Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Any Reviews on the Ram 1500 ECO Diesel

I have been thinking about a new truck and the reviews I have been reading on the web have been good. Anyone driving one.

I test drove one a few weeks back.
1. engine has a good pulling power. We hooked a 8,500 lb. trailer to it and drove it about 20 miles. Of course, around Houston no hills.

2. very, very quiet, even with the hood open.

Just slightly slower from a dead stop than my 1500 hemi.

Terry,

Thanks for the review.

I have been seeing reviews of 28 mpg hi way and 20 mpg pulling a bass boat. I am planning on test driving one this coming week.

Look carefully at payload. I'm too lazy to look right now, but IIRC the payload on the exo diesel was pitiful. Doesn't matter how much you can tow if you can't hook the trailer up because the tongue weight is too much. Don't forget, payload is listed with a 150 pound driver only. If you have 1,500 pounds of factory stated 'payload', four 200 pound people with 150 pounds of gear in the truck leaves you with only 700 pounds of actual payload.

Ok, I looked it up. Payload on a larimie longhorn crew cab 4x4 with the ecodiesel is 1,040. That truly sucks. Take that truck with my family in it and I would only have 300-400 spare pounds of carrying capacity. Put a camper shell on it and you are done.

The great ride of the Ram 1500 comes at a price, weight capacity.

For me, an $80.00 set of Firestone air bags and 20 minutes fixed that.

5 psi day to day and up to 15 psi for heavy loads.

It will be me and a passenger pulling a bass boat so I should be good. If I need more payload ! will look at the air bags.

You can play with the suspension all you want. However, the GVW is the GVW, and you cannot change that. The DOT/Roads Dept/State Patrol will weigh your truck on portable scales, and if you are overweight, the truck doesn't move again until it complies with regulations. It's even more complicated here in Nebraska, where the trucks need to be capable of towing the rated weight of any attached trailer. If you're over another one of their magic numbers, a CDL is required unless both the truck and trailer are licensed as farm vehicles. There doesn't even need to be anything on the trailer.

^ this. Air bags don't add GVWR. Air bags don't add GVWR. Air bags don't add GVWR. You think it fixed it but all it did was give you false confidence and perhaps a bit more control and ride height.

Well I went with a 2014 Ram Bighorn 4X4 Crew Cab with the 5.7 Hemi. Drove it home last night taking the long way just to put a few miles on it.

I was surprised with the milage it was getting. With a gusting wind at my back on the interstate for the 1st 45 miles the fuel meter was reading 21.7 MPG. I then turned onto a narrow winding 2 lane with a lot of up and down hills and quartering into the wind for the next 40 miles and the average was down to 20.7 mpg.

I then turned into the wind and was on a turnpike and ran 80 mph for 20 miles then back onto a 2 lane road to the house. The milage meter was at 19.7 mpg when I stopped in my driveway.

I had to go to town to get a plug to convert from the round 7 pin to a flat 5 pin for my boat trailer. After running a few errands around town my fuel milage meter was reading 19.9 mpg but I filled the truck up and averaged the mileage myself. If the dealer had filled the truck all the way full I averaged 18.7 hand calculated.

I am happy with those numbers and should maybe see a slight increase as it breaks in.

Payload for this truck is 1950 lbs.

There you go, that's an acceptable payload. I wouldn't want a truck that was maxed out with hardly anything in it. Enjoy the Hemi, they sure seem to be peppy engines.

any trailer over #10k is considered cdl. Here in Pa the DOT ignores pick-ups, usually.
told buddy about cdl weight on trailer he was going to buy, he ask a state cop, was told pickup is not cdl. Dumbass doesnt know his job.

It's funny to hear about a Ram giving up load for ride. Hasn't been too long ago the built a real truck, not mama's grocery ride.

Interesting first reports on fuel economy from the Ecodiesel by owners, averaging 23 mpg

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ram/1500?engineconfig_id=8453&bodystyleconfig_id=10&submodel_id=

The v-6 gets 18.6.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/ram/1500?engineconfig_id=8453&bodystyleconfig_id=10&submodel_id=

That's quite the difference.

OK, that's 21.15% better fuel economy. Diesel fuel in my area is currently 25% higher at $3.59 compared to $2.79. Considering the diesel option runs $3,120, and your ability to bargain is less on the diesel due to current demand. I imagine a generous calculation would show the average buyer could spend ~$5K less on the gas option. That is before you start talking about the added complexity of the diesel emissions system and the higher maintenance costs.

There is no economic argument for the Ecodiesel. Now, if you just want one that is entirely different.

^This. Diesel is $0.80 more per gallon here, and never less than $0.50 per gallon more.

I really thought about the diesel but only average 8 to 10k miles a year and decided I would go with the Hemi.