Ram 1500 5.7 to 2500 6.4

What 3000 pounds of dirt looks like in the bed

Good morning everyone, wanted to give a update on how my 2500 compares to my old 1500.
1500 limited-5.7-3.92-air suspension cc 4x4
2500 tradesmen-6.4-3.73 cc 4x4

Have about 10k miles on the 6.4, few hundred miles of towing 8 to 9k, have had over 3k in the bed a few times.

Towing 8 to 9k compared to the 1500. The 2500 6.4 is a good pulling truck, it's very stable and has the power for a 8-9k travel trailer but so does the 1500 5.7, however the way the 2500 performs in wind is reason enough to switch if your shopping and tow that weight or more. It is a night and day difference.

Things I don't like about the 2500 6.4
1. second gear is soft.
2. It drops to many gears will towing on occasion with just a slight increase in throttle and over revs.
3. The engine braking can be annoying when going downhill-truck has down shifted from 5th to 2nd going 60+ in tow haul with 3+k in the bed. I don't like that.
4. I do get the antifreeze smell sometimes-truck appears to not be using any though
5. It can be a rough ride on some of the San Antonio roads.

Ram probably could make some changes to the ECU to further refine the engine and trans

Improvements over the 1500-
1. Much more stable while towing by a lot
2. Payload is awesome-being able to dump 3000 lbs of dirt or rock into the bed=Greatness. This truck has taught me that payload is important and should be considered first when shopping.
2. Love the tradesmen, no more worries over leather and nice trim. Not sure why I thought having leather and wood was a good idea

Final notes
The 1500 is a much better highway truck if your not towing. Rides better and is much more comfortable. The air ride in my 1500 made it feel like a car at 80+mph

The 2500 is a much better tow vehicle because of the stability. Not a huge difference in power to me. It's a ok truck for highway use when not pulling but not great. Payload is awesome compared to a 1500. Don't care about gas mileage for commute into SA as I generally ride my HD but I get about 13 mpg mixed driving. Towing is 8-10

In the end, I would make the switch again. Love having the capability and even need it at times. 6.4 works for me

Two more things for folks shopping

1. When I first got my 6.4 after a few drives I was thinking it was really weak. It downshifted a lot and felt like a dog. It felt much better the more miles I put on it, currently due to either a new dealer flash, learning or break in it will break the tires loose very easy. Feels a lot better than when I got it

2. The cruise on this truck is great. I can set the cruise at 60-70 and the truck will just move along with no downshifting on small hills-with the tall gears it's surprising.
First truck I have owned were the cruise seemed active-it controls throttle better than me.

My opinion matches yours 100 percent. I went from a 5.0 powered f150 to my 6.4 2500. I miss the 5.0 fuel mileage and speed but like everything else more on my ram.

I just came from a 2015 Chevy 1500 5.3/3.42 cc 4x4 to my 17 tradesman 2500 6.4/3.73.

When i bought my Chevy a year and a half ago, i really wanted a white truck, 3/4 ton with the factory trailer tow mirrors. I convinced myself that i didn't "need" a 3/4 ton truck.

Well, that was a mistake. The Chevy was a good truck, but i didn't like how much of a low rider Chevy trucks are. With my family of 4 on board, with all the gear, hitch and tongue weights, i know i was only a few hundred pounds under the payload rating of the Chevy (1704lb)

Chevy dealer wanted around $1200 to put the oem Chevy trailer tow mirrors on my truck. Crazy. To upgrade the crappy P rated tires $900, and i just couldn't see putting that into the Chevy and still have a 1/2 ton truck.

I agree with the others, Lord willing, I won't go back to a 1/2 ton truck again, unless i can't physically get into the 3/4 ton.

I like my basic tradesman and don't miss the fancy crap my Chevy had. But that's just me.

The 2500hd dodge is just so much more truck than that Chevy was. It's a piece of equipment. I love it and compared to my highly optioned Chevy, had a lower sticker price.

Again, just my .02. Nothing wrong with a half ton if your not towing anything or at least not towing anything heavy.

1/2 tons have high tow ratings these days, but unfortunately, they will run out of payload before you get anywhere close to the tow rating.

My tradesman has over 3100lb of payload, per the yellow door jamb sticker, 3300 if you go by the dodge specs based on my VIN.

i can't say enough good things about it.

IMO, coming from a sport 3.92 1500 to a 6.4 2500 CC, its night and day. i wasn't towing enough to justify the jump but figured i would buy a much bigger boat soon and i did. i tow a 28ft bayliner, with boat and trailer, plus all gear ETC, it pulls like its not there and stops on a dime without the trailer brake controller. best part is, no squat whatsoever and dare i say, feels more stable with some weight in the bed! also, its so easy to hop the back tires coming out of the hole and feels like it has a little pep in its step!

Do the 2500 gassers have cylinder deactivation?

I'm kinda in the same boat. Really would like a 2500, but can't justify it with how little I tow, and my daily commute.

On another note, where are all the gas 2500s? In california the only thing on the lots are diesels.

Kevin

Ghetto Fab. said:

Do the 2500 gassers have cylinder deactivation?

I'm kinda in the same boat. Really would like a 2500, but can't justify it with how little I tow, and my daily commute.

On another note, where are all the gas 2500s? In california the only thing on the lots are diesels.

Kevin

Click to expand...

The 6.4 HD's do, it rarely kicks in though especially if you put bigger tires on the truck...

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Ghetto Fab. said:

Do the 2500 gassers have cylinder deactivation?

I'm kinda in the same boat. Really would like a 2500, but can't justify it with how little I tow, and my daily commute.

On another note, where are all the gas 2500s? In california the only thing on the lots are diesels.

Kevin

Click to expand...

There are 2500 and 3500 gassers all over MN and WI.

My cylinder deactivation only kicks in between 45-65ish mph. I don't know if it makes a big difference, but at 55-60 it seems to up the EVIC numbers, so oh well.

I get between 14-16 MPG's in the warmer weather and 11-13 MPG's in this colder weather.

GsRAM said:

I just came from a 2015 Chevy 1500 5.3/3.42 cc 4x4 to my 17 tradesman 2500 6.4/3.73.

When i bought my Chevy a year and a half ago, i really wanted a white truck, 3/4 ton with the factory trailer tow mirrors. I convinced myself that i didn't "need" a 3/4 ton truck.

Well, that was a mistake. The Chevy was a good truck, but i didn't like how much of a low rider Chevy trucks are. With my family of 4 on board, with all the gear, hitch and tongue weights, i know i was only a few hundred pounds under the payload rating of the Chevy (1704lb)

Chevy dealer wanted around $1200 to put the oem Chevy trailer tow mirrors on my truck. Crazy. To upgrade the crappy P rated tires $900, and i just couldn't see putting that into the Chevy and still have a 1/2 ton truck.

I agree with the others, Lord willing, I won't go back to a 1/2 ton truck again, unless i can't physically get into the 3/4 ton.

I like my basic tradesman and don't miss the fancy crap my Chevy had. But that's just me.

The 2500hd dodge is just so much more truck than that Chevy was. It's a piece of equipment. I love it and compared to my highly optioned Chevy, had a lower sticker price.

Again, just my .02. Nothing wrong with a half ton if your not towing anything or at least not towing anything heavy.

1/2 tons have high tow ratings these days, but unfortunately, they will run out of payload before you get anywhere close to the tow rating.

My tradesman has over 3100lb of payload, per the yellow door jamb sticker, 3300 if you go by the dodge specs based on my VIN.

i can't say enough good things about it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this post. You already went through my situation, I have a 2014 1500 Silverado cc 4X4 with the 5.3 and am planning on trading in the spring for a 6.4 2500 RAM cc 4X4. I don't tow often but when I do the truck bed is usually loaded down with gear too. Just confirming my expectations when I do make the move in the spring.

Check Dennis Dillion or dave smith of Idaho for trucks- Well worth it-

Ratket said:

Check Dennis Dillion or dave smith of Idaho for trucks- Well worth it-

Click to expand...

browsing their 2500 gassers, they seem to have an abundance of 4.10 gears. moreso than any local dealers here in northern cal. one of the big reasons, I flew out to buy my truck at DD. may seem silly but in the long run probably cheaper and less trouble than trying to change gears in a 4x4 after market.

Yep, I'm glad I went to DD to get mines.