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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Wow! Not sure where to start on this video. I don’t think it’s accurate especially on the generator function.

The V6 only runs when the battery reserve drops below 5%. Gasoline costs play a big part in this discussion. Where I live, near Aspen, CO, regular gas is over $4 per gallon and fuel is closer to $5.00 I seldom drive more than 100 miles per day, so the vast use of the truck will be costing me 8¢ per kwh, or about 10¢ per mile. When you factor 140 miles of range at 10¢ and the rest at 20¢, the average cost of even long-haul scenarios is bette than or equivalent to a 1/2 ton diesel pickup truck, say 24 mpg, and that's pretty great. Again, with the vast majority of Americans not exceeding the all-electric range limit on a daily basis, this truck is a fantastic option. Also overlooked in this dump-fest is all the camping and overlanding benefits of having a truck with inverter power that'll take care of the needs of a campsite for days, including power tools, electronics, refrigeration, etc. I'm getting one as soon as they're available.

...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.

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.

I've owned two phevs now, I had a chevy volt for 10 years and liked it so much I wanted another phev and eventually decided on a Hyundai Tuscon Phev to replace the volt, and I'm loving the Tuscon too. PHEV's may be more complex but I will tell you the volt was the most reliable and lowest maintenance car I've ever owned so that complexity doesn't necessarily mean more problems, particularly if you normally stay within the electric range. I'm very interested in this RAMCharger, but price and other details will certainly be part of my decision.

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?

It seems like your "breaking news" wasn't true after all. Per the website you can "Select between Electric Mode, E-Save Mode, and Eco Mode, and additionally choose Charge-Depleting Mode, Battery Hold Mode, eAWD Mode, or eSport Mode".

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 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.

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.

This is an awesome idea. It runs like a diesel electric locomotive.

Your and me both heard this man say it would run all the time while driving but that is not true, the engine will still charge at idle and shut down while loads are not requiring it to run, the controller will decide when the engine needs to power the battery and bring up the rpms. I think that salesman was wrong stating the engine runs all the time. The pentastar engine will run around 7 hours while driving at 60 mph in the regular truck connected to a drive train, that same engine can idle at 1000 rpms for 35 hrs. so with time we will see the correct figure for full tank power on battery and if engine has to be running at above ratio of charge.