Anyone have the 3.6 in a new Ram truck? What are your opinions? MPG? Tow a open trailer and B body on occasion? The reason I ask is that's the only deal I can get on a new lease. And I never end up buying out. So driving one for 2 years would be ok with me if it's a decent truck.

I leased a 2016 Ram with the 3.6, so far so good. I think it has decent power for a small V6. My last Ram was a 2014 Hemi. Im not sure its going to pull a open trailer with a heavy car on it, but i do tow a smaller trailer loaded with fire wood with no problem. Fuel millage is good, im very happy with this truck.

From this article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013...-we-want-page-3

it seems to be all right. 305 or more horsepower is more than most trucks had 20 years ago. From this and other road tests it seems like the automatic transmission is the one to get. it should keep the engine in its high torque range more of the time.

Shoot, people towed trailers with 90hp slant 6s. You just have to be used to the idea to use the engine where it works best, and to possibly be slower than you'd like. If you are going to be towing something heavy every day, get a Diesel.

R.

Sample quote from above Car & Driver article

Unfortunately, our observed fuel economy (with the 3.6) is only slightly better than V-8 pickups at 15 mpg. The optional 3.55:1 final-drive ratio (versus the standard 3.21:1) on the truck we tested no doubt had a part in both outcomes.

End quote

I had wondered what a Pentastar 3.6/auto 3.55 in a regular cab short bed Ram 2wd would do at a steady 70 mph on a mostly level blacktop interstate on a low wind day.

For reference, my 2001 Ram 4x4 extended cab has the 318 auto in it. The 318 is rated at 230hp.

I use it to pull an 18 ft open trailer a couple times a year to get a parts car or something. It gets the job done, but the truck is a gutless wonder. There could be something wrong with mine - because it is so under powered. BUT, it still gets the job done.

I would think you would be ok with the 305hp V6 for a handful of trips per year.

Reading the OP's posts, he says, "The reason I ask is that's the only deal I can get on a new lease." So comparing it with a larger V8 doesn't help him in any way.

I towed many cars with my 318 D100 and it was slower than anything. Those were 600 mile trips. It did the job. This engine will, too, and for towing a few times a year, it'll do. Just get used to semis passing you going uphill.

R.

Actually my comparison does help him, because I am telling him my 318 WITH LESS HORSEPOWER works fine for towing a car a few times a year.

Heading up there now. We'll see how it compares to my current 2015 5.7
Hemi

My first Ram was a 1996 1500 with the 3.9L V6 & manual trans. It pulled my 17' 6" fiberglass bass boat with ease. The new 3.6L is a kick a$$ motor. I'm on my second 300 with this engine & I'd have this vs. the Hemi because of VERY adequate power, reliability, & fuel mileage. My 2012 300 RWD would get 25 MPG around town, & about 33 on the highway. My 2014 300 is AWD & does OK on fuel, but is more thirsty than the RWD. In a Ram, I think this engine would be very adequate for daily driving & occasional light towing.

I had considered one. I asked a co-worker that had a 2015 if the 25 mpg hwy claim was true, he said he got 24@75 mph. Last summer I was shopping for an under 4000 lb travel trailer and planned to buy a new 1500 with the 3.6 and 3.55 rear axle to pull it with.

I have been using my '84 D100, 225, 833od, 3.91 to pull my 1800 lb car trailer. I pulled everything from a 2850 lb '68 Valiant (easy tow) to a 4000 lb '67 Hemi Charger (harder tow) to a 5000 lb '06 John Deere 5003 (too hard of a tow but it was only for 10 miles). If a 100 HP slant six with a 3.91 gear can pull 6000+ lb, I thought a 305 HP 3.6 with a 3.55 gear could do it with ease.

The 3.6 plan didn't work out, I ended up with a 5.7 for two reasons, one minor, one major.
Minor-The trailer I bought was 5100 lbs empty, 1100 lbs more than my goal maximum.
Major-Couldn't find a 3.6 1500 equiped like I wanted within 1000 miles of me.

Is it presently possible to rent a Ram with the 3.6 from Hertz/Avis/Enterprise or some other source?

Has anyone seen an Uber or Lift driver using a 3.6 Ram?

Well I pulled the trigger on a 3.6 Bighorn. Don't have a lot of miles on it yet. But I like it so far. And I'm coming from a 2015 Hemi. If I was going to buy one. The hot rodder in me would buy the Hemi. But since I'm just leasing. I think this will do fine. Didn't get a smoking deal. But I can't find the $199 deal like I had with the 2015 anywhere. I'll let you know what I think after I get some time with it.

I rented a Ram 1500 with a 5.7L Hemi when I went to Michigan this past summer.

The thing I found interesting was with 3.21 gear, the tow rating is 4300. And with the 3.55 it goes to 7300. That much difference in towing with that small of a gear change. Crazy

Many rental companies only purchase basic vehicles. Enterprise here has a few Hemi trucks, some have tow package, some dont. If you need it a certain day, you might get lucky and you might not. Might call around just to get general idea if rental companies have trucks with towing packages that you could reserve if needed..

People keep throwing around that big 305 hp number, but it's TORQUE that actually does the work. The 3.6's 250-270 lbs/ft of torque is only slightly better than a 175 hp 3.9 Mags 225 lbs/ft and less than a 230 hp 5.2's 295 lbs/ft. Most of the current VVT engines need to rev to make the big HP #s and the 3.6 is no exception, and it needs the 6 - 8 speed transmissions to keep the engine buzzing to make any useful power. The 3.6 may be fine on level ground, but any kind of hills would probably work the trans pretty hard trying to keep the engine in it's higher powerband. I drove a friends new quad cab 3.6 and it didn't feel any stronger than my old 3.9 extended cab Dakota.

The 3.6 probably would be fine for an occasional trailer towing adventure, but I personally wouldn't get one if I was going to tow very often.