Towing 5,000 Pounds for 5,000 Miles - Part 3 - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

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Towing 5,000 Pounds for 5,000 Miles - Part 3 - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

After towing a trailer for 5,200 miles, our long-term 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel made it home to Santa Monica. But how did it perform along the way?

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bankerdanny

Maybe it's just me, but your car seems a bit far forward on the trailer. The trailer looks level, but you have a lot of the weight forward of both axles.

daryleason

The Ram Eco-Diesel does seem to do great as far as hauling and fuel economy. But here's my question, is the increased upfront cost, plus the increased maintenance (such as fuel filters every 3,000 miles or so) worth the increased fuel economy compared to what a gasoline powered truck can do? I know from reading about the F-150 that it's not gotten anywhere near the EPA estimates. But what about the Ram EPA estimates for a V8? When the larger trucks were averaging only 2-3 mpg better than the gas engines, but diesel was almost a dollar more than gasoline, it didn't make sense to cough up the extra money for a diesel, unless it was a dedicated tow vehicle. Diesels, on average, will last a LOT longer than a gas engine, but most people don't keep their vehicles that long to really recoup the expenditure of the diesel's premium.

tlangness

bankerdanny said:

Maybe it's just me, but your car seems a bit far forward on the trailer. The trailer looks level, but you have a lot of the weight forward of both axles.

That's where the straps are on the U-Haul trailer Danny. Basically, you drive up over them, get the tire flush with the front wall then strap it down. It's the best location for that trailer and this car -- I loaded all my gear in the trunk of the Integra to balance it out and it seemed to help.

adamb1

Does that trailer have surge brakes or were you able to use the Ram's integrated brake controller?

adamb1

By contrast, my 2003 Ram 1500 QC HEMI has averaged 11.5mpg life to date and never done better than 16 mpg on the interstate EMPTY towing NOTHING. I now use the truck for a lot of highway miles towing and hauling whitewater canoes to and from the rivers. My fuel cost would likely be 1/2 to 1/3 less with the Eco Diesel. The math would work for me.

stever

Back in my Blue Hole days (with the odd Dagger in the '00s), I managed fine with minivans (and a Tercel for many trips) and usually managed 20ish mpg overall. Nice avatar.

explorerx4

I'd like to see the mileage log for the trip, just to see the variations.

tlangness

Here's the fuel log for the trip @explorerx4. The fills with the asterisks are the only tanks where I wasn't towing. The first was my fill up about 100 miles out of LA with about a half-tank of towing, the second was the fill up at the Tail of the Dragon after two days driving around North Carolina mountain roads. A final tank is missing because I only towed for about 100 miles on that tank as well. Feel free to ask any questions about the rest.
Mileage Trip Gallons MPG
35,263 465.3 22.446 20.7**
35,685 421.9 22.601 18.7
35,944 258.9 14.913 17.4
36,266 319.6 17.061 18.7
36,556 289.6 19.235 15.1
36,885 329.4 20.132 16.4
37,272 386.5 21.000 18.4
37,623 350.6 19.802 17.7
38,024 399.3 20.929 19.1**
38,346 321.6 18.662 17.2
38,763 416.8 22.677 18.4
39,114 351.3 21.937 16.0
39,454 339.6 21.767 15.6
39,788 333.8 19.887 16.8
40,131 342.7 19.292 17.8

explorerx4

Very consistent and good mileage.

g35buf

Excellent detail on the trip...Just traded my 2014 RAM 1500 Big Horn with the V8 for a 2015 1500 EcoDiesel Laramie. I was very happy with the V8. 16 mpg towing a 5k lb boat - mostly hwy - and 19-20 hwy with nothing in tow. 15 mpg around town. 30k already on the V8 but trade in value is good.

The incentives on the EcoDiesel are finally the same as the gas engines. I need the EcoDiesel's around town mpg as well as the mid-high 20s on the highway due to a lot of 500+ mile trips. I loved the overall drivability of the diesel when I tested and whatever RAM you choose, hard to think of a more comfortable highway cruiser. Also, I'm in Canada a lot, so diesel with the current exchange rate is the same as diesel in Western NY. In Ontario, diesel is the lowest priced fuel and in NY, it is the highest vs any grade of gasoline.

The EcoDiesel just makes too much sense...

adamb1

"Back in my Blue Hole days (with the odd Dagger in the '00s), I managed fine with minivans (and a Tercel for many trips) and usually managed 20ish mpg overall. Nice avatar. "

The old boats are still cool. The new PE boats really redefined what you can or should do in an open boat on whitewater. I'm usually hauling 4-6 boats + everyone's gear on our outings. I have a folding bed cover and rack on the truck which is about optimal. We have put 2 boats in the back of my son's Focus hatchback on short local trips before when we didn't have others to help set shuttle.

stever

Sold my last boat for our move to southern New Mexico last year. Mostly retired. One nephew's home river is the Ocoee and he's bummed that his Avalanche has about given up the ghost. He really liked all the cubbies for gear. He had to downsize to an F-150 for a while.

ndahi

I used to tow my race car with my 2002 Tundra V8. I towed to Buttonwillow and WSIR on a monthly basis. The load was pretty similar to what was towed with the Dodge. I often got 11-13 mpg towing. W/O towing I often got 16-17 mpg. It is sad to see that the EcoBoost Fords still have similar MPG to what I got from a 2002 Tundra!!!