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Sean Neilan Enthusiast

Sean Neilan

Posted
Posted

I owned a 1998 Dakota 5.2 and my dad owned a 2002 Ram 1500. Not really comparable to today's trucks but after our experiences with them neither of us will ever buy a Dodge again. My dads Ram rusted out so bad that when he got rid of it in 2012 he had to donate it as no one would pay any money for it. My Dakota seemed to have to have the front suspension rebuilt on a yearly basis.

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crushNchowda Senior Enthusiast

crushNchowda

Posted
Posted

 

 

We've had this discussion before man.

Go drive a Ram Laramie with the Hemi and the 3.92 axle.

Go drive it man.

 

I'm not one to keep cars more than 2-3 years so I don't worry about long term reliability.

And even if you are one to keep it for 100k miles, get an extended warranty.

Every manufacturer has issues. Read forums from any of them, they are all littered with complaints of things going wrong.

 

I understand you want to defend heavily the GM trucks and bash on the Ram. But as per our discussion before, you have to go test drive one.

A few hundred pounds in a payload? Who cares, unless you are a person who maximizes every pound in your truck to haul something, 98% of 1/2 ton truck owners don't carry 1/2 the weight ratings. Coil suspension or air suspension? You ask why? I ask why not? Why have MRC in the Denali's? Why have 22" wheels on a 4x4? You are bashing RAM for having a nice riding truck, that's what people WANT, all the while dismissing the GM trucks that have a nice ride?

 

Push button start. Well OF COURSE. It makes it EASY to get into and out of the truck without having to grab your keys, or if you have your hands full or gloves on, fumbling around in your pocket to get the keys in and out. Have you never owned a vehicle with push button start? If not, come back to us after a year or two of having it. It's a big step forward that GM should of done on their trucks remodel in 2014, and I guarantee you they FINAL will for 2019 trucks.

Rotary knob for shifter? Again, at first it's a bit weird, but after a bit it's 2nd nature and makes sense. Cleans up the dash, no stalk protruding out and no lame button up and down to shift gears, the Ram actually has it on steering wheel.

Again, don't knock it until you've tried it.

 

Yes the RAM's are heavy, they use a lot of steel and options add weight.

Sure it would be great for them to drop 300 lbs from their trucks, and i'm sure they will in the next redesign.

But you can't knock 395 hp in the truck, it's CERTIFIED by the SAE as that.

You are also looking at tests with the economy in mind 3.21 gears. That's like GM's 3.08 gears (keep in mind RAM has 1" taller tires standard so the 3.21 mathmatically works out to 3.11 rear end when you take the taller tires into consideration.

The Hemi has 40 more hp than the 5.3 has. It's truck is also 300-350 lbs heavier, so most of the 40 hp is offset by weight.

That's the reason the Hemi with the 3.21 accelerates basically the same (maybe a touch quicker actually) than the GM with the 5.3 and 3.08 gears.

Get the Hemi with the 3.92 and compare it to the 5.3 with 3.42 gears and the Hemi will take it, even with the extra weight. My 2013 with the 3.55 gears (only offered in 2013 with the Hemi, as of 2014 it was either 3.21 or 3.92) did 0-60 in 6.4 seconds and 1/4 in 14.7 @ 92+ mph at a drag strip, and not corrected for sea level.

With the 3.92 you could knock a tenth or two off of that and add 1 mph.

There is no 5.3 liter V8 GM loaded CC 4x4 truck (SLT, LTZ, or Denali) that has posted a faster time stock. Sure the 6.2 is faster (one of the reasons I own the 6.2) but it should be, it has 25 more hp, 53 ft-lbs more torque, and 300 lbs less weight.

 

Again, quit the couch critic, you don't have any first hand owner experience to know what you are talking about, you are just speculating.

The OP asked for opinions of people with EXPERIENCE with the newer RAM's, you don't so not sure why you are even posting here.

Apparently you haven't heard about the Dodge Fiat vehicles & there rotary knob transmissions yet eh?

 

It is fairly fresh news, but widespread - and precisely why I don't subscribe to "technology for technology's sake" BS in today's cars, like EXACTLY WHY: http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-12-20/govt-investigates-fiat-chrysler-shifters-for-rollaway-risk

 

And I also told ya, I have experience w/ the Rams, one of my best friends has had 3 and currently has a '14 model (he has like 50k & has already replaced wheel bearings btw) & I nearly purchased a Powerwagon.

 

I have experience w/ them sucking, first hand driving one, riding in one, & reading stories like the above. It is INSANE to try & argue Dodge reliability over pretty much any other brand, you say you don't keep vehicles very long so it doesn't matter but many people DO keep them & for truck owners USE them.

 

Whatevs, as I said to the OP - good luck w/ it, they look nice & have nice features but make sure you pack a chock block in your ram box in case the 'ol rotary knob fails out on ya & you need to park on an incline

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

Another funny thread. Kind of reminds me back in 79 I took my brother to the dodge dealership. We went to drive a little Red express. We beat the - out of it. The thing ran good, but he didn't buy that one. He bought a different one without driving it, you guess it, it didn't run like the one we drove first. We took it to the track for a stock run. It ran somewhere in the 15s. Fast forward today. It's on it third paint and decal set third engine and runs 11s. Not bad for a 79 dodge.

Driver72 Enthusiast

Driver72

Posted
Posted

Apparently you haven't heard about the Dodge Fiat vehicles & there rotary knob transmissions yet eh?

 

It is fairly fresh news, but widespread - and precisely why I don't subscribe to "technology for technology's sake" BS in today's cars, like EXACTLY WHY: http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-12-20/govt-investigates-fiat-chrysler-shifters-for-rollaway-risk

 

And I also told ya, I have experience w/ the Rams, one of my best friends has had 3 and currently has a '14 model (he has like 50k & has already replaced wheel bearings btw) & I nearly purchased a Powerwagon.

 

I have experience w/ them sucking, first hand driving one, riding in one, & reading stories like the above. It is INSANE to try & argue Dodge reliability over pretty much any other brand, you say you don't keep vehicles very long so it doesn't matter but many people DO keep them & for truck owners USE them.

 

Whatevs, as I said to the OP - good luck w/ it, they look nice & have nice features but make sure you pack a chock block in your ram box in case the 'ol rotary knob fails out on ya & you need to park on an incline

 

 

Wonder what you said with GM's ignition fires that killed people just a couple years back?

Or the 3.6 million air bags GM recalled for not deploying.

But you are worried about a truck that MIGHT roll back when you put it in park? The link you posted was an "investigation" not a wide spread epidemic that's a certainty on all the vehicles, so there is no definitive recall or malfunction there.

Either way, these types of things have happened to GM, Ford, Ram, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, etc etc etc.

If I were you worried about the 1 in tens of thousands chance a car will roll when put in park, I'd be much more worried about the impending autonomous driver revolution, as they can drive you off a cliff or run red lights for you.

Or if the drive by wire throttles and steering loses it's electronic connection and you lose control of your vehicle.

True technology isn't always the best but it's here, it's part of life now, there's no turning back.

We'll see issues of all kinds of things in all kinds of cars for years to come, as we've seen in decades past.

 

If you are truly worried about it, best stay home and keep yourself locked in your house.

You have a 1000x better chance of being hit by someone texting and driving than a car rolling you over after putting it into park.

You have a 1000x better chance of being killed by a drunk driver while you are coming home from work late one night.

You have a 1000x better chance of being killed by someone running a red light and T-boning you.

And that 1000x chance may be generous, you may have 10,000x or more chance of dying from any number of other car related incidents over a malfunctioning part on a car you are driving.

So again, if you are worried about it, don't drive, stay at home. But be sure to pack a gun, as you probably have 100x or more chance of someone breaking into your home, robbing and killing you than you do having a car roll over you after you put it in park.

 

To the OP, again, get what makes you happy. Don't worry about little fixes or rare occurrences in cars, it happens ALL the time. As I said, my brothers 2016 GMC 2500 SLT with Duramax that he got in October now has a transmission leak with only a couple thousand miles on the odometer. It happens to all manufacturers.

Over and out on this topic.

Cheers

pickmeup Enthusiast

pickmeup

Posted
Posted

If you trade every three years what you got to lose ? It just might be refreshing change . Hell you got to admit you see more and more of them on the road every year it seems.

truckguy82 Senior Enthusiast

truckguy82

Posted
Posted

Gm is like the wife the doesn't drink, goes to bed early, has had a great upbringing - 10 years later you're like, damn this chick was a great choice

 

The dodge is like the chick that will hang out night, has fake tits and an amazing lay. - after 10 years her tits sag, she's bitchy, crazy, and ****s your neighbor while you're working.

RVJ Enthusiast

RVJ

Posted
Posted

Do yourself a favor and go drive one, you'll love it.

sdeeter19555 Senior Enthusiast

sdeeter19555

Posted
Posted

I would consider looking at a 1500 Ram if I was in that market, but they haven't changed anything in the front of the 2500/3500 and I'm not going through that nightmare again...three sets of ball joints, every ujoint by 75k miles, three sets of tie rods and linkages, one gear box, needed a brace to keep the box from failing again. And that was just to keep it between the painted lines...I would have had nearly $2500 in front suspension of that Dodge 2500 in the time I've owned this GM.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

dave07 Enthusiast

dave07

Posted
Posted

One of the other things me and my wife noticed while test driving the dodge is they feel chinsy. Like the knobs and door handles feel like they are about to fall off.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Graphic Enthusiast

Graphic

Posted
Posted

Having gone from a 14 Silverado z71 LTZ to a 15 RAM sport I can say the following. They both have their strengths. The hemi is way more responsive. The tranny is a lot better acting as well on the RAM.

 

Overall, I thought the build quality is better on the Silverado. Trouble is my Silverado was a lemon. I have had a couple issues with the RAM, but they actually got fixed.

 

GM needs to get up to speed on electronics. Keyless touch entry, push button start, etc. Still find the dial shifter a little odd, but I am used to it. No worries. Aside from it rolling out of park. That or faulty ignition switches. There is always something.

 

Radio in the RAM absolutely kicks ass. The Uconnect is far more dependable and faster than what I had in the Silverado. The instrument cluster is laid out better.

 

There are some things I miss on the Silverado and I am not saying I will never go back, but after being treated by GM the way I was it will have to be one hell of a deal. Neither of the trucks are perfect, but I guess it's really what makes you happy the most.

Pythonman Enthusiast

Pythonman

Posted
Posted

Gm is like the wife the doesn't drink, goes to bed early, has had a great upbringing - 10 years later you're like, damn this chick was a great choice

 

The dodge is like the chick that will hang out night, has fake tits and an amazing lay. - after 10 years her tits sag, she's bitchy, crazy, and ****s your neighbor while you're working.

Ya but he's talking about using the Dodge chick for only 3 yrs. Well before she learns any bad habits!

Pythonman Enthusiast

Pythonman

Posted
Posted

As far as Fords go, if you test drive one you may like it's smoother shifting transmission and it's lack of engine shudder going from v8 to v4 because it doesn't have any of that. The ride is also about as good as it gets. The main weakness common to F150s is the giant wide front doors. Go find a parking spot between two other vehicles and try to open that door wide open. You cant. You will hit the adjacent vehicle if you do 80% of the time. The Ram and the GMs are just fine in that regard. Worse yet, the new Fords since 2015 have aluminum body and door panels that rip and tear far too easily. I'd much rather have a heavier GM or RAM with AFM to get better mileage than try to do it Fords way by chopping off 800lbs by substituting recycled beer cans for doors and fenders to lighten them enough to pick up a couple MPGs. My main gripe that got me out of Fords for good was a combined frontal impact at about 130mph which ripped the front wheel/brakes/rotor and part of the transaxle off along with fender and body panel and major frame damage and yet, none of the airbags deployed. That's inexcusable.

Colossus Senior Enthusiast

Colossus

Posted
Posted

If you haven't driven one, don't bitch about them until you drive one. I only drove one with the V-6, crew cab. Was a rental from Enterprise. It was a nice truck. Didn't like the knob gear selector was my only complaint other than the V6 sound. It was a strong V6 but it still sounded like.. a V6. Go read the reviews. Make up your own mind, but give it a shot before you just sit across a computer screen drinking your beer and saying "Yup.. Ram sucks. Yup."

I was in Salt Lake earlier today. Read a review while waiting at the airport on a local news site. This is for a Hemi powered 2500.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=42640399&nid=968

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