Opinions on modern Ram 1500 trucks?

Not compared to Tacomas. Just in general...

 

I have driven several, as those are the fleet trucks for my job. The 5.7L Hemi will make you miss a V8, they ride better with a little weight in the back, and the head unit is ancient compared to the nice screen in the 3rd gen Tacomas.

Everyone harps on how the knob to select the transmission is ghey, but knobs and push buttons are old tech anyway. The only problem I had was I almost shifted into P while going down the road by trying to turn down the fan speed, the knobs are right next to each other.

 

Opinions on modern Ram 1500 trucks?

It's more expensive, but still a Dodge.

 

Depends on your definition of modern, I had a 2013 ram 1500 that was an absolute piece of garbage.

I bought it new. I maintained it meticulously and things started to break and rust around 60K miles. Especially the electronics. The headlights wouldn’t turn on when you turn the knob, windshield wipers didn’t work all the time and my final straw was when the doors stopped locking.

All of the flashy electronics and the nice interior tricked me into buying it. Worst vehicle I’ve ever owned.

 

From what I hear the heated tailgate is nice -- keeps your hands warm as you push it off the road for the third time this month...

 

Two words: rust bucket.

 

I’ve driven a few as rentals in my travels over the past three years. They are fine enough. I always looked forward to getting back into my F150 after driving one as outside of the v8 it’s all preferences for what you want and what you need it for. I liked the layout and controls of my F150 far better than the Rams. Like Rahl said the dial shifter takes some getting used to. I am not 100% certain that the engineers at Ram haven’t figured to program the transmission not to shift to reverse when you’re at speed.

That being said Rams are always on sale there has to be a reason for that? I just saw that they are offering 0.0% financing for 84 months?!! In this money climate I think that says a lot.

 

Oil change process sucks on a Ram. It has to be the most incompetent process developed in a vehicle.

 

I will say that all my experience with the trucks are 2017 to present, and we had to keep up with all of the maintenance as they are fleet trucks.

I have actually been in a situation where the shift by wire worked well. Backing up to a garage door and the transmission registered 1 or 2 mph, went to shift from R to P and the seat belt chime went off and a warning popped up on the instrument cluster screen. I don't know about at speed, however. When I tried to turn the fan speed knob, somehow I instinctively knew my hand was in the wrong spot and quickly pulled my hand away to make sure.

 

They have a lot more issues than other brands because they are cheaply made and priced accordingly

 

And our Tacos aren't? Spend enough time and money maintaining the frame and body panels, and they will last as long as any other vehicle.

 

I don't know about the current models, but when I used to have to do work in the rust belt states you'd see Chevys and Fords with the expected rust.

But the Dodge trucks from the same era had fenders flapping, missing rocker panels, and holes in the body big enough to pass a Big Mac through.

That said, the new ones are nice inside and ride very nice thanks to the quad-coil suspension.

If I wanted one bad, I'd lease it so that it would be sure to return home before it overstayed its welcome.

 

Had a lease from 2017 to 2020. I liked the get up and go of the v6, even got decent mpg. But it was a pos as a whole. Electrical issues all the time. Id never buy one.

 

I’m at 6.5 years and 122000 miles with my 2016 Ram 1500 Crew Cab. Drove it 900 miles across Canada yesterday. It’s been the most trouble free vehicle I’ve owned. The only issue to date has been a front left wheel speed sensor. I had the same thing with my Tacoma. Other than that, I follow the service schedule, and annual Krown treatment. I wouldn’t load up my dogs and head out to drive 15 hours across the country summer or winter if I didn’t have a dependable vehicle to do it with.

Someone mentioned the shitty oil change procedure. It’s not that bad. The oil filter is in a terrible location on the bottom of the engine, right above the steering rack. I find it easier to change though than the filter on a 3.5 Eco Boost.

 

We had 2016’s at my previous job, hated them. Lots of recalls to deal with. The dial shifter is terrible (too close to AC), same on the 2019 3500’s we have at my current job.
I also hate the bump that protrudes into the passenger floorboard. It’s a full-size truck and they couldn’t figure out a way to keep the floor flat on the passenger side.

 

So a Tacoma?

 

piece of shit but will get the job done after you fix it

 

I had a 2018 2500 CTD and now a 2022 1500. The 2500 was absolutely trouble free, way nicer interior than the Tacoma, had better ride quality, got better fuel economy (diesel), and was just a better truck than the Tacoma in pretty much all aspects other than being huge. My current 1500 TRX is much the same, only with a even better interior, better ride quality, way worse fuel economy, and still huge. I’d take either over another Tacoma if the size was not a factor.

I prefer the Ram interior/exterior design over the Fords and Chevys but that’s just a matter of personal taste. I have friends with both and they are just as reliable.

 

Having had to rebuild friends gen 3 hemis..
(Lifters destroying the cams, blocks deciding they wanted windows, oiling issues. Etc


they’re trash. They make good power, but they’re trash. If you buy a dodge, you get a Cummins.

 

Lots of recalls? I recollect about 3 with mine. All were just programming which was done during scheduled maintenance when I was still having service done by the dealer. Otherwise, I was told they'd need the truck for about 30 minutes to do a quick flash if I was to bring it in for the recall alone. If you move the shift knob while driving, the transmission won't shift past neutral, just like every other automatic I've driven. One of the recalls was to program the transmission to shift to park automatically if the driver's door was opened when not in park, and a vehicle speed below 0.5mph. Safety feature after some people managed to run themselves over while exiting the vehicle while leaving the transmission in gear.

The transmission hump is gone on the 5th gen Rams.