First Time Ram Owner

[HighDesertRam]

Just purchased a new Ram 2500 4X4 diesel two weeks ago in Las Vegas (I live in Utah). I had been waiting on a Ford for 3 months with no delivery date in sight. Several friends suggested I look at the Ram and just through pure dumb luck I found one sitting on the lot in Vegas. Called the dealer and they would not hold it with a deposit over the phone. My wife went to the bank and wire transferred the money and we picked it up the next day.

The truck drives great and overall we are very happy with it. There are a couple of things I would have done differently (why is there no temperature gauge, and the included bed liner leaves a lot to be desired) but I would say Dodge nailed 95% of it.

Attached photo is from Dodge, but my vehicle looks exactly like this.

 

[GTyankee]

The bedliner, is it a drop in or spray on
Ram factory spray in liner used to be Line-X, & it may still be.
Right now Line-X prices are a little on the high side
Hopefully that rate will drop in a few months

 

[Southern Ram]

Welcome.

 

[dls56]

Nice truck! Congrats

 

[HighDesertRam]

The bedliner, is it a drop in or spray on
Ram factory spray in liner used to be Line-X, & it may still be.
Right now Line-X prices are a little on the high side
Hopefully that rate will drop in a few months

It's a drop-in liner, unfortunately. Really doesn't fit well at all. It works as a bed liner, but Dodge put in some really nice marine style cleats (like you would find on a boat) and because of the way the liner fits, it's impossible to use the cleats to tie anything down. There are U bolts in all four corners, but it would be nice to be able to use the cleats.

I called Dodge to find out how the cleats are fastened behind the bed. They had to send an email to get an answer and I have not heard back yet. If the nuts that hold the cleats won't drop between the bed and the outside of the box if I undo the screws, I will probably just remove the liner, put the cleats back in, and have a Rhino lining sprayed into the bed.

 

[GTyankee]

the drop in liners have to be removed once or twice a year
dirt gets in there, then little water
The liner shifts around, scuffing the bed paint
at some point, rust sets in, it is only surface rust to start

The advantage to the drop in liners, they can take a beating, without letting damage happen to the trucks bed
Like you can toss firewood in the bed without being careful

Heavier objects like larger rocks, have to be set in, i personally like to put a 2 or 3" layer of sand covering the bed floor without the liner before tossing in heavy objects into the bed

 

[Joe w.]

Welcome

 

[Harley Harrold]

 

[Papa Red]

Welcome to the forum.

There is a temp gauge. Check your owners manual.

Red

 

[HighDesertRam]

Welcome to the forum.

There is a temp gauge. Check your owners manual.

Red

Well actually, there isn't a gauge, but there is a screen with a summary of all the instruments, including coolant temperature and oil temperature. There is nothing about either one in the manual. I found the screen today by accident as I was scrolling through the screens.

 

[GTyankee]

I wonder if there are 2 different Instrument Clusters
Like a plain one with Idiot Lights
or
one with all the read outs, that is controlled by the steering wheel control buttons on the left side

7" EVIC UPGRADE Diesel Gauge Cluster 2019-2021 HD Ram Speedometer w/Programming Premier cluster, top image



3.5'' TFT B&W Display Gauge Cluster - 2020 19-21 Ram 2500 Diesel #20-3936 basic EVIC


which do you have ?

 

[HighDesertRam]

I wonder if there are 2 different Instrument Clusters
Like a plain one with Idiot Lights
or
one with all the read outs, that is controlled by the steering wheel control buttons on the left side

7" EVIC UPGRADE Diesel Gauge Cluster 2019-2021 HD Ram Speedometer w/Programming Premier cluster, top image

View attachment 487928

3.5'' TFT B&W Display Gauge Cluster - 2020 19-21 Ram 2500 Diesel #20-3936 basic EVIC
View attachment 487937

which do you have ?

I have a Limited edition that is equipped with the instrument cluster as shown in the top photo.

 

[GTyankee]

My EVIC is a lot older
but i see temperature when i work the buttons on the left side of the steering wheel
i think that i get to them by starting with the speedometer
then i use the Down arrow once
then use the right arrow once
then use the down arrow again, several times

 

[HighDesertRam]

My EVIC is a lot older
but i see temperature when i work the buttons on the left side of the steering wheel
i think that i get to them by starting with the speedometer
then i use the Down arrow once
then use the right arrow once
then use the down arrow again, several times

I have been reading the manual and I finally found a place where it says you can toggle the display so that the default oil pressure gauge is replaced by the coolant temperature. That's a work around, but I still want to see the oil pressure. The only way to see everything I want is to use the up and down button so that the screen that shows the transmission temperature, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature is displayed. Not having a dedicated engine temperature gauge is less than satisfactory, but I can live with what is provided.