Talk me out of it!

[Jettech1]

I've always loved the cummins engine.  Now that it's paired with the ZF 8 speed auto, I'm having bad thoughts.  I LOVE my 22 Custom model gasser, I mean I absolutely love my truck.  BUT.......The discounts along with the HO Cummins and the ZF 8 speed has caused a wandering eye.  Please tell me all of the bad things because although I've never been a fan of RAM, they are looking quite spicy these days.  Please no one tell my beloved Custom model I have a wandering eye.... 

[rjgvt]

Buy what you like, life is to short. If you get a Ram and don’t like it, go back to what suits your needs and wants!

[Jettech1]

I couldn't agree more.  I see you are from Vermont.  What an awesome state, my wife and I traveled there a few years ago from our friends house in Derry, NH that we were visiting.  We went to Quechee, what a beautiful place to see.  Good for you all, enjoy!!!

[Pryme]

I wouldn’t buy any vehicle made outside the United States unless it was significantly lower priced vs the made in the United States equivalent. Because obviously they are saving a ton having the ram made in Mexico otherwise they wouldn’t do it. And because it’s not any less expensive, I’ll pass. That’s just me though. 

[Jettech1]

1 hour ago, Pryme said:

I wouldn’t buy any vehicle made outside the United States unless it was significantly lower priced vs the made in the United States equivalent. Because obviously they are saving a ton having the ram made in Mexico otherwise they wouldn’t do it. And because it’s not any less expensive, I’ll pass. That’s just me though. 

I need to do a lot of research here before my wandering eye dips into my pocket.  Honestly I have no idea if they use the old style U channel frames or if they are built tough as nails like our frames.  I need to educate myself bigtime.

[KARNUT]

14 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

I've always loved the cummins engine.  Now that it's paired with the ZF 8 speed auto, I'm having bad thoughts.  I LOVE my 22 Custom model gasser, I mean I absolutely love my truck.  BUT.......The discounts along with the HO Cummins and the ZF 8 speed has caused a wandering eye.  Please tell me all of the bad things because although I've never been a fan of RAM, they are looking quite spicy these days.  Please no one tell my beloved Custom model I have a wandering eye.... 

My brother is a Dodge Chrysler guy starting with his 79 little red truck he still has. He probably has 6 old dodge trucks he going to rebuild one day. He bought a 2010 challenger for his wife that he still has. When we were in business and up until about 10 years ago he drove a Ram Diesel. He runs many crews from our old business we sold. All his crew trucks including his are Fords. He could drive anything. Besides his Ford diesel that’s been deleted. He uses diesel engines only if needed. They used to only use diesel. I’m not talking about a couple of trucks. Dozens of trucks. 

Edited January 31 by KARNUT

[KARNUT]

Ram has a 10 year 100K warranty. That could sway me. 

[gregus73]

I would be concerned about the reliability of Stellantis.

The warranty sounds good, but what is the point if it is at the dealer all of the time getting fixed.

Came from a lot of Wranglers and the later models have been a complete nightmare.

 

I would go GM or Ford. For lighter duty have been happy with Toyota.

 

[Black02Silverado]

I would get it if you really want it.  

[Jettech1]

6 hours ago, Black02Silverado said:

I would get it if you really want it.  

I wish I had a crystal ball as we all probably wish.  My 22 Custom has been spot on damn near perfect.  Not one complaint other than a weird idle, which it has done since new.  Doesn't stall or anything, just a little bumpy.  Hard to explain, other than that, absolutely perfect at now 41k miles.  So my fear is, I will end up with a dealer queen that refuses to leave the shop.  I don't need a diesel for towing, our camper only weighs 8k fully loaded.  So the actual NEED as I call it is not there.  It's the desire of a 59 year old man to finally own a bad ass cummins diesel backed up by the new ZF8 HP75 transmission that have an amazing reputation.  Because of the reliability of my current gasser it makes it hard.  If it had been one of the oil suckers and was plagued with problems, it would be an easy move to the Ram.  That's where I'm having a hard time deciding because my current truck is dead on reliable and does everything I want it to do with ease.  But darn it would be nice to have over 1000 lb/ft of torque and the best exhaust brake on the market.  Ugggggg.  lol....  On another note I did run my VIN through KBB and was shocked at the trade-in value.  I expected it to be a LOT lower than what KBB is reporting so that's a good thing.  I think people are catching on that the 6.6 gasser is probably one of the most over built engines GM has made in years.

[XY74]

I was never an oil burner guy until I bought one in 2020.  It's wonderful to have effortless power towing the camper, set the cruise and drive.  No more monitoring momentum and hills.  I guess I have been "lucky", both this truck and my last truck have been perfectly reliable.  Most of them probably are, whatever brand.  I will say I have never felt like I needed more exhaust brake and unless you are towing way heavier than 10K, it's a non issue.  

 

So to me it comes down to what do you want to spend your money on?  It will never balance out on pure need.  Of course that is probably true of most of the things we buy for ourselves.  I'm pretty sure I don't NEED this Ultimate, but it sure is nice and I am not getting any younger!    

[dieselfan1]

I'd never even consider getting rid of a Chevy for a Dodge but that's just me.

The bowtie is in my blood.

[Coastie05]

Just keep what you have and pay it off if it's not already paid for. Why replace a perfectly good truck just "because". I don't know how long you plan to work before retiring but based on my life plans I'd be retiring at 60 and would not be interested in starting all over with a fresh truck payment. That's just my $.02! 

[Chuck FB]

If one watches a few youtubers and that includes hot shot companies that had valve train issues starting in 2019 I believe because of the switch to the roller lifter cam ( and there was that time period they had the CP4 fuel pump and they were piling up which wipes out the whole fuel system ), and see some limp mode videos where the darned diesel exhaust fluid system puts the truck into limp mode and the truck barely has any miles on it, or more recently watched videos from a mechanic that has been replacing certain rocker arms and push rods because of a design issue that is causing the rocker to push rod contact point to wear out due to lack of oil being able to lube it properly ... lets just say that has not gotten me all warm and fuzzy over thinking the Ram/Cummins diesel is bullet proof. For 2025 model year I believe Ram/Cummins went away from the intake grid heater system and went to the in cylinder glow plug system. Hard to say about the transmission but has been pointed out by Nate at NextGen drivetrain that parts are limited in what can be sourced because of the brand of the transmission so if there is much wrong it will tend to mean a new transmission. In saying that, the GM and Ford transmissions of today are stupid expensive too but only time will tell as to how this trans married to the Cummins will be track record wise compared to its competition. 

 

While I have painted some negativity into my comment, the fact is that all of the big three have their issues with their diesel engines because of the amount and complexity of the emissions garbage and the extreme high pressure fuel pressures that the diesels have now to create as clean a burn as possible. Not to say the gas engines are perfection as they are not but all comes down to what one needs or just wants to drive, I certainly contemplated buying a diesel but I decided for my use case it was not really the best idea and watching my brothers issues over the years with a couple of different diesel pickups and not really a stellar outcome, that didn't help my rose colored glasses tint for diesel pickups either. However you do have the lemon law in the states and that long factory warranty from Ram so if you did have an issue it may not be the end of the world other than being out a vehicle until its repaired. I do love the torque feeling of a diesel though and jake brakes ( highway tractor use ) so its always tempting to go diesel ! LOL. Also if your plan is not to keep such a truck for years but expect to trade it in within the warranty period, again for what enjoys you in life that could be the reason you need, where it may not be the reason someone else would need to buy one. 

 

By the way all the big three have had fully boxed frames on their pickup truck box versions for a number of years now but I believe the chassis models depending on brand have a C channel frame and also may depend on the weight class. For what your seeking out or so I assume with a truck box, a Ram will have a fully boxed frame. 

[Chuck FB]

I should add that for and don't quote me on this but I believe starting with the 2025 model year although could have been the year prior, Ram either did something with the actual coil spring rate itself ( I'd surely think they would have to have ) as they upped the payload for a mid trim level crew cab short box 2500 to around that 3000 lb mark where as prior I think it was not much over 2000 lb for some trim levels with the 2500 diesel and that was an issue ... all that power and truck build capability and fell short relative to a GM or Ford for weight carry. How they seem now I don't know, weight carry wise in a physical sense and the ride. I am only guessing your not thinking 3500 but if you were then that would be different as they have leaf springs and so I have been told in prior years with comparing the soft 2500 rear suspension it was a much more firm ride. The only way to get a feel for what they are about is to have the ability to test drive one and have a planned route that gives you some curb entry action or parking lot speed bumps and so on to compare a Ram 2500 to your current truck.

 

Because you live in an area that never ( and you probably have snow as I type this ! ) typically sees very cold weather, the diesel is easier to live with than in the cold climates but keep in mind when ever driving somewhere during the winter into colder areas that diesel in your tank from the last fuel up may not be happy to be in the colder environment and the engine shut off overnight allowing the fuel to cool in the tank and possible crystalizing/gelling issues as I bet a lot of that is happening in the last few days in the south eastern states that don't have winter rated diesel. What I have had to do for many years here with any tractors or diesel highway tractors that I plan on running during the winter is sucking all of the summer or seasonal fuel out of their tanks and then put true winter fuel in and running them to get the winter rated fuel circulated well through the system. Literally the summer fuel left in a tank will turn into a solid mass of thick gel in our winter temps and so my brother with his diesel pickup he only hauls his camper on, he has to make sure its parked in the shed for the winter before we get much below the freezing point to avoid major issues. A seldom ran diesel truck that isn't burning through the fuel much to transition with the summer to seasonal and finally to winter blends that receive the really low cloud point temp fuel as we get into the depths of winter, its can be a major issue of having the engine quit along the road and that was another reason why I had reservations about having a diesel pickup and having to deal with that, fuel anti gelling additives are not some magical cure all to turn summer fuel into winter.