So what about 4WD Auto?

[Biggfoot44]

Details? I no longer do my own work, technical obsolescence and age, but have some reliable places to get work done. I am in the process of getting this new to me truck set up the way I want it.

40 years ago , used to wrench on everything for fun . Maybe after l pull the plug and have leisure time again , do a little again .

But nowadays, l have a reliable , honest and reasonably competent guy ( as long as l do the complicated diagnostics myself ) . And any time l would take off to wrench , would correspond to losing 8hrs of OT pay , offsetting much of the savings of doing myself .

 

[Biggfoot44]

You can shift to 4WD Auto from 2WD while in motion under 55 MPH. I rarely do it but try to anticipate conditions and start where I need to be, or shift when stopped.

In my first snow period since getting the '17 , l put into 4 Auto before putting into gear , but would shift 4Auto > 2wd on the fly .

 

[Biggfoot44]

Options you never imagined and now can't do without!

I still miss crank windows ..

 

[Wild one]

Back in the day ( mid '70s ) , my relative ( Dad's second cousin ) , used to herd cattle on his ranch in WY , with his '70 Ford LTD . His observation was to the effect of " It's got positraction and snow tires , it will go anywhere " .

In my formative years , cut my teeth off reading with a couple of 2WD pickups . Decent ground clearance, use gnarly rear tires , and don't get stupid in bottomless mud bogs , and they could otherwise do 95% plus of what 4WD could do . ( Made up numbers, but very close & illustrative. )

You WILL learn how to spot your line , and make use of vehicle momentum . But you have to pay attention, and think about what you're doing , instead of being in a daze , and using 4WD as a crutch .

( Insert tales of stock XJs and ZJ , on Jeep Trails that conventional wisdom thought needed a lifted CJ .)

But meanwhile, back at my new to me '17 Ram ?

I'm confident on what l * could * do . But it's newer & nicer than l usually buy , with no signs of having seen dirt in its first 8 years . And , Gasp ! , loan payments for the first time in my life !

So it will be treated gently for foreseeable future , with just the snow , maybe mild forestry road .

Don't be scared to be a bit aggressive,the hemi's not an engine that likes to be drove gently.You don't have to be stupid,but it doesn't hurt to run it up to 3,000+ on the shifts,use the shift buttons on the steering wheel to manually upshift it,if you don't want to be aggressive with the skinny pedal. The camshaft and lifters are issues,and they only get oil from the oil flung off the crankshaft,the more rpm the crank sees,the more oil that makes it onto the cam lobes and lifter roller

 

[Biggfoot44]

Don't be scared to be a bit aggressive,the hemi's not an engine that likes to be drove gently.You don't have to be stupid,but it doesn't hurt to run it up to 3,000+ on the shifts,use the shift buttons on the steering wheel to manually upshift it,if you don't want to be aggressive with the skinny pedal. The camshaft and lifters are issues,and they only get oil from the oil flung off the crankshaft,the more rpm the crank sees,the more oil that makes it onto the cam lobes and lifter roller

Gently , so far as serious off road .

On pavement, drive it " normal, average " .

 

[Magfan2]

Used to having 2 rides, now just the new truck. My second 5.7 Hemi, as my screen name might suggest. I am not going to baby it, but I can't afford to break it. Fastest so far, 80 and low change. I was a lot more heavy footed, not to mention younger in my Magnum R/T. Despite that I had that car since I bought it new in '05, no engine work, and it would still do what I wanted when I wanted it to 120 or better, when I sold it.

 

[Wild one]

Used to having 2 rides, now just the new truck. My second 5.7 Hemi, as my screen name might suggest. I am not going to baby it, but I can't afford to break it. Fastest so far, 80 and low change. I was a lot more heavy footed, not to mention younger in my Magnum R/T. Despite that I had that car since I bought it new in '05, no engine work, and it would still do what I wanted when I wanted it to 120 or better, when I sold it.

The earlier 5.7's and 6.1's didn't have the cam/lifter issues like the 09 and later VVT 5.7's/6.4's have.The cam was closer to the crank in the earlier engines,and didn't have a VVT oil passage blocking alot of the crank splash.The earlier engines had issues with dropping valve seats,they fixed that issue,but created another issue when they redesigned the block for VVT