the wanderer

At least you still have an engine left, "I do cars" YT channel just dismantled one of these and it's horrifying.

Isn't it scary how one bumbling clown at the top can make very destructive decisions that tank the entire organization? Makes you think, doesn't it.

HPL's oils don't foam, not even a tiny bit.

HPL has a dedicated cleaning product. They recommend throwing 1 quart of it in along with your previous oil choice and running that for a while to start a slow-er clean. Once you've done that for a few OCI's, then you run their real oil which is exceptional at cleaning. If you call/talk to Dave, he'll never recommend using their main oil directly on an old dirty engine as it will clean so much as to overwhelm the filter. All that to say, yes, HPL definitely cleans. Not only does it clean, it is the complete package. It has loads of moly and other antiwear ingredients and friction modifiers, it uses the best VII's to prevent shear down and carbon deposits, their oil has 0 foaming etc etc. It's not a one trick pony, it's the entire package, the real deal. You won't find a better oil at that price nor would you need to either.

385 hp is not going to cut it unless they continue two v8's and make the 385 very noticably better with fuel efficiency. The 2025 Ram HO is putting out 540 hp with 520 lb-ft of torque, so a 6.2 replacement will need to play in that area. Ford will be doing an update soon as well, you know they will not concede the 0-60 time to Ram for long. So again, a 6.2 needs to up the game considerably. I would like to see a 6.2 replacement with 500+ hp, pushrod, dual injection, no dfm, 10 speed. For the smaller v8, focus on fuel efficiency. Keep it 350-ish hp, tuned for mpg, with architecture similar to 6.2. Maybe a tow mode that drops efficiency in favour of more power low down but this could be wishful thinking and not possible.

That goes completely opposite to the rest of the industry which is using smaller and smaller engines turned up to level 11 to reduce emissions.

It's not just the payload (which is a big enough problem). These ratings don't distinguish between a 20 foot flatbed hauling steel at 13k pounds with no wind resistance, and a 35 foot toy hauler loaded to the max. Those are 2 totally different towing scenarios.

Towing this weight in any half ton is an absolutely terrible idea unless its a one time thing 20 mins down a rural road. They build 2500's to do this.

Just put in katzkin leather. Much higher quality leather for the same price.

Great job in this thread guys, y'all impressed me with your perceptive thoughts and lack of brand bias.

Here is what you wrote: You cannot say everyone else has moved away from range extenders when Ram is the only option. If you're referring to truck EV's in general, then no, manufacturers have NOT moved away from EVs. They are doubling down on them, though yes there is a small dip this year that number will continue to grow through the years. In other words, the RATE of adoption has slowed, but we're (society) still adopting them more and more each year. Think of it this way: you mash the go pedal in your truck; 0 to 10 comes very fast, 10 to 20 is slower, 50 to 60 is even slower. The rate at which you're accelerating is slowing down over time, but you're still speeding up on the whole. That's whats happened to EV sales, the adoption rate has slowed temporarily but it is still growing. And this product (generator + EV in a truck) is the most attractive option of all the EV truck options out there. Which is my original point.

What you're missing is that EV's are here to stay, the ram charger is the most capable and logical choice for an EV type of truck. Time will tell whether a 620 hp towing machine without any range anxiety fairs better than the pure EV. To me it's clear that the only thing that will kill this truck is price, and that is up to Ram how they deal with that.

Ram is responding to pressure from the government, as we all will in future car purchases. Today we still have a choice, that choice is going to be crushed over time. If big v8's are no longer an option and we have to have batterys on board, this is the way to do it. Yes it still has an ICE on board but presumably its rated much cleaner for the environment because the ICE doesn't get used all/most of the time during regular commuting etc. If you think the other brands moved away from EVs then you're not paying attention in the slightest.

That particular v6 is a strong engine. As long as it has enough power, it will work fine. Maybe they'll design an engine around this use case in the future, but I'll take that pentastar over literally any other engine they've produced in the last decade when it comes to reliability and how long it will last. The other options in their lineup I believe are all turbos or not strong enough.

Couple hundred pounds is exactly the problem. The batteries already weigh signficant amounts, payloads in todays luxurious half tons are in the 1100 to 1400 pound range, diesel is not going to do anything but add more weight, plus add emissions BS which adds more weight and more things to go wrong. It's completely the wrong approach. The current v6 is not necessarily the best engine for the task, but ICE vs diesel definitely is the right way. All you need is an engine strong enough to power the generator, and ICE engines run cleaner with less issues long term while also weighing less. Then there is market perception, most people still don't want to touch diesel because "its smelly and dirty and gas stations are limited". Right or wrong, the same truck using a diesel will probably sell less "just because".

As for the diesel, no way you can fit a modern diesel into a small package like this along with the generator, battery, emissions, def etc etc. Diesel weighs significantly more as well making an already heaviest truck in the class even heavier.

The concept of a gas engine generating electric power on board is not exactly new and exciting. That's how diesel trains have worked for decades, so this is not some earth shattering discovery on GM's part with the volt. This idea makes far more sense in a truck than a commuter car which just shuttles back and forth between home/work and can be kept charged overnight. A (work) truck can have other needs, like immense amounts of power and unpredictable destinations that change every day. However that misses the point. This truck has no competition. By definition it can't be late to a game when it's the first one there. You can say that Ram should have had this years ago, but I don't see Ford or GM building one, do you? And as for range/charge anxiety, you can call it what you will but the problem is the same: guys who regularly pull trailers will never buy a pure EV in the next 2 decades. The battery capacity is not there, the charge time is too slow, the chargers are too few and far between especially in rural areas, and that doesn't even get into the uglyness of charging where you block other spots or have to disconnect your trailer to fit into the tiny EV spot. An onboard gas generator completely eliminates all this. It's really the best of both worlds. Finally; as I said in the first post it'd be nice if we can stick to the idea (gas generator on board) vs the brand.

I don't see how something can be late to the game when there is no direct competitor (no other EV truck has a generator onboard so they all suffer from range anxiety). The other standard EV's are still ramping up production in a market that is 95% untapped. We're all going to be pushed into EV's, yet nobody is driving them when it comes to trucks. Seems like this charger is being brought out right when it needs to be.

What are all your thoughts on the new ram charger? Basically an EV with a gas generator on board to power up the battery as needed. Leaving aside the issue of Ram vs GM, I'm curious how you guys feel about the concept itself, ie: an EV with no range anxiety. More pulling power (well over 600 hp) for towing, a very low/heavy-ish center of gravity for better trailer control, no public charging needed, and when daily driving you just plug it in at night! The devil is in the details though. Price is everything here, as well as implementation (like is it too complicated?). The generator used in this truck is the very popular 3.6 pentastar, though it is only wired into the generator and there is no physical connection to the drivetrain (unlike the volt). I'm mildly optimistic. I want a v8 for many years, but if we're forced into EV's then this is the only truck I'd consider if the price can be kept in check.

His post isn't true in my part of Canada either lol. Parks are full of heavy duty rams pullings RVs, I see a ton of older dodges running the cummins though perhaps I see more of them simply because I'm drawn to them myself. Looking at the tone of his post should be a first clue to ignore it and move on. Truck buyers are the most passionate and brand loyal and some buyers are just incapable of rational criticism.

The 6.6 is not a diesel, and it's not a turbo. It actually puts out less power than the 6.2 does, and its in a much bigger and heavier truck. It's absolutely going to rev high when its working, just like every other N/A gasser in existence. If you just wanted more towing power than your old 5.3, the 6.2 or 3.0 diesel would be the natural upgrade. But as you noted, the 2500 platform itself is really a whole different truck, and the 6.6 is a cast iron block with much stronger internals, it will take a bigger beating every day without any issue. The 5.3 and 6.2 are aluminum blocks, not really meant for daily abuse. If you want to compare apples to apples, check out "automotiv inc" on YT where he puts the 6.6 vs the Ford 7.3, you'll see they both rev very high when working hard, and the 6.6 actually goes up the eisenhower quicker though the Ford was running with damaged lifters/cam so there's that.

That's the wrong question. Nobody regrets buying more power, no. Now ask diesel owners if they regret the money they dropped in repairs: emissions, turbos, fuel injectors. It's just a matter of time before every modern diesel runs into this. There is a guy on YT who fixes diesel engines for a living (mainly cummins) and he'll never buy one though he loves the experience of driving them. Pretty telling IMHO.

Turbos suck back fuel when working hard. That is the price you pay for owning them vs a N/A. They're slightly better MPG when driven calmly, but slightly worse when driven hard. I would NOT disable tow mode to try and save a few bucks. Tow mode is designed to be used towing that kind of trailer, whatever the transmission does in tow mode is going to save the life of it. Maybe your 8 speed is different, but my 8 speed (from ZF/ram) definitely locks the torque converter in T/H mode. TH basically changes the shift points to keep the RPMs up for more power, and downshifts sooner when braking to give more engine braking. If you're new to towing, these tips may help: Try to stay below 65 mph, and stay off the pedals. Every time you brake, you're wasting energy as you will need to dump more fuel to get back up to speed again. So keep a large distance in front of you and just try to slowly accelerate and slowly decelerate. Drive like you have an egg between your foot and the pedal. Don't use cruise control as it will try to hold your speed constant instead of allowing you to coast and cruise up and down hills varying your speed.

I don't see the point in a true manual mode. All you're missing (verses the lockout) is the ability to force an upshift and since these transmissions all already programmed to upshift whenever possible, I don't get why you'd want to lug an engine beyond what its tuned to upshift at.

Another vote for HPL. That oil is best in class, but you'll pay for it unless you stick with their more "entry level" oil which still exceeds off the shelf products by a large margin. Their entire line has the same cleaning ability, the more expensive oil basically gives you incredible cold start properties, and the no vii is awesome for towing as it shouldn't shear down at all. The oil is more expensive, but you can in theory run it longer as well so some of that price cancels out a bit. I wouldn't run a > 5000 OCI (with any engine and oil) without having UOA's performed on the oil to see how its doing and then extend carefully beyond it. As far as I know, HPL is kind of new to the passenger car scene, they were primarily an industrial oil producer and then moved to racing; they're still there, but lately have been offering products for cars and trucks. Formulated by Dr Lesley Rudnick who is very widely respected and has many patents in this industry. https://www.advlubrication.com/collections/automotive-lubricants