Anyone here have a RAM 1500 EcoDiesel?
- Thread starter secretcitizen
- Start date
verdesardog
Explorer
CTD= Cummins Turbo Deisel
I'm just going to reiterate what most seem to be saying on here.
The Raptor is not build for putting things in or behind the truck. It is build to go fast over rough terrain, that's is. A driver, a co-pilot, two people in the back and an overnight bag for each along with a full tank of fuel and your basically at max payload. Anything over that is dangerous to you, your family and others on the road. Not build for campers.
Ram Ecodiesel is a sweet truck. I've driven many over quite a few miles. I've towed with it. I took a 4x4 to Vegas from the Bay, averaged 78mph. By the time I hit vegas the AVG fuel economy was 26.4. The mileage is impressive to say the least. Most owners are reporting better than average economy, at or above epa numbers. Not something Ford owners can say. Fords Ecoboost engines continually get abysmal fuel economy. With that said a crew cab 1500 Ecodiesel has a payload of around 1300lbs, not exactly what you need when plopping a camper on board. Even a light weight Four Wheel shell comes in at about 900lbs. Too close to the max. Its unsafe, it overworks your truck and wears things out quickly. I would consider this option if your going to tent camp, getting a flip pack or a tow behind trailer. Tow capacity is around 8,000lbs in the EcoD crew 4x4 with the 3.92 gears. 3.55 is standard.
Now if your set on a slide in camper a 2500 or 3500 is the way to go. The increased capacity, safety and longevity of the truck are all major benefits. 2500 series Rams have payloads around the 3,500lb range. The best engine option here is the 6.4L Hemi. Its a beast of a motor, has fuel saver technology that shuts off 4 cylinders like the 5.7 hemi does in the 1500's. Gets good mileage for such a big truck and you don't need to spring for a Cummins. A 2500 is good for lighter campers IE four wheel and other popups. I wouldn't put a camper that weighed more than 1500lbs in the back of a 2500.
If you plan on getting a larger full size camper , non popup with slides then it would be better to go with a 3500 dually for increased control and safety. You have to keep in mind this is alot of weight in the back of a pickup, weight that is up high that makes the truck tipsy and top heavy. Dual rear wheels add an incredible amount of stability in these situations.
Just some more things to think about. For you, getting a pop up and taking the family on trips while still using the truck on a daily basis: I would recommend at least a 2500 minimum. It will take the weight better, be safer, last longer and have the capability to haul, tow and go anywhere you want to. Don't spring for the diesel. Like others have said its a huge upfront cost, the maintenance is a little steeper and its not really worth it unless you plan on keeping the truck for 300,000 miles.
Did I see a picture of that white POWAH WAGON in the Four Wheel camper factory? Sweet truck! Much want. Talk about the go anywhere, do anything truck.! Four Wheeler magazines truck of the year!
The Raptor is not build for putting things in or behind the truck. It is build to go fast over rough terrain, that's is. A driver, a co-pilot, two people in the back and an overnight bag for each along with a full tank of fuel and your basically at max payload. Anything over that is dangerous to you, your family and others on the road. Not build for campers.
Ram Ecodiesel is a sweet truck. I've driven many over quite a few miles. I've towed with it. I took a 4x4 to Vegas from the Bay, averaged 78mph. By the time I hit vegas the AVG fuel economy was 26.4. The mileage is impressive to say the least. Most owners are reporting better than average economy, at or above epa numbers. Not something Ford owners can say. Fords Ecoboost engines continually get abysmal fuel economy. With that said a crew cab 1500 Ecodiesel has a payload of around 1300lbs, not exactly what you need when plopping a camper on board. Even a light weight Four Wheel shell comes in at about 900lbs. Too close to the max. Its unsafe, it overworks your truck and wears things out quickly. I would consider this option if your going to tent camp, getting a flip pack or a tow behind trailer. Tow capacity is around 8,000lbs in the EcoD crew 4x4 with the 3.92 gears. 3.55 is standard.
Now if your set on a slide in camper a 2500 or 3500 is the way to go. The increased capacity, safety and longevity of the truck are all major benefits. 2500 series Rams have payloads around the 3,500lb range. The best engine option here is the 6.4L Hemi. Its a beast of a motor, has fuel saver technology that shuts off 4 cylinders like the 5.7 hemi does in the 1500's. Gets good mileage for such a big truck and you don't need to spring for a Cummins. A 2500 is good for lighter campers IE four wheel and other popups. I wouldn't put a camper that weighed more than 1500lbs in the back of a 2500.
If you plan on getting a larger full size camper , non popup with slides then it would be better to go with a 3500 dually for increased control and safety. You have to keep in mind this is alot of weight in the back of a pickup, weight that is up high that makes the truck tipsy and top heavy. Dual rear wheels add an incredible amount of stability in these situations.
Just some more things to think about. For you, getting a pop up and taking the family on trips while still using the truck on a daily basis: I would recommend at least a 2500 minimum. It will take the weight better, be safer, last longer and have the capability to haul, tow and go anywhere you want to. Don't spring for the diesel. Like others have said its a huge upfront cost, the maintenance is a little steeper and its not really worth it unless you plan on keeping the truck for 300,000 miles.
Did I see a picture of that white POWAH WAGON in the Four Wheel camper factory? Sweet truck! Much want. Talk about the go anywhere, do anything truck.! Four Wheeler magazines truck of the year!
Rimor
New member
I don't know firsthand as to the fuel economy of the EcoDiesel, but Fuelly.com is a great place to get real-world mileage estimates. There a ton of people whom have no experience with DEF saying how it's expensive, and a pain, etc. My experience with DEF is this, I bought a new truck that had a half full DEF tank, I added Peak brand DEF from Autozone at around 3k miles at a cost of $15, the second time I added it, I went to a truck stop that had it at the pump @ $2.99/gal, it took less than $12 to top it off. If I had to guess I would say it burns about a gallon every 1k miles.l, that's less than $3 every thousand miles! I wouldn't worry about DEF. As far as fuel economy, I get 25 highway, 14 city. You can find a decent new one for less than $40k, based on your requirements I would say to get a Ram 2500 with the 6.7.
Magnum Johnson
Observer
Ill add my .02, all pertaining to my experience with Diesels. Ill ramble off topic but hey, why not? Every thing I mention here in no way pertains the the Raptor but does give you a biased point of view on some of your other options.
I daily drove my 2001 Cummins truck for 8 months with my loaded (1000+ lbs) 1980 something FWC Fleet 32 miles round trip to work from July to February (summer and winter diesel). My drive is a mix of city during the day and hwy at night. I averaged no less than 17.5 MPG hand calculated for the time the FWC was on it. Now that my FWC is currently off, im sitting at about 20mpg and I will continue to keep track of what I get.
My truck is a 01 quad cab short bed high output Cummins with a 6spd manual, 3.54 gears, stock sized AT tires, Power Puck, 4" MBRP exhaust, and I run 1 ounce of TCW3 two stroke oil to every gallon of fuel. I do not exceed 2k rpms for while cruising but frequently make black clouds. I had an 03 reduced output (cali truck) with an automatic and a smarty jr on it that would get 15mpg at best in town but I saw as high as 24mpg unloaded on the hwy. My Dad has an 06' Cummins mega cab with an automatic that's bone stock and driven by an old guy, he never sees above 16mpg hwy and I can only imagine its equally as bad in town. We have towed cars, boats, and junk and the 5.9 Cummins never even knows its got a load back there. Im a little biased towards Cummins and Diesels in general but I feel that I have good reason, plus 6cy's and one head has far less going on than any V8 ever can.
I am a mechanic for UPS and I have a fleet of 42 cars, 20 of those have International engines, both 7.3's and 6.0's. Based off what I know from working on them the 7.3's and old IDI Non turbo Powerstroke's are the only acceptable Ford trucks, in MY opinion. I have done far too many injectors, Turbos, HPOP's, etc etc etc on 6.0's and I can only assume the newer stuff is slightly better but still flawed. I think its very worth mentioning that a co worker (mechanic of 30 years) has an F150 he purchased new in 03 and claims to have not done a single thing to the engine other than a throttle body and oil changes in 270k miles.
I also worked on GM's for years and the Duramax never impressed me with anything more than its power and speed, its more like a high power gas engine, but its more sensitive to fuel contamination and doesn't get the best MPG. The GM gas engines are in my opinion simple and pretty robust, but like most gas engines in a truck the MPG is decreased over the Diesel counterpart as is the lifespan.
As far as my work experience with Cummins goes, we only have ISB 02's and 07's, so that's relative to 98-02 5.9's and 2007+ 6.7's. we reseal oil leaks, change water pumps, replace an occasional VP44, replace sensors, clean EGR's on the 6.7's, lift pumps, and we occasionally replace and engine with excessive blowby. A 6.7 Cummins currently has the record for most miles in our facility with 480k miles with no major repairs (300+ miles daily), the next closest is a MB904 diesel with 300k and basically no repairs.
I definitely need to mention that we also have a metric **** ton of cars with GM 6.0 gas engines. None of these last longer than 170k miles but its ok they cost 1/4 of what any of the diesels cost and require much less in maintenance. Please keep in mind that 98% of the UPS drivers drive these cars harder than Colin McRae drove with Subaru so this is a worst case observation.
I daily drove my 2001 Cummins truck for 8 months with my loaded (1000+ lbs) 1980 something FWC Fleet 32 miles round trip to work from July to February (summer and winter diesel). My drive is a mix of city during the day and hwy at night. I averaged no less than 17.5 MPG hand calculated for the time the FWC was on it. Now that my FWC is currently off, im sitting at about 20mpg and I will continue to keep track of what I get.
My truck is a 01 quad cab short bed high output Cummins with a 6spd manual, 3.54 gears, stock sized AT tires, Power Puck, 4" MBRP exhaust, and I run 1 ounce of TCW3 two stroke oil to every gallon of fuel. I do not exceed 2k rpms for while cruising but frequently make black clouds. I had an 03 reduced output (cali truck) with an automatic and a smarty jr on it that would get 15mpg at best in town but I saw as high as 24mpg unloaded on the hwy. My Dad has an 06' Cummins mega cab with an automatic that's bone stock and driven by an old guy, he never sees above 16mpg hwy and I can only imagine its equally as bad in town. We have towed cars, boats, and junk and the 5.9 Cummins never even knows its got a load back there. Im a little biased towards Cummins and Diesels in general but I feel that I have good reason, plus 6cy's and one head has far less going on than any V8 ever can.
I am a mechanic for UPS and I have a fleet of 42 cars, 20 of those have International engines, both 7.3's and 6.0's. Based off what I know from working on them the 7.3's and old IDI Non turbo Powerstroke's are the only acceptable Ford trucks, in MY opinion. I have done far too many injectors, Turbos, HPOP's, etc etc etc on 6.0's and I can only assume the newer stuff is slightly better but still flawed. I think its very worth mentioning that a co worker (mechanic of 30 years) has an F150 he purchased new in 03 and claims to have not done a single thing to the engine other than a throttle body and oil changes in 270k miles.
I also worked on GM's for years and the Duramax never impressed me with anything more than its power and speed, its more like a high power gas engine, but its more sensitive to fuel contamination and doesn't get the best MPG. The GM gas engines are in my opinion simple and pretty robust, but like most gas engines in a truck the MPG is decreased over the Diesel counterpart as is the lifespan.
As far as my work experience with Cummins goes, we only have ISB 02's and 07's, so that's relative to 98-02 5.9's and 2007+ 6.7's. we reseal oil leaks, change water pumps, replace an occasional VP44, replace sensors, clean EGR's on the 6.7's, lift pumps, and we occasionally replace and engine with excessive blowby. A 6.7 Cummins currently has the record for most miles in our facility with 480k miles with no major repairs (300+ miles daily), the next closest is a MB904 diesel with 300k and basically no repairs.
I definitely need to mention that we also have a metric **** ton of cars with GM 6.0 gas engines. None of these last longer than 170k miles but its ok they cost 1/4 of what any of the diesels cost and require much less in maintenance. Please keep in mind that 98% of the UPS drivers drive these cars harder than Colin McRae drove with Subaru so this is a worst case observation.
Unless something changed in the last two years since I bought mine, ram 2500 gives you under 2500# payload unless you go with regular cab 2 wheel drive. My '12 4x4 crew cab shortbed has around 2400#, you do lose a lot with the crew cab, I wish ram made an extended cab
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IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
Thats why I went the way i did.
I refuse to go standard cab due to leg room and "dry" space for gear.
I also refuse to go crew cab for weight/payload reasons.
Im a Ford guy, and a 7.3 guy.
Ford only made standard cab and CC in OBS powerstrokes.
So I picked up a '96 F250 extended cab, did a solid axle swap, swapped the overloads and 1-ton blocks over, and done.
So now I have a "light" 1-ton, that allows for a healthy payload, and I have the comfort of an extended cab.
I refuse to go standard cab due to leg room and "dry" space for gear.
I also refuse to go crew cab for weight/payload reasons.
Im a Ford guy, and a 7.3 guy.
Ford only made standard cab and CC in OBS powerstrokes.
So I picked up a '96 F250 extended cab, did a solid axle swap, swapped the overloads and 1-ton blocks over, and done.
So now I have a "light" 1-ton, that allows for a healthy payload, and I have the comfort of an extended cab.
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
Old thread...but just found time in the last few months to get back on here...(lets say that the economy is doing AMAZING for handymen and renovations!! the buisness is doing DOUBLE what I did lastyear!)
SO I picked up my brand new 2015 ram 1500 ecodiesel crewcab 4x4 with the 6.4 bed...(longest they offer)
in one week I put 1000 miles on it...right now its saying 26.5mpg...best I got was a freeway drive of 20 miles no lights was 31.4mpg
its as quick as my 2010 tundra with the 5.7l...just not as fast...but seems to haul loads really well (60 2x4's that filled the bed to the bottom of the toolbox..with about 300lbs of tools in it)..
I looked long and hard at all the other fullsizes...this one has some bugs still being worked out..but the fuel efficency is what got me.
SO I picked up my brand new 2015 ram 1500 ecodiesel crewcab 4x4 with the 6.4 bed...(longest they offer)
in one week I put 1000 miles on it...right now its saying 26.5mpg...best I got was a freeway drive of 20 miles no lights was 31.4mpg
its as quick as my 2010 tundra with the 5.7l...just not as fast...but seems to haul loads really well (60 2x4's that filled the bed to the bottom of the toolbox..with about 300lbs of tools in it)..
I looked long and hard at all the other fullsizes...this one has some bugs still being worked out..but the fuel efficency is what got me.
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Well, something has changed: the new 50 ksi frame, upgraded 11.5" AAM axle, and coil springs, which nets a payload of 3050 lbs on a 4x4 Crew Cab 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi. That's impressive!
A lot of people questioned the use of coil springs on an HD truck, but due to having no stiction, a coil can be sprung harder and still offer the same or better comfort compared to softer leafs. That, combined with a super stiff chassis, allows higher spring rates than ever before. The result is 3000 lbs on 2500 Crews and 4000 lbs on 3500 Crew SRW (that's on leafs though).
Billincamo
Member
I have had my eco diesel with 4 corner factory air suspension and put 75K miles on it so far with no problems. Very dependable, it has never let me down. Best mileage no load, doing the speed limit (75mph), not running AC, no head wind, 30.5 mpg calculated not using the on board computer. Worst stop and go city was 17 mpg. Pulling a 3,000# camper 18-22 mpg. I am looking at getting a Four Wheel Camper. I talked with a gentleman that put a Four Wheel Camper on his eco diesel with 4 corner air suspension and he said it rides level and handles great. No issues with power on hills. He also loaded it up once with 2500#'s in pavers and drove 60 miles with no problems. I absolutely love this truck.