Towing- Ram1500 eco-Turbo Diesel 3.0

[Dlat]

I've been pulling my 2017 International Serenity 27' with a F-150 Eco-Boost for several years now with no problems, but the truck is a 2013 with 175k miles, and I'm thinking about getting something newer. The Ram 1500 with the 3.0 turbo diesel has gotten my interest lately. It has roughly the same torque and hp as the Ford eco-boost. I've looked at the 250's and 2500's in diesel, but the bigger size when not towing is a concern for me when using the truck just around town for everyday use. Has anyone had or heard of someone using the Ram 1500 diesel for towing? I've also looked at the Tundra which might be a good option as well except for the mpg's. What do think?

[Tiny Cloud]

I tow with a 2015 RAM1500 Eco. 4x4. Great ride, for both as a tow vehicle and around town. Comfortable. Pulling a 2019 FC 19CBB. Acceleration is adequate, long distance driving very enjoyable. Good payload capability. Kinda shy on HP, but substantial torque. So with that said, sluggish on the climbs, slow on acceleration. Average 14mpg towing, 24 without the trailer. 115K miles already. Overall a good vehicle.

A lot of friends boasting about the later models, from 2018 to 2020. I'm considering a change too. Don't know if I will do diesel, extra HP from gas models a consideration, especially since it's almost equivalent mpg. Other RAM owners have 2500 with Cummins Diesel, and that seems to be the choice. Unfortunately that price tag is very steep.

Using a Blue OX swaypro, RAM has built in brake controller. I don't know the trailer is behind me until I start climbing a hill. I test drove a F150, and RAM coil springs far more pleasant ride than leaf suspension on Ford. RAM interior was more quiet too. Other minor comment is AC. Sometimes I wonder if the system's in trucks are too small to adequately freeze out a cabin in really warm weather.

[PB_NB]

We meet a couple who were pulling a double axle airstream a few years again at Diablo Lake campground in Washington.

They had a nice new Dodge truck. We talked briefly about our tow rig (VW Beetle) and then they went on to say that they bought a Eco diesel Ram and the engine packed it in right away. so they were quickly upgraded to either a Hemi or Cummins, I am not too sure which one but I thinking it was a Cummins. They seemed very happy with the new truck.

[afneill]

I have a 2015 Ram Ecodiesel and have been towing a 25' Flying Cloud since the truck was new. Pror to that I had a 3/4 ton Ford diesel. The Ram does an excellent job pulling my trailer and ride is excellent. I have no problem with acceleration or climbing hills. I have very pleased with performance and reliability to this point, some 82,000 miles.

[Dlat]

Thanks to all for the info.

[ExploreUT]

Originally Posted by Dlat

I've been pulling my 2017 International Serenity 27' with a F-150 Eco-Boost for several years now with no problems, but the truck is a 2013 with 175k miles, and I'm thinking about getting something newer. The Ram 1500 with the 3.0 turbo diesel has gotten my interest lately. It has roughly the same torque and hp as the Ford eco-boost. I've looked at the 250's and 2500's in diesel, but the bigger size when not towing is a concern for me when using the truck just around town for everyday use. Has anyone had or heard of someone using the Ram 1500 diesel for towing? I've also looked at the Tundra which might be a good option as well except for the mpg's. What do think?

Earlier this year we traded our 2014 Ram 1500 Limited 3.0L EcoDiesel in for a 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie 6.7L Cummins. Loved the 1500 and engine. It pulled our 27 ft Globetrotter FBT without much strain. Towing capacity was 7,534 so the 6,200 lb empty trailer was within limits.......even with full gear, propane, batteries and fresh water.......but little to no safety buffer.

However, the total trailer weight was greater than the 1500 weighed too. Not much but perhaps 800-1,000 lbs more depending on how full the BW/GW/Fresh tanks were filled and passengers. Not ideal if maxed out.

More importantly though was the Payload capacity on the 1500 at a puny 984 lbs. The tongue weight on the Globetrotter is 1,100 lbs. I know this because I have the WeighSafe Receiver and Ball mount with scale. I’ve also hit the CAT scales and it confirms.

Clearly a concern.........even though the 1500 had 4 wheel auto-leveling air suspension. Already over weight without any gear in the bed and any passengers. But we did that for two camping trips last Fall not knowing any better. Again, the ride was OK. The 3.0L EcoDiesel was acceptable going over several mountain passes here in Utah at 10,000 ft.............MPG’s were 12 towing and 19-20 around town and 26-28 on highway non-towing.

More research last Winter on the payload challenge and consequences of being overweight and that helped me determine we needed the upgrade. The 2500 has 2,183 payload capacity and over 19,000 lbs towing capacity.

We do have the auto-leveling air suspension on the rear axle. The ride is better and the 6.7L sized diesel engine is a huge improvement over the 3.0L for trailering with full gear and three passengers in Utah and Colorado, especially over mountain passes.

My suggestion for you is if you plan on trailering more than a few times, given your trailer length, I would strongly encourage you to compare your actual tongue weight plus gear/passengers weight to the payload capacity on the prospective truck you’re looking at. Ram makes it easy to plug in the VIN numbers to get the actual payload on each truck. I used that extensively searching Dealer inventories earlier this year.

Don’t get a 1500 unless its payload capacity number exceeds your actual/estimated weights.

Good luck.

[tjdonahoe]

2500 ram 4x4. 6.7 ..love it

[Huskerlaws]

FWIW I recently traded a GMC AT4 1500 for a 2020 Ram 2500 Hemi. I have not towed with it only used it around town and I have found the “2500” difference to be negligible. I feel confident the tow difference will be considerable.

[Larry1492]

I had a 1500 Eco Diesel, it was a great truck and I had
No problems with it in the five years I owned it. The truck got great mileage empty and was the best riding truck I ever owned. I pulled travel trailer to Florida five
Times with the Eco, the last time was a 23fb. The back springs on the ram were a little light for towing, I corrected the problem with Timbergrove airbags. Also my truck was four wheel drive and only has a capacity of 1100 pounds so with tongue weight, passengers and gear I tend to be traveling overweight. Also the mileage dropped 50%when towing. I replaced the truck with a 2500 Chevy diesel, it works better for me. The Chevy Does not get the same mileage empty but it does get better mileage towing. New truck doesn’t have the problem of sagging when loaded with the travel trailer in gear and as far as the ride I’m learning to deal with it. In my opinion I think the Ram I going to be a little small for what you are asking it to do.

[Daquenzer]

Before you get an 1500 eco diesel you need to check out the tfltruck gauntlet test. The EcoBoost beats the towing ability of the ecodiesel hands down. The new ecoboosts, put out more torque and horsepower. Not saying the ecodiesel can’t pull your camper, but I wouldn’t discount the ecoboost of today.

I pull a 28’ with 2021 EcoBoost with no problem.

[Eeziter]

The new Gen3 eco diesel for 2020 and newer model
Years has been significantly redesigned and the torque increased some 80ft lbs to 480lbs. This beats the Ford by the way. I’ve had my 2020 eco diesel for about 4 months. It replaced my 5.7hemi Ram 1500. Towing with it is a dream and it doesn’t hunt for gears like a gas motor does, due to the low end torque curve. I tow a Bambi 16 and it doesn’t break a sweat. You may run out of payload long before you run out of max tow capacity.

[gypsydad]

Couple years ago, I moved up from my 25' FC to my 28' FC. I also had 140K miles on my F150 EB 4x4 Platinum. Thought I would get another 1/2T for same reasons; 3/4T seemed too big. I looked at all the 1/2T RAM 1500's, Toyota's, GM's and of course, new Fords. At that time, the RAM sales guys tried to steer me away from EchoDiesel toward a Hemi. When I mentioned I wanted 1800lbs payload, they said move to the RAM 2500 models...I found the "payload" numbers on most all the1/2T RAM's and Toyota's to be only in the 1200-1400lbs on the sales lots I visited...not enough to comfortably haul my AS and cargo. (AS 28' tongue weight 1100lbs, add the wife, generator, camp gear, kayaks) Wife pushed me to look at the 3/4T. Ford had the new suspension on the F250...that's the way I went after test drives.

Many here have 1/2T's pulling 25's and larger as you may know reading the Forum...many "others" can attest to the hugh difference the 3/4T-1T makes in towing a 25 or larger over the 1/2T...my 2cents...and the diesel with exhaust brake, heavier/longer chassis, makes life amazing while towing...of course, driving around town, parking, maintenance can be a pain. I think with the 25' your on the "cusp" of 1/2T or 3/4T, (depending on who you talk to!)

We do use our AS a lot and put a lot of miles on in summer. I didn't get my TV to drive around town...

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by Eeziter

The new Gen3 eco diesel for 2020 and newer model
Years has been significantly redesigned and the torque increased some 80ft lbs to 480lbs. This beats the Ford by the way. I’ve had my 2020 eco diesel for about 4 months. It replaced my 5.7hemi Ram 1500. Towing with it is a dream and it doesn’t hunt for gears like a gas motor does, due to the low end torque curve. I tow a Bambi 16 and it doesn’t break a sweat. You may run out of payload long before you run out of max tow capacity.

Compare the pulling power in a real world test. The EcoBoost outperforms the Ecodiesel hands down. The horsepower of the ecodiesel isn’t close to the EcoBoost nor the Hemi. And horsepower keeps you going. The Dodge Hemi beat the Ecodiesel up the gauntlet by nearly a minute pulling the same trailer. Yes it got less gas mileage, but not by much. By the way the EcoBoost beats the Hemi. I don’t understand the fascination with the word “diesel.” Just because that word is used doesn’t mean it beats a gas engine in pulling capacity. Also the new Hemi’s have the 8 speed which also doesn’t hunt for gears. This is also true with the EcoBoost 10 speed. I have a friend who went from a Chevy 6 speed to a Ford 10 speed. He said exactly the same thing.

It will be interesting when TFL truck looks at the F150 Hybrid. That has lots of horsepower and torque; as much as the old diesels did.

[primepower]

The fascination with the word diesel is because it is better at towing and performing work. I'm not speaking specifically towards the EcoDiesel versus the EcoBoost debate however there is no comparison between a gasoline and diesel engine for towing. I am a Marine Engineering Officer in the Army and have over 18 years of ship and large generator experience to include theory. I have never once seen a gasoline generator nor engine on any ship or generator. Nor would you see one in a semi truck. A gallon of diesel has a higher amount of energy than a gallon of gasoline. Diesels due to the high compression ratio and and compression ignition have their power bands at a much lower torque curve allowing them to operate in a much higher gear when compared to a gasoline engine. This is why you see the large differences in miles per gallon between a gasoline engine and diesel engine even though they can have similar horsepower numbers. Again not going specifically with those two vehicles but to say you don't see the fascination with diesel in general doesn't make sense to me. Have you ever seen a gasoline commercial product used for towing, or ship work, or large generator use? Diesels can have a higher maintenance cost and can cost more at the pump unless you have a fuel card and I understand that between those factors and the higher upfront cost it may not be worth it for some people. But if you can get over the cost there is absolutely no comparison.

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by primepower

The fascination with the word diesel is because it is better at towing and performing work. I'm not speaking specifically towards the EcoDiesel versus the EcoBoost debate however there is no comparison between a gasoline and diesel engine for towing. I am a Marine Engineering Officer in the Army and have over 18 years of ship and large generator experience to include theory. I have never once seen a gasoline generator nor engine on any ship or generator. Nor would you see one in a semi truck. A gallon of diesel has a higher amount of energy than a gallon of gasoline. Diesels due to the high compression ratio and and compression ignition have their power bands at a much lower torque curve allowing them to operate in a much higher gear when compared to a gasoline engine. This is why you see the large differences in miles per gallon between a gasoline engine and diesel engine even though they can have similar horsepower numbers. Again not going specifically with those two vehicles but to say you don't see the fascination with diesel in general doesn't make sense to me. Have you ever seen a gasoline commercial product used for towing, or ship work, or large generator use? Diesels can have a higher maintenance cost and can cost more at the pump unless you have a fuel card and I understand that between those factors and the higher upfront cost it may not be worth it for some people. But if you can get over the cost there is absolutely no comparison.

I have a modified TDI and totally agree with the power these engines can produce.

I have had my TDI for 13 years and have gradually tweaked it. Today I have 315 ft-lbs of torque and nearly 200 hp. The torque is really amazing in this tiny platform.

The really amazing part is that with all the improvements, I could still get over 50 mpg with my foot to the floor and 30 mpg when I was towing my Camplite.

When I was starting up a new company about 10 years we had a Ram 3500 and the Cummins was quite a nice engine. The truck needed a new front end after a short amount of time but this seemed to be a common problem with these trucks back then. I think it is better now.

[primepower]

My wife drives an Audi Q5 TDI 3.0 diesel and gets 34 mpg combined. Plus it tows our 7x12 tandem axle enclosed cargo trailer loaded. It is also modified now and has about 240hp and 500 ft-lbs torque. I would diesel for all my vehicles if I could. We used to have a Passat TDI, 44mpg.

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by primepower

The fascination with the word diesel is because it is better at towing and performing work. I'm not speaking specifically towards the EcoDiesel versus the EcoBoost debate however there is no comparison between a gasoline and diesel engine for towing. I am a Marine Engineering Officer in the Army and have over 18 years of ship and large generator experience to include theory. I have never once seen a gasoline generator nor engine on any ship or generator. Nor would you see one in a semi truck. A gallon of diesel has a higher amount of energy than a gallon of gasoline. Diesels due to the high compression ratio and and compression ignition have their power bands at a much lower torque curve allowing them to operate in a much higher gear when compared to a gasoline engine. This is why you see the large differences in miles per gallon between a gasoline engine and diesel engine even though they can have similar horsepower numbers. Again not going specifically with those two vehicles but to say you don't see the fascination with diesel in general doesn't make sense to me. Have you ever seen a gasoline commercial product used for towing, or ship work, or large generator use? Diesels can have a higher maintenance cost and can cost more at the pump unless you have a fuel card and I understand that between those factors and the higher upfront cost it may not be worth it for some people. But if you can get over the cost there is absolutely no comparison.

Point IS NOT that diesels when rightly configured can’t pull more. MY POINT is that the 3.0 liter RAM is not as good for power as the Dodge Hemi or the 3.5 liter EcoBoost. it has torque numbers, but the horsepower is limited. Torque gets you going, but horsepower keeps you going. That’s all I’m saying. That’s why when I talk to guys at Dodge dealership very few ecodiesel are sold.

[primepower]

Understood and you wouldn't find me defending an Italian diesel anyways. I would say your idea of horsepower and torque are not exactly correct either though. Horsepower is better thought of as the ability to get up to speed quicker. Torque is the rotational or twisting force. So when it comes to towing torque is what you would need to tow more weight while horsepower is what you would need to get up to the desired speed quicker.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by primepower

Understood and you wouldn't find me defending an Italian diesel anyways. I would say your idea of horsepower and torque are not exactly correct either though. Horsepower is better thought of as the ability to get up to speed quicker. Torque is the rotational or twisting force. So when it comes to towing torque is what you would need to tow more weight while horsepower is what you would need to get up to the desired speed quicker.

Torque is multiplied through the gears. Horsepower cannot be multiplied; it’s a rate of doing work. Because of the higher torque, the Diesel engine makes power at a lower rpm. Some erroneously state that the gas engine “works a lot harder” and the diesel “is hardly working” because the gas engine is turning higher rpm.

I towed with the eco diesel and it’ll pull a 27’ OK. But the acceleration when merging is marginal with the lower horsepower engines. I like to be doing the speed limit plus at the end of the merge ramp. With the new PSD I just have to be careful to not spin the tires.

[kscherzi]

In Ford news, heres something clipped from their site regarding the 2021 F-150.
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The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 enjoys a more significant boost of 25 hp and 30 lb-ft over its predecessor to pump out 400 hp at 6,000 rpm and 500 lb-ft at 3,100 rpm. With this turbocharged mill, the maximum payload is 3,250 lbs and a maximum towing ability of 14,000 lbs.

Should you prefer a diesel, the 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 makes 250 hp at 3,250 rpm and 440 lb-ft at 1,750 rpm or the same as before. It can carry up to 1,840 lbs and tow as much as 12,100 lbs.
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Caveat:
We all should know the payload and towing figures noted here are marketing baloney, as its likely near impossible to configure a truck to get such capacities.