My commute is about 15 miles everyday. I can essentially run EV only 95% of the time and then long trips with the fam you get over 600 miles with a Truck that will Tow high a large Trailer and still be able to go long range and not have to sit at a charge 180 miles into the trip for 40 min to charge up! This is gonna be epic!
@@OtisFlint Making up and imaginary MPG for the Truck of 23MPG the Truck does OK using only electricity when you charge at home. It ends up being about 2.50 a gal. This varies, based on your charging rate at home. I used 16cents per KW. Super Charging you would be spending more than gas. Super Charging is .31 cents per Kw on average. This truck burns 1.5 miles per Kw/ So 0.31/1.5 is 0.206 cents per mile. Now using the imaginary 23 MPG for the truck you multiply 23 * 0.206 and you get 4.75 a gal equivalent which is more than you pay today. There is the math..
Like plug in hybrid would be something new!? Chrysler sold the Pacifica as hybrid plug in with about 50miles e-range… Problem was just that the car spent more time in the shop than on the road, won’t be different with that 100k truck… but 100k is no problem because in this country the majority of people is so dumb that they actually buy cars with payment and put crazy loans on a car… a generator charging an EV is nothing new and hint it doesn’t make the car greener because you now have a gas tank, a heavy engine and an insane battery pack. The only place you can come up with such an „idea“ and get applauded is in a country where the large majority of people became so dumb, welcome to the US 2023
This is my dream vehicle. The acceleration and smoothness of electric, cheap to operate for my 70 mile commute, I can level 2 charge at work. We live 200 miles from family and commute frequently and own a 34 foot camper
This is the same drivetrain concept as the Chevy Volt introduced over 6 years ago. It's an awesome setup that gives the best of EV and ICE. Looking forward to the $267,000 MSRP.
This combination of battery, electric drive and a gas charger gives a lot of options in how you use it. Around town, just use battery power and charge at home. If looking for maximum range, then run the gas charger from the start of the trip to keep the batteries as charged as possible throughout the journey. I really like the flexibility this provides and would expect it could do even further range if trying to hyper-mile. I hope this becomes the normal truck / ute configuration over the next decade.
From what I've seen they're saying it's a 27-gallon tank. In all honesty, this is the only vehicle that I've really looked forward to for some time. I have a '15 Charger Hellcat and a '19 RAM with the 5.7L eTorque hemi, so I'm a fan of ICE but electric (especially for commuting) makes so much more sense. Pure electric though is completely impractical if you're towing however because the infrastructure isn't there, at least not here in the Midwest. This is a great option while the charging infrastructure is built so I am quite confident I'll be trading in my current RAM for this when it comes out.
Tons of infrastructure for commuting and everyday use. With most fast chargers not being pull-through chargers, I agree with you for heavy towing use though, this is a good option for that.
The wife works for Stellantis and she told me (I’m not supposed to tell anyone) but MSRP on the Ram Charger Extended RangeBig Horn is just north of $72k and that’s not bad if you think about it.
@@BrianWood74 Stellantis just sent out a “bulletin” to all dealerships to stop adding markups to vehicles or further allocation will not be provided. That was late last week I believe.
Would love to know what Ram 2500-5500 (Super Duty and GM) have planned. Battery Electric Trucks Class 4-8 are already in use. They are also testing Hydrogen Fuel Cell trucks, GM and Ford have trucks planned for DOE's SuperTruck3 program.
Yeah an HD version that can get at lest 80 km of ev range would be pretty awesome! Even better if a WT version came in at a somewhat reasonable price since the battery won't have be enormous.
Ford is making a plug hybrid ranger right now. The fact that the ram version only get 690 miles of range in its hyrbid is kind of crazy considering I get that in my powerboost without the plug in part.
@@user-ez6sm5lb6tramcharger isnt a very efficient vehicle. For comparison, f150 hybrid is rated for 2.45 miles per kwh while ramcharger is only rated for 2.05 When running in gasoline mode, ramcharger is only rated for 20 mpg, which is the non-official estimate.
In theory 80% of the time you could run the ramcharger ev only. Only using the engine on long hauls. That would reduce engine wear considerably. I know Li auto has this set up on a suv. It’s a best seller.
Mike, you are incorrect about the Volt EV. The engine could also power the wheels without using the battery or electric motor. It was one of the very few that could do that.
Yep, had a sun gear transmission that would engage the drive wheels at highway speeds if in hybrid mode. In EV mode it would never turn on unless it needed to idle for a few minutes a year for maintenance mode or if engine heat mode is selected then it would just idle for a few minutes at a time when it was near freezing out to preserve the battery for actual driving.
@@davidws5439 agree, while at the same time they were very secretive about the fact that the engine can directly drive the wheels in certain circumstances. Even today on GM‘s website they claim it’s a pure EV with the range extender when the reality is in certain circumstances, the engine is physically connected to the wheels.
The fact the that the truck can recharge as driving is a game changer, if it does work well, many will follow. The challenge will be the price. That's the bottom line. I want to own one or lease, I don't see it happening when everything is so expensive for day to day living. I do see it changing n the coming years. This truck will not be cheap.
Price and efficiency. It will likely cost lots of money and be one of the less efficient half ton trucks when compared to an ev or a normal Hybrid with a traditional Transmission.
I have a Cadillac ELR, same setup as the Ramcharger, just smaller battery and gas tank. Been a great vehicle this Ramcharger will blow its doors off. After 120,000 miles the battery needs to be replaced. I think the Ramcharger batteries will last longer if you don't charge it everyday like I had to, it only has a 40 mile electric range on 12 Kw. A nice thing about this hybrid setup is winter driving, the gas engine turns on when the air hits 32 degrees to help warm up the cabin and batteries. When it is -20 to -40 degrees here in Minnesota, batteries don't work that well and life span is less. I have a heated garage at home but doesn't help the car when it sits in the work parking lot for 8-12 hours.
I honestly think this is the actual future of battery vehicle. Volt the precursor. Hybrid is about as efficient as you can get with gasoline I think. Look forward to plug in capability with long range gasoline option.
I appreciate you mentioning that for extended highway driving this truck is likely to get worse mpg than one with a traditional transmission. So many people incorrectly believe the opposite is true because locomotives use this sort of transmission….but reality is we built vehicles with this sort of “magnetic transmission” 100 years ago but the efficiency was terrible. “Magnetic transmission” is what I call a generator - motor drive system. since both operate using magnetism and this is what connects the gasoline engine to the wheels.
130 kW generator with 190 kW peak; 92 kWh total but 70.8 kWh USABLE for 145 miles which makes it 2.05 miles/kWh. -- 145 miles is a lot of normal around town driving on grid ⚡.
I hope this generator works as a stand alone. It would really be nice on the job site to have a built in generator. Would free up some weight in my trailer/bed.
That is actually a great idea. Maybe a custom attachment. All you do is bring along a gas 1.3 gal tank, which you would anyway for emergencies to make sure you can power the truck if necessary.
Ford got close with the Powerboost but Ram knocked it out of the park with this one. Too bad it's going to be expensive. I'll be looking for a used one in a few years lol. Btw I assume it will use the V6 as a heater?
Knocked it out of the park for those who aren’t looking to haul heavy loads long distances. This will be a great truck for commuting, but is the wrong vehicle for hot shot drivers and others who pull heavy loads on the freeway. The “magnetic transmission” linking the drive wheels to the engine is not very efficient. It’s cool that you can use the gas range extender, but it’s going to be less efficient than a truck with a traditional transmission on the highway.
Our 2017 Grand Cherokee with Pentastar 3.6L V6 engine has range around 600 miles with its 25-gallon gas tank. I'm very thankful that the Ramcharger will have a large 27-gallon gas tank.
These will still be super expensive. Now you need 2 electric motors, a battery and an engine. Plus if everything isn't waterproofed, you can't take it through any substantial water.
UPDATES: Recharging can add up to 50 miles of all-electric range in approximately 10 minutes with 400-volt DC fast charging at up to 145 kW. That is about half the claim in the all-electric Ram REV, which is okay since the Battery in Ramcharger is smaller and reduces component cost. All-electric range is 145 miles at which point the V6 would start to recharge the battery. The battery is low at that point, likely 20-25% remaining.
Nice video and cool setup. I'm confused as to how the numbers add up. It will get 545 miles from the ICE generator? The gas tank will have to be pretty big. Isn't the efficiency of converting gas to electricity fairly inefficient?
@@bradj9870 But it will run in essentially hybrid mode then, so it will regen when braking, use the battery for acceleration. It adds up to give a decent range boost over a standard ICE only truck.
Why would anyone be unhappy with them dropping an old, higher maintenance, less powerful engine for a new, higher power, more efficient better in pretty much every way inline 6?
Edison Motors is offering an electric diesel conversions for full size trucks. They are a series hybrid like the Ramcharger. It uses a Cat 2.8L diesel, batteries and inverter will be in a truck box, axles will be a solid axle an equivalent of a F-450. They are targeting service trucks and older consumer trucks. They want to keep high milage vehicles that have warn out drivetrains on the road but upgrading them to a series hybrid truck.
I don’t believe you can charge a battery while also using it for power. This truck is designed to go 145 miles on battery and then the generator kicks in and provides power directly to the motors. Excess energy and regen can go to charge the battery. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Yep, but there are some vehicles that let you charge the battery for some reason. I know the Volt had a mountain mode, so if the car was fully loaded and your heading to a mountain climb it would charge for an extra 20% to the battery. I used it once out of curiosity but never really dipped into that extra battery reserve with a full car. Probably just needed for really extreme climbs. But you're right, it's more efficient to just run off the generator then charge the battery from a plug.
Has anyone heard what the range is with a 7000lb RV or box trailer (half the reported max towing load) on the hitch yet? That is really the only stat that matters because while towing a lot is great, and going 690 miles while carrying just the driver is great, neither of those mean a dam thing if the range goes to 100 miles or less while towing half the max load.
You always want a little more available power up front so your active front tires pull, as opposed to plow. This guarantees your steering is always working property. Front differentials always have a slightly different ratio in 4WD for this reason
Oh, GM and Ford could’ve done this. They already have the experiments done. Look up Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles back in 1999-2001. That was GM, Ford, and Chrysler working with the government producing series hybrid diesel engined cars that got over 75 mpg. Their hearts just weren’t in the future, so GWB allowed the Big 3 to cancel the program. Toyota and Asin came out with the Prius Synergy drivetrain, and it’s been all the hybrid rage since. 130 kw generator will be fine for recharging. It would be logical to recharge during driving at a steady speed that would allow for more exhaust cooling, and the motors won’t be under heay load. There might be some people who have problems towing maximum up steep hills for long periods, but as an EV owner myself, I can tell you that planning is essential to driving EVs. Hopefully Stellantis will allow some customer input into when charging via the engine occurs. I’m personally not interested. I didn’t choose a hybrid because I’ve owned one already, and I didn’t want added complexity.
I’d still prefer a diesel plug in hybrid with the diesel the primary power source. I only need 50 miles of battery only power then have the diesel kick in. Two modes would be ideal. Battery only and battery supplementation. I could see a GM 1/2 ton diesel hybrid averaging 35-40 mpg in supplemental and for most Americans who drive 29 miles or less a day, you’d see fuel consumption drop 75-80%.
Thanks for the informative video. It would be nice to know if you took off with a full charge how far you could go before the batteries are fully depleted and you were running only on the electric generated by the V6. I thought I saw somewhere that there was a way to turn on the gas engine full time to slow the drain on the batteries. It will be nice to see this tested in real life driving across the US.
@@alexsmba you only should need about 45-50kwh at cruise tops and the i3 did about 30kwh with a 2 cylinder engine motorcycle engine that you can’t hear at 70mph. So why have the electric drivetrain at all if you’re going to stuff a bloated v6 in the vehicle? Should be a 4cyl or 4cyl turbo tops
@@lazerusmfh but the idea is to be able to tow 11,000 lbs or so and go up hills without depleting the batteries. The I3 doesn’t have to do that. Also the V6 is a cheap engine to manufacture, so it doesn’t have to be unnecessarily complicated. I’m not a huge Ram fan, but I’m glad they didn’t compromise capability just to gain a couple more mpgs.
@@lazerusmfh I think you missed the point. The V6 (engine) is cheap to manufacture. Having a more complex, more expensive smaller engine won’t provide any real world benefit in that application.
Hate carrying around such a large backup engine. Doesn’t really save me to haul that around as 90% of the time should be EV only. Most car companies dumped the backup engine plan a long while ago.
Geez, Lets do the math. 690 range on 27gallon tank = 25miles per gallon. I got 33miles per gallon on my Ram Eco Diesel during a 3500 mile road trip driving + 5mph over speed limits 70 T0 80MPH. Truck is a 2022 Big Horn Level 2 trim. Rides like a sofa going down the road. Price of the truck 53000. So eliminating the Eco Diesel is foolish move. They should have created a hybrid version of the Eco Diesel. Once the EV mandate gets retracted maybe things will change. In the mean time dealers are having problems selling EVs due to the high costs and the interest rates for the normal Joe. Lets get real-we are all in big trouble with what is going on. VOTE OIL
There was a couple of questions I have, just curious about how long the batteries wull run without the gas engine having to kick on, and if the gas engine does kick on, can you leave it running While the truck sits still and it would then replenish the batteries to continue to have more performance? I believe it's an interesting idea to at least have your range extended Because you might not need 4.4 second 0-60 performance in order to continue your journey from point A to point B. And of course, no I did not read all of the comments before posing this question.
I so want one to demo. I drive from California to arkansas 3 times a year because of back issues I can’t fly because then I can’t walk for a week afterwards.
I liked my Chevy Volt, but the Volt didn't sell very well. The Pacific hybrid isn't selling very will. Why does anyone think the Ram extended range will sell any better?
I like the idea but if the only benefit is additional range u may as well get a gas/diesel truck. I have the f150 powerboost, think it's a better design. 700 miles no plug in just play
8:00 I doubt is has lower output at the end of the range. Thats probably just how long it can go on EV only plus how long it can go in boost mode. until the fuel runs out.
Confused. Why a v6 for a generator? Why not a small camless engine since it's a generator. How is it so innefecient? 1.1 kW per mile? They did something wrong. It's only cheaper to operate if you charge at home.
The ONLY way Id buy this truck is if there is a 15 year MININUM warranty of all components related to that 3.6L V6 generator. Fuel, intake, exhaust, engine management, engine itself, mounting, exhaust, generator, EVERYTHING. Standard warranty is fine in the rest but I'm not about to ADD the infinite failure points and complexity of an ICE system to the infinite failure points and complexity of an EV. You buy this without a massive full warranty on that ICE component, you are asking for a brick on wheels.
Probably 1/2 of what the regular range is is a good rule of thumb, especially at freeway speeds. But it has a range extender so few people will be plugging it in just to tow occasionally. It will be more for folks who tow to track days or the boat ramp on weekends, and can plug in at home or work. It will fit the needs of about 80% of 1/2 tone truck owners without having to hoard batteries.
The real competition for EV trucks is Cybertrucks, not GM and Ford. They had better price them lower than the Tesla or the few wanting EV complexity will move on.
ITs usless because your NOT saving any GAS. The gas motor charging the battery always runs and its always is using gas. Why not make it so it drives on just EV for 140 miles meaning you can drive 70 miles away from home drive back home 70 miles and use NO gas put it on your home charger and then recharge battery with cheap home electricity NOT USING ANY GAS. BUT still have the ability to use the gas motor on longer trips pulling a trailer or boat. RAM screwed up making it so the truck never uses battery ONLY.
Ooooh, the RamCharger. Stop with the propaganda. Stellantis is a joke. First, the Charger with a fake sounding exhaust. Now they just made an EV with a V6. lmao
It's funny that Ford and GM will copy this and then their loyalists will flock to them. I feel bad for Mopar being the innovator and putting in the R&D and all Ford and GM have to do is swap in their brand parts and up the power numbers a little and call it a day.
It looks like Stellantis is just following in BMW s steps. Its all long established and proven technology. The success will depend upon the durability of the parts they use.
This plug-in hybrid Ram 1500 is a bit like an orchid. It looks really nice and is desirable but is destined to whither and fall off the stem in an untimely fashion.
The price point will off set any "savings" you may have had, plus don't it make you feel good that you plugged into a coal power plant to charge up. EV's are such a shell game.
Gm was already doing this with the volt Ram took the idea and put it into a truck. And the range still isn’t enough when you’re going long distances to your cottage or what not. Pulling a camper or boat
Volt had a direct connection to driveline with their motor. This engine has zero connection to driveline. Never been done like this in a vehicle. And Range is going to be very very good while Towing. And now you can stop fill up Generator and get going again!
@@ponce1521 The Volt had the direct connection only at highway speeds in Hold / Hybrid mode where it was actually more efficient to run it off the ICE since the engine speed would be pretty constant and at it's most efficient then. At lower speeds it was disconnected and was just a generator. That Voltec system was way ahead of it's time, shame they didn't keep it around for when folks were ready for it like now. And yep also correct about the towing range will be very good, better than my old ICE truck at least, and I can fill it up anywhere on the road trip with a pull through station. So yeah, just like the Volt folks will be running it as an EV for 90% of the time.
This isn’t a threat. It’s a nightmare for the owner. Now they will have all the maintenance costs with the gas engine and also the battery degradation over time. Hybrids are the worst of both worlds. Go own or the other. Both defeats the purpose and benefits of EVs and ICE vehicles.
@@cwx8 but the v6 isn’t connected to the drive line. It only charges the battery as I understand. And with how fast batteries drain on trucks with a load or trailer the v6 will be running the whole time to charge the battery while the electric motors are running to power the truck and draining the battery at the same time. The west and tear will age that truck faster than normal
@@Airplanefan477 It really depends, there were some garbage PHEVs out their that trashed their batteries, then others like the liquid cooled Volt battery that preserved around 20% at the top and bottom so battery degradation is nearly nonexistent for high km examples. Also the ICE is very under stressed, it's the electric motors that take the brunt of the acceleration, the ICE just essentially runs at a specific RPM to be most efficient when needed. Just like the old myths around BEVs, PHEVs have come a long way and is actually the best of both worlds for a light pickup like this so they don't have to hoard batteries for the off chance they go on a road trip or need to do some towing.
Oh no they’ll have to do an oil change every 10k miles Oh wait 80% of the driving will be battery so it’ll probably be more like every 40k miles change the oil or once a year It doesn’t even have a transmission to maintain are you really reaching that far? Practically zero maintenance compare to traditional ICE cars
@@anydaynow01 I get the idea of range benefits and the engine ending range anxiety. I just see the engine running nonstop bc if the truck is actually used as a work truck that engine will be running nonstop bc of the fast drain weight and towing puts on a battery. I also o ow battery life is based on cycles of how many times the equivalent of a full charge is put into a battery. I wonder if constantly having a flow in and out simultaneously will push the battery through its cycle life faster. Plus this isn’t a traditional phev since the truck can’t run on the gas engine at all right?
with the amount of EV's piling up on dealer lots, absolutely nobody is worried about a ramcharger. I also tend to agree with UTG when he explains how this truck will be a reliability disaster
This Ram charger is more expensive to run than gas. 1.5 miles per KW. Even charging at home at .16 cents per kw is .24 cents per mile. A gas motor gets about 23 miles a gal. So multiply .24 by 23 and you get 5.52 a gal equivalent. That's in elecltric mode. That's not even super charging.
This is bad math all around. The usable capacity is 70kwh so it gets about 2mi/kWh. So 1 mile uses 0.5kwh. That's 0.08¢ per mile in your scenario. Gas would need to be $1.84 to match that at 23mpg.
@@paydboardman2285 according to the reviewers it used 1.5kw per mile. F150 is 2.5 miles per Kw As far as your electric rate it varies from state to state. In IL its cheaper. In Ca it costs more 30cents. 6something in IL. 16 in FL 19 in NY. I was making an average.
@@paydboardman2285i did mess up the math at 1.5 miles per KW and a electric rate of 16 cents per KW the actual cost is 10.6 cents a mile. Creating an arbitrary 23mpg that means with all electric your at 2.50 a gal. Much better than today's gas prices. Bravo! Now what happens when you tow
Most truck owners looking at a phev/ ev are not interested in the cyber truck. They want a normal looking vehicle not a space ship. This will be way more popular w truck owners, myself included. I’m already on 3 wait lists.
@@metrotrujillo I’m sure it will, but it won’t be to regular truck owners, it will be to Tesla fanboys and first time truck owners. I’m not knocking Tesla, I’m just saying lots of truck owners don’t want full electric and want a normal (familiar) vehicle. I’ve been waiting for this to upgrade my 1500. Looked at the lightning and suv phevs along w the Y. Nothing fills my needs to justify the purchase. This will.
@@Cpt_Tack I got a kia EV, but asumming that cybertruck will not set a standar, as model 3 and model y have...well ...is naive. The big 3 will have to create trucks with the standard cybertruck will birng, regardless of how thye look outside.
@@metrotrujillo you own a Kia, pretty much my point in a nutshell. Ford Lightning sales have fallen off a cliff because of its lack of versatility with range/ towing/ payload/ cold weather limitations. Nobody needing a truck for anything outside of light use will be interested in a full ev truck under current designs. That’s why it won’t have nearly the affect the 3& y have. They are city cars and meet the requirements for that perfectly.
Putting a large high-voltage lithium ion battery right next to the gas tank. Surely, this doesn't sound like a disaster waiting to happen. Dodge Ram trucks are notorius for catching fire. Don't ask me how I know...
The point of this vehicle is to use the electric (up to 145 miles) for your commutes during the week basically Then use the gas generator when you need to tow or when you go on a road trip It’s that simple it makes so much sense
@@Kylewrapsyou won't get 145 miles most of the time because you cant maintain 100% charge and when it's cold you lose range. Also does it have a heat pump for efficiency? And why is the generator so damn huge?
Not a great idea should be just a hybrid now you have 2 propulsion systems to care about the engine is too big for a job it needs to do. I say we just go hybrid I like to pray us Or I'm waiting for a solid state battery
It needs to be powerful to charge that big battery, a 4cyl would have output 100kw which would not be enough to charge while driving on a highway. And most truck guys would not buy a straight 4 - no matter what.
From a few formulas I seen its more like 30kw.its only to maintain a highway speed to extend range .if someone's buying a electric truck to start with i don t think they care .those guys will always buy a v8 or 6 anyway .remember most of these trucks shut down 4 cylinders at highway speed anyway