I have a 2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman 3.6 RWD 3.21 gears. I daily drive it for work and I tow a lot with it. I’m at 249k miles and it still runs like a champ. Definitely very impressed.
Pentastar is as good as any import V6. It's even better than GM and Ford modern NA V6's by objective metrics. Jeep guys aren't complaining and they came from the bulletproof AMC I-6 4.0L engines.
I’m actually really impressed with the truck on its towing capabilities. For a single cab v6 truck I expected a lot worse for numbers and over all power in towing. High elevation takes a lot of power away and that little truck still carried above its tow capacity all the way up the mountain.
@@krisparent7061 which normally means it’s a sloppy built piece of shit, that somehow meets Chryslers “spec”. However, being a work truck trim actually does wonders here. Waaaaaaay less garbola to go wrong, as it’s just a truck.
I owned a 2012 Charger with that engine in it, and honestly it was amazing. Not much low end torque but when the revs built up it was a really quick car. And the mileage it produced was amazing too. I could get 30 plus mpg out of it without even trying on the highway. Great engine all around!!
Roman and Andre, when you load low vehicles/sports cars on a trailer, bring a couple of wood 2X6's in 3-4' lengths, to place down in front of ramps. Will help greatly on the approach angle and lesson damage to lower front spoilers and front ends.
That drive from Denver to Grand Junction is one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate I’ve ever seen. The drive from Gunnison to GJ is even more amazing. Love Colorado
I'd like to throw an idea out for your consideration: How about finishing up all the tests and comparisons you had planned for Stubby, then pull the pumpkin and drop in a 3.92 gearset. Rerun the mileage and towing tests and report on the difference in fuel consumption, driveability, and towing (including the Ike Gauntlet.)
That would be awesome because i have a theory that other than right off the line gears don’t make much of a difference anymore with these 8 and 10 speed transmissions. Once you’re going if it needs more gearing it just downshifts.
When you have a low-riding car like that if you leave the trailer hooked to the truck and jack the front of the trailer up with the trailer jack it will lift the rear of the truck a little but that won't hurt a thing, and it will level the incline of the ramps so that the nose of the car doesn't touch. It will also keep the bottom of the car from touching/dragging on the break-over point of the ramps onto the trailer deck.
Good tip for those that haven’t towed. I do that with my Aluma enclosed trailer. I have 2, a 7.5 x 16 and a 8.5 x 24. The small one is for fishing & camping. The Gladiator was about 7,000 lbs and the tires were slightly larger than stock. 2,000 lbs at these lower weights are a significant difference they are about 5250 lbs if the trailer is right at 2,000 lbs. I had predicted closer to 9 minutes in the last video I was wrong. All things considered the truck did fine. The Ike Gauntlet is pretty extreme and the majority of owners & drivers won’t have to do something quite so extreme. The lights are definitely marginal but LED conversions are available. The car looked like it was loaded properly and the trailer was well balanced.
@@cdbnum1 works fine with big trailers too. I have a 24 ft equipment trailer I do that too. The Jack is strong enough it can actually lift the entire rear end of the F250 off the ground so you have to be careful and chock the wheels if you're loading something very heavy. The ramps extremely steep so sometimes to load a car on there I have to do that to get it to clear. It has a pintle hitch, so it won't slip out. I would be a little leery of putting that much force on a ball hitch.
@@travisb9130 Yeah, it works with all trailers. I have many different trailers in many sizes, and with the ball hitch, you don't want to jack the trailer up to high, just enough that it starts to lift up on the truck a little is all you need. I have one 20-foot trailer that has a ball hitch, and a heavy-duty jack, and I lifted the rear of my RAM 2500 almost to the point of the rear tires coming off the ground. But I do keep the letch that's in the tongue of the trailer pretty tight so that it holds onto the ball really well. I don't think most people even check and adjust that, they just buy or use a trailer and hook up and go. lol.
@@calvinh.8882 - so true on maintaining the proper grip on the ball!! I had a friend do some heavy damage to his truck when he panicked stopped, hit nothing, was hit by no one but himself!! Heh heh. The trailer went right into the tailgate and started to ride up the truck. When the nose of the truck went down, the back went up as well, the trailer nose went up!! It was about 4,000lbs he figures and he didn’t have functional trailer brakes!! The ball tension wasn’t his only problem there!! The trailer was written off and the truck was close as it was older. That vehicle was mint mind you,,,, he could do it, but was selective I guess. His new trailer is very well maintained now.
Roman, You , Andre and Tommy make a GREAT team. You and Andre are so cool together and I love how you and Tommy interact with each other. You and Tommy definitely are a team and you have a Son you should be proud of and who is an asset to T F L truck and car.
I ran the Ike Gauntlet in 2009 towing my Camaro with my diesel Ram 2500. I actually did it twice on the way to and from California. 5600 miles of towing over 10 days, averaging 14 mpg at 75 mph cruising speed on flat terrain. I backed it down to 65 while going over the Gauntlet. Was nowhere near flat on the floor to keep 65 mph. Turbos rule on the Gauntlet. Other highlights of the trip were running Bakers Grade in California and the 11-mile Douglas Dam Grade out of Bullhead City, Arizona in 107F heat.
It’s amazing that, with all the towing experience that TFL has, that no one drops the tongue jack to lessen the ramps’ approach and break over angle on the car. I can maybe see that they don’t want to chance bending the jack, but if the truck has the parking brake on, the tongue jack has a wheel, and they don’t goose the throttle/brakes, all is well.
They didn't need to. My car has a 5.5 degree approach. It's not crazy low - the lowest point is the front splitter at 3.5" - it has a 36" overhang from the front axle to that point, and that massive overhang makes loading tricky. With 14' Gen-Y ramps, if the ground is working in my favor, I can drive right up. I usually try it first, and if it rubs, I back down and start to work through the bag of tricks. Anyway, I would not use the tongue jack that way. When loading, there is usually some lift on the tongue that pulls the jack off the ground. You would have to really creep up the ramps and onto the trailer to keep it from slamming the jack back into the ground. That is not always easy, especially in a manual transmission car with a high output engine and super light flywheel that wants to launch over the truck as you creep up the trailer. The first thing I pull out of the bag of tricks is raising the height of the tongue. Instead of using the tongue jack, I back the truck onto the stubby ramps that came with the trailer. You could do the same thing with some scrap wood or bricks, I just happen to have an extra set of ramps when I am loading the car. This step alone is almost always sufficient.
@@jdofmemi That is in the bag of tricks... But you need to put the wood under the ramp to avoid the car dropping into the void between the ramp and the wood. To be safe, the wood needs to be at least as wide as the ramp. To work, the section of wood in front of the ramp needs to be at least as long as the car's overhang. I find it easier to safely accommodate the trucks clearances than the car's and the ramp's. Otherwise, it would be preferable to raise the ramps - raising the truck gets you less clearance for the same lift. My 2.5" thick ramps under the back wheels of the truck moves the end of the trailer down about an inch. Unfortunately, trailers ramps are not as wide as the ramps I have for loading the car, so it would not be safe to use them to lift the ramps. Flat on the ground under the truck is very secure. Race Ramps makes foam ramp extenders that probably weigh less than the wood required would. I would get some, but my truck is payload limited, so using ramps stored in the trailer is a better option than something I would have to put in the truck.
Kase and Tommy will be racing each other with Tommy in the Vette that Roman bought and Kase in his own Vette down on the Diagonal ( hwy 119 ) that runs between Longmont and Boulder.
a few decades ago hp was measured at the flywheel. so a late 70s and anemic 80s small block chevy wasn't putting a lot of HP to the ground but the torque stayed somewhat respectable. I had a 77 k10 swb. After a few bolt ons I never worried about towing 5000 lb up a hill but stopping on wet roads was sketchy.
Roman I had a Chevy 3500 crew cab dually toy truck and it had a gooseneck trailer and I have to say I probably put 100,000 miles on that little toy truck and I told absolutely everything I could there's a country song that pretty much describes it perfectly. It's so cool to realize the dream you had as a child become a reality as an adult
I said this on your other video when you got the truck, but Peterson in Boise is great. I went today and the salesman I talked to, sold this truck to you! I didn't do business with them, but highly recommend my fellow Idahoans to buy from them. Great people, and they aren't pushy. Very straightforward and break everything down for you step by step. Wish I had went through them instead of the Auto Ranch that's local to me.
@@HAHA.GoodMeme Yeah the 10 speed in the ford vs 6 speed in ford. 10 speed has a lower first gear so it pulls very nice up hills vs the 6 speed. They both do the job though.
@@HAHA.GoodMeme true, but the "space" between the gears is a lot taller with a highway rear end making the engine rpm difference after a shift a lot larger. Note how it was slowing down to 54 and 4k rpm before downshifting, and then was able to gain speed again till it hit 6500 and upshifted again and proceeded to lose speed... With a 4.10 rear end it would have been able to stay higher in the rev range where the power is. Not a big deal with a 10 speed since there are more lower gears, but with a 6 speed it really starts to affect the "distance" between gears. I don't know the real world for it.
5:47 OMG you brought me SO MANY GOOD CHILDHOOD MEMORIES! I'm currently 17 at the age this comment is posted, but I remember back in my early days the early and mid 2010's I can remember buying a crap load of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars and acting like the real world with traffic and all that good stuff. I still do a little bit of that today, but thanks to technology, I spend most of my time on my devices, but you get the point.
@@wellthatdidntwork Trust me I’m trying to. Once I get my drivers license and am able to get my own trailer if not work for a company that I can do so, trust me, I will!
@@LSRG-YT--LandonSRobloxGaming best of luck. Most important thing is to pay attention to ur surroundings, use your mirrors constantly, and an empty parking lot to practice is always a great thing for a beginner. Make sure ur load is always properly secured (over securement never hurts), and that your equipment is checked b4 each trip and in proper operating condition. 👍🏼
From the looks of it the fenders fold down on that trailer like a lot of better car haulers. Definitely something worth figuring out when towing lower cars.
Great niche to be in. I appreciate the low budget high workload videos ,cuz with enough money we would all drive Atlas rockets and have plenty of power. On another note, standard headlights are much safer for other drivers. I appreciate the NON L.E.D. headlights on the oncoming traffic. So often i am taken by the super bright headlights of oncoming vehicles that i am blinded for a bit and have to re adjust my eyes to the night. VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!!
I used to have this engine and found it did the same thing not downshifting. The only work around mode I found was setting cruise control. Then it down shifts by itself.
For a relatively cheap truck trying to check as many boxes as possible, I think it did pretty good. Can't have a truck that is cheap, gets great mileage, and tows heavy loads at max speed. You always have to give to get. For what it is at that elevation, hey it got to the top.
The thing about drive modes resetting is due to the epa. I was told my one of our Ford reps is that if a vehicle can stay in any type of drive mode, they will test in the worst possible mpg drive mode.
Guys, great video as always, but the ‘99 Vette has an LS1, not a 350/5.7 Vortec. It’s actually 346 ci, shares almost no parts with the 350, and makes a good deal more power due to the better cylinder head architecture and higher compression. It also has crossbolted main bearing caps for a significantly stronger bottom end as well. 350 smallblock/Vortec are great motors, but I’ll take an LS1 any day!
A truck not designed to tow/haul, a non-turbo V6 engine, a 'car' rear end ratio' and overloaded, not too awfully bad, I'd say.. This is not a truck I'd spec. out and buy, but hey it did the job.
What's cool is u can still buy this body style truck today in 2022 but what's even better is u can buy the v8 model who knows possibly even a stick shift
@@jackdaniels2657 Yessir, it reminds me of my 1976 GMC with it's 350 4 bbl engine and 4 speed manual box, 6 foot bed single cab, now that was a fun truck! You're right, wouldn't it be nice to be able to go order up and buy one of these today!
@@anthonyc1883 Andre is a good character actor! I view his current schtick as the 'everyman' plus a bit of exaggerated expressions. The crazy Russian mechanic role was short lived. He interviews others well and asks open ended questions so guests and say what they want.
Those little 3.6L Pentetar V6 engines SCREAM and pull fairly well in the upper RPM's (4500+) but you wouldn't want this choice for regular towing. As shown it needs to downshift a lot and stay in the screaming RPM range. We had the Caravan with that engine and once it hit over 4500 RPM it would accelerate fast. Multiple times the thing would bounce off the rev limiter before it would shift. Sometimes doing that for both the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts back to back. Made me laugh. LOL I think it most often happened when I drove it unloaded and it had adapted for carrying some weight. I love my F-150 3.5 EcoBoost for hill climbing. It grunts right up in the lower RPM's. Under 2K RPM to do 72 MPH unloaded and usually still under 3K when towing my Can-Am on an 18 foot trailer.
I think this proves that unless you tow a lot in the mountains then most people can get by with the old pentastar- which btw has more HP than a 5.7 vortec in a 1500.
@@ryanregister495 just making the point that a base engine of today has more power than a top of the line option 20 years ago and the work people actually do with a half ton truck has not increased substantially since then so a base engine will be more than enough for the majority of people.
Headlights are an easy fix, for just over $200 you can get a pair of Morimoto 2 stoke 2.0 LED lights that are a direct plug and play along with the anti flicker relay you would need for Dodge products. Best part is these LED have a fan that takes the heat LEDs make in the rear and circulates it into the headlight housing so you still have some heat to melt the snow and ice. And it mimics the original beam pattern but much more light and down road view-ability.
I have a '19 classic, coming from a leaf truck the coils they really don't carry a load well. The cheap bags that go in the coils are totally a game changer for loads - just rides and hauls so much better with some weight.
Wonder if the V-6 will get retired and RAM will drop the new Hurricane in the RAM Classic? Really, that's not too bad, considering. A half-ton with a V-8 from 20 years ago probably wouldn't have done as well. I had a Dodge Ram in 1986 with a 318, it put out a whopping 145 horsepower. Half what that V-6 makes. Modern engines have come a long way!
I owned 2 rams 2017 and 2022.the factory sets them aimed too low. Raise them about 3 to 6 turns. World of difference. On the 1500 you need a 10 mm socket (1/4 inch drive. Open the hood and there are holes in the fender.
The Pentastar is far more capable than given credit. Being that the horsepower loss from the base 295 is going to be sizeable 3% per thousand feet you probably hit the tunnel with only 220 hp available. Pretty darn good
Good video. I'm not criticizing the baby Ram at all; but this test affirms why I love the 10 spd in my 2.7L f150 EB. When towing heavy I just lock it into 7th gear (which is 1:1) and cruise at 65mph, leaving the engine at 2500 rpm, ready to put the twins to work at the slightest provocation. Also, staying in 7th keeps the tranny about 5° to 7° Celsius cooler, which is a good thing.
I have a ‘20 Ram 1500 (non classic) and the tow/haul mode, really just takes away the top gear and changes my shift points slightly. And yeah, it’s kinda annoying that you have to re engage it every time you turn off the truck.
The only reason why you couldn’t see is because the headlights were aimed at the sky due to how much tongue weight you had. If I were in y’all’s position, I would have backed the car on to the trailer. This would have decreased the tongue weight but not to the point of causing sway. This would have made the headlights a lot more effective. If you had LED headlights in during this trip, all you would have done is severely blind oncoming traffic, because they would be aimed at the sky too. The truck performed great! The lackluster headlight performance though can be directly contributed to user error.
Whether the vehicle has Halogen headlights, or good LED lights, does the vehicle have headlights that auto level, based on vehicle load, or a manual adjustment control of the headlights position ? If not, it should 🤷🏻♂️
@@kirsatta I’ve got a 2022 Ram half ton with the halogen headlights and they provide good visibility, as long as you don’t overdrive them. I find 70mph to be about the maximum speed I’m comfortable with at night. LED lights do reach out farther than halogen lights, but at the expense of blinding oncoming drivers.
*SMH you can't blame the headlights when you have so much squat your lights are pointed at the sky 😆 321 gears really are a love/ hate for me. I have them in my jeep w/ the 3.6 and manual trans and my avg mpg hovers 21-23. I have a small hill I drop to 3rd gear to maintain 45mph and it annoys the crap out of me. It gets pretty loud too with the Flowmaster outlaw extreme exhaust. I don't mind the sound but feel I should not need to go below 4th gear. Great video. I was wondering about the mpg comparison in the classic and the jeep and you answered that for me. 👍👍😁
lol... They're always crying about the Headlights... They should try driving my 94 cummins at night. There just there so other cars can see u. U have to use the force, urself.
As someone who's hauled cars and broken multiple straps, I'd highly recommend doing more than those 3 straps for a car on that trailer... Traffic broke loose once for me in Chicago, I stepped on it, and a car in park on my trailer broke both front straps and slid halfway off my trailer...
Those cheap plastic ramps people use to do oil changes in the driveway work great for getting low cars onto trailers. Drive the tow trucks rear tires up on the ramps and it will pitch the end of the trailer towards the ground!
nice videos on towing with Stubby ,it handled the trip just fine, your rules, your game, a mad 👍👍to Stubby ,Roman i agree with you about the lights, an upgrade is cheap and get Tommi/Kase to find a set and you can get someone to send you a set for a 4th Gen Ram and the boys can even do a video on it as part of the series, 80% of the buyers of these trucks upgrade the headlight bulbs on they experienced the factory Halogen lights , these were 2 great videos ,Kudos Roman/Andre
The only reason why they couldn’t see is because the truck was squatting, therefore the headlights were aimed at the sky instead of the road. If I were in their shoes, I would have backed the car all the way on the trailer. That would have decreased the tongue weight while still keeping it high enough to avoid sway, and improving the headlight performance. LED headlights in this scenario would have severely blinded on coming traffic while not improving visibility much, because of the squat.
@@91CavGT5 But the unladen trailer, on their trip out to pick tip the car, caused almost no squat and Roman commented that he still hated the headlight performance.
@@anthonyc1883 indeed he did state he didn’t like the headlight performance. When aimed correctly, LED headlights do give you better visibility, at the expense of blinding oncoming drivers. Halogen headlights worked for decades, and do provide great natural visibility with less eye strain. If halogen headlights don’t provide you with enough visibility then you are probably driving too fast. I’ve got a 2022 Ram half ton with the halogen headlights and they provide very good visibility, at speeds no higher than 70 mph.
I’ll tell you what, that little Ram optioned almost anti-hauling spec and hauled above its tow rating, and did so securely. That’s all you really ever want is a safe trip
You overload the towing ability of the vehicle notice that has a ton of squat and you’re surprised the headlights aren’t hitting the ground…you’re a couple of pampered princes that are use to driving the nicest hundred thousand dollar diesel trucks with all the coolest options including the best headlights ever…glad you got a dose of middle class truck life. Also my Duramax doesn’t stay in tow haul mode…after I turn it off, does your finger hurt from pushing all those pencils so much so you can’t push tow haul again 😂😂
Wow. I don't have a brother-in-law on the TFL team but it seems like every one of those guys is very cognizant of unnecessary high prices for high-level trims and they all talk about the importance of everyday middle class vehicles. Heck, even look at what they chose for their own purchases. Andre bought an almost-base F150, Tommy bought an almost-base Willys Jeep, Nathan just showed off his almost-base Santa Cruz and Roman's (TFL's) Ram pickup truck is not even a mid-level trim I don't think. True, they definitely spend time in the big and expensive stuff (their job) but they are not pampered princes at all IMO. You're definitely misjudging these guys.
@@anthonyc1883 Wes P just doesn’t understand what this video is all about obviously, they purposely bought one of the cheapest trucks they could find and then put it to work. Some people just bitch about everything lol
Ok.1 That guy who drove the Vette onto the ramp is...Special...uh huh... And 2 the guy who bought this car new when he was 65 is lucky to get some $ back out of her at 80...I'm sure Grandpa enjoyed trying to snag 18+ Chicks in his little red Corvette... Priceless 🤣. 😂
Roman & Andre you two guys make a great team! Awesome nailbiter video! I was hoping to see when you Came out of the tunnel how much snow you'd run into! Thanks for this one!
That 3.21 is killing you guys. Switch that up to the 3.92 and that load would have been a cake walk up that hill. Idk in this day and age with how many gears we have now, they still put those anemic rear axle ratios in. Those are strictly for trucks that will never tow.
I'd lock that 8-spd into that gear that could maintain 55 and let it scream up the whole hill. Transmission programming had more to do with the time up the hill than the power the 3.6 could put out.
I carry a set of drive on ramps when picking up cars. The ones you might use to do an oil change. I put them under the rear wheels of the truck to get the rear of the trailer low. It also work for setting bars in a load distribution hitch if you want to be lazy
Interesting that it only has a 3.21 rear end. When I bought my 2016 Ram with a 3.6 pentastar, and it had a 3.21 and it did NOT like my 5k lbs travel trailer. But then, all 4x4s had at least 3.55 rear end gear ratio. I guess they decided to start putting 3.21 in 4x4s as well.
Yea, gears are a game changer towing with a v6. Esp towing a camper which is tall and can be somewhat ackward. Even on my 01 suburban with a 5.3 i wish i had 4:10 gears over the 3.73s that it has when i was towing about 7k lbs.
@@Tonyx.yt. for sure! I got sick of my truck note so I sold my 2018 Rebel and got an ‘07 F150 with the 5.4l and a 5 speed. It drives SOOOO differently than an 8 speed.
Can't complain..that lil V6 with highway cruising gearing did quite well and almost had an ideal run time. That's a tough hill to pull & it held it's own. didn't overheat, was steady & still got almost 11mpg doing it. plus.. easy to forget watching a video.. that's high elevation so the air is thin up that high... every vehicle works harder when it can't breathe... Turbos/superchargers help with thin air, but even they aren't as powerful when there's less dense air to breathe. this lil v6 had neither... if it had 3:55 or 3:92 it would've done even better... but that chassis size/length/weight isn't what ya buy if you tow heavy alot... I'd call that a good pass
You guys pulling a loaded trailer in the snow on the IKE passing people is so cool. Just goes to show that people that are scared to drive in inclement weather need to stay their arses home instead of getting out there put putting along holding up traffic.
I think I would have either chosen the HEMI or a different final drive ratio. My HEMI has the 3.21 rear end and it does ok towing but I don't really tow very often. I could imagine how poorly that little Pentastar is doing when towing. Of course if you don't tow often and/or heavy it would probably suffice. I personally would not feel comfortable with it long term.
For stubby this setup is ok, but I too would have spent the extra 2 grand or whatever it is and get the Hemi. Especially if this engine is powering a crew cab truck.
@@302Mustang13 one thing to bear in mind is that these guys are buying trucks to make videos for a few months. Most of us are buying a truck for the long term. For most people they need their truck to do everything well and to do it for a long time.
They didn't buy the truck for towing. The purpose of this video series is "this is what you get when you buy the most affordable new full sized 4x4 truck in America." Someone considering buying this truck may see this video and go "ok, so they towed several hours with a 5000 lb load and on the steepest highway in America, it did ok. Not great, but ok. I won't be towing a lot but on the rare occasion I do I'll know it can tow a moderate sized trailer with no safety issues." Or they may see the video and go "man, I tow a lot and that didn't look fun to do with any frequency. I'm going to investigate trucks with more low end torque and/or a lower gear ratio." That's the point of the series.
@@backwoodstherapy See my previous comment about how they buy trucks to make videos. TFL is very smart and they will buy stuff that not every channel is reviewing. They do it to get views and I applaud that. However there is a reason that this truck was so hard to find. Nobody is buying bare bones trucks. Some fleet owners may lease them but the average buyer tends to go with something a bit more fully featured. Yes this truck can do "ok" with some occasional towing but there is no big advantage to this anemic engine final drive combination. If you are only gonna tow that small amount you would likely be better off with a midsize truck instead. You could even maybe save some money and get a better equipped truck.
4:35 into video you said what I was thinking as Andre drove forward on the trailer. You should have backed it up and had the engine over the trailer's axels. Someone else mentioned your not having the two mirrors vertical.
If you had a shorter hitch that put the ball nearer the pickup the trailer would have much less control over the tow vehicle, your headlights wouldn't be pointed as high for the same amount of tongue weight, and it would be a safer tow. I'm pretty sure Gen Y is a sponsor but have the balls to test that long stick out heavy hitch versus something light and close to the pick up and see the results, While it affects every tow vehicle it's gonna affect a light short wheelbase one much more so this would be the perfect pick up to test it on
I’m impressed with the v6 engine and 8spd. It’s the only v6 id actually be okay with buying over the v8. (For the right price) finally got to drive one and it was pretty quick!
Those being tow mirrors... Is there a reason why you guys didn't go vertical with them? (they're supposed to be manual flip 90 degrees. To reduce useless reflection area.)
Who else is 100% pulling for the lil RAM, I want this truck to be awesome in every way, Go Stubby Go!!!👍👍👍 Might be my all time favorite vehicle TFL has ever had, a true Underdog, first night time IKE I can remember. I’ve had a ton of these 3.7’s and earlier 3.6’s and 3.3’s in company minivans over the past 35 1/2 years and only 1 had a engine problem a defective head and Chrysler replaced it, hey it happens, still not bad for at least 15 vans we had to keep for a 100k. Like the 3.7 so much we bought a 3.7 2022 Pacifica when I retired. Over 8 minutes and 12 grand less than the higher optioned trucks, give me 30 more seconds over that big money any day😀
@@tbm275 I know they have that. But tbh honest I don't think their truck does. Only reason I say that is because in one of their previous videos in a clip I didn't see any buttons on the wheel for it. It was just blank plastic piece.
Sometimes I’ll tow 3-4 motorcycles at a time. I think I’d be anxious not being able to look back at the load to see if any of it has shifted around. It is nice having that shield though to protect it from your back tires kicking up rocks but it would make me nervous. Maybe towing a car is different because it won’t shift around like a bunch of motorcycle can.
I have a 2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman 3.6 RWD 3.21 gears.
I daily drive it for work and I tow a lot with it. I’m at 249k miles and it still runs like a champ. Definitely very impressed.
Pentastar is as good as any import V6. It's even better than GM and Ford modern NA V6's by objective metrics. Jeep guys aren't complaining and they came from the bulletproof AMC I-6 4.0L engines.
I’m actually really impressed with the truck on its towing capabilities. For a single cab v6 truck I expected a lot worse for numbers and over all power in towing. High elevation takes a lot of power away and that little truck still carried above its tow capacity all the way up the mountain.
It’s a Ram
Especially with that giant aluminum windscreen
@@krisparent7061 which normally means it’s a sloppy built piece of shit, that somehow meets Chryslers “spec”.
However, being a work truck trim actually does wonders here. Waaaaaaay less garbola to go wrong, as it’s just a truck.
@@gingerd2098 Strange as it's commonly ranked near the top in terms of reliability.
Yea, 49 MPH while pushing to the limits. Very impressive lol
I agree...the headlights suck, but to be fair they were probably pointing up into the sky with how much that truck was squatting. 😂
I owned a 2012 Charger with that engine in it, and honestly it was amazing. Not much low end torque but when the revs built up it was a really quick car. And the mileage it produced was amazing too. I could get 30 plus mpg out of it without even trying on the highway. Great engine all around!!
Roman and Andre, when you load low vehicles/sports cars on a trailer, bring a couple of wood 2X6's in 3-4' lengths, to place down in front of ramps. Will help greatly on the approach angle and lesson damage to lower front spoilers and front ends.
That drive from Denver to Grand Junction is one of the most beautiful stretches of interstate I’ve ever seen. The drive from Gunnison to GJ is even more amazing. Love Colorado
Throughly enjoyed this video. It’s almost like we were right along with you for the ride. That’s a tribute to TFL. Thanks guys!
Thank you for the kind words.
I'd like to throw an idea out for your consideration: How about finishing up all the tests and comparisons you had planned for Stubby, then pull the pumpkin and drop in a 3.92 gearset. Rerun the mileage and towing tests and report on the difference in fuel consumption, driveability, and towing (including the Ike Gauntlet.)
That would be awesome because i have a theory that other than right off the line gears don’t make much of a difference anymore with these 8 and 10 speed transmissions. Once you’re going if it needs more gearing it just downshifts.
This is genuine real world testing, love it!
When you have a low-riding car like that if you leave the trailer hooked to the truck and jack the front of the trailer up with the trailer jack it will lift the rear of the truck a little but that won't hurt a thing, and it will level the incline of the ramps so that the nose of the car doesn't touch.
It will also keep the bottom of the car from touching/dragging on the break-over point of the ramps onto the trailer deck.
Good tip for those that haven’t towed. I do that with my Aluma enclosed trailer. I have 2, a 7.5 x 16 and a 8.5 x 24. The small one is for fishing & camping. The Gladiator was about 7,000 lbs and the tires were slightly larger than stock. 2,000 lbs at these lower weights are a significant difference they are about 5250 lbs if the trailer is right at 2,000 lbs. I had predicted closer to 9 minutes in the last video I was wrong. All things considered the truck did fine. The Ike Gauntlet is pretty extreme and the majority of owners & drivers won’t have to do something quite so extreme. The lights are definitely marginal but LED conversions are available.
The car looked like it was loaded properly and the trailer was well balanced.
This might work with the uhaul trailers 😂
@@cdbnum1 works fine with big trailers too. I have a 24 ft equipment trailer I do that too. The Jack is strong enough it can actually lift the entire rear end of the F250 off the ground so you have to be careful and chock the wheels if you're loading something very heavy. The ramps extremely steep so sometimes to load a car on there I have to do that to get it to clear. It has a pintle hitch, so it won't slip out. I would be a little leery of putting that much force on a ball hitch.
@@travisb9130 Yeah, it works with all trailers. I have many different trailers in many sizes, and with the ball hitch, you don't want to jack the trailer up to high, just enough that it starts to lift up on the truck a little is all you need. I have one 20-foot trailer that has a ball hitch, and a heavy-duty jack, and I lifted the rear of my RAM 2500 almost to the point of the rear tires coming off the ground. But I do keep the letch that's in the tongue of the trailer pretty tight so that it holds onto the ball really well.
I don't think most people even check and adjust that, they just buy or use a trailer and hook up and go. lol.
@@calvinh.8882 - so true on maintaining the proper grip on the ball!! I had a friend do some heavy damage to his truck when he panicked stopped, hit nothing, was hit by no one but himself!! Heh heh. The trailer went right into the tailgate and started to ride up the truck. When the nose of the truck went down, the back went up as well, the trailer nose went up!! It was about 4,000lbs he figures and he didn’t have functional trailer brakes!! The ball tension wasn’t his only problem there!! The trailer was written off and the truck was close as it was older. That vehicle was mint mind you,,,, he could do it, but was selective I guess. His new trailer is very well maintained now.
Roman, You , Andre and Tommy make a GREAT team. You and Andre are so cool together and I love how you and Tommy interact with each other. You and Tommy definitely are a team and you have a Son you should be proud of and who is an asset to T F L truck and car.
I have this same truck as my work truck. The headlights are downright dangerous at night. I’m glad you guys noticed that in this video!
I ran the Ike Gauntlet in 2009 towing my Camaro with my diesel Ram 2500. I actually did it twice on the way to and from California. 5600 miles of towing over 10 days, averaging 14 mpg at 75 mph cruising speed on flat terrain. I backed it down to 65 while going over the Gauntlet. Was nowhere near flat on the floor to keep 65 mph. Turbos rule on the Gauntlet.
Other highlights of the trip were running Bakers Grade in California and the 11-mile Douglas Dam Grade out of Bullhead City, Arizona in 107F heat.
It’s amazing that, with all the towing experience that TFL has, that no one drops the tongue jack to lessen the ramps’ approach and break over angle on the car. I can maybe see that they don’t want to chance bending the jack, but if the truck has the parking brake on, the tongue jack has a wheel, and they don’t goose the throttle/brakes, all is well.
It's just hard on everything
I've done that to load cars. It helps a lot.
They didn't need to.
My car has a 5.5 degree approach. It's not crazy low - the lowest point is the front splitter at 3.5" - it has a 36" overhang from the front axle to that point, and that massive overhang makes loading tricky. With 14' Gen-Y ramps, if the ground is working in my favor, I can drive right up. I usually try it first, and if it rubs, I back down and start to work through the bag of tricks.
Anyway, I would not use the tongue jack that way. When loading, there is usually some lift on the tongue that pulls the jack off the ground. You would have to really creep up the ramps and onto the trailer to keep it from slamming the jack back into the ground. That is not always easy, especially in a manual transmission car with a high output engine and super light flywheel that wants to launch over the truck as you creep up the trailer.
The first thing I pull out of the bag of tricks is raising the height of the tongue. Instead of using the tongue jack, I back the truck onto the stubby ramps that came with the trailer. You could do the same thing with some scrap wood or bricks, I just happen to have an extra set of ramps when I am loading the car. This step alone is almost always sufficient.
A 2x4 under each front tire of the car on approach to the ramp is even easier and safer
@@jdofmemi That is in the bag of tricks... But you need to put the wood under the ramp to avoid the car dropping into the void between the ramp and the wood. To be safe, the wood needs to be at least as wide as the ramp. To work, the section of wood in front of the ramp needs to be at least as long as the car's overhang.
I find it easier to safely accommodate the trucks clearances than the car's and the ramp's. Otherwise, it would be preferable to raise the ramps - raising the truck gets you less clearance for the same lift. My 2.5" thick ramps under the back wheels of the truck moves the end of the trailer down about an inch.
Unfortunately, trailers ramps are not as wide as the ramps I have for loading the car, so it would not be safe to use them to lift the ramps. Flat on the ground under the truck is very secure.
Race Ramps makes foam ramp extenders that probably weigh less than the wood required would. I would get some, but my truck is payload limited, so using ramps stored in the trailer is a better option than something I would have to put in the truck.
God that vette sounds GLORIOUS. Kase and Tommy arnt lettin this one go.
Kase and Tommy will be racing each other with Tommy in the Vette that Roman bought and Kase in his own Vette down on the Diagonal ( hwy 119 ) that runs between Longmont and Boulder.
Made me cringe.... like WTF the car hasn't been idling for more than 2 seconds.
I would love to see you guys run an F150 with the base 3.3 V6 up the Ike as well
A few decades ago, A V8 didn't have 305 horsepower but would tow cars heavier than that! Stubby did great. A good engine for what most people need
a few decades ago hp was measured at the flywheel. so a late 70s and anemic 80s small block chevy wasn't putting a lot of HP to the ground but the torque stayed somewhat respectable. I had a 77 k10 swb. After a few bolt ons I never worried about towing 5000 lb up a hill but stopping on wet roads was sketchy.
@@JayJohnson4x4 yeah Jay true. The boys complained about low torque hurting the 3.6 and 3.21 axle ratio. But still, good enough tow
Roman I had a Chevy 3500 crew cab dually toy truck and it had a gooseneck trailer and I have to say I probably put 100,000 miles on that little toy truck and I told absolutely everything I could there's a country song that pretty much describes it perfectly. It's so cool to realize the dream you had as a child become a reality as an adult
I said this on your other video when you got the truck, but Peterson in Boise is great. I went today and the salesman I talked to, sold this truck to you!
I didn't do business with them, but highly recommend my fellow Idahoans to buy from them. Great people, and they aren't pushy. Very straightforward and break everything down for you step by step. Wish I had went through them instead of the Auto Ranch that's local to me.
Bring some wood slats as shims to place in front of the ramps to prevent front end damage for low cars with long snouts. Ask me how I know.
How do you know?
How do you know?
Huge fan of Ram. What a great little machine.
For a 3.21 gear I was pretty damn impressed with that v6 uphill
I know right, maybe the transmissions gearing compensates for it.
It's ok but not impressive considering it is reg cab short bed and only 5,000 lbs.
@@ocrapo9327 it just runs in lower gears. nothing crazy
@@HAHA.GoodMeme Yeah the 10 speed in the ford vs 6 speed in ford. 10 speed has a lower first gear so it pulls very nice up hills vs the 6 speed. They both do the job though.
@@HAHA.GoodMeme true, but the "space" between the gears is a lot taller with a highway rear end making the engine rpm difference after a shift a lot larger.
Note how it was slowing down to 54 and 4k rpm before downshifting, and then was able to gain speed again till it hit 6500 and upshifted again and proceeded to lose speed... With a 4.10 rear end it would have been able to stay higher in the rev range where the power is.
Not a big deal with a 10 speed since there are more lower gears, but with a 6 speed it really starts to affect the "distance" between gears. I don't know the real world for it.
Kudos to Andre for having to spend a full day with Roman.
Yes! Exactly.
It’s like being a little kid again and having the adult tell you how to do everything and that they are always right
He should have takes the dog instead.
Kudos to us for having to endure your asinine comment.
It’s definitely the other way around. Andre is incredibly annoying and odd
I think Stubby did a mighty fine job all things considered.
great video. Glad you towed it and brought us along!
5:47 OMG you brought me SO MANY GOOD CHILDHOOD MEMORIES! I'm currently 17 at the age this comment is posted, but I remember back in my early days the early and mid 2010's I can remember buying a crap load of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars and acting like the real world with traffic and all that good stuff. I still do a little bit of that today, but thanks to technology, I spend most of my time on my devices, but you get the point.
Get out and do the real thing! U wont be sorry...i love to tow
@@wellthatdidntwork Trust me I’m trying to. Once I get my drivers license and am able to get my own trailer if not work for a company that I can do so, trust me, I will!
Wow I feel old. Mid 2010's? You mean like last week? Oh crap!
@@LSRG-YT--LandonSRobloxGaming best of luck. Most important thing is to pay attention to ur surroundings, use your mirrors constantly, and an empty parking lot to practice is always a great thing for a beginner. Make sure ur load is always properly secured (over securement never hurts), and that your equipment is checked b4 each trip and in proper operating condition. 👍🏼
@@wellthatdidntwork agree 100%, and don’t speed also, 65 mph is enuf
From the looks of it the fenders fold down on that trailer like a lot of better car haulers. Definitely something worth figuring out when towing lower cars.
That’s the sort of truck you can be proud of! The little engine that could!
Great niche to be in. I appreciate the low budget high workload videos ,cuz with enough money we would all drive Atlas rockets and have plenty of power.
On another note, standard headlights are much safer for other drivers. I appreciate the NON L.E.D. headlights on the oncoming traffic. So often i am taken by the super bright headlights of oncoming vehicles that i am blinded for a bit and have to re adjust my eyes to the night. VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!!
That 3.6 v6 is a great v6 engine tbh. Reliable and decent power.
That was my black Silverado you guys pulled out behind! Saw you that day! Nice Vette!!!
I used to have this engine and found it did the same thing not downshifting. The only work around mode I found was setting cruise control. Then it down shifts by itself.
For a relatively cheap truck trying to check as many boxes as possible, I think it did pretty good. Can't have a truck that is cheap, gets great mileage, and tows heavy loads at max speed. You always have to give to get. For what it is at that elevation, hey it got to the top.
The thing about drive modes resetting is due to the epa. I was told my one of our Ford reps is that if a vehicle can stay in any type of drive mode, they will test in the worst possible mpg drive mode.
That’s a nice trailer. Would be nice if it had drop down fenders like the uhaul car haulers.
You guys found a great corvette. I had tge same car back in the day and loved it. The auto trans is great.
This video shows two things I want to purchase, an affordable sports car and an affordable truck thank you gentlemen great video!
Thank you for watching.
Guys, great video as always, but the ‘99 Vette has an LS1, not a 350/5.7 Vortec. It’s actually 346 ci, shares almost no parts with the 350, and makes a good deal more power due to the better cylinder head architecture and higher compression. It also has crossbolted main bearing caps for a significantly stronger bottom end as well. 350 smallblock/Vortec are great motors, but I’ll take an LS1 any day!
Yesssir, ls1 and ls6 powaaah
A truck not designed to tow/haul, a non-turbo V6 engine, a 'car' rear end ratio' and overloaded, not too awfully bad, I'd say..
This is not a truck I'd spec. out and buy, but hey it did the job.
What's cool is u can still buy this body style truck today in 2022 but what's even better is u can buy the v8 model who knows possibly even a stick shift
@@jackdaniels2657 Yessir, it reminds me of my 1976 GMC with it's 350 4 bbl engine and 4 speed manual box, 6 foot bed single cab, now that was a fun truck!
You're right, wouldn't it be nice to be able to go order up and buy one of these today!
you can forget about manual...
...and I'm not to sure single cab is going to remain an option on 2023 models (even Classics)
@@Hydra360ci I wouldn't want one today in any case, I was merely stating what was in my ol' '76,
I still remember when Andre was the russian guy and only spoke russian and appeared in only a few videos!
Those were great times! Loved his Russian-only schtick.
Thank you for watching for such a long time!
@@anthonyc1883 Andre is a good character actor! I view his current schtick as the 'everyman' plus a bit of exaggerated expressions. The crazy Russian mechanic role was short lived. He interviews others well and asks open ended questions so guests and say what they want.
Well tow/haul always shuts off when you turn off the engine in any base truck. Lil Stubbs was singing its heart out getting up there!
Those little 3.6L Pentetar V6 engines SCREAM and pull fairly well in the upper RPM's (4500+) but you wouldn't want this choice for regular towing. As shown it needs to downshift a lot and stay in the screaming RPM range.
We had the Caravan with that engine and once it hit over 4500 RPM it would accelerate fast.
Multiple times the thing would bounce off the rev limiter before it would shift. Sometimes doing that for both the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts back to back.
Made me laugh. LOL I think it most often happened when I drove it unloaded and it had adapted for carrying some weight.
I love my F-150 3.5 EcoBoost for hill climbing. It grunts right up in the lower RPM's. Under 2K RPM to do 72 MPH unloaded and usually still under 3K when towing my Can-Am on an 18 foot trailer.
The hula girl was really dancing for a while. Good job!
This is how All “Ike” videos should be.
Seeing the gauges and hearing the Engine
and hearing them talking about how it feels
Awesome video. Yes, the headlights are a safety concern. A-Upgrade the lights to HID or B-Instal an LED light bar. Take care guys.
I think this proves that unless you tow a lot in the mountains then most people can get by with the old pentastar- which btw has more HP than a 5.7 vortec in a 1500.
That's an odd comparison lmao
@@ryanregister495 just making the point that a base engine of today has more power than a top of the line option 20 years ago and the work people actually do with a half ton truck has not increased substantially since then so a base engine will be more than enough for the majority of people.
Headlights are an easy fix, for just over $200 you can get a pair of Morimoto 2 stoke 2.0 LED lights that are a direct plug and play along with the anti flicker relay you would need for Dodge products. Best part is these LED have a fan that takes the heat LEDs make in the rear and circulates it into the headlight housing so you still have some heat to melt the snow and ice. And it mimics the original beam pattern but much more light and down road view-ability.
Wow, a fan is part of the device? Interesting.
200...they are 2k in canada
@@dezmod1644 I bought mine from a company called Headlight Revolution.
I have a '19 classic, coming from a leaf truck the coils they really don't carry a load well. The cheap bags that go in the coils are totally a game changer for loads - just rides and hauls so much better with some weight.
Y’all should do a comparison between stubby and a midsize truck towing.
Wonder if the V-6 will get retired and RAM will drop the new Hurricane in the RAM Classic? Really, that's not too bad, considering. A half-ton with a V-8 from 20 years ago probably wouldn't have done as well. I had a Dodge Ram in 1986 with a 318, it put out a whopping 145 horsepower. Half what that V-6 makes. Modern engines have come a long way!
I owned 2 rams
2017 and 2022.the factory sets them aimed too low. Raise them about 3 to 6 turns. World of difference. On the 1500 you need a 10 mm socket (1/4 inch drive. Open the hood and there are holes in the fender.
Well done! Thanks for bringing us along!
Pretty impressed with the little engine that could. Transmission/gear ratio is underwhelming but you can’t have it all in a budget baby-truck.
The Pentastar is far more capable than given credit. Being that the horsepower loss from the base 295 is going to be sizeable 3% per thousand feet you probably hit the tunnel with only 220 hp available. Pretty darn good
Good video. I'm not criticizing the baby Ram at all; but this test affirms why I love the 10 spd in my 2.7L f150 EB. When towing heavy I just lock it into 7th gear (which is 1:1) and cruise at 65mph, leaving the engine at 2500 rpm, ready to put the twins to work at the slightest provocation. Also, staying in 7th keeps the tranny about 5° to 7° Celsius cooler, which is a good thing.
Imagine if that 3.6 was Twin Turbo
@@dariusmooney14 yup, imagine if Fiat would have invested some money into that engine what it could have been
@@paulhunter9613 It serves its purpose I suppose. Now thet are going with that in line 3.0 twin turbo.
I really wish the temperature screen was left on. I was more interested in how hot the temps got after that long run than the speed.
I have a ‘20 Ram 1500 (non classic) and the tow/haul mode, really just takes away the top gear and changes my shift points slightly. And yeah, it’s kinda annoying that you have to re engage it every time you turn off the truck.
Very impressed with v6 ram.
The only reason why you couldn’t see is because the headlights were aimed at the sky due to how much tongue weight you had. If I were in y’all’s position, I would have backed the car on to the trailer. This would have decreased the tongue weight but not to the point of causing sway. This would have made the headlights a lot more effective. If you had LED headlights in during this trip, all you would have done is severely blind oncoming traffic, because they would be aimed at the sky too.
The truck performed great! The lackluster headlight performance though can be directly contributed to user error.
Nah the Ram Classic headlights suck. Trust me I hate mine.
Roman stated that even without a load on the trailer he had trouble even knowing if the headlights were on.
Whether the vehicle has Halogen headlights, or good LED lights, does the vehicle have headlights that auto level, based on vehicle load, or a manual adjustment control of the headlights position ?
If not, it should
🤷🏻♂️
@@kirsatta I’ve got a 2022 Ram half ton with the halogen headlights and they provide good visibility, as long as you don’t overdrive them. I find 70mph to be about the maximum speed I’m comfortable with at night. LED lights do reach out farther than halogen lights, but at the expense of blinding oncoming drivers.
@@anthonyc1883 yeah, he said they sucked before too.
The little truck that could! Good for snow plowing home driveways!
*SMH you can't blame the headlights when you have so much squat your lights are pointed at the sky
😆
321 gears really are a love/ hate for me. I have them in my jeep w/ the 3.6 and manual trans and my avg mpg hovers 21-23. I have a small hill I drop to 3rd gear to maintain 45mph and it annoys the crap out of me. It gets pretty loud too with the Flowmaster outlaw extreme exhaust. I don't mind the sound but feel I should not need to go below 4th gear.
Great video. I was wondering about the mpg comparison in the classic and the jeep and you answered that for me. 👍👍😁
lol... They're always crying about the Headlights... They should try driving my 94 cummins at night. There just there so other cars can see u. U have to use the force, urself.
Fun video. Stubby as you call her did ok, not sure about running an engine at 5-6k rpm. Keep up the great work!!
As someone who's hauled cars and broken multiple straps, I'd highly recommend doing more than those 3 straps for a car on that trailer... Traffic broke loose once for me in Chicago, I stepped on it, and a car in park on my trailer broke both front straps and slid halfway off my trailer...
When I worked in Montana and the dog rode in the front of the truck we called that a “Montana date”!
Wow, it made it without any malfunctions!👍
Those cheap plastic ramps people use to do oil changes in the driveway work great for getting low cars onto trailers. Drive the tow trucks rear tires up on the ramps and it will pitch the end of the trailer towards the ground!
Blazey needs his own channel.. TFL-Blaze
nice videos on towing with Stubby ,it handled the trip just fine, your rules, your game, a mad 👍👍to Stubby ,Roman i agree with you about the lights, an upgrade is cheap and get Tommi/Kase to find a set and you can get someone to send you a set for a 4th Gen Ram and the boys can even do a video on it as part of the series, 80% of the buyers of these trucks upgrade the headlight bulbs on they experienced the factory Halogen lights ,
these were 2 great videos ,Kudos Roman/Andre
The only reason why they couldn’t see is because the truck was squatting, therefore the headlights were aimed at the sky instead of the road. If I were in their shoes, I would have backed the car all the way on the trailer. That would have decreased the tongue weight while still keeping it high enough to avoid sway, and improving the headlight performance. LED headlights in this scenario would have severely blinded on coming traffic while not improving visibility much, because of the squat.
@@91CavGT5 But the unladen trailer, on their trip out to pick tip the car, caused almost no squat and Roman commented that he still hated the headlight performance.
@@anthonyc1883 indeed he did state he didn’t like the headlight performance. When aimed correctly, LED headlights do give you better visibility, at the expense of blinding oncoming drivers. Halogen headlights worked for decades, and do provide great natural visibility with less eye strain. If halogen headlights don’t provide you with enough visibility then you are probably driving too fast. I’ve got a 2022 Ram half ton with the halogen headlights and they provide very good visibility, at speeds no higher than 70 mph.
Great 👍 video! Love ❤️ your stuff.
Was wondering….where’s the video of you getting BACK from Grand Junction. And here you go.
I’ll tell you what, that little Ram optioned almost anti-hauling spec and hauled above its tow rating, and did so securely. That’s all you really ever want is a safe trip
Nice haul! Stubby didn't do too bad.
You overload the towing ability of the vehicle notice that has a ton of squat and you’re surprised the headlights aren’t hitting the ground…you’re a couple of pampered princes that are use to driving the nicest hundred thousand dollar diesel trucks with all the coolest options including the best headlights ever…glad you got a dose of middle class truck life. Also my Duramax doesn’t stay in tow haul mode…after I turn it off, does your finger hurt from pushing all those pencils so much so you can’t push tow haul again 😂😂
Wow. I don't have a brother-in-law on the TFL team but it seems like every one of those guys is very cognizant of unnecessary high prices for high-level trims and they all talk about the importance of everyday middle class vehicles. Heck, even look at what they chose for their own purchases. Andre bought an almost-base F150, Tommy bought an almost-base Willys Jeep, Nathan just showed off his almost-base Santa Cruz and Roman's (TFL's) Ram pickup truck is not even a mid-level trim I don't think. True, they definitely spend time in the big and expensive stuff (their job) but they are not pampered princes at all IMO. You're definitely misjudging these guys.
@@anthonyc1883
Wes P just doesn’t understand what this video is all about obviously, they purposely bought one of the cheapest trucks they could find and then put it to work. Some people just bitch about everything lol
It got you there, that's what matters!
Ok.1 That guy who drove the Vette onto the ramp is...Special...uh huh... And 2 the guy who bought this car new when he was 65 is lucky to get some $ back out of her at 80...I'm sure Grandpa enjoyed trying to snag 18+ Chicks in his little red Corvette... Priceless 🤣. 😂
Roman & Andre you two guys make a great team! Awesome nailbiter video! I was hoping to see when you Came out of the tunnel how much snow you'd run into! Thanks for this one!
Thank you for watching.
Got the job done.
That 3.21 is killing you guys. Switch that up to the 3.92 and that load would have been a cake walk up that hill. Idk in this day and age with how many gears we have now, they still put those anemic rear axle ratios in. Those are strictly for trucks that will never tow.
I'd lock that 8-spd into that gear that could maintain 55 and let it scream up the whole hill. Transmission programming had more to do with the time up the hill than the power the 3.6 could put out.
Maybe dodge should improve trans programming? This is a review channel and not kissing asses of car manufacturers... Hopefully
transmission programming is part of the test, they can't manually make it do anything
Dodge has terrible transmissions
That 8spd is a ZF unit and is one of the best transmissions on the market.
@@angelgjr1999 ...it's not a Fiat transmission, It's a BMW, and in a lot of other stuff.
I carry a set of drive on ramps when picking up cars. The ones you might use to do an oil change. I put them under the rear wheels of the truck to get the rear of the trailer low.
It also work for setting bars in a load distribution hitch if you want to be lazy
I want a trailer like that.
Interesting that it only has a 3.21 rear end. When I bought my 2016 Ram with a 3.6 pentastar, and it had a 3.21 and it did NOT like my 5k lbs travel trailer. But then, all 4x4s had at least 3.55 rear end gear ratio. I guess they decided to start putting 3.21 in 4x4s as well.
Yea, gears are a game changer towing with a v6. Esp towing a camper which is tall and can be somewhat ackward. Even on my 01 suburban with a 5.3 i wish i had 4:10 gears over the 3.73s that it has when i was towing about 7k lbs.
@@wellthatdidntwork 8 spd compensate final diff ratio compared to old 4sp
@@Tonyx.yt. for sure! I got sick of my truck note so I sold my 2018 Rebel and got an ‘07 F150 with the 5.4l and a 5 speed. It drives SOOOO differently than an 8 speed.
Your wind resistant on that travel trailer makes the truck work way harder than a these guys trailer w the same weight.
@@nickf5204 you ain’t lying! I took it on a 70mph highway ONCE! It was SCREAMING in like 4-5th gear and I told myself “eh, maybe I need to slow down.”
Can't complain..that lil V6 with highway cruising gearing did quite well and almost had an ideal run time. That's a tough hill to pull & it held it's own. didn't overheat, was steady & still got almost 11mpg doing it. plus.. easy to forget watching a video.. that's high elevation so the air is thin up that high... every vehicle works harder when it can't breathe... Turbos/superchargers help with thin air, but even they aren't as powerful when there's less dense air to breathe. this lil v6 had neither... if it had 3:55 or 3:92 it would've done even better... but that chassis size/length/weight isn't what ya buy if you tow heavy alot... I'd call that a good pass
You guys pulling a loaded trailer in the snow on the IKE passing people is so cool. Just goes to show that people that are scared to drive in inclement weather need to stay their arses home instead of getting out there put putting along holding up traffic.
In a 2wd truck no less
@@omardevonlittle3817 the white ram is 4wd
@@omardevonlittle3817 Their truck is a 4WD.
I think I would have either chosen the HEMI or a different final drive ratio. My HEMI has the 3.21 rear end and it does ok towing but I don't really tow very often. I could imagine how poorly that little Pentastar is doing when towing. Of course if you don't tow often and/or heavy it would probably suffice. I personally would not feel comfortable with it long term.
For stubby this setup is ok, but I too would have spent the extra 2 grand or whatever it is and get the Hemi. Especially if this engine is powering a crew cab truck.
@@302Mustang13 one thing to bear in mind is that these guys are buying trucks to make videos for a few months. Most of us are buying a truck for the long term. For most people they need their truck to do everything well and to do it for a long time.
They didn't buy the truck for towing. The purpose of this video series is "this is what you get when you buy the most affordable new full sized 4x4 truck in America." Someone considering buying this truck may see this video and go "ok, so they towed several hours with a 5000 lb load and on the steepest highway in America, it did ok. Not great, but ok. I won't be towing a lot but on the rare occasion I do I'll know it can tow a moderate sized trailer with no safety issues." Or they may see the video and go "man, I tow a lot and that didn't look fun to do with any frequency. I'm going to investigate trucks with more low end torque and/or a lower gear ratio." That's the point of the series.
@@backwoodstherapy See my previous comment about how they buy trucks to make videos. TFL is very smart and they will buy stuff that not every channel is reviewing. They do it to get views and I applaud that. However there is a reason that this truck was so hard to find. Nobody is buying bare bones trucks. Some fleet owners may lease them but the average buyer tends to go with something a bit more fully featured. Yes this truck can do "ok" with some occasional towing but there is no big advantage to this anemic engine final drive combination. If you are only gonna tow that small amount you would likely be better off with a midsize truck instead. You could even maybe save some money and get a better equipped truck.
20:41 legit was just thinking this 😂😂😂
4:35 into video you said what I was thinking as Andre drove forward on the trailer. You should have backed it up and had the engine over the trailer's axels. Someone else mentioned your not having the two mirrors vertical.
Recommendation you add air bag 1000 cost around $80. They help level out when towing
I had that same truck hemi 2wd - so fun to drive!
Truck is pointing at the sky and Ronan is complaining about the headlights :)
Although he also complained about them on the outbound trip when the trailer was empty and the truck barely squatting.
I just watched this for the second time lol. Great vid Andre and Roman. Seriously, those headlights suck lol
If you had a shorter hitch that put the ball nearer the pickup the trailer would have much less control over the tow vehicle, your headlights wouldn't be pointed as high for the same amount of tongue weight, and it would be a safer tow. I'm pretty sure Gen Y is a sponsor but have the balls to test that long stick out heavy hitch versus something light and close to the pick up and see the results, While it affects every tow vehicle it's gonna affect a light short wheelbase one much more so this would be the perfect pick up to test it on
I’m impressed with the v6 engine and 8spd. It’s the only v6 id actually be okay with buying over the v8. (For the right price) finally got to drive one and it was pretty quick!
Probably just like the 3.6 Jeep Gladiator towing. Screaming rpms up the hills! 🤣 Same ol same ol!
Those being tow mirrors... Is there a reason why you guys didn't go vertical with them?
(they're supposed to be manual flip 90 degrees. To reduce useless reflection area.)
Who else is 100% pulling for the lil RAM, I want this truck to be awesome in every way, Go Stubby Go!!!👍👍👍 Might be my all time favorite vehicle TFL has ever had, a true Underdog, first night time IKE I can remember. I’ve had a ton of these 3.7’s and earlier 3.6’s and 3.3’s in company minivans over the past 35 1/2 years and only 1 had a engine problem a defective head and Chrysler replaced it, hey it happens, still not bad for at least 15 vans we had to keep for a 100k. Like the 3.7 so much we bought a 3.7 2022 Pacifica when I retired. Over 8 minutes and 12 grand less than the higher optioned trucks, give me 30 more seconds over that big money any day😀
I wonder if you could force a downshift for more speed. It needs more gears. There was a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd gear.
Yep, that was a shockingly large gap between gears.
The steering wheel has Gear + and Gear - buttons on it.... you can hit the Gear - and lockout higher gears to keep it from upshifting
They can manually shift it but they were letting the truck do it’s thing. Poorly designed gear ratios for sure.
@@tbm275 I know they have that. But tbh honest I don't think their truck does. Only reason I say that is because in one of their previous videos in a clip I didn't see any buttons on the wheel for it. It was just blank plastic piece.
18:17 YOUR SO FREAKING BOGGED DOWN.... IM LAUGHING.
We have determined that Andre is terrible at taking instructions. Driver, driver, other driver. LOL
Sometimes I’ll tow 3-4 motorcycles at a time. I think I’d be anxious not being able to look back at the load to see if any of it has shifted around. It is nice having that shield though to protect it from your back tires kicking up rocks but it would make me nervous. Maybe towing a car is different because it won’t shift around like a bunch of motorcycle can.
We like the trailer shield because it protects the car on the trailer from road debris.
Add a camera