Looking into a Ram 1500 (Plus & minuses)

[cbsmith]

Hmm.

Window sticker on mine says the country of origin for the trans is Germany. Country of origin for the engine is Mexico. Final assembly in Warran.

I have the 8HP70 which was a "for cost" option...does that make a difference? Do they get to put Germany as COO if they are using a ZF plant here? I thought Chrysler only produced the 9 speed under ZF licensing.

That would be a mistake on my part. I just went back to the page I found it on and the 8 speed for the v6 is made in the US. The 8 speed for the Hemi is still made in Germany.

 

[jaysantosauxiliarypolice]

So I've been looking at websites of different dealerships and I'm seeing up to $6,000 rebates.

I know with rebates, you either have to pay full price and get reimbursed. or sometimes the rebates are instant. I'm financing my truck and I'd hate to have to tack on the $6,000 on the amount I'm financing.

If it's instant then heck that's quite tempting.

 

[chrisbh17]

When I was looking around I noticed a lot of dealerships list the price on their website will absolutely every rebate applied. Very few actually spelled out what each rebate was for, so it was quite hard to figure out even a ballpark price that the truck would actually cost you.

For example, I did not have a lease on a vehicle in my house from a non-Chrysler brand. That's the "lease conquest" rebate, worth $500.00 at the time. But all of the website prices I saw knocked that 500.00 off in their "final price". Of course when you get down to the actual numbers (in person), the price "goes up" by that 500.00.

AutoTrader.com helped a ton to get me a list of who had vehicles I was interested in. From there I just started contacting them directly, not really paying attention to the advertised price. Most of the dealerships ended up around the same starting price anyway, so it was kinda a moot point. In the end I went with the dealership that had the truck I wanted and was closest to my house. It happened that they were also giving the best price out of all the ones I contacted, so it was a win-win.

 

[jaysantosauxiliarypolice]

How's the backseat room of the quad cab?
Not from a tall family. I'm 5'7" and the wife is 5'1". I have a 6 year old son. If he wins the gene pool and picks up after his grandfather's height, then he might be 6'1".

 

[cbsmith]

How's the backseat room of the quad cab?
Not from a tall family. I'm 5'7" and the wife is 5'1". I have a 6 year old son. If he wins the gene pool and picks up after his grandfather's height, then he might be 6'1".

I looked at the quad cab when we bought our truck and the issue I found wasn’t so much the leg room, it is a bit tight but manageable, but that the seat backs were straight up and the padding was a bit thin. It made it uncomfortable for me to sit in due to the straight back and even our 12 year old son complained about it when he sat in it. The crew cab has a ton more room and the seats are very comfortable.

 

[zrfraser]

I'm a very happy V6 owner. My truck is my daily driver and we drive it on the weekends for running errands because the bed always comes in handy for running errands. On my commute I can get 25 MPG if I drive conservatively. Usually its around 23 MPG. I tow nothing, I don't even have a hitch on the truck. I've had the bed loaded down with lumber, concrete, pallets (every night from work), furniture, etc and it does that task just fine. I also have the Quad Cab and I have three kids, all in car seats, and we manage just fine. It may not have the panache of the Hemi, or the sound, or the torque, but its not slouch either, especially when coupled with the 8 speed. They are also cheaper than the HEMI option.

 

[robcope]

Now, I do not pretend to be a truck expert. The Ram is my first and I have had it just under two months.

I spent the last year looking at every truck out there and ended up purchasing the Lone Star Silver Edition and love it. I feel, for the money, it can't be beat. I drove the F150, Tundra, Silverado, Sierra, and Titan and just loved the way the Ram handled and how comfortable it is.

You have to understand I drove a Kia Rio for eight years and loved it. Stepping up to the Ram was much easier than I ever imagined. So easy to drive and maneuver. I bought the cheapest Lone Star on the lot and it still has more than I ever wanted or needed. I walked out the door for just under $30,000 and could not be happier.

Pros
Ride, Handling, Comfort, 8.4 inch screen, Uconnect (yep, I love it), Uconnect App, HEMI, 8 Speed Transmission, parking sensor, Just included so much more at my price point than any of the others and the ride was much better. My sons are both over 6'5" and have so much room in the back seat (Crew Cab). This is the first vehicle I have owned where I don't have the drivers seat all the way back to be comfortable.

Cons:
To much Chrome, needless to say I am changing out the things I can. Should I find any more I will let you know.

 

[Philip]

I probably have the crappiest 1500 here lol but I swear I'm in love with it! I personally got the longest gears (3.21's) because I won't be towing anything over 4000lbs, and I do plan on getting a small tear drop sleeper camper, those bare bones ones just to sleep in while camping. They weigh MUCH less than 4000lbs.

Here in Arizona the A/C is on 100% of the time for me, I like ice cold. I average 17 mpg, and most of my driving literally 95% is 40-50mph street driving.

I COULD NOT live without the crew cab! There is so much room back there, even has 2 A/C vents for the rear. You can fold up the bottom half of the seats and there is a fold out floor which adds a ton of room. I was gonna change out the tires until I tested her out in the desert, they handled well considering they are not off road tires AND my truck is a 4X2, I don't need a 4X4 out here.

I just passed 1,000 miles since I got her end of September I believe it was, and I still kick myself saying I should have gotten a Ram earlier.

 

[bigred90gt]

I've always been a ford person. To the point that with trucks, I had never considered any other makes. I've had 4 mustangs, 1 ranger, and 9 F150s over the years I've been driving (I did have a hyundai for 5 months, but I dont count that, lol). When I was looking this last time, I decided to be a bit more open to options, and drove each of the big 3. The F150 was nice, but finding one in the packing I was looking for with the 5.0 was proving difficult. Next I drove a new GMC Sierra ext cab. I actually tried to buy it, but the dealer wasnt willing to work with me on the price or on my trade. They gave me a number and basically said take it or leave it, so I left it.

I was actually on my way home to empty out my F150 and go to the Ford dealer when I stopped by the Dodge dealer on a whim. After a test drive, I knew I was buying a Ram. I drove 4 of them and settled on the Lone Star Hemi 3.92 rear. The ride quality and interior comfort are so far ahead of the competition its really not a competition. The value for the options you get is also far better. GMC is stupid with their pricing. Ford and Ram are close (around here anyway), but Ram takes the edge slightly. I will say though that of all of them, I think the Ram is the least appealing visually from the exterior. The interior is nice and well laid out, comfortable, plenty of room (even for me at 6'1" 270 lbs). The 8.4 with Nav is nice. There's plenty of room in the back seat, but my step-daughter hates the seats back there. The back is too straight up and down for her. I've never spent more than a minute back there, so I didnt notice.

Of the 3, I personally think the GMC is the best looking. I love the boxier look to the truck (all of the trucks I grew up around were 80's trucks with more square lines), and I love that all of them have HID headlights. The quad lights on my Ram, while better than the halogens on the F150, are pure garbage. It's 2017, about to be 2018, halogen headlights shouldnt even be an option on a new vehicle. Their performance is just severely lacking.

what sold me on the ram was the comfort and the ride. The ride in this truck is better than any truck I've ever been in, and it's not even close.

 

[69GWC]

Best bang for the buck, Ram.

Very happy with mine, 5.7 and 8sp is a strong running truck that gets good fuel mileage.

QC for me works great but its just me and the wife now, I allmost bought a RC but decided I could use the back seat for storage if nothing else.

 

[chrisbh17]

How's the backseat room of the quad cab?
Not from a tall family. I'm 5'7" and the wife is 5'1". I have a 6 year old son. If he wins the gene pool and picks up after his grandfather's height, then he might be 6'1".

The spec-ed rear legroom in my '17 quad cab is exactly the same as the spec-ed rear leg room in my 2011 G37 sedan. I really only transport my kids in the back, they arent tall because they are young, but no one (even adults) has ever complained about the room in my G so I figured the quad cab was fine for me.

One of my neighbors actually has a crew cab and says there is more leg room in the BACK than in the FRONT. The specs show it on-par with my wifes Lexus ES350, which is the most rear leg room Ive ever seen in any vehicle.

I preferred the longer bed, which is hard to find in crew cab. Plus for some reason they seemed to be dumping the quad cabs around here so there were excellent prices on qc, not so much on cc.

 

[bigred90gt]

The spec-ed rear legroom in my '17 quad cab is exactly the same as the spec-ed rear leg room in my 2011 G37 sedan. I really only transport my kids in the back, they arent tall because they are young, but no one (even adults) has ever complained about the room in my G so I figured the quad cab was fine for me.

One of my neighbors actually has a crew cab and says there is more leg room in the BACK than in the FRONT. The specs show it on-par with my wifes Lexus ES350, which is the most rear leg room Ive ever seen in any vehicle.

I preferred the longer bed, which is hard to find in crew cab. Plus for some reason they seemed to be dumping the quad cabs around here so there were excellent prices on qc, not so much on cc.

If the dealership I went to would have had a quad cab optioned the same as the crew cab I bought, I would have bought that instead. My backseat gets minimal use, and I prefer the look of an extended cab over a crew cab. The alpine system was one requirement for my truck, and I didnt see any quad cabs with that system on the lot.

 

[bigred90gt]

Pros
Ride, Handling, Comfort, 8.4 inch screen, Uconnect (yep, I love it), Uconnect App, HEMI, 8 Speed Transmission, parking sensor, Just included so much more at my price point than any of the others and the ride was much better. My sons are both over 6'5" and have so much room in the back seat (Crew Cab). This is the first vehicle I have owned where I don't have the drivers seat all the way back to be comfortable.

Cons:
To much Chrome, needless to say I am changing out the things I can. Should I find any more I will let you know.

I love the Uconnect system as well. Better than the My Ford Touch system my last F150 had in it. Aside from being able to remote start my truck anywhere I have an internet connection on my phone (which means I can crank it and let it run for a few minutes in the parking lot while I'm working offshore if I'm out for 3-4 weeks), my favorite feature is sending the nav an address. I open google maps on my phone, punch in the address, hit the share button and send it to uconnect. In a few seconds, it pops up on the screen in the truck, and away I go. So much easier that way than trying to type in the address on the truck. I've found at times it wont even let me put in the correct address because you cant just free type (it trys to predict street names or cities, and I cant figure out how to cut that feature off). With the uconnect system, as long as I can find it on googlemaps, I can get to it with my nav.

 

[Jeepwalker]

[paraphrase] .....of all of them, I think the Ram is the least appealing visually from the exterior. ....out of the 3, GM trucks are the most appealing.

I respect your opinion, but I'm not convinced. Give it 5 years and people will love the Ram classic looks and the GM 'brick on wheels' style will look SO dated.

 

[Philip]

I respect your opinion, but I'm not convinced. Give it 5 years and people will love the Ram classic looks and the GM 'brick on wheels' style will look SO dated.

I think the Ram looks like America's Truck! But that's just me.

 

[bigred90gt]

I respect your opinion, but I'm not convinced. Give it 5 years and people will love the Ram classic looks and the GM 'brick on wheels' style will look SO dated.

People love it now. That doesn’t mean I do.

My first truck was an 88 ranger, and my second truck was my dad’s 86 F150 that he bought new in 86, when I was 6. My grandfather had an old ford truck (mid 80s, can’t remember what year). I just like that boxy look on a truck. For my taste, visually the ram is my least favorite on exterior styling. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it, I just like it least of the competition.

I’m well aware that opinion isn’t shared by some, especially those on this site. I didn’t buy the truck for the exterior styling.

 

[MADDOG]

Crew cab
Hemi
8-speed
3.92 gears
Big Horn option pkg

You will be very happy with that package.

[mic drop]

 

[goodguy11]

Thanks for the responses guys. I feel the V6 might be all I need. However, I don't want to be in the situation 3 days after buying the truck saying, "I should've bought the V8." hehehe. I don't know how much more the V8 is over the V6. I'll check again.



Also, since the Ram is about $5,000 cheaper than the competition, this leads me to think if the competition is just milking customers for more money or is Dodge cutting corners here and there to achieve that price difference. Hmmm...

I️ will tell you from personal experience. My brother has a 17 ram with the v6. He pulls a lot with it. Motor just fine pulling about 5k. Now as for a daily I️ would say its a matter of do you want a big grocery getter that can pull if needed? Definitely V6. If you want to always have a “truck” then V8. Even hard driving he gets 18.5 in the city. When I️ drive I️t I️ average 20 in the city. That the V6. You already know the numbers on a V8


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[Trail Ryder]

I'm a very happy V6 owner. My truck is my daily driver and we drive it on the weekends for running errands because the bed always comes in handy for running errands. On my commute I can get 25 MPG if I drive conservatively. Usually its around 23 MPG. I tow nothing, I don't even have a hitch on the truck. I've had the bed loaded down with lumber, concrete, pallets (every night from work), furniture, etc and it does that task just fine. I also have the Quad Cab and I have three kids, all in car seats, and we manage just fine. It may not have the panache of the Hemi, or the sound, or the torque, but its not slouch either, especially when coupled with the 8 speed. They are also cheaper than the HEMI option.

I test drove a 4X4 Crew with the V6 and agree with this assessment. When I test drove the V6 / 8-speed, I was impressed. It felt more powerful than the old 4.7 V8.

Unless you plan to tow over 5,000 lbs, I would go for the V6.

I take several long trips towing an enclosed trailer with dirt bikes or snowmobiles and when I get tired, I make my buddies drive my Ram. And they own GMs, Toyotas, and Nissans. All of them are impressed with the ride, handling, comfort, and towing power of my Ram.

FWIW, I ended up buying a low mile 5.7L with 3.92 gears just because it was a good deal and had some of the "must have" options.

 

[strengthrehab]

I'm doing this same dance. Looking for.my first truck. Thinking express with a Hemi as I may end up pulling a mustang on a trailer at some point.

As much as I want 4 doors, the reg cab would be ok.

I've been a Ford guy my whole life, but the Ram looks good.

How is the express package for most folks? I guess the power accessories package is a must.

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