Should I buy Ram?

[Elkman]

Quite simple - if you want the most reliable truck get a Toyota Tundra. Toyota has not changed the basics on this truck since it was introduced in 2007. If you want something with better fuel economy and not bad in terms of reliability buy a Chevy Silverado 1500. If you want the truck with the worst reliability then buy a Ford. Ram falls in between the Ford and the Chevy trucks in terms of reliability and manufacturer and dealer support.

I want as much range as possible on a tank of gas for traveling out in the boondocks. Chevy trucks only come with a 26 gallon fuel tank which took them off my list. Toyota Tundras provide the lowest miles per gallon but have a very large fuel tank (also available as an option on Ram and Ford trucks). Problem with the Ram pickups is that to get the larger tank I need to special order the truck. Dealers in my area are getting even Rebels with the small gas tank - go figure.

There are various customer complaint websites for vehicles and with the Ram it was not unusual to find something like this:

“My husband and I purchased a 2018 RAM 1500 SLT 4X4 the last week of May. BRAND NEW! Very first day brought it home, the gear became stuck in park. Would not budge. The vehicle did however get in drive the next morning to take it to the dealership, and became stuck in park again once there. The RAM company said they would send the part... ONE MONTH later the part arrived at the dealership. The truck still will not shift into any gears. Informed the customer service person at RAM and they are looking into the matter.”

What bothers me when reading something like this is that not only is the dealer not responding, which is to be expected, but Ram itself is not responding either so one cannot shop dealers to find one that is half-way decent with respect to customer service.

All the bells and whistles become unimportant if I am stuck out in the boonies or have my truck sitting for weeks at the dealers or I have to go in to have the same problem fixed multiple times or I do not trust the truck for a long trip.

 

[DA Smith]

I converted the other way. I had two 2016 Ecodiesels that were just turds. One was in the shop 27 out of 30 days. Electrical and engines. Rep came in and told me how the cow ate the cabbage. I told him I drive 70k+ a year and if their trucks can't hold up to that, he stopped me. Said he was going to put me into a hemi Limited to replace my ecodiesel Limited and about 20k cash difference for the 30k miles. Told him I was going to drive a Ford. Dealer laughed and I walked out, drove to the Ford dealership and bought a Platinum F150. Just a side note, the cover and bed slider moved from the Ram to the Ford. Put 40k on that one and bought a King Ranch. Ford has it won when it comes to a luxury pickup. Ecoboost and 22mpg. Came with Michelins. Ram would have to work real hard to convert me back. I wish they could make a truck that would go 30k and not explode when being driven at highway speeds.

That's strange , I also drove many miles per year before I retired in 2016. I had a 2010 Ram 1500 crew cab, a 2012 and a 2013 Limited all with Hemi engines and put well over 100 k on each one with absolutely no issues of any kind with any of them. Only thing done to them was regular oil changes and one new fuel filter each along with a couple of sets of tires on each truck due to miles. I purchased a 2015 echo diesel Laramie crew cab put 70 k on it before retirement in 2016 and just traded it in on a new 2019 1500 Laramie crew cab Sport with the 4x4 off road package and the Hemi. When I traded the echo diesel in back in December 2018 it had 94 k on it and had never had any issue of any kind what so ever only regular maintenance. I only have 5k on my new Ram and no issues so far. I will say that the mpg of the echo diesel was unbelievable with 24 mpg everyday combined city and highway while getting 30 mpg on the highway at 75- 80 mph. For me there's nothing out there other than a Ram because in almost 1/2 million miles I've had zero issues. Just wish my new Ram 4x4 with 392 gears would do better tha 16 MPD LOL !

 

[Kukailimoku]

I just rented a Chevy for two weeks for a business travel, the mission included daily trips of 40 miles highway and daily trips of 10 miles off road and a few moments of 4*4 necessary.

Granted, it was a rental so rpobably a low-end trim, but my opinion of the experience is:

Chevy sux.

 

[runamuck]

I traded a loaded 2017 gmc sierra 4x4 ccsb slt for my 2019 ram. the sierra was a great truck but the 5.3 with 3.42 rear end, struggled to pull my travel trailer. the new gm and ford trucks have pretty much all the same mechanicals but cost more so the best option for me was a ram with a 5.7 hemi and 3.92 gears. tows better and handles better and the cost was several thousand less. too early to tell how it will last but I notice that when we tow our trailer somewhere, there are usually more ram trucks there than the other brands.

 

[Lucy Girl]

Be happy buy a Ram. Forget the other ones and don’t look back.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Only reason I don't have a Coyote powered F150 is because Ram exists

Don't wanna support Government Motors at all, though I don't have any experience with the **** either

 

[tomb]

ive had fords and chevys-always pick-ups--no nightmare stories with either---but when I got my Bighorn it was like driving a Cadillac. The ride is very smooth over any surface-the power of the Hemi is undeniable-interior well set-up-hell ive slept in the back seat when fishing-in a quad cab to boot. I just think they look much "cooler" and are very easy to get an emotional attachment to. I cant wait to give my sweet babe a bath this weekend LOL!!! No this is not a ****** thing-but its close.

 

[slacadjuster]

Currently owner of my second F150; it’s a 2018 F150 Platinum that has been nothing but trouble. Don’t get me wrong - it’s great when it’s working. But Ive been annoyed with the number of issues I had right out of the gate. Brake booster was bad and alert came on while driving home from dealer. Several visits later they replaced the booster; truck was in shop 3+ weeks. NO Freon from factor; 4th visit - replaced condenser and leaking line. Paint defect - repainted driver’s side front quarter panel. Vacuum system issues - replaced check valve (I have a nice YouTube video where I mounted the camera under the hood looking at the IWE actuators recording the awful noise of them trying to engage 4WD while vehicle at speed due to drop in vacuum pressure), and now the twin panel moonroof is a noisy, rattling mess.

I test drove a 2019 Ram Limited last Saturday and liked it. Since then I’ve been researching and joined this forum to get some opinions. I know (from experience, as you can see) no truck is perfect. I poked around the forum here and see some issues with new vehicles and I just don’t wanna go through that again. I assume the vast majority of these trucks are just fine.

I noticed the Ram doesn’t have a few features my F150 has but they’re not deal breakers. No power steering wheel adjuster, no fancy tailgate step, no massaging seats (they really are kind of nice) and cannot activate the front camera when pulling forward into a spot - I use that frequenty in tight spots to make sure I’m good. But the Ram has front sensors and they may suffice. A few other differences - driving modes on the F150 but not on Ram - no biggie; 36 gallon tank but can get 33 on Ram.

I can tell you without doubt that the HK 19-speaker sound system on the Ram blows away the F150 B&O system. There’s simply no comparison. The Ram seats and upholstery were great - very comfortable. Visibility was not a concern; I didn’t notice any blind spots or any difficulty with the A pillars. Ram has adaptive cruise - my favorite feature on the F150. Plenty of sensors and technology - all good on the Ram. Back seat was comfortable and spacious and had ventilation - something I don’t have on the F150. The under seat storage was better on Ram and that little storage box under the mat would be a great place to hold tie downs. Overall the interior and tech was very impressive.

Ram Limited has adaptive headlights- something I enjoyed on the two BMWs I owned; I’d welcome them back. I tow a Polaris RZR XP Turbo S - on a 12’ Trailer. Not much weight but tow capacity and features matter to me. I think Ram has me covered there.

Does Ram disable the ride height adjusters when towing? I would think so because lowering or raising the truck height could screw up the trailer linkage and tongue weight management.

Does the big sunroof on the Ram rattle a lot? I like the sunroof on the F150 but the rattle just drives me nuts. You can relate if you’ve ever had a vehicle that makes a noise you know isn’t normal - and it grates on you over time.

I think I’d be giving up gas mileage (ecoboost gets 21 mpg highway when not towing) - not sure what you’re all getting and I don’t know if ride height lowering and cylinder deactivation boost mpg.

I realize this is getting a bit long winded - I’m just hoping to hear from others that have switched to Ram from Ford or Chevy/GMC. Or maybe advice and comments on some of my comparisons here or other things I’ve overlooked.


My Ram is a 2015, bought it brand new. 44,000 completely trouble free miles. Love my Hemi Ram. Best truck ever.
Kind regards - BuxKA2

 

[Irish.]

I had tacomas, dodge daktoa, ford and chevy before ever own a full size dodge ram. my brother had few dodge deisel back in 95. Last truck I had was 2015 GMC half ton with 5.3. went great until last year at 64k miles PAST the warr coverage for lifter valve on pass side. I had that fix for 1500 bucks. SO Last month, the lifter valves on driver side, two of them died on me. SO I got rid the POS GMC . Got the trademen model ram. very happy camper here. I wont touch the ford. GMC and Chevy disgrace me( was born in a chevy) totoya is ok but I dont like the tacoma new engine.. its sucks. I havent look back since the ram I got.. very little issues..

 

[Mckisback]

I have a new 2019 Longhorn and love it. There have been two recalls. By the way, you can activate camera when parking. I do it all the time.
I think the message seats were more uncomfortable to sit in when not in use. Ford is not what it use to be, I too was a ford person and Ram won me over.

 

[tomb]

most who have chimed in have 2018-2019 Rams-you want to talk to those owners that have 5-10yr old Rams. I would expect rave reviews from any brand of truck that's new.

 

[JoeCo]

most who have chimed in have 2018-2019 Rams-you want to talk to those owners that have 5-10yr old Rams. I would expect rave reviews from any brand of truck that's new.

That's a great point, same thing I notice with tire shopping. Lots of "just got these tires yesterday and so far their awesome!"....well I'd hope so after only a day. Got to find those 30-40-50k reviews.

 

[RamBlade]

I noticed the Ram doesn’t have a few features my F150 has but they’re not deal breakers. No power steering wheel adjuster, no fancy tailgate step, no massaging seats (they really are kind of nice) and cannot activate the front camera when pulling forward into a spot - I use that frequenty in tight spots to make sure I’m good. But the Ram has front sensors and they may suffice. A few other differences - driving modes on the F150 but not on Ram - no biggie; 36 gallon tank but can get 33 on Ram.

Your statement about the front camera isn’t accurate. I have a 19 Ram 1500 Limited with the 19-speaker HK system, 12” U-Connect display, and surround camera system. You can turn the front camera and surround system on for parking. I have the app button as one of my programmable buttons at the bottom of the screen. I turn mine on all the time to help with parking.

Also, I don’t know about the automatic raise/lowering being disabled while towing, but I can tell you that this truck rides amazing with the air suspension. Multiple people have commented to me that it doesn’t ride like a truck at all.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FoothillsFixIt]

I had 8 F-150s, starting with a ‘97 XLT and ending with a ‘16 King Ranch. Lease was coming up, so I started looking at new F-150s. You’d think having been a very loyal Ford customer for over 20 years, the sales consultant at the local Ford dealer would have had a little interest in a return customer, but I could hardly get him, or a consultant at another dealer, give me the time of day. So, I started doing a little research online and saw the 2019 Ram 1500 beat out both Ford & GMC.

I went to GMC, and had a very pleasant sales consultant take me on a test drive in a new Denali. It was a nice enough truck, but just had a little too much Chevy in it. So then I went to the local Ram dealer.

For starters, my guy at Ram treated me absolutely great! He totally got that I’d been a very loyal Ford guy, and took the time to understand what I liked about my F-150s. And he did not bad mouth Ford (can’t say the same thing about the Ford guy when talking about the Ram). Then he showed me a 2019 1500 Limited. I was blown away by the interior design & comfort from the start, and loved the way it drove on the test drive.

I use my truck for work in my handyman business. So while I like a comfortable truck, function is first and foremost. The storage on the Ram is far superior to the F-150, and I absolutely love the Rambox system. As others have mentioned, MPG is inferior to the 3.5 eco boost, but the 5.7 Hemi just feels SO MUCH BETTER! Plus, I only drive about 10,000 miles per year, so MPG is not that big a deal to me. I do wish I’d gotten the 33 gallon tank (last Ford had 36 gallon), but the 12” uconnect screen makes it easy to accept having to fill up a little more often.

In a nutshell, this former “Ford for life” guy is very, very happy to have made the move to Ram.

 

[Elkman]

The most trouble free trucks are the Toyota's and I have put more than 170,000 miles on each of 5 Tacoma 4WD trucks and never did anything other than scheduled maintenance on any of them. When I sold them they had no gear whine or play in the transmission linkage or the steering.

The trucks with the most reported problems are the ones from Ford and Ram and I expect with the new Jeep pickup it too will not be all that reliable. What bothers me is how many customers are having problems getting warranty repairs made with stonewalling by the manufacturers and by the dealers. I understand that the bulk of a dealer's profits come from selling parts and making repairs but they are taking much too far.

Part of the problem is that more gadgets are being added to vehicles and so there is more to go wrong. My first truck had no radio and no heater and no air conditioner and no power steering or power brakes (much less ABS) and no airbags and no power windows and no emissions controls. A lot less could go wrong and the only real problem was the damage done by leaded gas to the engine components.

There is in part an unreasonable expectation that because one spends more than $50,000 for a pickup that it should be a reliable vehicle while ignoring all the "extras" that are in the truck. The reality is the bare bone base model pickup is going to be more reliable. Even something as minor as tow mirrors have been a problem and for a time General Motors went to ones that did not power extend as this feature was responsible for most of the mirror failures. I like this approach overall and have learned that the more powered devices on a vehicle the more likely I will be spending time at the dealer getting something fixed.

 

[autumnwalker]

TL;DR.

I have a 2015 1500. Based on my experience with this truck I will not buy another FCA product. Electronics issues (gauge cluster, stereo), transmission issues (un-acknowledged by dealer), had to rebuild the rear parking brake (completely ceased despite daily use - my own dime, over $1k!), headlight surrounds bubbling / pealing, rear brake pads de-laminated after one year. It's not a well built vehicle.

For what it's worth, I'm currently driving a (brand new) Dodge Grand Caravan as a loner while the dealership puts the third gauge cluster into my truck. This is attempt six at getting it right (the other three were "software updates"). Based also on the Caravan, I wouldn't buy another FCA product. Engine is awful - not enough torque, transmission is rough, shifts hard, constantly hunting for the right gear. I can hear the windshield flexing / creaking in the frame, the road noise is unbelievable. It's junk.

 

[jackham]

"Ford has it won when it comes to a luxury pickup. Ecoboost and 22mpg. "


What are your stats before I question your facts. ie what rear end, where do you live, type of highway, 4X4, etc. And no, Ford has very nice luxury, but not RAM 2019 Laramie Longhorn air suspension luxury. Just...no.

 

[barr0208]

I converted the other way. I had two 2016 Ecodiesels that were just turds. One was in the shop 27 out of 30 days. Electrical and engines. Rep came in and told me how the cow ate the cabbage. I told him I drive 70k+ a year and if their trucks can't hold up to that, he stopped me. Said he was going to put me into a hemi Limited to replace my ecodiesel Limited and about 20k cash difference for the 30k miles. Told him I was going to drive a Ford. Dealer laughed and I walked out, drove to the Ford dealership and bought a Platinum F150. Just a side note, the cover and bed slider moved from the Ram to the Ford. Put 40k on that one and bought a King Ranch. Ford has it won when it comes to a luxury pickup. Ecoboost and 22mpg. Came with Michelins. Ram would have to work real hard to convert me back. I wish they could make a truck that would go 30k and not explode when being driven at highway speeds.

may I ask why you are on the ram forums then lol.

 

[barr0208]

I had a 2010 Laramie almost 5 years either than the hemi tick and the rear axle recall no problems.

 

[AARCH]

I'm a three week F150 convert. I had a '17 F150 Platinum with no issues whatsoever. However, I loved the new look of the '19 Ram Limited, so I test drove one and LOVED it. The Ram experience is second to none! There's something special about the drive, interior layout and quality of materials, the technology, and the overall look. Every time I park it somewhere, I turn and look back because it's such a spectacular looking truck. I look for ways to run errands around town just so I can take my truck. I've never been that way with a vehicle. Seems like every time I drive it, I discover something different I didn't know before. BTW, I will with the Billet Silver Metallic. Silver is just such a handsome look on a truck! Hope you decide to join the ranks my friend.