Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I remember a long time ago one of my teachers complained that he got 8-10mpg on his ram 1500. Are they really that bad on fuel mileage? I never asked how far away from work he lived but maybe if he only drove a few miles then that could be the cause. I would think they could atleast get 13-15 average. If not do they at least hall [censored] to make up for it? I'm talking about the 2003-1008 model era dodge ram.
8-10 MPG is definitely on the low side. Even the previous generation Ram's with the 318's and 360's did a little better than that. A HEMI Ram should do better than that even all city unless it is 100% stop and go with tons of idling.
FWIW I have owned 2 Ram 1500's with the 5.7L HEMI from the time frame you are asking about...
2004 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4WD SLT w/ 5.7L HEMI( no MDS ). It had 3.55's and 17" tires. It averaged around 14-15 MPG with a mix of city and highway. I could get up to 20-21 all highway in optimal conditions.
NOTE - when I has this truck we did not have ethanol blended fuels. It was regular gas w/ MTBE so no ethanol penalty.
2008 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4WD SLT w/ 5.7L HEMI( with MDS ). It had 3.92's and 20" tires.It averaged around 12-14 MPG with a mix of city and highway. I could get up to 18-19 all highway in optimal conditions.
NOTE - when I has this truck all gas here was E10 so there was an ethanol penalty on the MPG. Probably would have been closer to the 04's MPG if regular gas was available.
Both trucks had duals, CAI, hard tonneau covers, and Royal Purple synthetics all around for the most part( never got the 08's trans swapped to MaxATF ). MDS IMO is useless in the Ram. It works well in the 300 and smaller vehicles but in the Ram there really is no MPG gain.
The 03-08 5.7L used in the Ram had 345HP and 375 FTLBS so yes it hauls arse. IMO you would be better off with an 04+ model. 03 used different programming and doesn't offer up the same aftermarket support( tuners )as 04+ models do( if that matters to you ).
The Ram 1500's from that time frame are good vehicles. They have their unique issues as all vehicles do but overall good truck. 03-05 look for cracked dash pads. 06-08 look for problems with the recirculating doors( heat & AC ).