V-6 Turbo diesel for '14 Ram PU

[switz]

Factory sensors provides the boost and fuel rail pressure data to the Edge Insight. We added a temp probe into the exhaust manifold, transmission housing and both differentail covers.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Bob4x4

How are you measuring INCHES of boost ?

If you're asking about the inches part (since that's what you put in all-caps) "inches of mercury" is a common unit of measure of pressure for medium-pressure systems (low-pressure systems like our propane system in Airstreams use inches of water.)

1 atmosphere = 14.696 psi = 29.92 inches of mercury = 100 kilopascals

[Bob4x4]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

If you're asking about the inches part (since that's what you put in all-caps) "inches of mercury" is a common unit of measure of pressure for medium-pressure systems (low-pressure systems like our propane system in Airstreams use inches of water.)

1 atmosphere = 14.696 psi = 29.92 inches of mercury = 100 kilopascals

Not used on truck boost gauges-just simple lbs

[Bob4x4]

Originally Posted by switz

Factory sensors provides the boost and fuel rail pressure data to the Edge Insight. We added a temp probe into the exhaust manifold, transmission housing and both differentail covers.

Just teasing you about the inches of boost.......I have an edge on one of my trucks too for monitoring.It's going t- up so I may be going back to old school gauges if I ever get time to work on my own

[outdoors717]

Question for my fellow Riveters:

I am thinking about the 1500 Diesel. Dealer says I can order Jan. 3rd. I use currently a 2009 Chevy Suburban and have 140k on it. I avg. tow 15k a year with plenty of back road and mountain usage. Suburban is used by the wife as a daily driver with the kids. Pulling at 9 to 11 mpg is understandable, but it is the daily driving that is killing me on the gas.

With a 2009 23' International will a 1500 Ram Diesel do me well? I understand its not out yet. A little smaller rig than most of the above commenters. Just wanted to see some thoughts. I also tend to have a good amount of gear and family along.

Thanks Outdoors

[switz]

I visited the build page for the 2014 Dodge trucks. The payload numbers on the Ram 1/2 ton trucks are very low. The literature tongue weight of the International 23D is 720 pounds and in the real world will probably be closer to 800 pounds or higher depending on the hitch selected.

On some of the configurations, the payload was below 1,300 pounds, so that would leave 500 pounds for the wife's weight plus any accessories (like a camper shell) and generators and ....

Before pulling the trigger, take your trailer to the scales ready for camping and determine the true tongue weight. Then you can make a truck purchase decision based upon a the real number bite out of the payload. Also get it in writing what the payload will be on the new truck and if it comes in lower, have the option to refuse the truck.

[Bob4x4]

Originally Posted by outdoors717

Question for my fellow Riveters:

I am thinking about the 1500 Diesel. Dealer says I can order Jan. 3rd. I use currently a 2009 Chevy Suburban and have 140k on it. I avg. tow 15k a year with plenty of back road and mountain usage. Suburban is used by the wife as a daily driver with the kids. Pulling at 9 to 11 mpg is understandable, but it is the daily driving that is killing me on the gas.

With a 2009 23' International will a 1500 Ram Diesel do me well? I understand its not out yet. A little smaller rig than most of the above commenters. Just wanted to see some thoughts. I also tend to have a good amount of gear and family along.

Thanks Outdoors

Another thing to keep in mind is the V-6 is a light duty diesel-it will not perform the duties the Cummins can

[dkottum]

We presently use a 2012 Ram 1/2 ton with a ProPride hitch to travel cross-country and tour every year. Really nice to tow with, handles good, and decent ride when not towing.

It's just the two of us but we apparently travel extremely light, very little in the pickup bed (hoses, cords, two Zipdee chairs). The solar install eliminated the generator thank God, and the Airstream bike rack put them on the back.

Not everyone needs big payload numbers. The little diesel engine/8 speed transmission sounds terrific for Airstream towing. Excellent match for many of us.

[pappy19]

Maybe they fixed the tie rod problem.

Chrysler recalls 1.2 million Ram pickup trucks - Autoblog

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by pappy19

Maybe they fixed the tie rod problem.

Chrysler recalls 1.2 million Ram pickup trucks - Autoblog

Since that recall is for mostly previous-generation HD pickups, it probably doesn't affect the new-gen half-ton.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by pappy19

Maybe they fixed the tie rod problem.

Chrysler recalls 1.2 million Ram pickup trucks - Autoblog

Wrong thread, this is for late model 1500 Ram trucks.

[outdoors717]

So after further input from switz it does not seem to make sense for the Ram 1500 Oil Burner. To get the Longhorn Limited it goes to only 1050 lbs Payload.
At 1539 lbs Payload with a Suburban with a cap on it if you think of it that way. I put two canoes on top and sometimes one inside. So even with the 1500 Suburban I am pushing it. Thanks for everyones help. Going to keep it going till the wheels fall off.

[switz]

The current issue of Diesel Power magazine has a writeup comparing two equivalently equipped 2014 Ram diesel powered trucks. The 1500 has the new v6 Italian engine while the 2500 continues with the Cummins straight 6.

As has been mentioned time and time again, the ½ ton truck's achilles heel is payload which was 1,140 pounds versus the 2500's payload of 2,180 pounds.

What was interesting is that on the towing test, there was not enough power in the Ram 1500 to maintain speed going up a 7% grade to 5,000 feet with a 7.020 pound trailer behind and the engine temperature red lined at 244 degrees. That test trailer weight is less than the GVW of any current 25' or longer Airstream and less than the empty weight of both 31' Classic models.

So on the flat terrain, the mileage was really great, just don't get into steep hills and try to maintain speed....

[DKB_SATX]

These trucks should finally reach dealers soon, but apparently the entire first run is already sold.

Autoblog says that the first order allotment was filled in 3 days.

[Erik Olson]

Sold through.

[Pick]

I think John Deere uses VM diesels in some of their smaller compact tractors.

[gmw photos]

OEM's sometimes love these early adopters. Let the paying consumer finish the beta testing. Hopefully the overheating issue reported above was an anomoly, or has been otherwise dealt with. If that is systemic of this engine and truck, this will be a short lived experiment for them.
Early production failures can wreak havoc with sales for years. Ask Nissan about early Dana 44 failures in the Titan......

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by switz

The current issue of Diesel Power magazine has a writeup comparing two equivalently equipped 2014 Ram diesel powered trucks. The 1500 has the new v6 Italian engine while the 2500 continues with the Cummins straight 6.

As has been mentioned time and time again, the ½ ton truck's achilles heel is payload which was 1,140 pounds versus the 2500's payload of 2,180 pounds.

What was interesting is that on the towing test, there was not enough power in the Ram 1500 to maintain speed going up a 7% grade to 5,000 feet with a 7.020 pound trailer behind and the engine temperature red lined at 244 degrees. That test trailer weight is less than the GVW of any current 25' or longer Airstream and less than the empty weight of both 31' Classic models.

So on the flat terrain, the mileage was really great, just don't get into steep hills and try to maintain speed....

So, I just read that DieselPowerMag article.

I think it's useful to note a couple of things... the truck they were testing had the 3.55:1 rear diff, which is not the one I'd choose for a tow vehicle. It was a little over 300 lb over its rated trailer weight, but the truck with a 3.92:1 diff is rated for 1800 lb more than the 3.55. They didn't show the trailer they used in testing, but it's reasonable to assume it's a square-profile camper or utility trailer. The truck maintained 53 mph floored up a 7% grade on a climb to 5000 feet, but they didn't specify the starting altitude so one can't tell how long the climb was.

I don't think it's fair to infer that the engine actually overheated, either. Here is what I see as the relevant paragraph:

We saddled up the EcoDiesel first and loaded it up to 105 percent of its gross combined vehicle weight (GCVW) rating of 12,800 pounds. The Ram 1500 had no issues accelerating from a stop, getting up to speed, or slowing back down. Helping to reign in the load in tow is a factory-integrated trailer brake controller. While not overpowered, the truck never felt underpowered, either. The only place where the trucks showed any sign of weakness was climbing the nearly 7 percent final grade on the push to 5,000 feet of elevation. With the accelerator stapled to the floor, the truck’s speed dropped off to 53 mph, and engine temperature climbed to an almost alarming 244 degrees. Thankfully, as we crested the summit, the engine temperature returned to normal and we never experienced any other engine temperature issues during the remainder of the test. Overall, we were extremely impressed with the truck’s towing abilities. After a 260-mile round trip, the EcoDiesel averaged an astonishing 19.46 mpg, fully loaded.

I do not know what the "official" overheating level is defined to be, but the writer never uses the terms "redline" or "overheat" and the diesel supplement manual for the RAM 1500 states that there is an engine temperature warning light that behaves as follows:

This light warns of an overheated engine condition. As temperatures rise and the gauge approaches H, this indicator will illuminate and a single chime will sound after reaching a set threshold. Further overheating will cause the temperature gauge to pass H, a continuous chime will occur until the engine is allowed to cool.

No such behavior was described in the article, though it may have been imminent. How serious the temperature issue was is hard to infer since I don't know what the critical temperature is, nor does the article say much about the conditions where they conducted the test. It may have been even less of an issue if they'd used a truck set up to tow as much weight as they were towing.

PS: on edit, I see that I forgot to write part of what I'd intended. I do agree that the RAM 1500 is a bit light on payload compared to what you can get on an F150 or Silverado/Sierra 1500, which is too bad because the engine seems appealing, to say nothing of the fuel mileage it apparently delivers.

[Bob4x4]

Drove a well equipped ecodiesel1500 today.Air ride and most the goodies 50k,A short 10 mile drive combined city and hiway netted 25mpg.Good power,and a great ride.Now lets see how they hold up to everyday abuse

[Lance M]

I test drove a new RAM 1500 EcoDIESEL last week. Two test drives actually. I must say I am very impressed with the quietness of the ride and amount of TQ it presents when you "staple the pedal to the floor"! I took a couple of videos to share the awesome sound of the Italian diesel engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_zFfw8Ul2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQzmoRfxBU4

Coupled with the great German transmission, I think this is going to be a very efficient and capable tow vehicle in the correct configuration. (3.92 rear end)
The dealership has agreed to let me test tow my Ambassador when they have one in stock with a trailer brake controller. I'll let you know how that goes when the time comes.