Traded my 2022 tundra in for a Ram Laramie

Yep had a 2014 Big Horn and developed a “hemi tick” and a misfire on cylinder #5 so I traded it in for my first Tundra a 2017.

 

I've had mine since May of 21 and 17k miles later I haven't had any issues. Can I firmly say it won't ever have any issues no but I sure as hell enjoy towing with it more than I ever did with my Tundra and the interior is far more nicer hands down.

 

My buddy had a dealer offer him 15k to not accept his f250 when it came in. Obviously they will mark it up but 15k for basically putting in his order.

 

Congrats on the new ride and glad the numbers worked so well in your favor.

I've had two Ram 1500s with the Hemi since 2016. I traded both off before hitting 70k and call my experience successful. (And yes, took full advantage in both with big buy backs so.came away ahead.) Fantastic driving and riding rigs. But, I always considered them a "3 year vehicle". The engineering from Dodge/Ram is awesome (well, aside from the pesky little Hemi cam failures for so many). But the execution was so spotty you never knew for sure what may give up. You can still see some going long term along with the scary stories.
I'd still buy one for the great ride and interior and solid chassis build. But right now, I need a more "drive and no nonsense" with my 2.5 Gen Tundra (about to have 3 kids in college at the same time).
Enjoy and all Best of luck! They're beautiful trucks...

 

I recently purchased a Ram 2500 with the Cummins 6.7. I won't comment on reliability or durability since I've only had it for less than a week. I've only ever purchased Toyota vehicles previously. I was driven (no pun intended) to this decision for a few reasons but the main one is that Toyota does not do trucks with enough capability or payload for a camper. The only choice was a domestic HD for what I wanted to carry. I know people have been running campers on Tundra's forever but a camper alone fills up your payload capacity. Had the new Tundra come out with more payload on the door jam sticker (i.e. 1800-2000lbs) then I would have considered it. By the time you load out a CrewMax 6.5ft bed you have 1400lbs of payload on the door jam sticker. My 2006 Tundra Double Cab has 1400lbs payload on the door jam sticker for reference. A few other considerations

• I needed a CM 6.5ft bed truck. The 22 Tundra in that config is 245" long. A Crew Cab Short Bed (6'4" bed) Ram HD is 238" long. My driveway isn't very long so the Ram HD actually fits better in the driveway. So the Ram HD CCSB is actually a smaller truck than the Tundra CMLB.
• I test drove the Tundra on two different occasions. I enjoyed it and they drove very well. I think my first tester a CM short bed and the 2nd tester a DC. The drove well and I think if I owned one that I'd enjoy the powertrain on a day to day basis. Both 3G Tundra and the Ram 2500 are big trucks and they both drive that way. I don't think the Tundra felt any smaller on the drive. What I did notice was that the Tundra has a much narrower field of vision and visibility out the front windshield. The Tundra's windshield is more angular and the hood bulge is larger than the Ram. I got a very enclosed in feeling when driving the Tundra. Visibility out of the Ram is great.
• Interior quality of the Ram feels pretty good. Some of the plastics could be a bit thicker and the seat covers are a little loose at the edges. But overall I think the quality is pretty good. Mine does not have the front row 6th seat so it has the center console. It's fantastic and functional with good use of materials. I didn't have enough time to play around with the 3G Tundra interior but it felt good as well but there seems to be a lot of people that complain about center console material and surround seat trim quality.
• I don't have to deal with TSS. This can be seen as a pro and a con. My truck has front and rear parking sensors and a rear camera. That's it. No front camera, no blindspot monitoring, no 360 view camera, no trailer view or review view mirror camera, lane departure assist, or adaptive cruise control. Yeah it's going to be a lot more difficult to park but I think that's something I will learn with the truck over time. The pro is that I won't have a million things beep at me while I drive and no complicated electrical systems that can fail. Mine has the 8.4" screen so HVAC controls are physical buttons unlike their 12" tablet screen.
• Honestly I felt like Toyota made the Tundra less functional as a truck. A lot more plastic fascia used on the exterior of the truck. Front bumper cover is all plastic, the rear bumper panel is all plastic. If I remember correctly the rear quarter panel is attached on pretty lightly as well. It appears light duty when it comes to protection from factory. Non functional rear bumper when it comes to using the truck bed and to beat a dead horse, lack of tow hooks.
• Availability of AEV parts. This is more of an advantage compared to other domestic HD trucks. In the past I've modded trucks with aftermarket parts and such. The problem is that you always give up OEM quality and function when going with aftermarket products. As nice as C4 or CBI parts are they don't have the engineering that companies like ARB or AEV invest into their parts. The fact that I can get OEM level products from AEV that has been co-developed and engineered with the Ram is reassuring. The truck will swallow up 35's and if I ever wanted 37's or 40's like an AEV Prospector or Prospector XL then that's possible too.
• Lastly I love the way it looks. Simple, clean, and brawny. The lines and body style should hold up well over time. Whereas the Tundra has a lot of lines and angles going on IMO. Kind of busy like the Chevy/GM trucks.

I know this isn't necessarily a 1:1 comparison from 1/2 ton to 1/2 ton. However more of a decision that I had to go with a Domestic HD for payload numbers. I sorta wished Toyota had a Tundra with a HDPP if they aren't going to be in the HD market. The fact that I have a truck that is more capable than the Tundra in a smaller package is kind of hard to argue with. Time will tell with the reliability with this thing and I'm hoping Ram puts more quality into their HD trucks vs their 1/2 trucks but the durability and capability of the components shouldn't be a problem. I think more and more people are looking into HD trucks and guys like Mario Donovan and Dave Harriton of AEV were way ahead of the curve on this for off-road and overland use.

 

That's a nice 2500! I'm always jealous about those, and yes, totally makes sense if you need the capacity!

I wanted one, but I just never tow, so it's silly to pay all this extra for Cummins. And, I do want all the cameras and tech around my truck as I do park in the city every day! I got used to my old 1500 but it's still a pain to squeeze into spots.

 

Yeah good point, at the end of the day all the shit 1/2 ton trucks are the same recycled parts. Tundra and F150 have the same transfer case.

 

Looks like you got out of the Tundra unscathed. Can’t say I blame you given the issues/problems you cite in your post. Change over to the new model I suspect is giving Toyota heart burn.

Congratulations on your new truck… enjoy!

 

I agree with everything you said about the 3rd gen Tundra. Despite the better power curve and boxed frame, it seems more geared toward comfort and tech. I will still probably buy one, especially if Toyota by some miracle decides to offer a heavy duty payload package, unless I end up having to go domestic HD. Paying such close attention to payload in all the ways I use my 2nd gen is my one big complaint.

What’s your payload sticker say? I thought it was relatively low in the trucks with the heavier Cummins engine. I’m sure it’s still well above a Tundra.

I didn’t know the HD Rams could be so short. The way my big fat truck drives more like a midsize is a really big deal to me and the way I use my truck. It’s just so maneuverable with great visibility while having the cabin space of an IKEA apartment. Really works well for the 5 of us and the dog.

Yeah you earlier 2nd gen guys have the option of dropping the Sequoia TC with unlocked 4Hi into your trucks, right? Jealous. I would absolutely do that mod if I could.

 

If I had to guess his payload should be somewhere in the 1900's. I went with the 6.4 because I wanted as much payload as possible.

 

I can’t blame anyone for switching to Ram. They have a few perks going for them. I saw they’re releasing their new product “Dodge Rum” on which you can imbibe for free while waiting for a diagnosis at the service department for those pesky engine ticks. This is what innovation looks like.

 

Have you owned a midsize truck? My Tundra feels like driving a bus coming from a Tacoma the last 16 years.

 

I have a 4runner and always run 4wd in the snow. I had no idea Tundras couldn't run 4WD unlocked until I heard the tires squealing. It definitely sucks not being able to run 4WD all the time. Almost makes 4WD useless for me.

 

I don't think it's exactly the same. But I also have been driving a Suburban or a Yukon XL for years, and occasionally an F150 when visiting family, and my truck's turning radius is much better than all of them. Feels a lot closer to the Taco. Always surprising how tight I can pull a U-turn or make a sharper-than-90º turn in my truck.

 

I wish you all the best luck you can have with your warranty issues and the dodge service departments ........ you're going to need all you can get. Godspeed lol at least you have a bunch of fancy doodads to play with

(yes I know they rebranded to "ram" to try and separate themselves from how awful dodge is but everyone knows they're still the same old fiat , damlyer , Chrysler, and whatever other crap brand that wants to try their hand at medicority ) lol.

 

My 17 could use a headlight fire to help out those halogens lmfao

 

With all due respect, can Ram trucks be considered domestic anymore?

 

the key information that defines this entire thread to me is that a guy that owned exclusively Toyota vehicles for 40 years only has 14 posts to his account. If you've only had to query the internet 14 times in the duration of your ownership of any vehicle i'd call that a raging success.

 

I love your post. FOREVER, as a Toyota owner you have to listen to the “Almighty Dollar” goes back to Japan. It’s designed here, it’s built here using American labor paying American taxes but it’s a Jap car. Your Ford and Chevy is designed in Japan and built with Mexican or Canadian labor but ‘MERICA!!! I love teasing all the Ram guys at work now with their little Fiat Italian sports car. Hard to estimate what’s in the shop more, Ferrari or Ram.

 

If it makes you feel any better I have always felt that I was sending my American dollars to far reaches of the American empire. Lol.

 

My sticker says 2170lbs. The Ram 2500 is definitely on the lower end of payload compared to Ford and GM. Given it's size it's almost like a 1/2-ton plus if you will. I'm still surprised how short the truck is at 238" whereas the Ford in a super crew short bed is 250" long. AFAIK the only difference between a Ram 2500 and 3500 is that the 2500 has a 5 link rear coil sprung suspensions and the 3500 has a leaf springs. Everything else I believe is the same, frame, brakes, diffs, axles etc etc. So in a pinch if I needed the truck to handle more weight I could add heavier duty rear springs and a sway bar but at least I'd know the other components are up to the task. My camper will likely weigh 1200lbs or so.

My door jam sticker says 2170lbs. I think some of the other trims like the Laramie, Limited or Longhorns the payload on a cummins can be as low as 1800-1900 depending on options.

 

That makes sense when I was cross shopping the Cummins to the 6.4 they were both Laramie trims

 

All I know is my 2015 sequoia does not feel as solid (just closing the door alone) as my 01-4Runner, amazing difference in the quality of build like it came from Two different countries. Still love Toyota despite, I hope their find their way again.

 

It did. 4Runners are built in Japan. or used to be

 

I think you're confusing 4WD with AWD. Curious what year and trim 4R you have? 4th gen V6's could select between 2WD and AWD, and then lock the center diff for 4WD. That's a very rare setup. I suspect that's what you have. I've had 2 V8 4th gens and one Limited (V6 obviously) 5th gen, and they have full time AWD, no 2WD option, but you can lock the center diff for 4WD.

Almost universally, you cannot run a 4WD vehicle on pavement. It's not a Tundra thing, it's a 4WD thing. AWD uses a center differantial and you can drive it on pavement.

 

This is the one area where we as Toyota owners have no argument. Our dealer and corporate support from Toyota is garbage compared to that of Dodge and GM. No experience with Ford. Go into any GM dealer and you’ll feel like a king. Go into a Toyota dealer and you feel like you are at a Walmart. They are absolutely awful. At least in my area.

 

I have had excellent dealership experience with my Toyota dealership. They treat you really well there, even for just doing regular maintenance.

they even give you beverages, cookies and free car wash.

 

It's a 2002. Yes it defaults to unlocked center diff when in 4WD. If I want it locked I have a button to lock the center diff. I'm thinking maybe most 1/2 ton trucks don't have this setup because it is less robust? I guess I never really thought of it as a puny AWD system.

 

My son came home the other evening in his work Sierra, I met him in the driveway and we could both hear the engine ticking as he idled.

 

The dealerships around me are generally courteous and offer coffee and refreshments. But while they’re doing that, they’re also overcharging you for work, adding crap to the vehicle you didn’t ask for, and playing with the numbers to squeeze every dime out of you back in financing, even going as far as to just add $1200 to your loan amount for no reason. They’re just being shady and hoping you don’t see it. I loathe all the Nashville Toyota dealers.