Towing Mileage Comparison / Questions

[Tumbleweed]

One other thing to consider in the Gas vs. Diesel comparison is the exhaust brake of the diesel. That is worth it's weight in gold in the mountains.

 

[VernDiesel]

I was more referring to the 25/3500's.

For the 1500's, did anything change physically in the rear end to support the GVWR?

Not to my knowledge

 

[CROYCO]

I have a 2014 Ram 1500 with a tow package. How can I tell if I have a brake controller built in. I need to
have one installed?

 

[IdahoDen]

Currently towing a 4500lb camper with a mid size rated for 7k towing (gas not diesel) at about 85% of gross combined vehicle weight, 9mpg, considering a Ram 1500 or 2500 to see if it might make a difference (thinking 2500 due to the higher max towing to future proof going from a 25ft to possibly 32 or 36 ft closer to 8 to 12k weight camper in the future).

Gas / Diesel tow better from a mileage standpoint?
Would a 2500 offer better mileage (been reading the forums and everyone seems somewhere between 9 to 13/14 mpg regardless of gas/diesel), any advice appreciated.

Edit - towing from Ohio through all the national parks including alaska (ok, not hawaii) but in general yearly 2 week trailer camping trips with the kiddo, plus various weekend (Apr - Oct) camping trips on the east coast. Not terribly dissapointed with what I have was just trying to figure I want a larger truck again anyway and starting to think now / 5 years from now closer to retirement age if it's worth the 2 to 3 mpg and easier time towing over the next 5 years.

Thank you

So many people think they need to decide what size engine they need, gas or diesel, based upon one or two weeks of towing. Yes, you need to handle that capacity, but it's amazing how much you can tow with a 6.4 L hemi. And whatever you do, don't go Electric, you won't be able to go 100 miles without recharging. Living out here in Idaho and having a travel trailer of the same weight is yours, I know what it's like to tow up and down over passes where. you need the power going up but you don't want to have too much weight pushing you going down. Last spring I traded in my 2014 1500 hemi For a new 1500 eco-diesel. I know it's hard to find them because they are no longer in manufacturing cycle, but I love what I did. Nonetheless, you get nearly 11,000 pounds towing capacity on the hemi which puts your travel trailer at about 40% of capacity. If you went with a 2500, you are going to give up a lot of mileage And smooth ride for the other 50 weeks of the year. It's not worth it.

 

[MMiller]

I've been towing a 32' approx 7000lb trailer (Grand Design Imagine 2800BH) across the country from national park to national park with a 2021 2500 6.4 Hemi and I love the combination. We've been up and down the east coast, around the Gulf Coast, across the southwest, and are headed north now. I've never had an issue with power, hills, handling, etc... I would likely get better MPGs with diesel, but saved about $10,000 on the truck purchase price and who knows how much on fuel. So for me, the cost savings far outweigh any potential towing benefits of the diesel. I would definitly go 2500 if you're considering upgrading your camper. Worst case is that you have a better towing experience with your current camper, best case is you have plenty of room to upgrade with the capacity of the 2500. What you've described is very similar to our towing/camping experince and I would recommend the 2500 6.4 Hemi any day of the week. One final note, get a good weight distribution hitch!

 

[Dusty]

Currently towing a 4500lb camper with a mid size rated for 7k towing (gas not diesel) at about 85% of gross combined vehicle weight, 9mpg, considering a Ram 1500 or 2500 to see if it might make a difference (thinking 2500 due to the higher max towing to future proof going from a 25ft to possibly 32 or 36 ft closer to 8 to 12k weight camper in the future).

Gas / Diesel tow better from a mileage standpoint?
Would a 2500 offer better mileage (been reading the forums and everyone seems somewhere between 9 to 13/14 mpg regardless of gas/diesel), any advice appreciated.

Edit - towing from Ohio through all the national parks including alaska (ok, not hawaii) but in general yearly 2 week trailer camping trips with the kiddo, plus various weekend (Apr - Oct) camping trips on the east coast. Not terribly dissapointed with what I have was just trying to figure I want a larger truck again anyway and starting to think now / 5 years from now closer to retirement age if it's worth the 2 to 3 mpg and easier time towing over the next 5 years.

Thank you

I hope this response addresses your original question.

I tow a compact tractor and 16 ft. equipment trailer which weighs in at just about 6900 lbs. That is 100 lbs. under my tow rating (Ram 1500, Quad Cab, 2WD, 3.21 axle, 5.7). My average fuel consumption on 87 octane for the 240 mile round trip in fairly hilly ground (Rochester to Painted Post, NY) is 9.6 MPG.

When my son pulls the same tractor and the same trailer on the same route with his Ram 2500, Crew Cab, 4WD, 3.73 axle and 6.4 motor, he's never bested 8.4 MPG. And of course, when not towing I typically see 20-21 MPG in weekly usage. His 2500 has never realized much more than 17.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie 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 88137 miles.

 

[Udy2554]

First pic is my ‘18 PowerWagon (6.4, 4.10, 35”(34.5”) tires) with a Prime Time Fury! A bit over 11,000lb loaded w/86gal H2O, gear, RZR900! Equilizer WDH! 910lb TW! Worst mileage was 5.9mpg in the hills at 60-77mph on the highway!

Second is an LS3930 tractor w/York rake and drag harrow(@5000lb) on 2000lb trailer! 380lb TW! 8-9mpg, same speeds/same highway!

Third pic is a Wildwood FSX! Just shy of 9000lb with RZR900 and 56gal H2O! Equalizer WDH! 995 TW! 7.3mpg…same speeds/same highway!

Truck has Airlift 5000 bags! 50lbs withe the Fury, 35lbs with tractor, 80lbs with the Wildwood!



Pulled everything quite comfortably! Aside from the horrible mileage, I’m happy with the gasser! A good WDH is a necessity! Airbags were needed too! The PowerWagon isn’t meant to tow…a lot or often! It works well for me!

 

[Udy2554]

Oops, I see the hoe is on the LS here! It’s a bit heavier than the York rake!

 

[Udy2554]

 

[Ratman6161]

Well to compare a Cummins my son also towed that same 8100lb TT with his 2021 2500 Cummins and average 12 MPG towing but that was according to the EVIC, not hand calculated. So yeah if you believe the EVIC it got about 3 MPG better than the 6.4 did.

But you can't ignore the difference in fuel prices. Where I live diesel is still 25% more than gas. To me, better fuel economy is not really a reason to buy a diesel, especially when you factor in all the other costs of ownership.

 

[Ratman6161]

Media https://www.ramforum.com/media/
So many people think they need to decide what size engine they need, gas or diesel, based upon one or two weeks of towing. Yes, you need to handle that capacity, but it's amazing how much you can tow with a 6.4 L hemi. And whatever you do, don't go Electric, you won't be able to go 100 miles without recharging. Living out here in Idaho and having a travel trailer of the same weight is yours, I know what it's like to tow up and down over passes where. you need the power going up but you don't want to have too much weight pushing you going down. Last spring I traded in my 2014 1500 hemi For a new 1500 eco-diesel. I know it's hard to find them because they are no longer in manufacturing cycle, but I love what I did. Nonetheless, you get nearly 11,000 pounds towing capacity on the hemi which puts your travel trailer at about 40% of capacity. If you went with a 2500, you are going to give up a lot of mileage And smooth ride for the other 50 weeks of the year. It's not worth it.

11000 pounds of travel trailer with any 1500 is pure fantasy regardless of what the manufacturer claims for towing capacity. Typical half ton payloads run 1400 to 1800 pounds. As an example, I had a Sierra 1500 with 6.2L and 10 speed with a payload of 1650. My wife and I plus the stuff we usually have in the truck are 435# and my weight distributing hitch is 106 pounds. We usually have 200 pounds of stuff in the bed. So we use up 741# before we ven hitch up the trailer. Our 7600# trailer has a tongue weight of 1020# (13.4%) which would put us 111# over loaded. We. Could move the 200# in the bed to the trailer, increasing the tongue weight by 26 fo a net of 63# under payload but not much margin of errordecision. We are just two people so I can't see any way a family of five could haul our trailer with a 1500 and stay under max. We bought a 2500 6.4L wnd that was a great e at decison. No more worrying about every oz of weight.

On gas vs deisel, Ram 2500 diesels have poor payload compared to other brands but still have plenty for many/most travel trailers but not fifth wheels...even most smaller ones. With a payload of 2938, my 2500 gas could do fifth wheels that are claimed to be half ton towabl. But my advice on Rams is go with gas on a 2500. If you are towing something hea y enough to actually benefit from a diesel, just get the 3500. It's not that much more expensive and if you get the same bed size and cab configuration they are even the same size

 

[Ratman6161]

The op was as,ing for mileage comparisons, here is my experience with gas engines:

1. GMC Canyon midsize with 3.6L and 8 speed towing 6000# (dont try this. It was stupid but I didn't know any better then): 8 MPG

2. GMC Sierra 1500 with 6.2L and ten speed with the same 600p0# Trailer: 8 MPG

3. Ram 2500 with 6.4L Hemi and 8 speed with 7600# trailer: 8 MPG

Seeing the pattern here?

When not towing the Sierra 1500 was the MPG king for highway cruising getting as high as 24 MPG driving 65 MPH on cruise control(no, not making this up). For city driving the Canyon was the winner around 18 MPG. The Ram 2500 6.4 brings up the rear by a wide margin in highway driving but the Sierra and Ram about the same around town...where my right foot can get a bit heavy.

But being retired, the Ram will be towing 75% to 85% of its miles and the HD Ram tows way better..and MPG are all the same when towing.

 

[EriikK]

I chose a gas 6.4 2500 instead of diesel for towing because the upfront cost is less, gas motors are easier for me to work on, and the fuel cost is less. So total cost of ownership is less. We just towed a 7000+ loaded toyhauler camper for 8000 miles. MPG in the 7's and 8's according to the computer. Sure a diesel would get better MPG, but we almost never saw 12mpg towing in our 7.3 diesel Ford, which is what it would take to make the fuel cost less. So I'm happy with the 6.4 gas.

And I like the 2500 4x4. Tows great, super strong, quiet and comfortable, reasonable RPM, never a white knuckle moment. Sure a 1500 might ride better and get better MPG when not towing, but 80% of this truck's life is towing. I'm happy with it.

 

[StNick]

One thing you need to keep in mind about gas vs diesel payloads is that the Diesel engine weighs significantly more than a typical gas engine (often 400-500 pounds more). The diesel block is much thicker so weighs much more (but usually lasts much longer).

 

[Danny Phillips]

If I was going to tow again it would definitely be with a diesel. I love the engine brake. Our government is so effed up that they can't get diesel fuel under $4.00 a gallon. Diesel is one of the first products cracked at the refinery. Propane is a by product of refining crude.

 

[dhay13]

But you can't ignore the difference in fuel prices. Where I live diesel is still 25% more than gas. To me, better fuel economy is not really a reason to buy a diesel, especially when you factor in all the other costs of ownership.

Definitely. My son's company was paying for all of his fuel so that didn't matter to him but yeah, here diesel is $4.59 compared to $3.76 for regular gas so quite a big difference. A few months go diesel was over $6.00 while regular was about $4.00

 

[muzupan]

Currently towing a 4500lb camper with a mid size rated for 7k towing (gas not diesel) at about 85% of gross combined vehicle weight, 9mpg, considering a Ram 1500 or 2500 to see if it might make a difference (thinking 2500 due to the higher max towing to future proof going from a 25ft to possibly 32 or 36 ft closer to 8 to 12k weight camper in the future).

Gas / Diesel tow better from a mileage standpoint?
Would a 2500 offer better mileage (been reading the forums and everyone seems somewhere between 9 to 13/14 mpg regardless of gas/diesel), any advice appreciated.

Edit - towing from Ohio through all the national parks including alaska (ok, not hawaii) but in general yearly 2 week trailer camping trips with the kiddo, plus various weekend (Apr - Oct) camping trips on the east coast. Not terribly dissapointed with what I have was just trying to figure I want a larger truck again anyway and starting to think now / 5 years from now closer to retirement age if it's worth the 2 to 3 mpg and easier time towing over the next 5 years.

Thank you

I had a 2017 Ram 2500 diesel to pull my 10,000 Jayco. I averaged about 9 to 10 mpg towing, sometimes as low as 7mpg. I would easily get 20 mpg on the highway with no towing. I sold the diesel because of trouble I had with the emissions crap on the truck so I purchased a 2500 gas with the 6.4. Towing my trailer I got almost the same mileage per gallon as the diesel but only got 16 to 17mpg on the highway with no towing. the diesel towed my trailer a lot better than the gas.

 

[jejb]

I would likely get better MPGs with diesel, but saved about $10,000 on the truck purchase price and who knows how much on fuel. So for me, the cost savings far outweigh any potential towing benefits of the diesel.

It's true that the Cummins is $9K or so more expensive, but what folks fail to mention or consider is that you get all or most of it back when you sell or trade the truck. You can look for yourself on any of the KBB type sites. I've had a few diesel trucks and they always give me back the price of the diesel option.

I'm not saying diesel is always the best answer. When I lived in flat country, gas HD's worked fine for my loads. Living in the Ozarks Mts and taking trips into the Rockies made me go back to diesel. Works for me.

 

[fooferjammer]

My tow vehicle is a 2018 Ram turbo diesel. In 2021 I pulled a 10k 5th wheel from central Michigan to Oregon and back. I traveled just short of 8k miles. 7000 of those towing over the Big Horn mountains and through Montana mountains area. At the end of my trip, I had averaged 12.2 mpg. Kept speed between 63 & 68 mph. I love my Ram for towing.

 

[Choupique]

Turbodiesel engines are a little more efficient than natural aspirated gas engines so you can get more work out of it per pound of fuel you put through it.

Most people who tow with a diesel pickup haul their stuff at higher speeds than they would with a gas truck of similar configuration. I know I do, because I can. That negates any fuel savings and the higher cost of diesel vs gas often makes it go the opposite way, with the diesel costing the owner more per mile because they are towing harder. The engine is more efficient, but it is also doing far more work. Air drag is an exponential value and at high speed, a little more speed can mean significantly more load.

I find that my diesel with highway gears gets about 5 or 6mpg better than my F250 gas truck with stump pulling gears did at similar speeds (65ish mph) towing light loads for 3/4 ton trucks(~5k pound boat). However, I usually pull it 70mph with the diesel, and you could practically hear the sucking noise under the hood with the gas truck at 70. It would get about 8 mpg doing that. Diesel gets about 13.