6.4 with 8 speed?

[motorbreath]

I went through this same agony in February. I ran a spreadsheet with all the numbers I could find and it took roughly 240k miles to break even on the up front cost of the diesel engine. I came from a Dodge 12v 3500 diesel dually and a 5.7L Hemi 1500. The gas engine gets the job done when towing but nothing compares to towing with a Cummins. Even my old 12v towed 8k lbs at 75mph with no drama so I could imagine the new Cummins would be very nice. If you are pulling a 10k lbs trailer, I suggest going diesel, no question, and you will not regret it.

I ended up going with a Power Wagon, a 6.4L with 4:10s, 8 speed. I think I would have gone diesel if it wasn't for the PW package.

This is why I always cackle when people talk about fuel mileage with a diesel. It's literally a moot point unless you're keeping that truck for 10+ years.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Did you get the 3.73, or 4.10 gears?

3:73's

 

[Bearcatrp]

Be sure to post pics, would love to see it!

Will get one soon. Man does this thing shift smooth.

 

[Firebird]

Will get one soon. Man does this thing shift smooth.

The 8 speed is a fantastic transmission

 

[Bearcatrp]

The 8 speed is a fantastic transmission

I'll find out next month if its good or not. Place I go camping has a very steep hill to climb when leaving. Am hoping my selection of engine and tranny pays off.

 

[lew-e]

Just purchased a 6.4 with 4.10s yesterday. Dealers around St. Louis were being stingy but Laura dodge Jeep ram helped me out. If anyone is coming from a GMC they should recognize that Laura name. They had a ton of trucks on the lot. I think with their 6.4 trucks they exclusively order the 4.10 too. Missed out on the hydro blue by a couple hours and ended up with patriot. Had my uncles friends and family affiliate discount save me a few grand. My trade in Chevy appreciated 7k from last year! I left there feeling like I made a good deal on my first ram vehicle. Now looking into all the stuff I can do on this website. Glad I found it!

 

[Bearcatrp]

Just purchased what? 3/4, 1 ton? Just hooked up my 5th wheel to verify good height. No worries taking out my back window anymore. Now to find a tool box. Side rails and mud flaps ordered and should be ready to install in 2 weeks. Oh, auto start too.

 

[lew-e]

Should have specified. 3/4 ton. If a 1 ton would have been available I would have went that route for the extra peace of mind. Given how far below budget I came in I would have gone for a bighorn if they had any 21 6.4s. All they had were diesels. The 2022 bighorns were on their way but I was told they aren’t putting them on the lot until October or they sold most of the remainder of their 21s

 

[crash68]

This is why I always cackle when people talk about fuel mileage with a diesel. It's literally a moot point unless you're keeping that truck for 10+ years.

Not really, think more short term like more range to make it to the next gas station.
Just an increase of 2 mpg will add an extra 60 miles on a 33 gallon tank. When you're towing and fuel economy is dipping into the single digits with a gasser, there are parts of this country where gas stations are not on every corner.
You can definitely say a Hemi can pass just about anything on the road except for a gas station.

 

[Gondul]

Not really, think more short term like more range to make it to the next gas station.
Just an increase of 2 mpg will add an extra 60 miles on a 33 gallon tank. When you're towing and fuel economy is dipping into the single digits with a gasser, there are parts of this country where gas stations are not on every corner.
You can definitely say a Hemi can pass just about anything on the road except for a gas station.

You lose a little bed space, but an AUX tank is still cheaper than a diesel engine.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Should have specified. 3/4 ton. If a 1 ton would have been available I would have went that route for the extra peace of mind. Given how far below budget I came in I would have gone for a bighorn if they had any 21 6.4s. All they had were diesels. The 2022 bighorns were on their way but I was told they aren’t putting them on the lot until October or they sold most of the remainder of their 21s

You did good. Compare the 3/4 and one ton with your specs. You will find there isn’t much difference. I gained bed weight but lost trailer weight. 3/4 gained trailer weight but lost bed weight. Have a camping trip coming up so will be my 1st pull with the new truck. Hoping my selection of truck pans out.

 

[craiggemt]

Picked up a 2020 2500 Laramie 6.4L a few weeks ago. Came from a '14 3500 SLT 6.7L. Loving the added options of the Laramie but missing the fuel mileage and exhaust brake from the Cummins. Our fifth wheel camper is on a permanent site now so don't need the extra torque anymore. 6.7L would pull your 10,000k camper easier but your 6.4L will do just fine.

 

[Justbill KMC]

2021 Ram 3500 Dually 6.4 with 4.10 gear. Towing from Florida to Maggie Valley NC with 5th wheel weighing in at 15,973 lbs. Did hit two 6% grades and one 8% grade. Speed on the three grade was about 35 mph but pulled them fine. Did not push the truck as it was brand new. No overheating. Other then the three aforementioned grades, truck went up and down the hills just fine.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Good to hear. My recent trip didn't have any big hills but did have long grades. My 2017 would have dropped into 4th gear closer to the top. My 2021 1 ton barely bumped and charged right along. It did drop to 6th for a brief time. My trip next month has a 6% to climb when leaving so will see how it does on that. I have 3:73's. So far, am impressed with the 8 speed.

 

[Firebird]

My 6.4 has never dropped below 5th gear on any hill yet, so I’m fairly happy with that.

 

[Bearcatrp]

I keep an eye on RPM's all the time and don't think my truck has been past 3000 RPM's yet.

 

[NH RAM]

So I finished my trip from New Hampshire to North Carolina and back that I mentioned in an earlier post; we towed our Cougar 30RLS. On the way down we took the route through NYC and Jersey...the traffic is so miserable. We had no real hills driving south once we got out of New England to contend with. On our return trip, we picked up I-81 in Virginia to I-84 in Pennsylvania, and then I-90 in Mass. This route had long grades from about the 110 mile marker in PA to I-84; if I recall it was around 40 miles of seemingly constant hills on I-81. Plenty of cars broken down along the highway.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the performance on those long stretches of inclines- according to one site we really didn't surpass 5% grades. My goal isn't to find the steepest grades and test the truck, TFL already does the IKE, I wanted to share how it tows along the majority of the east coast. My previous concerns about engine braking weren't realized on this trip- I could adjust speed as needed going downhill and the truck held it well. I find that at slow speeds the engine braking is difficult to get with the 6.4, but at highway speeds, on a highway, it does just fine. Driving through VT and NY route 9 was a little tougher on previous trips because it all slow speed with constant sharp turns. This was good as the downgrades on this trip were several miles long, however, they didn't feel very steep despite the signs indicating otherwise and a runaway truck ramp.

I hit the CAT scale while the wife and daughter were inside getting food and we were about 18,200#, truck and 5w, without the wife and daughter. I don't recall if that was full of fuel yet or not, but we're roughly looking at 18,500# combined weight with all passengers. Not heavy hauling, but not 1500 territory.

On the trip of roughly 2,000 miles, I estimate we hit 4,000 rpms maybe 8-10 times. I was able to maintain 65 mph when I wanted to and when traffic allowed. I did slow down for torrential downpours, a-hole drivers that cut in front of me at the last minute (which seems to happen going uphill more often than not), road construction, and semi trucks taking up both lanes on inclines. The truck does surprisingly well in the 2000-2500 rpm range. The truck felt very confident and didn't feel underpowered nor did the transmission hunt for gears.

My worst mileage was 9.1mpg on the last leg of the trip, which was 720 miles from Virginia straight through to New Hampshire due to the impending hurricane- 14 hours and 15 minutes of nearly constant driving and no complaints from the truck. No temp issues, no shifting issues, she just put in work. My best mpg's were 9.6 mpg over 181.2 miles from Virginia Beach to Charlottesville, VA. I carried a 5 gallon container of fuel as a backup but had no close calls- we stopped every 2.5-3 hours depending on the trip, so fuel never got below 3/8. This is not hand calculated mileage- my truck has just about 34" tires, so that should even out the discrepancy with the slightly optimistic evic mpg's. Yes, these are better numbers than towing my previous, lighter travel trailer and the long trip towing the 5w was 100% better- the 5w just tows so easily.

 

[Bearcatrp]

My 2017 would drop a gear going down a steep hill to help with braking. Have not experienced it yet with the new truck. Did yours do this on your trip? Thanks for your trip report. My next month trip should activate this if it still does it. It’s. 6% grade down to get to the camp ground, then back up when we leave. Should be a good test.

 

[NH RAM]

My 2017 would drop a gear going down a steep hill to help with braking. Have not experienced it yet with the new truck. Did yours do this on your trip? Thanks for your trip report. My next month trip should activate this if it still does it. It’s. 6% grade down to get to the camp ground, then back up when we leave. Should be a good test.

Yes, depending on my speed and setup for the hill. I found that at normal highway speeds the truck felt very comfortable going up and down grades. I actually was expecting to need to feather the brakes a lot on the slopes with the steep grade warning; as a pre-emptive measure I cut my speed down to 55 and I hit the brakes once, it downshifted, and held the truck. It was a very boring experience, as descending should be. I could have probably gone faster, but not knowing the road, I played it safe. I don't recall if I still had cruise control on or if I shut it off at that point.
At slower speeds with lots of turns that you need to slow down for rather than keep a constant speed, my previous experience was that scenario involved plenty of brake applications, but that was a terrible road in an empty truck or sedan, let alone a loaded one.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Thanks for your reply.