Opinions on Ram trucks?

[ribber]

Possibly buying a new truck sometime this year. New truck will be the wife's daily driver and we will use on trips, so primarily a pavement truck. Only interested in Ram or Ford. Never owned a Dodge/Ram so not familiar with them.
The Ram 1500 seems to be slightly more bang for the buck than Ford, but I'm nervous about the Ram's 8-speed tranny. Heck, nervous about the Ford 10-speed also. That many gears just doesn't seem right.
Been looking used, but apparently the newer trucks don't depreciate like they used to, holy cow. Might as well buy new.

 

[NE GA Pappy]

I wanted to buy a Ford last year, but after comparing them to the Ram, I just couldn't make myself by the Ford. I bought a 2500, 6.4 Hemi Crew Cab, 4WD. It averages ~17 mpg, and it has the 6 speed tranny

 

[REDMOND1858]

Iv always been a Chevy guy. But with the 101,000 mile engines they’ve been using since 2007, I can’t see myself in another one. The fords are nice, but dang they are high. That said, I drove an 03 ram for a while. That thing had some power. Tried real hard several times to kill it but never could. The transmission slipped for about 3 years but never went out. And everything possible in the cab fell apart. Windows quit working, door handles, door panels, os handle fell off, dash cracked , factory tint bubbled up and filmed over, center console top broke, seat adjuster fell off, back panel on the drivers seat fell off, you name it, it fell apart. But it never quit running.

 

[Lilly001]

I have an 03 Ram 2500 with 250k on it
It is a beast, but it's had 3 transmisions. The first at 65k..
Otherwise it's held up well.

 

[glynr329]

Never bought a Dodge truck scared to but if I did probably be a diesel. Cousin bought Dodge great truck but transmission had trouble. I looked and really wanted a Ford but got the better deal on Chevrolet.

Son bought a Ford. I drove it , rides much better than mine. I think that for the most part either is good trucks if they are taken care of. With all that being said If I get another it will definitely be a Ford.

 

[ryanh487]

I trust the ram over the Ford transmission. The 8 speed has been around a few years, the Ford 10 speed is brand new. Get the 5.7 hemi in a 1500 though. The eco diesel is trash unless you do mostly highway driving. Also look for the 3.55 or 3.92 rear end.

I just bought a 2017 ram 2500 with the 6.4. I love it. Way more bang for the buck than anything Ford had to offer, and no aluminum body.

 

[ugajay]

For what it's worth, out west, just about all you see is Ram trucks. I never bothered asking anyone, but by far the majority of trucks out there are Rams

 

[Ruger#3]

I’ve owned a couple, the last one being a 2500 with the Cummins diesel. Great trucks with power trains providing hundreds of thousands of miles of service. The short turn radius alone makes them a pleasure to drive.

If Dodge could get the bodies figured out they’d own the market. Cracked dashboards, door hinges and window lifts failing are typical on high mileage Dodge trucks. I’d still buy Dodge if buying a full sized truck.

 

[triple play]

For whatever its worth, the magazines love them this year. Don't know if i could actually pull the trigger until they get a better track record.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I test drove one once. The door handle broke off before I got back to the dealership. Friend of mine bought one, and half the controls/knobs/mirrors/crap on it fell off within three years and they could never keep it from overheating. We had one at work. It stayed broke down half the time and stuck the other half. Don't think I want one.

 

[Cmp1]

For what it's worth, out west, just about all you see is Ram trucks. I never bothered asking anyone, but by far the majority of trucks out there are Rams

Same with up here in the tundra,,,,

 

[Cmp1]

I’ve owned a couple, the last one being a 2500 with the Cummins diesel. Great trucks with power trains providing hundreds of thousands of miles of service. The short turn radius alone makes them a pleasure to drive.

If Dodge could get the bodies figured out they’d own the market. Cracked dashboards, door hinges and window lifts failing are typical on high mileage Dodge trucks. I’d still buy Dodge if buying a full sized truck.

My turning radius is lousy,,,,but I've got the longbed,,,,never had any of the problems you mentioned,,,,except for the dashboard,,,,but it's an 02,,,,

 

[Cmp1]

Possibly buying a new truck sometime this year. New truck will be the wife's daily driver and we will use on trips, so primarily a pavement truck. Only interested in Ram or Ford. Never owned a Dodge/Ram so not familiar with them.
The Ram 1500 seems to be slightly more bang for the buck than Ford, but I'm nervous about the Ram's 8-speed tranny. Heck, nervous about the Ford 10-speed also. That many gears just doesn't seem right.
Been looking used, but apparently the newer trucks don't depreciate like they used to, holy cow. Might as well buy new.

Get the 4wd 2500,,,,diesel or hemi,,,,

 

[transfixer]

Transmissions are what I do, the new Ford 10spd is the same unit internally that Gm has available now, I would stay away from them, GM is facing a class action lawsuit about their 8spd unit already, and the 10spd is supposed to be designed the same way, torque converters are failing prematurely and taking out the transmission.

The Dodge 8spd is a ZF unit, also used in BMW's, Hyundai's and a few other foreign cars, shops are already seeing those units in for repair, especially in the dodge trucks, parts availability is very limited, so if it dies outside of warranty, which it will, your only choice is buy a unit from a dealer, or find a used one.

If I were to buy a new truck I would stick with one of the 6spd units , they've been out a while, and overall aren't bad units, and much cheaper to fix if something does go wrong. Also the mileage difference in the real world between the 6pds and the others is negligible .

 

[ryanh487]

I test drove one once. The door handle broke off before I got back to the dealership. Friend of mine bought one, and half the controls/knobs/mirrors/crap on it fell off within three years and they could never keep it from overheating. We had one at work. It stayed broke down half the time and stuck the other half. Don't think I want one.

What year was that?

Ram split off to its own branch in 2011 I believe, and the 2015 and newer ram trucks are far superior to the old dodge line.

 

[ribber]

Transmissions are what I do, the new Ford 10spd is the same unit internally that Gm has available now, I would stay away from them, GM is facing a class action lawsuit about their 8spd unit already, and the 10spd is supposed to be designed the same way, torque converters are failing prematurely and taking out the transmission.

The Dodge 8spd is a ZF unit, also used in BMW's, Hyundai's and a few other foreign cars, shops are already seeing those units in for repair, especially in the dodge trucks, parts availability is very limited, so if it dies outside of warranty, which it will, your only choice is buy a unit from a dealer, or find a used one.

If I were to buy a new truck I would stick with one of the 6spd units , they've been out a while, and overall aren't bad units, and much cheaper to fix if something does go wrong. Also the mileage difference in the real world between the 6pds and the others is negligible .

If I'm reading it right, the 6-speed is only offered in Ford regular V6. We've gotta have the ecoboost or Hemi. Of course used is an option, but dang they still have new prices.

 

[ryanh487]

The 2500 transmission is a 6 speed

If you're going to be trading in for a new truck every 5-6 years it won't really matter. If you want something to drive for 10-20 years, get something as simple as possible. A tradesman model 2500 is about the same cost as a higher end 1500, but with nothing fancy to worry about breaking in 10 years.

 

[ugajay]

I think I got lucky. I know nothing at all about vehicles outside the basic maintenance stuff. I have a 2003 Dodge Dakota with 332,000 miles on it and I've spent about $1,000 in repairs total on it

 

[WayneB]

I have a '17 RAM 4x4 2500 Crew cab long bed. Chose the tradesman with chrome and radio upgrade, only.
Snag a VIN number off the dealer website for what you are looking at, and get their valuation for the truck. In my case truck was valued (for taxes) at $36,000. I used that to negotiate and got it out the door for $40,000, tax, tag, title and full tank of fuel.
Also have an '06 Megacab with hemi with 300k miles on it, the seat cushion on the drivers has been replaced twice, something in the base rubs through them. Pretty common issue. The power seat motors quit some time ago, only fore and aft work.
Two power steering pumps, one water pump, a radiator (which may have been self-inflicted) and 4 fuel pumps later, I'd still drive to the left coast if I had a need to.

 

[tr21]

I think I got lucky. I know nothing at all about vehicles outside the basic maintenance stuff. I have a 2003 Dodge Dakota with 332,000 miles on it and I've spent about $1,000 in repairs total on it

I think ive been lucky also, knock on wood. ive owned nothing but dodge/rams diesels since 1991 with one 99 ford f250 (power sucker) in the mix I currently have a 2014 3.0L ecod with 140k on it. nothing but routine maint. all the rest were cummins. now I don't pull a lot, but love the reliability and mpg of the dsl's. im waiting on jeep to come out with the wrangler dsl hopefully this year.....