Ram or Wrangler

Hey folks,

My wife and I are considering buying either a Ram 1500 or Jeep Wrangler from Koons in VA. They offer 7% off of invoice, not including any additional discounts, even if you custom order. We're in a dilemma because the invoice of the 1500 we'd want, and the Wrangler we'd want, are within a few hundred dollars of each other. Basically, we want a fun vehicle that has good off-road ability for here in Florida. We'll mostly be off-roading on dirt and sand roads, flat, in the closest national forest. For our purposes, do you guys think a 1500 would offer all the off-road ability we'd ever need, with the added practicality of having a bed? We'd get a regular cab, since we don't have any kids and it's usually just the two of us.

Here's the build of 1500 we're considering. Thanks for any opinions!

Ram 1500 Express
Regular cab
4x4
5.7L Hemi
Auto 8HP70 transmission
3.92 gears
Limited slip differential
Popular equipment group
Power and remote entry group
Rear sliding window
Spray-in bedliner

imo, if you aren't going to tow anything over 5k, don't need to put anything in the bed, and want to do some solid offroading without doing much, get the wrangler..hope its an unlimited!

Well do you like horsepower?

Ohhh.. this is a tough one lol. Apples to oranges imo.

I kinda have the best of both worlds and I don't think I could choose between having just one or the other.

So the Jeep... your options are endless as far as the trails you go on (once built properly), the off roading clubs that get together and do cool ****, the aftermarket support is just insane, and very easy to upgrade. Can also go ******* . Only big issue with Jeep is $$.

The Ram is not bad off road.. just limited to what the IFS can do. Also limited to the size of the trails, sharp turns, height, etc etc.. definitely have more fun in the mud than you would in the sand, but can do either with ease.

My suggestion would be to go with the truck. Get way more for your money, that is just as capable on the beginner type trails, and if you ever get another toy one day like a boat or some other cool ****..you have a vehicle capable of towing it.

My 2nd recommendation is to just do what I did. Get a used Ram (if you can find one for less than your discount) and then buy you an off road toy. That way you can trailer it out, have fun, and not worry about breaking something and being stranded. Or drive it out if it's not anything too intense.

Also, for a daily driver, you'll enjoy the truck more. Gas mileage, power, comfort/room, safer, etc etc.

I just traded in my 2015 2 Door Wrangler Sport.

I owned the Jeep for a year and loved the off road capability. I was able to go off road where a truck could not follow without damage.

That being said:

Towing is pretty bad
Fuel mileage is almost as bad as truck
It is fun as sh*t tho

I hit a point where I needed more convince, so I traded it in.

Man, it is a tough decision. We won't be trailering anything. This will be a daily driver for me, and we have a Mazda CX-7 for getting groceries and hauling people. As far as power and acceleration, not a big deal, just so it can get out of its own way. Not that I would mind having the, what is it now, 395HP of the Ram? Gas mileage isn't a big deal, I had a 5.4L F-150 and that thing was a pig, so I'm used to it. We'll likely only get off-road a few times a year, and that will be on some pretty basic trails. Not like we're rock crawling here in Florida. One of the other considerations is that I imagine the Ram gets better safety ratings than the Wrangler...But I imagine the Wrangler would be more fun, and there's the Jeep Wave thing!

Get the Ram man! I have a Rebel and wife has a Rubicon. Hands down Rebel is weapon of choice for excursions. So much more comfortable, more room and more horsepower. Hemi with 3.92 gears 8spd is amazing and best setup I've ever driven.

Jeep will be fine power wise they have the pentastar in them. With that being said if you ever need to haul anything or pull anything that keep won't be any good. 2 door keep has the power to tow but is so short they are rated for 1500lbs towing. The 4door is better at 3500lbs(that's all most people would need) shard the build sheet on the keep look like? I like the freedom that you get with a jeep top down go where ever you want ect. But as a daily driver I probably go with the ram and maybe get a older jeep as a you? Have your cake and eat it too! Either way you'll be happy I'm sure of it.

I couldn't believe the Jeeps were so expensive.

For off road - the truck will be fine. Jeep will be more offroad 'ready'..

long term, the truck should hold resale value better.

I've owned both over the years.

The RAM will be a hoot to drive and much much more comfortable on the highway.

The Jeep will be more maneuverable off road and had a much better off road transfer case and suspension. Its cute, girls love them.

The Jeep will beat you into submission where the RAM will soak up the bumps for you. The Jeep is a much smaller vehicle, most noticeable in width.

I spend much more of my time on the street, and the short bed short wheelbase RAM V8 is just too much fun. But then it gets old and one want to explore off roading, then off roading gets old and your back into the truck.

The RAM is more value for the $$. You can haul more toys in the RAM.

Do a lot of test drives in each. I think you will find you either figure out a way to do both or you own one for a couple years and then the other for a couple years, bouncing back an forth until you are in a grand cherokee hemi....

OK, thanks guys. I'm leaning towards the Ram at this point, as most of the time will be spent on the road, and I'm certain it will meet all my off-road requirements. Can you guys see anything important I left out of the potential custom order build?

I say get both

Ram
Wrangler



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You may have already thought of it but I would add the hitch 20in wheels and most importantly the uconnect 5.0 with back up camera that was my favorite option on my 14 express.

07MegaCabRam said:

I couldn't believe the Jeeps were so expensive.

For off road - the truck will be fine. Jeep will be more offroad 'ready'..

long term, the truck should hold resale value better.

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really? Based off what information. Every article out there has the wrangler as one of the best vehicles with a top resale value. And when comparing it to the ram, which is what he's doing here, it's way better. Only truck to come close is the tundra.

Luke

lukedukem said:

really? Based off what information. Every article out there has the wrangler as one of the best vehicles with a top resale value. And when comparing it to the ram, which is what he's doing here, it's way better. Only truck to come close is the tundra.

Luke

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This is 100% true. I traded a Wrangler for my 2500. In the year I owned the Wrangler it lost about 2-3k off the sticker price, in dealer trade. My Ram, which I've owned for about 1.5 years, has lost 20k off sticker and 9k off what I paid. And I drive a 2500 which tends to hold value a bit better than 1500s. For resale, Wranglers are pretty much the king of the hill.

That said, while I loved my Jeep, I love my truck 10x more. It's more comfortable, way more power (I have the 6.4L), honestly I get pretty much the same mpg (hard to believe but the Pentastar wasn't what everyone claimed, at least for me) and the Ram doesn't seem like it struggles on the highway. My Jeep barely seemed to have enough power to get past 70, I've had the Ram up to 90 and it still had plenty of power to go faster.

I'd choose the truck 100% of the time. But, if you can afford it, as others have said, get one of each. Then you can have double the fun.

Personally I'd go with the RAM also.
For what you want to do, either or will be fine. They will both handle your needs.
The Wrangler I think would be fairly better on the trails, stock for stock. The RAM is a big ass truck. Tighter trails will be and issue for it. Wranglers are known for their 100% stock trail ability.
But even with that, the RAM will be a better all over vehicle for you I think. The Jepp will loose its fun a lot quicker than you think. Yeah it's fun on trails, but that's about it. Trust me I know. Mine lost it's fun real quick. I hated driving it in the summer. The only time I got any enjoyment after a while was in the snow or when I took it off-road. The RAM will be fun on the trails, more comfortable overall and a better ride. Plus the extra HP is well worth it. I absolutely love driving again. Do a level kit, slightly larger tires and call it a day...
Have fun with your new RAM. I can't wait to see the pics when you get it.

How reliable are Jeep's? Heard they are less reliable than RAM.

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Having had both i would say the biggest difference is going to be the front suspension. I built and TJ and then a JK unlimited and the on road ride quality was acceptable but nothing close to the Ram and building suspensions is my favorite part. Seeing as you are out in Florida and rock crawling is kind of off the menu you wont see a ton of benefit from a solid front axle.

I could be biased because I just went this direction but I doubt you will see anything out there that some good MT tires and extra power couldn't get you out of. FYI

Limeybastard said:

How reliable are Jeep's? Heard they are less reliable than RAM.

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I would probably disagree here as Jeep failures are usually driver inflicted and we ask them to do way more than most people ask of their trucks. JKs had an issue with the pentastar in 2012 when they switched over to the 3.6L from the 3.8L but other than that no major issues. Lastly as someone mentioned previously the aftermarket support is insane so I was confused for a while when I was no the forum and people would talk about only using OEM replacement parts. In the Jeep world you would never use something as inferior as an OEM part, Hell that's what just broke...

I vote Ram. I love Jeeps, and I'll have one someday, but if I had to choose one or the other, it would be Ram.