6.4 with 8 speed?

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NH RAM

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Military
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May 14, 2020
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Location
New Hampshire
Ram Year
2019 Tradesman 2500 Snow Chief
Engine
6.4
No problem, have a good trip.
 

Irishthreeper

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Military
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Aug 15, 2021
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Location
Florida
Ram Year
2021
Engine
Hemi 6.4
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.
I’ve driven I81 in Virginia many times and if your rig handled it well then you’re in good shape! Between the long grades, semi trucks and loonies driving at 80+ that route is challenging, especially between Lexington and Harrisonburg!
 
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Bearcatrp

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Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Posts
157
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83
Ram Year
2021
Engine
Hemi 6.4
My trip to the camp ground with the 6% ground was allot better drive than with my 3/4 ton. The 8 speed did great going down and back up the 6% grade. The 8 speed has surpassed my expectations so far. Think Ram did it right with this tranny mated to the 6.4.
 
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