2015 2500 Purchase Guidance

[DustyGeneral9399]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the Ram forums so I'm sorry if this is not the right place to ask this question. Mods feel free to remove this post if I'm not in the right place.

I'm at the point where I need to get a truck. I've had several jeeps through the years and currently DD my barn rescue 94 YJ, but I need something with a bed. I've been looking around my area and I found a 2015 2500 with the 6.7 Cummins and 68RFE with only 67k miles on the clock. According to the Carfax it's a one owner truck and the PO had fluids, filters, and misc. maintenance taken care of over the years at the dealership that is selling it.

Like I said, I've built several Jeeps in the past, but this would be my first Ram and my first diesel truck. What are some things I should be looking for when I head to the dealer to check it out and take it for a test drive?

Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing y'alls wisdom.

 

[Burla]

Good trucks, do you need a bed for constant work and load or occasional? If this is a second vehicle I personally would go earlier then 2010 so to avoid DEF. That Cummins will also be hard on the rfe, now the rfe is buildable if you get it pose that question and do some research. Watch for any potential slipping and hesitation when shifting. Also test the tow haul function when driving, especially in the city. I had a cummins and drove one professionally for a decade, they are better then the competition. Hopefully @tjfdesmo chimes in, I think he got rid of a 2500 for a ford, but I think it was the hemi. Let us know if you get it. How much they asking?

 

[DustyGeneral9399]

Good trucks, do you need a bed for constant work and load or occasional? If this is a second vehicle I personally would go earlier then 2010 so to avoid DEF. That Cummins will also be hard on the rfe, now the rfe is buildable if you get it pose that question and do some research. Watch for any potential slipping and hesitation when shifting. Also test the tow haul function when driving, especially in the city. I had a cummins and drove one professionally for a decade, they are better then the competition. Hopefully @tjfdesmo chimes in, I think he got rid of a 2500 for a ford, but I think it was the hemi. Let us know if you get it. How much they asking?

It would TECHNICALLY be a second vehicle, but if I bought it, it would become my DD and the jeep would be my backup. I've been needing a truck for awhile now, but we recently moved about 12 hours away from our nearest family members so the days of borrowing the old man's truck to run to Lowe's are over. We also own land up in the mountains about 10 hours in the same direction and we go camping once or twice a year so I need to be able to take camping gear, atv, and dirt bikes in the trailer and bed with room for kid and dogs in the cab. So no CRAZY hauling.

I knew i was forgetting some pertinent info in my initial post. They're asking $37,995. Big horn crew cab 6'4" bed.

 

[mtnrider]

The number 1 thing to look for is modifications, that is the biggest downfall of any diesel Ram. Don't believe all the bad press on the 68RFE transmission, 99% of the people that have issues with it are because they tuned it (cranked up the HP) and drove it like a teenager, in stock form it's just fine.

The one thing to keep an eye on is the turbo actuator, but the 2015's had a warranty extension out to 150K miles to cover it if it fails. If you have a way to scan it, that would be a good idea to see if it has any stored codes. Other than that just check the over all condition, make sure it's not a north eastern rust belt truck etc.

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[DustyGeneral9399]

The number 1 thing to look for is modifications, that is the biggest downfall of any diesel Ram. Don't believe all the bad press on the 68RFE transmission, 99% of the people that have issues with it are because they tuned it (cranked up the HP) and drove it like a teenager, in stock form it's just fine.

The one thing to keep an eye on is the turbo actuator, but the 2015's had a warranty extension out to 150K miles to cover it if it fails. If you have a way to scan it, that would be a good idea to see if it has any stored codes. Other than that just check the over all condition, make sure it's not a north eastern rust belt truck etc.

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I've looked online, watched videos, etc. I THINK I should be fine with the trans since I'm not going to be doing any heavy hauling (at least for the time being). I'm thinking I would eventually delete it and run a mild tune, but like I said I'm new to the diesel world so I wanted others' opinions. At that point I would look into building the trans.

As far as I can tell from the Carfax it's lived its life in the same Northern AL area so it shouldn't have seen a drop of salt. I do have a scanner I planned to bring with me and plug in during the test drive.

Good to know about the turbo actuators and the warranty extension. The only thing that i thought was remotely odd was that the Carfax showed the PO had fluids and filters changed at the same dealer that is selling it, but along with the normal fluid changes it showed battery/charging/electrical system was inspected several times over the years (I would imagine that was just part of the dealer's normal service inspection as it was done at the same time as the fluid changes) and the PCM and airbag module were reprogrammed a couple of times. There were two instances where the PO had the electrical system checked without any other service done at the same time. Is there something notorious with the electrical that I should be concerned with or am I thinking too much into it? Thanks again for the insight.

 

[nlambert182]

Dusty, I am also in Huntsville. Which truck are you looking at?

All 3 of my Cummins powered Rams had/have the 68RFE. They do just fine. My previous one frequently towed a 43', 16.5k fifth wheel all over and never had a hiccup.

There are some caveats to the 68RFE. If you delete the emissions equipment and install a higher HP than factory tune, prepare to blow it up. They're fine on a stock HP tune. They also use fluid coupling and that spooks some people because they feel like they're slipping between gears. They're not. It's designed to do that so as not to deliver all the torque from the engine to the transmission at one time.

FYI - if the turbo actuator ever fails, City Diesel over in Decatur makes a replacement kit that is highly praised.

Programming changes on the carfax as fairly normal. I wouldn't be concerned with the electrical system being checked. That's common procedure at some dealerships.


If I can spare some time I'd be willing to take a look at the truck with you assuming it's in Huntsville. I am well versed on the Ram/Cummins combo.

 

[tjfdesmo]

Good trucks, do you need a bed for constant work and load or occasional? If this is a second vehicle I personally would go earlier then 2010 so to avoid DEF. That Cummins will also be hard on the rfe, now the rfe is buildable if you get it pose that question and do some research. Watch for any potential slipping and hesitation when shifting. Also test the tow haul function when driving, especially in the city. I had a cummins and drove one professionally for a decade, they are better then the competition. Hopefully @tjfdesmo chimes in, I think he got rid of a 2500 for a ford, but I think it was the hemi. Let us know if you get it. How much they asking?

Haven't owned a Ferd for 24 years. I wouldn't give a plug nickel for anything Ferd makes. I did have a '15 2500 with 6.4 and 66RFE. Other than battling Hemi tick, the truck was fine. My issue was a toy hauler that put way more weight on the hitch than even a 3500 SRW could carry, so I had to move to a dually, and that was a '19 Cummins/Aisin.

I have not owned a 68RFE, but I know plenty of folks that do, and tow horse trailers, and RVs without issue. They are not as tough as the Aisin by any stretch, but they are not made of crepe paper, like some make them out to be.

It's interesting that Dodge gets such a bad rep for automatics, and it is not totally undeserved, but the only two transmissions I have had trouble with was a catastrophic failure in a Ford, and an Allison in an '04 Chevy that they could not make right and I Lemon Lawed.