2022 1500 Classic - trip report

[dalewalt]

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.

I never knew what the difference was between summer and winter blends... thanks GT

 

[dalewalt]

Fuel efficiency:

What engine?

What drivetrain (2WD vs 4WD)?

Were the tires inflated to the recommended pressure?

6cyl, 4WD. Yep, the tires were at the recommended pressure, but the tread is pretty aggressive on them

 

[dalewalt]

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.

Mine didn't come w/fog lights... I think I'm going to look at upgrading to Xenon. I'm hoping that it improves a bit, but if it doesn't, oh well. Still love the truck

 

[dalewalt]

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.

There were about 40 miles on it when I purchased it.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

6cyl, 4WD. Yep, the tires were at the recommended pressure, but the tread is pretty aggressive on them

So, do you have non-OEM tires? Did you change the stock tire size?

 

[johnts]

I had a '14 Ram Big Horn Crew Cab with the 3.6, 3.55 rear for almost 2 years before I got rid of it via Pa Lemon Law. I did a lot of the same roads you took a few times on my way to Myrtle Beach. In the mountains of WV, VA, and NC on I77 i got around 19mpg. The bed was fully loaded plus 2 bikes hanging off the hitch mount rack. The truck drove me nuts with the constant downshifting on the hills to try and maintain speed. The rpms would sometimes be as high as 5000. The cruise control wouldn't maintain the set speed even on flat terrain. Sometimes the cruise would overshoot the set speed when it was trying to catch up to the set speed. Very unsafe. The truck had many other issues too.
I bought a '16 Ram BH crew cab Hemi as a replacement. On those same roads I get the same 19mpg and at 70 I am cruising most times at 1500 rpm. On flat interstates I get around 21 at 70. In my opinion the 3.6 isn't enough engine for the truck at high speeds. It is ok in the city, but on the highways unless you live in flat country, the Hemi is the better choice.
Hopefully when the new inline 6 makes it to the Ram it will be a big upgrade from the 3.6.

 

[18harvest]

My crew cab 2wd hemi 20 classic with 3.21 gears gets 20-21 on the highway doing 70.pretty much inline with the other two I had.

 

[MIKESELS]

Good write up! Brought back memories of my first long trip in my then new 2019 1500 Classic, nearly four years ago, from Clearwater, Florida to near Saratoga Springs, in Upstate, NY. Regular cab, regular bed, 2WD, 3.6, 3.21 rear end. Surprisingly for me, Interstate cruising is a strong suit for this truck. Great seats, comfortable ride, quiet, good sound system & 500 miles from a fill up (26 gallon tank). Like you, never got tired during the drive, even after a full day. I only put 12,000 miles on it, but highly recommend. Only thing I don't like is the poor first to second gear upshift, first thing when cold. When the transmission warms up, it's smooth as glass. Initially didn't like the rotary dial, but I got over that real fast. It works fine. Never have gotten less than 20 mpg in the winter months, local driving, rural roads. On a trip I usually get 24, once getting 25, the highway number on the sticker. Only towed with it once, and the fuel mileage did suffer a lot. One repair in four years, passenger side window regulator. I understand that they're still selling these (8 foot bed only now). When I got mine in May of '19 there was a bunch of rebates and incentives on it, and I paid 23k brand new. Can't get a Honda Civic for that today.

 

[CrazyTrain62]

My $0.02 ... I get 22.0-24.0 mpg cruising at 70-80mph in flat terrain with no load, measured on the dash by the computer, most often coming at about 22.5 mpg.

2022 1500 RCLB 3.6 3.55:1 limited slip, 87 octane, stock tire size w/ 20" rims, 22k miles, with a tonneau cover.

Headwind/tailwind accounts for the variance.

19.0-20.0 mpg in town.

I appreciate the tips on headlamp bulbs - I'll make that change soon.

 

[TotallyHucked]

I'd agree with everything you said. My '17 is a Hemi 4x4 crewcab with the longer 6.4' bed and 3.92 gears, I average roughly 17-18mpg on my commute that is 75% 45-55mph backroads and a little hwy. Can't complain with that for a 400hp, nearly 6k lb truck. This truck rides better than any other truck I've ever owned, the seats are great, the features are awesome and the cabin is super quiet.