[AzSky]

The guys at TFL finally did the Ike gauntlet and the new inline 6 did relatively well aside from the downhill portion. The downhill had way too many brake applications. They say the RPMs were too low as if tow/haul and engine braking were disabled. That's pretty disappointing.

The climb was good, the Dmax had better fuel economy and was 34 seconds faster than the new 2020 ecodiesel. Of course mpg estimates are via trip computer but they didn't appear to be outlier #'s and as they seem to be in line with other mpg comparisons between the new ED and dmax.

2020 Dmax - 5.7mpg at 8:09mins, final score 85pts
2020 ED - 5.4mpg at 8:43min, final score 80.5pts

Test differences were the weather and the dmax ran a horse trailer with topside hay storage so it may have experienced slightly more aero drag.

 

[AzSky]

It just dawned on me to check trailer weights for the 2 tests. I think the 2020 ED's trailer was 8600lbs and the 2020 GM's was 7600lbs which makes it difficult to make comparisons. Maybe the TFL guys want to emphasize their point scoring system and not mpg and elapsed time? It doesn't make much sense.

 

[howie12]

Agreed. HArd to conclude much if the trailers were both different weight and different profiles. I hope their goal wasn't to find a way to favor GM. Hard to imagine why they used different trailers with different weights.

 

[ram19]

My opinion is that due to the variables of doing the tests on different days, different weather conditions, traffic slow downs lane changes Etc. make the comparisons here pretty much moot for overall performance. My feeling is it's a neck & neck horse race at this point. The biggest variable will have to be time proven being as the both ecodiesel gen-3 & the Duramax are new designs or re-designs and will need time to see which engine turns out to be the winner in the reliability / longevity race.

At this point what it really comes down to the subjective items like interior, looks, etc. that will sway a person one way or the other.

 

[Bravo2]

Right, the TFL guys just wing it. No different than any of the other amateur YouTube reviewers. I'll watch their stuff to see the vehicles, but don't take anything they say as reliable or scientific.

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

The reason they use different trailers and weights is they want to do the tow and max trailer weight for that specific truck. In the past they used a standard trailer and weight for each catagory but that didnt show how they do at max load.

 

[Crash68]

TFL should do a comparison of each class of truck with the same trailer/weight to give a better comparison.
I know from towing my boat(17' outboard) vs the 24' enclosed that they are both about 3K lbs(the boat is slightly more) that I get about 20 mpgs with the boat, where as the enclosed I'm about 16 mpgs. Towing both up a grade or with a head wind will completely change the towing dynamics of how the truck tows.

I was sort of turned off how TFL did testing on vehicles after they tested the CTD. Instead of letting the engine brake and/or transmission do its thing like the other vehicles tested, the person behind the wheel was trying to think for the truck.

 

[TumaloKeith]

I think they are still using a pre-production RAM that is strip-o. I was at the dealer this week, and it is wacko that they would even have a truck option with a receiver without the attachment rings for the chains. They had one a model on the floor so I asked the salesman, he said you had to order the options, such as the tow package, etc. to get the other receiver. That is just beyond stupid to even carry the model without it in inventory. Sorry, I degress. Back to the subject, how about getting an production model with tow package and air suspension to use for testing?

 

[TumaloKeith]

Isn't there some stat out that over 80% of people typically tow around 4000 pounds and very few tow anywhere close to the max tow rating? It is fine and dandy to see the tow results for a 7000+ pound load, but sometimes it would be interesting to see the tow results for what real users typically haul.

 

[DJL_57]

Isn't there some stat out that over 80% of people typically tow around 4000 pounds and very few tow anywhere close to the max tow rating? It is fine and dandy to see the tow results for a 7000+ pound load, but sometimes it would be interesting to see the tow results for what real users typically haul.

Beat me to it. Sure, I've towed plenty heavy, but more often find myself using it to move just a few thousand pounds. Was just thinking a 4k-5k even playing field test would be realistic to a good chunk of buyers for this truck class.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[ram19]

My take is the TFL guys use what ever trailer someone will lend them at the time for a promo spot in their videos. If they were serious about trying to level the playing field they would have their own trailer which would be at a set known weight and would use it for every towing test in that class of truck.

Overall the TFL guys do a pretty good job, but they do have a lot of variables & subjective opinions in their reviews.

 

[jsd43]

Me personally, the only reason I would have ever considered the Duramax was because of their factory exhaust brake. And that, apparently, had no advantage over the Ecodiesel. I prefer the styling of the Ram, and really like the availability of the diesel over the whole spectrum of trim levels in the Ram as well. I love my Tradesman!