PHEVs to Rule Trucks?

[insightman]

Stellantis reveals it's enlightened take on electrified trucks:
2026 Ram 1500 Brings Back the Hemi

This Hemi comes with Stellantis' mild-hybrid eTorque system, but Stellantis didn't think the battery was important enough to include in their illustration.

 

[Landshark]

but Stellantis didn't think the battery was important enough to include in their illustration.

Assuming you’re correct in knowing what Stellantis was thinking, I’d have to agree that showing the location of a pint sized battery when discussing the reintroduction of the V-8 Hemi engine to the 1500 Series trucks isn’t that important. The Hemi is the story.

 

[Landshark]

No Ramcharger for us. I pulled the trigger on a conventional Ram truck yesterday. Incentives totaled about $14,000.

 

[NorCalPete]

Probably no Ramcharger for me either - turns out I'll need a new tow vehicle sooner that expected. My 1996 Suburban had a catastrophic head gasket failure on July 4th as we were entering Grants NM, resulting in a seized engine. It's not worth repairing, so I'm selling it to a salvage yard and renting a U-Haul to get the travel trailer and us home. Fortunately, this occurred as we were heading home from a 5 1/2 week cross-country trip rather than on the outbound leg. Given the many Ramcharger delays, I'm ready to move on to other options.

@Landshark, what model Ram truck did you buy and how do you like it so far (beyond the CEL issue you had to deal with)?

 

[Landshark]

@Landshark, what model Ram truck did you buy and how do you like it so far (beyond the CEL issue you had to deal with)?

I got a 1500 Laramie 4x4 with the Hurricane engine. Not having either a TT or 5er, my towing needs are minimal. Just a boat that goes a half mile to the ramp. I believe the towing capacity is north of 8K. It’s been getting 21mpg on sub-60mph country roads. Better than the 14mpg the old 1999 GMC was getting.

I also gain 120hp and 110 lb/ft of torque, but lose the 8’ bed and 1,000lbs of payload. I’ll make do. I believe it has a 10 speed transmission and light acceleration results in strangely rapid shifts. Moderate acceleration is very rewarding. The ride is exceptional with the multi link rear suspension.

The discounts ended on June 30th and the biggest discounts applied to the 1500’s.

 

[NorCalPete]

We eventually got back to California on the 12th, and I pulled the trigger yesterday on a Ram 2500 Laramie crew cab diesel that has all the packages/features we wanted and none of the ones we didn't need/want. The dealership was relatively close by (2 hours away), and incentives and bargaining reduced the MSRP by $13,000 -- far beyond what my local dealer (or any other dealer within 200 miles) could manage. We'll pick it up tomorrow, giving me 10 days to sort it out before we leave for our next camping trip.

So no Ramcharger for me either -- I'll call Ram tomorrow to request a refund for my "REV Insider's Club" membership.

 

[Landshark]

I pulled the trigger yesterday on a Ram 2500 Laramie crew cab diesel

You may find the towing experience to be somewhat improved over that with the 1996 Suburban.

As much as I tried to convince myself that I needed a 3/4-ton with a diesel, logic and reason prevailed. We’ve had no CEL’s for 3 weeks. Running boards were installed last week and look great. I also installed a hard, roll up tonneau cover with t-slot rails to accommodate a ladder/lumber rack which I’ll order after selling the old truck. Driver and passenger windows get tinted tomorrow.

Congratulations on the new ride.

 

[NorCalPete]

As much as I tried to convince myself that I needed a 3/4-ton with a diesel, logic and reason prevailed.

I kept trying to convince myself that a 1/2 ton might work, not wanting to go the heavy duty diesel route, but ultimately we needed the payload capacity and towing power for the level of safety and comfort we wanted. We'll likely put a cap over the bed eventually to carry our travel gear (e.g., folding ebikes, generator, inflatable SUPs, etc.) safely and securely.

 

[Joe17]

I have towed an RV with a 1/2 ton that was well within the weight and tongue limits. It was not very pleasurable so next time I'd personally go with the 3/4 ton.

 

[Landshark]

I have towed an RV with a 1/2 ton that was well within the weight and tongue limits. It was not very pleasurable so next time I'd personally go with the 3/4 ton.

Agreed. Newer 1/2 tons have spectacular maximum towing and payload capacities. Many can tow 10K lbs or more, it just isn’t an enjoyable experience. To the surprise of many a 3/4 ton with a heavy diesel engine may have about the same payload as a 1/2 ton with a gas engine.

A 3/4 ton diesel truck is a very popular choice for towing fifth wheel trailers. Unfortunately, the combined weight of the hitch, pin weight and family and gear in the truck frequently exceeds the rated payload capacity. There’s ample power to pull the trailer so owners don’t realize they’re overloaded. About 60% of RV setups are overweight in one way or another.

 

[NorCalPete]

Earlier this year, Ram completed a re-certification process for their 2025 and newer HD 2500 and 3500 trucks, resulting in an 850 pound increase in their payload capacities. I saw the results of this change first-hand on the dealers' lots. My 2500 Laramie diesel was manufactured in late February and has a 2256 payload rating, while other, similarly equipped trucks manufactured in April or latter were rated over 3000 pounds. As noted in this article and elsewhere, nothing was changed on the 2025 models except for the payload stickers for trucks landing at dealerships during or after May. While the original-rated capacity of my truck definitely will meet my needs, it's comforting to know that it actually can handle an additional 850 pounds.

 

[Landshark]

While the original-rated capacity of my truck definitely will meet my needs, it's comforting to know that it actually can handle an additional 850 pounds.

It can probably handle an additional 1500-2000lbs, certainly for short distances, without resulting in a mechanical failure. From a legal standpoint, the vehicle has the capacities that were provided by the manufacturer and are displayed on the sticker.

 

[Landshark]

Stellantis recently announced that they are discontinuing development of the Ram 1500 BEV. The Ramcharger will now be know as the Ram 1500 REV.

Perhaps they’ve already manufactured a number of plastic 1500 REV badges which would otherwise have been discarded had they not transferred the name to the other truck.

 

[brianc35]

I read an article yesterday that put EV pickup trucks near the bottom of the reliability list. all of them. like they f150 scored 85/100, and the lightning scored 13/100 for reliability. I meant to post it here but i can't find it now.

I'm hoping the trucks get better. They have more potential to carry larger number of cells and ultimately, i'm looking for my truck to be my backup power system for my house too. I considered generators (20 grand!) as i have gas, and it's not worth it for a 10 year lifecycle on the thing. If i can lease (and i would lease) a new EV pickup every 3 years, i essentially get a brand new battery bank that doesn't cycle out.

Anyway, back on topic, it's hard to keep up with all the models coming out and phasing out already. I was looking to add a few categories and it seems like a few are already done before they even got started. Such is the nature of the cutting edge industry. How many brands from the 30s and 40s are just gone now....

 

[David Towle]

They have more potential to carry larger number of cells and ultimately, i'm looking for my truck to be my backup power system for my house too. I considered generators (20 grand!) as i have gas, and it's not worth it for a 10 year lifecycle on the thing.

I just use a simple portable natural gas generator it works great for everything we need in Florida and cost $800. It can't power our central air but we just switch to 2 window units and we are fine.

 

[Landshark]

I'm hoping the trucks get better. They have more potential to carry larger number of cells and ultimately, i'm looking for my truck to be my backup power system for my house too. I considered generators (20 grand!) as i have gas, and it's not worth it for a 10 year lifecycle on the thing. If i can lease (and i would lease) a new EV pickup every 3 years, i essentially get a brand new battery bank that doesn't cycle out.

If you can swing a new truck lease every 3 years, you can probably afford a backup generator. $20K sounds steep and whoever told you they only last 10 years is misinformed. Unless you have frequent and lengthy outages it’s only going to run a self-test every week or two for about 15 minutes. It’ll easily last 20-30 years with nothing more than annual oil changes.

One obvious drawback to the vehicle as a backup generator idea is when a power outage occurs and the vehicle isn’t home. We’re in the middle of an 8 day road trip. If the power goes out at the house, the generator will come on. Priceless.

 

[David Towle]

If you can swing a new truck lease every 3 years, you can probably afford a backup generator. $20K sounds steep and whoever told you they only last 10 years is misinformed. Unless you have frequent and lengthy outages it’s only going to run a self-test every week or two for about 15 minutes. It’ll easily last 20-30 years with nothing more than annual oil changes.

One obvious drawback to the vehicle as a backup generator idea is when a power outage occurs and the vehicle isn’t home. We’re in the middle of an 8 day road trip. If the power goes out at the house, the generator will come on. Priceless.

The other big disadvantage to a vehicle as backup is gasoline availability. We had an 8 day outage in CT about 13 years ago and when you don't have power usually the gas stations don't have power either. During that outage I spent many hours driving far away to get the 15 gallons or so we needed per day to keep the generator going. Luckily I had 30 gallons worth of gas cans but had to make several stops because stations were limiting purchases. Natural gas is so much better, although I guess theoretically it could fail too.

 

[brianc35]

I am in CT as well, i remember the snowpocoypse well. I was lucky- only out for 5 days.

I have NG at the house, so its logical to have a whole house system. It's hard to justify the sunk cost f maybe 4 days a year? and then a once in a blue moon scenario like that october storm.

I lose power often -- i live in a pretty rural area, for an over-night a few times a summer and once a while in the winter.

My biggest thing is i'm on a well -- i need 240v, and that means a big portable system with a running consumption of a LOT of gas. Gas doesnt' store well. and when there's no power here, the gas stations don't have it either.

The truck bank as a back up would be a true back up... keep the fridge on and let us flush the toilets for a few days. If i'm not home, there's likely nothing in my fridge anyway, and who needs water?

 

[Landshark]

As fate would have it our road trip has us in CT for a few more days.

It’s anyone’s guess whether or not they’ll be home when there’s an outage, or how long the outage will last. We’ve experienced outages of up to 8 days at 2 different houses over the last few years. A dedicated backup power system quite literally saved our bacon.

 

[brianc35]

I have a class C RV and keep it in my driveway. in a pinch, or a predicted storm, i can top off the water, gas, and propane and it will support our food for several weeks in the fridge boondock style, but all of it obviously won't fit in the tiny fridge. I have a small briefcase solar panel and onboard 4kw generator to keep the batteries topped off. Likely a small thunderstorm turns into a micro burst and suddenly wires are down everywhere for a bit and we weren't ready.... or it's winter and the RV is winterized and not going to help us.

I'd love to figure out a way to run a 30amp cord out of the 4kw rv gen into the house somehow. i imagine there's a way to do it with a transfer switch. But again, the gas thing is a finite resource. The RV tank is 50+ gallons, that will last a bit running just the generator every few hours.
But again, 30amp 120 won't run my well, so it's moot.


It's hard to justify 20k for 4 days a year. the ROI just isn't there. With wanting it in the truck, well, i need/drive a truck anyway, and i'd likely charge it at home because there's 1 charger in town and it's always occupied and people complain how slow it is, so it can't be a good one. i think it's 6kwh if i recall someone mentioning before. Why not have the battery bank as an option?

Yes, i would probably lease it just so i'm not stuck with an old bank and a costly repair/upgrade. I don't drive a lot and can get away with one of those super low mileage leases, like 8-10k miles a year without issue. We take my wife's car most of the time with the kids.

Plus, since i work here now, maybe i can write it off as a business expense. any cpa's here? wishful thinking....