dubbed "the barn door".
I weighed the pickup by itself with most of the stuff that we were going to pack in it, and myself in it. It was F4,040, and R3,300.
After hooking up the trailer we weighed F3,650, R5,300, and T8,000. So, we ended up with a tongue weight of about 1,600lbs.
The trip was 883 miles, and the truck said that it averaged 7.1mpg. I was going to hand calculate the mileage, but a couple of the gas receipts got lost.
The trip was probably 50% flat-ish ground, and 50% climbing and descending. Net altitude gain was about 4,000 feet.
The pickup pulled it well, but I limited my speed to 58mph for the most part to save fuel. The trailer is so un-aerodynamic that it would maintain about 55-60mph descending 6% grades without the pickup trying to slow it.
 

Attachments

  • 20241004_044421.jpg
    20241004_044421.jpg
    468.1 KB · Views: 40
just James said:
Well we headed out a couple of days ago from southern Oregon to southern Utah pulling the rv trailer that my daughter has dubbed "the barn door".
I weighed the pickup by itself with most of the stuff that we were going to pack in it, and myself in it. It was F4,040, and R3,300.
After hooking up the trailer we weighed F3,650, R5,300, and T8,000. So, we ended up with a tongue weight of about 1,600lbs.
The trip was 883 miles, and the truck said that it averaged 7.1mpg. I was going to hand calculate the mileage, but a couple of the gas receipts got lost.
The trip was probably 50% flat-ish ground, and 50% climbing and descending. Net altitude gain was about 4,000 feet.
The pickup pulled it well, but I limited my speed to 58mph for the most part to save fuel. The trailer is so un-aerodynamic that it would maintain about 55-60mph descending 6% grades without the pickup trying to slow it.
Click to expand...

Is that a tiny house/park model that's not meant to be hauled around a lot?
 
That 6.4 pulled that trailer really well, but it did make me wish that I owned an oil well, and a refinery.
Would a diesel pull it more efficiently? Of course, but 90% of the miles on that pickup have been accumulated while driving around empty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top