2022 1500 Classic - trip report

[dalewalt]

Hi all, I took delivery of a 2022 1500 Classic on 12/26/22, made a trip from PA to GA, and figured I'd post some of my initial thoughts... feel free to ignore if you don't find it interesting

After taking delivery the day after Christmas, I had occasion to take a long road trip in my new truck. I was taking an airplane engine from outside of Pittsburgh to Valdosta, Georgia (at the very south of Georgia... a distance of about 815 miles each way) and bringing a new engine home. When I was looking for a new truck in December, I was more concerned with ride comfort and gas efficiency (as much as you can get in a truck, anyway) over towing or off-road capability.

First off, the ride quality: I was a bit leery of the trip... I tend to drive straight through on a long trip such as this, and for this trip like all others, I stopped a couple of times for gas, twice for food, but otherwise drove 14 hours straight. Now understand... my previous two vehicles have been Mercedes, so I'm rather spoiled in my comfort expectations. I had assumed I'd be pretty sore by the time I got to the hotel, but surprisingly I wasn't stiff at all. My back didn't hurt, my legs didn't hurt... it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. In fact, I was more comfortable on this trip that I'd ever been in my CLA250... only the E350 provided a more comfortable ride. I last had a truck (Dakota) back around 2004, the ride quality between the two isn't even close. Ride Quality... 10/10

Instrumentation: It took me a bit to get used to the transmission shifter location (a knob? really Ram?), but I found all other controls easy to find in the dark without having to shift my gaze from the road. My only complaint as far as instrumentation is the headlights... maybe I'm just getting old, but unless I hit the high beams, visibility was VERY poor (no rain and not much fog luckily). I have the HiD halogen lights, so one of my first upgrades will probably be a good set of Xenon lights. (If anybody has any recommendations on affordable headlight upgrades, I'm all ears).
Driver instrumentation - 7/10

Fuel efficiency: I was extremely disappointed in the mileage I got. I only had about 300 pounds in the bed (engine, intake/exhaust manifolds, miscellaneous parts), and I kept my speed reasonably close to the speed limit. I routinely went about 7 miles over, so 72 in a 65 and 77 in a 70, so I'm sure that affected it. Plus, of course, 'winter blend' gas isn't as efficient as summer blend, and the big hills in PA and WV didn't help. But still, I barely eked out 19mpg for the whole trip down, with 95% of my driving on interstates. I also used cruise most of the time, so my speed wasn't fluctuating much. 3.55 in the rear, and the tires are fairly big (Raptor package), so that didn't help. But I certainly didn't get anywhere near the 23mpg highway claimed by Ram. Coming back, I had about 500 lbs in the bed (both the old and new engine... long story), and there was very little difference between the trip down and the trip back. It does seem that the sweet spot for gas efficiency seems to be 60-65.
Fuel efficiency - 5/10

Handling: I didn't have to make any wild maneuvers, but even so, lane changes were crisp and smooth, and the truck didn't wander over the road (or bounce when hitting the occasional bump).
Handling - 9/10 (it is a truck, after all)

One additional note: Speaking of cruise control... my speed seemed to wander a bit more than I'm used to. E.g. when set at 77, I routinely would sometimes fluctuate between 75 and 79. Cruise control has been around for decades... it shouldn't wander much if any from the set speed

Overall (except for the ****-poor gas mileage), I'm very pleased with my purchase.

I hope others find this little trip report interesting/useful.

Edit: Huh. Sorry for not responding to everyone as of yet... for some reason I was never notified that anyone had replied to my thread. I only realized when I saw this thread as one of the 'popular topics' that was emailed to me.

To add a bit more info that I was missing... my truck's a 4WD, tire size is 265/70R17's with a pretty aggressive tread (so I'm sure that doesn't help my mileage)

 

[Jeepwalker]

Yeah. Thanks for the write-up! I'd pretty much agree with your assessments, other than my truck has the lever gear shifter, which I personally prefer (shows my age!), but because it makes a great hand rest while fumbling with radio controls. But you have the 8-spd I'm sure.

Handling and comfort is a high point on these Rams, so your feedback coincides with how a lot of owners feel. And I would agree. As for mileage, did you hand-calculate the mpg? Or use the trip computer? Check again in a few months and report back if it changes. Mine doesn't even get 19 (5.7L though), but maybe there's a chance yours will go up. A lot also might depend on the tires too like you say. Larger tires, esp off-road style tires, can have more friction. I would say that's probably a factor affecting your mpg. Or maybe not either. And if there was a headwind, etc. What air pressures were you running, did you check?

Overall, sounds like a nice truck. Only thing missing are a few road-trip pictures of your new hot rod!

.

 

[tron67j]

Glad you enjoyed the ride. You pegged the whole MPG that we all are hit with. DOE did a report back in 2017 that shows, on average, about a 14% drop from 60 yo 70 mph and another 8% from 70 to 80 mph. With the optimal speed somewhere around 50 mph, and factoring in the winter blend, we are doomed to have poor mileage when using a truck like a truck. But I wouldn't get rid of my truck for cash money, although it was tempting last year when I could have sold it for more than I paid for it and would have pocketed a nice profit.

 

[GlennRH]

Love these type of reviews since I am in the market. Can't say I ever heard of summer and winter gas blends though.

 

[GTyankee]

Summer gas & winter weather don't play well together
From May to October all the gas stations burn summer gas

Your Mileage will increase with more driving

I have been driving my 2016 Ram for more than 7 years & i still don't like the rotary shifter

California sometimes cheats & burns winter gas for a couple extra months, that is because the State Tax here is so high & Winter gas is cheaper

A primary difference between winter- and summer-blend gas is their Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). RVP is a measure of how easily the fuel evaporates at increased temperatures. The higher the fuel's RVP, the more easily it evaporates. Winter-blend fuel requires increased RVP.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Hi all, I took delivery of a 2022 1500 Classic on 12/26/22, made a trip from PA to GA, and figured I'd post some of my initial thoughts... feel free to ignore if you don't find it interesting

After taking delivery the day after Christmas, I had occasion to take a long road trip in my new truck. I was taking an airplane engine from outside of Pittsburgh to Valdosta, Georgia (at the very south of Georgia... a distance of about 815 miles each way) and bringing a new engine home. When I was looking for a new truck in December, I was more concerned with ride comfort and gas efficiency (as much as you can get in a truck, anyway) over towing or off-road capability.

First off, the ride quality: I was a bit leery of the trip... I tend to drive straight through on a long trip such as this, and for this trip like all others, I stopped a couple of times for gas, twice for food, but otherwise drove 14 hours straight. Now understand... my previous two vehicles have been Mercedes, so I'm rather spoiled in my comfort expectations. I had assumed I'd be pretty sore by the time I got to the hotel, but surprisingly I wasn't stiff at all. My back didn't hurt, my legs didn't hurt... it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. In fact, I was more comfortable on this trip that I'd ever been in my CLA250... only the E350 provided a more comfortable ride. I last had a truck (Dakota) back around 2004, the ride quality between the two isn't even close. Ride Quality... 10/10

Instrumentation: It took me a bit to get used to the transmission shifter location (a knob? really Ram?), but I found all other controls easy to find in the dark without having to shift my gaze from the road. My only complaint as far as instrumentation is the headlights... maybe I'm just getting old, but unless I hit the high beams, visibility was VERY poor (no rain and not much fog luckily). I have the HiD halogen lights, so one of my first upgrades will probably be a good set of Xenon lights. (If anybody has any recommendations on affordable headlight upgrades, I'm all ears).
Driver instrumentation - 7/10

Fuel efficiency: I was extremely disappointed in the mileage I got. I only had about 300 pounds in the bed (engine, intake/exhaust manifolds, miscellaneous parts), and I kept my speed reasonably close to the speed limit. I routinely went about 7 miles over, so 72 in a 65 and 77 in a 70, so I'm sure that affected it. Plus, of course, 'winter blend' gas isn't as efficient as summer blend, and the big hills in PA and WV didn't help. But still, I barely eked out 19mpg for the whole trip down, with 95% of my driving on interstates. I also used cruise most of the time, so my speed wasn't fluctuating much. 3.55 in the rear, and the tires are fairly big (Raptor package), so that didn't help. But I certainly didn't get anywhere near the 23mpg highway claimed by Ram. Coming back, I had about 500 lbs in the bed (both the old and new engine... long story), and there was very little difference between the trip down and the trip back. It does seem that the sweet spot for gas efficiency seems to be 60-65.
Fuel efficiency - 5/10

Handling: I didn't have to make any wild maneuvers, but even so, lane changes were crisp and smooth, and the truck didn't wander over the road (or bounce when hitting the occasional bump).
Handling - 9/10 (it is a truck, after all)

One additional note: Speaking of cruise control... my speed seemed to wander a bit more than I'm used to. E.g. when set at 77, I routinely would sometimes fluctuate between 75 and 79. Cruise control has been around for decades... it shouldn't wander much if any from the set speed

Overall (except for the ****-poor gas mileage), I'm very pleased with my purchase.

I hope others find this little trip report interesting/useful.

Fuel efficiency:

What engine?

What drivetrain (2WD vs 4WD)?

Were the tires inflated to the recommended pressure?

 

[HunterCat]

I have a 22 Classic with the 3.6 also. Mine is a 2WD RCLB. I've had it since the beginning of September and I'm at around 2,200 miles now.

You'll get used to the rotary shifter. I didn't care for it much myself but I'm starting to come around. I believe the old column shifters had the same electronic arrangement so it shouldn't be any more/less reliable.

Yes, the headlights are not very good at all. The people that got the black-out package with the smoked lenses must really struggle. I replaced my fogs with a set (including the housing) from Diode Dynamics and it's made a huge difference. Problem solved.

With regard to fuel efficiency, I'd guess that your truck will improve over time as the engine breaks-in. I haven't calculated it manually, but the instrument display tells me I'm getting around 19-20mpg around town. I know the display is generous so figure 18mpg. Haven't taken a long highway trip yet but I expect to hit 23mpg. I keep all 4 tires at 40psi cold per the door jam.

So far, I'm happy with the truck.

 

[runamuck]

Interesting read. I have enjoyed driving my '19 laramie more than any truck I have owned. it handles great and has lots of get up and go for an almost 6000# vehicle. the seats are comfortable and the radio sounds plenty good to me. I unplugged the ANC because of a droning sound at a certain speed that messed with my ears. we use it for towing our travel trailer and we prefer it for trips over the wife's infiniti for the extra roominess and I always get around 20 on the highway if I stay under 80. it's geared real low for towing so we dont use it much for city driving and errands. your mileage should improve as things break in. my longest straight thru trip has been sheridan, wyoming to ft. worth, texas..over 1000 miles..17 hrs or so.

 

[turkeybird56]

Love these type of reviews since I am in the market. Can't say I ever heard of summer and winter gas blends though.

OH YEAH, especially if U R in a colder climate and what fuel U R using.

OP: Yer report spot on for a Pentastar. You will find your MPG will go up some after motor breaks in. IMHO, think about doing an oil change now, if You have not yet. The MPG big time affected on all the RAMS once you go over 70 mph. The sweet spot on my Hemi is 65, I lose a lil at 70, lose 4 mpg at 80. Also tires, tire pressure, load, wind, terrain, time of year ref fuel/whether you buy Top Tier fuel than mom and pop, your particular driving habits all are part of the equation. Enjoy your new ride.

OP, JUST FYI: MY DT Hemi, now 4 years old, 21K on Odometer, gets 13-18 town, 17-21 on Hwy as long as keep foot outta carburetor, use cruise when available, good fuel, proper psi, etc. But I did lose like 1 1/2 mpg on tire upgrade, since I got AT3W Falkens on, instead of balloons, SRA GY's. Keep up your MX tho and use Good Filters and (haters hush) synthetic oil/filters. There is a great Oil/Filter thread in this Forum by BURLA, real informative. Also, research ref Oil Filter Housing and check, if the Housing and part is still Plastic, consider getting a change out metal Filter Part/Housing mount and get away from the plastic, a known issue.

One of many posts on the filter housing:

Oil leaking from oil filter adapter - tick - need advice

I have a 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 V6. I noticed some spotting in my driveway that had increased over several days. I mistakenly thought it was transmission fluid. I also noticed a ticking noise coming from the truck over the last couple of weeks before I noticed any oil in the driveway. I did...

www.ramforum.com

 

[huntergreen]

Mpg, ratings are based on reg gas, not the corn fuel we get. If I remember correctly, the Corn gas reduces mpg by 20%. Btw, I’ve never seen a difference between reg, mid grade or premium gas.

 

[06 Dodge]

Mpg, ratings are based on reg gas, not the corn fuel we get. If I remember correctly, the Corn gas reduces mpg by 20%. Btw, I’ve never seen a difference between reg, mid grade or premium gas.

Not sure if they still do this but they at one time Chevron gas the only gas they used and it was trucked from the refinery in KY to the test EPA test site, they did not use local gas just like we use as they know its crap, also when you see some testing place telling you just how good 10% ethanol is, what they don't tell you is they mix there own ethanol blended gas, they do not go out to the local tank farm or gas station to get the gas for testing as they know what we buy is not always a true 10% blend or fresh and it could be mixed with other types of fuel, they also know that ethanol starts to oxidize within 24 hours of it being loaded into rail cars for shipping..

 

[huntergreen]

Not sure if they still do this but they at one time Chevron gas the only gas they used and it was trucked from the refinery in KY to the test EPA test site, they did not use local gas just like we use as they know its crap, also when you see some testing place telling you just how good 10% ethanol is, what they don't tell you is they mix there own ethanol blended gas, they do not go out to the local tank farm or gas station to get the gas for testing as they know what we buy is not always a true 10% blend or fresh and it could be mixed with other types of fuel, they also know that ethanol starts to oxidize within 24 hours of it being loaded into rail cars for shipping..

Either way, not real world conditions, but thanks for this.

 

[runamuck]

I only use regular in mine except for a couple times I was towing in hot weather..105* and last year 112* on a trip to Lake Murray in ok. we had to cut that trip short after 2 days because the fridge in our trailer couldnt keep up with the outside temps.

 

[Dusty]

Hi all, I took delivery of a 2022 1500 Classic on 12/26/22, made a trip from PA to GA, and figured I'd post some of my initial thoughts... feel free to ignore if you don't find it interesting

After taking delivery the day after Christmas, I had occasion to take a long road trip in my new truck. I was taking an airplane engine from outside of Pittsburgh to Valdosta, Georgia (at the very south of Georgia... a distance of about 815 miles each way) and bringing a new engine home. When I was looking for a new truck in December, I was more concerned with ride comfort and gas efficiency (as much as you can get in a truck, anyway) over towing or off-road capability.

First off, the ride quality: I was a bit leery of the trip... I tend to drive straight through on a long trip such as this, and for this trip like all others, I stopped a couple of times for gas, twice for food, but otherwise drove 14 hours straight. Now understand... my previous two vehicles have been Mercedes, so I'm rather spoiled in my comfort expectations. I had assumed I'd be pretty sore by the time I got to the hotel, but surprisingly I wasn't stiff at all. My back didn't hurt, my legs didn't hurt... it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. In fact, I was more comfortable on this trip that I'd ever been in my CLA250... only the E350 provided a more comfortable ride. I last had a truck (Dakota) back around 2004, the ride quality between the two isn't even close. Ride Quality... 10/10

Instrumentation: It took me a bit to get used to the transmission shifter location (a knob? really Ram?), but I found all other controls easy to find in the dark without having to shift my gaze from the road. My only complaint as far as instrumentation is the headlights... maybe I'm just getting old, but unless I hit the high beams, visibility was VERY poor (no rain and not much fog luckily). I have the HiD halogen lights, so one of my first upgrades will probably be a good set of Xenon lights. (If anybody has any recommendations on affordable headlight upgrades, I'm all ears).
Driver instrumentation - 7/10

Fuel efficiency: I was extremely disappointed in the mileage I got. I only had about 300 pounds in the bed (engine, intake/exhaust manifolds, miscellaneous parts), and I kept my speed reasonably close to the speed limit. I routinely went about 7 miles over, so 72 in a 65 and 77 in a 70, so I'm sure that affected it. Plus, of course, 'winter blend' gas isn't as efficient as summer blend, and the big hills in PA and WV didn't help. But still, I barely eked out 19mpg for the whole trip down, with 95% of my driving on interstates. I also used cruise most of the time, so my speed wasn't fluctuating much. 3.55 in the rear, and the tires are fairly big (Raptor package), so that didn't help. But I certainly didn't get anywhere near the 23mpg highway claimed by Ram. Coming back, I had about 500 lbs in the bed (both the old and new engine... long story), and there was very little difference between the trip down and the trip back. It does seem that the sweet spot for gas efficiency seems to be 60-65.
Fuel efficiency - 5/10

Handling: I didn't have to make any wild maneuvers, but even so, lane changes were crisp and smooth, and the truck didn't wander over the road (or bounce when hitting the occasional bump).
Handling - 9/10 (it is a truck, after all)

One additional note: Speaking of cruise control... my speed seemed to wander a bit more than I'm used to. E.g. when set at 77, I routinely would sometimes fluctuate between 75 and 79. Cruise control has been around for decades... it shouldn't wander much if any from the set speed

Overall (except for the ****-poor gas mileage), I'm very pleased with my purchase.

I hope others find this little trip report interesting/useful.

You don't say how many miles where on the motor, but just about every vehicle I've ever owned the gas mileage improved steadily the more I drove it. Your Pentastar probably needs a good 10K on it before you start to see better numbers.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 83728 miles

 

[Dusty]

The EPA uses a fuel certified by it's manufacturer to meet all federal requirements for content and quality. The very same fuel is used to test any/all competitive vehicles using the same type of fuel. Earlier EPA information indicates the 86/87 octane fuel is non-ethanol.

Technical Capabilities of the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) | US EPA

National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) is a state-of-the-art test facility that conducts a wide range of emissions testing and analysis for EPA’s motor vehicle, heavy-duty engine, and nonroad engine programs.

www.epa.gov

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 83728 miles

 

[rvance]

I have a 2017 3.6 QC that got 21 on the highway when I first got it. Now, with a bed cover/camper, Ranch Hand grill guard and rear bumper, and 10 ply Cooper AT tires at 41 PSI I get 17-18.5 on the highway and 13.5 around town. Everything you do to your truck messes with the carefully balanced tricks they use to boost the mileage figures. They don't test the models that are tricked out with oversized tires and such. The window sticker milage is pure stock tissue paper tires that don't stick and don't handle. I also drive at 75-80 mph just to keep up with traffic. The mileage seems reasonable to me. It's much better than my 73 Ford 360 3 speed manual trans with car tires. Of course the gas is much more expensive too.
I think that your mileage is pretty good under the circumstances.

 

[Boxman]

Regarding gas mileage.
My wife and I took a 3000 mile round trip this fall in my 2022 1500, Big Horn 4x4 , 3.55 rear, 20 inch tires, 3.6 v6.
Trip was from S Cal to Dallas, TX and return. I was driving freeway speeds, 75 to 80mph. (Love texas limits!).

Once out of California gas, I was quite surprised at my gas mileage of 25.3 on the Evic. Had to take a picture of mileage before filling up again with California gas.

My hand calcs were similar as well as miles between gas stops. I really was surprised as My previous 2013, similarly equipped, would get 22-23 avg on long trips.

Anyway, at home, I average 16 in town and 21-22 on freeways trips.

And I agree, Rams are definitely great riding trucks on the highways.

 

[GTyankee]

When i head East out of California, i can't wait to fill up at 16th Street ARCO in Yuma Arizona, save more than 50 cents a gallon on price & better gas or diesel. Arizona buys its fuel from Texas, California Fuel comes out of the ground in Long Beach & a few oil wells further North in California.

If i have to pass through Bythe Ca, i cross the river into Ehrenburg, Az to buy fuel, i don't stop at the Flying J, i fill up across the I-10 at the new station, their Diesel is #2, not the Eco-diesel the Flying J has

 

[pacofortacos]

To the OP, you don't have HID headlights.
IF the 2022 Classic is the same as previous Gen4 headlights, the following should be true. However, I can't find what stock bulb you have other than the mopar part number.
If you have the standard quad headlights, there's a simple but good bulb upgrade. Upgrade the low bulbs from H11 to H9 halogen bulbs - vast improvement. There's also a high beam bulb upgrade if you want to do those also. High beam is a 9011 bulb to replace the 9005 high beam bulb.

If you have projector headlights, you can upgrade to 9011 halogen bulbs for both high and low bulbs.

Much better light output without blinding anyone.

On the cruise control, on the hemi engine it varies very little from the set position.
On vehicles that I have had with the 3.6 (Pacifica & Caravan/town n country), the cruise is all over the place on hills. I don't know if the Ram is that way or not since I haven't driven one with the 3.6.

On mpg, it will improve with miles on the truck AND warm weather - the air is much denser when cold and the fuel just doesn't give great mpg. But wind will affect mpg significantly if you are hitting any.

 

[dalewalt]

Yeah. Thanks for the write-up! I'd pretty much agree with your assessments, other than my truck has the lever gear shifter, which I personally prefer (shows my age!), but because it makes a great hand rest while fumbling with radio controls. But you have the 8-spd I'm sure.

Handling and comfort is a high point on these Rams, so your feedback coincides with how a lot of owners feel. And I would agree. As for mileage, did you hand-calculate the mpg? Or use the trip computer? Check again in a few months and report back if it changes. Mine doesn't even get 19 (5.7L though), but maybe there's a chance yours will go up. A lot also might depend on the tires too like you say. Larger tires, esp off-road style tires, can have more friction. I would say that's probably a factor affecting your mpg. Or maybe not either. And if there was a headwind, etc. What air pressures were you running, did you check?

Overall, sounds like a nice truck. Only thing missing are a few road-trip pictures of your new hot rod!

.

Thanks Jeepwalker. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to take any good pictures of it... what with snow, etc. I used the trip computer... I keep meaning to hand calculate it, but then forget when I'm filling up