Is the RamCharger Just a Hyped Up Hybrid?

Legacy Auto claims that there is a huge divide that North America manufacturers have to bridge to convince truck buyers that EV trucks are a viable option. In order to do so, Ram Trucks is leaning heavily on a century-old technology and revamping it in the Ram 1500 Ramcharger. Do you think this is the direction we should go, or is this feeding a fear that is rapidly diminishing each year as technology advances? Let me know in the comments!

As the current owner of an f150 powerboost and former owner of an I3 Rex I can say You don't have a clue what you are talking about. The v6 will only run when the battery is low. Most people will be able to drive 100 miles a day on electric only . When you tow it will be like every other truck, just put gas in every 300 miles or so. I will be getting one

I drive a Chevrolet Volt, It also has the range extender gas engine, the volt gets an average 50 miles on all electric, my wife uses it for daily runs she averages 40 miles per day, she puts gas in maybe 1 a year and this is only due to use the gas before it ages. the Ramcharger is the perfect scenario for me for my 100 to 150 miles average trip and will never use gas, I am on the list to order one as soon as it arrives. It may not be for everyone, but it sure works for me.

From other overviews I've watched, the only time the generator would run most of the time is when it is set into "towing" mode. This keeps the battery in a highly charged state to ensure the vehicle keep it's high performance capability for as long as possible, because if the battery is empty when putting the vehicle under a high load, the generator's power will likely not be enough to sustain the high levels of power needed. There is a need and desire for such options because a truck is not solely meant as a transport vehicle. It is a high performance Work vehicle where hauling and towing a sizable load can severely drain the vehicles energy much faster. And many owners will need the versatility of not relying on public electric infrastructure to source their energy.

So I do drive a PHEV -- 2023 Subaru Crosstrek to be specific. I mention it because it's got an appallingly small EV range - combined city/highway of ~27km. Realistically it's closer to 40km city and we generally avoid driving highway in EV mode because of it. What I can tell you from experience is that even that small range is enough for our regular commute & errands most of the time, with the gas for those camping trips into places where charging infrastructure doesn't exist (which are still fairly common for us) - not counting the summer camping season, we're buying gas once a month if even that, and a tank's only $40 CAD. I hope you're wrong that this one runs the generator all the time - that would be monumentally stupid. If it actually works like every other PHEV on the market, it really is a good interim step to address range anxiety. But even then - it's better for the environment to keep an old truck on the road than it is to buy a new one. Only buy it if you would be buying a new truck anyway, and only get the PHEV over a BEV if you actually have a use case where the gas makes sense.

The engine does not run constantly. You can find several interviews on youtube with engineers that will tell you that was a mistake. You didn't mention anything about the specs of this vehicle ( which are impressive). It boosts 660 hp, 14k towing, 2300 lbs of payload. This truck will cost a lot but its more of an alternative to a diesel engine. They cost a lot also. Its not for every consumer but you think just because it's not for you its bad. Its a good idea. Its a new way to deliver massive power to the wheels and lower environmental footprint during daily driving. Of course reliability will be an issue! ITS NEW!!!! Reliability has been an issue in EV in every EV car without a tesla badge. Despite having fewer components because in most cases they are new as well.

I don't see howits possible the gen runs all the time, if so that would make the battery completely pointless. There is a lot of advantages to having the engine running a constant peak speed and shutting off one the bat is full

You make some fair points. However, the Ram website says there will be power mode select options like Electric+, E-Save, Eco and even Charge-Depleting Mode. So it sounds like there is a way to go all electric for short drives.

Thanks for the excellent video but there is no way the generator engine will run all the time despite the ceo stating it will. Your battery would never need to be charged for 690 miles. It has to kick in once the battery is depleted or on demand. You wouldn’t ever need a plug. You could only gas up because it’s almost always gonna be 100% full.

...actually, what really hurts engines isn't that they run...it's that they are all over the rev range, that is what eats up fuel and does the most polluting (due to a richer, and less efficient burn)...if you can keep that engine in it's optimal power range, it will use a lot less fuel pollute and less. It will also last much longer as it isn't near as stressed and heat cycling....this will also help reduce (likely by half) the maintenance costs of ownership as what does the most wear on the engine and it's fluids will be alleviated..........also, the size of fuel tank is fairly large in terms of a genset, you have to remember that the engine and primary load will take away the parts of the duty cycle that consumes the most, acceleration. ...locomotives work like this by keeping the engines at their peak and letting the motors change speed makes them more efficient and pull almost from the get go by using motors as the prime mover. However, you still have to idle down that engine to keep the generator from to 'electrically separating' at slower speeds...by using a battery as an 'absorber' you can maintain the engines RPM (for shits and giggles say, 2,500-3,500rpm - I'm not quite sure where it is, but peak power should be around there) then you loose all the efficiency losses by operating the engine in low power areas... .......if RAM gets this truck to market, I think that it will be a hit with smaller contracting etc. it should be a success. Yes you can stop to do stuff and recharge, but this can stop, and go. Who knows, if they future proof designed this, it might just be a software upgrade to go from always motor and battery driven, and then the engine comes on to recharge/drive...that would really makes this a gamechanger.

Your thinly veiled opinions are clear. I think this truck will be fantastic for traveling with a trailer and be a balance of ev-only and no range-anxiety. There will be driving modes that allow for charging while driving as well as e-only (so I was told). The motor will run the generator at a constant RPM so there will be much less wear and tear on the engine, tunable emissions and much greater efficiency. There are many people (like me) who would like to see our planet last just a bit longer and not "just" getting a diesel truck will help!

I would guess marketing just said it wrong, and it will be electric only until the battery gets low. I suppose it's possible it might run the engine at a low power level even at high states of charge, causing the battery to discharge more slowly, but I'll be surprised if that's really how it works. This type of hybrid can make sense if you want to drive electric but don't want to be limited by current electric range and charging infrastructure. Reminiscent of the Volt, but not quite the same thing. I'm not sure this makes as much sense as the Volt did, though. I think it would be pretty niche use case for someone that likes electric but has to tow trailers on the highway frequently.

I’d love to own an all electric pickup. Unfortunately they’re not quite there yet. The batteries and infrastructure need to improve. I use a pickup 90% of the time for towing and towing kills the range on all trucks but the existing infrastructure for ICEs makes owning them acceptable. This is a step in the right direction but only a step. Maybe one day instead of charging you can simply swap the discharged battery for a charged one like in my cordless drill.

Thanks so much for the very informative video, Simon! I'm at the very beginning of my journey into researching more of the EV galaxy and appreciate more of your informative input. I can see yet another cost consideration of this very heavy truck... tires. More weight = more wear & tear on tires. As we all know, tires are very spendy and use many resources! Also, more weight = more wear & tear on our roads & bridges. Perhaps this would be more to be considered here?

At 6:40 The Ram presenter must've misspoke. In that case, what's the use for having a battery! There will be no need or won't be possible to recharge the battery at a charge station or at home. Theory has it the Ram will run off the battery exclusively until the battery depletes to a percentage, then the gas engine starts to recharge the battery while simultaneously sending electrical power to the 2 electric motors until the battery is replenished. If not then what's the use of this?

Yeah, well in some towns like my town the only chargers are Tesla at a grocery store or EV America at a Sam’s Club so how are you gonna stop and eat there and sit down and enjoy a meal for an hour or two there are no decent sitdown restaurants in near each of them. It’s like that in a lot of places around the country maybe not in big cities where maybe you’re from but in real areas or in the country you’re in the south charging is scarce. if you know anything about motors motors are much more efficient longer lasting between maintenance oil last longer everything last longer if they run it one steady Rpm all the time that’s why a diesel electric train runs a diesel motor the entire time it’s running

What an awesome video! So down to earth. I like what you stated about needs and choices at the end. "If you are going to do this, buy that." " If you are going to do that, buy this." It all boils down to what your specific needs are. Falling into the trap of trying to buy something that makes you think it will cover all "nonexistent bases" does not make practical sense.

Probably the most important truck in two and half decades. Why it will win... (points abridged if similar points made by other comments) 1.) Redundancy: Maintenance Corrective or Preventative is powerfully enabled by this. 2.) Extended Generation: trucks do work - the capacity to use this truck as a generator in place of other generators/tractors 3.) Reduction in idle pollution: AC's running in stopped traffic. ...You know the engine won't run full time; you knew it when you said it. You said it as due diligence; fine. We both know better. 4.) Pentastar v6 supply chain. They used a strength to create a strength here. 5.) Heating & Cooling: heating is baked into ICE operation. Cooling is quite efficient from electric pumps. This is a win win. 6.) Longevity. You have hundreds of comments regarding the ICE at predetermined RPM ranges... The battery life will be extended by its protection from extreme levels (both ways). 7.) Fuel Agnosticism. SynFuel? GreenFuel? Ammonia? engine swaps for generators are academic with the reduced complexity - fuel changes in the future are possible here. 8.) Pollution reduction. Well covered and accurate in your comments section. 9.) Portability: overlanding/camping/rv'ing/sport'ing or operational necessity in off-grid areas. One of these is a big deal... a fleet changes everything. 10.) Lineup Scaleup: Fleets everywhere can benefit from this; as the supply chain and tool & die becomes more widespread, larger vehicles are quickly enabled - perhaps none need it more than Sanitations, Mail & Parcel districts and Refrigerated delivery, direct-to-consumer delivery, and Railroad fleets...where copious amounts of fuel are burned daily on known distance routes - but no solution exists to reduce their pollution or emission goals. 11.) Weight: the fuel tank doesn't have to be full, and your extra batteries weigh something too, and they're not lighter when they're near "E". The cited Chevy volt is 3519-3543 and the Tesla Model 3 is 3862-4034... So the "weight" and "complexity" narratives aren't full intellectually honest ... when we add interconnects and battery cells for that BEV, the noted complexity isn't nearly so dissimilar. Just here to keep it 100%. Elon Musk started this with half truths in the mainstream thought-sphere ... there was more to be added to find "truth".

Great job. I'm subscribed. Best of luck!

1. Toyota has been making hybrids for over 2 decades. It has been going well. Easily get over 200K miles on one of their hybrid vehicles. 2. The train industry has been working with gas electric for over 7 decades. The locomotive diesel/electric works in the same manner that the ramcharger will where the engine runs during operation. This is the only way you are able to tow any sizeable weight over great distances. Battery only is a killer for towing. Also, Ram hasn’t had the best record when it comes to transmissions. 3. If the bean counters can stay out of the way of engineers, there is a chance a good product can be made. 4. There is no free lunch. Until there is a leap in battery technology or a different way to electrify a vehicle, this is what we have to choose from.