Ram Pickup Owners

[SeaDooSam]

Hi all!

I am currently in the market for a pickup. I am not looking to be able to pull down a house. I am just looking for a pickup that will pull 5-6000 lbs (hopefully with ease). I do need a crew cab though and what it to have at least a few amenities. I am looking at Ford F150, GMC 1500, Ram 1500, etc. I recently came across a 2014 Laramie Crew Cab. Fully loaded, looks like a sweet ride w/ a v8 with very few miles. How are these Rams? Are they reliable? In pictures the interiors seem very nice. Are they actually good in reality? How do they drive (I will obviously test drive it) Anything bad that I should know?

 

[David Young]

You can go to any truck Forum and read horror stories and you can read about how great the truck is. I think they are 'all' hit and miss. It might be a great one or one that is a piece of crap. A low mileage car or truck might have been gotten rid of because of a lot of problems. I believe a Ram dealer can run the VIN number and see the service history, if they are truthful to you on what they see

 

[89retta]

How far and how often will you be towing that 5-6 thousand pound load?

 

[oldjeep]

I own a 2009 hemi crew cab ram, same generation you are looking at. 137k miles and no real issues yet. My boat weighs around 6k on the trailer which is a light load for the truck.

I like the interior, but that is all personal preferences so get in one and try it out. Rides better than any truck I had previously due to the coil rear end. Surprisingly the coils don't seem to impact the load carrying, I pretty regularly toss a 600lb snowmobile in the bed and that drops it down to about level (about 2" drop)

 

[WIMUSKY]

They changed the frontends, which is a good thing. I just don't know what year. I'm thinking post 2012. I've had a 2005, '08, '12 and now a '16. The '08, '12 frontends went out at 50k, '05 only had 30kish when I traded.. You could practically watch your odometer roll and hear the frontend make noise. Since the upgrade it's supposed to help that issue. They're still non-greasable which I believe is 99% of the issue. Mine have been 2500s. My bro has a 2008 and his truck did the same thing at the same mileage. He replaced with greasable aftermarket parts.

Check out new ones, they're giving screamin' deals for all the manufacturers. Trying to get rid of their '16s.

Except for the issues I stated, I like my RAMs. One thing nice is they shut down 4 cylinders when not needed, that gives you great gas mileage. I borrowed a '14 1500 crew and it was getting in the upper 20s, 5.7 hemi. Rode good too...

 

[RobertThoreson]

I work in a detail shop so iv seen the interiors of many many vehicles. We thoroughly clean everything as in take everything apart and clean piece by piece ($500 average ) and I have to say that dodge has some of the higher quality interiors. Of the big 3, chevy is next. Things are just put together better and with better materials.

 

[79_banshee]

You will be dragging your rear bumper with that much weight on the back. My cuzzin has a 2012 ram 1500 and with his 5k holiday trailer (tow behind not fifth wheel) that truck is sagged out to the bump stops. Looks bad but I'm sure the truck pulls if fine. Almost needs those coil style air bags to help the suspension. I would take whatever your hauling and hook it on before you buy so you have a better idea of how it will sit and pull jmho

 

[oldjeep]

You will be dragging your rear bumper with that much weight on the back. My cuzzin has a 2012 ram 1500 and with his 5k holiday trailer (tow behind not fifth wheel) that truck is sagged out to the bump stops. Looks bad but I'm sure the truck pulls if fine. Almost needs those coil style air bags to help the suspension. I would take whatever your hauling and hook it on before you buy so you have a better idea of how it will sit and pull jmho

Something is seriously wrong with his truck, or his hitch is set way too high, or his tongue weight is way out of whack.

 

[hemi rt]

Something is seriously wrong with his truck, or his hitch is set way too high, or his tongue weight is way out of whack.

He's pulling a travel trailer, the hitch weight is way different than a boat if it is set up properly. Travel trailers require a equalizer hitch to pull properly, you can get equalizer hitch set-ups for boat trailers too if the tongue weight is too high also but what you are describing is using oranges to apples.

 

[oldjeep]

He's pulling a travel trailer, the hitch weight is way different than a boat if it is set up properly. Travel trailers require a equalizer hitch to pull properly, you can get equalizer hitch set-ups for boat trailers too if the tongue weight is too high also but what you are describing is using oranges to apples.

Not for a 5000lb trailer. Even at 15% that is only 750 lbs, which is not enough to put my truck on the bump stops.

 

[boatman37]

i had a 2007 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 with a 4.7 and it was a pig. reliable but i traded it in with about 45000 miles on my 2013 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 hemi. i have the 3.55 gears and pull my 1986 sundancer 250 (about 8000lbs with tri-axle trailer) very easily. very minimal rear squat and pulls great. no issues at all. my step-father has a 2014 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 hemi with 3.92s and pulls his 9000lb. 5th wheel camper with no problems.
mechanically i have done nothing to this truck except regular maintenance and a new battery. it has 53,000 miles on it now. my 2007 needed new tie rod ends at 12,000 miles under warranty.

 

[mjf55]

So I have a 2004 Ram 1500 Hemi 5.7. Head gaskets at 130k. Going strong at 192k ( knock on wood ).I pull my 26' travel trailer ( 6900 lbs gvwr ) with an equalizer hitch. Level as can be and do not hit the stops.
Must have the correct hitch.

Not that your looking for an older vehicle, just commented to advise towing configuration.
p.s. tows my boats just fine., and horse trailers and...... ( you get the point )

 

[SeaDooSam]

Great relies. Keep them coming! So I guess I shouldn't be too worried about the gas mileage as most of our driving is highway. I put out the 5-6k lbs number simply in case I want to upgrade but right now the most it will be towing is 3,000 which you could practically tow with a RAV4 Realistically I probably won't get a boat that weighs 6k lbs any time soon. Aside from the occasional 120 mile trip (maybe a few times a year) it will be towing to the ramp which is 15 mins away.

 

[ezmobee]

i had a 2007 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 with a 4.7 and it was a pig. reliable but i traded it in with about 45000 miles on my 2013 Ram 1500 QC 4x4 hemi.

Same here but with Jeep Grand Cherokees. The difference between the 4.7 and the 5.7 was night and day and the difference in fuel economy negligible (both awful).

Our '06 Grand Cherokee has been an excellent vehicle and tows my 20' heavy boat fine. Any year GC would be a good tow vehicle for what you're looking to tow now.

 

[79_banshee]

Something is seriously wrong with his truck, or his hitch is set way too high, or his tongue weight is way out of whack.

Hitch is set fine and he is using a equalizer hitch with the sway bars. The only thing wrong with the truck is its a dodge lol

 

[WIMUSKY]

The only thing wrong with the truck is its a dodge lol

A troll!!!!!!!!!!:laugh:

 

[bruceb58]

The only thing wrong with the truck is its a dodge lol

I agree...Ford or Chevy are both better choices.

Toyota too!

 

[79_banshee]

All cars and trucks have their advantages and disadvantages it's more about personal preference I think. I grew up being a chev/gmc fan and I drive my trucks hard. I've owned 4 different gmc models over the years and never really had many problems with them other than fixing things that broke from my own stupidity. I drive them hard but they seem to last for me. Guess regular maintenance is a big factor as well

 

[Scott Danforth]

They are all man made and controlled by accountants. Dad has been a dodge guy his whole life. His current 2500 cummins has 300,000 miles. Friends that have them love them. Then again i have friends that love their Fords and Chevys too. Realistically, get what you want for the reasons that work for you. We all abuse our vehicles differently.

I agree ball joints should have greese fittiings, however all manufactures are removing them because consumer reports grades manufactures on maintenance, and "lubed for life" is good for ratings where a greese zirk is bad for rattings.

 

[Leardriver]

There are no bad trucks built in the last 15 years. When I bought a Toyota Tundra, it was the only American made truck. That took some research and mental reprogramming to come to terms with. No truck can touch Toyota reliability, and the power train of the 2007 and newer is a beast.