1500 V6 vs 2500 V8

[csuder99]

This may be of interest for someone debating switching trucks to tow a travel trailer. As background, when I bought the 1500 with a V6 in 2014 I didn’t own a trailer. Within five years I went from a Jumping Jack tent trailer to a single axle Wolf Pup to a Nash 17k. The makers of the Nash line (Northwood Manufacturing) tend to make their trailers a little more heavy duty with stronger frames, shock absorbers and more insulation compared to the “lite/super lite” models from other manufacturers. As a result the 17k which is the smallest model (21 ft overall) weighs in at 5600 lbs with water and propane but otherwise empty. It’s somewhere 6200-6400 lbs ready to camp and the GVWR is 7000 lbs. Even at GVWR the trailer is within the tow rating for a V6 with 3.55 gears.



I did tow the trailer with the Pentastar for one season. It did pretty good in the flats, but I do live at the base of the Cascades in OR so most of my trips include pulling up or over the mountains. That’s where the V6 often revs at 5K+ RPM for an extended time, and to add insult to the injury the peak horsepower is at 6400 RPM. At 5500 rpm the engine puts out maybe 260-270 HP, the low torque really hurts the V6 in this situation. And while the engineer in me realizes the engine and transmission are modern designs seeing oil and transmission temps rise way high makes me feel uneasy.



Enter a 2500 with the 5.7 Hemi. More power, much more torque keep the RPM in check and the transmission runs much cooler on the climbs. It did meet the objective of making the drivetrain less high strung. Having said that, off the line the 2500 Hemi isn’t noticeably faster, maybe even slower. The 1500 has eight gears and is ~1000 lbs lighter which certainly makes a difference. The 66RFE has a big jump from first to second gear where the truck kinda falls on its face which doesn’t help either.



In terms of handling the trailer behind the truck, the 1500 did that pretty well. The rear of the truck felt a little “stiff” because of the tension on the WDH but it was always controlled, no sway passing or getting passed by semis. Keep in mind the trailer has shocks on all wheels which helps. On the 2500 I run with less tension on the WDH, basically just using it to keep the front axle from unloading too much on whoop-de-doos.



The 1500 was used as a glorified SUV/daily driver and it would run 20+ mpg most of time except in the winter. By comparison the 2500 is much worse driving around empty. 1000 lbs more weight and the 6 speed need more fuel, 12ish mpg is typical for rural+city driving. Towing the difference is not that much, I’ve done sub 10 mpg with the V6 just as with the V8.



The obvious questions is would a 1500 with Hemi/8 speed/3.92 be the perfect truck ? Maybe, however payload can be a challenge. In my case I had a 2nd gen 2500 which came in handy when having a whole pallet of flooring dropped into the bed by a forklift.

Cheers, C>

 

[Ohio5pt7]

I have a 18 cc 4x4 with 3.21s and the hemi. My tt loaded is ~7500lbs and its 32ft ft including tongue. Had it they the smokies going to the beach several times no issues. Oil and trans temps raise yes and it will scream going up the mountain at 70 but all gas motors are going to scream pulling that much weight up a grade as that's where they make their power. The 5.7 can handle the abuse but if it's a concern to have it revving so high have you considered the eco diesel? One it wont rev as high and 2 it will do much better maintaining its power as elevation increases. With a tune for DD I've seen some getting 30mpg in the eco which also is nothing to gripe about. My truck gets 24mpg constantly over a tank of gas but it lives on the highway basically 0 city.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk all grammar errors brought you by fat fingers and auto correct.

 

[dexter]

The obvious questions is would a 1500 with Hemi/8 speed/3.92 be the perfect truck ? Maybe, however payload can be a challenge. In my case I had a 2nd gen 2500 which came in handy when having a whole pallet of flooring dropped into the bed by a forklift.

Cheers, C>

If you are thinking of going to a new truck and to continue to camp; you should go with the 2500 6.4l in 4:10 gears.

Most people only go bigger with their trailers or from a trailer to a 5th.

The mpg towing or now will be a bit worse then the 5.7.

But the 2500 is a beast for a daily driver.

I would say the 5.7 with 4:10 gears is the perfect truck otherwise for you. If you go with 3.92 you would be wondering if 4:10 would have been better.

 

[tron67j]

My first trucks were 1500 and enjoyed them. But 2500 were my last two and maybe it is the 16 year old last one that makes my new Tradesman ride like a Mercedes. Anyway, the perfect truck is is always going to be different based on use. Like Dexter said above people tend to go bigger as they upgrade and who hasn't walked in the smaller trailers on a lot and then drove off with the bigger, 2 tip out , rear bunkhouse trailer? I use 70% as a rule, I don't buy a trailer that goes past 70% of my maximum towing weight because no matter how hard I try I see trip after trip of stuff from the house flow into the truck and trailer. That means I stay at least 2500 now with good for towing/bad for mileage gears. I have the perfect set up for me, but my 3 cousins, 2 sisters, 1 aunt and my parents all have very different tow vehicles (from a Sorrento to a heavy duty diesel truck). And each is perfect for them. Always interesting to hear how someone arrived at their choice.