As mentioned earlier, last weekend I towed with our longterm 2009 Dodge Ram roughly 4000 pounds for more than a thousand miles.
In a nutshell, the voyage was exactly as you'd prefer -- uneventful. Here are some observations.
Despite its characteristic visual tail "sag," the Ram rode and steered remarkably like it wasn't towing at all. Which is to say, very well indeed -- the ride was as plush as ever. (The tongue weight was close to 15 % despite the optical illusion in the photo above.)
There's enough reserve power in the Ram's 5.7-liter engine that there were no sweaty palm moments while accelerating with the extra weight. I'd still give the nod to the Tundra's powertrain as being the superior unit due to its closer gear spacing and broader powerband (plus the Toyota runs on 87 octane while the Ram asks for 89), but the Ram was just fine with this relatively modest load once I engaged tow/haul mode.
Seat comfort is pretty good. I especially like that they have cooling fans, which is great on long hauls like this one.
Not a fan of the old-school nav system. Crummy. You've heard already. Also not digging the blinding plasti-chrome interior accents. Again, you've heard.
The Ram has a handy display that can be summoned by pressing the controls on the steering wheel. In it you can scroll through coolant temp, oil pressure, oil temp, transmission temp, and a few others. It displays the current reading and supplements it with a linear "gauge" beneath it. Cool.
Ascending the Tejon Pass, a grade of about 6-7% for a couple miles, I locked the cruise and scrolled among these parameters. At 4500 rpm, coolant temp reached a peak of 218 degrees F, trans temp hit 175 and oil pressure was 51 psi. None of these were unexpected, save for the oil temp which soared to 260 near the apex of the grade. It took several miles of downhill driving (i.e. light load with plenty of cooling airflow) before the oil temp even began to drop from this peak.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 14,994 miles.
ahightower says:
08:18 AM, 11/27/09
Okay, what's with the baby batmobile?
Isn't there any way they could install load-leveling shocks or air suspension and still have IRS? That just looks pathetic, even if it does feel fine behind the wheel.
bankerdanny says:
09:12 AM, 11/27/09
I suspect it's a 24 hours Du Lemons racer
hybris says:
09:56 AM, 11/27/09
I'm with ahightower air shocks or even adjustable shocks would be better than what Dodge has on.
cruiserhead1 says:
10:16 AM, 11/27/09
nice, I like all the info available. oil temps are a bit high, it's not even summer so that is a little concerning. That isn't exactly a heavy load you are towing either.
Maybe syn oil and additional oil cooler are in order?
Glad you guys are using the truck with loads, offroad, etc.
Gives a great review of the product
canddmeyer says:
12:13 PM, 11/27/09
Oil temp is definitely high. Don't know if that is unusual or not, so ya might want to give it the old smell test and check the oil level instead of waiting for the EVIC reminder. Myself, I wonder if the 5w-20 is going to cut it, especially in warmer climates.
subytrojan says:
02:11 AM, 11/28/09
Jay and his team (Eyesore Racing) finished 2nd at the Arse-freeze-apalooza at Thunderhill Raceway last weekend!
You can become a fan here: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/24-Hours-of-Lemons-Team-Eyesore-Racing/
hondacura4 says:
07:06 PM, 11/28/09
"I'd still give the nod to the Tundra's powertrain as being the superior unit due to its closer gear spacing and broader powerband (plus the Toyota runs on 87 octane while the Ram asks for 89), but the Ram was just fine with this relatively modest load once I engaged tow/haul mode."
This just validates my point of NOT making assumptions based on numbers alone. The Ram/Hemi V8 looks better on paper but the Toyota drivetrain (5.7/6AT) is better executed and has more usable power in the real world.