Ram vs GMC

[rb10de]

I am trying to decide whether to get the Ram 1500 Limited or GMC Sierra Denali. I will use the truck primarily to tow a 4000 lb boat and I will put about 5000 miles a year on it.

There is no question that the Ram has the nicer interior. I also like the Ram Box and cargo system. Tailgates are a wash. Many of the electronic gizmos I could care less about, but there are a few things on the GMC that get the nod. On the GMC the camera rear view mirror would be very helpful to see over my boat. The trailer hitch camera view, trailer app, and trailer TPMS are a plus. The HUD on the GMC looks interesting.

The 6.2L engine is a bit stronger than the 5.7L on the Ram but for my application it won't matter much. It looks like the 5.7 will like lower octane gasoline better. The optional larger gas tank on the Ram is something I would like to have.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I don't favor one over the other in that regard. How likely is it that Ram will add some of the items I mentioned for 2021?

 

[sandawilliams]

After what GM just tried to pull on the American people (ventilators) I wont consider their products in the future.

 

[NorthStar1]

Have you driven a GM pickup in the past year? The mirrors are tiny compared to the Ram. IMHO there is no way in hell I’d tow anything with the tiny GMC/Chevy 1500 mirrors. The 2500 mirrors are bigger but the 1500 are the size of a Maybelline compact my wife uses. I’ve driven Rams since they first came out and one test drive this past October of a GMC Denali was reason enough for me to stick with the Ram - I prefer to see what’s behind me with my mirrors and not depend upon some electronic system that could fail.

 

[rb10de]

Yes I have driven them. The mirrors are bigger than what I have now so they didn’t seem small to me. I will pay attention to that the next time I look at them.

 

[bellaireroad]

I am trying to decide whether to get the Ram 1500 Limited or GMC Sierra Denali. I will use the truck primarily to tow a 4000 lb boat and I will put about 5000 miles a year on it.

There is no question that the Ram has the nicer interior. I also like the Ram Box and cargo system. Tailgates are a wash. Many of the electronic gizmos I could care less about, but there are a few things on the GMC that get the nod. On the GMC the camera rear view mirror would be very helpful to see over my boat. The trailer hitch camera view, trailer app, and trailer TPMS are a plus. The HUD on the GMC looks interesting.

The 6.2L engine is a bit stronger than the 5.7L on the Ram but for my application it won't matter much. It looks like the 5.7 will like lower octane gasoline better. The optional larger gas tank on the Ram is something I would like to have.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I don't favor one over the other in that regard. How likely is it that Ram will add some of the items I mentioned for 2021?

Sounds like you are leaning towards the GMC, and it would fit your needs better


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[rb10de]

Sounds like you are leaning towards the GMC, and it would fit your needs better


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Actually I like the Ram better. The GMC has a few items I like and I was wondering if waiting on the new model year would get them on the Ram.

 

[Tim Garceau]

There are aftermarket options you can always add on or improve for any vehicle.

That market will never die with the big 3 production penny pinchers.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Not sure if this is doable or not, but I'd ask the dealer for an extended test of the GMC and actually try the trailer options that they offer. I have always tried to buy as much as I can afford so that I have a better resale value down the road, but so many times there are options that sound awesome in theory, but just don't work practically. I upgraded our Acura MDX to make sure I got the lane assist and crash mitigation options but when it comes right down to it, I rarely use them because they just don't work like they say they do (or at least the way I thought they would). Just my two cents. I think now a days, you are going to get a similar product regardless of what direction you go. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[rb10de]

Very good points.

Unfortunately the dealers are closed in PA until the virus plays out and all I can do for a while is poke around and ask questions.

 

[DoubleJ]

I grew up in GM vehicles. Owned them my whole life. I now own a 4th gen Ram 1500 and have ridden in comparable Chevy and GM trucks. I will be looking to Mopar for the rest of my vehicle purchase in the future.

 

[mtofell]

After what GM just tried to pull on the American people (ventilators) I wont consider their products in the future.

Yeah, it was on the news so it must be true.... LOL.

I don't know or care which media side (Fox or MSNBC) or which political party was pushing this story and don't really care. One thing I am sure of is you can't believe **** from the media or the political parties in this crazy climate (or even in normal times for that matter). I certainly would never let it dictate what brand of truck I bought if I liked one. But if it makes you feel better to die on that sword, go for it I suppose.

 

[tidefan1967]

Unless GM has dramatically changed the suspension from the previous model(2014-2018) I know there's got to be a huge difference in the ride since the GMC still sports wagon springs in the back. I owned several GM trucks before jumping to RAM 5 years ago and the ride on the previous gen was worse than my old 64 F100 with straight axle front end/leaf springs.

The 6.2 is definitely a better engine choice than the 5.7 HEMI but don't dare put anything in it but 91 octane or higher or you will feel the loss of power and it will spark knock under load. You can actually run 87 in the HEMI without too much problems but I would run Top Tier fuel at a minimum. I would think a Limited would still be considerably cheaper than a Denali by at least $5K. Make sure you get the 3.92 gears and limited slip if you do test drive and/or buy the RAM as it will help with towing and makes the truck a little more fun to drive.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

The biggest plus of the GMC is the 6.2l engine. I haven't looked at them since 2016. At that time there was no rear a/c vents for the rear. That was a huge minus when6i lived in Florida. Not sure how the rear view camera helps towing a boat. The camera view they show on ads is trailer mounted.

 

[Beltsand]

I am trying to decide whether to get the Ram 1500 Limited or GMC Sierra Denali. I will use the truck primarily to tow a 4000 lb boat and I will put about 5000 miles a year on it.

There is no question that the Ram has the nicer interior. I also like the Ram Box and cargo system. Tailgates are a wash. Many of the electronic gizmos I could care less about, but there are a few things on the GMC that get the nod. On the GMC the camera rear view mirror would be very helpful to see over my boat. The trailer hitch camera view, trailer app, and trailer TPMS are a plus. The HUD on the GMC looks interesting.

The 6.2L engine is a bit stronger than the 5.7L on the Ram but for my application it won't matter much. It looks like the 5.7 will like lower octane gasoline better. The optional larger gas tank on the Ram is something I would like to have.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I don't favor one over the other in that regard. How likely is it that Ram will add some of the items I mentioned for 2021?

I drove a Denali when I was looking as well. The RAM made better sense for me, especially after my wife saw what they wanted for the Denali!

Not sure what options you have looked at on the RAM, but my 2019 has a hitch camera view, trailer blind spot monitoring, and will remember 4 or 5 trailer settings in the Uconnect app. I don't have the tow package (includes tow mirrors) or the level 2 equipment group, but if you want the surround view cameras you can't have the tow mirrors. I've seen some discussion on the trailer TPMS option, but have not seen a definitive answer if this is supported by RAM. So far, I don't feel like I am missing anything I need.

Best of luck

 

[redman4455]

I believe the 6.2 is a direct injection engine, I'm steering clear of direct injection until I hear they have solved the deposits on the back of valve issues. It's one major reason why I went with the trusty 6.4 hemi over the new GM DI.

 

[rb10de]

Not sure what options you have looked at on the RAM, but my 2019 has a hitch camera view, trailer blind spot monitoring, and will remember 4 or 5 trailer settings in the Uconnect app. I don't have the tow package (includes tow mirrors) or the level 2 equipment group, but if you want the surround view cameras you can't have the tow mirrors. I've seen some discussion on the trailer TPMS option, but have not seen a definitive answer if this is supported by RAM. So far, I don't feel like I am missing anything I need.

Best of luck

Thank you. The young lady who was showing me the truck didn't know a thing about them so I missed that there was an Uconnect app or a hitch camera view. Those would certainly help.

 

[rb10de]

Not sure how the rear view camera helps towing a boat. The camera view they show on ads is trailer mounted.

The actual camera I am referring to is mounted next to the light at the top of the cab. For my rig it would let me see over top of the boat since it sits very low on the trailer. I don't know if that is enough to get me to buy it over the Ram but the image in the rear view mirror is amazing and can be zoomed.

I would hate to buy the 2020 Ram and have that show up on the 2021.

 

[sandawilliams]

Yeah, it was on the news so it must be true.... LOL.

I don't know or care which media side (Fox or MSNBC) or which political party was pushing this story and don't really care. One thing I am sure of is you can't believe **** from the media or the political parties in this crazy climate (or even in normal times for that matter). I certainly would never let it dictate what brand of truck I bought if I liked one. But if it makes you feel better to die on that sword, go for it I suppose.

Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.

 

[Derek Powers]

The high mount cam on the ram plus the 12" screen should be plenty sufficient. Can only get the Denali in 3.23 gear ratio so the ram with 3.92 will likely be as good or better. I'm curious how the trailer tpms works. How far do you tow the boat? This is what I'm going with.

https://www.minderresearch.com/tireminder/

Not vehicle specific so doesn't matter what vehicle you tow with and $200 less than the GM factory version

 

[rb10de]

I usually don't tow more than 60 miles; the TPMS isn't really a big deal. It may save me from manually checking tire pressure when I am prepping for a trip, but with my personality I would do it anyway to be sure.

A much bigger issue is keeping track of trailer mileage for maintenance purposes. I know that there is a trip counter on some of the Ram trucks, and I think you get it when the brake controller is added. At the end of the day that is probably the only thing I really need.