Ram Boxes good or bad

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Bluesurf

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I have one and I wouldn't buy a Ram without it. It amazes me how much I use them. I even put some groceries in them. My latex gloves, hand sanitizer and masks as well. I keep a jacket and umbrella too. Everyone I know with an F150's wishes they could get one. Its a great convince to have on your truck. While the fit isn't perfect, I'll take it any day.
 

Trailmaker

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Thanks for sharing.
I thought I was paying on the high side at 1200$hishh/year ( can$ )

Also, what is that red PW?
Did you get your girl a wagon??
TrailmakerS sounds cool.
I thought every marriage had a his and hers Wagon? In Texas we drive trucks to help the oil industry (and because what are you going to do with a smart car or Prius??)
 

boxofrokx

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I have them and really enjoy them. I also have a tonneau. I store my battery powered tools in a totte. Batteries in a bag. My truck was in the shop for a while getting the tranny worked on. I was looking to replace it, new. I only looked at trucks with RamBox.
 
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Ram Wagon

Ram Wagon

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Thanks for the feedback on the ram boxes, good helpful useful information. I really appreciate it. Still on the fence whether i get a 20 model without the boxes or wait and order a new one in the 21 or 22 models if this corona crap ever ends. (hoping for a 426 hemi to make it into these trucks)
 
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Ram Wagon

Ram Wagon

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I needed my whole bed available so I could get a Diamond Back cover to haul my atv on and still have the bed for luggage and gear. I add 3 boxes that diamondback made as well for my recovery gear, fishing gear, and tools. Plus it gives me room to mount my onboard air.

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it looks great, I actually have a diamondback tonneau ordered, did it 2 weeks before the corona **** hit the fan, now the company is in lockdown waiting for their govenor to let them open back up so i do not know when i will ever get mine delivered.
 

dexter

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Not sure what you are asking. But I pay $110 for the gray one and $129 for the red one per month.

Per month doesn't tell anyone the total cost. You have to multiply the number of months by the cost.
 

dexter

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Hes talking about insurance. Not the cost of the ramboxes. They are someone around a $1200-1300 option if memory serves me right.

Thanks,
I missed that one word. I guess because why would he drop in a random thought about insurance into a question on the versatility of Ram boxes?
 

Trailmaker

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I insure 2 PWs, and the ram boxes cost $19 more per month with State Farm. FYI

View attachment 203013

Not sure what you are asking. But I pay $110 for the gray one and $129 for the red one per month.

Hes talking about insurance. Not the cost of the ramboxes. They are someone around a $1200-1300 option if memory serves me right.

Thanks,
I missed that one word. I guess because why would he drop in a random thought about insurance into a question on the versatility of Ram boxes?
I said “insure” and “State Farm”. So yes the cost of insurance is $19 more. The boxes are a grand. So about $10 per month financed. If that is what you are asking. So together it cost about $30 per month to have the ram boxes.

Fun fact about options. The red color is a standard color as where the gray and black paint cost $200 more.
 
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ALRedneck

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LugsLeadOut84

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Had them on my 2012 and didn't get them on my 2019 only because I bought from inventory and it had every option except the Ram Boxes. I miss them. What I can tell you is they were a great option. They never leaked, never warped and people thought they were a unique option. I stored all the usual stuff in one side (jumper cables, hitch ball and D-Ring, military shovel, tools, gloves, etc.) and the other side I left open for groceries, takeout food, guns when going to the range and of course filled it up with ice and beverages for day trips, beach runs, etc.

Unless you pile up sh*t in the back you do not lose considerable space. It still allows for 4 x 8 sheets of sheetrock, plywood, etc.
 

ronr

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I have an '18 Express. Love them. I was skeptical, as most, when I first noticed them. They are fully secure, as they lock with the tailgate and the doors with your fob. This alone was worth it after having a bedrail toolbox that had to be locked from both sides of the truck with key. I've made my own inside dividers with 1/4" plywood. There doesn't seem to be a lot of accessories available, but they are out there. I put on a Lo-Pro tonneau cover, it works great. The bed is the same size as a typical bed from wheel well to wheel well. Kind like an old step side. It is a nice squared off bed that doesn't collect **** in the corners. The bed divider is used all the time. I attach it back just at arms reach and it holds my tools, groceries, anything from sliding around and being under the cover is perfect. The divider is strong enough to strap gas cans, etc. to it. No, its not 100% secure this way with a tonneau, but if someone really wants whats there, they're going get it. Whether by, in this case cutting the top, or if it was in the cab, they'd break the glass. And it has bed lights, something I've never had before and they are great. I don't spend money on options when buying a truck. I've owned enough to know the options and the glitter only cost money in the long run and will not make me money and I choose to spend it on other things, but if I buy a Ram next time, it will definitely have boxes!
 

Kukailimoku

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Sorry if this has been beat to death on here, trying to get feedback on the ram box whether or not you guys that have them would buy the truck with that option again. Dave Smith Auto in Idaho doesn't stock any pw with the ram box saying they are not a popular option.


Big fan. Huge.

(*caveat: you asked about a PW w/ RB. I do NOT have a PW, I have a Laramie w/RB.)

Had a 2005 1500 SLT WITHOUT a RamBox for 250k miles before I finally bought my Laramie in 2020 with the RamBox. For YEARS with my old truck I was pining for the Ram Box. Finally go it, and love it. Wouldn’t go back.



I look at RB today as Asian girlfriends in the ‘80s & ‘90s. You had to be a little bit “different” or have “yellow fever” to have wanted an Asian girlfriend. Why? Just because not many people had one or knew about one so it was just unknown and odd so no one wanted one. Once you try one though, you’re like “wow! I shoulda been doing this earlier!” Now the word’s out, more guys are trying it, it’s almost “a thing” now to have one, still niche, but instead of universal hate now there is a lot of ‘I wonder what it is that he likes about that so much?’ I think Ram Boxes are the same. We all come from the same pickup truck for generations, the RB is a little odd, but alluring, but repulsive at the same time. Some make the leap and try it out and are hooked; a few try it and don’t like it and go back. Most don’t try it and wonder about it, and a few don’t try it and tell everyone else how much it must suck because not everyone has one.

The “I can’t do a RB because I need a rack or it limits my tonneau options” is the same guys who say “I can’t have an Asian GF because I like gibundemous boobs”, or “I need a little bit thicker there”. Okay, that’s true, but both are good. Take the RB for a spin and you’ll realize that you will miss the big boobs less than you thought you would and there’s a lot of other things going on there that make up for it.



Asian GF twenty years ago = Ram Box today.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda if we had known more then.



Net sum is: yes RB. Positives outweigh the negatives. And there are negatives, no doubt. But still, RB yes.



To me, biggest single drawback to the freaking Ram Box is that they don’t no more make em in 6’ beds. That alone should be a no-go to lots of buyers.

I never had use for no 8’ bed, but I always had disdain for those little mall crawler grocery wagons with the puny 5’7” beds. But I wanted RamBox so bad I put up with getting a small bed this time around. That is my biggest regret – not the volume or width of the bed with the RB, but the fact that I had to “settle” for the 5’ bed in order to get the RB.

Still, I’d do it again.

I have had some issues where I wished I had a 6’ bed, but nothing critical nor showstopper. However, the RB has been a giant positive for me since day one.



I’m one of those “prepared” type guys so I believe any truck owner should carry (if not for his own use than to be a helpful good citizen to fellow motorists) towing gear, compressor, first aid stuff, hazard warning (foldable triangles, road flares, etc), weather things (umbrellas, ponchos), basic tools, tape, clamps, gloves, rags and assorted 5h1t. All of that used to get smashed under my rear seat in my old truck, in various containers or loose, and would invariably get out sometimes, or would be wet or muddy if I used em on the road (tow strap, gloves for example). Now, all of that kr@p stays in the outside of the truck in the RamBox. I have one side RB for all that, the other is for the wife: she can put groceries in it if she chooses, or dump ice in it and use it for a cooler, or TP if we’re going out in the country, or whatever. The point is, that is “hers” and none of HER 5h1t is kept inside the cab of MY truck.



Let’s look at four of the biggest cons of the RB and dispense with those first:

1. Limit for toneau and rack and camper options.

2. Cargo space lost

3. Bad fit

4. Demand is low so it must suck, right?



Lack of options for racks, etc.

First of all, what percentage of owners even do rack or camper their bed? A minority. And then its not like they CAN’T find an option, just that they are not happy with the lack of choice.



Lost cargo space. Not really - it is just transformed from lose, curved space around the wheels to enclosed - still odd shpaed - but with flat bottom sections no longer curved. So yeah, you do "lose" some volume - but not really - and it’s mostly only “useless” volume that is lost, not practical dimensions.
That same 4x8 plyboard that fit between the wheel humps of my old 2005 ram 1500 still fits flat on the floor of my 2020 bed with RamBox.
What did I lose? That weirdo space forward and aft of the wheel hump. Sure, when I used to drag the family to the kid’s pony club camp every summer that 5 gallon jerry can of water fit nicely in that weird space. So did the basket of dive mask snorkles and towels. But mostly that weird volume – being a curved hump in the first place – didn’t allow for stacking things upright squarely anyway. C’mon everybody, admit it – that weird volume front and aft of the wheel hump we only ever put things in it AFTER we loaded the bed with the large square rectangle stuff and secured the load and THEN we just piled loosely odds and ends into that available trapezoidal volume anyway. It’s not like it was a nice rectangle of volume that could stack well in the first place. Or that sheet metal curve over the tire was particularly load bearing. I don’t know how many dents were in my wheel humps because of stuff I piled onto it that it couldn’t support in the first place. And things you put on it were lifted high in relation to the bed wall anyway. Now, all that impractical space is in an enclosed neat managed space.



Bad Fit:

Well, I have one of the RB doors the gap with the quarter panel is wider than the other side. Big deal. There are QC/QA problems with EVERYTHING nowadays anyway – things are so complex systems-of-systems that EVERYTHING is a quality problem anyway. We own a Wrnagler and it has its own problems. FCA sux for quality but we buy it for its unique features, right? (i.e. there is no Wranglers except for wrangler, the Ram has the best ride quality this generation, the only brand with a RamBox type solution, etc). Fords have their own problems. Y’alls Smart TVs don’t mesh nicely with you other whizbang gadgets in the house. Etc etc. Point is, it aint perfect, but it is great, and nothing is perfect anyway.
Mine don't leak, btw, even in commercial pressure car washes.





Demand is so low that is must suck, right?

I guess. I think it’s a vicious spiral though that leads to RB sales dropping. The factory had massive production quantity and deliverable timing issues with the last generation change that involved the entire vehicle. RB subcontractor production rate was just one of the current generation launch problems. Then they settled on only making RB in the 5’7” bed this generation. How much of that was because of low demand vs how much of that CAUSED demand to drop???
 

Moparfanatic21

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See this is stopping me from getting a 5th gen PW. Never had Ram boxes before. Played with one but didn't really wow me, ya know? I thought about buying a Ram box bed and trying to do something like the pic attached, but then you lose cargo space.

Screenshot_20200420-113642_Google.jpg
 

Jim113

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Sorry if this has been beat to death on here, trying to get feedback on the ram box whether or not you guys that have them would buy the truck with that option again. Dave Smith Auto in Idaho doesn't stock any pw with the ram box saying they are not a popular option.

Had the ram box on my 2017 that I traded a couple months ago on a new 2020 .. The only thing I stored in the box was windshield washer and booster cables ... It was a bit of a waste of $1500 ... Didn't get the ram box on my 2020 and don't miss it at all ... I did get the new split tailgate though ... Now that's a great option ...
 

Bigbore

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I'm so dependent on them now I couldn't possibly not have them. All they do is encapsulate around the Fender well so you can still fit a 4 by 8 plywood or sheet rock between the 2. Anyone that has relied on totes in the back of their truck for so long know the burden of small cracks in the lids You didn't know existed until it rained. Or while messing with your phone you don't see the dip in the road and send one airborne out of the back. Not to mention totes are quick work for sticky fingers at gas stations.
 

sam darakjy

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Had them on my 2017 Laramie 1500. I thought they were useful. Then I became interested in truck campers and the Ram boxes proved difficult for any match. The payload for that truck didn't help either so moved up to 2500 with no boxes.

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