honest opinion of ram 1500

steveo2155 · February 20, 2016

Strongly dislike current 2016 Silverado look. May wait until next Silverado redesign to purchase new but also like current ram 1500. Ive owned nothing but gm but also not opposed to trying something new (besides ford Toyota nissan). What are honest opinions of ram trucks? How does hemi stand up to 5.3 in terms of power and reliability? Overall reliablility is big for me...is ram that far off gm in terms of overall reliability?

SnakeEyeSS · February 20, 2016

Strongly dislike current 2016 Silverado look. May wait until next Silverado redesign to purchase new but also like current ram 1500. Ive owned nothing but gm but also not opposed to trying something new (besides ford Toyota nissan). What are honest opinions of ram trucks? How does hemi stand up to 5.3 in terms of power and reliability? Overall reliablility is big for me...is ram that far off gm in terms of overall reliability?

Here is your answer:

This site has lost several members to Ram over the last few years.

Otherwise, never expect much in the way of an unbiased opinion on a site dedicated the rival. I have seen posts on here that said things like "My last two Gms have been crap but I am looking at the new ones"

The definition of insanity is......

MikeNH · February 20, 2016

I've spent a fair amount of time in rentals and have driven new trucks from GM, Ford and Ram. With the 8 speed auto, the Ram is a beast. It has the most responsive throttle, sounds awesome for an OEM exhaust and they've done a nice job on the interior. Chrysler doesn't have the best reputation overall for quality but the reality is if you buy any full-size these days you're going to have a good, well made vehicle. They're what keep the domestic automakers alive and they don't mess around.

As for trying something new- why are you excluding pretty much every other brand? I get skipping Nissan since the half ton Titan is still the ancient one that hasn't been changed in like 12 years but the Tundra and F-150 are good trucks too. Basically you're saying you want to try something new, as long as it's Ram.

muddkatt · February 20, 2016

I can give you 2 second hand opinions on the Ram. My brother switched to them about 8 years ago. The first one he had he put about 250,000 miles on it. Only repairs that I remember him telling about was a fan clutch and radiator when the truck had over 200,000 miles. The transmission started to get weak or acting up so he traded it on the one he has now. This one had about 190,000 miles on it about a month ago. Only thing that has went out is a drivers front wheel bearing at about 175,000. Both trucks had the hemi, and were 2wd. He uses the truck(s) for work and has a camper cover with work boxes built in, a pull out bed system, and he probably carries at least 1500 pounds of parts and tools.

We were talking about 2 weeks ago and he said if the oil field was not crashing like it is, he would go buy another one right now. He thinks the truck is getting to the point that it will not be dependable due to breakdowns.

Second is a neighbor of mine. He had the old body style diesel Ram and put over 300K miles on it. He traded it about 2 years ago on a hemi 2wd. It suffered a transmission while under warranty, and he traded it in the day it failed. He bought another Ram with the hemi.

KARNUT · February 20, 2016

My brother in law just bought a new Ram, the only Thing that sticks out so far is the V4 sound when cruising. He doesn't notice it so I don't bring it up. And the annoying shifted nob.

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Rock1500 · February 20, 2016

My friend buys nothing but rams and he loves them. I think the interior looks great and the new one has the center console entertainment/navigation unit is 10 times better than ours. He has actual icons for the different Sirius channels. But I am not a fan of this current model exterior deisgn. I think the truck is great.

When i was looking at trucks I was looking at gm, ram and the Ford raptor. I really like the looks of the gm and my truck drives great but I regret not taking a raptor sometimes.

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sierrahero68 · February 20, 2016

I took a 15000 Hemi on a test drive before i bought my new 2015 Sierra 1500.I too noticed how nice that truck sounded just sitting there idling not to mention how fast that truck got up and went.

I liked the truck a lot,didn't care for gear selector knob,liked how the truck sat just about level ...from the factory...something GM could learn from.

As said before...I think all full size trucks are equal as far as quallity goes,just sometimes people get that "one" that scares them away from that brand.

steveo2155 · February 20, 2016

In a couple years I will give them both a look. Hopefully both ram and silverado have redesigns then. I know I wont be buying 16 silverado body style. I could always look for a used 14-15 silverado ltz with 6.2 at that point since I love the 14-15 but I was hoping to purchase something brand new because ive never had that experience.

BlackZ71Silverado · February 20, 2016

What about going with a new 2016 GMC Sierra? The 2016 body style of the Sierra is not changed as much from the previous model like the Silverado. Going with the Sierra will give you an identical truck, just a different body style. That's the great thing about GM, we have options, unlike any other manufacturer.

SnakeEyeSS · February 20, 2016

What about going with a new 2016 GMC Sierra? The 2016 body style of the Sierra is not changed as much from the previous model like the Silverado. Going with the Sierra will give you an identical truck, just a different body style. That's the great thing about GM, we have options, unlike any other manufacturer.

That's not true. Ford has varrying levels of how much fake metal they offer. The more you pay, the more fake metal trim!

Front Runner · February 20, 2016

That's not true. Ford has varrying levels of how much fake metal they offer. The more you pay, the more fake metal trim!

You've lost me. He was referring to the GMC Sierra, not Ford.

SnakeEyeSS · February 20, 2016

You've lost me. He was referring to the GMC Sierra, not Ford.

You obviously missed the last line of his post also.

crafferty · February 21, 2016

I'd give the new Nissan Titan a look as well. The new design looks great and it has a 5liter cummins diesel. Also, since your checking out rams have you driven one of the diesel models yet? They can be quite fun once you start tuning the engine.

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Badass69 · February 21, 2016

If you are happy with a 5.3/ 8 speed the Hemi will do you fine... their performance is about the same as one another.

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Smoothbassman · February 21, 2016

I went from a Chevy to a Ram and back to the Chevy. Why? I just liked the look. The 5.7 Ram has more low end bite than the 5.3 Chevy anyday of the week. The sound of that hemi is nice. Wish Chevy would open up that exhaust note a little bit. The Chevy had a better driveline in my opinion. Just feels smoother (6 speeds) I haven't driven the new 8 speed Ram. The ram rides better with the rear coil springs but the Chevy handles the towing better.

Both are great trucks. You have to decide for yourself what suits your needs. People called me crazy when I showed up with that Ram and now all my neighbors switched to Ram and I went back. Going to wait until 2017-18 to see where I go next.

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