We got a 21 Ram Big Horn crew cab short bed Ecodiesel on February 5. Two weeks and 1,000 miles later we took off on a cross country (NY to KY, TX, NM, AZ, CO, Utah, and back to NY) trip pulling our 23 foot travel trailer. We put 11,500 more miles on it as we traveled south and across the country to National Parks, ski resorts, beaches, et all. We towed 6,500 pounds, with two adults and a dog and a full bed of stuff. It tows like a dream. Got 11 to 14 MPG when towing, depending on wind speed and terrain. Got 25 to 33 when not towing. At 8000 miles it needed an oil change, done in Tuscon Az at a Ram dealer and I had to fill the 10 gallon DEF tank twice with all the towing. Totally trouble free. Comfortable. Great ride. 33 gallon tank, 500 to 700 mile range. Get one.
OK, I now have over 40,000 miles on our truck, about 75% of the miles are towing (cross country between NY and the west coast and NY and the Texas). We've had the following issues:
At about 33,000 miles in Death Valley, a weird dash warning light lit, the engine went into a particulate filter cleaning cycle every 20 miles while towing and the outside air temperature on the dash read 190 degrees. Clearly something was wrong. When I checked the owner's manual I found a procedure (turn engine off and restart within a few seconds) which restored normal operation and instructions to get it checked asap. A dealer in Yucca Valley found that the ambient air temperature sensor had quit. The dealer didn't have the part in stock, but got it from another dealer within 24 hours. The dealer also changed the oil and filters.
The wiring harness to the transfer case failed at 39,300 miles and was replaced under the 100,000 mile drive train warranty.
The trailer reverse steering control didn't work upon delivery. Turned out Ram installed the wrong rear back up camera at the factory. It took 9 months and many visits to the dealer for Ram to figure out what the issue was.
What's been my biggest headache? OEM oil filters are short supply and back ordered for 6 to 8 weeks. In NY dealers are unwilling to share stock with each other, and only willing to sell direct to customers. Until recently I was able to get one by driving a couple of hours to other dealers to buy one. But now nobody has them. I now order the next oil filter when when the last one is installed. Yeah, that's not insane! The problem now is that I am still waiting for that next filter to show up before our next cross country trip. I haven't yet resorted to buying the El Cheapo Amazon part, but if I can't get the OEM filter before we leave for Seattle in 3 weeks, I will. Seriously, Stelantis needs to have these in stock and stop with the lame "we-got-no-parts-'cause-a-Covid" BS. They have been making this engine for 3 years, they need to have the disposable maintenance items in stock... Enough of this crap.
Even with these problems I have no problem with strongly recommending the EcoDiesel 3.0 truck.
For one, it has a 100,000 mile 10 year drive train warranty. The 4-wheel drive wiring harness would not have been covered if this truck had any other engine. If this part failed on a 5.7 liter gas engine, I would have paid.
MPGs continue to amaze, and even with the price of diesel at $6.00 a gallon now, I have made back the extra $2,000 the engine cost me (over the 5.7 liter gas beast). And the price of diesel is inching back down even as I write this.
Even if diesel is more expensive, the 3.0 liter diesel gives you a long distance range and economy that you just can't get with any of the gas engines in any other Ram pickup truck. I get 30-34 mpg when not towing. I have a 33 gallon tank. Do the math. Can a gas engine pickup go nearly 900 miles without filling up when not towing? No it can't.
Here is the bottom line:
- if you tow something under 9,000 lbs. and/or do a lot of long distance driving, you want this truck.
- if you want a truck with a regular factory drive-train warranty of 100,000 miles, you want this truck.