Ram 1500 with 3.0 diesel

[1bigmess]

Board member name or a link to the discussion where it happens would be helpful, because I haven't seen it yet.

[dcarver]

If you can't park your truck then you need practice or not tow a trailer. I've parked mine in downtown Charleston and LA parking garages, parallel parked in numerous tight spots my wife dared me to park and I've got oversized tires and replacement bumpers. Just gotta know the size of your tool 😈

[Papa_Jim]

Originally Posted by krsmitty

Doing research for a possible new(er) TV.

Anyone own/towing with the Ram 1500 with the 3.0 diesel? Might be to small for my towing needs, but something to think about.

Thanks,

Yes. I'm getting started at using ours for towing our trailer. I looked at the specs for your trailer. The Ram 1500 is not the right truck for towing that trailer.

Power is not the problem. The suspension on the Ram 1500 is not up to the job of handling that trailer.

Jim

[TDI-Minnie]

Originally Posted by dexters

Actually they have - when it comes to purchase price, maintenance costs, parking when not towing, repair costs.

I believe he said "for towing"... not as a daily driver.
Additionally, the points you make are largely invalid since most HD trucks are diesel.

The purchase price is more than offset by resale value and lower rate of depreciation.

Maintenance cost is basically the same or less. Yes, it takes more oil, but there are fewer moving parts and no ignition system.

Ability to park is up to the driver, but I've seen long bed and crew cab 1500s that are about the same size. I commute 63 miles round trip into downtown Atlanta every day. No problem in town.

As to repair costs... I don't know what you're breaking but with fewer parts and much heavier construction with much longer duty cycles... I'll take my chances with the heavy duty, especially a diesel.

[roteague]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Great. How does it go downhill? How does it stop?

Coming down the mountains from Prescott on I-17 was easy (about a 4000ft drop over 60 miles). Put it in tow/haul mode and rarely needed to do any hard braking. Pulling up the hills was just as easy.

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by roteague

Coming down the mountains from Prescott on I-17 was easy (about a 4000ft drop over 60 miles). Put it in tow/haul mode and rarely needed to do any hard braking. Pulling up the hills was just as easy.

I'm glad you mentioned I-17. I came down that same grade from Flagstaff to Phoenix, headed to Tucson, and didn't touch my brake pedal except to slow down for a changed speed limit. 100% brakes, 100% cool and ready, almost 100% of the time. The engine brake just held it right at the set speed as the transmission downshifted automagically and I easily cruised down the steep grades with almost no effort on my part.

It is so nice having more truck than I'll ever really need!

[capsfloyd]

2015 ram ecodiesel longhorn. Air Suspension, cc, 4wd, rambox
Pull 7200. Pulls great. Air Suspension works good with my equalitzer wd.

[Starbreaker]

They ever iron out the failure rate on the italian diesel? Google 3.0 ecodiesel failures. I get the feeling these motors were never meant for harder work and are having issues with the cam on the exhaust side walking. Many complaints. I'd shy away from it unless they got the issue handled.

[roteague]

Originally Posted by Starbreaker

They ever iron out the failure rate on the italian diesel? Google 3.0 ecodiesel failures. I get the feeling these motors were never meant for harder work and are having issues with the cam on the exhaust side walking. Many complaints. I'd shy away from it unless they got the issue handled.

Seeing that the engine has made Ward's 10 Best Engines for the past 3 years in a row, I don't believe the engine has any major issues. This same engine is also used in the Maserati Ghibli. The manufacturer, VM Motori has been building diesel engines in Europe 1947 and is highly regarded there. So, no questions, and no doubt from me on it's quality.

[Starbreaker]

Oh good to hear. I know it's used primarily in Europe, as you said Masirati, in cars. I just got worried about it after I found link after link after link of blown 3.0's as early as 2500 miles. It really put me off the motor. Of course one can look up any motor I suppose and find examples of duds.

[1bigmess]

I've said it before, folks will make entire websites about how their widget failed and the manufacturer is an evil entity that deserves to be destroyed, but the same person will not even make a comment on the widget they have that works so well and is so reliable they can completely forget that it could ever break.

[Mcsap9213]

2014 Ecodiesel Quad Cab 4x4. Hit 30 mpg when solo with three people and little gear doing between 55-60 mph in Georgia. Can get 12-14 towing my 6500 lb trailer.

Got about 9 with my gas engine truck towing.

[09 harley]

My neighbor just purchased a 3 liter diesel to tow his fifth wheel and has made a couple of modifications. Because Ram builds their trucks to ride like cars and has no real rear suspension he had to be creative to allow him to tow the 14k trailer.
He installed a 1/2 inch sheet of steel in the bed and bolted through to the frame. With the hitch mounted to this sheet he now had a secure hitch in his bed. This caused some sag as you could imagine. The next step was to fabricate new brackets to allow him to jack up the truck to a level position and then replace the shocks with square steel tubing to replace the shocks. By adding rubber shims between the axle and the frame he figured that if the tubing let go the shims would keep the back end from hitting the ground.
He has a question about adding spray foam to the inside of the tires because if they blew this might prevent a catastrophe. Seems to make sense. Probably need to allow a little room for air. Would it be better to fill the tires with industrial silicone and not use air so he wouldn't need to worry about flats or using those pesky TPMS systems?
I see no reason why you can't modify a 1/2 ton truck to tow any load. The salesman at the RV dealer said his rig was ok for this load. My buddy figured he could make his truck even better. He plans to make it a dually when he gets his dream New Horizons 5th wheel at 23K.
I think he could add a tag axle to the Ram. What do you think?

[Badlands Bob]

Go big or go home.