Buying used truck

Iron Outlaw · Jun 29, 2016

I had a 2013 f150 and I like my ram 100x better.

My Ford had a lot of little problems. I truly believe that it was going to start costing me a lot of money. But then again there are guys with 200000 trouble free miles on them. Also do not get the 331 gears with the 5.0, even if you don't tow. The computer forces an early shift to second gear and bogs the motor and makes it feel gutless when cruising. Wide open throttle though the 5.0 screams pretty good.

TestPilot57 · Jun 29, 2016

whelen fan said:
Regarding the auto awd, I go ice fishing on the lake and when I do I go slow and want all 4 wheels to turn, period. Does the ram have this option?

I don't know if any truck has this option from the factory. I could be wrong (my kids and wife all swear it happened once in 1993), but in order to have what you talk about you will need a "real" transfer case (no clutches or gimmicry) which IS available on many real trucks such as Ram, AND locking differentials. I don't know of any mfr that offers front and rear locking differentials from the factory. Would love to be schooled on it if otherwise.

OTOH IMO, for any situation other than all-out, no-holds-barred, extreme traction needed, 4 wheels all turning at the same rate is A) difficult to control and B) not generally the best use of power. You do realize that steering is not really an option in such a situation? It's more like "driver suggested preference of direction if it happens to work out".

whelen fan · Jun 30, 2016

Iron Outlaw said:
I had a 2013 f150 and I like my ram 100x better.

My Ford had a lot of little problems. I truly believe that it was going to start costing me a lot of money. But then again there are guys with 200000 trouble free miles on them. Also do not get the 331 gears with the 5.0, even if you don't tow. The computer forces an early shift to second gear and bogs the motor and makes it feel gutless when cruising. Wide open throttle though the 5.0 screams pretty good.

Thank you for the tip about gearing. Would you mind listing some of the little problems?

whelen fan · Jun 30, 2016

TestPilot57 said:
I don't know if any truck has this option from the factory. I could be wrong (my kids and wife all swear it happened once in 1993), but in order to have what you talk about you will need a "real" transfer case (no clutches or gimmicry) which IS available on many real trucks such as Ram, AND locking differentials. I don't know of any mfr that offers front and rear locking differentials from the factory. Would love to be schooled on it if otherwise.

OTOH IMO, for any situation other than all-out, no-holds-barred, extreme traction needed, 4 wheels all turning at the same rate is A) difficult to control and B) not generally the best use of power. You do realize that steering is not really an option in such a situation? It's more like "driver suggested preference of direction if it happens to work out".

Thanks for the explanation, perhaps I cant really get those features on a modern truck. Snow and ice usually has enough slipping to let you still steer, despite wheels being locked.

U&A · Jun 30, 2016

Iron Outlaw said:
I had a 2013 f150 and I like my ram 100x better.

My Ford had a lot of little problems. I truly believe that it was going to start costing me a lot of money. But then again there are guys with 200000 trouble free miles on them. Also do not get the 331 gears with the 5.0, even if you don't tow. The computer forces an early shift to second gear and bogs the motor and makes it feel gutless when cruising. Wide open throttle though the 5.0 screams pretty good.

i had a 3.5 ecoboost for a 3 year lease and ran the snot out of it EVERY time I got in it. it was a solid truck and could take whatever i dished out. no problems at all..... other than a speeding ticket. just wasn't to fond of the long term use of a high compression turbo v6 in a truck.... its probably perfectly fine though and will last a long time.

whelen fan · Jun 30, 2016

Going to look at a few 2014 rams this weekend. Looking at 5.7l 8 speed, 5 foot box, and 3.92 gears. Can someone tell me what the axle code information is and is there a 3.92 version with open, limited and locking differentials? Do not want an open version.

Anything I need to look for when test driving? I could probably get a 2014 with less than 36k for the basic warranty coverage that would hopefully address any issues I may discover.

7777xm · Jun 30, 2016

whelen fan said:
Going to look at a few 2014 rams this weekend. Looking at 5.7l 8 speed, 5 foot box, and 3.92 gears. Can someone tell me what the axle code information is and is there a 3.92 version with open, limited and locking differentials? Do not want an open version.

Anything I need to look for when test driving? I could probably get a 2014 with less than 36k for the basic warranty coverage that would hopefully address any issues I may discover.

Most of the 3.92 have the limited slip. There should be a sticker on the axle that identifies the ratio and anti-spin.

If you have a smartphone, you could go to this website and plug in the VIN and it will tell you everything that truck has.

http://www.ramtrucks.com/webselfservice/

If you look to the left on that site, click on equipment listings and then enter the VIN

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Buying used truck

Iron Outlaw

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TestPilot57

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whelen fan

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whelen fan

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U&A

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whelen fan

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7777xm

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