UndeadJeeper
Junior Member
This weekend was the first real test of my new Ram 1500, I towed my Jeep from Connecticut down to Rausch Creek Offroad Park in Pennsylvania. It's about 250 miles to my in-laws' house, then 70ish from there to the park, another 70 back, and about 300 coming back to avoid construction. I put about 700-ish miles on the trailer over the weekend.
On the advice of people in this forum, I invested in a weight distributing hitch and a friction sway controller. These proved invaluable, especially for keeping the rear end tongue compression down because I didn't buy air bags.
So here's the setup: 2014 Ram 1500 5.7L V8 Hemi, 3.92 rear axle, class IV receiver, weight distributing hitch, sway controller, towing a 5400lb Jeep atop a 2200 pound trailer, integrated brake controller: total 7,600 pounds cargo being towed. Truck rated capacity: 9,900 pounds.
When I first got started, I have to admit I was pretty scared. I had horrible images of me, my family, and the Jeep ending up in a ditch somewhere or worse, something going wrong and hurting someone else on the highway.
It definitely takes some getting used to, but I have to admit the entire ride was pretty pleasant. We actually drove through some of the worst thunderstorms I'd ever been in, as well as some Arthur spin-off storms. Crosswinds were over 40mph on some bridges, flash floods - everything that could have contributed to a driver heart attack/stroke hit us hard. Truck, trailer, and cargo all got through unharmed (Jeep's nav unit died due to the rain, but that's unrelated to this post
).
It was sunny on the way back, but there was so much construction we sat "still" managing 10 miles in 2 hours. Gas consumption stayed pretty even at 10.5mpg (tow/haul mode was on at all times) whereas my previous unloaded rate was 19.1mpg. This thing took super steep hills like a champ, downshifting for descents to attempt to keep me from running away, growling appropriately to maintain speed climbing. On straight sections of highway I could maintain 65mph and everywhere else I was perfectly content to stay in the slow lane.
As a Jeep owner, I am used to being pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of a purpose-built vehicle. This Ram is truly a thing of beauty - it hauled my cargo without breaking a sweat while still giving me a plush, comfortable ride inside.
I'm convinced that buying this Ram was the best decision I've ever made. Love this vehicle, and love its uncompromising mix of power, utility, and comfort!
On the advice of people in this forum, I invested in a weight distributing hitch and a friction sway controller. These proved invaluable, especially for keeping the rear end tongue compression down because I didn't buy air bags.
So here's the setup: 2014 Ram 1500 5.7L V8 Hemi, 3.92 rear axle, class IV receiver, weight distributing hitch, sway controller, towing a 5400lb Jeep atop a 2200 pound trailer, integrated brake controller: total 7,600 pounds cargo being towed. Truck rated capacity: 9,900 pounds.
When I first got started, I have to admit I was pretty scared. I had horrible images of me, my family, and the Jeep ending up in a ditch somewhere or worse, something going wrong and hurting someone else on the highway.
It definitely takes some getting used to, but I have to admit the entire ride was pretty pleasant. We actually drove through some of the worst thunderstorms I'd ever been in, as well as some Arthur spin-off storms. Crosswinds were over 40mph on some bridges, flash floods - everything that could have contributed to a driver heart attack/stroke hit us hard. Truck, trailer, and cargo all got through unharmed (Jeep's nav unit died due to the rain, but that's unrelated to this post
).It was sunny on the way back, but there was so much construction we sat "still" managing 10 miles in 2 hours. Gas consumption stayed pretty even at 10.5mpg (tow/haul mode was on at all times) whereas my previous unloaded rate was 19.1mpg. This thing took super steep hills like a champ, downshifting for descents to attempt to keep me from running away, growling appropriately to maintain speed climbing. On straight sections of highway I could maintain 65mph and everywhere else I was perfectly content to stay in the slow lane.
As a Jeep owner, I am used to being pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of a purpose-built vehicle. This Ram is truly a thing of beauty - it hauled my cargo without breaking a sweat while still giving me a plush, comfortable ride inside.
I'm convinced that buying this Ram was the best decision I've ever made. Love this vehicle, and love its uncompromising mix of power, utility, and comfort!
