First heavy tow with the hemi (15k)

[Bisley45]

Well well, a aired the tires up and went to my folks to test tow the gooseneck trailer with the tractor loaded. The trailer, loaded with 5075 JD tractor and a 7 ft brushwacker attached weighs right at 15k. My truck is a 2019 bighorn 6.4 hemi with 3.73 gears. I drove a twisty tight little 2 lane backroad with lots of little hill. The kind of road you drive 35-40 on unloaded.
That road led to an interstate (drove 65) that's beat to hell, and the to a nice new hwy that a 60 mph road.


The Good: I had plenty of power, no acceleration problems at all. Stability was great fantastic I never felt the tail was wagging the dog. My dad was with me, he's had a 3500 diesel dually of some sort all my life for hauling horses around the country. Initially he was pretty negative, complaining that I hadn't bought enough truck. That well it might have enough power but it will lack on stability. After about mile 3 on the twisty bits he took it all back and was floored how well the truck handled the load.

During my little jaunt I averaged 8mpgs.....for what little it matters.


The negative: Also my biggest complaint with this truck.. ..the tow/haul shifting strategy sucks, flat out sucks. With tow haul on when I hit the brakes I want it to downshift then, not later. If I keep my foot on the brakes well downshift some more offering more engine braking!

I know folks we say WeLl wHy dOnT yOu ShIft ManUaLY? I did that, and it works very well. But that doesn't address the tow/haul strategy.

 

[farmallboy]

Damn. That's gotta be top end rating for your truck given big horn and 3.73. Sounds like good test.

I'll have first big tow this weekend. Prob only 11k behind mine with 4.10 and tradesman package. I' haven't been loaded heavy yet. Only 7500 so I didn't complain about anything. Really happy so far.

With my previous loads I felt my engine braking worked pretty good but I'm mostly flat ground


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[Bisley45]

Damn. That's gotta be top end rating for your truck given big horn and 3.73. Sounds like good test.

I'll have first big tow this weekend. Prob only 11k behind mine with 4.10 and tradesman package. I' haven't been loaded heavy yet. Only 7500 so I didn't complain about anything. Really happy so far.

With my previous loads I felt my engine braking worked pretty good but I'm mostly flat ground


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My f150 EcoBoost had much more aggressive downshifting when you pressed the brakes, the harder/longer you braked the more it would downshift. That's literally my only complaint.

11k and 4.10s, I'll suspect you will be very pleased!

 

[Wyo72]

I agree the tow/haul shift strategy sucks when braking! It seems to hold the right gear and downshift when needed while going up hills and cruising on flat ground, but going downhill its not near aggressive enough. I drive a 2018 Ford F350 with the 6.2 for work and the tow haul is way more aggressive when braking (thats the only thing it does better than my ram!). Seems like Ram could easily fix this with a computer flash, wish they would! So far that's the only complaint I have with this truck. The 6.4 pulls way better than I thought it would with the 3.73's.

 

[Firebird]

Very nice! I’m doing my first haul this weekend myself, 6.4 with 4.10 gears, although not anywhere near that weight. I’ll only be dragging around 8000 pounds

 

[dhay13]

Very nice! I’m doing my first haul this weekend myself, 6.4 with 4.10 gears, although not anywhere near that weight. I’ll only be dragging around 8000 pounds

No problem at all for that truck, especially the 2019 with the 8 speed. My boat is about 9000-9500lbs and no problem at all. My son tows his ~8000lb 26' (32' overall) TT. He said he can tell it's there on hills but fine on normal terrain. He gets about 9 MPG towing it. We are supposed to leave Monday morning towing it 1300+ miles to Crosby, TX. I will be going with him and sharing driving duties then flying back. His truck is identical to mine.