First tow with Ram 1500 Ecodiesel

Skyjim73 · 10-18-2016, 01:58 AM

We had our first trip towing the TM with our new truck two weeks ago. It was from Valencia California (along I-5 north of LA) to Saratoga, California at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains for a wedding among the redwoods. Over the Grapevine, down into the central valley, drone up I-5 to Rte 152 over Pacheco Pass to Gilroy, then up the 101 and 85 to Saratoga.

Summary - the little diesel and the 8 speed ZF transmission are extremely well-matched as a towing powertrain, fuel economy was excellent, and towing is absolutely effortless!

About 315 miles per Google, 328 by odometer with rest stops, in camp, etc, and filled the next day after unhitching the trailer in camp. Took 16.7 gallons to the first click, yielding a calculated 19.6 mpg including some heavy stop and go traffic on 101 and two hilly sections, and cruising the flats of I-5 at around 68 - 70 mph with some faster stretches thrown in. (Go much slower than that on much of I-5 in the Central Valley and you're constantly being passed by 18 wheelers!) Was glad I'd replaced the original tires a few weeks earlier when one was damaged with Maxxis 8008s.

The onboard trip computer claimed 19.7, so it was pretty accurate, at least on this elevation/speed profile. I was seeing 23-24 mpg on that computer in steady-state cruising on flat ground at 65. Which is one heck of a change from my old V-10 gasser which got a best of 16-17 with the TM.

The diesel, which at least one poster here has talked up in his Grand Cherokee, was better than I had actually hoped. 240 hp isn't all that much in a full sized truck these days, but 420 fl/lbs of torque at 2000 RPM, coupled to a transmission that keeps you near the sweet spot in the torque band at all times, flat gets the job done! I'm towing way under the GCWR and trailer rating, but I still wondered about just 180 cubic inches of powerplant. That's what I get for being a fossil who recalls when one horsepower per cubic inch was a performance achievement in production gas engines...

You do need to roll in to the power off the line and allow the boost to come on, but it isn't a slug. And I've always tried to be nice to my powertrain when towing anyway, so my throttle habits already got along with the 3.0's power curve. So for me, this looks like a winner if it proves reliable. Couldn't be happier!

mecicon · 10-18-2016, 07:45 AM

That's great to hear/read. I certainly hope the other manufacturers come around and start offering diesels in 1/2 ton and mid size CUV and pick ups. Allegedly GM already offers a diesel in the Canyon/Colorado I'm rather leery of first gen Detroit products.

Padgett · 10-18-2016, 09:54 AM

Agree, that is a great combo for today. Have wondered if the diesel sales are the reason a direct injected & boosted Pentastar keeps getting delayed. Of course one of the great TM advantages is the ease of towing.

One issue is that here in Florida, the price of diesel is about 10-20% higher than 87 PON.

mecicon · 10-18-2016, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Padgett

One issue is that here in Florida, the price of diesel is about 10-20% higher than 87 PON.

It's only 0.10-0.15 cents or 5% ~ difference (in GA), I noticed a larger difference while on a recent trip to FL. Occasionally they are equal.

Sunshine tax (SMH).

TowingX532 · 10-18-2016, 01:09 PM

Anyone else towing with a Tesla Model X? We are leaving for Utah tomorrow. The trip will be Orange County, CA to Barstow supercharger (SC), then to Primm, NV SC, top off again at the Las Vegas SC, finally to St. George, Utah. Our destination is Zion National Park the next day, where we will stay several days and then return.

To see if we had the range between Tesla superchargers, which are usually about 110-120 miles apart, we took a trip from OC to El Capitan State Beach north of Santa Barbara, and after a short stay then up to the Buellton SC before driving back. Using the hill climbs on the 101 to Camarillo and from Gaviota up to the Santa Ynez valley and back, we calculated power consumption (KWh/mi) versus climb rate (ft/mile) at 55 mi/hr speed. Power consumption climbing, pulling our 3300 lb Trailmanor 3023 ranged from a high of 1.83 KWh/mi going over the hill by Camarillo, to a low of 1.08 Kwh/mi from Buellton over the hill to Gaviota. I plotted these points, and they formed a straight line that intersects the Y axis (zero climb, level driving) at power consumption of .582 KWh/mi, which was what we calculated to be the overall average for the entire round trip. Using this graph of power consumption per mile versus climb rate, I measured distance between points along the I-15 freeway from Barstow to St. George and changes in elevation, and then calculated estimated power consumption between the points. I used an estimate of .35 KWh/mi on the downhill segments, and .582 KWh/mi on the flatter segments. This chart of estimated power consumption shows me that after I leave Barstow, I will need to stop at Primm and not try to make it to the Las Vegas SC, because the power needed from Barstow to LV SC would be a bit over 90 KWh. Our Model X has a 90KWh battery. It also tells me I will need to top off the battery again at the Las Vegas SC to make it with a comfortable amount of charge left to St. George.

The Model X tows our 2007 3023 TM very well. We found it quite easy, with my son helping me, to unhook our trailer from the Model X and pull into the supercharger spots. Not that we won't look forward to supercharger stations with pull-through spots, see this link
https://electrek.co/2016/08/18/first...er-new-layout/

We will be reporting along the way using Twitter and Periscope. The topic of our posts on Twitter and videos on Periscope will be ModelX-Trailmanor. My Periscope name is ModelXguy532.

Wish us luck!

mecicon · 10-18-2016, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TowingX532

Anyone else towing with a Tesla Model X? We are leaving for Utah tomorrow. The trip will be Orange County, CA to Barstow supercharger (SC), then to Primm, NV SC, top off again at the Las Vegas SC, finally to St. George, Utah. Our destination is Zion National Park the next day, where we will stay several days and then return.

To see if we had the range between Tesla superchargers, which are usually about 110-120 miles apart, we took a trip from OC to El Capitan State Beach north of Santa Barbara, and after a short stay then up to the Buellton SC before driving back. Using the hill climbs on the 101 to Camarillo and from Gaviota up to the Santa Ynez valley and back, we calculated power consumption (KWh/mi) versus climb rate (ft/mile) at 55 mi/hr speed. Power consumption climbing, pulling our 3300 lb Trailmanor 3023 ranged from a high of 1.83 KWh/mi going over the hill by Camarillo, to a low of 1.08 Kwh/mi from Buellton over the hill to Gaviota. I plotted these points, and they formed a straight line that intersects the Y axis (zero climb, level driving) at power consumption of .582 KWh/mi, which was what we calculated to be the overall average for the entire round trip. Using this graph of power consumption per mile versus climb rate, I measured distance between points along the I-15 freeway from Barstow to St. George and changes in elevation, and then calculated estimated power consumption between the points. I used an estimate of .35 KWh/mi on the downhill segments, and .582 KWh/mi on the flatter segments. This chart of estimated power consumption shows me that after I leave Barstow, I will need to stop at Primm and not try to make it to the Las Vegas SC, because the power needed from Barstow to LV SC would be a bit over 90 KWh. Our Model X has a 90KWh battery. It also tells me I will need to top off the battery again at the Las Vegas SC to make it with a comfortable amount of charge left to St. George.

The Model X tows our 2007 3023 TM very well. We found it quite easy, with my son helping me, to unhook our trailer from the Model X and pull into the supercharger spots. Not that we won't look forward to supercharger stations with pull-through spots, see this link
https://electrek.co/2016/08/18/first...er-new-layout/

We will be reporting along the way using Twitter and Periscope. The topic of our posts on Twitter and videos on Periscope will be ModelX-Trailmanor. My Periscope name is ModelXguy532.

Wish us luck!

Guessing you have 20" wheels?

You have more patience than I have. Average speed of 27 MPH!

Skyjim73 · 10-18-2016, 06:32 PM

TowingX532, that's interesting - I've avidly followed the buildout of the supercharger network, and early on people in Model S 85s were hard-pressed on hot days because Barstow to Vegas was a stretch with that long Baker grade to deal with. Primm was a huge gap-filler!

Best of luck, and by all means let us know how it goes...

Skyjim73 · 10-18-2016, 06:47 PM

Mecicom, Ford is supposedly going to have a diesel in the same displacement class as the 3.0 in the Rams in 2018. The Land Rover version of the same engine already here has higher power and torque than the VM Moturi 3.0 in the Rams.

We gave the Colorado a look but my wife was not willing to go back to the smaller cabs after having a full size. I would have at least waited another year for that one - I don't like to buy anything in the first production year...

Padgett, I've wondered the same thing about the DI Pentastar, but read somewhere that FCA could be waiting for lower sulphur unleaded - didn't even know that was a thing with gasoline, just aware of the the ULSDiesel and a bit concerned about lubricity. Have used B5 when possible or mixed B20 when I find it - which I did on the return leg of this first tow.

I guess FCA, who have seemed kind of scattered to my eyes in their product planning and rollouts, might also just be taking their time because they have the niches pretty much covered until they are forced to cut back on the Hemi part of the mix. Maybe the DI & turbo Pentastar winds up as the Hemi replacement but won't appear till needed.

Guys, here in SoCal diesel is a bit less than 87 octane at some stations; a bit more at others. A couple of months ago it was consistently cheaper.

aslag54 · 10-18-2016, 08:29 PM

Thanks for the towing review. I just bought a new Ram Ecodiesel too but haven't had a chance to tow with it yet. After pulling our 2720QD up Sisikyou pass with our 01 Silverado Z71 with the 5.3L V-8 racing at 4,000 RPM in 2nd gear and only able to go 40mph I realized I needed something with more torque at a lower RPM. Love the fuel mileage and power this truck has plus all the new technology.

LoveToCamp · 10-18-2016, 08:58 PM

Skyjim, yes, I love the diesel! Around Denver, diesel was cheaper than 85 octane (cheapest gas in this area) most of the last year. It is now about 10 - 15 cents more per gallon, but that still makes my diesel cheaper to drive than a gas-powered V-8!

I have 99,585 miles on my 2014 GC diesel. Bought it new April 30, 2014. Not a problem with the engine. Did have a computer glitch that baffled Chrysler and the local shop for a week, but have not had a problem since (about 15,000 miles ago, in July.)

Enjoy your Ram!