index
2021 Dodge 1500 Truck
2nd Tow Vehicle, a Laramie
The Monroney Sticker was missing off the truck. Someone had removed the sticker from the window.
Here is a "Generic" sticker with many things not represented accurately.
Chuck Patterson will not officially comment, but I believe it is illegal for anyone to remove that sticker.
Only the buyer can remove that sticker.
I specked, and wanted, a 3.21 Gear Ratio. According to Added Changes Section, it has a 3.92 Gears.
Also, according to the VIN, which I called in and convermed, has 3.92 Gears.
(I may be able to compensate with larger 20 inch wheels. Worth it? No.)
They gave me the truck for $51 plus some change.
Truck GVWR Gross Vehicular Rating (Vehicle and contents): 7100 lbs.
Van GVWR Gross Vehicular Rating (Vehicle and contents): 6800 lbs.
...about the same.
Truck GAWR, Gross Axle Weight Rating:
Truck Front 3900 lbs with tires 36 lbs on 18 inch tires
Truck Rear 4100 lbs with tires 36 lbs
Personally, I think this is in error, because any axle with a tire pressure of 36 lbs can not support 4100 lbs.
Van GAWR, Gross Axle Weight Rating:
Van Front 3300 lbs with tires 35 lbs on 15 in tires,
Van Rear 3850 lbs with tires 41 lbs
So the 1/2 ton truck has greater front axle limit than the 3/4 ton Van.
Despite the fact that the truck is 4x4.
Size 18 inch x 8 inch. 275/65R18 BSW All season LRR
Max pressure 51 lbs
"Electric Torque" ETourque, Mild Hybrid:
Motor is 130 lb torque on the output side,
And Battery is 48 volt on the energy storage side.
Start/Stop
Up Shift Syncroniser Drains engine speed in the shift interum.
Down Shift Syncroniser adds engine speed during shift interum.
Braking
Brakilng diversion to Cooling Fans
No information given as to tire loading. With 36 lbs, it is not much.
Aluminum hood and tailgate.
Laminated side glass with accustic plastic sandwitched
Driving aids:
Extended Blind Spot to cover intire length of trailer.
Blind Spot also covers Cross Traffic.
Thicker and softer stearing wheel than the van. Heated too.
Manual down shifter on stearing wheel, or Automatic.
Automatic Active Variable Guide Lines for reverse.
Lower back head rests?
Automatic Variable Grill Luvers.
This feature allows the truck to heat up very fast.
Apparantly, there is no regulation after the 102F degree thermostat opens.
Coolant freely rises with no regulation. No post thermostat regulation is unheard of.
Oil temp can rise to 140F degrees.
3 seat presets.
Use one to recline?
A shifter lever is of lesser importants with 8 gears or 10 gears.
The transmission keeps the gearing in the power band. For this truck it is 1500 to 2000 RPM. No more manual shifting.
It may be a different story going down hill:
There you can select, on the steering column, any gear by manually tapping down on a button.
Love the way Dodge stored the shifter away with a nob, and relegated it to only basic functions of Park, Reverse, Drive.
Manual up and down shifting is available on the steering wheel as a button. Manual "tapped" shifting is more like a motorcycle or race car.
There are two other controls: One is the Eco Mode where 4 of the 8 cylinders is rendered inoperative.
In this mode, the valves on 4 cylinders are held closed. The compressed air acts like a spring.
When going down hill you can disable this mode, forcing all 8 cylinders to compress air, force air out, suck in fresh, and compress again.
The result is a Jake Brake. Now in this mode, the 5.7liter is better than smaller turbo boosted engines- In braking power.
Another braking effect, and I do not know how big, is with the Mild Hybrid Generator-Motor. It is supposed to save your Brake Pads.
But of course, nothing can be believed or trusted from a manufacturer. To divert the braking energy, the battery would have to be in a low state.
From an engineering standpoint, I do not see how this state could be guaranteed, especially with a small battery.
When hitching up, the truck squats 3 inches, and lifts in the front .25 inches.
The front sits back down with the torsion bars of the weight distribution hitch.
All and all, both truck and trailer looks level, visually to the eye. Inside on the level gauge, the truck reads one degree off, I assume pointed up.
But most of the time, reads 0 degrees, or level. My B2500 Van was supperier in that it necessarily read 0 degrees, as it had adjustable air bags.
In both the Truck and Van, the front axil weight was determined by the Distribution Hitch.
Laramie overall Length: 19.4 feet
Van overall legnth: 17.5 feet (2 ft diff)
Laramie wheelbase: 12 feet
Van wheelbase: 10.6 feet (2 ft diff. Extra overall length is 75% in wheelbase)
Dispite a longer wheelbase, truck feels like it has a tighter turning radius.
Most tandam parking places are 40.0 ft together.
The Van and Trailer together were exactly 40 feet. Perfect!
But the Truck and Trailer are two feet over. Unfortunate, but still workable.
