Towing with a 2500 5.7

I just gotta know why someone bought a 2017 2500 with the 5.7 instead of the 6.4.

Skrap said:

I just gotta know why someone bought a 2017 2500 with the 5.7 instead of the 6.4.

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There was/are some incredible deals on the 5.7. When I was looking for my 6.4 I found probably (3) 5.7's to every (1) 6.4 .

Skrap said:

I just gotta know why someone bought a 2017 2500 with the 5.7 instead of the 6.4.

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Lol there is "that guy"... I needed a new truck, I wanted a Ram 2500, there was no 6.4's near me so I got a really good deal on a 5.7...Did I want the bigger 6.4? No, I wanted the smaller hemi for the bigger truck, geez

I wish these threads would quit getting moved. I only go into the Heavy Duty section of this forum and there is hardly any action there as it is especially when it not a discussion on the 6.4L. Guess I need to start looking for another forum.

I wish there was a dedicated Heavy Duty Gas forum on the internet. It's somewhat painful searching for info/opinions on the cummins/1500 forums.

Kev12 said:

Lol there is "that guy"... I needed a new truck, I wanted a Ram 2500, there was no 6.4's near me so I got a really good deal on a 5.7...Did I want the bigger 6.4? No, I wanted the smaller hemi for the bigger truck, geez

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I too have the 17 2500 with the 5.7. I had no desire for the 6.4. It does absolutely everything I want and need. I loved the 5.7 in my 1500 but when you put a shovel full of gravel in the back of those the back bumper drags the ground, hence my buying the 2500. Mine pulls the heaviest thing I own with ease. I have no regrets. Plus the 6.4 has the MDS which is the most ******* annoying thing I've ever experienced in my life, hated it on my 1500. Buy what YOU want or can afford with YOUR money and everyone who wants to judge can go kick rocks [emoji16]


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SouthTexan said:

I wish these threads would quit getting moved. I only go into the Heavy Duty section of this forum and there is hardly any action there as it is especially when it not a discussion on the 6.4L. Guess I need to start looking for another forum.

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I agree, things seem to get moved quite frequently, not sure why it couldn't have stayed in the heavy duty section, it's not like its a 1/2 ton or something.

Kev12 said:

Lol there is "that guy"... I needed a new truck, I wanted a Ram 2500, there was no 6.4's near me so I got a really good deal on a 5.7...Did I want the bigger 6.4? No, I wanted the smaller hemi for the bigger truck, geez

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That's like all the ppl who ask me "why didn't you get a Cummins instead of the 6.4?" Its annoying, and both the 6.4 and 5.7 will do 90% of what most ppl need. Quite honestly my 6.4 2500 can do way more than what I need it for anyways.

Kev12 said:

Lol there is "that guy"... I needed a new truck, I wanted a Ram 2500, there was no 6.4's near me so I got a really good deal on a 5.7...Did I want the bigger 6.4? No, I wanted the smaller hemi for the bigger truck, geez

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sticknstring said:

I too have the 17 2500 with the 5.7. I had no desire for the 6.4. It does absolutely everything I want and need. I loved the 5.7 in my 1500 but when you put a shovel full of gravel in the back of those the back bumper drags the ground, hence my buying the 2500. Mine pulls the heaviest thing I own with ease. I have no regrets. Plus the 6.4 has the MDS which is the most ******* annoying thing I've ever experienced in my life, hated it on my 1500. Buy what YOU want or can afford with YOUR money and everyone who wants to judge can go kick rocks [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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SwollenMonkey16 said:

That's like all the ppl who ask me "why didn't you get a Cummins instead of the 6.4?" Its annoying, and both the 6.4 and 5.7 will do 90% of what most ppl need. Quite honestly my 6.4 2500 can do way more than what I need it for anyways.

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Didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings here, boys. I just tend to chuckle when on here and on the RV forum I'm on you see people complain that they bought a truck because they didn't think things through or they got "such a great deal that they couldn't pass it up". LIke most things in life, there is usually a reason it is a great deal.

People probably get tired of me always saying this but why in the world would anyone rush into buying a $50K truck. Why would you not purchase a truck by ordering it through your local dealer. You get what you want and don't pay for options you don't. You wait 8 weeks and you get what you want with no regrets.

It's not quite that easy friend. Dealers have incentives to sell inventory they have in stock, so many times you can get a better deal buying from stock versus ordering.

When ordering you take the chance of other incentives going out. Ie you get what's available when you take delivery. Your trade also devalues while your waiting for your truck to arrive if you have a trade.

Lots of things to consider. I'm not disagreeing with you, however, if what's on the lot has 90%of what you want you have to figure things out to see if it's worth it to you (one personally) to ordera truck or buy off the lot. Just my .02

Skrap said:

Didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings here, boys. I just tend to chuckle when on here and on the RV forum I'm on you see people complain that they bought a truck because they didn't think things through or they got "such a great deal that they couldn't pass it up". LIke most things in life, there is usually a reason it is a great deal.

People probably get tired of me always saying this but why in the world would anyone rush into buying a $50K truck. Why would you not purchase a truck by ordering it through your local dealer. You get what you want and don't pay for options you don't. You wait 8 weeks and you get what you want with no regrets.

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Its not about hurting someones feelings, its just dumb comments and has no insight to my questions or anyone else's responses. I bought a 2500 to tow a 6k pound travel trailer and a little disappointed that it handles the hills similar to my Tundra. People made suggestions to improve my situation, you my friend offered nothing but a waste of message board space. Very happy driving my 2500 as an everyday truck and it tows my travel trailer fine.

Hi Kev,

If your truck is 4x4, I'd figure about $1,000-1500 per axle, so not cheap, but if you like your truck and want to keep it awhile, it might be worthwhile. I'm sorry i wasn't more clear in my prior post, but I'd not swap out from our 3.73s to 4.10s. i don't think it's enough of a difference. I'd go straight to a 4.30 or 4.44 (mopar) gear set.

I'm sure it would make a big difference towing and not hurt fuel mileage much unless you do a lot of highway driving.

I typically run my truck in M5 when towing, it keeps the MDS off and ensures all 8 holes stay lit.

at 60 mph, my typical highway speed, I'm at around 2,000 rpm, which is not bad. if i had 4.44s , i'd suspect i could use M6 on the highway and be at a similar rpm at 60, maybe a little less? the gears really help get the load moving from a stop and just would make the truck a ton of fun to drive empty.

i may consider it at some point if i have a heavy enough trailer, but for my 6k lb TT, even up to 7500, the 3.73s are good for me. our hemis make power higher in the rpm range, as do most gassers, let it downshift and rev on the hills, it's designed to run up there, (4k+ rpm), you won't hurt it.

just keep up on oil changes and routine maintenance and you'll be fine. again, just my .02.

the 5.7 Hemi makes more power than toyotas 5.7, but a lot of tundras have 4.30 gears factory, plus it's lighter in weight than your 2500 so i can understand why they feel like they have similar power.

Thank you. Think I'm going to try downshifting before the climb and see how she does on our next trip before I make any decisions

Kev12 said:

Thank you. Think I'm going to try downshifting before the climb and see how she does on our next trip before I make any decisions

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Let us know how that works. I know from experience that it made a big difference towing my 8000 lb. trailer with another 1200 in the bed.

Kev12 said:

I bought a 2500 to tow a 6k pound travel trailer and a little disappointed that it handles the hills similar to my Tundra. People made suggestions to improve my situation, you my friend offered nothing but a waste of message board space. Very happy driving my 2500 as an everyday truck and it tows my travel trailer fine.

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Just some things to consider. Your Tundra had 381 hp and a 4.30 rear axle ratio and weighed about 5,500 lbs. Your Ram has 383 hp and a 3.73 rear axle ratio and weighs about 7,200 lbs.

Essentially the same horsepower, a more "fuel efficient"/"not as good for towing" rear axle and about 1700 lbs heavier... yea, your Ram certainly won't feel better than the Tundra in the hills. In fact, it should feel considerably SLOWER in the hills.

All that being said, the Ram is a great tow vehicle and will handle that trailer better than the Tundra, even if mileage and power are worse. The heavier truck, heavier suspension, heavier tires and heavier brakes will make the Ram tow better. Unfortunately all that weight will also make it slower and less fuel efficient.

Everything in life is a trade off. Hopefully the Ram 2500 has a bigger fuel tank than the Tundra's meager tank.

spoon059 said:

Just some things to consider. Your Tundra had 381 hp and a 4.30 rear axle ratio and weighed about 5,500 lbs. Your Ram has 383 hp and a 3.73 rear axle ratio and weighs about 7,200 lbs.

Essentially the same horsepower, a more "fuel efficient"/"not as good for towing" rear axle and about 1700 lbs heavier... yea, your Ram certainly won't feel better than the Tundra in the hills. In fact, it should feel considerably SLOWER in the hills.

All that being said, the Ram is a great tow vehicle and will handle that trailer better than the Tundra, even if mileage and power are worse. The heavier truck, heavier suspension, heavier tires and heavier brakes will make the Ram tow better. Unfortunately all that weight will also make it slower and less fuel efficient.

Everything in life is a trade off. Hopefully the Ram 2500 has a bigger fuel tank than the Tundra's meager tank.

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this is spot on. agree 100%. even if works harder in the mountains, I'd still take a 5.7 powered 2500HD dodge over any Toyota or Nissan. Your 2500 is 3xs the truck your tundra was no question.

i think you have a good plan in place. try getting runny before hills. then just let it wind out on the hills and work. how often do you tow with it?

my TT typically sees the road 7-8 times per year, including the run for state inspection, so for me the 3.73s are fine. if i decide to ever buy a 5th wheel that's 10k lb GVWR, then i may step up to 4.30 or 4.44 gears. but i don't see that in my future, at least for as long as i plan on having this truck.

Subbing for an interesting read. Bought a 2016 2500 5.7 and the wife wants to tow a travel trailer around the US in a couple years. Would like to know tricks/tips to help get around towing.

Thanks.

Best thing to do is regear it, 4:56 gears will make a world of difference with that crummy transmissions thats in the 2500s.
I would get a custom tune for the transmission to help ot shift better and last longer ad the factory shify program is not good.

I also have 3:73 in my 6.4, and this past weekend to the camping spot it was up one hill and down another, consequently it stayed in 4th most of the 2 hour drive, at about 2300 rpms or so around 63 MPH.. Dont be afraid to let the truck rev. I know you have the 5.7, but these trucks are hampered by the 1-2 gap, but other wise should do pretty well with the weight your pulling. (think the 5.7 has the same tranny with the 1-2 gap?) I will say I have a noticable improvement in mine now with 7K on it compared to the first pull at about 1.5K miles on it.

ronheater70 said:

I also have 3:73 in my 6.4, and this past weekend to the camping spot it was up one hill and down another, consequently it stayed in 4th most of the 2 hour drive, at about 2300 rpms or so around 63 MPH.. Dont be afraid to let the truck rev. I know you have the 5.7, but these trucks are hampered by the 1-2 gap, but other wise should do pretty well with the weight your pulling. (think the 5.7 has the same tranny with the 1-2 gap?) I will say I have a noticable improvement in mine now with 7K on it compared to the first pull at about 1.5K miles on it.

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Thanks for posting that ron. i have just under 3k on mine so far and same combo as you towing around 6k. next tt in a few years will be in the 7500 range so I'm not too concerned. I'll just let it work in the mountains. i actually enjoy hearing the big hemi up in the rpm range, working in the mountains. music to my ears. lol!

69gwc, you constantly rag on the 6 speed trannys in your posts. agree they are not the best,, but are far from terrible. if you want to feel pure crap, go drive a newer gm 6 speed in the 14-up 1500 series trucks and you'll appreciate the 66rfe a lot more.

at least it will downshift when it needs to and does not clunk (loud) on the 3-2 downshift all the time. that gm trans was pure crap. let alone many of the trucks with bad vibration issues. the new gm 5 3 rattles every time you start it cold too, worse in the winter, i could go on and on. i gave gm another try with my 2015 Silverado i dumped for my ram after only 10k miles, figuring they'd be better post bail out but its the same old gm, with the same issues they've always had of course the dealer claimed, nothing they could do. normal! What a joke. I've gotten some of that from my ram dealer also so they are no better

could our rams be better? yes, but go drive some gm junk (yes its still junk) and you'll appreciate our rams much more.