New 2025 Ram and Ramcharger PHEV Hybrid revealed

[av8or]

I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with a wrangler (5200lbs.) that has the pentastar. It does the job, but it’s pretty slow. How is that going to be different when the battery is depleted? My guess is with a full size truck hauling around a heavy battery to start with and then hooking up a 7-8k travel trailer (parachute) to the back of it and hitting the hwy at 70mph will have that little engine screaming for mercy, and the mileage will be horrendous.

Sponsored

 

[Dark-Fx]

I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with a wrangler (5200lbs.) that has the pentastar. It does the job, but it’s pretty slow. How is that going to be different when the battery is depleted? My guess is with a full size truck hauling around a heavy battery to start with and then hooking up a 7-8k travel trailer (parachute) to the back of it and hitting the hwy at 70mph will have that little engine screaming for mercy, and the mileage will be horrendous.

Likely will have a "Mountain mode" like the Volt had that forced it to reserve 30% of the battery at all time, and when it depleted below that would obligate the motor to run until it could return to that value.

 

[jjswan33]

I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with a wrangler (5200lbs.) that has the pentastar. It does the job, but it’s pretty slow. How is that going to be different when the battery is depleted? My guess is with a full size truck hauling around a heavy battery to start with and then hooking up a 7-8k travel trailer (parachute) to the back of it and hitting the hwy at 70mph will have that little engine screaming for mercy, and the mileage will be horrendous.

The motor has no ability to propel the vehicle, it's just a range extender (generator) to recharge the battery.

 

[Thedude]

I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with a wrangler (5200lbs.) that has the pentastar. It does the job, but it’s pretty slow. How is that going to be different when the battery is depleted? My guess is with a full size truck hauling around a heavy battery to start with and then hooking up a 7-8k travel trailer (parachute) to the back of it and hitting the hwy at 70mph will have that little engine screaming for mercy, and the mileage will be horrendous.

Th engine is solely a generator and not used for propulsion. The battery won’t be depleted unless you run out of gas. The generator will keep the battery charged and powering the motors so there wouldn’t be a loss of performance.

 

[av8or]

I do understand that the engine is just for generating electricity. I think it said it could produce 130kW. That would be peak at high rpm, and once you’ve been on the hwy for hours doing gas and go stops it seems like that would be marginal. The reason I think this will be the case is that the same engine in my wrangler is marginal when towing 3500 pounds, and I only get 10-11 mpg. My simple mind can’t figure out how it won’t be marginal at best when towing twice the weight.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

90 kwh PHEV battery seems ridiculous, but perhaps related to tow rating or charge cycle longevity. Otherwise, I have personally always felt that series hybrid makes a great deal of sense for those living in colder climates, where you could often make good use of that ICE waste heat. If Toyota built a Taco with this setup and something like a 50 kwh pack, I would be good for a long time.

 

[Thedude]

I do understand that the engine is just for generating electricity. I think it said it could produce 130kW. That would be peak at high rpm, and once you’ve been on the hwy for hours doing gas and go stops it seems like that would be marginal. The reason I think this will be the case is that the same engine in my wrangler is marginal when towing 3500 pounds, and I only get 10-11 mpg. My simple mind can’t figure out how it won’t be marginal at best when towing twice the weight.

All the engine/generator needs to do is provide a constant 1kw ish of power and the battery will be maintained when towing. Basically that’s running at half capacity if it’s a 130kwh generator.

 

[SDH]

I had an i3 with REX ... it was brilliant. Zip around the city on pure electric and then hold the charge with the range extender for longer journeys. I think truck could be a hit ... you just wait for Ford and everyone else to copy this now.

 

[jjswan33]

I do understand that the engine is just for generating electricity. I think it said it could produce 130kW. That would be peak at high rpm, and once you’ve been on the hwy for hours doing gas and go stops it seems like that would be marginal. The reason I think this will be the case is that the same engine in my wrangler is marginal when towing 3500 pounds, and I only get 10-11 mpg. My simple mind can’t figure out how it won’t be marginal at best when towing twice the weight.

I guess I was confused thinking you were talking about pulling power. In which case I wouldn't expect anything different then a Rivian.

Thinking about towing with this power train if you assume a 90kWh battery and you get say 1 mi/kWh so a 90 mile all electric range pulling that trailer. If it can charge at 130kW (130mi/hour range boosting capability) can easily fill the battery before you exhaust your battery range. How big the tank is and how much gas it uses per hour to give you that 130kW charge rate will give your ultimate pulling range. Easy enough to have a jerry can for emergencies.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I do understand that the engine is just for generating electricity. I think it said it could produce 130kW. That would be peak at high rpm, and once you’ve been on the hwy for hours doing gas and go stops it seems like that would be marginal. The reason I think this will be the case is that the same engine in my wrangler is marginal when towing 3500 pounds, and I only get 10-11 mpg. My simple mind can’t figure out how it won’t be marginal at best when towing twice the weight.

130kW is the continuous rating, 190kW peak. They don't describe how long it can hold peak but I wouldn't be surprised if it was essentially perpetually, but the efficiency is going to be bad.

 

[izgoy]

I could care less about the REV, but the Ramcharger?... They're going to sell every one of these they manage to produce. It's an EV for every day use and now it can quell the screaming that EV trucks can't tow cross-country. By the specs, it looks like it ought to still get 50 mpg while running the gas generator and likely close to 25 mpg while towing. If I didn't care about off-road capability, I'd be very interested in this one.

20 miles per gallon on the generator without towing. 1.6 miles per kWh (150 miles on 92 kWh). 20 kWh generation on 1.6 gallons. This makes it 20 miles per gallon.

So, once the generator kicks in, you are going to have about the same efficiency as a regular ICE engine driving the wheels (maybe a couple miles per gallon better) on the highway. In the city, there will be regeneration, so it’s possible that the PHEV will get 25 miles per gallon in the city while the ICE will get 15 miles per gallon.

The real benefit is during the first 120 miles when it drives on pure electric.

And I think if you tow, you will notice much better torque in the PHEV compared with the ICE at about the same efficiency once the generator kicks in. If you tow in the mountains, your efficiency is likely to be about 35% better in the PHEV than in the ICE.

 

[izgoy]

I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with a wrangler (5200lbs.) that has the pentastar. It does the job, but it’s pretty slow. How is that going to be different when the battery is depleted? My guess is with a full size truck hauling around a heavy battery to start with and then hooking up a 7-8k travel trailer (parachute) to the back of it and hitting the hwy at 70mph will have that little engine screaming for mercy, and the mileage will be horrendous.

The generator kicks in once the battery depletes to 20%. The way it will be better is that electric motors have much more torque.

 

[vandy1981]

I do understand that the engine is just for generating electricity. I think it said it could produce 130kW. That would be peak at high rpm, and once you’ve been on the hwy for hours doing gas and go stops it seems like that would be marginal. The reason I think this will be the case is that the same engine in my wrangler is marginal when towing 3500 pounds, and I only get 10-11 mpg. My simple mind can’t figure out how it won’t be marginal at best when towing twice the weight.

The Pentastar in generator configuration is going to run at a relatively constant RPM that maximizes efficiency so a larger share of those kW are going to go to the traction battery.

Also, the transmission and axle gear ratios in your Wrangler are also probably not optimized for towing.

 

[izgoy]

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?

It will be probably about $20,000 cheaper than the BEV judging by the battery size difference.

 

[RWerksman]

It will be probably about $20,000 cheaper than the BEV judging by the battery size difference.

If it is, no one will buy the BEV. I'm hopeful that isn't part of the plan.

Sponsored