First trip in Heavy Duty - Little review

Thought I would give a report on how my 2500 gasser did driving from MI-MA. Lets say one way was about 800 miles. 1600 round trip, not counting the driving I did while we were there. Driving there we had, I'd say 500 pounds of gear and items in the truck, including my spare. Not counting my wife and I. Before heading out the truck only had about 500 miles on it. By the time we got there the truck calulated 16.2 MPG for the trip there. I hand calculated 15.4. I forgot to record the average speed but we only stopped for fuel twice right off the highway and I had the cruise set at 72 the vast majority of the time. The Hemi started to get thirsty in the mountains oviously. But overall I was very happy with the fuel economy. Especially for the truck being brand new. On the way back the truck ended up calculating higher on the computer (I think it said 16.6) but I didnt bother to hand calc again.

The ride was great. For a 2500 it rode wonderfully. Felt very planted on the road and you can steer with one finger on the highway. Crazy world we are living with this in a HD truck... I do believe the BFG's helped smooth out the ride on the highway. Power was ample and even up high when passing over 75 a couple times it pulled like a beast. Cruise control worked great. Truck knew when to shift and it never felt like it struggled at all to keep speed in any condition. Overall I have no complaints with the 6 speed but I was pretty much running empty. Laramie seats are super comfy. Mopar gets huge props for interior design, storage and space. Also power accessory inputs are a big help.

Got some stares on the highway and compliments around our home town area. People take notice of these trucks.

When in MA, used the truck to haul we estimated around 1800 pounds of building material in the bed for my cousin. No visible squat and the truck drove like it couldnt even feel the load. THAT is why I moved up from a 1500. Doest hurt that I can now fit 35's on stock suspension with no rub and the truck doesnt complain about any of the weight.

Could be my imagination but I also feel like after getting back and getting some good highway miles on her, the drivetrain just seems a bit smoother. Engine seems to be running smoother, trans seems a bit smoother. Dunno. Overall I love this truck and am very happy with the HD model. If you are thinking of getting one I would recommend it 110%. Laramie is great for road trips!

congrats on the new ride! thanks for the review.

the 6.4 definitely runs better after you put some miles on it. i want to say after 13k is when it felt like it really came alive.

My 2014 6.4L really settled in at around 5K miles. It just smoother out and ran like a champ. After I got the programmer and custom tune installed it really hauled a$$.

The 6.4 is a great motor and the 6 speed is pretty good for general use. The 6.4 would really shine with an 8 speed though. Like Maddog, mine settled in around 5k but even now at just a bit over 36k, it still runs smoother for a few days after a long highway run. That's not to say it's not smooth and powerful normally, but the highway runs always make it a little smoother. Always seems to get better gas mileage for a tank or so after long highway runs too. My theory, truck just likes to go so whenever I give it what it wants and drive it a long way, it gets real happy for me .

1800 pounds is nothing to these trucks. You're gonna have to try harder next time if you want it to notice it's working lol.

just finished a return trip from PA to AZ-Laramie 6.4 2500 with the "off road" package-3.73 gears-truck ran good the whole time 2150 miles-saw everything from 14 mpg to the last tank 17.6-6310 miles on the odo and it runs great!-i am liking this truck!

My truck "woke up" around the 10k mark. If yours is like a lot of the rest of us, you'll be pleasantly surprised with more and more miles.

Good stuff guys. Looking forward to putting more miles on her.

For your fuel economy calculations, did you reprogram your speedometer to account for the larger tires? That will have an effect on mileage. I still need to do mine after installing 35s.

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I did re calibrate. Not something I was looking forward to dealing with lol.

Still have the TPMS yelling at me though.

made a camping trip to Mammoth a few weeks ago. Right around 4000 miles on my Ram HD. Averaged around 17-18 round trip. Bed was completely full of camping gear... dog in the back... two of us in front... 110 degree heat through the Mojave. Truck ran like a champ... no complaints here! Amazing how much better it rides with a little (LOT) of weight in the bed...

Where ya from Slick1? - Mammoth is my neck of the woods- i do enjoy how when pulling sherwin grade my truck just settles in 4th and doesn't care. Where you up here for 4th of July?

Great report... thanks!

The longer I own my 6.4 the more comfortable I get with it. I'm towing an 11K 5th wheel with the non-towing-friendly 3.73 gears and am surviving. It's funny because as time has gone on and the trucks improved so much, we all feel like if we're not screaming up 7% grades with huge trailers @ 70mph that there is something wrong with our truck (I'm as guilty as anyone with this expectation).

The reality is the 6.4 is a GREAT engine, the tranny is marginal and the overall experience is 20X better than anything 20 years ago.

Great report, good to hear. Thanks

Good report, we have a Las Vegas trip coming up this September towing ours 10,000 lbs TT it will be good to see how it does up in the mountains and the straightway highway.

Ratket said:

Where ya from Slick1? - Mammoth is my neck of the woods- i do enjoy how when pulling sherwin grade my truck just settles in 4th and doesn't care. Where you up here for 4th of July?

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from Santa Clarita... just north of L.A. Was there about 10 days BEFORE July 4th... did not know there was a motocross event going on... campground was full of them... and the dog has an issue with motorcycles, so was a bit of a challenge. Moved over to Old Shady Rest campground after a few days... MUCH quieter... but no hot showers.

Nice - ya everything fills up durring motor cross week, next time I would recommend heading over to june lake except this year the mosquitos are horrible due to all the water. I was in Santa Clarita not to long ago- was coming home from so cal and we decided to watch our nephew"s t ball game " they live in Santa Clarita".

Ratket said:

Nice - ya everything fills up durring motor cross week, next time I would recommend heading over to june lake except this year the mosquitos are horrible due to all the water. I was in Santa Clarita not to long ago- was coming home from so cal and we decided to watch our nephew"s t ball game " they live in Santa Clarita".

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Went up to June Lake a couple of times whilst there... beautiful area... but the only campground with some limited availability was up on a bluff overlooking the beach... no shade at all.

There was a couple camped a few sites over at Shady Rest that said they left June Lake for that very reason... no shade, & too hot!

Head down to silver lake- or even the " Gull lake camp ground" plenty of shade there- we actually went up to june lake yesterday to let the kids play in the water and went and then went to dinner at whoa nelly delli at the Yosemite entrance.

" Sorry for jacking your thread"

No need to apologize! Lots of good info.

Truck does take bumps smoother with weight. Even 500 pounds makes a noticeable difference. But even stock i have no complaints. Really impressed with daily driving an HD.