Retiring Don
Member
This may sound like a commercial for RAM but my wife and I just returned from a 5000+ mile, four week trip with our trailer with about half of those miles pulling our Lance 2295 trailer (approximately 6000 lbs loaded), and I cannot image a better truck for towing than our 2019 crew cab Ram Laramie. Equipped with the level 2 equipment group package, 5.7L, 3.92 diff, 2wd, tow/haul package, and air suspension.
Let me start by singing the praises. The 8 speed transmission was flawless, even while towing the shifts were smooth and timely, and at times the shifts were so seamless that the only way you could tell there was a gear change was by the tachometer. Even with the 3.92 rear gear I averaged 11 mpg while towing and 21 mpg when disconnected and venturing out on day trips to shop or sight see. I will admit that I tried to maintain a consistent 60 mph while on highways/interstates towing and 65 mph when not towing. I also never felt under powered when towing, even when having to accelerate up a 10 degree incline to avoid people who didn't know how to merge onto an interstate. Knowing that I had the torque to get me out of these types of situations was comforting.
The creature comforts are wonderful! The cab is so quiet, the seats with their lumbar supports were a pleasure to sit in for long periods, and things that I never thought I'd use like heated seats and steering wheel were used almost daily as the fall temperatures fell in the New England states.
The suspension is great, and the ride was even better than my wife's Challenger. The air shocks kept the truck level even with the 300 lbs of "stuff" in the bed and the trailer connected. And the electronic sway control coupled with my Blue Ox weight distribution hitch made the towing smooth and uneventful even in 40 mph wind gusts.
My only issue was with the GPS that comes with the truck. Even with the "Unpaved roads allowed" option not checked, it managed to send us down unpaved roads several times, roads with posted signs that said "Residents Only", and single lane roads that were so narrow that trees lining the roads would cause the blind spot avoidance lights on the side mirrors to flash. Not to mention even with the 8" display we couldn't tell how it was routing us which resulted in us towing our trailer through some less than pleasant parts of some major cities. Enough said! We have come to the agreement that we will not go down any street that doesn't at least have a line down the middle, and we will use our Google map app whenever we have cell phone coverage.
Now that we have 18K miles on the truck, with 5K of those miles towing our trailer, I have total confidence that our cross country camping trip next year will be a total pleasure. RAM has produced a great truck!
Let me start by singing the praises. The 8 speed transmission was flawless, even while towing the shifts were smooth and timely, and at times the shifts were so seamless that the only way you could tell there was a gear change was by the tachometer. Even with the 3.92 rear gear I averaged 11 mpg while towing and 21 mpg when disconnected and venturing out on day trips to shop or sight see. I will admit that I tried to maintain a consistent 60 mph while on highways/interstates towing and 65 mph when not towing. I also never felt under powered when towing, even when having to accelerate up a 10 degree incline to avoid people who didn't know how to merge onto an interstate. Knowing that I had the torque to get me out of these types of situations was comforting.
The creature comforts are wonderful! The cab is so quiet, the seats with their lumbar supports were a pleasure to sit in for long periods, and things that I never thought I'd use like heated seats and steering wheel were used almost daily as the fall temperatures fell in the New England states.
The suspension is great, and the ride was even better than my wife's Challenger. The air shocks kept the truck level even with the 300 lbs of "stuff" in the bed and the trailer connected. And the electronic sway control coupled with my Blue Ox weight distribution hitch made the towing smooth and uneventful even in 40 mph wind gusts.
My only issue was with the GPS that comes with the truck. Even with the "Unpaved roads allowed" option not checked, it managed to send us down unpaved roads several times, roads with posted signs that said "Residents Only", and single lane roads that were so narrow that trees lining the roads would cause the blind spot avoidance lights on the side mirrors to flash. Not to mention even with the 8" display we couldn't tell how it was routing us which resulted in us towing our trailer through some less than pleasant parts of some major cities. Enough said! We have come to the agreement that we will not go down any street that doesn't at least have a line down the middle, and we will use our Google map app whenever we have cell phone coverage.
Now that we have 18K miles on the truck, with 5K of those miles towing our trailer, I have total confidence that our cross country camping trip next year will be a total pleasure. RAM has produced a great truck!
