Dodge 3.6 Ram with 8 Speed Tranny?

[Arctic Slalom]

Anyone pulled with this truck?

I'm curious to get their impressions?

Seems like the 3.6 would be a good choice for those who drive in town (a lot) and need to pull occasionally.

What is real world fuel economy with a 4x4 crew? Is it really 22ish on the highway?

I'm always skeptical of new truck MPG ratings…

[ahopkins22LSV]

Have not towed with it yet but drove one about 100 miles the other weekend and I was very impressed. IIRC I was averaging about 19MPG. About 50/50 highway and city. I can check with my friend to see what he is getting. Seemed to have plenty of power through at all speeds.

[tjklein]

Even with the 8spd transmission you would not want to tow a boat with it. You're combined weight is going to be 10,000lbs. Just to much for sub 300hp and sub 300 torque.

It could do it, but it won't be pleasant and you'll burn a lot of gas doing it. In a Dodge you're going to need the 5.7 or the new Cummins diesel.

[Bozboat]

.......

I'm always skeptical of new truck MPG ratings…

It is possible to meet the mileage ratings, just not practical. My ecoboost actually averaged 19.0 on a 75 mile trip last night, on level ground, no AC, no wind, with cruise set on 57 mph. It seems 67 mph costs 2 mpg, 75 mph costs 3 mpg, and 85-90 (85 is limit on tollroad) will knock it down almost 5 mpg. Of course drive thru lines are the real barrier to good mpgs. One run thru a Starbucks or bank teller and I am stuck with 14-15 mpgs for the rest of the tank.

[jetskipro550]

Even with the 8spd transmission you would not want to tow a boat with it. You're combined weight is going to be 10,000lbs. Just to much for sub 300hp and sub 300 torque.

It could do it, but it won't be pleasant and you'll burn a lot of gas doing it. In a Dodge you're going to need the 5.7 or the new Cummins diesel.

10 years ago that's about all we had in gas engines for towing these boats...

[oldjeep]

Anyone pulled with this truck?

I'm curious to get their impressions?

Seems like the 3.6 would be a good choice for those who drive in town (a lot) and need to pull occasionally.

What is real world fuel economy with a 4x4 crew? Is it really 22ish on the highway?

I'm always skeptical of new truck MPG ratings…

Real world mileage with a 2009 2wd crew/Hemi/3.21 gears is 21(summer). There is no way in hell I would ever buy a 3.6 gas motor to tow with.

Edited March 2, 2014 by oldjeep

[tjklein]

That's a good point too! I can remember when Dodge had the 5.9l and it had a whopping 255hp in 1998.

But....a couple other things to consider....

1. Trucks are heavier than ever. They may be aluminum in the near future like the F150 (which I actually don't want for various reasons), but they're not now.

2. Boats are getting WAY heavier. Plus, you add in tandem axle trailers, bigger wheels... The new LSV is 900lbs heavier than my 2007 VTX.

3. This one is often forgotten about....overall wheel/tire size has gotten much bigger in the last 15 years. No 20" wheels in the 90's, except for the Harley F150. 32" over ally diameter is the standard these days. (and wider tires too)

4. Back then 4.10 gears were standard, now it's 3.42, 3.21, 3.08, and some 3.55. You can get 3.73 and higher, but it's tough. (unless it's a Toyota, but I digress) Every manufacturer is going for MPG these days and higher HP motors and 6/8spd trannies allow that lower gear ratio. The 8spd does gear it like a 4.10 but you're still going to struggle on the highway which is so frustrating. (down shift, up shift, down shift....)

You could tow with the 3.6L and the 8spd, but why do it if there are better options available. The 3.6L is a great motor for the handy guy or gal, but any heavier towing needs the beefier options.

Trevor

[oldjeep]

That's a good point too! I can remember when Dodge had the 5.9l and it had a whopping 255hp in 1998.

But....a couple other things to consider....

1. Trucks are heavier than ever. They may be aluminum in the near future like the F150 (which I actually don't want for various reasons), but they're not now.

2. Boats are getting WAY heavier. Plus, you add in tandem axle trailers, bigger wheels... The new LSV is 900lbs heavier than my 2007 VTX.

3. This one is often forgotten about....overall wheel/tire size has gotten much bigger in the last 15 years. No 20" wheels in the 90's, except for the Harley F150. 32" over ally diameter is the standard these days. (and wider tires too)

4. Back then 4.10 gears were standard, now it's 3.42, 3.21, 3.08, and some 3.55. You can get 3.73 and higher, but it's tough. (unless it's a Toyota, but I digress) Every manufacturer is going for MPG these days and higher HP motors and 6/8spd trannies allow that lower gear ratio. The 8spd does gear it like a 4.10 but you're still going to struggle on the highway which is so frustrating. (down shift, up shift, down shift....)

You could tow with the 3.6L and the 8spd, but why do it if there are better options available. The 3.6L is a great motor for the handy guy or gal, but any heavier towing needs the beefier options.

Trevor

1) Not sure about the 3.6 4wd crew, but my 09 2wd Hemi crew weighs 5700lbs dry. Nearly 2 tons completely empty.

2) Yup

3) 20's are for kids and people who should have bought a car If you want to use it as a truck, you can get 17's on the Ram and the towing capacity is higher with them

4) On the hemi 3.55 is standard with optional 3.92 or 3.21. The 3.21 is plenty for towing 7K plus - you hardly notice it is there with the 390HP/407TQ

[tjklein]

I hear you on the 20s. I nice set of 18s and some meaty tires look awesome.

Almost every Ram, F150, and GM truck in the upper trim levels come with standard 20" wheels now though. What is crazier is people running 22" wheels saying that they're off road capable.... GM and Ford actually advertise them as "all-terrain".

[Lance B. Johnson]

8 speed trannies.....

I hate it when the transmission is constantly shifting, trying to find the right gear. Does it bug anyone else? My Titan is only equipped with a 5 speed and even then I lock out 5th a lot when I'm driving in town. Can't even imagine an 8spd. But I haven't driven one yet either.

[oldjeep]

8 speed trannies.....

I hate it when the transmission is constantly shifting, trying to find the right gear. Does it bug anyone else? My Titan is only equipped with a 5 speed and even then I lock out 5th a lot when I'm driving in town. Can't even imagine an 8spd. But I haven't driven one yet either.

You really don't notice it - the more gears you have the more seamless the shifting is. Drove an 8 speed 300 and couldn't even feel it shift

Edited March 2, 2014 by oldjeep

[wakesetter8796]

There is a video on YouTube comparing a few trucks, and the 3.6 was one of them. They did a 0-60 test with a 5500 LBS inboard. They didn't like the ram 3.6, I forgot the time but it was slow.

[wakesetter8796]

Their main drawback was the lack of torque.

[edwin]

8 speed trannies.....

I hate it when the transmission is constantly shifting, trying to find the right gear. Does it bug anyone else? My Titan is only equipped with a 5 speed and even then I lock out 5th a lot when I'm driving in town. Can't even imagine an 8spd. But I haven't driven one yet either.

I concur. When I had an Armada (great tow vehicle, BTW), always kept in 4th when towing on the highway. My Tundra (best tow vehicle to date) gets bumped into 5th when towing.

I posted this quite some time ago, but I have a 100mi round trip to the ski lake...nearly pancake flat. Mileage is often better when I have it in 5th vs 6th / Overdrive. Even though it spins a few more revs, it's in the power band and just pulls along great in 5th. Rarely ever downshifts...only on the biggest of the hills we have in SW Missouri.

My Tundra is 7 years old with almost 100k on it. I really intended to keep it a long time but it sure seems that vehicle I'd like to have is soon to be not available on the new market. Might have to speed up my procurement cycle and buy "the last of the good ones (regardless of make)" before they're all 8 speed trannies and aluminum bodied truck. Chances are strong that if I buy one more that'd get me thru my boat pulling days...

Edited March 3, 2014 by edwin

[oldjeep]

There is a video on YouTube comparing a few trucks, and the 3.6 was one of them. They did a 0-60 test with a 5500 LBS inboard. They didn't like the ram 3.6, I forgot the time but it was slow.

0 to 60 is kind of a dumb test for a truck in regards to towing . Do you seriously try to see how fast you can get to 60 when pulling 5500lbs?

[jk13]

8 speed trannies.....

I hate it when the transmission is constantly shifting, trying to find the right gear. Does it bug anyone else? My Titan is only equipped with a 5 speed and even then I lock out 5th a lot when I'm driving in town. Can't even imagine an 8spd. But I haven't driven one yet either.

I notice this engine/trans package shifting a lot on my parent's '13 Grand Cherokee. Even more noticeable when towing, of course. My Dad absolutely loves the vehicle though. Says it's the best he's ever owned. I drove it on a road trip with them to my son's hockey tournament and it wasn't bad, but you could freak out the shifting sequence pretty easily, especially if the vehicle in front takes off slow and you have to accelerate/let off/accelerate.

[wakesetter8796]

<br />0 to 60 is kind of a dumb test for a truck in regards to towing . Do you seriously try to see how fast you can get to 60 when pulling 5500lbs?

<br /><br />I would have prefered them do a mountainous test like they did for the 3/4 and 1 tons.

[stocky]

One of the guys that works for me has a 2013 v6 with 845rfe trans, he used my trailer to haul a 1978 Ramcharger from Indianapolis area to southern, Mich. Traded it for a Neon SRT he average 12mph going up and coming back. Plus he had to run in 4x4 mode for most of the trip. He was very pleased with how it pulled.

[Arctic Slalom]

I'm just curious about this transmission.

The boat is the only trailer I use, and we only trailer about 5%-10% of our miles every year.

You would think with more gears it would be smoother and the power delivery would be great.

We don't have much for hills here in North Dakota and my '10 Yukon XL Denali needs to rev to keep trailering at 65-70 mph.

I imagine the Ram with 3.6 would struggle to go 60-65 mph with my boat.

Maybe I just need to buy the $350K lake home and stop trailering! HA!

I've been considering trading the minivan for a Subaru Outback, but have also been looking at a few newer pickups.

The default would be a newer 5.3 silverado, but the dodge with new tranny seems appealing.

I've heard the tundra is horrible on fuel. never really looked at ecoboost.

[edwin]

I've heard the tundra is horrible on fuel. never really looked at ecoboost.

I can tell you that in real world towing, my Tundra gets 11.7-12mpg. You can search around all you want to see folks write about their buddy that has a 2012 Ram 2500 with Cummins that gets 25mpg towing a 5th wheel camper...but end of the day, the Tundra, the Silverado, the F150, the Ram,etc are all going to get relatively similar mileage dragging a boat. Even my F250 PSD's only got 14.5 to 15mpg pulling the boat...maybe 16 if there was a tail wind. Until the kids started dancing all the time, I pulled 12-15k miles per year. YMMV

[Lance B. Johnson]

12-15k towing a year? That's still more than I drive total!

[wakesetter8796]

I'm just curious about this transmission.<br /> <br />The boat is the only trailer I use, and we only trailer about 5%-10% of our miles every year. <br /> <br />You would think with more gears it would be smoother and the power delivery would be great. <br /> <br />We don't have much for hills here in North Dakota and my '10 Yukon XL Denali needs to rev to keep trailering at 65-70 mph. <br /> <br />I imagine the Ram with 3.6 would struggle to go 60-65 mph with my boat. <br /> <br />Maybe I just need to buy the $350K lake home and stop trailering! HA!<br /> <br />I've been considering trading the minivan for a Subaru Outback, but have also been looking at a few newer pickups. <br /> <br />The default would be a newer 5.3 silverado, but the dodge with new tranny seems appealing. <br /> <br />I've heard the tundra is horrible on fuel. never really looked at ecoboost.

<br /><br />I would definitely say the ram would do worse than your Denali now.

[edwin]

12-15k towing a year? That's still more than I drive total!

Living in St Louis doesn't make for a great watersports lifestyle. The lake we used to frequent was a 500mi round trip. I also had a bass boat that I drug all over the place to fish. Funny thing is that my Tundra was bought as a 3rd vehicle...nearly all of it's miles for the first 4 years were dragging the boat. Now that we don't use the boat the same way, it still gets lots of miles...just different miles. Now it pulls the boat a few thousand miles a year, hauls bikes in the bed, used as a daily driver when the weather stinks, and functions as an airport car. All things considered, I still drive at least 20k a year in rides that get pretty awful mileage.

[Lance B. Johnson]

Remind me to never buy a truck from you

[malibu2004]

It is possible to meet the mileage ratings, just not practical. My ecoboost actually averaged 19.0 on a 75 mile trip last night, on level ground, no AC, no wind, with cruise set on 57 mph. It seems 67 mph costs 2 mpg, 75 mph costs 3 mpg, and 85-90 (85 is limit on tollroad) will knock it down almost 5 mpg. Of course drive thru lines are the real barrier to good mpgs. One run thru a Starbucks or bank teller and I am stuck with 14-15 mpgs for the rest of the tank.

All the trucks from all the manufactures get very close to the same mileage when equipped the same.

I get 19.0 on the interstate at 72 and about 15 in town in my 5.7 Tundra. If I get a lead foot the old MPG's fall pretty quick.

Pulling our VLX about 11.

Pulling our 6500 pound travel trailer about 8

It's by far the best truck I've ever owned but it's also the newest so it should be the best truck. The reason I say it's the best truck is because it's never been to the shop other than to get the oil changed. I can't say that about the 4 Fords or 1 Chevy I've owned.