I'm finally getting ready to see about replacing my old 2nd gen ram 1500. Still keeping it around as my son is now driving / restoring it but first of the year I'm going to start the hunt again. Still want a Mopar but I don't have a lot of experiences with the latest Ram's. For those of you that own one what do you like? Not like? What should I avoid ? How is reliability? Fuel mileage? This will be a daily driver / family vehicle not a "work" rig. Looking at 4 doors , 4x4, hemi, tow package etc... Heaviest thing it may tow is an e body on an open trailer so probably a 1500. I like the 2500 but don't think I want the costs to buy and maintain the Cummins. Thanks for any suggestions.
Mine's the "old style" 18 but there's just nothing bad to say about it. The stock Goodyear tires were garbage but they're gone now, I think the new ones may have Bridgestones. Mine has 3.90 gears so it's got lots of pep, don't even consider the 6 speed auto on the cheaper models. Great interior, good power, good tech if you're that type of guy. I've gotten 22 MPG on the highway with it but usually averages 18MPG or so.
I've been back motivated to get a 2500, for towing my E Body. I wouldn't take a diesel today if you gave it to me due to several issues, but the 6.4 hemi gas that is standard on 2500s sounds good to me. The last gen Rams looked better, but it's a real sellers market now and with what I'd have to pay for a used one, I should just pay a little more for brand new. The new ones have 8 speed transmissions though, which might increase the drivability enough to offset the worse looks!
the ram 1500 with a 5.7 hemi and 8 speed will do what you want easy. I get 18-20 mpg in-town- hwy I bought 3 new in the last 6 years .. the last 2 had exhaust manifold leak issues [ minor] a 2013 had a bad cam/lifter took a new engine at 120 k miles and it was only on mobil 1 ext-per-oil ..... the 8 speed is a huge plus ! I have tweaked many g/t mustangs with them :yes: ......
Look at the new Dodge "T-RX" (T-Rex play on words) built to combat the Raptor. Only 702hp.
You're going to like the increase in mileage for sure. Those 2nd Gen rams are (in my opinion) the best looking rams, but unfortunately my old 2nd gen 2500 with a 360 got 12mpg fully loaded going uphill or empty on the freeway with a tailwind. New models are much better.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
I have always owned a 3500 cummins. Started with a 1989, then a 1996, 2003, 2007. Drove the 2007 for 460 thousand Kilometers. In 2018 I bought a 2011 with 60k on it for 42000 Canadian dollars. Sold the 2007 for 23 grand and paid 60 for it new. That's not bad. I have never had one of those diesels apart. Only ever changed oil every 20K - NEVER did I ever flush or change diff or tranny oils (I know...). I always have had good luck with them and sold them for a lot of money when I was done with them. The 2007 was used as my field truck (dually) and I admit it went through a lot of front ends however it got driven hard. I deleted and chipped all of them at least the 2003 and 2007 and my current 2011. Makes them better on fuel and no grief for EGR - DPF. Everyone says, I don't want the extra maintenance costs for one of these trucks and I say that's crap. Mind you, I need a diesel for my holiday trailer plus I saw hardwood lumber in Quebec on my farm and haul it to Alberta on my 30 foot triaxle trailer - take my time hauls 28,000 lbs no problem and gets around 11 mpg towing that triaxle (imperial gallons). Great truck - Laramie fully loaded. and when I sell it - will get top dollar for it. Plus I kept all the emissions stuff I took off it in case someone wants to buy it and put it back to stock.
I have a 2018 3500. You can get the heavy duty trucks with a gas engine if you like.
The only bad things I have to say is the NAV is poor and not worth the money, and the original equipment tires (Firestone transforce) were crap.
Everything else has been great.
I don't want to hijack this thread into a discussion on diesels, and it sounds like the OP wasn't inclined to get one anyway, but think it's important to point out that modern diesel trucks have a lot of issues mostly due to emissions. If you drive your truck a lot and pull heavy loads diesel might still make sense. Or if you get real lucky and find an older diesel truck that doesn't have a million miles, they are like money in the bank.
But new ones have a lot of issues beyond just the higher cost to purchase. Def fluid has a fairly short shelf life and if you aren't putting a lot of miles on your truck it may go bad on you before you use up a tank of def. regen is an irritation. If you are doing a lot of short trips or idling a lot you will regret diesel. There are several things that can go bad in diesel systems that are expensive to fix, like lift pumps.
There is a huge problem in later model diesels including Rams with a cp4 pump that goes bad and destroys the entire fuel system, resulting in a $10,000+ repair.
http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/engine/what-is-cp4-failure
For general transportation use, towing a car or camper trailer occasionally, gas is the only way to go now. A 6.4 or 5.7L Ram will do just fine, you'll get a little less gas mileage with gasoline compared to diesel but for the limited amount most of us tow, the extra fuel cost is minimal compared to the extra cost of buying a diesel and maintaining it.
For towing a car the debate should be 3/4 ton v 1/2 ton, not gas v diesel. I think 3/4 is best, but some say you can install air bags on a 1500 and it will tow ok that way, at least for towing open trailers. I want to tow an enclosed so a 6.4 2500 is my goal.
I love my 2017 Laramie 1500.....tow E Bodies on an open trailer all the time with no problems...love the adjustable air ride suspension. :bigthumb:
I got a 2020 new style four door Laramie in August with the E-torque Hemi. I like it a lot better than the 3.5 EcoBoost F150 it replaced. Rides better, better mileage, better looking, and the seats are more comfortable. I still don't like how these companies tie the options together, but they all do it. I can't use a 2500 and they don't ride as well. I've read concerns about the air suspension so I stayed away from it specifically.
I'm familiar with modern emissions and diesels. I manage a fleet of equipment for a local government agency and we deal with it all the time. Really for me when I'm honest with what the truck is going to do the Cummins is overkill. So would a 2500 really. 99% of the time it will be some around town or highway driving with just me in it.
I'm not going to put a ton of miles on it a year. I'm the original owner of the 97 1500 I spoke of and it has 170k miles on it in the almost 24 years I've had it. I use the truck for the occasional trip for home projects, dump runs, tow a small single axle for swap meet stuff and maybe once a year tow a car trailer to Carlisle. Otherwise it's a car with a big trunk..... I'd keep driving it but my son has taken It over and is sort of restoring It while he drives it and the wife said I should just get a new truck. Gotta keep her happy you know.
I bought a 2020 1500 crew/shortbox a few months and have almost no complaints. Rides great, decent mileage 18-20 combined, lots of power, rear seat area is huge, rear seats fold up and the floor is flat so it will hold a lot inside. The rear seats also recline (sort of) which is neat.
Only complaint so far is the turning radius. I cant swing into the garage very easily. Have to back up if I don't get it just right. Maybe I am just too use to my old single cab short box... :haha:
I'm still driving my 2004 Dodge Ram Rumble Bee. I do not drive it much because I use other vehicles for work. I have no plans to get rid of it yet because it only has 18,000 miles on the poor thing. It's not even broken in yet. At this rate I''ll be 129 years old when it hits 100,000 miles. Great truck!
Quote from: BFM_Cuda on November 19, 2020, 04:08:28 PM
Only complaint so far is the turning radius. I cant swing into the garage very easily. Have to back up if I don't get it just right. Maybe I am just too use to my old single cab short box... :haha:
You should try parking my 2018 3500...
When I read the title, I thought it said 'Looking at Firetrucks' and the kid in me got super excited about old firetrucks. Not gonna lie, kinda disappointed you aren't buying an old firetruck now... :(
Anybody have any experience with the eTorque systems on some new Rams? I've found a clean 2019 for a decent price but it is equipped with this and I know nothing about it. Has the auto stop / start too.... Seems like that's kind of complicated to this good ole boy.....
As mentioned above, I have the eTorque on my 2020. I got the truck in August and have managed to put 12,000 miles on it so far. Works great. I like it. Just came back from Florida and I was getting 17+ mpg driving between 80-85 on the way back. I had a slight concern about the reliability of the addtional electronic components but the warranty is decent and at some point you have to move forward. Plus, I couldn't find a truck that fit all my criteria within several hundred miles and had to accept the panoramic sunroof too. It was worth it in order to get rid of the F150 Ecobust.
I just bought a new GMC Sierra 1500 w/ 3.0L Duramax turbo diesel. Only has 500 miles on it so I can't comment on towing or durability. It's got 460 lb-ft of torque and a 10-speed transmission so I'm assuming it will tow anything I need it to tow. Here's the kicker...drove it home 250 miles at about 73 mph and averaged 26.5 mpg. My old GMC 5.3L gasser would have been about 17.5 mpg. Big difference in fuel economy with just a small difference in fuel price. Fuel economy should improve on the diesel as it breaks in and we get out of winter.
Well that 1500 sold before I could see it. Then this 2500 popped up.... And followed me home... It's a local trade and VA truck, 22K miles, 6.4, limited slips with 3:73's and integrated trailer brakes. Tradesman model so nothing too fancy but really clean.
Finding something for a decent price that was optioned decently was difficult. A lot of rigs around here are auction purchased and most seem to come from rust belt states....or are Laramie or Limited turned in off lease and out of my price range.
Thanks for everyone who offered opinions and guidance.
NICE.....Any RAM is a good RAM !!! :twothumbsup:
Good looking truck. I really wanted a Power Wagon, but don't need the 2500 hauling capacity and the 1500 rides nicer for the WI>FL and WI>TX road trips. I got mine with 500 miles on it at the beginning of August and I have 13k miles on it already. I almost wish I would have been able to get a Tradesman with a couple specific options but it was slim pickings. Good luck