The air suspension is smooth on road, but offroad and/or when it's raised it is more rough and can't handle the larger bumps. Congrats on your purchase it's a great truck! I haven't had the chance to test a 1500 with the coil springs fully, although I've driven a few.
Wow! I didn’t expect the Ram to have such difficulty with these tests! It really says something when a Ridgeline is able to complete some portions of the off road test with greater ease and less commotion than a off-road machine like the Ram.
I was pretty surprised as well, but with the rear locker engaged it's very capable. With the locker engaged the Rebel will do everything much easier than the Ridgeline.
The Ridgeline's poor angles and lack of 4Lo torque multiplication is what keeps it from being a real offroader. I think its AWD system is pretty good. I'd love to see Honda release a more offroad friendly trim package with better angles, I think it would actually surprise a lot of people.
Great videos. I like how you replicate the test with each option on the truck. Much better than other vids that just go up a trail once and that's it. Keep making great vids! I wish I lived near an area that had that kind of hill so I could see my truck's performance.
I don’t understand why everyone is getting the air suspension, especially in the off road package. Go coil over and it’s easier to modify or upgrade later. Plus, less chance of ripping a bag and being crippled, not to mention expensive upkeep. I don’t get it...
As far as keeping things stock, air suspension allows for a lower ride height on road (for better handling and economy) and a higher ride height off road (for better ground clearance). I'm not sure why air bags are less reliable, Semi-trucks have been using them for decades without issue, many will go a million miles or more. For some reason on passenger cars they aren't nearly as reliable. I agree that when modifying it's much better to have a steel spring than air suspension, also air suspension doesn't seem to have as much travel as steel suspension.
@@EngineAdventures I agree with everything you said, if you are on a laramie, limited, etc for typical road use. If I were to buy say a Laramie, I would definitely opt for the air suspension over standard coil over and shocks, but for an off road platform, it really doesn't make sense. That was my main point ;)
I have a 2020 Rebel with the coil suspension and while both are very capable I would take mine over air ride any day. If you plan to upgrade the suspension at all you have WAY more upgrade paths with coils and shocks than with air ride.
I sold me 2008 Silverado Z71 with G80 rear and bought a 2017 Ram1500 Laramie. I LOVE driving the Ram, but that locking G80 rear made a huge difference. The Chevy beat me up on the road though. I wish I had a locking rear on my 2017!
Thanks for sharing! Both the Land Cruiser and Sequoia I tested had higher payload capacities than the Ram Rebel I tested, I'd say they can definitely be compared.
Move the air ride up one more height. I have it on my 2013 and have no issues offroading Jeep trails in Colorado. Soft and cushy, tires matter as well, of you air em down ten pounds it's better as well depending on the terrain.
I haven't driven a 2013, but I've driven a 19 Laramie longhorn and this 2020 rebel both with air suspension. With the 19 I was on better maintained gravel roads and I never had a problem. It's when I got into the big bumps and dips that the Rebel had the hard hits and clanging. As you increase the height, it decreases down travel and increases the spring rate. This makes it ride much stiffer, especially in the highest setting. Airing down the tires makes a huge difference, but to keep the tests as similar as possible, and to test the traction systems more than the tires, I never air down. Thanks for the comment!
Did you lower the tire pressure? Are they LT tires? LT tires will be stiffer. I also wonder if the ecodiesel engine is heavier than the hemi which might be impacting the suspension.
For my normal testing I don't air down the tires. If I'm outside of my normal test process I might, like the sand dunes with the Tundra TRD Pro. The factory tires are LT tires. The engines are actually very close in weight as far as I could find. Probably within 150 pounds.
Do you have the transfer case with the "auto" option ? If so i'd think that's the reason your truck is struggling without the rear locker on that much.
I can't remember for sure, but I think this one doesn't have the 4wd auto option. This hill is steeper than it looks on camera, and I have tested a newer rebel with the auto 4wd and I overheated the transfer case. I try to test in all modes but once I overheated it in 4 auto I think it reduced the functionality of all the other modes.
I've been hoping for a power wagon for quite a while, almost rented one as my local car rental place oddly has two of them. As for the GM 3.0 diesel, I should be getting one of those in about 3 weeks. The video probably wont be up on it for about 2-3 months though as I'm backlogged with vehicles for about that long.
I left it in drive, in the lower portion it did shift into 2nd gear. For most of it though it was in first gear. I had to apply very little throttle to make the climb because of the high torque and low gearing.
Very true, as my brother seldom has to use the lockers on his Rubicon. Even at Windrock black-rated trails, I was amazed how the traction control would smoothly pull the Jeep over some very difficult sections.
I was pretty surprised with this as well. Other Rams and FCA products I've tested had much better systems. Ram may dial it back for the Rebel so that there is less intrusion when in Sand or Mud.
To me it was most similar to older traction control systems, around the early to mid 2000's. I think Ram is making this truck rely on the rear locker instead of the brakes. That's not a bad idea as it will reduce wear and heat on the brake system. It's very capable with the rear locker on, and it can be engaged in 2wd as well as 4 high and 4 low. I prefer mechanical systems anyway as they are more controlled and predictable. Just surprised at how weak the traction system was on this when compared to other Ram and FCA products I've tested.
Engine Adventures I agree! I think lockers should be standard on all trucks and SUVs, even 2wd vehicles. With profit margins so high on these things, it’s the least they could do lol
Depends on the test. I did try using the gear selector manually, but it didn't make a difference because the truck was starting in 1st gear either way.
@@EngineAdventures My rear axle turns both tires, when you were in 2wd angeling up the side of the hill only the left wheel was spinning, the right rear never tried to bite until you locked the rear axle. I have never had just one wheel spin and the other do nothing, I don't have a locker. So I am wondering if they changed something in the rear end due to it having a locker and therefore the open rear end operated differently. I have climbed much steeper and more aggressive angles without sticking it in 4wd.
Interesting the Laramie Longhorn I tested seemed to do better as well, but it had the limited slip differential I believe. The Rebel must be a locker only and not use the brakes on the spinning wheels nearly as much (if at all) as the other trim levels. The power wagon has a Torsen style limited slip and locker in the rear.
Thanks for watching and commenting! The 5.0 is a great engine, but doesn't come close to the torque of the EcoDiesel. I'm not sure what you mean by tackling the hill better as both these trucks have a locking rear differential and can make this climb easily when put into the right settings. Both are excellent trucks, both are capable, but they are very different from each other. The Ram is significantly nicer inside with a smoother ride on the road. With the diesel it has a much longer range and more torque. However it is more complex with the air suspension and diesel emissions systems, so will likely have more problems in the long run than your truck. Again, both are great, just different.
@@EngineAdventures when you put the air suspension in "off road" mode, it's almost at the peak of available travel. There's very little down travel left. That's also why the ride is so harsh. If you put it in normal mode the ride would be much much better at higher speeds off road........
Yes weight is important, but suspension tuning matters more. The Sequoia and Tundra TRD Pro's ride smoother than the Tacoma TRD Pro. Something just didn't feel right with this truck. I tested another Rebel with air suspension more recently and it rode much better. Thanks for watching and commenting.
The Rebel is about as off-road worthy as a corolla. Jesus that was disheartening to watch.. I will not be trading in my Wrangler for a Rebel after all.
Video of the JLUR Ecodiesel will be up in the morning, and the off-road video the following week. The Rebel and Wrangler aren't meant for the same thing at all. Each has their strengths and the Rebel is quite capable off-road. Love the rear locker, don't like the air suspension.