2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger PHEV

[racer12306]

It’s getting really dangerous to drive what used to be a normal sized vehicle on the roads today. People shouldn’t be able to privately purchase 7,000lb+ vehicles for road use.

People shouldn't be able to drive a huge RV without a special license just because it's a RV, but that's a whole other topic.

I contend that people shouldn't be able to tow much behind a vehicle without a license endorsement. When I was 17, my car broke down driving between schools. Got a ride home, hooked up the 24' enclosed trailer to the truck, unloaded the race car and set off to pick up the car. Everything I did was 100% legal and it shouldn't have been.

I think the bigger concern than a vehicles weight is the amount of distracted driving that occurs. I see it every day and it doesn't matter what they are driving, subcompact all the way up to OTR drivers.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The difference is the jeep is primarily an ice vehicle with a small battery for assist/limited range. this is a large battery which dramatically increases the cost.

It's to shut up all the naysayers who whine over the towing capacity that's needed twice a year. *sarcasm intended*

 

[Torrid]

People shouldn't be able to drive a huge RV without a special license just because it's a RV, but that's a whole other topic.

I contend that people shouldn't be able to tow much behind a vehicle without a license endorsement. When I was 17, my car broke down driving between schools. Got a ride home, hooked up the 24' enclosed trailer to the truck, unloaded the race car and set off to pick up the car. Everything I did was 100% legal and it shouldn't have been.

I think the bigger concern than a vehicles weight is the amount of distracted driving that occurs. I see it every day and it doesn't matter what they are driving, subcompact all the way up to OTR drivers.

Oh for sure, it’s just that people are going to do dumb distracted things anyway, but in that situation this truck is a very heavy hammer for whatever it nails in the process.

 

[2heeldrive]

What's all the excitement? It's just a plug-in hybrid truck.

I wonder what the fuel economy is when the generator is running? And, (when the battery is exhausted) is the generator big enough to keep the truck moving at highway speeds? Up a 6% grade? Towing a trailer?

I can't wait for TFL Trucks to get their hands on this one.

 

[Torrid]

What's all the excitement? It's just a plug-in hybrid truck.

I wonder what the fuel economy is when the generator is running? And, (when the battery is exhausted) is the generator big enough to keep the truck moving at highway speeds? Up a 6% grade? Towing a trailer?

I can't wait for TFL Trucks to get their hands on this one.

It's not though. If it's generator only it's technically not a hybrid in a traditional sense as the engine cannot be used to directly drive the wheels through some form. That's the question that remains to be answered, can it power itself in all cases if the battery is depleted? I would argue that it needs to be able to charge the battery more than the battery needs to be used in all but extreme conditions which could be why they didn't select a smaller engine.

 

[b_b]

It's not though. If it's generator only it's technically not a hybrid in a traditional sense as the engine cannot be used to directly drive the wheels through some form. That's the question that remains to be answered, can it power itself in all cases if the battery is depleted? I would argue that it needs to be able to charge the battery more than the battery needs to be used in all but extreme conditions which could be why they didn't select a smaller engine.

my hunch is the generator is not powerful enough to run it by itself, the truck will monitor discharge rates and will run as needed if the battery gets below a certain percentage while the discharge rate exceeds a specified amount. An example would be towing a large trailer over a long distance. just as an example the generator on the power boost has to run about 15 min of every hour just to keep the electronics going when it is idling and running the ac. That's a much larger (powerful) engine with very little power demand.

 

[loneryder]

https://www.edmunds.com/ram/1500-ramcharger/

No way that truck is 65k

 

[racer12306]

my hunch is the generator is not powerful enough to run it by itself, the truck will monitor discharge rates and will run as needed if the battery gets below a certain percentage while the discharge rate exceeds a specified amount. An example would be towing a large trailer over a long distance. just as an example the generator on the power boost has to run about 15 min of every hour just to keep the electronics going when it is idling and running the ac. That's a much larger (powerful) engine with very little power demand.

I would venture a guess that this is the answer. It would be absurd to allow the battery to deplete in hopes that the generator would be able to keep up.

No way that truck is 65k

I agree, especially in the Tungston trim.

 

[hemioiler]

It’s not though. 92kwh is a big battery. It may be on the smaller end for an EV truck battery. This thing must weigh twice what my Tesla does and nearly 3 times my VW.

It’s getting really dangerous to drive what used to be a normal sized vehicle on the roads today. People shouldn’t be able to privately purchase 7,000lb+ vehicles for road use.

Well if you want EV trucks that can tow, currently that means you're going to pack on weight.

So either you allow people to drive 7000 to 8000 pound trucks, or you allow truck manufacturers to continue to produce ICE trucks. Can't have it both ways.

I personally have no issue with the weight. Society is more than capable of handling 3500 class trucks with 20,000+ pounds of trailer.

 

[alarmguy]

No way that truck is 65k

I believe that is the stripped down version or better said, starting price just like any vehicle.. But whatever, we wont know for another year if it even starts at 65k but I dont know an automaker that advertises the most expensive version of anything new. I assume in the beginning you will only be able to purchase the loaded ones.

 

[Torrid]

Well if you want EV trucks that can tow, currently that means you're going to pack on weight.

So either you allow people to drive 7000 to 8000 pound trucks, or you allow truck manufacturers to continue to produce ICE trucks. Can't have it both ways.

I personally have no issue with the weight. Society is more than capable of handling 3500 class trucks with 20,000+ pounds of trailer.

If we're banning ICE lets just ban trucks too.

Seriously though it's a very narrow group of people how have use of 20k lbs of towing capacity for personal use. Might be verging on the incomes of all those rich EV owners. It's very obvious some of these trucks are large just to be large. They don't need this ridiculous interior space and so much height just for towing capacity. Heck with all the fuel efficiency do dads that are stuck to the bottom of them the front bumper clearance is identical to a Ford Edge. I had both and I have neither for a reason now. I didn't fit the demographic that needed a full size truck like 95% of full size truck buyers. I just had the sense to admit it and buy something more useful.

 

[Torrid]

I believe that is the stripped down version or better said, starting price just like any vehicle.. But whatever, we wont know for another year if it even starts at 65k. I assume in the beginning you will only be able to purchase the loaded ones.

We'd be lucky to find a base, let alone order it and see it show up in any reasonable amount of time. Speaking of that I'm curious to see what version my company is getting of the Ford Lightning. They ordered 35 and now management is driving F150 loaners until the Lightnings show up as it appears Ford was late on the delivery date and the previous trucks are already being retired.

 

[tcp71]

130KW generator is just a little on the small side for a 250-300HP 3.6L engine. Possibly the engine is an Atkinson cycle or other lower output, more efficient design?

It actually seems like a very small engine for 130kw. Kubota uses a 6.1l turbo diesel on their 130kw units.

https://www.kubota.com/news/2014/20140903.html

Cummins 4.5 turbo diesel in their 125kw units.

https://www.centralmainediesel.com/order/Cummins-125-kW-Diesel-Generator.asp?page=6739

A N/A 3.6l V6 seems horribly under-torqued in this application.

 

[Torrid]

It actually seems like a very small engine for 130kw. Kubota uses a 6.1l turbo diesel on their 130kw units.

https://www.kubota.com/news/2014/20140903.html

Cummins 4.5 turbo diesel in their 125kw units.

https://www.centralmainediesel.com/order/Cummins-125-kW-Diesel-Generator.asp?page=6739

A N/A 3.6l V6 seems horribly under-torqued in this application.

It might be. I think the gamble may be used to fill in the gaps most where needed. It's not like it would run at 130kw continuously, or at least I doubt it would. A lot of it is going to be dependent on how they've programmed it to operate. It wouldn't be required to run at extremely high load cycles constantly like something Kubota would make. This looks to be mainly a product for the after truck buyer who wants an EV but still tows longer distances. That'll be the real test.

 

[alarmguy]

We'd be lucky to find a base, let alone order it and see it show up in any reasonable amount of time. Speaking of that I'm curious to see what version my company is getting of the Ford Lightning. They ordered 35 and now management is driving F150 loaners until the Lightnings show up as it appears Ford was late on the delivery date and the previous trucks are already being retired.

Yeah, I get that but I bet they end up being far ahead of the cyber truck which took years to finally make it to the consumer (and still trying)

 

[demarpaint]

Possibly torque to turn the generator. If it can produce more power than the vehicle needs to charge while driving it down the road that’s going to be a lot of force to turn the generator under full load. If a lesser powertrain couldn’t do that then you’d have to charge and get fuel to offset the charge on long trips. If I had to do both I’d just take a straight EV or ICE vehicle instead. I’m really not a fan of unnecessary complication in vehicles especially if the payoff of it sucks. This thing has to be stupid heavy considering it’s a full EV with a V6 generator on board. It’ll be far from efficient for either powertrain.

Then they'll learn at the expense of the early adopters. Either way if it sells they'll be working to improve it. I'd love to see a little diesel power it, but that's never going happen under the current circumstances.

 

[Torrid]

Yeah, I get that but I bet they end up being far ahead of the cyber truck which took years to finally make it to the consumer (and still trying)

You know my opinion on the CT too.

 

[racer12306]

Then they'll learn at the expense of the early adopters. Either way if it sells they'll be working to improve it. I'd love to see a little diesel power it, but that's never going happen under the current circumstances.

Absolutely, I'm in for year 4 lol

A little diesel would be amazing, but I think we just don't have a diesel loving culture in the US. Plus diesel anything adds a huge premium.

 

[demarpaint]

Absolutely, I'm in for year 4 lol

A little diesel would be amazing, but I think we just don't have a diesel loving culture in the US. Plus diesel anything adds a huge premium.

Year 4 sounds good. Sad but true about the diesel. A little 4 cylinder diesel would power it just fine imo, and last a very long time had they not hobbled it with all the emission controls. Having said that it might work well in the current configuration once the bugs get ironed out, and enhancements made based on the early adopters problems and complaints, if any.

 

[Torrid]

Year 4 sounds good. Sad but true about the diesel. A little 4 cylinder diesel would power it just fine imo, and last a very long time had they not hobbled it with all the emission controls. Having said that it might work well in the current configuration once the bugs get ironed out, and enhancements made based on the early adopters problems and complaints, if any.

Is DEF used in other countries? I didn't know if that was a US development. Seems they've slowly made diesel less compelling by design.