I have been kicking around the idea of buying a new truck since mine has the 53 block.

For those of you using the gas hemi for towing how does it do?
1. hills, hard to climb or does about as good as a stock diesel?
2. fuel mileage while towing?
3. fuel mileage not towing?
4. what transmission, manual or 5 speed auto?
5. what gear ratio?
6. 2500 or 3500 dually?
7. If the gaser is too embarassing to post please PM me.


Any other things to consider?

I tow a 12,000 pound 5th wheel.

patiently waiting for replys. Thanks, Ron

 

Ron,

While you're waiting for replies from Hemi owners, here's my 1996 Ram 3500 V-10/47RE/3.54 axle experience:

Towing Jayco 3030RKSS - 8.5 MPG

Towing Jayco 3610RLTS - 6.5 MPG

The current truck (see signature):

Towing Jayco 3610RLTS - 10.5 MPG

Towing Mobile Suites 36RE3 - 10.0 MPG


Rusty

 

Not all 53 blocks crack by any means. Keep the diesel, and take your chances.

Eric

 

Hemi's were not made for towing! We've had several dissapointed customers that bought thier hemi to tow with only to realize that they just don't have the torque needed to tow. They have great power but just not for towing. Keep in mind that this is not first hand experience but testimony from our Dodge customers.

 

Not embarrassed at all with my Hemi powered Ram. I WAS embarrassed by the annoying vibration of my '03 Cummins powered Ram. Not engine vibration... Nuther story... The '98 and '01.5 made me proud.
After towing with four standard output Cummins Rams, I'm happy to find that my '05 Hemi powered Ram maintains speeds on hills better than my previous four standard output Cummins did. On the same hills on I-10 west of Tallahassee that used to slow us down to 58mph, I can maintain 65mph with the Hemi in direct drive at 2600rpm. If I give it more loud peddle, it'll downshift to second at 4600rpm and accelerate to over 70mph. I let off at 72mph/5k rpm. I was just happy that it could do it. You can make a lot of torque with 345hp and gear reduction. If that makes you cringe, the Hemi is not for you. To me, the Hemi sounds more relaxed at 4200rpm than my Cummins did at 2500rpm. It's more a matter of perception. It's NOT about to fly apart at 5k+rpm any more than the Cummins is about the fly apart at it's peak hp 2900rpm.
The reason I believe the Hemi does better than the SO Cummins is, towing in O/D is an automatic 31% reduction of torque on top of Dodge's detuning the engine in O/D 20%. That doesn't leave much to tow with and it wouldn't turn enough rpm to downshift to 3rd at 65mph with my 4.10 ratio rear end. I'm sure a HO with 6spd would flatten the hills in it's .75 O/D.
I'm happy as a puppy with two with mine but it's not for everyone. High rpm won't hurt it but it makes some cringe. I'm averaging right about 30% less mileage in the same weekly situations. 12-14city, 17hwy, and 7.2-9.5 towing so far with the Hemi verses 17-18city, 19hwy and 9.6-12.5 towing with the Cummins. I was 900 lb over rated tow capacity with my '01.5 Cummins Ram and I'm about the same over with the '05 Hemi Ram.
If you had a 2500 with 4.10 ratio auto or manual you'd be about the same over with 12k lbs. If you weren't so far away, I'd say let's hook it up and see how it does.

 

I dont see how your Hemi could hold 65mph on a hill, and accelerate to 70mph, when your cummins would only hold 58mph. You sure you didnt have a 4x4 under the pedal? Im sure the HEMI's probably pull ok, but I just cant see it out pulling a diesel with anything over 10k lbs. I do thinkt he 5spd auto probably makes a world of difference getting power to the ground compared to the 48re.

Eric

 

My dad has a 03 8.0 dodge dually 48re trans with 3.73 he uses it for work and we tow a 25 ft gooseneck with about 17000 to 18500 total weight. On the flats the truck runs great 70 - 75mph with ease but when ya hit the hills its over 40 - 50 tops and the truck dont like it he gets about 6-8 mpg loaded and the same empty ... Ohh I forgot he's on his second engine, the first lasted only 30'000. I on the other hand have a new 610 ctd 2500 and sometimes pull the same trailor loaded the same and run the same hills at 65-70 with no problem at 12-13 mpg. The hemi is not comparable to the CTD

 

Hannibal is talking about SO cummins not the HO cummins

 

My step dad pulls his 21 foot Sea Pro boat with his Hemi. It pulls fine. He pulls the boat through the Jelico Mountains and stuff on I-75 or wherever, on his way to Florida. He says the mileage is ok, and it keep up pulling. I always thought of it as being a more race type engine, and no show for pulling. But I was wrong, it pulls pretty well. I guess the SRT-10 is more the speed and NO pulling truck.

 

AH **** ON THEM HEMI'S, got rid of it. If you want to run 100+mph down the road, they'r great. If you want to pull a 50 pound trailer it falls flat. They are right that once you get it going they will pull pretty good, but trying to get it rolling is another thing all together. Over 25000 rpms this thing is full of power under that it's dead. Had tranny problems that Dodge couldn't seem to fix, cruise control quit working, battery overcharged, door locks died, went to replace a bad tire and a new one to match was $260.00.

 

Looks like you got a bad truck. I guess he got a good one. They arent all bad... like i said, his works great. Its 2 wheel drive also...

 

Can't tell ya about the hemi, but I can tell you about the V-10 vs. the Cummins. We've got a '00 3500 V-10 5 speed and a '02 3500 HO diesel 6 speed. Identical trucks otherwise. When we haul cattle, the V-10 pulls a 24 ft. GN cattle trailer and the diesel pulls a 28 foot GN cattle trailer. With both fully loaded, I can pass the V-10 on any hill. And i'm figureing that i'm around a ton heavier with the longer trailer/extra cattle. My old man got tired of me passing him years ago, and now I have to go first. Loaded up more than 10,000lbs, there is a huge difference between gas and diesel. Now empty, the V-10 will leave 4 long black marks on the highway when you get on it, but that's a different story.

 

I dont see how the Hemi could be that bad for towing. then again, it depends on what your towing.
Even my Frontier can take keep up with traffic with a 2000# trailer and ford ranger load. my gas milage dropped to about 13 and stopping can really get your heart rate up without trailer brakes.
Come to think of it, I dont think I have ever driven a truck that just plain sucked for towing. Some are better than others, some could make the fuel gauge visibly move. I would say it depends on what your expectations are. Do you want to beat a Suburu WRX while towing 20,000 lbs or do you want to beat a semi off the line?

 

My dad uses one at work(2004 reg cab 2500 4x4 longbed automatic), and he really likes it. He says it will burn the tires pretty good. They use it for pushing snow, so hes never towed with it, but he does like it for just driving around.

Eric

 

No argument on just a plain drivin truck, it was totaly sweet. this was a 4WD, auto and if it was just for cruisin around it was awsome, just made all the power way to high in the power band for work. Fuel mileage also sucked, but that could have something to do with my driving when I got to drive it. It was the wife's every day driver.