CalDad14
Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2021
- Posts
- 63
- Reaction score
- 54
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Ram Year
- 2017 Ram 1500 Crew Cab, 4x4, 6-speed, short bed, 392gears
- Engine
- 5.7
My wife and I grew up Camping. We do the same for our kids. We chop wood, haul water and cook over our camp fire. My in-laws have a nice roomy camper. So usually, my wife and I tent it, and our kids stay in the camper w/Grandma & Grandpa. My father-in-law runs an 07' PW which he pulls a camper with. He installs "Timbrens" when he tows. My brother-in-law runs a 2012' PW which he pulls his camper with. Both awesome machines. Unfortunately my wife and I don't have it like that! I went w/a 17' Ram 1500 SLT. Plain Jane! Didn't even come w/a CD player! But I've got six seats, a six speed and 392gears so if we ever do get a little camper in the future we'd have a capable truck to pull it.
Fast forward four years to this past Sunday. We rented a little camper. 19ft single axle, 2400lbs. Loaded up our five year old twins, food, supplies along w/a small generator. Including the tongue weight from the trailer, I guesstimate my payload at around 1200lbs. I know, I didn't weigh it, so I'm not certain! My truck's payload is rated for 1530lbs. I had about an inch and a half in between the bottom of my bump stops and the top of the axle shaft.
She did pretty good. Put approx. 500kms on our trip, AC on and super windy on our drive back. Got about 13mpgs. Not great, but not horrible, right??? I average 16mpgs. One time I got 20mpgs, but that was a long road trip. Unfortunately, since we rented the camper, we picked it up on our way out of town. So the truck was packed w/everything. Had I been able to transfer some of the weight from the truck into the camper, I'm sure that would have made a difference. Happy with the way the truck performed. For the most part. She sure likes to shift though. I'm sure the more I tow the more I'll get a feel for how she likes to run.
So to end this lengthy post(apologies)! Does anyone know how exactly my six speed transmission(A6 65RFE) works once I engage the Tow/Haul mode? It felt like it would rarely, if ever shift into 6th gear. When I would manually shift in between 5th and 6th, it sure didn't seem like anything happened. Also, it acted almost like it had a jake brake? Coming down hill, if I brake just little to refrain from gaining too much speed. The truck would downshift to help slow me down. Even on flat ground, like entering city limits. Going from highway speed and slowing down, all of a sudden she would downshift on me. Sometimes quite dramatically.
If anyone knows the exact ins and outs these six speeds, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Fast forward four years to this past Sunday. We rented a little camper. 19ft single axle, 2400lbs. Loaded up our five year old twins, food, supplies along w/a small generator. Including the tongue weight from the trailer, I guesstimate my payload at around 1200lbs. I know, I didn't weigh it, so I'm not certain! My truck's payload is rated for 1530lbs. I had about an inch and a half in between the bottom of my bump stops and the top of the axle shaft.
She did pretty good. Put approx. 500kms on our trip, AC on and super windy on our drive back. Got about 13mpgs. Not great, but not horrible, right??? I average 16mpgs. One time I got 20mpgs, but that was a long road trip. Unfortunately, since we rented the camper, we picked it up on our way out of town. So the truck was packed w/everything. Had I been able to transfer some of the weight from the truck into the camper, I'm sure that would have made a difference. Happy with the way the truck performed. For the most part. She sure likes to shift though. I'm sure the more I tow the more I'll get a feel for how she likes to run.
So to end this lengthy post(apologies)! Does anyone know how exactly my six speed transmission(A6 65RFE) works once I engage the Tow/Haul mode? It felt like it would rarely, if ever shift into 6th gear. When I would manually shift in between 5th and 6th, it sure didn't seem like anything happened. Also, it acted almost like it had a jake brake? Coming down hill, if I brake just little to refrain from gaining too much speed. The truck would downshift to help slow me down. Even on flat ground, like entering city limits. Going from highway speed and slowing down, all of a sudden she would downshift on me. Sometimes quite dramatically.
If anyone knows the exact ins and outs these six speeds, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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