6.4 Hemi Ram Bighorn

[Bigwoodsman]

I've been a GMC guy for a long time. Looking to upgrade my pick up. I use it as a daily driver and run about 25-27,000KM a year. From Mid October to May they are mostly City miles. May on I will run about 60K a day on the highway. The past two years we have pulled our RV trailer with a tongue weight of 1300 pounds and a tow weight of 12,300 to 13,000 pounds.

The 6.0 in my Sierra pulls it fine, but I'm looking to change up. A new 2500 or 3500's are out of my price range, cannot see paying 80-110K for a truck. Looking for a 2020-2022 vintage 25 or 3500 prefer regular bed, but will look at the long bed truck models too.

I think I found a deal on a 2020 Bighorn 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi mated to an 8 speed automatic. 3.73 ratios. 90,000 km.

I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around going with the RAM. This truck is in my budget, low km for the year and in really decent shape.

We pull the trailer an average of 4000 Km a year. Out to Vancouver Island and return. Our last trip with this trailer we averaged 30L/100KM. A year ago we had a smaller lighter 5th wheel and were at 26l/100km. I pull to the posted speed limit. Over the years I drive with a light right foot and very seldom speed or accelerate fast.

What are your thoughts on the 6.4 vs the 6.0 or 6.6 GMC/Chevrolet. I don't think I pull enough to warrant a diesel engine. Not really interested in a Ford either.

BW

[JustBen]

For what it's worth, my 2019 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 out towed my 2017 with the 6.7 Cummins.

But it burned fuel. Usually, 14 to 16 L/100KM - empty. Towing in the low 20s.

[LKILR]

I can’t wrap my head around switching from GM to Dodge

If you want to stay with GM check out my ad in buy n sell

8.1 vortec with Allison

It’s a bit older but low km and very nice original condition

But it has the 8ft box


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dean2]

I am not brand loyal, have had GM, Ram, Ford, Toyota pickups. Current one is a 2021 Ram with the 6.4.

2021 2500 Laramie 4x4 Crew Cab w/ 8' bed, 6.4 Hemi, Flame Red, black/Light Mountain Brown Interior. 33" Duratrac 275-70R-18. Level 2 Equip Group, Protection Group, Factory Power Boards, 3:73 Gears, Anti-Spin Rear Diff, LED Bed Lighting, 5th Wheel, Bed Protection, Snow Plow and Off Road Packages. 16,500 LB Warn winch in a Warn Transformer 4 Carrier, Range Rider Vista Canopy. Scale weight with one occupant 8,200 Lbs.

Lots of power for towing, very nice ride even empty and pretty competent off road for such a big pickup. Gas mileage is not something I care about, I track it for tax purposes and becuase modern vehicles can hide large issues that you only see from a drop in gas mileage. There is nothing I do not like about this one. Bought it new factory ordered in 2021 for about $65,000 all in.

[url=https://imgur.com/cDAh7nB][/url

[fordtruckin]

I have a 2020 2500 with the 6.4 for work. Plain Jane open diff nothing fancy so honestly it’s one of the worst off road trucks I’ve had. But purely focusing on the 6.4 I love the power. She gets up and goes empty and if I’m hauling my 10000# dump trailer with a buffy or 3 in the bed it’s no slouch. Definitely not a diesel but I’m of the opinion unless your hauling day in day out heavy loads over 10000# your better off with a gas. The one negative I will say about the 6.4 is after about 30000 miles it is LOUD just running. Lots of ticking and fan noise at idle. I’ll door up to a coworkers diesel and have to shut my truck off I can’t hear, but they’re able to keep the 6.7 power stroke or 6.7cumins running. Not sure if I got a lemon or it’s a known issue but it doesn’t appear to affect anything just an annoyance.

[amosfella]

Look up hemi lifter issue.

Also look up whether Ram will be a company in a year as the parent is shutting some stuff down.

[Desert Eagle]

That 30l/100 would have me looking elsewhere. Yes the cost is more for a diesel, but the mileage would make it up. I did calcs for myself for a half ton this year, and due to mileage differences I am well ahead to go the diesel route. I haven’t been through a winter with it yet, so we will see what that looks like, but so far so good.

On highway compared to the ecoboost we had (that was actually pretty decent) I am 5l/100 better and town would be consistently similar also.

With HD trucks you would see even more difference from what I have saw. I used fuelly as a source to get real world information.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by amosfella

Look up hemi lifter issue.

Also look up whether Ram will be a company in a year as the parent is shutting some stuff down.

The 6.4 has far fewer lifter issues than the 5.7, and in fact actually has less than the GM 6 and 6.2 litre engines. Stellantis's problems however are very real. Being bought out by Renault has not been good for the North American line of vehicles.They have recently taken a dramatic turn for the worse, but so has Volkswagen and even Toyota. A lot of makers are having trouble figuring out what customers actually want and will buy versus what the governments are telling them they have to build.

I bought a V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a V8 pickup and a V8 Lexus in the last 4 years specifically because I believe they will become nearly impossible to get and I don't want to have to rely on battery power when travelling outside urban areas or pulling weight.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dean2

The 6.4 has far fewer lifter issues than the 5.7, and in fact actually has less than the GM 6 and 6.2 litre engines. Stellantis's problems however are very real. Being bought out by Renault has not been good for the North American line of vehicles.They have recently taken a dramatic turn for the worse, but so has Volkswagen and even Toyota. A lot of makers are having trouble figuring out what customers actually want and will buy versus what the governments are telling them they have to build.

I bought a V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a V8 pickup and a V8 Lexus in the last 4 years specifically because I believe they will become nearly impossible to get and I don't want to have to rely on battery power when travelling outside urban areas or pulling weight.

Looking at the numbers for the first half of 2024, Toyota is in a far different financial situation than Stellantis. Their profits are actually up from the previous year.

https://pressroom.toyota.com/tmc-ann...ncial-results/

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by Desert Eagle

Yes the cost is more for a diesel, but the mileage would make it up. I did calcs for myself for a half ton this year, and due to mileage differences I am well ahead to go the diesel route. I haven’t been through a winter with it yet, so we will see what that looks like, but so far so good.

On highway compared to the ecoboost we had (that was actually pretty decent) I am 5l/100 better and town would be consistently similar also.

With HD trucks you would see even more difference from what I have saw. I used fuelly as a source to get real world information.

It kinda doesn't.

As per Fuelly, the average MPG for the Ram 1500 with the 5.7L is 13 mpg.
As per Fuelly, the average MPG for the Ram 3500 diesel is 15 mpg.

With gas at $1.439/l and diesel at $1.589/l, or $5.44/USG and $6.15/USG, driving 1,000 miles would cost $419.02 in gas and $401.00 in diesel, a $18.01 difference. So, completely ignoring the fact that that $18.00 is going to be more than used in increased maintenance costs (just the oil change alone, Mobil1 Lube is $62.99 for less than 5L and $139.99 for a diesel up to 12L), DEF, insurance, etc., if you drove 500,000 km, you'd save $5,629.59 in fuel. Ram 1500 starts at $55,803, Ram 3500 diesel starts at $68,765.00. That is alot of driving to make up the $13k...

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by Trochu

It kinda doesn't.

As per Fuelly, the average MPG for the Ram 1500 with the 5.7L is 13 mpg.
As per Fuelly, the average MPG for the Ram 3500 diesel is 15 mpg.

With gas at $1.439/l and diesel at $1.589/l, or $5.44/USG and $6.15/USG, driving 1,000 miles would cost $419.02 in gas and $401.00 in diesel, a $18.01 difference. So, completely ignoring the fact that that $18.00 is going to be more than used in increased maintenance costs (just the oil change alone, Mobil1 Lube is $62.99 for less than 5L and $139.99 for a diesel up to 12L), DEF, insurance, etc., if you drove 500,000 km, you'd save $5,629.59 in fuel. Ram 1500 starts at $55,803, Ram 3500 diesel starts at $68,765.00. That is alot of driving to make up the $13k...

That's not quite an apples to apples comparison.

Also only 15 mpg? The farms 06 duaramx crew cab dually does 20 mpg running empty based on hand calcuated milage.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by amosfella

That's not quite an apples to apples comparison.

Also only 15 mpg? The farms 06 duaramx crew cab dually does 20 mpg running empty based on hand calculated mileage.

I was just using the published figures from Fuelly as he mentioned he used them as a source. It doesn't really matter though, C/D got 18 mpg on the highway during their testing with the Ram 2500 diesel (Link) and 21 mpg on the highway for the 1500 (Link). If you'd prefer to use those values, it's an even poor proposition to safe money.

Maybe he bought a EcoDiesel (or the Chevy version), Fuelly has them at 16 MPG, so either way, it won't make a huge difference.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by Trochu

I was just using the published figures from Fuelly as he mentioned he used them as a source. It doesn't really matter though, C/D got 18 mpg on the highway during their testing with the Ram 2500 diesel (Link) and 21 mpg on the highway for the 1500 (Link). If you'd prefer to use those values, it's an even poor proposition to safe money.

Still not apples to apples comparing a 1500 to a 2500. But I understand what you're saying.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by amosfella

Still not apples to apples comparing a 1500 to a 2500. But I understand what you're saying.

Ahhh, I see what you're saying. I thought I was going apples to apples as the poster was talking about the 3.5 EB and then said "With HD trucks you would see even more difference from what I have saw". So I understood he want from a half ton to a HD. I see now he could be talking about going from a HD gas to HD diesel. So....I redid it. Dodge doesn't offer the EcoDiesel anymore, so I compared the Chevy's, the 310 hp/430 lb-ft 2.7L to the 277 hp/460 lb-ft 3.0 diesel, about as apples to apples as I can find. Just in fuel, using the prices stated, the mileage shown on the attached, the diesel uses approx. $30.07 less per 1000 miles than the 2.7L. In Trail Boss trim, the lowest trim the 3.0 is available in, the 2.7 costs $4,420.00 less. So assuming insurance is the same, there is no DEF, maintenance costs are identical, you'd break even around 235,218 km.

[big zeke]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Ahhh, I see what you're saying. I thought I was going apples to apples as the poster was talking about the 3.5 EB and then said "With HD trucks you would see even more difference from what I have saw". So I understood he want from a half ton to a HD. I see now he could be talking about going from a HD gas to HD diesel. So....I redid it. Dodge doesn't offer the EcoDiesel anymore, so I compared the Chevy's, the 310 hp/430 lb-ft 2.7L to the 277 hp/460 lb-ft 3.0 diesel, about as apples to apples as I can find. Just in fuel, using the prices stated, the mileage shown on the attached, the diesel uses approx. $30.07 less per 1000 miles than the 2.7L. In Trail Boss trim, the lowest trim the 3.0 is available in, the 2.7 costs $4,420.00 less. So assuming insurance is the same, there is no DEF, maintenance costs are identical, you'd break even around 235,218 km.

OK, so the payout isn't overnight. Does this factor in the higher resale for the diesel? Not sure about the 1/2 tons but I'm pretty sure my 2011 RAM 3500 CTD has a much higher resale than the same unit with a gasser. My insurance rates seem to reflect a MUCH higher value.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by big zeke

OK, so the payout isn't overnight. Does this factor in the higher resale for the diesel? Not sure about the 1/2 tons but I'm pretty sure my 2011 RAM 3500 CTD has a much higher resale than the same unit with a gasser. My insurance rates seem to reflect a MUCH higher value.

Who buys a truck for resale?? I guess you got deeper pockets then me if your upgrading a vehicle like my wife changes her shoes! When I’m done with a vehicle if I get 3000$ for it I’d be happy. Heck I literally just sold a 23 year old truck with 215000 miles not 5 hours ago with a snow plow for 6000$. More than happy with that as the truck owed me nothing.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Desert Eagle

That 30l/100 would have me looking elsewhere. Yes the cost is more for a diesel, but the mileage would make it up. I did calcs for myself for a half ton this year, and due to mileage differences I am well ahead to go the diesel route. I haven’t been through a winter with it yet, so we will see what that looks like, but so far so good.

On highway compared to the ecoboost we had (that was actually pretty decent) I am 5l/100 better and town would be consistently similar also.

With HD trucks you would see even more difference from what I have saw. I used fuelly as a source to get real world information.

Which ecoboost did you have and which year? The 2021and newer 3.5, gets significantly better mileage than previous years. If you have the 3.0 diesel, did you add the $4-5k oil pump belt replacement at 250k?

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Which ecoboost did you have and which year? The 2021and newer 3.5, gets significantly better mileage than previous years. If you have the 3.0 diesel, did you add the $4-5k oil pump belt replacement at 250k?

Believe it or not, if you have a lift and a high lift trans jack, the job is diy, and a friend and I did one in 6 hours looking at a book as to how to do it the whole job.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by amosfella

Believe it or not, if you have a lift and a high lift trans jack, the job is diy, and a friend and I did one in 6 hours looking at a book as to how to do it the whole job.

Not everyone has a lift, and a high lift trans jack, and is diy capable.

[JustBen]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Not everyone has a lift, and a high lift trans jack, and is diy capable.

I know plenty of folks I wouldn't trust to change the oil in my lawnmower...

[Desert Eagle]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Which ecoboost did you have and which year? The 2021and newer 3.5, gets significantly better mileage than previous years. If you have the 3.0 diesel, did you add the $4-5k oil pump belt replacement at 250k?

Ecoboost was 2014. It did reasonably well, but when I calculated all of the different engines at 20,000km/year the savings was 2-4K going the diesel route.

I didn’t include the cost of oil pump belt, because with whatever vehicle you go with there will be some cost once you hit that mileage. For example on the dodge 2500-3500 you will be doing the front end by 250k also.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Desert Eagle

Ecoboost was 2014. It did reasonably well, but when I calculated all of the different engines at 20,000km/year the savings was 2-4K going the diesel route.

I didn’t include the cost of oil pump belt, because with whatever vehicle you go with there will be some cost once you hit that mileage. For example on the dodge 2500-3500 you will be doing the front end by 250k also.

2014 was generation 1 for the ecoboost, generation 2 was an improvement, and in 2021, they introduced generation 3, which was another improvement in power and in fuel economy. As for the oil pump belt, it is a mandatory service, just like oil changes, it is not a "might fail" so I so include it.

[waldedw]

Am I missing something here, the OP was asking about the Dodge Ram 6.4 hemi not the ford eco boost, seems it's tough to stay focused on the topic these day's

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by waldedw

Am I missing something here, the OP was asking about the Dodge Ram 6.4 hemi not the ford eco boost, seems it's tough to stay focused on the topic these day's

A poster was comparing the 6.4 to a 2014 ecoboost, I was simply pointing out that the 2014ecoboost is a far different engine than the current ecoboost, so the comparison is dated, and not applicable today.

[3blade]

My thoughts are as follows:

Check out the price and wait time for a MDS delete (oem TRX cam and lifters and tune). Every MDS system from every manufacturer has cam/lifter issues, you want that outta there. At least with ram you have current OEM parts theoretically available. Hemi’s are otherwise very good engines.

You are wasting brain space and oxygen worrying about gas mileage in a truck. Is it reliable? Can it do what you need it to? Good. Dont trade those things for fuel economy, I can promise you you don’t spend enough on gas to pay for repairs unless you put on 50000 km a year or more, and even then it’s questionable.

You probably need a diesel. Once you start towing >10k lbs regularly as in more than 2-3 times a year, gas trucks just can’t keep up. If you buy a diesel now you’ll never need to have this conversation again.

[Bigwoodsman]

Thanks to everyone for their words and suggestions.

After a week of dealing I passed on this vehicle. Comparing numbers and going over your suggestions I decided to stay with my current vehicle.

BW