Help me decide...2 Ram 1500s

[SeaDooSam]

I hate to continue asking questions about trucks because after all, this is iboats lol. But I think I narrowed it down to two trucks, unless a new, better deal is listed. Just say which one you'd go with is all I ask. Please don't say "get a ford or gm" We already went over that in a past thread!

The trucks are equally clean.

Truck 1: 2013 Laramie Longhorn Ram 1500 Crew Cab Hemi v8 36k miles $32980 (hoping to get it for around 31k)
I really like this truck because: Air suspension, two tone exterior and interior, and it sounds especially good.
Does need tires (maybe negotiable?) and there is a crack in the gauge cluster which seems a bit common on these.

Truck 2: 2015 Laramie 1500 Crew Cab Hemi v8 15k miles $35k not negotiable
I like this simply because it is much newer and has less miles.
Has the same features except: no air suspension, and no two tone interior or exterior.

I was looking to spend closer to 30k but, the 2015 seemed like a good deal
Thanks for reading!

 

[R055]

I'll take the longhorn with the air suspension for 5k less. 36k miles is nothing.

 

[alldodge]

Truck 1 retails clean at 31K
Truck 2 retails clean at 33K for sport and 30K for SLT

I would lean to Truck 1 - Assuming it has 17 inch and not 20 inch tires they will cost you 1K.

 

[oldjeep]

Truck 1 retails clean at 31K
Truck 2 retails clean at 33K for sport and 30K for SLT

I would lean to Truck 1 - Assuming it has 17 inch and not 20 inch tires they will cost you 1K.

Decent 17's cost 1K

I'd be leaning towards truck 1 based on the air suspension. Mine has 140K on it so I wouldn't be worried about 36K

Although if it were me I'd be buying a brand new truck that didn't have all the Laramie/Bighorn crap on it for around the same money.

http://saintpaul.furymotors.com/vehicle-details/new-2015-ram-1500-tradesman-st-paul-mn-id-11440591

 

[SeaDooSam]

Thanks all. Truck 1 has 20's I believe. They didn't seem that expensive online? Am I looking at the wrong ones!?

Anyone else have an opinion on the trucks?

 

[alldodge]

If it was taken care of it should be fine.

 

[wrvond]

I'd go with truck #2 if it was an F250! :lol:
Ok, seriously, lower miles is good, but two years newer is even better. You can add air bags in an afternoon for $350.00.

 

[boatman37]

i recently bought new 20's for mine and price was anywhere from about 850 to 1000. my local dealer happened to have a special buy 2 get 2 free. i paid about $700 (yeah they tacked crap on to get the price up, like nitrogen filled, etc) for 4 of the original good years that suck. but my originals lasted 45,000 miles and were decent all around

 

[oldjeep]

I'd go with truck #2 if it was an F250! :lol:
Ok, seriously, lower miles is good, but two years newer is even better. You can add air bags in an afternoon for $350.00.

Air bags that can be added are nothing like the stock air suspension

 

[Jeepster04]

Personally I love the idea of the automatic air bags but do you plan on keeping the truck for along time? Thats a neat add on but Ive got to imagine the pump will eventually burn up or the bags will leak, whatever. And that will be $$ to replace.

On the other hand you could get the newer truck and add the air bags with a pump.

Do both of the trucks have the towing package? Is the anti sway system a thing on the ram trucks? I know it is on the Jeeps and its only active if it has the towing package. Not sure if a dealer can turn that on or not. Its part of the ESP system but trucks may not have it.. idk for sure, Im not really a truck guy.

 

[aspeck]

Ummmm, I would go with the GM ... sorry ... couldn't resist.

I would personally go with #1 ... lower price and had the 2 options I wanted. The 2 years and 21K would really mean nothing in the 10 years plus I would own it.

Now, if you are planning on replacing this rig in 2-3 years, then I would go with #2.

 

[oldjeep]

Personally I love the idea of the automatic air bags but do you plan on keeping the truck for along time? Thats a neat add on but Ive got to imagine the pump will eventually burn up or the bags will leak, whatever. And that will be $$ to replace.

On the other hand you could get the newer truck and add the air bags with a pump.

Do both of the trucks have the towing package? Is the anti sway system a thing on the ram trucks? I know it is on the Jeeps and its only active if it has the towing package. Not sure if a dealer can turn that on or not. Its part of the ESP system but trucks may not have it.. idk for sure, Im not really a truck guy.

Ram trucks don't have a towing package. They all come with heavy trans coolers equipped to tow, only option used to be the class 3 vs class 4 hitch (I think now they all come with a class 4) and now you can get the integrated brake controller.

 

[SeaDooSam]

For those wondering,they are only willing to go to 32k on truck 1.
and for thos who asked, yes this will be a long term truck (at least 6 years hopefully)

 

[alldodge]

For those wondering,they are only willing to go to 32k on truck 1.
and for thos who asked, yes this will be a long term truck (at least 6 years hopefully)

32K for the truck and 1K for tires, so if its worth 33K to you buy, otherwise go look for another. There is a bunch of them for sale

 

[SeaDooSam]

32K for the truck and 1K for tires, so if its worth 33K to you buy, otherwise go look for another. There is a bunch of them for sale

Yeah I'm looking elsewhere now.

 

[Leardriver]

A new Tundra is the same price, vastly superior in quality, and made in the USA.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Ram trucks don't have a towing package.

Do explain....... What are RAMs missing?

Maybe look at an SLT Bighorn. They have some nice creature comforts... Laramie's are top of the line, I believe. Keep in mind that RAMs are noted for frontend issues, yes even Fords. My last Ram, 2012, had issues at 50k. Same with the previous ones. I now have a 2016 SLT BigHorn 2500, my others were 2500s, and supposedly the frontend issues have been resolved. Time will tell. I also don't know the year they went to a slightly different frontend. 1500s had the issues too. Given that, I would have gone with #2. Even 1/2 tons are getting extremely expensive.....

Have a feeling the Tradesman listed above would be like apples and oranges to the Laramie.....

 

[SeaDooSam]

Do explain....... What are RAMs missing?

Maybe look at an SLT Bighorn. They have some nice creature comforts... Laramie's are top of the line, I believe. Keep in mind that RAMs are noted for frontend issues, yes even Fords. My last Ram, 2012, had issues at 50k. Same with the previous ones. I now have a 2016 SLT BigHorn 2500, my others were 2500s, and supposedly the frontend issues have been resolved. Time will tell. I also don't know the year they went to a slightly different frontend. 1500s had the issues too. Given that, I would have gone with #2. Even 1/2 tons are getting extremely expensive.....

Have a feeling the Tradesman listed above would be like apples and oranges to the Laramie.....

Good to know. Is the front end issue just from towing or driving in general?
Hit the nail on the head with the Tradesman. It's a different animal than a Laramie.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Good to know. Is the front end issue just from towing or driving in general?
Hit the nail on the head with the Tradesman. It's a different animal than a Laramie.

Driving in general. It's all due to the fact they eliminated grease fittings. Everything is sealed, but hasn't proven to be reliable. It is also my understanding it's not just RAM. Basically, if a guy starts replacing frontend parts you go aftermarket and get ones with zerks. I plow snow a lot, so one would think it would be tougher on a frontend and would wear out sooner, which is partially true. My brother has a 1500 and his went out at 50k, no plowing. My 3/4ton has 1 ton axles. The ball joints are loose from the factory, I know, and if they go out of spec just a few thousandths, they need/should be replaced. This came straight from a RAM dealer.

That being said, as mentioned, issues were addressed and supposedly fixed. I just don't know the year of the change. You can tell by the arms that were changed. Maybe look at a 2016 and compare to earlier ones. If they look the same, you know the upgrade was made. I forget what they call those arms. Some sort of trailing/control arm....... You can see the arms on each side. Looks like they started in '14. This is a 2500. Haven't researched the 1500. But, at least you can see what I'm talking about...

The 6.4 Hemi is kinda nice too, 410 Hp/429lb-ft torque....

Still want to hear about RAM not having a towing package.......

 

[alldodge]

I've found that sealed bearings will last longer then non-sealed (ones with grease fittings) unless they are greased frequently, basically because there sealed. If you cannot grease then crud has a hard time to get in. My 08 2500 needed new lower ball joints around the 100K. Installed ones with grease fittings but after researching it, I would have just installed sealed ones again if I were to do it over again.

Rear U-joints around the same 100K mark and front hubs at 120K