New 2025 Ram and Ramcharger PHEV Hybrid revealed

[Adamn]

Good enough all-electric range to cover most driving - it would be plenty to tow my boat/camper to the lake without using the range extender, just enough to make it to the mountains to ski and back, and a gas engine would be nice to have for that once a year I might like to tow farther or trip to Montana where the network isn't quite built out yet.

Would have loved something like this in a midsized pickup 5 years ago. Can't see myself buying something with a gas engine in a couple of years again, but I could see this being a middle solution for people with range anxiety for a pure EV.

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[dleepnw]

Ramcharger is 400V.

92kw battery will go about 150 miles on a charge, per Autopian.

3.6L Pentastar is a generator only for the electric powertrain, putting out 130-140kw.

Total theoretical range of around 700 miles, everything topped up.

Class V towing of 14,000 lbs.


I'm not sure if I'm interested, impressed, horrified, or turned on. There is a lot going on here...

this is very interesting and cool idea to tinker with the plugin hybrid model. i like it.

im assuming the gas engine charges the battery while driving. would be interested to know if you can charge the battery while parked. that would be interesting. theoretically, this would be an ideal overlanding vehicle.

 

[RWerksman]

FYI - Reading about this more, some publications are reporting that the Pentastar would be able to put out 190kw 'when really pressed' which I believe is WAY MORE than enough to operate the electric drivetrain in real time while towing.

Cost is likely to be the differentiator here. How much are we talking? Where does it slot in comparative to the ICE versions and the REV?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

if you care about emissions stop buying new shit. The only thing that’s going to save us from ourselves is another plague. I could burn gas all day long in a TRX and it still wouldn’t come close to the frivolous emissions of the commercial plane travel or shipping. Capitalism at its core is at odds with averting climate change and Rivian just wants to help you sleep at night, they’re not solving the problem.

I'm not going to champion climate change nor do I have any interest in discussion of it. I just wanted to say the "isn't going to help that much so why bother" argument is a fallacy always. Doing something to help out what you believe is a problem is always better than doing nothing. That is true no matter what the problem is or how big.

People grossly overestimate what they can do in a year but way underestimate what can be done in 5-10. Even a little change taken by many people makes a huge difference over time and not doing anything in the face of any big problem is the worst thing you can do.

You're not going to solve homelessness by giving one guy a sandwich but at least he will have food for the night if you do. It might not solve the problem but it does make it better.

 

[Davethadog]

FYI - Reading about this more, some publications are reporting that the Pentastar would be able to put out 190kw 'when really pressed' which I believe is WAY MORE than enough to operate the electric drivetrain in real time while towing.

Cost is likely to be the differentiator here. How much are we talking? Where does it slot in comparative to the ICE versions and the REV?

The engineering to achieve simultaneous charging and driving has to be tough. This is pretty bleeding edge stuff.

 

[manitou202]

This may not be a popular opinion, but any truck used regularly for towing long distances should be a PHEV like the Ramcharger.

Until battery technology dramatically improves in terms of cost, density, and charging speeds, and charging infrastructure can support pull through trucks with trailers and sub-30 minute charge times, this is arguably the best option.

We already have limited charging infrastructure. If electric trucks really took off and were used for towing regularly, it would be a disaster. 1 hour plus charging times and no pull through options for trailers. We would all be waiting for dozens of electric trucks charging like a Chevy Bolt.

The Ramcharger is also a much better setup than most PHEV. Many PHEV have a small motor that is under powered. So while you can drive in electric only mode, the vehicle feels extremely slow. That was our biggest complaint when we owned a Volvo XC90 hybrid. All electric mode took 10 seconds to reach 60 mph.

The Ramcharger at least is the same EV platform in terms of power and acceleration as the full electric truck. It simply replaces the larger battery with a smaller battery and a gas generator. So power and acceleration aren't compromised.

 

[emoore]

The engineering to achieve simultaneous charging and driving has to be tough. This is pretty bleeding edge stuff.

Isn’t that what BMW figured out 10 years ago with the i3?

 

[LevelHeaded]

So, what’s everyone’s preorder number? 48xx here.

 

[RWerksman]

The engineering to achieve simultaneous charging and driving has to be tough. This is pretty bleeding edge stuff.

Yes and no. BMW did this with the i3. GM did this with the Volt. Both happened a decade or so ago. Neither to this capacity though, which would be the really interesting part here.

 

[Dark-Fx]

So, what’s everyone’s preorder number? 48xx here.

I'm not ready to be an early adopter of a Dodge/Ram product. Especially with new tech involved.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I'm not ready to be an early adopter of a Dodge/Ram product. Especially with new tech involved.

Like signing up to be a beta tester for a new type of fireworks.

 

[zefram47]

Yes and no. BMW did this with the i3. GM did this with the Volt. Both happened a decade or so ago. Neither to this capacity though, which would be the really interesting part here.

Strictly speaking, the Volt was still a parallel hybrid. The gas engine did directly drive the wheels at higher speeds because the efficiency of using the ICE as a generator wasn't high enough. I do think the Ramcharger is a good thing, but I also really question whether the specs mentioned are actually feasible. The i3 was a true series hybrid / range-extended EV, but the generator was a 2cyl motorcycle engine that wasn't exactly known for efficiency. That said, the i3 REX was only getting high-20s / low-30s mpg on the highway with the generator running. If a sub-3000 lbs carbon fiber car couldn't get good efficiency, it'll be interesting if Stellantis manages to beat it with this thing. Color me optimistic, but I have questions. Kinda depends on how well they're able to tune the V6 in a massively under stressed capacity to run at constant rpm for use as a generator. I've seen two numbers quoted for pack size too, 70.8 and 92 kWh. If it's 92 gross and 70.8 usable that would give them a pretty big buffer for climbing hills while towing even if the battery showed 0% SoC.

 

[Tahoe Man]

If I was buying a EV truck I would most likely purchase this. Not worrying about charging while towing is huge.

What makes this truck apart than any other is the ability to dcfc and a decent battery size. I think Dodge did a great job on this.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Fun fact, 1 in 20 Ram drivers have a DUI. Hopefully Supercruise will come standard.

 

[RWerksman]

Strictly speaking, the Volt was still a parallel hybrid. The gas engine did directly drive the wheels at higher speeds because the efficiency of using the ICE as a generator wasn't high enough. I do think the Ramcharger is a good thing, but I also really question whether the specs mentioned are actually feasible. The i3 was a true series hybrid / range-extended EV, but the generator was a 2cyl motorcycle engine that wasn't exactly known for efficiency. That said, the i3 REX was only getting high-20s / low-30s mpg on the highway with the generator running. If a sub-3000 lbs carbon fiber car couldn't get good efficiency, it'll be interesting if Stellantis manages to beat it with this thing. Color me optimistic, but I have questions. Kinda depends on how well they're able to tune the V6 in a massively under stressed capacity to run at constant rpm for use as a generator. I've seen two numbers quoted for pack size too, 70.8 and 92 kWh. If it's 92 gross and 70.8 usable that would give them a pretty big buffer for climbing hills while towing even if the battery showed 0% SoC.

You know what, you're right!

It looks like it generated power directly to the motors and COULD spin the wheels on it's own. It only produced 53kw of energy and the Volt motor could devour 111kw, so there was a need for a mechanical connection to maintain similar power.

https://www.wired.com/2010/10/the-chevrolet-volt-isnt-a-true-ev/

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