2015 Power Wagon Towing report :( real world results

[spoon059]

Towing at 80??? Yikes.

Also, your EVIC fuel mileage read out is not taking tire size into account.

Bigger, heavier tires won't help MPG either.

My thoughts exactly. Towing at 80 is FAST. Besides being pretty unsafe, its going to cost you in fuel economy.

 

[River19]

I have yet to experience anything that bad, even pulling the horse trailer through VT/NH. Not that it's good, but I'll usually get between 8-11mpg when pulling if there are hills involved.

Same exact experience here.

Haven't read the whole thread yet but I like, Viking pull a BP horse trailer in MA, RI, NY, VT, NH.....with 3.73s and never have any problem with power and I'm at 6500-7500lbs normally plus another 800-1200lbs of payload and people combined. I get 9-11mpg on my trips from our RI barn to anywhere in the Hudson River Valley so that includes the hills in the Berkshires......

Something ain't right for a 3000lb v-nose to get anything worse than what I get. And with 4.1x rear-end I wouldn't expect it to hunt for gears around 4th to 5th all day.

Edit: Regarding towing at 70-80mph......every Friday night we drive 225miles up to our place in VT, all 4 seasons....to paint with a general brush here.....by far the least safe people are the New England sled-tards. Single and double axle towing 75-80+mph weaving in and out of lanes, bad trailer setups (chains not crossed, lights in various states of legal, etc.). It is normal to see a single axle sled trailer weaving/gyrating right and left 2' in either direction behind sledheads racing to get to the wood stove and beer.

Last Friday two nimrods with two sleds each on those above bed platforms (read center of gravity extremely high) were weaving in and out of cars hammering up to Franconia notch at 80+mph.....came damn close to seeing one two wheel his Ram 1500 around one turn.

Granted where the OP is towing is flat and lots of it straight, if he is at 72ish mph it isn't the worst thing I've seen.....granted his tires are probably rated for much less than that.

And did I read 34-35" tires at 45psi? Look at my rig, I run 35" tires (34" real measurement as well) 65psi up front 80+psi in the rear when towing.....45psi in the cold? I would crack a beer and ponder a psi change.....

 

[SouthTexan]

I would crack a beer and ponder a psi change.....

I say crack a beer just to crack a beer.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

I know the 66rfe is a step up from the old tranny but it shares the exact same ratios as the 68rfe which was built for the CTD from the get go............gear spacing and range is less than ideal for a gasser.

If the "old" tranny was sufficient in the HD, which was the same as the one in the 1500, it seems the new 8 speed with the 6.4 is a no brainer...........I'd buy that truck RIGHT NOW!

 

[theviking]

Last Friday two nimrods with two sleds each on those above bed platforms (read center of gravity extremely high) were weaving in and out of cars hammering up to Franconia notch at 80+mph.....came damn close to seeing one two wheel his Ram 1500 around one turn.

That would be insane going through Franconia at 80mph. I wouldn't want to do that in the truck without a trailer

 

[grizzjeeper]

Yeah the Speed limit in Northern Maine is 75...... semis hauling 80k going faster... Its long straight and not a lot of traffic...

Yes the picture is me locking out 6th gear.. shows 5th but is in 4rth. Hell empty the truck has all it can do to hold 6th unless its perfectly flat terrain. At 75MPH in 6th I think I turn around 2100 RPM. I will check tonight.

 

[SouthTexan]

At 75MPH in 6th I think I turn around 2100 RPM. I will check tonight.

Plug in your tire size and axle ratio, and you can find out now.

(Axle Ratio x Vehicle Speed x Transmission Gear Ratio x 336.13) / Tire Diameter = Engine RPM


Gear ratios for your 66RFE
1st gear--3.23
2nd gear--1.84
3rd gear--1.41
4th gear--1.00
5th gear--0.82
6th gear--0.62

 

[grizzjeeper]

PSI change? The tires MAX rating is 50 psi.. All tires are not the same.... The duratracs that comes on the powerwagon max PSI is 60... I know the standard tire on ram 2500 is MAX 80 psi... and that doesn't mean you should be at 80 unless 1 you like to replace tires or 2 you are freighted to max gvrw... Cold tar and high pressure and running 80 psi would definitely make me ponder a psi change

 

[grizzjeeper]

Calculates to 1884 rpm at 75mph.

 

[smurfs_of_war]

PSI change? The tires MAX rating is 50 psi.. All tires are not the same.... The duratracs that comes on the powerwagon max PSI is 60... I know the standard tire on ram 2500 is MAX 80 psi... and that doesn't mean you should be at 80 unless 1 you like to replace tires or 2 you are freighted to max gvrw... Cold tar and high pressure and running 80 psi would definitely make me ponder a psi change

Oh, gotcha! I (for whatever reason) thought they were the E rated LTs on it- I thought you were almost running them flat!

 

[SouthTexan]

Oh, gotcha! I (for whatever reason) thought they were the E rated LTs on it- I thought you were almost running them flat!

Yeah, the Duratracs on the Power Wagons are D rated tires and not E rated.

 

[theviking]

PSI change? The tires MAX rating is 50 psi.. All tires are not the same.... The duratracs that comes on the powerwagon max PSI is 60... I know the standard tire on ram 2500 is MAX 80 psi... and that doesn't mean you should be at 80 unless 1 you like to replace tires or 2 you are freighted to max gvrw... Cold tar and high pressure and running 80 psi would definitely make me ponder a psi change

Except that the TPMS will set off a warning/message if you go much lower than 80 psi. Per the sticky in this section a dealer can lower the threshold assuming you find one willing to do it.

 

[grizzjeeper]

Powerwagon tpms defaults set lower by default to 60 compared to normal 2500. Which again is a hazard in itself by having the minimum set as the maximum the tire is rated for. I had mine changed no issue.... but did have to give them instructions lmao!

 

[KarL45]

Think it would help quite a bit if the newer Power Wagons would go back with the 4.56 gearing. 5.7 or 6.4, both need the gearing to run strong when towing. And "YES" Wish Ram would adapt the 8 speed behind the 6.4. It would be amazing I think for all around performance. From what I've heard, they "adapted" the AISIN to run behind the 6.4 in the 45/5500 models. Why not the 8 speed???

 

[69GWC]

If they would do the 6.4L with the 8sp they would sell more, ha or atleast one more..

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Couldn't agree more! 6.4 Hemi, 8 speed and 4.56 gears........I would walk in today and tell them name your price!