2016 Ram 1500 5.7L towing Elite II

[Mike and Carol]

Just back from our first trip with the new truck.  We did a long weekend in Fredericksburg, TX.  Lot's to do there, more to follow.

 

We traded in our trusty 2012 Tacoma on a new Ram 1500, 4X4, 5.7L Hemi, Crew cab, short bed.  It's the Lone Star trim level, a Texas thing, that's the same as the Big Horn everywhere else.  Main reasons for the change were the small gas tank on the Tacoma and the weight limitation.

 

I wanted some specific features on the new truck for towing but didn't want to go through the wait of ordering - big gas tank, brake controller, and 3.92 rear axle.  We found one a few hours away in the right color with all the electronic gadgets and doo-dads.  It certainly feels like a big truck compared to the Tacoma.  Quiet and comfortable.

 

Bottom line, towing was much less effort than with the Tacoma (surprise!).  I put it in "Tow/Haul" mode and let it do it's thing.  It's only about 50 miles from our house to Fredericksburg, half freeway and half state highway.  All hills, not much level road.  Gas mileage was about 12mpg.  Heading north on I-10W I kept it at 65 and on the state highway between 60 and 65mph.  Hope to get better mpg on level ground.  It maintained steady speed up all the hills.  If in cruise control, the transmission would downshift on some of the downhills so braking was minimal (it has the 8-speed automatic).

 

Speaking of braking, the brake controller is much easier to set and adjust over the Prodigy P3 that I had hanging under the dash on the Toyota.  I also appreciate being able to have what it's doing displayed on the dash.  Also, being able to check truck tire pressure, temps for oil, coolant and transmission is nice.  Lots of information and data.

 

All in all I'm happy with the switch.  The only drawbacks so far are that it won't fit in the garage (yet) and it's not as easy to reach things in the bed.  I did have to drop the ball on my Andersen hitch one notch and tighten the chains a couple of turns.

 

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

Another picture...

 

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

 

Trying to attach a picture with the right aspect ratio....

[Tralien]

Beautiful truck Mike!

[ScottyGS]

Congrats on the New Truck Mike!

 

"Won't fit in the garage... (yet)"   HA!  I know where you are coming from.  Good Luck.  When we got back from picking up the Flying Sea Turtle, i went to put the F150 in the garage and thought... might as well remove the hitch from the truck.   Good thing I did.  The truck will NOT fit with the hitch ball on it.

 

Congrats again and safe towing.

 

Scotty

 

 

[rideandfly]

Congrats on the new RAM and also nice looking rig.

 

Will put RAM on the list to "check out" during our search for a new Ollie TV at the end of the year.

 

Safe Towing!

[topgun2]

Mike & Carol,

 

Nice looking truck!  Nothing like being sooooo comfortable cruising down the highway with that Ollie in tow.  I sure wish that they would make that truck with a half door in the rear instead of the full set of four full sized doors.

 

Bill

[Commanche]

Nice truck Mike.

 

We have the Dodge Durango with the same 5.7 Hemi engine. We just got back from a trip to southern Utah and our overall mpg was about 13.5, which I was very happy with. That's the best we had so far, up to this point we were getting about 12 mpg. We too have the 8 speed trany and when I am on cruise and come to a upgrade, I just click off the cruise and let the speed drop off a bit rather then having it shift down 2-3 or 4 gears and running the rpm's way up there.

 

The down side...headlight bulbs cost $300. bucks if you get them at the dealer. YIKES. Of course we were out of the warranty period, but they did give us their cost, (-77.00) then charged us 30 bucks to put it in. Bulbs should not burn out in a year and half. Did fine one online for $118. Still, what the heck.

 

But, I do like the DD.

 

Stan

[ScubaRx]

Very cool truck Mike (and Carol).  Really looks good hooked on to the Oliver.  I understand about things being hard to reach in the bed of the truck, especially with our cover.  That's why I installed the bed slide.

[Mike and Carol]

Stan, I hope to get better mpg as we do some longer trips.  13+ would be good.  12-13 is what I was getting from my Tacoma, but was running premium due to the supercharger.  My past trucks have all been Fords and Toyotas (and one International Harvester!) so this is my first experience with Ram.  So far I'm really happy with it.

 

Steve, your bed slide is something to be envious of.  Once we get more experienced and know what we will be carrying in the truck bed it will be a consideration.  After last weekend I've added a stand for my Weber gas grill and a small table.

[John E Davies]

I sure wish that they would make that truck with a half door in the rear instead of the full set of four full sized doors. Bill

 

Bill, just about every newer four door Ram you see on the road is either a Crew Cab or a Mega Cab (the HD trucks only). The 1500 is available in three body styles, you can get the Crew with a 5'7" bed or 6'4" bed:

 

 

You can get narrow rear doors with their Quad Cab and the longer bed:

 

 

You can get a Regular Cab with either box, you NEVER see these towing! They are usually tarted up sport trucks...

 

If you don't have kids or BIG dogs, the Quad Cab would be a great choice since the longer bed gives you more room for camping stuff. I personally like the look.  Here is a current generation 1500 QC:

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

 

Trying to attach a picture with the right aspect ratio….

 

That is weird, I hope somebody can explain why that happens. I still don't understand all the variations of this forum. Your original picture looks fine when I select "Open in new tab". I do suggest that you crop the foreground. It's a lovely truck.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

John

 

Guess I should have been a bit more precise with my language - I personally don't like the look of the four doors relative to having just the two doors plus the small "suicide" half doors.  However, since I'd never investigated the Ram enough to know that they had the smaller rear doors available, for the right price I certainly could get over my "relative" aversion.  I've always liked the hemi engine even though my current Ecoboost certainly has more than enough grunt for the Oliver.

 

Bill

[SeaDawg]

Love the grey truck with the lone star graphic background. Great looking rig.

 

FWIW, our 2008 ram 1500 4 x 4 is going strong with about 150k on it. Keep them serviced, and the ram and hemi keep on running. We expect to keep it on the road another eight years or so....

 

Congrats, and happy travels.

 

Sherry

[Mike and Carol]

Love the grey truck with the lone star graphic background. Great looking rig. FWIW, our 2008 ram 1500 4 x 4 is going strong with about 150k on it. Keep them serviced, and the ram and hemi keep on running. We expect to keep it on the road another eight years or so…. Congrats, and happy travels. Sherry

Sherry, 150K miles is good news.  I'm a firm believer in preventive and regular maintenance.  Mike