Hello, I'm new to truck and towing so I have a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.
I'm looking for the best gas mileage and the truck that I'm looking at buying is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Crew cab 4X4 with the Pentastar V6 engine with the 8 speed and 3:21 ratio.
I've also purchased a tent trailer that weighs 1900 lbs dry.
The truck is rated to tow 4100 lbs.
My questions involve is this truck set up good to tow my tent trailer. I know its well within the factory specs but from everyone's experience I wanted to make sure. Will the engine be running at a high RPM and killing the gas mileage. We would probably be towing twice a month with a cross country trips planned for every 2-3 years as well.
The 3:55 ratio moves the tow capacity to 7000lbs. Should I move up to that or will the 3:21 be just fine.
You should get the 3.55 gears for sure. You will be ok towing the 1,900 lb. trailer with 3.21, but if you ever want to upgrade trailers you will most likely have to upgrade your truck as well, a much more expensive proposition. Plus, the 3.55 gears on the V6 crew cab make it more enjoyable to drive. It's a heavy truck, especially with the 4x4's!
The MPG difference between the two gears will barely be noticeable. I have a Bighorn Crew Cab 4x4 with 3.55 gears, and I have been getting EPA rated MPG around town (16-17) and on the highway (23+ at 70MPH). To get the EPA numbers though you can't treat every red light like your racing on a drag strip. Plus, if a Hemi 1500 is at the light you won't win anyway :smileup:.
I have a Jayco X213 ultra light travel trailer on order. It's dry weight is 4000 lbs. It should be perfect for my truck which has a 7,000 lb. tow rating. In a recent V6 truck towing review on 4 Wheeler magazine online, the 14 Ram 1500 with 3.55 gears, beat out the new 4.3L V6 on the Chevy / GMC trucks. The reviewer stated the Ram won out thanks to the 8 speed transmission and the air suspension.
My owners guide shows for 2014 1500 4x4 3.6L V6 8speed the standard towing is 5,000lbs and max is 7,200lbs l. Doesn't mention anything about rear axel ratio.
So is this not correct? I just bought one, but I'm not one that has really ever towed.
Max tow for a 2014, V6 Pentastar, CC, 4x2 is right around 7,300 lbs with a 3.55 rear, this according to the Ram site. I believe the max tow for 2013 3.55 was around 6,500 lbs.
I don't think I would tow more than 5k especially if you are going into the mountains, but that is just my opinion.
weight is only 1/2 the equation. Don't forget that you're towing a tall shoe box...
BTW, the previous poster about not feeling 1900lbs, he's right. I towed a 1200lb tent trailer with a 4 cyl Kia sportage and I barely felt that, and I got 21 mpg (had a 3" lift and 30" tires).
Last piece of advice, when towing, SLOW DOWN! I drove cross country and saw 3 trucks on their side or backwards from jack knifing on the highway.
Hello, I'm new to truck and towing so I have a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.
I'm looking for the best gas mileage and the truck that I'm looking at buying is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Crew cab 4X4 with the Pentastar V6 engine with the 8 speed and 3:21 ratio.
I've also purchased a tent trailer that weighs 1900 lbs dry.
The truck is rated to tow 4100 lbs.
My questions involve is this truck set up good to tow my tent trailer. I know its well within the factory specs but from everyone's experience I wanted to make sure. Will the engine be running at a high RPM and killing the gas mileage. We would probably be towing twice a month with a cross country trips planned for every 2-3 years as well.
The 3:55 ratio moves the tow capacity to 7000lbs. Should I move up to that or will the 3:21 be just fine.
I towed a 10ft tent trailer weighing about 1900lbs with a 2005 chevy equinox, I had airlift 1000 airbags and it towed that fairly well, being low profile when they are folded is your best advantage. Your truck should pull that effortless, I agree with most, spec it with 3:55's. :smileup:
2014 Ram with Pentastar V6 Crew Cab 5 foot 7"inch box, towing capacity is 7,200 Lbs with the 3.55 axle, this information from the towing guide in the 2014 Ram brochure.
The 2014 RAM towing guide can be found here: http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/
I have a 3.21 rear end and pull a 2014 4400#, Winnebago 2101DS trailer very comfortably at 65 mph. The truck is in tow/haul mode and limited to 5th or 6th gear depending on terrain. I get around 13 mpg. Most of the time I use cruse control. When going up long hills I take it out of cruse. My highway milage when not towing is 25 - 27 mpg. I really do like my RAM. Glad I got the Pentastar.
Hello, I'm new to truck and towing so I have a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.
I'm looking for the best gas mileage and the truck that I'm looking at buying is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Crew cab 4X4 with the Pentastar V6 engine with the 8 speed and 3:21 ratio.
I've also purchased a tent trailer that weighs 1900 lbs dry.
The truck is rated to tow 4100 lbs.
My questions involve is this truck set up good to tow my tent trailer. I know its well within the factory specs but from everyone's experience I wanted to make sure. Will the engine be running at a high RPM and killing the gas mileage. We would probably be towing twice a month with a cross country trips planned for every 2-3 years as well.
The 3:55 ratio moves the tow capacity to 7000lbs. Should I move up to that or will the 3:21 be just fine.
FWIW, I have a '14 Ram with the 3.6 and 3:21 gears. I towed about 5500lbs over about 1800 miles with an average of about 14-15 mpg. And that was keeping the speed around 65. While it did down shift quite a bit on hills it still held the speed well. I was impressed with how well it did hauling that load. I only tow a few times a year so I wasn't concerned having the 3:21s in the truck.
FWIW, I have a '14 Ram with the 3.6 and 3:21 gears. I towed about 5500lbs over about 1800 miles with an average of about 14-15 mpg. And that was keeping the speed around 65. While it did down shift quite a bit on hills it still held the speed well. I was impressed with how well it did hauling that load. I only tow a few times a year so I wasn't concerned having the 3:21s in the truck.