Ram 1500 SSV

[Grams]

I live in the “country” and already own a ‘24 Ram 2500 CTD which is fun …but we have an extended family who seem to always be in-need of borrowing a car. We have my Dad’s car (since he passed in 2007)… a 2005 Buick Century …which has been an excellent “spare” car for the city driving granddaughters do..…but unsuitable for ranch living as well as unsuitable for sons and grandsons (whose Silverado trucks are REAL Horror-stories when compared to the “troubles” Ram owners have with dealers and parts on backorder.)

Soo I decided to buy a “spare” Ram and found an Excellent example… the former Official State Inventory truck of a County Sheriff in central Tx.

I was worried that it might be “in trouble” knowing how police vehicles are used….high-percentage of Idling with “hot pursuit” and hard off-road useage.

But this truck has no evidence of abuse, and Car Fax has plenty of documented Service Reports of regular oil changes and scheduled maintenance visits. Only a “minor/cosmetic” accident of a front-end animal strike. (Lots of deer in central Tx….We’ve hit 10 of them over the last 3 decades ourselves) Can’t find any evidence of damage except what is obviously a fresh front grill and new quad-headlights.

I had never heard of a Ram 1500 SSV-model…. … “Special Service Vehicle” . The build sheet, window sticker, all original documents are in the glove-box… The main evidence of “upfitter” accessories is that of an extra wiring-harness tucked-away that used to service Emergency Lighting and, instead of a center-console there’s a mounting-pedestal for police computers, equipment, etc. and a few screw-holes in the dash where a radar-unit must have been mounted, plus a few antenna bases on the roof. (No evidence of a roof-light-bar. It appears the emer-lights were mounted inside/top of windshield and back window. There’s some sort of “sonic speaker” or other still mounted behind the grill.

The SSV build-sheet describes an extra “engine oil cooler” for long-idle-periods, “extra-transmission-cooler”, Higher-capacity alternator, and “upfitter module” (which is apparently the extra electrical-harness found hidden behind panels and under the hood and associated elect-bus attached to the large battery. 5.7 Hemi, 6 speed auto tranny (instead of the ZF), 3.55 limited-slip rear end, 4WD, extra-dark window-tint, interior lighting switchable to red interior and overhead (dome) lighting.
And…Oh Yeah…. “Ballistic Interior Door Panels and increased-strength door hinges”.

Everything works and it drives/rides smooth, and no engine noises. I feel it was priced below market, probably due to the police-interior…. no console and vinyl-rear-bench-seat (described for easy cleaning … I suppose for drunks etc., but this truck is near-spotless inside, I suppose because it was the sherrif’s car instead of the deputies. No evidence of a cage ever in the back.

181K miles, $9K was the firm selling price. Kelley and other blue-books indicate expected prices to be $16-$19K. Sold by the dealer who apparently supplied a replacement-fleet having taken-in the existing fleet. The sales person informed me they send most SSV’s to auction immediately…keeping for retail-sale only the cleanest of the traded-in SSV vehicles.

The only thing I’ve had to do to it is new tires and add 4 oz of refrigerant and order replacment seat upholstery for the driver’s seat. (looks like the utility/pistol belt wore-out the cloth.)

I thought this might be of interest to the forum-group.

 

[Wild one]

I'd take all the extra keys etc. off the key chain.The extra weight has been known to cause issues with the keyed system.
Nice truck,and you got it for a hell'va bargain

 

[kurek]

I've seen the brochure for the SSV on 4th gens and directed a person to it in the past when they decided it was meaningful to their identity to insist no factory oil cooler was available for 5.7's - I don't remember seeing the ballistic door panels & hinges on it, that's for sure one of those parts you never want to find out how well it works. Do the doors close with a satisfying, 1970s luxury car clunk?

 

[Wild one]

I've seen the brochure for the SSV on 4th gens and directed a person to it in the past when they decided it was meaningful to their identity to insist no factory oil cooler was available for 5.7's - I don't remember seeing the ballistic door panels & hinges on it, that's for sure one of those parts you never want to find out how well it works. Do the doors close with a satisfying, 1970s luxury car clunk?

Starting in 17 all Ram 1500's received the same oil cooler from what i've seen on the local cop trucks.
Admittedly i didn't crawl under the couple that have showed up at the local car meets,but i did look under the hoods on both for an extra external oil cooler and couldn't see anything other then the same oil coolers used on the 17 and newer trucks.

https://store.mopar.ca/v-2019-ram-1500-classic--express--5-7l-v8-gas/5-7l-hemi-gas-engine--engine-oil-cooler

 

[Grams]

WoW… YOu noticed the “extra keys”… LOL

YEs, it came with SIX sets of FOBs. Looks like only One of them was ever used…the other 5 all work and look fresh and clean.

@kurek, yes, the doors do seem heavier than my ‘24 Limited Ram 2500, and they do make a solid “THUMP” when they close. Also, 30-secs after the engine shuts off All the doors and tailgate lock. Also, anytime the rear doors close they lock and the interior handles… while they will open the door if it is UN-locked…. They will not open the rear doors if they are locked unless the FOB commands it. (At least that’s how it WAS programmed. I’ve gone into the Uconnect and changed all that to how I want it.)

 

[Grams]

Found this pic online of the former “owner” of this truck. Sheriff Keith Korenek does look fastidious… Perhaps explains why this truck is so clean.

<edit> The photo below is a few decades ago…. Sheriff Korenek is today, 67.)

 

[Grams]

Starting in 17 all Ram 1500's received the same oil cooler from what i've seen on the local cop trucks.
Admittedly i didn't crawl under the couple that have showed up at the local car meets,but i did look under the hoods on both for an extra external oil cooler and couldn't see anything other then the same oil coolers used on the 17 and newer trucks.

https://store.mopar.ca/v-2019-ram-1500-classic--express--5-7l-v8-gas/5-7l-hemi-gas-engine--engine-oil-cooler

That’s an interesting oil cooler set-up. It reminds me of a type I’ve seen on certain light airplanes.
I hope this thing uses the standard spin on filter… I bought one (MoPar MO-339) today at WM just to have on-hand… (I already had several jugs of 5W20 oil left over from my previous 1500 which was wrecked last year)
I am very surprised at how SMALL the filter is. It’s about the same size as my Yamaha outboard and my Brigss & Stratton powered Craftsman lawn-tractor.

 

[Wild one]

That’s an interesting oil cooler set-up. It reminds me of a type I’ve seen on certain light airplanes.
I hope this thing uses the standard spin on filter… I bought one (MoPar MO-339) today at WM just to have on-hand… (I already had several jugs of 5W20 oil left over from my previous 1500 which was wrecked last year)
I am very surprised at how SMALL the filter is. It’s about the same size as my Yamaha outboard and my Brigss & Stratton powered Craftsman lawn-tractor.

Personally i think it's a joke that has been known to leak.If i had one on my truck,i'd be getting rid of it,and deleting the coolant lines feeding it,and ripping it off the oil filter housing and using the older bigger filters like a 20-820 Royal Purple filter/Fram FE etc.,and i wouldn't be using the mopar filters either,they leave alot to be desired these days.
Remember Ma Mopar farms things like filters etc out for bid,and the cheapest bid that meets mininium specs gets the contract.
Take a read through the last several pages of this thread

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/oil-filter-thread.110675/page-159

With it being a higher milege police vehicle,you might want to consider running 5W-30 in it instead of 5W-20 .Even Ma Mopar says 5W-30 is okay to use.Read the note this is from the 700 page printed manuals for the trucks.

 

[Grams]

Here’s another tid-bit about this truck. The Car Fax and the invoices from the Ram dealer in the sherriff dept’s home town …show the various “5,000 mile service performed”…. and show that, for parts and labor, $89 was charged for one item…Cabin Air Filter change… over the ten-year period the sheriffs dep’t was charged for that item ten times.

Since I used to own a 2012 Ram 1500…and now own a 2024 Ram 2500…I’m familiar with, and have in-stock, several cabin filter elements for this truck.
Sooo….I decided to start it off with a Fresh/New cabin air filter.

Small problem: This truck is not modified with a cabin air filter system. It must be modified with the “kit” before it will accept a cabin filter.

I wonder how …or where…. those ten-years worth of cabin filters were installed.

 

[kurek]

Here’s another tid-bit about this truck. The Car Fax and the invoices from teh Ram dealer in the sherriff dept’s home town …show the various “5,000 mile service performed”…. and show that, for parts and labor, $89 was charged for one item…Cabin Air Filter change… over the ten-year period the sheriffs dep’t was charged for that item ten times.

Since I used to own a 2012 Ram 1500…and now own a 2024 Ram 2500…I’m familiar with, and have in-stock, several cabin filter elements for this truck.
Sooo….I decided to start it off with a Fresh/New cabin air filter.

Small problem: This truck is not modified with a cabin air filter system. It must be modified with the “kit” before it will accept a cabin filter.

I wonder how …or where…. those ten-years worth of cabin filters were installed.

Your tax dollars at work eh? Maybe sheriff korenek could follow up on that and look like a hero to the taxpayers who've been getting ripped off all this time.

 

[Grams]

I’ve been thinking about taking a pic of the blower-area of this truck (before I modify it for a cabin filter) ….and sending it to him. I’ll bet he’ll be interested in how and why this occurred.

(Of course, $89 for that item is ridiculous on the face of it. It’s a $15-$25 filter at most and it takes almost an entire minute to install. Although, as a former Toyota tech…. I suppose he had to go to the parts wondow and wait in-line for the parts guy to get to him…chat about the new girl in the front office…. then the parts guy has to walk back into the shelves to get the filter, fill out the requisition …after he finds the work order… and the tech then has to walk back thru the shop to his bay… stopping at each other bay on the way to discuss the ridiculous prices the Snap-On guy charges these days…. plus look into whatever repair that new guy is messin’ up… before getting back to his own bay so he can unwrap the cellophane off the filter, open the door, pull-out the glove-box after fiddlin’ with that little lanyard on it…. etc etc. (Of course he can skip re-installing the lanyard like he does on all the rest of the flat-rates he does….)

 

[ExpressRules]

Like that push bar, did it come with it or did you install??

 

[Grams]

Like that push bar, did it come with it or did you install??

It came with it. Tool box also. What’s in the pics is what I got.

(even the sheriff’s star in the back window. Kinda funny to see someone passing me up on the hwy….suddenly hit the brakes …and pull-in behind…LOLOL)

 

[Grams]

Your tax dollars at work eh? Maybe sheriff korenek could follow up on that and look like a hero to the taxpayers who've been getting ripped off all this time.

Yesterday, around 5 PM, I did send a short email to the Sheriff Dept’s website address describing what I found re: cabin air filter.

This morning I rec’d a phone call from the sheriff.

I explained how I have purchased his former truck,… (“Thank You for taking such good-care of it.”) …and that I have owned several Rams and how the cabin filter installation is serviced..Or…how a Ram without a filter must be modified to accept a filter….and that THIS truck has never been so-modified. Therefore, it could not have accepted a cabin air filter for the last ten years as invoiced.

He was very cordial and thanked me for the information. He said he intended to follow-up with the dealership owner, who he speculated might not have closely supervised the details of how work orders are filled by the techs.
It ‘s an agrarian township which has grown over the last half-century and the sheriff was born and raised in that community. I’m fairly familiar with the town myself: Until about 1980 it had a short landing-strip across the highway from a popular cafe and it was a treat to land a small plane there, walk across the hwy and have a “Hattie’s Special” lunch.
(Anyone familiar with the Broadway Play and subsequent movie “Best Little Wh0rehouse in Texas” starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds will know of the town. (The Play was much better than the movie)
Sheriff Korenek is NOT the sheriff T.J. Flournoy depicted in those presentatons.)
Anyway, I believe the Sheriff will be learning more about Ram cabin filters this week…. and I was provided his personal “Thanks” as well as his personal cell phone number in case I ever have need of it.

I doubt this will be of any real use, ….however….I Am keeping it in my wallet as I drive thru there occasionally on the way to Houston. LOL

 

[GeauxinUp]

A video documentary of you walking into the service dept and asking them to show you how to install the cabin filter would've been hilarious!
Nice find on the truck.

 

[Grams]

The local upholstery shop completely re-did the seat this morning… It looks perfect. $180.

Above his office-door:

 

[Docwagon1776]

Ram didn't make a pursuit rated 1500 for those years, though there were talks of one coming later, so probably no high speed pursuits in this one's past.

Admin vehicles can be a pretty solid bargain. They are more a "take home" perk of the job than used for real police work. I kind of straddle that line, I go weeks without ever touching my lights or siren but still occasionally need them. Especially departments that have assigned vehicles vs hot swapping between shifts. Pool cars get ragged because there's always a group of guys who think whatever the issue is can be the next guy's problem.

 

[Grams]

Ram didn't make a pursuit rated 1500 for those years, though there were talks of one coming later, so probably no high speed pursuits in this one's past.

Admin vehicles can be a pretty solid bargain. They are more a "take home" perk of the job than used for real police work. I kind of straddle that line, I go weeks without ever touching my lights or siren but still occasionally need them. Especially departments that have assigned vehicles vs hot swapping between shifts. Pool cars get ragged because there's always a group of guys who think whatever the issue is can be the next guy's problem.

I suspect you’re correct. I had a good laugh over his spare pocket-change in the ash-tray and the Starburst candies in the door-pocket I found.

 

[British Bulldog]

Why do all these dealerships think they can DO stuff like this?
Took my wife’s 5000mls Kia HYBRID to dealer for first oil change. This car does 55-60 mpg, so a lot on electric.
I get an urgent text, IMMEDIATE work needed in addition to your oil change service. I walk to desk, “oh yes, we recommend an injector clean and fuel system flush on these cars”
WHAT????? At 5,000 not all gas miles? Sod off was my reply.
Then check out and I find shop charges, normal, no check sheet for the multi point inspection”we don’t do that” so, WHAT did you do? PLUS $3.99 document storage fee? WTF is that about?
The service fella couldn’t answer. Waiting for a call. It’s been 7 days now.
But it’s only 3.99 right? But get this, it’s charged every time to every customer!

 

[Grams]

Why do all these dealerships think they can DO stuff like this?
Took my wife’s 5000mls Kia HYBRID to dealer for first oil change. This car does 55-60 mpg, so a lot on electric.
I get an urgent text, IMMEDIATE work needed in addition to your oil change service. I walk to desk, “oh yes, we recommend an injector clean and fuel system flush on these cars”
WHAT????? At 5,000 not all gas miles? Sod off was my reply.
Then check out and I find shop charges, normal, no check sheet for the multi point inspection”we don’t do that” so, WHAT did you do? PLUS $3.99 document storage fee? WTF is that about?
The service fella couldn’t answer. Waiting for a call. It’s been 7 days now.
But it’s only 3.99 right? But get this, it’s charged every time to every customer!

Did you perhaps intend to post this in another thread and accidentally put it in THIS one?