2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel = 28 MPG

[Greenman]

Can't imagine that many people wanting a work truck will want the VM 3.0L in a 1500 over the Cummins in a 2500 or 3500.

It seems an odd in-between truck to me.

Because the 2500 is unnecessary for most contractors. If you're towing a Bobcat, or a trailer full of concrete all the time, then it makes sense, otherwise it's overkill. Most work trucks are 1/2 ton pickups.

Edit: Just did a quick check, and I can get a Ram 2500 with a Cummins diesel for $32K.

 

[LTC8K6]

Because the 2500 is unnecessary for most contractors. If you're towing a Bobcat, or a trailer full of concrete all the time, then it makes sense, otherwise it's overkill. Most work trucks are 1/2 ton pickups.

Then they probably don't need the expensive diesel engine and fuel.

 

[Greenman]

Then they probably don't need the expensive diesel engine and fuel.

It all depends. The diesel gets pretty good mileage, the ecoboost does almost as well, but when you have a constant 800lb load the equation changes quite a bit. The diesel doesn't take nearly the mpg hit the gas engine does. The problem is figuring out what the difference really is, I'm a little stumped on that one.
I drive around 22k a year, so fuel cost is a real consideration. I also tow a dump trailer frequently, though the weight is rarely over 6000lb. That's when a gas engine chokes.
The bottom line is you can use almost any pickup as a work truck, but some do it a lot better than others.

 

[LTC8K6]

The Ram 1500 diesel doesn't get that much better mileage than the 3.6L Ram though. I think the mileage advantage would have to be a lot more than it is for it to make sense to pay for the 1500 Diesel, yet not go for the 2500 Diesel.

The tow rating of the 1500 3.6L is 7,450 vs 9,200 for the 1500 diesel.

Whereas Ford's EB3.5L F-150 is 11,300.

Ford's aluminum F-150 is rumored to get close to 30mpg as well.

I'll be surprised if the Ram 1500 diesel becomes popular beyond the initial rush of buyers who just have to have one.

 

[LTC8K6]

These guys liked it, but it was kinda' slow at about 9 seconds to 60. About 2 seconds behind a Silverado 2500 diesel.

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/pickup/163_2014_2014_ram_1500_ecodiesel_first_test/

 

[Greenman]

The Ram 1500 diesel doesn't get that much better mileage than the 3.6L Ram though. I think the mileage advantage would have to be a lot more than it is for it to make sense to pay for the 1500 Diesel, yet not go for the 2500 Diesel.

The tow rating of the 1500 3.6L is 7,450 vs 9,200 for the 1500 diesel.

Whereas Ford's EB3.5L F-150 is 11,300.

Ford's aluminum F-150 is rumored to get close to 30mpg as well.

I'll be surprised if the Ram 1500 diesel becomes popular beyond the initial rush of buyers who just have to have one.

I would never get near the EPA estimate with the 3.6. My normal load out is 800 to a 1000 pounds, that's every single day. That's what makes the diesel a viable candidate.

 

[phreaqe]

I like that there are more diesel engines coming out, i just hope that it will lead to lower prices on the fuel. In my area at least diesel costs even more then premium fuel so when you factor that in to it, its means it would actually cost me more per mile to drive this even at 28mpg.

 

[Leyawiin]

I think they sourced that engine from FIAT. It's going to be interesting to see how things develop at Chrysler the next few years.

 

[LTC8K6]

I would never get near the EPA estimate with the 3.6. My normal load out is 800 to a 1000 pounds, that's every single day. That's what makes the diesel a viable candidate.

Except it sounds like you need more than a 1/2 ton pickup with that payload.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think they sourced that engine from FIAT. It's going to be interesting to see how things develop at Chrysler the next few years.

VM Motori is part of FIAT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VM_Motori

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_VM_Motori_engines#A_630_DOHC

 

[darkswordsman17]

The Ram 1500 diesel doesn't get that much better mileage than the 3.6L Ram though. I think the mileage advantage would have to be a lot more than it is for it to make sense to pay for the 1500 Diesel, yet not go for the 2500 Diesel.

The tow rating of the 1500 3.6L is 7,450 vs 9,200 for the 1500 diesel.

Whereas Ford's EB3.5L F-150 is 11,300.

Ford's aluminum F-150 is rumored to get close to 30mpg as well.

I'll be surprised if the Ram 1500 diesel becomes popular beyond the initial rush of buyers who just have to have one.

I could see it with the 2.5L ecoboost 4, but that thing is going to have a lot less torque than the diesel and we'll see what transmission it gets. I could see that engine making people ask why bother with the base V6s in the current group of trucks unless you're just super price sensitive.

0-60 shouldn't matter in a truck (and those heavy duty diesels are monsters, its got a LOT more power), its more how does it fare passing on the highway and does it have torque to get itself and a load/trailer up to speed without causing you problems. The diesel (especially paired with that transmission) should excel at that and that's why I think it makes a great truck engine. If you rarely ever haul anything though then yeah, I doubt you'll make up the price difference (especially since you probably won't find the diesel in a Ram for less than $40k, if not closer to $50k unless you order one) soon enough to make it worth it. But then, why are you driving a full size pickup?

I do think this engine would be great in a slightly smaller truck (would be perfect for a new Dakota). The new Colorado should be very interesting for that reason. Of course if they follow Ford's move and work to lighten these full size ones and make them a bit more aerodynamic, then it might be better to just focus on one line of trucks and make them stellar.

 

[Greenman]

Except it sounds like you need more than a 1/2 ton pickup with that payload.

Surprisingly, no. My F150 with a 4.6l V8 has done very well at the job for over 250k. Sometimes I've wondered if I was going to blow the tranny out of it, but so far it's held up well. What it needs is more torque, and a better transmission. The EB and the Ram diesel would both fit the bill nicely, though I do have real concerns about the reliability of an Italian built engine. A 3/4 ton would be handy once in a while, but the reduced fuel economy and increased cost of normal maintenance items weigh against it. I'm also not a big fan of the tank like ride, but I could get over that if everything else added up.

 

[nerp]

This figure is before major weight reduction for the RAM lineup so that is impressive.

 

[chucky2]

This figure is before major weight reduction for the RAM lineup so that is impressive.

Can you explain this a bit more...?

 

[WackyDan]

Can you explain this a bit more...?

Ford has made a switch to aluminum from steel on many body parts and has shaved 700 pounds off the weight of the F-150 for the 2015 model.

RAM and GM have yet to do so, but imagine the MPG if the RAM was 700 pounds lighter?

 

[996GT2]

The 28mpg sounds good, but how much it really means depends on what part of the US you live in.

Over here regular unleaded is about $3 a gallon whereas diesel is more like $4 a gallon, so 28 mpg in a diesel vehicle doesn't really mean that much...it's no better than a normal gasoline truck getting ~21 mpg in terms of fuel cost.

Pic from the other week as proof:

 

[gus6464]

And they have apparently reverted to having a cool down period before shutting the turbo-diesel off.

Stopping The Engine
Idle the engine a few minutes before routine shutdown.
After full load operation, idle the engine three to five
minutes before shutting it down. This idle period will
allow the lubricating oil and coolant to carry excess heat
away from the combustion chamber, bearings, internal
components, and turbocharger. This is especially important
for turbocharged diesel engines.
NOTE: Refer to the following chart for proper engine
shutdown.

That is pretty garbage. No one will go through all that crap when shutting down the car.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Again it is just during full load operations, like pulling a trailer up a steep hill and immediately pulling over and shutting off the engine is bad. Slowly driving on your street, driving around a lot looking for a spot, whatever is usually enough for normal driving to keep things happy. Turbo engines have always had that issue until fairly recently when I guess they starting using electric pumps to keep oil circulating on most of them. It was more of a problem way back when most turbos were just oil cooled. Since they added water cooling to most turbos back in the 80s it hasn't been as much of an issues, turbos last a damn long time even with people ignoring those warnings.

 

[LTC8K6]

That is pretty garbage. No one will go through all that crap when shutting down the car.

Certainly no one wants to. I have no experience with turbo diesels, but that's what the owner's manual says you are supposed to do.

It makes me wary of owning one of those engines, so I wish it were not in the manual, if it's actually not necessary.

Reading the owner's manuals of modern diesel engine vehicles also makes me wary of owning one. There are quite a few idiosyncrasies. DEF amount/quality and running low or out. The DPF and your driving habits and it's cleaning cycle. Those being the two big ones.

The vehicle basically won't move if the DEF is low or old or of poor quality, for example.

I still want a diesel, though.

 

[LTC8K6]

Again it is just during full load operations, like pulling a trailer up a steep hill and immediately pulling over and shutting off the engine is bad. Slowly driving on your street, driving around a lot looking for a spot, whatever is usually enough for normal driving to keep things happy. Turbo engines have always had that issue until fairly recently when I guess they starting using electric pumps to keep oil circulating on most of them. It was more of a problem way back when most turbos were just oil cooled. Since they added water cooling to most turbos back in the 80s it hasn't been as much of an issues, turbos last a damn long time even with people ignoring those warnings.

The manual has cool down periods for all types of driving, from no load, to full load, short to quite long. If it's not necessary, I wish they would issue an addendum.

 

[slag]

That is excellent for a full size truck. My 5.0 F-150 gets about 15 around town.

The RAM will probably get better towing MPG too... And after that 2400 mile tow I did in one trip this year, it would have saved me some $$$.

+1

 

[iamwiz82]

The 28mpg sounds good, but how much it really means depends on what part of the US you live in.

Over here regular unleaded is about $3 a gallon whereas diesel is more like $4 a gallon, so 28 mpg in a diesel vehicle doesn't really mean that much...it's no better than a normal gasoline truck getting ~21 mpg in terms of fuel cost.

Pic from the other week as proof:

I paid more for premium today than I did for diesel last week, this is in Michigan. I suspect that many of the engines in trucks nowadays have a preference for 89 octane at least,

 

[LTC8K6]

I paid more for premium today than I did for diesel last week, this is in Michigan. I suspect that many of the engines in trucks nowadays have a preference for 89 octane at least,

Chrysler's 5.7L hemi is the only one I know of that lists 89 as preferred and 87 as okay.

Aside from Ford's ecoboost engines, which make more power with high octane, but do not require it.

I would think the Direct Injected V8's run fine on lower octane gasoline.

 

[drnickriviera]

The manual has cool down periods for all types of driving, from no load, to full load, short to quite long. If it's not necessary, I wish they would issue an addendum.

You can always install a turbo timer and not have to worry about it. We only let our ram 2500 cool after hauling a load. We have an egt gauge and on normal driving, the drive into the neighborhood or into the parking lot is enough to drop the temps.

 

[Rezist]

Certainly no one wants to. I have no experience with turbo diesels, but that's what the owner's manual says you are supposed to do.

It makes me wary of owning one of those engines, so I wish it were not in the manual, if it's actually not necessary.

Reading the owner's manuals of modern diesel engine vehicles also makes me wary of owning one. There are quite a few idiosyncrasies. DEF amount/quality and running low or out. The DPF and your driving habits and it's cleaning cycle. Those being the two big ones.

The vehicle basically won't move if the DEF is low or old or of poor quality, for example.

I still want a diesel, though.

All diesels have required this for the last 35+ years if there turbo'd so it's nothing new, what is new however is how they don't seem to have a system to do it automatically.

This woulda been a great option for me since I carry around 500 lbs in tools and material and drive 2-3 hours a day for work, unfortunately due to company politics we have to buy 3/4 tons which are impossible to maneuver in parking lots and my current quad cab 2500HD with the 8ft box is retardedly long.