Ram owners (previous, present) discussion

I wanted to start this thread, and apologize to @blschaefer1 for pirating his thread. So to carry the discussion from what he posted to this one, and answer the questions posted on his thread, I started this one.

@Matt2015Tundra

I read your comment and thank you for sharing your comment on the Ford. I have a friend who is all about the 7.3, and I was at his home when his truck was delivered. He loved it. I had not heard much about them, but then the description you gave, I am glad I went with the gas.

I know it may not have the life span of the diesel, but if I am not hauling heavy with it, perhaps it will extend the longevity?

@Cpl_Punishment

About the cylinder deactivation, I don't know. On one thread, it was said that it doesn't, but then on another, I heard it did.

I did some searching and I am getting several mixed info. If it does, and it starts to go crazy, the extended warranty I have covers both the repair and/or the deletion of that. So I will run it and see what happens.

ETA: If anyone else wishes to drop other topics dealing with Ram, no matter the model, please do so. If you wish to discuss Ram vs Tundra, I am fine with that as well. So don't feel as though you are all hijacking the thread.

 

Do you have the gear limit switches on your steering wheel ?

 

I believe I know what you are asking, and yes. It operates like the Shift in the Tundra where I can shift up and down gears as I was towing.

I have used it, in the Ram, in some ice, and it works really well. Lower gear in 4HI.

ETA: I believe this is the Tradesman level. So I also have 6 AUX switches as well.

 

Funny this thread popped up today. I was just looking at badass '22 Power Wagon last night. Luckily, I believe I've talked myself out of it.

But...... 38's, Fox aftermarket suspension, and of course the the normal Power Wagon front and rear lockers, sway bar disconnect, etc etc!!!
And of course the teasing from my wife that my Tundra looked so wimpy next to it. She's such an enabler. She really wants this truck.

 

That is a sharp truck but, YIKES!!! 11 Recalls?

Mine came up clean when I ran the VIN. I am going to run it again to make sure.

That is a sweet looking truck. The PW is set for off roading, and from what I have gathered, is very capable. I am afraid to ask about cost.

What was the engine? From the pic, it looks like a 6.7L Diesel. Sorry, meant the 6.4L gas.

 

Actually, I think you might be right on the recalls on Carfax, because I just looked again to snap a screenshot. Nothing. Guess it was KBB it showed that. And KBB might not be accurate. Yes, gas. I believe only gas is available with the PW package.

 

Yeah, KBB is where it showed the 11 recall's. So it may not apply to this truck. I'll edit that out of my original post, haha.

 

If you use them you can disable the cylinder deactivation . Press the minus then press the plus 7 times and it’ll use all 8 gears but won’t activate the cylinder shut off . If you do it you’ll know if you have it because it feels different , in a good way .

 

I personally haven't been a fan of cylinder deactivation because of the lifter issues that it's been known to cause.

That was part of why I bought the F150; the sales rep mistakenly told me that the 5.0 didn't have cylinder deactivation. Can't exactly blame her, because Ferd got a lot of flak for adding it in 2021 so they removed all mention of it in the engine descriptions for brochures and online.

I wasn't particularly happy when I found out she was wrong, so I started digging and found some interesting info. Ferd was the last to put it into their V8s and they went about it differently. Both Ram and GM outsourced the designing of their cylinder deactivation systems and then tacked it onto their engines, but Ferd watched how that all went and opted to design their system in house with the same engineers that designed the engine. So far I can't find any reported issues with the 5.0 that are related to the cylinder deactivation or the wet belt for the oil pump that they moved to in the 2021 model year for the Coyote engine, and there are plenty of rigs with 6 figure mileage on them at this point.

All that to say, cylinder activation has a checkered past at best and has not been well received as a result. If you can get it turned off or removed it may be something to look into, but I'd be checking out user experiences with your particular engine to see what the costs and workarounds are.

 

I thought the same, until I realized that truck only has 100lb more payload than mine, and it comes with FAR more common issues and annoyances. Spend some time on the Ram forum like I did. That cured me.

Put 5.29s and 37s on your truck so you can go all the same places that thing can go but also come home every time.

 

Or you could spend some time on the 3rd gen Tundra forums to cure you of wanting a new Tundra . lol

 

Ok. But, having that resource is still good! I would have ran if I saw it come up with that many, LOL!

 

To make sure I am understanding, tap the negative to drop it to 7th gear, then hit the positive 7 times (which will put it back to 8th gear), and I will have full power? Should I do that before I drive, or while I am driving (under the 8th gear RPM of course so I don't stretch the engine too much).

 

The minus will put it in first gear if you’re not moving.

 

Thanks for the info. I did talk to my Mechanic when I first was looking at the Ram and he also said the same thing about having it deleted. He said it was about a $2500 job. Might be down the road. Have to pay it off first, HA!

 

There are quite e few Rams that have well over 100,000 on them with no problems . I’ll deal with it if and when it happens .

 

@BillyB, My wife calls this my adult truck! It dwarfs my old Tundra!

@Terndrerrr and @Lovetrucks

I was going to say the same thing as LoveTrucks. I have spent some time reading the 3rd gen forum here, and while the legendary status of the 2 and 2.5gen, I could not argue with (except mine had several issues), I would hesitate on saying Tundra is the clear winner on quality.

Will it get fixed, yes. But they haven't, and it looks as though some of the actual replaced engines are now having trouble.

Plus I am matching the quality, AND have a 29-3400 lb payload capacity!

The reason I went Ram was because of the 3rd gen forum here on this site

 

Agree. I did purchase the extended warranty from my Ram dealership (it is backed by Fidelity, or something like it). I wouldn't have purchased it if it didn't come from my local Ram dealer who said the level I have is equal to the Mopar Maxcare. It was a little more affordable by the tune of 2000 dollars.

 

Question: Should I stir the pot a little more with another comment about mileage?

 

I wasted my money on the extended warranty on mine . I felt it was better to be safe than sorry when I bought it . I never had to use it .

 

I was torn. I have heard the horror stories, and having never had an HD truck, or Ram before (the only other little truck I had before was an S10), I decided to bite the bullet and give myself a peace of mind.

I am going to be making a travel post in a few months for our trip, and we are going to be traveling a giant circle around the country, and then near the end another run up to Main and Canada. So, having warranty and peace of mind trumped the money saving in this case.

It smarts but it is only for 24 months, then I have 24 months of warranty.

ETA: Found the plan. It is from Fidelity Warranty Services. I got their Platinum plan which is an Exclusionary plan.

I would have walked if it hadn't come from the Ram dealer.

 

I bought the 5 year warranty .

 

Mine is the 4yr/48K mile. That was all that was offered outside the Mopar.

 

Oh for sure. Same goes for the GM twins and the 3rd gen Tundra. I would say most won't have an issue, but that is little consolation to the unlucky few dealing with the headaches. I'd say that as of 2022 the 1/2 ton market is all on a pretty equal footing. Nothing just leaps out as obviously more or less risk than anything else, so it boils down to personal preferences.

I can tell you now, if it weren't for that giant screen in the center stack that removes all the physical switches/buttons I would likely have wound up in a Ram when I was getting back into a full size. The 5.7 has a pretty decent track record and the linked rear end is so much smoother than leaf springs. I just preferred the layout of the Ferd more was all.

 

Yeah, not the 3rd gen at this point, for sure.

But @BillyB already has the most legendary rock solid truck ever built. He's considering going from that to a Power Wagon. That's ok; I considered it, too, so much so that I joined the Ram forum. It wasn't just reading about issues; it was reading about how Ram responded to them. Anyway, I was cured real quick.

 

I did have 1 recall on mine for a drivers side floor mat . They changed it out in the parking lot , took me longer to get there than it did for them to change it . lol

 

Don't feel bad. I got taken to the cleaners on my extended warranty through Ford, but I wanted that 100K coverage. I don't want to have to worry about any of the nonsense if I have issues after the factory warranty, and I plan to rack up the miles quickly on this truck. If there's a problem I want it to rear it's head when I won't be on the hook for it.

 

Agree. And I'm having a little fun doing some ribbing.

In all seriousness, the earlier gens, especially with the 5.7, has a high record. Unfortunately my truck nickled and dimed me that it was cheaper buying a newer truck than paying for the repairs. So, I must have had a small lemon or something.

However, you are correct on the 3rd gen, and I have not had any experience with Ram yet. Hoping it is easy, if and when I need it. Time will tell. However, with the warranty I have, I am able to go to my regular mechanic and that helps take some of the concern off my plate.

 

My buddy bought an F-150 last year with the 2.7 turbo , big screen and the shifter that folds down into the console . It is really nice .

 

LOL! Love those type jobs!