Test drove an '18 Tradesman CTD...

[TXCOMT]

...yesterday and I liked it!

This particular model, with the off-road package and a 6'4" bed, drove really well on the street and freeway frontage roads. While I didn't try any burnouts, steep climbs or heavy trailers with it, I was surprised at its manners. I've read comments here about it being a little rough on ride quality, but I didn't think it much worse than my Reb with the factory air suspension. One other thing that impressed was how quiet it was...both inside and out. You'd never know what motor was in the engine bay at idle; certainly at startup, but not hardly at idle. Bottom line: two thumbs up!

So will I trade the Reb for it? I'd like to, but I have to convince the wife. The interior isn't as comfortable as my rig, but that's because it's a Tradesman, duh! About the only similarities are the overall cab dimensions and the rubber mats! I like the idea of a front-row third passenger seat vs. the big console, but I really could go either way. The color is nice...I call it McBlue (a ref most Texas RFs will get--hey, Mc!), better known as True Blue Pearl. It's really dark in the shade; so much so my salesman thought it was Granite Crystal Metallic from a distance. The larger bed is sweet, but I'll hate to lose my RamBoxes because those things rock! Finally, I daresay my fuel mileage will be better, too (loaded or towing, anyway). Finally, the price is nice as the Tradesman is aging inventory and dealers hate it.

I'm sure to most of y'all, this info is nothing new, but I figured I'd put my thoughts in writing in case others are considering trading up and out of a 1500.

TXCOMT

 

[olyelr]

Did you happen to just drive it on smooth roads lol? They are smooth... till you hit bumps hahahahha.

 

[GsRAM]

Nice! Good write up! If you have the want or need...go for it! You'll love the 2500. I do mine that's for sure....Just as much as the day i drove it off the dealers lot coming up on 3 yrs ago end of this year!

 

[POINTMAN380]

I have the 18 6.4 Hemi CC with the off road package as well. I love the truck....pulls like a beast. I also have the 18 1500 CC 4x4 as a work vehicle and I have to say the ride of the 2500 leaves alot to be desired on bumpy roads. But it's a heavy duty tow machine and for what it is, it drives pretty dang good for me. Gas mileage is the only down side

 

[Blindsquirrel]

My 2018 2500 ctd gets ~18.5 average mpg. Once I put a leveling kit on it, the ride really smoothed out. Or a couple 100# of something in the bed works too.

 

[TXCOMT]

My 2018 2500 ctd gets ~18.5 average mpg. Once I put a leveling kit on it, the ride really smoothed out. Or a couple 100# of something in the bed works too.

Wait, you get that MPG without a load? I always thought the mileage on the CTDs really shined when it was pulling...heck, 18.5 is better than my Reb (of course, the Pedal Commander and 3.92s don't help)!

TXCOMT

 

[Firewall]

I have an '18' Tradesman 3500 w/6.4 liter Hemi and an 8 foot bed. The truck is a towing beast which was the main reason I bought it. I would love to have the CTD but not in the cards this time. It rides rough except when loaded with my 5th wheel then it rides like a Cadillac, sort of

Likes - Power, interior room, aux switches (I'm using all but one), towing capability, bed size, transmission, XM radio, payload capacity, and rear camera w/park assist.

Dislikes - Gas mileage (9mpg) when towing but any gasser towing 12K is the same. While it has all the towing packages like upgraded front axle and heavy duty cooling etc., somehow they left the OEM brake controller off, just silly if you ask me!

Mods I've done - 5th Wheel Hitch, side steps, tonneau cover, LED front light bar w/DRL, DEE ZEE tailgate assist, remote start, trailer brake controller, rear triple led light bar, and radio scanner - so far!

 

[Blindsquirrel]

Wait, you get that MPG without a load? I always thought the mileage on the CTDs really shined when it was pulling...heck, 18.5 is better than my Reb (of course, the Pedal Commander and 3.92s don't help)!

TXCOMT

Pulling doesn’t change much... I got 16 pulling our boat last week with the cruise on 70, 4200 lbs. Blows my mind that it never downshifts, even up hills. My first diesel and have been really impressed so far. Our v8 4runner would get 7 when pulling our boat....lol. To be fair it got 12 on its own though. It had a lift and bigger tires.

 

[JoshR104]

I went from a 1500 CC Laramie to a 2500 megacab limited... take a look at the 6.4 you can probably get a much higher trim level for the money. I got into mine brand new for sub 50. With 35s and 3 inch lift Im averaging 12 city and around 16 highway. Honestly if your not towing weekly I would take a long hard look at the 6.4. I did the diesel trucks and yea they are a lot of fun but honestly these modern ones with the power they make require a decent more amount of maintenance and at least where Im at diesel is 60 cents more a gallon ontop of the premium for the motor you need to keep it 250k miles most likely to make up the difference.

Throw a thuren kit on it and call it a day rides better than my stock 1500 did.

 

[TXCOMT]

Funny you mentioned the 6.4...the same dealer has a 2500 Tradesman with that engine and it's about $6K cheaper. Indeed something to think about!

TXCOMT

 

[Booner21]

Funny you mentioned the 6.4...the same dealer has a 2500 Tradesman with that engine and it's about $6K cheaper. Indeed something to think about!

TXCOMT

The Cummins was an 8k difference at the dealer I shopped couldn't justify the difference for my use if they were closer would probably have 1.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[dhay13]

I know this is a whole different animal but my son used a company owned 2017 Duramax a few weeks ago to tow his 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK (about 8000lbs wet). He drove the truck about 200 miles home and got 20 MPG and headed back with the camper he only got 9 MPG.

I just bought a 2018 2500 6.4 Hemi with 4.10's (Off-Road package). I only filled it up once but it was 11.8 MPG hand calculated. My dash reads about 12.1 currently so it seems to be pretty close. My 2013 1500 EVIC readout was always very close to my actual.

 

[tidefan1967]

The 2500's have coils in the back right? I bet they don't ride that much worse than a new F150 or GM 1500 1/2 ton. We have an F350 crew cab long bed SRW truck at work and honestly it rides better to me than the new Silverado 1500 crew cab that we have. Not as stiff.

 

[Nickx86]

The 2500's have coils in the back right? I bet they don't ride that much worse than a new F150 or GM 1500 1/2 ton. We have an F350 crew cab long bed SRW truck at work and honestly it rides better to me than the new Silverado 1500 crew cab that we have. Not as stiff.

My OEM 2015 F-150 rode nice, put some true truck tires on it and it rode like ****, swapped out shocks and it still rode like ****, got rid of it and got a ram 2500 and it rides better and yes ram 2500 have coils

 

[muzupan]

My 2018 2500 ctd gets ~18.5 average mpg. Once I put a leveling kit on it, the ride really smoothed out. Or a couple 100# of something in the bed works too.

My 2016 2500 CTD got about 20 miles per gallon on the road 16 to 17 in town, but pulling my 10,900 pound travel trailer I would get an average of 10 mpg on the road.I have not pulled my trailer yet with my 2018 2500 with a 6.4 hemi.

 

[olyelr]

My 2016 2500 CTD got about 20 miles per gallon on the road 16 to 17 in town, but pulling my 10,900 pound travel trailer I would get an average of 10 mpg on the road.I have not pulled my trailer yet with my 2018 2500 with a 6.4 hemi.

You probably gonna be around 8-9 mpg. Thats what I get with mine.

 

[w6pea]

I have a 2016 2500 Laramie 4x2 CC/LB IL-6 6.7L CTD. As you can see from my avatar I put a camper shell on it around town and mostly on city streets I get about and from my Fuelly app I get about 14.4 mpg. I love it when I was looking for a truck I wanted a Power Wagon, but being as I couldn't get Cummins Diesel in it and couldn't get an 8ft bed. I got my Laramie for a little less than $50k where they wanted $59k out the door for the PW. I don't need 4x4 any way. If I lived in AZ or NM or NV I might need 4 wheel drive. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland is 4 wheel drive, 3.6L V-6 Pentastar engine we average around 15.4 mpg around town. Due to both my wife have health problems and my health not cooperating we haven't driven the JGC much and it has less than 2k on the clock and my Ram has less than 9k on the clock.

 

[sandawilliams]

My OEM 2015 F-150 rode nice, put some true truck tires on it and it rode like ****, swapped out shocks and it still rode like ****, got rid of it and got a ram 2500 and it rides better and yes ram 2500 have coils

My 2500 rides like ****. Michelins helped some but still stiff ride. They weren't made for running around empty but put a load on it and it rides like a Cadillac.

 

[dhay13]

My new 2500 rides pretty rough compared to my 2013 1500 but I expected that. On normal roads its fine but in the alleys with little potholes and bumps it bounces pretty good. Haven't had it loaded down yet but will be towing my 9000 lb boat this weekend with it. Only about a 15-20 mile trip to the marina though.

 

[w6pea]

My 2500 rides like ****. Michelins helped some but still stiff ride. They weren't made for running around empty but put a load on it and it rides like a Cadillac.

Sounds like my 2016 2500 Ram 4x2 Laramie