8 hour pull 6.4 hemi 4.10 gears

Well I finally have time to report from our camping trip to Dandridge Tenn. I live in Nw Ohio near Sandusky. We pulled our 2017 Jayco TT 324bhts. Dry weight from factory 8900, I would say 9300 to 9900 loaded. Trailer is 38ft tongue to tail. I used an equalizer 14k 4point hitch. Hitch performed flawlessly. Truck first tank averaged 7.5mpg as the headwind in Ohio was decent and I think my foot was in it a little more. The rest of tanks pulling were 8.5 to 9mpg. Speeds ranged from 60-65. Trip home was 65 most of way and yielded almost 9mpg. My knee jerk reaction to the truck pulling hills was I didn't like it and said diesel here I come. Well as the days have passed and talking to my lovely wife we say the truck is staying. Majority of hills in deep Kentucky and through Tenn. 3rd gear was needed to maintain 55-60 mph. Climbing Jellico hill I just set cruise to 55 and let truck work. It climbed in 3rd gear at around 3500rpm all the way. Oil temp reached 230 I think and trans temp reached 180. It was the only time I saw the temps climb and heard engine fan kick on. It shifted a lot from 5th to 4th to 3rd when going through these rolling mountains. I suppose I could locked out 5th but was trying to net best mpg I could. I would say the truck performed as a gas truck should and I have to accept this. It is easy to expect more low end pulling but have to remind myself that's not what its designed for! This is about as extreme tow as I have done with anything. Our friend that went with us has a 2015 duramax dually. He averaged 11-12mpg pulling 12k 5er. He did have an issue with truck on way home. His speed was limited to 55 due to egr problem. I hope this review helps some people on the fence. I think maybe this truck and I have finally gelled after 2 years I hope. I may look into a pedal commander to see if it will help some lag in the low gears. Stay safe everyone. This hemi is staying I hope.

Nice report. Your mileage seems quite a bit higher than other 6.4s with similar loads so you must be doing something right.

If it was any worse i would not be happy. I was really surprised mpg got better in Kentucky on 2nd tank rather than the 7.5 in ohio. I have heard the south has lower ethanol in their fuel so that could be why.

Why are the MPGs such an issue? When I tow, I usually see around 40% loss, which seems about what you're seeing as well?

I tow for a living not a hobby.
Some may or may not be able to take their summer or dream trip depending on cost.
Some can cover greater fuel costs but refuse or choose not to if fuel costs are too much.
7 or 8 mpg towing vs 14 or 15 mpg towing can make a significant cost difference.

Great report..... thanks!

I'm pulling about 11K with the 3.73 gears so your setup is definitely better. As I've gotten to know the truck I find myself shifting manually to get the most out of the tranny. Some of the shifting and gear spacing is not great and taking out the guess work definitely helps.

I've been in the same boat thinking it was diesel time and am holding off... for now

I'll have this truck paid off next year and am trying to be "responsible". Overall, the 6.4 is a great motor. The cabs in these newer trucks are a lot better insulated so the higher revs of the gasser don't bother me as much as with older trucks.

mtofell said:

Great report..... thanks!

I'm pulling about 11K with the 3.73 gears so your setup is definitely better. As I've gotten to know the truck I find myself shifting manually to get the most out of the tranny. Some of the shifting and gear spacing is not great and taking out the guess work definitely helps.

I've been in the same boat thinking it was diesel time and am holding off... for now

I'll have this truck paid off next year and am trying to be "responsible". Overall, the 6.4 is a great motor. The cabs in these newer trucks are a lot better insulated so the higher revs of the gasser don't bother me as much as with older trucks.

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Thanks, I had some time to kill today and stopped by a Ram dealer mistake #1. Got to talking with a guy he was asking about my truck and I showed him a picture. He said he has 5 guys that would buy it right now. Hmmmm. So I took a tradesman Cummins in dark brown for a drive. Mistake #2. They want my truck bad. He asked when they could see it. I said Saturday around lunch time. Mistake#3. This may not end well. I don't see them giving me what I want. Good thing they wanna sell more than I want to buy. Pray for me fellas! Hahahaha!

You're done!!! You might as well start taking your stuff out of your truck now. Future congrats on your new truck---
Jay

15BlueStreak said:

Thanks, I had some time to kill today and stopped by a Ram dealer mistake #1. Got to talking with a guy he was asking about my truck and I showed him a picture. He said he has 5 guys that would buy it right now. Hmmmm. So I took a tradesman Cummins in dark brown for a drive. Mistake #2. They want my truck bad. He asked when they could see it. I said Saturday around lunch time. Mistake#3. This may not end well. I don't see them giving me what I want. Good thing they wanna sell more than I want to buy. Pray for me fellas! Hahahaha!

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Dealers "always want your <insert vehicle> here"

While I do not disagree with any of your towing needs, do not let them sucker you into or out of anything.

You have control-
If they really want it - they can pay for it and they can take it in the shorts on the sale. Sit down- and do the numbers before you go in- " know how much you want if u do trade it in"
If they really want it they will make it happen- If not - well you will be payment free soon enough-

In my case I don't have a Ram dealer any where near me and my wife won't let me near a Ram lot if we see one- Cause she knows if I can come out ahead - we will be driving a ctd home lol

It will be nice to get a diesel but for me I'm loving my 6.4L with the 4.10 gears.

Farmer Fran said:

Dealers "always want your <insert vehicle> here"

While I do not disagree with any of your towing needs, do not let them sucker you into or out of anything.

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Very true statement. They will tell you that they really need YOUR VEHICLE and will give you a great price. That is to get your hopes up. Then they will show you a fancy new Cummins and get you really wanted that. They hope that by the time they low ball you on your 6.4 that you won't really care, because you'll be so emotionally attached to the new Cummins.

Don't be a sucker. If they really wanted your truck so bad, they could simply order one exactly like yours and sell it new. After all, if the demand is so high, they can name their price for a new one, right?

Now, if you really want a Cummins and know that you aren't getting some spectacular deal then go for it. But please don't think for a second that you are getting some great deal.

spoon059 said:

Very true statement. They will tell you that they really need YOUR VEHICLE and will give you a great price. That is to get your hopes up. Then they will show you a fancy new Cummins and get you really wanted that. They hope that by the time they low ball you on your 6.4 that you won't really care, because you'll be so emotionally attached to the new Cummins.

Don't be a sucker. If they really wanted your truck so bad, they could simply order one exactly like yours and sell it new. After all, if the demand is so high, they can name their price for a new one, right?

Now, if you really want a Cummins and know that you aren't getting some spectacular deal then go for it. But please don't think for a second that you are getting some great deal.

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They have theirs discounted 9k. I am not counting on anything. I know they won't be where I want to be. This more or less will be a guide for future endeavors....

Don't worry fellas still a hemi owner....

Good job don't let them beat you.

I have a love/hate relationship with dealers. We were in town shopping so I decided to go to the lot to kill time while the little lady shopped. I got that same "I have a bunch of people that would snap your truck up today" line and almost drove home in a CTD. Then I gave my head a shake and came to my senses. I would have been so upside down by the time they tacked on all their other **** it would have killed me. And I am a sucker for shiny new iron [emoji52]

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smurfs_of_war said:

I have a love/hate relationship with dealers. We were in town shopping so I decided to go to the lot to kill time while the little lady shopped. I got that same "I have a bunch of people that would snap your truck up today" line and almost drove home in a CTD. Then I gave my head a shake and came to my senses. I would have been so upside down by the time they tacked on all their other **** it would have killed me. And I am a sucker for shiny new iron [emoji52]

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I have never shopped this dealer before. Its 10 minutes from my house a small town. They had me drive it again and do the whole thing. Then there finance woman came to me and said if I give you my very best deal will you take this truck home today. I looked at her and said NO. She wouldnt give me her number until I "committed". I laughed at her. I said the truck was nice but it was wrong color and didn't have the anti spin diff. She said that's really a deal breaker I said YES! If I am going to spend 45k I am getting everything I want. So they go track down a truck that has everything I want. They won't discount it to what there in stock truck is because they don't know what they can buy it for from other dealer. I called her out and said my truck was brought in from Erie PA and did not pay a cent more. And they threw in a set of step bars for free. Her eyes got big and went through the talk of we have to make money and all that. I get that but don't rake me over the coals! Then their top dollatr trade was 3k under NADA clean trade in. So much for wanting my truck! Hahaha! Needless to say I don't think I will return to that dealer. I told the salesman after we were done that if that truck had the anti spin diff I would have left with it. The color was luxury brown pearl coat. It looked nice just not my first choice.