RAM 2500 6.4 vs Cummins for Travel Trailer with 7500lb GVWR

[ramffml]

I definitely agree with this, as we are planning to head further north, where the distance between gas stations does increase. Having the extra range between them would definitely be worth looking at.

Put 2 or 3 gerry cans of fuel in your bed (under the tonneau cover) as a backup. You'll never worry about fuel again.

I can go about 4 hours towing with my 5.7 and then I'm pretty low. By 3 hours I'm on the lookout, 3.5 I get serious about hunting down fuel. My trips are planned before I set out, and I've never yet had any sort of emergency, with a bit of pre planning you won't have any issues.

On the other hand, if you're heading north into Canada, good luck finding competent diesel mechanics if you need one. Parts are also harder to find (meaning more chances of getting stranded for longer periods of time).

Pros and cons to everything. I always say I'd rather tow with a diesel, but I'd much rather own a gasser. Figure out how much those few small trips towing matter to you vs the rest of the ownership experience.

If you're that taken by wanting a diesel, I'd also cross shop the GMC sierra with the 3.0 inline 6 diesel. Keep your options down, and you can easily get 1700+ pounds of payload and about 10k worth of towing (though I'd still never exceed 8k)

 

[DA Smith]

For the trailer you have a Ram 1500 Hemi would do just fine. I have a 2019 fifth. Gen Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 392 gears and up until a month ago I pulled a 34 ft Rockwood signature lite with two slides weighing over 8-k loaded. I have been in mountains and flat land pulling with no issues. The 2500 with the 6.4 and 373 or 410 gears would be fine. The reason I would buy the gas engine is because in my opinion it will do what you want plus you will save around 10-k at purchase just because of the cost of the engine option. You can get a lot of nice options on your truck for that 10-k or you can buy a heck of a lot of gas for 10- k. Also the maintenance on a diesel is two and a half times what the gas will be. If you were buying a truck to work hard everyday pulling hea y loads across country then I would recommend the Cummins but not for what you are needing. By the way I have owned two Ram Cummings in the past and have nothing bad to say about them other than they cost more up front and cost more to maintain! Also I now have a 2023 Grand Design 26 ' with one slide and my 1500 hardy knows it's back there LOL!

 

[NotSoFast]

Lots of people have extolled the virtues of the CTD: range, mpg, power to pass while towing up a hill, longer (but more expensive) maintenance intervals. I have one and I tow a small travel trailer. But it can't be overemphasized what a difference it makes when towing down a grade. Wow! I was beyond amazed at the level of control when towing down a hill. 8% grade for 6 miles with hairpin turns and heavy crosswinds? Not even noticeable. Safety is wonderful.

 

[Ratman6161]

We currently have a Grand Design Imagine 2400BH with a GVWR of 7500lbs (weighed weight loaded for travel for us was 6600lbs) but if we travel more I guess that number will definitely get higher. We have no future plans to get a larger trailer and currently tow this with a large SUV rated to tow almost 9000lbs. We want to travel more and further distances and we feel that for the size of trailer and the amount of travel is where we would prefer to be in 2500 territory. Just wondering if those with experience with the 2500's if the 6.4 Hemi would be up to the task travelling 1000's of miles with some mountain travel as well. My other concern with the Cummins is this travel would be for 1-2 months a year and then otherwise the Truck would only travel a 100-200km a week at best unloaded.

I appreciate any feedback!

Thanks!

6.4 all the way for your purposes. My trailer is a bit heavier at 8746 GVWR and 7600 ish as we load it plus we have about 200 pounds of stuff in the bed. I've had it on a couple of 2000 mile trips and never felt like I didn't have enough power.

I have not taken it to the rockies but I have done some eastern "mountains". I put mountains in quotes because I lived in Colorado for 14 years. But I was surprised. In the east the elevations are not as high but grades are often steeper. I did a couple of times up and down 10% grades. The diesel guys probably won't believe this but I did one descent on a 10% grade a couple of miles long. The speed limit was 30 and the truck did a great job of maintaining that speed in (in cruise control) using its grade shifting. I did not manually down shift and had it been in a straight line I could have done it without touching the brakes. As it was I did use the brakes a couple of times to slow down further on tight curves.

Personal opinion: the diesel is a waste of money in a Ram 2500. The payload ratings on the diesels are horrible. When you start towing heavy enough where you would get a significant benefit from a diesel, you run up against the crappy payload. For example my gas 2500 Laramie has a payload rating of 2939. I've seen otherwise identical trucks with the Cummins that were only 2100. I've done the math and even with my trailer and all the stuff we load, we would only have 359# of a available payload with just my wife and I. A family of five might well be over weight. Lesson: if you really want a diesel, just get a 3500.

 

[naclty1]

I own a 21 2500 crew cab 6.4. I tow a 28RKS listed at 6850lb. The truck doesn’t even know the trailer is back there. The only fun part is finding a gas station that has the space to bring the truck and trailer in and out without causing a grey hair or two in the process.

 

[Danny Phillips]

I paid cash for my 2015 2500 Cummins, bought it to tow our 5th wheel. Medical issues came up and we're stationary now. I put about 4000 miles a year on it and no DPF problems so far, been 8 years now. I love the engine brake and manual shift option.

 

[2003F350]

If we are all honest with ourselves....
@OP: If you at all are going to tow on one of the main interstates of this great country..except near cities, the flow of traffic will be 70-75mph (or higher). If you're not able to do that you become a hazard for everyone else.

Not really. I really don't want to be around someone running that fast while towing. I don't see the reason to be in such a rush. If you're worried about your spot being given away, call ahead. If you're worried there won't be a spot for you, shame on you, you should have planned better. If you're on a deadline, again, shame on you, maybe you should have planned ahead better.

If people can't deal with me towing comfortably at 65 without causing an accident, shame on them. Maybe they need to pay attention to the traffic around them, instead of being in such a hurry.

 

[Riccochet]

Not really. I really don't want to be around someone running that fast while towing. I don't see the reason to be in such a rush. If you're worried about your spot being given away, call ahead. If you're worried there won't be a spot for you, shame on you, you should have planned better. If you're on a deadline, again, shame on you, maybe you should have planned ahead better.

If people can't deal with me towing comfortably at 65 without causing an accident, shame on them. Maybe they need to pay attention to the traffic around them, instead of being in such a hurry.

Same. I'll do 65 all day on the interstate in 70+ mph traffic. Just stay in the right lane.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Not really. I really don't want to be around someone running that fast while towing. I don't see the reason to be in such a rush. If you're worried about your spot being given away, call ahead. If you're worried there won't be a spot for you, shame on you, you should have planned better. If you're on a deadline, again, shame on you, maybe you should have planned ahead better.

If people can't deal with me towing comfortably at 65 without causing an accident, shame on them. Maybe they need to pay attention to the traffic around them, instead of being in such a hurry.

Same. I'll do 65 all day on the interstate in 70+ mph traffic. Just stay in the right lane.

Yep, I've towed pretty much every conceivable type of trailer in my life and 65 is the max I'll tow anything. Any faster won't get you to your destination in any appreciably faster time. So, you can tow for 6 hours of driving time in a day at 65 MPH and cover ~400 miles, or you can tow at 70 MPH for the same period of time and cover 420 miles. Five MPH faster at 75 will get you another 30 miles past that. Pffttt!

 

[Frank Titus]

The above posts pretty much say it all. I've had two Cummins before. The are Okay! The 6.4 Hemi wants 89 octane. That will get you up close to diesel prices for fuel. Did not see mentioned, the lighter Hemi engine makes it ride /steer more like a half ton. I've had two Power Wagon 2500s. My present '23 Power Wagon Rebel (First Year for the 2500 Rebel) has the optional $4.10 diffs. My old '16 P.W. had 4.10s standard. You really need the 4.10s because the '23 P.W. Rebel comes with tall 20" tires. I call mine a Junior P.W., no front winch, no front sway bar disconnect, & no front differential locker. Those are mainly the differences from the Senior P.W. I swapped out those factory 20s for my custom, & shorter 17s. The ride is better, & weigh 10 lbs. less per wheel assembly. Sold my old '16 P.W. to another dealer. That dealer really liked those new 20s. They resold that '16. Made $8,000, $36,000 to $44,000; It only had 54,000 miles. Also, love that 8 speed transmission, over that 6 speed in that '16. You could never run 6th in that '16 if you were pulling anything. These are the only Rams you can get the 4.10 diffs in, unless you get the 3500 dually; which also uses the shorter tires. Regards, Sir!

 

[Riccochet]

Yep, I've towed pretty much every conceivable type of trailer in my life and 65 is the max I'll tow anything. Any faster won't get you to your destination in any appreciably faster time. So, you can tow for 6 hours of driving time in a day at 65 MPH and cover ~400 miles, or you can tow at 70 MPH for the same period of time and cover 420 miles. Five MPH faster at 75 will get you another 30 miles past that. Pffttt!

I'll tow my bass boat at 70-75. But, honestly, I can't even tell it's behind me in that 2500. And the wind doesn't move it at all.

 

[Tulecreeper]

The above posts pretty much say it all. I've had two Cummins before. The are Okay! The 6.4 Hemi wants 89 octane. That will get you up close to diesel prices for fuel. Did not see mentioned, the lighter Hemi engine makes it ride /steer more like a half ton. I've had two Power Wagon 2500s. My present '23 Power Wagon Rebel (First Year for the 2500 Rebel) has the optional $4.10 diffs. My old '16 P.W. had 4.10s standard. You really need the 4.10s because the '23 P.W. Rebel comes with tall 20" tires. I call mine a Junior P.W., no front winch, no front sway bar disconnect, & no front differential locker. Those are mainly the differences from the Senior P.W. I swapped out those factory 20s for my custom, & shorter 17s. The ride is better, & weigh 10 lbs. less per wheel assembly. Sold my old '16 P.W. to another dealer. That dealer really liked those new 20s. They resold that '16. Made $8,000, $36,000 to $44,000; It only had 54,000 miles. Also, love that 8 speed transmission, over that 6 speed in that '16. You could never run 6th in that '16 if you were pulling anything. These are the only Rams you can get the 4.10 diffs in, unless you get the 3500 dually; which also uses the shorter tires. Regards, Sir!

My owners manual says: "Fuel - 87 Octane". There isn't even a mention of anything else. I run 87 in it with zero problems. And regular 87 gas is $3.39 here; diesel is $4.04.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I'll tow my bass boat at 70-75. But, honestly, I can't even tell it's behind me in that 2500. And the wind doesn't move it at all.

There's no wind resistance to mine, either. I won't tow mine that fast, mostly because I don't want to burn out the tires and bearings on those ST radials. I've had that issue before.

 

[Riccochet]

My owners manual says: "Fuel - 87 Octane". There isn't even a mention of anything else. I run 87 in it with zero problems. And regular 87 gas is $3.39 here; diesel is $4.04.

That's going to depend on year. My 2020 manual says to run 89, but 87 can be used though there may be knocking under load and reduced performance. My only guess is there may be slight differences between these engines. Possibly thicker head gasket for reduced compression on yours, but a different tune to make up for the power. Can't say one way or the other why the manuals state different things depending on year.

 

[Tulecreeper]

That's going to depend on year. My 2020 manual says to run 89, but 87 can be used though there may be knocking under load and reduced performance. My only guess is there may be slight differences between these engines. Possibly thicker head gasket for reduced compression on yours, but a different tune to make up for the power. Can't say one way or the other why the manuals state different things depending on year.

My manual also says: "Oil - 0w-40". No mention of any other weight. The only caveat is that it be API certified.

 

[dhay13]

Towed my boat home today with my 2018 6.4 Hemi. Weighs 8900lbs. Went down a hill about a mile long and pretty steep grade. Never touched the brake the whole way down. In fact had to give it more throttle a couple of times. Had it in tow/haul and manually in 6th gear. Works every time. Tap the brake and the engine slows the truck from there. Not sure exactly how it works but it does.

 

[crash68]

Had it in tow/haul and manually in 6th gear. Works every time. Tap the brake and the engine slows the truck from there. Not sure exactly how it works but it does.

engine braking, since gas engines use a butterfly valve in the intake that causes a vacuum which acts to slow the pistons along with the torque converter staying locked up.
You can set the cruise control and just leave the transmission in drive(no manual shifting) and the truck will even downshift to maintain the set speed.

 

[2003F350]

engine braking, since gas engines use a butterfly valve in the intake that causes a vacuum which acts to slow the pistons along with the torque converter staying locked up.
You can set the cruise control and just leave the transmission in drive(no manual shifting) and the truck will even downshift to maintain the set speed.

Used to do this all the time with the Wagon, Crash is 100% right. There's a few hills near a place we like to frequent that will glaze your brakes if you ride them, but the engine braking on even the 6.4 did a pretty good job keeping our camper under control. Looking forward to trying those with the new CTD.

 

[Choupique]

The engine brake on the cummins might be the coolest thing about it. It works really well.

 

[dhay13]

engine braking, since gas engines use a butterfly valve in the intake that causes a vacuum which acts to slow the pistons along with the torque converter staying locked up.
You can set the cruise control and just leave the transmission in drive(no manual shifting) and the truck will even downshift to maintain the set speed.

yeah i'm not 'manually' shifting. i always manually set mine to 6th to lock out the ECO even when i'm not towing