2025 Ramcharger

[Pribilof]

At steady state operation (highway driving) its most efficient for the engine to drive the wheels directly. The efficiency gains of hybrids come from stop and go traffic, heavy acceleration or low loads. Using a motor to then power a generator which then turns a motor is in effect stacking multiple losses together.

If what you were saying was true i could add an alternator to the wheels on a tesla to charge the battery which would allow the car to self power itself, effectively an free energy hack. That doesnt work LOL

First, nobody said this was a perpetual motion machine. Regardless, EVs do have regenerative braking, which IS adding power back to the battery.

They've been running diesel electric locomotives since the 1950s. Maybe they would have switched to something else if that wasn't a good fit for heavy loads or travelling long distances at steady speeds...

 

[andymarkv]

It has a ~70 kWh battery, which is decent sized. For comparison, the Powerboost has a 1.5, Lightning, 98, and Silverado EV 200.

I'd guess 6-7K curb weight.

Ram lists it as a 92kWh battery...so yeah, if a lightning f150 with 98kWh battery and aluminum body weighs 6500...without an ICE V6 and components...I would expect this thing to be HEAVY!

An all steel Tundra Pro with 1.8kWh battery is 6000lbs, so this thing would be 7000? Although...there would be no traditional transmission in this ram?
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger | Ram Electric Truck

 

[FIVEHOE]

they neutered the trx as well... glad I got mine when I did

 

[mc01svt]

Not having a transmission is one of the most significant advantages. An ICE driving a generator at an ideal constant rpm and load vs. running through an efficiency sapping gear box.

Locomotives have been using this for years as the most efficienct means to move cargo. It's proven and old school for sure. Nothing is perfect

im almost willing to bet money that this whole idea of the engine not being coupled to the wheels is some "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" shenanigans.

Ram website says a 130kw generator. Thats only good for 174hp. Pentastar v6 is 300hp so to get 660hp total you have to do some type of e-boosting to combine engine power and battery power simultaneously. So even if they are not connected by a shaft the energy is still being used as if they were.

 

[mc01svt]

its also odd that you only get 145mi range from a 92kwh battery. That would suggest the system has some huge losses. F150 lightning pro is 98kwh and gets 230mi.

 

[snakecharmer]

I honestly always thought Ford would be the first one to kill off the V8 in its truck line since they have been pushing their problem child V6 so hard for years. At least RAM did the 6 pot inline instead of a V. Hopefully it is more reliable than ecojunk, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Without Hemi, RAM is removed from consideration for my next truck. I will not buy a pickup that doesn't have a V8.

 

[GTSpartan]

im almost willing to bet money that this whole idea of the engine not being coupled to the wheels is some "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" shenanigans.

Ram website says a 130kw generator. Thats only good for 174hp. Pentastar v6 is 300hp so to get 660hp total you have to do some type of e-boosting to combine engine power and battery power simultaneously. So even if they are not connected by a shaft the energy is still being used as if they were.

Both the generator and batteries provide power when needed. So, technically you;re right that it is effectively providing the power. At the end of the day, something has to provide the energy.

You can see in the reveal vid that the engine is not connected to any sort of transmission.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

Oh look another over priced vehicle that won’t do what they say it will

 

[03cobra#694]

Locomotives have been using this for years as the most efficienct means to move cargo. It's proven and old school for sure.

Any mention of AC vs DC? That was a big deal back in the day of Diesel/Electric trains.

 

[*Jay*]

Oh look another over priced vehicle that won’t do what they say it will

Considering most people wont plug them in nor have a level 2 charger at home I agree, these numbers out of a pure hybrid would have been much more interesting.

 

[andymarkv]

Considering most people wont plug them in nor have a level 2 charger at home I agree, these numbers out of a pure hybrid would have been much more interesting.

This seems like pure hybrid to me? As stated, the Chevy Volt was designed the same way YEARS ago.
Ice transmissions are not very efficient, electric motors are. So this seems like a reasonable approach to try vs full BEV.
But with all that weight...will total efficiency go down?

 

[mc01svt]

This seems like pure hybrid to me? As stated, the Chevy Volt was designed the same way YEARS ago.
Ice transmissions are not very efficient, electric motors are. So this seems like a reasonable approach to try vs full BEV.
But with all that weight...will total efficiency go down?

This has been tried over 20yrs ago and theres no way of getting around the losses of energy conversion. Toyota is the industry leader and their hybrid systems still allow the engine to power the wheels directly.

Series vs Parallel vs Series/Parallel Drivetrains.
Since the engine is connected directly to the wheels in parallel drivetrains, the inefficiency of converting mechanical power to electricity and back is eliminated, increasing the efficiency of these hybrids on the highway. This reduces, but does not eliminate, the efficiency benefits of having an electric motor and battery in stop-and-go traffic.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

they neutered the trx as well... glad I got mine when I did

How so?

 

[Tob]

 

[BlueSnake01]

At first I thought it was going to be an SUV EV Charger like the "Mustang" Mach-E lol

 

[GTSpartan]

This has been tried over 20yrs ago and theres no way of getting around the losses of energy conversion. Toyota is the industry leader and their hybrid systems still allow the engine to power the wheels directly.

Series vs Parallel vs Series/Parallel Drivetrains.
Since the engine is connected directly to the wheels in parallel drivetrains, the inefficiency of converting mechanical power to electricity and back is eliminated, increasing the efficiency of these hybrids on the highway. This reduces, but does not eliminate, the efficiency benefits of having an electric motor and battery in stop-and-go traffic.

+1000000

This is to satisfy the crazies who want an EV, but have range "anxiety" lol. I believe with the way some of statues and regulations are being written at the state/national levels, this configuration exlpoits a loophole that traditional hybrids can't. It's ridiculous for sure, but that's what you get when a gov't imposes it's will vs. letting the free market work it's magic.

 

[*Jay*]

This seems like pure hybrid to me? As stated, the Chevy Volt was designed the same way YEARS ago.
Ice transmissions are not very efficient, electric motors are. So this seems like a reasonable approach to try vs full BEV.
But with all that weight...will total efficiency go down?

Plug in hybrids need to be plugged in to keep the batteries topped off, fuel efficiency falls off a cliff if you dont plug in and just rely on the engine/regeneration to charge the batteries.

Pure hybrids rely solely on the engine/regeneration to keep the batteries charged.

 

[FIVEHOE]

How so?

Here's the highlight:

2025 Ram 1500 RHO Is a Six-Cylinder TRX with 540 HP​

2025 Ram 1500 RHO Is a Six-Cylinder TRX with 540 HP

While it trades a Hellcat V-8 for a Hurricane straight-six, the RHO keeps the TRX's wide body and hardcore off-road hardware.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Tob]

It's the 1980 Trans Am all over again.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

Here's the highlight:

2025 Ram 1500 RHO Is a Six-Cylinder TRX with 540 HP​

2025 Ram 1500 RHO Is a Six-Cylinder TRX with 540 HP

While it trades a Hellcat V-8 for a Hurricane straight-six, the RHO keeps the TRX's wide body and hardcore off-road hardware.

www.caranddriver.com

That is awful