Potential upgrade from a Tacoma

[jwilly]

Hey all, first post here and looking for some honest feedback both good and bad. I am looking to upgrade to a 1500 from a 13 tacoma, love this little truck but need something a bit bigger to be able to haul the misses horse around. I think I can do it in the tacoma but it would be tight as far as tow capacity.

I will be honest the Ram is in the early lead, mainly because I think I can get a larger truck and keep my MPG's close to the same, and the styling is way better than the others. Currently avg about 19 for my commute which is 80 miles a day all highway, although right now about 20 of it is in stop and go construction traffic which will hopefully be over soon.

I have looked through the other posts where this question has been asked and it always seems to come to, well you are in a Ram forum so you must be leaning that way, for me thats not entirely true I really don't know what way I am leaning yet. I can see everyone's positive comments, what I am looking for are the few of you who have had bad experiences and what they are. Is the overspray issue I have read about really that bad, I have also seen where the box doesnt line up with the cab. Looking to find out all the things the dealer wont tell you, even if asked.

What I am looking for is a solid truck that may get lifted, I really want the rambox, do those of you that have it think its worth the upgrade cost? Also, while I would love the Ecodiesel I just don't think its worth the premium right now, especially with regular unleaded being about 2.73 where I am at. Also is the upgraded uconnect worth it, I am a tech guy so I would get the nav unit but if its garbage then I would pass and go aftermarket. Any real world MPG stories on the Hemi? I wont tow a lot so I am not to worried about what it does then, just everyday MPG's

Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thanks in advance

 

[xrsman]

Overspray is rare. I've had 3 4th gen rams and none of then have had it. Ram boxes are cool, don't get them if you're going to put an ATV in the back, it's really tight. The boxes on the 3 I've had were all perfect, no miss alignments there. You'd be able to better your mileage with an 8 speed hemi. My truck is lifted and I don't exactly drive it easy, lots of in town too and I get 17-18 US mpg. That's hand calculated too. I'm usually around 18-22 imperial mpg. UConnect is pretty awesome! I wouldnt go aftermarket on it. It's nice because everything is integrated into one system! The Ram would be a night and day difference from your current truck. I love mine and I'll be picking up another Ram in 3-4 years for sure!

 

[Rodallg]

I made the jump 2 weeks ago from a 09 Tacoma TRD Prerunner DCLB. It was a had thing to do since I loved that truck but wanted something bigger, I wanted a Tundra but did not like the front end and the gas mileage of the new ones. Took me a long time to pull the trigger but glad I did. Still miss the Tacoma but I'll get over it.

 

[NYCruiser]

I didn't have overspray, but I had some bubbles appear on my fender paint. Dealer had the fender replaced and all good now. Also had a defective steering shaft. That was fixed too. Love my truck now. The hemi is great.


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[14hemiexpress]

The paint issues seem to be mainly on the black trucks. Overspray typically comes from lazy dealetships that are making "touch ups or repairs" chrysler isn't know for there paint it's not going to be perfect. That's the only negative I have to say. I love the rear coils, it rides great lacking in payload but the ride is more than worth the trade off in my opnion. The power is great with the hemi, I really wish I would have gotten the 8 speed. If you plan on lifting it I would suggest going with the 3.92 axles. I bought the ram for the styling and the price, seem to get the best bang for the buck with it.

 

[Jerry1984]

You should be able to obtain very similar mpg numbers to what you are seeing. Go drive all the half tons you think you might like. I wanted the blackout ram (which I ended up getting) but went and drove an Ecoboost just to see, which was nice but the exterior styling just didn't do it for me, and the engine didn't blow me away as must have. The only gm I was interested in was the 6.2 as the 5.3s numbers are low and the price is still up there. Ended up getting the truck I wanted for ~33350 before tax and warranty. It has everything I wanted and then some (must haves were 3.92, 8 speed, hemi and tow package)

 

[944own]

I bought a 14 ram crew cab express back in Feb of this year. By May I was over it and in a 14 Tundra Limited trd. I bought the ram honestly because I could get 9k off msrp. The think I could not stand about the ram was the cylinder deactivation where it drops to 4 cylinders to save gas. When it is engaged you have to stomp it to get it to accelerate. I suggest getting a good test drive and make sure this is something you can put up with because I could not. I really like the new tundra it is a v8 and drives like one all the time. As far as mileage goes I get about 15mpg in both trucks so I really never saw any advantage to the deactivation. Also my ram was just the hemi with the 6 speed. The ram was not for me but there are many people that really like them so I suggest drive it and really make sure before pulling the trigger like I did. Anyway good luck with the purchase.

 

[j753301]

I came from a 2010 Tacoma trd sport double cab and now I have a 2012 ram 1500 express 5.7hemi 6spd. and couldn't be happier! the Tacoma was small and lacked power and the ram is everything I didn't like about the Tacoma. Dont get me wrong I loved the Tacoma too but I wanted a v8 and better towing capacity. I test drove a silverado and a tundra and the chevy didn't have the power and the tundras are just ugly! I have a 38 mile commute one way to work that is a rural 50mph road and I get about 19mpg and I think the cyl, shut down works flawless. the Tacoma I got around 16.5 to 17 mpg.

 

[Buddy]

Welcome!!

 

[NYCruiser]

I bought a 14 ram crew cab express back in Feb of this year. By May I was over it and in a 14 Tundra Limited trd. I bought the ram honestly because I could get 9k off msrp. The think I could not stand about the ram was the cylinder deactivation where it drops to 4 cylinders to save gas. When it is engaged you have to stomp it to get it to accelerate. I suggest getting a good test drive and make sure this is something you can put up with because I could not. I really like the new tundra it is a v8 and drives like one all the time. As far as mileage goes I get about 15mpg in both trucks so I really never saw any advantage to the deactivation. Also my ram was just the hemi with the 6 speed. The ram was not for me but there are many people that really like them so I suggest drive it and really make sure before pulling the trigger like I did. Anyway good luck with the purchase.

I used to have to stomp on mine too to get the deactivation to cancel. I hated that, and I considered getting out of the truck. The truck seems to have stopped doing that. At 14K miles I hardly notice it anymore. Around the same time the tranny learned my driving and settled down, the MDS got a lot more transparent too. Its a non-issue for me now.

 

[Grad12]

There are a ton of ram options out there. I don't tow often, and when I do it's mostly in town. I bought the v6 (not the ecodiesel), but I test drove them all except the tundra. My buddy has an 08 tacoma, lifted, all the bells and whistles, and engine upgrades. I can still tow more, and get better gas mileage. I love his tacoma too, there is nothing wrong with it at all, I consider them to be a great in between truck when you don't want a full size, but don't want to drive a little ford ranger either.

All that being said, you should go out and test drive, and test drive all the engines. You'll find what you want. As an added bonus, Ram's seem to do decent on gas with a tow and do it with ease.

 

[14hemiexpress]

Test drive them all! I'm not a huge fan of mds either to me it's not a big deal, you get it with the hemi and the chevy 5.3l.

 

[Jerry1984]

If you get the 8 speed mds can be turned off pretty easily.

 

[quietpeen]

Welcome....just a comment about what you said with reading that you must be leaning toward ram because you joined a ram forum. I say because you are on a ram forum you are going to get biased responses. If you have not already, join a forum of other trucks you are interested in and research them there also but expect the same bias. I say it really comes down to driving everything and seeing what you like. If price is a consideration you might settle for something you don't love and then never be happy. But anyway find what you like....not what us ram owers like. All the manufacturer's are good these days and all of them have their issues

 

[jwilly]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I definitely am going to look at the other trucks to be certain. I know there are issues with every truck out there I just want to try and see if they are as widespread as one would think from reading the internet articles and boards. I still have a few months to decide which is good. Hopefully there won't be any new issues with the 2015's. Keep the feedback coming. I appreciate it all!


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[khav]

I have the RamBoxes and like them alot. They are a convenience and something I wanted, but not a must have. Some people like the looks of them and some don't. They take away a little bit of bed space, but I don't put alot back there anyway. It's great that they lock/unlock with the key fob.

I'm getting about 17 mpg after 4,000 miles with my 1500 Limited - Hemi 8-speed - probably 2/3 city driving for me.

Issues I've had were (1) air suspension computer issues took a couple tries for the dealership to get it set right but its been great since, and (2) one of the RamBoxes would not open upon delivery - dealership replaced it and works as expected now. No other issues or complaints so far.