New to Dodge/Ram, just test drove a 1500 classic. NICE!

[PickupDan]

Hello all, well I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon. I have been shopping for a new truck and mostly looking at Fords since I have owned 3 F150's in the past and they were all pretty reliable trucks, and served me well. I have heard lots of gossip over the years about Dodge/Ram not being reliable and having lots of issues but have no first hand experience as you all do, and it seems like it depends on what kind of truck somebody owns as to what opinion of the big 3 brands they have.
I went to my local Dodge dealership today to look at a truck I saw on their website new inventory, it was a crew cab Tradesman with the V6 e-torque engine and is in my budget. I prefer a regular cab 8ft bed but thought Ram didn't make one anymore since I could not configure one on Ram's website. When I arrived and parked my car I immediately saw that they had a reg. cab 8ft bed 1500 parked out front. It turned out to be a Tradesman Classic 1500 with the 5.7 and 4wd. Much more in line with what I'm looking for. I also loved that it had the older style radio/entertainment system. I am not a fan of all the latest technology in todays cars, my 2019 Toyota's is glitchy as hell and my wife's 2017 Linclon's is broke already.
So I test drove the classic and was really impressed with its ride and power, loved the simplicity of the dash and interior. Is that the old Uconnect system? LOVE IT! The dealer offered me a pretty strong deal with current incentives, it's cheaper than the Ford XL V6's I've been looking at.
I was a little disappointed to see that it was made in Mexico but I know they are all going that way now including Toyota Tacomas which I looked at but were too small for what I need.
So I'm interested to hear your thoughts, opinions, and reliability experiences good or bad with your Dodge/Ram trucks.
I'm fine with the styling of the classic. Would I be missing out on any important, must-have updates?
Sell me a Ram tonight and I'll be back to the dealer in the morning ready to wrap up the deal.
Thanks!
Dan

 

[stembridge]

My first three trucks were a '69 F-100 (in which I learned to drive, and subsequently taught my sons), a '95 F-150 4x4 (rust bucket) and a '99.5 F-250 Powerstroke 4x4 that was a beast, but had a lot of niggling issues due to age. Knowing I would need a more reliable truck as my Dad's dementia progressed (16 hours away), I bought a '15 Tradesman 2500 5.7 RC/LB, and dressed it out as an 'old school' Power Wagon.



Other than a high number of recalls (ten, IIRC), it was dead reliable and a perfect match for my use case at the time, hauling hay, livestock, tractors, etc. And when Dad passed in 2018, I hand-made his casket and drove it down for the funeral. Also used it to clean out his house prior to selling.

I would have kept it, except used truck prices have been so high, it seemed to make a lot of sense to sell now and order a new RAM Classic 1500 Quad Cab. We downsized when I retired last year and I don't need a ¾-ton, plus I do need to be able to carry the grandkids on occasion. With what I got for the old truck and the discount I got with Aaron at Mark Dodge, I'll be about $12K out-of-pocket for a brand-new truck.

My 2500 had few amenities (I did upgrade the radio to a CarPlay-compatible one), and the new 1500 will have the 8.4 screen and full towing capabilities, but that's about it. It will definitely ride smoother than the 2500, though!

I think you'll be quite happy with the switch...

es

 

[Loudram]

Missing must have updates? Not as far as I'm concerned. I have a 2019 classic express and I love it. The 8 speed transmission is as solid as they come. The Hemi does have some minor weak points with some trucks like the exhaust manifold bolts might snap down the line and then there is the lifter failure that happens to a small amount due to letting the engine idle too long over the years. But each brand has their issues. No truck is perfect and we're not going to tell you the Rams are.
Most guys in here are like me, they love their truck and wouldn't drive anything else. My truck has 17k trouble free miles on it.

Poke around and you'll find plenty of threads with high mileage Rams with little or no problems. They are solid trucks. I'd buy it.

Here's mine.

 

[kurek]

I should preface by saying the reason I have a Ram in the first place is I bought a Jeep that turned out to be a lemon and as part of the agreement with the company they took the Jeep back, sent me a check with a comma in it and offered me a pretty good discount on a different vehicle. Obviously that means a different vehicle from them not like they could offer me a discount on a Ford.

So FCA left a bad taste in my mouth over how they handled that, I had to fight them pretty hard about it. I'm extra NOT impressed by their handling of defective products or their customer service. All the FCA branded sites used to say "customer satisfaction is our number one priority" and I pointed that out to them enough times I guess because that's no longer on the Contact Us! page.

OK I'm a hater and stuff. Cool. But I'm also much more pragmatic than I am spiteful and in fairness I have to acknowledge my 2015 Ram 1500 has been just about flawless. No reliability problems so far, no problems I didn't ask for, acceptable fuel mileage given the utility and power it has. What I mean is even though I was prepared to hate the truck because of how disappointed I am in Jeep and their customer non-service, the fact is this vehicle is a good machine that's left me no reason to complain.

41k miles and 6 years now, I have driven the truck cross country on road trips twice and moving to a new home pulling a trailer from AZ to WA, lots of interstate towing between AZ and CA (picking up project/parts cars for me/friends), pulled stumps with it, lots of off-road camping trips and snow runs. I didn't put a ton of commute miles on it so that's why only 41k miles in 6 years, I lived close to the office in AZ and biked or walked or drove another car when I had one. Now I work from home so it spends most days parked. We're taking another road/dirt road trip to Montana this weekend to hike up to a couple frosty lakes and I know it's going to be a nice confident drive on the highway & haul *** once we get to the dirty section because this truck is dialed in for that.

A person willing to do a little tinkering and ignore instagram can make almost any platform work for them but I think you'd have to put a lot of work into a F150 or Silverado before its highway handling (going around 50mph curves comfortably a few miles over that, etc) was on the level Ram 1500's start out at. Could just be the rear suspension but I think there's more to it like chassis stiffness and where the engine's mass located in the frame, etc it's a pretty responsive car, for a truck.



I wouldn't sweat the Made in Mexico thing too hard, in fact some people have said the Saltillo trucks are built better than the USA ones. Mine is a Saltillo truck too. This isn't the right venue to get into political and economic discussions, everyone will have their personal feelings about that. We're so connected now economically with everyone it's hard to do any kind of purely domestic business.

 

[PickupDan]

I really appreciate everyone's feedback, thank you. Seems like a helpful and friendly forum.

 

[bigred90gt]

I drove nothing but fords from my first vehicle (88 ranger) until 2017 when I bought my Ram, with the exception of a Hyundai in there somewhere. I have no regrets. It’s a nice truck, rides amazingly smooth, has been 90k completely trouble free miles, and it’s comfortable. When time comes to replace it, I’ll look hard at a new one as well as look at the F150s and maybe a GMC.

Not a Chevy fan at all, but GMC has the best looking trucks on the market in my opinion (they’re different enough thankfully), they’re just too proud of them. I’ve never owned one, so I have no insights about them at all good or bad.

 

[rule18]

Welcome to RamForum. For what it's worth, I'm on my fourth Ram (first one in 2001), and over all I'm quite satisfied.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

Welcome to the forum. For what it's worth I've been Mopar my whole driving life, 46 years. I was Mopar when Mopar wasn't cool!

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Mopar was always cool.

People just had to catch on...

 

[indept]

Not a Chevy fan at all, but GMC has the best looking trucks on the market in my opinion (they’re different enough thankfully), they’re just too proud of them. I’ve never owned one, so I have no insights about them at all good or bad.

You might get an argument or 2 here on who has the best looking truck.

As for chevy they do have their own style of tires just for their trucks.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

You might get an argument or 2 here on who has the best looking truck.

As for chevy they do have their own style of tires just for their trucks.
View attachment 467777

It's just an opinion but no one has come close to beating the looks of the 4th gen Mopar trucks. I haven't got tired of them yet. I've always hated the square fender well of anything gm. Once again, my opinion!

 

[bigred90gt]

You might get an argument or 2 here on who has the best looking truck.

As for chevy they do have their own style of tires just for their trucks.
View attachment 467777

I'm certain I'll get an argument, and that's ok. I still drive a Ram because looks aren't #1 for me.

I'll never understand why people are so hung up on the square wheel well issue. I just don't pay enough attention to the wheel wells for it to bother me.

 

[Jeepwalker]

I was looking for another GM truck. Really wanted to stay GM, but I didn't like the square body style. And the interiors weren't what I was liking either. I ended up buying my Reg Cab 8' Tradesman, 4x4 5.7 (used). Now has 167K miles on it. No problems. All highway miles. I can't say what work was done to by the former owner, but it's been real reliable for me.

It's a basic truck. Just what I needed. Rides nice, has the rear box fender liners. These trucks are built pretty well. One thing you might notice is there's a good 13" of space behind the seat. You can put more tools and stuff back there than you might think. They used to make a rack/organizer that went along the back of the cab. The extra space sort of neutralized the argument (for me) of needing an extended cab truck.

The only thing I need to do now is replace the seat cover and foam on the driver's side. All the miles and fun have worn the edge of the fabric down! ha ha......

 

[Jayzonk]

Thank you for this discussion. I also just took the leap on a '21 Ram Classic Tradesman. The value just can't be beat, and I don't really need all of the extra electronic bits that the more expensive trucks have. Besides, I really like the looks of the classics, more so than the new ones. Just my opinion, but they just seem more trucky-like, more utility-like, more no-BS like.

 

[sirdumpsalot]

Thank you for this discussion. I also just took the leap on a '21 Ram Classic Tradesman. The value just can't be beat, and I don't really need all of the extra electronic bits that the more expensive trucks have. Besides, I really like the looks of the classics, more so than the new ones. Just my opinion, but they just seem more trucky-like, more utility-like, more no-BS like.

classics are definitely a better look

 

[RJL1]

I've had pretty much all Mopar trucks since I've been 17. 56 now. 74 and 2012 Power Wagons, 79 and 83 Ram Chargers, 90 Dakota SC LB, and now this 18 1500, that I am absolutely in love with. Best truck I've had so far. All trucks were 4x4's. I've also had a 92 Caravan and our 2010 Jeep JKUR that we bought new, with 165K miles on her now. Have had plenty of Mopar cars too. (Currently have a 2019 Challenger WB Scat Pack, yee haw!)

I've also had a 79 Chevy SB SC 4x4 (HATED that rig) and just recently sold a 96 F-250 SC LB 4x4, that both the wife and I loved. Should have kept that rig and continued to restore.

ANYWAY.....IMHO you can't go wrong with MOPAR. Love their stuff. With all of the rigs I mentioned and sprinkle in a few MOPAR cars, we haven't had a single catastrophic issue with any particular vehicle we've had.

Good luck.

 

[Bigs]

So, I had been looking/thinking about trucks for over 1 year. I liked the GM/Chev but HATE the square exhaust tips, can't stand them and their interior just looked bad (for my taste). Also saw issues with their transmissions, wasn't 100% sold on that. Ford, well, I'm sure they are good and all, but one of my good friends bought an F150 but came from RAM and he has regretted it since. He's sticking with Ford because one of his good friends gives him a smashing great deal every time he changes his truck. But it's his face when I got to his place with my new 2021 Classic Night Edition. I could see and feel his disappointment.

But the RAM... Sure the Classic has been out for about 354 years (give or take 1 or 2) but it's still a freakin great looking truck! The ride is superb, engine and trans have been out forever, no complaints from me there. Sure there are a few things (issues) that RAMs have (manifold bolts etc) but all in all, I think reliability should be the same as the others or close to it anyway.

To each his own I guess, go test drive them all and decide which one suits you best! I don't think you'll regret getting a RAM.

 

[RJL1]

It's just an opinion but no one has come close to beating the looks of the 4th gen Mopar trucks. I haven't got tired of them yet. I've always hated the square fender well of anything gm. Once again, my opinion!

I can't argue that MOPAR does make a purdy truck. I've had plenty of them. The absolute best looking trucks were the 92-(early)97 F-250/F-350's. Loved that look. Ford's early High Boys were pretty nice too.

That being said, with all the trucks I've owned over the years, my current '18 1500 CC LB with the Zone lift is my favorite, by far.

 

[EdGs]

When you see a 4th Gen. Ram, you know what it is from a mile away.

Just about everything else........well, looks like everything else. That said, the 5th Gen. has grown on me a bit, but still favor the 4th Gen. By ALOT.

JMHO, YMMV.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

Still my favorite of all time! Just my opinion and yes I know about opinions! LOL