My first tow,and it was very nice indeed......

[Eagle6.7L]

We made the run to except delivery of our new 5er.A 1981 mile run round trip.Ran through 7.5 gallons of DEF.Average fuel mileage running 70-75,10-12 mpg.Locked out O/D (it choose to run between 5-6 the whole time.Not to much at all shifting just on grades,TowHaul selected,light electric,5.0 gain(light break-in of trailer brakes was needed.)Auto brake when in cruise control,hardly even hear it when it operates on the hills.Nice ride.Some roads a little rough,truck absorbed them pretty good.Squatted about 2 inch's on a hitch load of around 1550 plus 250 for the receiver,I believe making it a total of 1800 or so pounds based on 15 percent.I have a torison head receiver so the winds on the return leg didn't seem to brother the rear end to much.All in all quite nice.Easy day at the office.....

 

[Hoefler]

deleted post

 

[dfb]

We made the run to except delivery of our new 5er.A 1981 mile run round trip.Ran through 7.5 gallons of DEF.Average fuel mileage running 70-75,10-12 mpg.Locked out O/D (it choose to run between 5-6 the whole time.Not to much at all shifting just on grades,TowHaul selected,light electric,5.0 gain(light break-in of trailer brakes was needed.)Auto brake when in cruise control,hardly even hear it when it operates on the hills.Nice ride.Some roads a little rough,truck absorbed them pretty good.Squatted about 2 inch's on a hitch load of around 1550 plus 250 for the receiver,I believe making it a total of 1800 or so pounds based on 15 percent.I have a torison head receiver so the winds on the return leg didn't seem to brother the rear end to much.All in all quite nice.Easy day at the office.....

The auto brake is for going down a mountain pass.. It keeps the truck and rv at a constant speed that you set when you hit the brake.. 55 will stay at 55.. Full exhaust brake slows the truck and trailer down.. it is a marvel... Love it....these new Rams are the Bomb.. Don't even notice the Montana back there... at ALL!!

 

[Eagle6.7L]

Interestingly though when you read the owners manual pg 481,concerning the 68RFE "when frequent transmission shifting occurs under heavy loads conditions,in hilly terrain,strong winds use the ERS to select a lower gear.So picking 6th gear,I notice the 5th gear would be shadowed,and when towing at 70-75,uphill it would drop to 5th,and then return to 6th,and then it would lock-up the torque converter and run in 6th.This seem to improve my gas mileage per tank by around"hand calulated" 50 more miles per tank.So we ran with "Tow haul" mode,and "ERS" mode.I was caught by surprise that by running at these speeds towing our 5th wheel,I used some DEF fluid,after reading Cummins statement about DEF usage it gives a 2% percent average,and states that depending on truck operation,duty cycle,geography,load ratings your DEF usage could go up or down.This is why I put out this tread because I was curious about how much DEF I would need if we run from coast to coast with our 5er.

 

[gsbrockman]

This is why I put out this tread because I was curious about how much DEF I would need if we run from coast to coast with our 5er.

Don't sweat it----if you're pulling a 5'er across the US, you'll be limited (as a rule, due to size) to getting fuel at truckstops. DEF is plentiful, and much cheaper, at most every truckstop nowadays. If it makes you feel any better.....toss a couple of 2.5 gallon jugs of DEF in the RV and that can become your "Linus / security blanket" IF the need arises. I hotshot with my truck, and I've put over 132k miles on it in 23 months. There's only been a few instances I've had to buy it in jugs......all the rest have been at truckstops.

 

[kthaxton]

Simply turning on the ERS in 6th gear doesn't change anything about the way the transmission shifts or performs. The most it does, is let you know what gear it is in as it shifts as usual. The ERS only limits the highest gear it will shift up to. If you are already in 6th, it obviously can't go any higher so it really doesn't do anything but display your current gear.

 

[SnoKing]

DEF use without the trailer is very low. With the 12.4k trailer usage goes way up. Snoking

 

[Mawvelous]

Normally when descending a hill if you apply the brake lightly and hold there is a strategy to downshift and reapply the TC. So a 6th gear would downshift to 5 and apply TC for engine braking. This along with an exhaust brake will slow the vehicle(s) in most situations. BTW this is not new. My 3rd gen (2005) had this feature with the 48RE and no exhaust brake.

 

[Eagle6.7L]

Hi Snoking,Yea I am glad some else is seeing DEF usage going up,I thought it would have been lower than what I used,but I ran 1981 mile's and used almost 8 gallons,in a tow situation.How much have you used during runs with that 5er.

 

[SnoKing]

Hi Snoking,Yea I am glad some else is seeing DEF usage going up,I thought it would have been lower than what I used,but I ran 1981 mile's and used almost 8 gallons,in a tow situation.How much have you used during runs with that 5er.

Probably pretty similar. Snoking