Very new to solar but started purchasing items, not sure of the final specs of the whole system.

[Nobodybusiness]

I agree. If it wasn't for the emission BS, I bet a 2 to 4 cylinder diesel would get the job done with even less fuel. But, they have been making the 3.6 for 10+ years and likely have a stock pile of them.

Yea . Not sure if we will ever get away from Emissions now that it’s a fait accompli.

You’re right though a little 4bt would probably do the job just as well for less fuel.

 

[teal95]

They chose the 3.6 for this job when they have been somewhat interchanging it with the 2.0t because of it's efficiency at higher power levels. For max trailer tow it needed 200+ hp and efficiency. I believe the engine has a few different load points it's set up to run to keep they cycling to a minimum.

 

[Zwy]

Public Service Announcement: Don't waste 14 minutes of your life, as I did, on this moron's rant. He doesn't even grasp the basic principles.

This truck is for people who use their truck every day for normal life stuff and who also occasionally tow long distances. Plug it in at home every night and do your local commuting, hauling, etc. the next day on electricity. This typically saves 50-75% on fuel, depending on your local rates. In daily driving it's the same as a F-150 Lightning, Rivian, Silverado EV or whatever,

When you have a week or two off, hook up your 14k lb 5th wheeler or toy hauler and drive ...... anywhere. East coast to California, Arizona to Maine, Canada to Florida, etc. Stop every few hundred miles and fill up with gas. No range anxiety, no unhooking your trailer every hundred miles at an expensive fast charging station and waiting 90 minutes and no need to avoid remote areas that don't even have fast chargers. Go where you want, when you want. When the battery gets down to 20% the V6 kicks on and you simply keep going.

Don't buy this truck if you have a business hauling classic cars or something. If you're on the open road every day get a diesel.
Don't buy this truck if you're a poseur that never tows. Just get a pretty lifted 4x4 driveway queen like the other poseurs.
Don't buy this truck if your only towing is 50 miles to the lake house or mountain cabin. Get a BEV (Lightning, Rivian, etc.).

But whatever you do, don't listen to Uncle Tony. Every single thing he says is wrong.

PSA- Tony isn't against electric. He is correct about the vehicle owners will probably drive around most of the time using the 3.6L to generate power.

Second PSA- Speaking of rants...........

 

[Zwy]

Once you break initial inertia it doesn’t take much to keep it in motion.
If you truly need to haul stuff then stick with the Proven Diesels.

Seems like a way forward to me..

I tried to find specs for vehicle weight on the REV compared to the standard Ram.

My Duramax diesel work truck pulls a trailer 99% of the time. My other Duramax has a camper on the back 99.5% of the time.

 

[teal95]

I'm guessing it's 1000 lbs heavier than a hemi truck with similar options. They aren't lead but the batteries are still heavy.

 

[Doggydogworld]

Is it all electric drive with a Dedicated Generator or a Hybrid Drive?

There is no mechanical transmission with gears, clutches, etc. When charged up the battery alone powers the electric drive motors. The V6 doesn't run. That gives you 145 miles worth of normal commuting and errands, or something like 50-100 miles if towing.

Need to go farther? The V6 will fire up at ~20% SOC. It runs in "Series Hybrid" mode, like a diesel-electric locomotive. The V6 generates electricity to drive the electric motors. Battery SOC stays around 20%. Note that locomotives can tow thousands of tons for thousands of miles. Their useful life is measured in millions of miles. That's why RAM chose series hybrid mode for long distance towing.

TL;DR
- Battery only operation for daily use, powered by cheap grid (or solar) electricity
- Series Hybrid operation for long trips, especially when towing

 

[Nobodybusiness]

There is no mechanical transmission with gears, clutches, etc. When charged up the battery alone powers the electric drive motors. The V6 doesn't run. That gives you 145 miles worth of normal commuting and errands, or something like 50-100 miles if towing.

Need to go farther? The V6 will fire up at ~20% SOC. It runs in "Series Hybrid" mode, like a diesel-electric locomotive. The V6 generates electricity to drive the electric motors. Battery SOC stays around 20%. Note that locomotives can tow thousands of tons for thousands of miles. Their useful life is measured in millions of miles. That's why RAM chose series hybrid mode for long distance towing.

TL;DR
- Battery only operation for daily use, powered by cheap grid (or solar) electricity
- Series Hybrid operation for long trips, especially when towing

I like it..

 

[#40Fan]

I tried to find specs for vehicle weight on the REV compared to the standard Ram.

With a 1500 coming in around 5500-6000 lbs., I'll guess the REV will be closer to 8000 lbs.

 

[Doggydogworld]

PSA- Tony isn't against electric.

I never said he was. And I love a good informed rant. But 12+ minutes of rant without first spending 12 minutes learning the basics? That only spreads ignorance.

Uncle Tony doesn't even seem to grasp that 1500 Ramcharger and 1500 REV are two different trucks!
1500 REV = Battery only. NO V6!!! Launch version has 350 mile rated range. Refuel only by plugging in.
1500 Ramcharger = Battery + V6. 145 miles on battery then 545 miles on V6.

(Always divide gas/electric/diesel range by 2-3x when towing, depending on load, conditions, etc.)

My Duramax diesel work truck pulls a trailer 99% of the time. My other Duramax has a camper on the back 99.5% of the time.

If you almost never drive your work truck+trailer more than 150-200 miles a day, REV might work for you.
If you daily drive your camper truck, but also take it on occasional long trips, Ramcharger might work for you.
It's also possible neither truck would work for you. It depends on your driving pattern, home charging rates, etc.

Round number work truck + big trailer example:
100 miles a day, 5 days a week = 25k miles/year
10 mpg diesel @ $5/gal = $12,500/yr
1 kWh / mile electric @ 10 cents/kWh = $2,500/yr
$150,000 total fuel savings over 15 year useful life

That's something I'd at least look into....

 

[Zwy]

I never said he was. And I love a good informed rant. But 12+ minutes of rant without first spending 12 minutes learning the basics? That only spreads ignorance.

He is right on one more thing, increased complexity always adds more failure points.

Uncle Tony doesn't even seem to grasp that 1500 Ramcharger and 1500 REV are two different trucks!
1500 REV = Battery only. NO V6!!! Launch version has 350 mile rated range. Refuel only by plugging in.
1500 Ramcharger = Battery + V6. 145 miles on battery then 545 miles on V6.

I was unaware Ram is offering a battery only version. I'm not looking either.

(Always divide gas/electric/diesel range by 2-3x when towing, depending on load, conditions, etc.)


If you almost never drive your work truck+trailer more than 150-200 miles a day, REV might work for you.

Work truck is driven 6000 miles per year on average. It is a 2500HD and I need at least a 3/4 ton. REV would never work for this purpose. I pull an enclosed trailer loaded with shop tools and equipment to service HVAC on equipment. It is one of the last trucks I will ever purchase, never drive it in winter.

If you daily drive your camper truck, but also take it on occasional long trips, Ramcharger might work for you.

Won't work, no payload. I'm close to 11K GVW with camper on the other Duramax. This truck gets less than 5000 miles per year. Trip this year was 3500 miles and we were gone 2.5 weeks but plan on heading to TX and AZ for 3 weeks this winter so it will get more than 5000 miles this year. It has under 120K miles. It also is one of the last trucks I will ever buy.

It's also possible neither truck would work for you. It depends on your driving pattern, home charging rates, etc.

Round number work truck + big trailer example:
100 miles a day, 5 days a week = 25k miles/year
10 mpg diesel @ $5/gal = $12,500/yr
1 kWh / mile electric @ 10 cents/kWh = $2,500/yr
$150,000 total fuel savings over 15 year useful life

That's something I'd at least look into....

I walk across my yard to go to work, I don't have a commute. For what I spend in fuel per year, it is cheaper than the interest earned on the cost of new electric trucks for my fleet.

I do have an older Chevy 5.3L truck I purchased for $1200 that is my runner for now, I purchased it for the engine to install in a street rod project. Had new tires. I've run it 5 years now probably. If I took $60K times 5% (money market rate), I could burn around 1000 gallons of gasoline per year (never mind depreciation, insurance-full coverage, and license fees). At 15 mpg, that is 15,000 miles per year. I can assure you I am way ahead in this game.

I own several more trucks, each has a purpose here. One is always hooked to a flatbed trailer. Another is the backup work truck and does duty on the flatbed in summer (don't drive it in winter either), 3 others are for snow removal on various properties I own. One is a street rod, pleasure. And I have another street rod project in the works.

 

[Doggydogworld]

He is right on one more thing, increased complexity always adds more failure points.

Ramcharger has no failure-prone automatic transmission, the V6 almost never does cold starts and it mostly runs at a constant RPM. It should be more reliable than the gas or diesel versions, though only time will tell. REV is vastly simpler than any other version, obviously.

Work truck is driven 6000 miles per year on average. .
This truck (camper) gets less than 5000 miles per year.

Yeah, not nearly enough miles to justify an EV. That's why I don't have one, I used to drive a lot but am now well under 5k miles/year.

Ramcharger and REV payloads are listed at 2625-2700 lbs, higher than 1500 but less than most 2500 configs.

 

[kromc5]

I decided to put the truck up for sale and see what offers it gets. This is my first time positive since Sunday, smoke from wildfires made it hard to breathe Monday outside. Nothing but smoke with heavy clouds and rain. The pellet stove has already proven invaluable as we would be far lower on capacity. We had to wash and dry two full loads yesterday which nets us -110 to -154 amps negative depending on other loads. Ran the stove last night for 3 hours and it's been on lv1 since 8:15 am, now 2:05 pm it took an almost full 5-gallon Lowe's bucket to fill up what was used.

 

[kromc5]

I started up the pellet stove at 11:30 on lv1, and turned it off this morning at 10:40. The Outside temp was 27f, and the upstairs temp was 82f. I filled it back up to the same point and weight the leftover in the bag and it used roughly 30 pounds.

 

[kromc5]

Since my post in Nov 1st even without using any heat we have yet to get a full charge. We were at 56 / 58 this morning its been party cloudy but we got a decent charge.

 

[kromc5]

We were down to 65 and 55 percent today, winter plus non-stop cloudy days is always difficult. Without the pellet stove, we would have had to switch over. Lighting sold faster than expected and I had a long drive to get the new truck. The new truck is much more efficient getting 12+ miles per kWh. If you can guess the year, make, trim, and model we are offering 1 week of no-expenses paid vacation working on solar.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

12+ miles per kWh

You're so deep into this that everything is a kWh, even on a gas driven vehicle

 

[kromc5]

Got full sun and almost in the best time for production, hitting over 26kw.

 

[kromc5]

For the first time in 3 years the solar gate lost power, I had to manually unlock it. The batteries are at 46 percent, guessing it will be in the middle 30's tomorrow morning. Last few winters have just been so cloudy and cold. I have bumped my SCCS up by 1v this year at least twice as much as last year when ever it was sunny. Over the last 4 days we have managed at most 48 amps, and mostly in the 2 to 20 amp range. If I wanted to charge more than we use during continued cloudy days I would need to double the array size. Bolt is down to 70 miles left and will switch to our older forte if needed. We also haven taken steps to reduce consumption as well.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

For the first time in 3 years the solar gate lost power, I had to manually unlock it. The batteries are at 46 percent, guessing it will be in the middle 30's tomorrow morning. Last few winters have just been so cloudy and cold. I have bumped my SCCS up by 1v this year at least twice as much as last year when ever it was sunny. Over the last 4 days we have managed at most 48 amps, and mostly in the 2 to 20 amp range. If I wanted to charge more than we use during continued cloudy days I would need to double the array size. Bolt is down to 70 miles left and will switch to our older forte if needed. We also haven taken steps to reduce consumption as well.

We are all in the same boat. Paneling for winter is a pain..
Overproduction in summer.

 

[kromc5]

We are all in the same boat. Paneling for winter is a pain..
Overproduction in summer.

The first year I realized I needed to double the panels, doubled them in the spring then added even more the next year. I keep thinking this would be enough but it never is. I have a few more left over to install but waiting till summer to redo a few of the arrays. But I will say the pellet stove has been a complete success. Not every seeing one in use I was unsure of the performance and if it would work. We have not used the heat once upstairs this year and still have littler more than 1/3 of a pallet left.