Traded '14 5.7 on '17 EcoDiesel

[Typetwelve]

So...long story short, my local dealership landed 15 2017 1500 crew cab ecodiesel trucks in the Big Horn package. Right off the bat, they had a sticker of $52,*** and they were all marked to $37,***.

My former truck was a 2014 Express with the black package (bought Feb of 2104), here's a short rundown of the features:

Quad cab, 5.7L, 6spd trans, 4x4, anti-slip, 3.55 rear
"Black" package at the time included LED lamps, projector headlights, 5.0 -w- backup cam, no "1500" emblems, black wheels.

Here's what I got a few weeks ago:

Crew Cab, 3.0L EcoDiesel, 3.55 rear, anti-slip
typical Big Horn package, heated seats/wheel package

After 4 years of driving the '14...here's my observations:

Exterior:
-I'll admit it...I'm not a chrome guy. I think my '14 was overall better looking. I'm happy with the actual metal bumpers...but chrome just isn't my bag.

-Illuminated side mirrors are really nice.

-I really do not understand the purpose of the LED bed lighting...maybe I will some day, but I lived without it for 4 years and never once wish I had it.

-The power fold mirrors may be handy some day, but I haven't needed that feature yet.

-I can't believe I'm saying this, but the stock headlights are better than those horrible "projector" lamps my '14 had...well at least for STD lights. The high beams on the projectors were WAY better, but I didn't use those often. I was always surprised at how crappy the projectors were on my '14.

-I can already tell that this one is going to be FAR easier to keep clean(er) looking (see color below). That black truck showed everything.

Interior:
-Giving up 7" of bed space to get the Crew cab was worth it...that extra room makes a far larger difference than I thought it would.

-Most the of the Big Horn interior additions I can take/leave. I know the Express interior is rather spartan, but I cannot recall it ever bothering me. The additional center console is ok...but not 100% needed. Going from the 5.0 to the 8.0 screen is nice, I'll say that.

-Heated seats are freaking nice, I'll admit it.

-The gauge cluster in the BH is WAY better than the stocker in my express. I have to say, it really is that much nicer. I didn't think I'd care much about it...but I do.

-I despise the rotary knob gear selector vs my standard pull down column shifter on my '14. That dial just plain sucks, I don't 100% know why, but I do not like it at all.

Performance:
-The trucks really are night/day. My 5.7L had some serious get-go...the ED just does not. I had to learn to drive my 5.7 properly so I wasn't constantly hammering passengers necks, or laying a patch of rubber. I'm going to have to completely re-train myself to drive the ED, I have been consistently under throttle'ing the thing and I need to have a heavier foot with it. I'll say there is noticeable turbo lag, it is what it is.

-It's already making a significant difference in fuel consumption. I'll say that I don't drive a ton, but my winter 12mpg 5.7 was consuming 25-30 gallons a week...the ED sucked down 15 gallons and that's with helping a friend move all day Sat.

-The ED is COLD BLOODED. I know, diesel engines don't like cold weather. It takes some serious time for that fella to get up to proper temp when the temp is cold outside.

-The engine sounds super cool. I love the sound of a diesel truck, I just do. For the most part, this things sounds great. The turbo isn't the loudest due to the stock intake, and the exhaust is very tame. I jokingly said that I feel all "biggg-riggggsss" when driving the thing.

-I had to learn what DEF is, and the proper place to get it. Perhaps I'll change my idea on this later, but I don't see the big deal here. Fill it up every 4-5000 miles, it will set you back a whopping $30.

-The stock tires are still total crap. I actually made the dealership transfer my Toyo Open Country tires form my 2014...but I had to drive on the stockers for 2 days. They are mushy, miserable tires.


Anyway...pics:

My 2014:


...the 2017:




All-in-all...I do like this truck much more than my '14...I'll admit it.

 

[KSH]

I had an eco, loved it. Great fuel economy driving and towing.

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[JPT]

If you have a tonneau cover, the bed lights are nice. I don't have them, and it makes it impossible to see what's in my bed at night (I keep boxes with my stuff in them).

 

[MADDOG]

Congrats on the new truck.

 

[OzCop]

I did practically the same thing...Traded in my 2014 Longhorn 4 WD for a 2017 Laramie Ecodiesel 4 WD. It's funny, when I test drove the ED Laramie, I never noticed the difference in amenities between the two models. My Longhorn had the two tone interior and the white/white gold exterior, and the new truck is white exterior with black interior. I did notice the lack of leather odor that still adorned the 3 year old truck, but never realized the difference in the seating surfaces. The new truck has the two mirrors, but no electronic folding, the Longhorn had standard mirrors which folded easily from the driver seat with the push of a button. Mainly, I never noticed the difference in the dash display and set up. The sales guy was kind of weak in explaining the differences. When I asked, all he mentioned was no sunroof, which was obvious to me since my Longhorn had one. The other difference was the custom side steps that come color keyed with the Longhorn, but a straight, chrome unit with the Laramie.

There were a few other subtle differences such as custom floor mats and seat saddle bag covers behind the front seat, but the price of this new truck with Ecodiesel was the best I had seen at this particular dealer, or any dealer in the DFW Metroplex. Sticker price on the new truck was just under 58K, and they had several Laramie Ecodiesels, all 4 WD, all marked down to 42,150. I found that hard to turn down, especially since they were giving me almost retail for my trade in at 33 K. So while I may have traded down a couple of thousand dollars overall, I got the new truck for just over 8 K difference.

I drove the new truck to Hopkinsville, KY a week after purchase, and was a bit disappointed with fuel mileage the first tankful, netting 24.2 MPG. Second tank was a bit better by a couple of tenths, but coming back, with well over a thousand miles on the odo, I logged a best of 27.2, so I think as it "breaks in" the fuel mileage will continue to improve, both highway and local driving. I now have 2300 miles on it, and love the truck, but do miss a few of those amenities I gave up. It has been parked in my garage for about 10 days and I am anxious to get it out for another highway trip...

 

[TruckNut]

...Traded in my 2014 Longhorn 4 WD for a 2017 Laramie Ecodiesel 4 WD. It's funny, when I test drove the ED Laramie, I never noticed the difference in amenities between the two models. My Longhorn had the two tone interior and the white/white gold exterior, and the new truck is white exterior with black interior. I did notice the lack of leather odor that still adorned the 3 year old truck, but never realized the difference in the seating surfaces.....

I drove a new Longhorn.....the seats smelled good enough to eat. Baseball glove thick leather. I have the Sport with leather, and the Laramie has virtually the same seat cover....thinner and much less aromatic. But, you got a helluva deal on that ECO and I bet your resale will remain strong.

 

[bruce219]

I'll agree with you about the projectors,I had the regular ones on mine and switched to projectors with hids,low beams suck,high beams are top class.

 

[kukufixer]

Congratulations on the ED!

Use the folding mirrors when going through a fast food drive through. Allows you to get closer to the store window especially in bad weather.

Get the GDE (Green Diesel Engineering) tune and it will eliminate the turbo lag and give better fuel mileage. It also turns off the EGR which is so much better for the motor. Check out the youtube videos of soot in the intake from the EGR.

Rotary shifter, well, it is what it is. The shift by wire rather than direct linkage has given the designers and engineers more options. Interesting is some of the 50s cars had push button shift on the dash, such as the Plymouth. So maybe the rotary is a bit retro.

 

[Ratket]

A pedal commander will really help with the “ sluggish feel” off the line.

If you guys are getting 27mpg out of ur 1/2 ton ED”s, I would think you would be tickled, cause regardless of what the manufactures or EPA mileage ratings say they can achieve” wich can only be achieved by like 10% of owners” 27 is damn good.

 

[crash68]

-The ED is COLD BLOODED. I know, diesel engines don't like cold weather. It takes some serious time for that fella to get up to proper temp when the temp is cold outside.

-The engine sounds super cool. I love the sound of a diesel truck, I just do. For the most part, this things sounds great. The turbo isn't the loudest due to the stock intake, and the exhaust is very tame. I jokingly said that I feel all "biggg-riggggsss" when driving the thing.

-I had to learn what DEF is, and the proper place to get it. Perhaps I'll change my idea on this later, but I don't see the big deal here. Fill it up every 4-5000 miles, it will set you back a whopping $30.

Get a winter front cover for it, make a big difference on warm up times. Using the block heater to pre-warm the truck helps also. (All EcoDiesel engines have the block heater installed, you may just need to buy the cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I8VLF2/ ).
A full tank of DEF should go a little further than 4000-5000 unless your towing. You should be closer to 10K unless your towing/hauling on the heavy side. The trucks do seem burn through the first tank of DEF quicker. Although I haven't read about the DEF usage from owners on the 17's yet.

 

[GsRAM]

Congrats! Looks good !

 

[duunoit]

-I despise the rotary knob gear selector vs my standard pull down column shifter on my '14. That dial just plain sucks, I don't 100% know why, but I do not like it at all.

-I had to learn what DEF is, and the proper place to get it. Perhaps I'll change my idea on this later, but I don't see the big deal here. Fill it up every 4-5000 miles, it will set you back a whopping $30.

It took me a bit to get used to the rotary shift as well after driving trucks with the column shift for years, but now I like it pretty well.

As for the DEF, mine wasn't filled up from the dealer. I've put a total of 14.795 gallons in for 21k miles. Truck stop fill ups are cheap at $2.70/gal.

 

[Rkimbrell]

Walmart sells Supertech DEF for a little under $8 for 2.5 gallon jug. I used it in 2015 for over 70k miles and no issues at all.

 

[demort71]

Hope you like the new diesel truck. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, so shouldn't be a huge surprise there.

Tires suck? Nothing new for OEM tires. However, you can replace OEM tires with ones you think are going to be great and they suck worse. That's why I read the reviews in places like Tire Rack before I choose a replacement set.

No doubt any tires you had on your Rams are far superior to those on the truck at left. LOL That's a Maxwell made 100 years ago. Chain drive transmission on it. A motorized wagon with a steering wheel is what it was. That truck belonged to my great grandfather, his first motor vehicle. In this picture he was in the process of installing a rocking chair in the bed for granny I believe! LOL He still had several mules, horses, wagons, a buggy and two steam engines when this picture was taken. He continued to use all of those until he passed away in the 1940s.

Anyone who knows anything about vehicles could have told you black shows dirt. Looks cool clean, but it shows dirt. No brainer there. Your gray truck is a good choice for not showing dirt. Lesson-don't buy black vehicles unless you don't care what it looks like or enjoy cleaning it to keep it beautiful. LOL

The Hemi is a great gas powered engine. I have had 3 of them. Two in trucks and one in a Charger R/T. All 5.7L Hemi. Loved all of them. The eco diesel is a good engine too from what I hear and meets most people's needs for economy and light towing. But it's a dog compared to the Hemi, also no surprise. If you had chosen the 4.7L V8 they used to make, that would have been a bad trade off IMO. Gas mileage is the same or worse and they don't tow heavy loads like a 5.7L. Only advantage to the 4.7L was they used 87 octane.

The operation of the headlights and some of the other little options, I can't comment on. No experience, but it's not as important as some of the other differences you mentioned.

Good luck with your new truck and enjoy!

 

[Cardhu]

-The ED is COLD BLOODED. I know, diesel engines don't like cold weather. It takes some serious time for that fella to get up to proper temp when the temp is cold outside.

Get the GDE (Green Diesel Engineering) tune and it will eliminate the turbo lag and give better fuel mileage. It also turns off the EGR which is so much better for the motor. Check out the youtube videos of soot in the intake from the EGR.

GDE also has a high idle option to offset the heat loss and speed up warming the cab. Block heater prequisite and a winter front couldn't hurt depending on your climate.
http://www.greendieselengineering.com/jforum/posts/list/195.page

Good call on swapping tires. Eventually you'll get used to the dial shifter.

 

[Podcast]

I recently just traded my '13 Hemi 6 speed on a '17 Ecodiesel 8 speed. So far there have been pros and cons. Miss the highway passing power however I will be getting a GDE tune to help with that which will put it much more inline with my old Hemi. Love the gas mileage though and it has helped save me $200/month with my daily work commutes.

I'll add my 2 cents on your comments:

-I'm not a chrome guy either but the metal bumpers are much nicer. My dad just bought his '17 Express and backed his old truck into his new truck with only 200 miles on it and caused $1,500 worth of damage. Had he gotten the metal bumpers it likely would have barely caused any damage or at least any damage that actually needed repairs. He had to get the Express fixed since a fog light was hanging and the bumper was flapping in the wind.

-I almost got the tow mirrors on the new truck but glad I got the folding mirrors. I use them all the time-parking at work, parking at stores, sometime parking in the 2 car garage when the wife decided to park half way on my side, car washes(especially those that require you fold in mirrors), etc. You'll find it useful.

-LED lighting is awesome as mentioned with a bed cover or topper, I didn't have this on my '13 and it's nice on my '17.

-Hated my black truck and keeping it clean. Scratches and any minor paint issues showed up light spot lights.

-Love the CC too, worth the 7" of bed space lost.

-I wish they had a BH model w/o the center console available, could use the middle seat occasionally with the kids.

-Heated seats and wheel are nice!

-I really miss my center console shifter, used to rest my hand on it as I drove and I have historically owned stick shifts however I love the storage room now and have gotten used to the knob.

-Took some getting used to the lack of initial power from a stop. Takes a bit to get used to but soon coming is the GDE tune that will take care of it.

-ED cold blooded, ya but I haven't had any no start issues or other concerns. My ride to work is 30 minutes and everything is at operating temp less than half way to work with single digit temps and that's not using the block heater.

Good stuff and thanks for posting your thoughts.

 

[Typetwelve]

Here I am almost 1 month in (and just under 500 miles)...if anyone cares, I thought I'd add/change a few things:

(interior/exterior)
-The looks have grown on me, I no longer mind the chrome.
-The paint color hides dirt/salt pretty well
-The Big Horn package is WAY nicer than my Express was interior feature wise...not a day has gone by that I'm loving the different interior features.

(Motor/trans)
-Love 4WD auto...set and forget, so much easier than my '14.

-The ED is performing well...but I'll admit that I'm still getting used to it. With the temps turning back to total garbage (negative temps overnight, hasn't been over freezing in days nor will it be anytime soon), my mpg has plummeted to 15. It's just too damn cold, and my morning drive is too short, I barely broke 25% on the engine temp gauge and might touch a coolant temp of 140. It is what it is, and the weather won't be like this much longer.

-Dodge can suck a fat one for not putting a block heater cord on the stupid thing...I have one on order, I'll be installing it soon. I am happy to say that it has started every time, even after sitting outside all night in negative temps (I don't have a garage for it).

-I gramps around in the thing much more, like I said before, it's just not nearly as "fast" as my '14. If I want it to scoot, I need to make it do it (which it will), but it requires a heavy foot. My '14 never felt "heavy" when I was driving it, this one does.

-I'm finally getting used to that stupid trans dial.


Lastly, someone mentioned that no matter where you go, some buffoon will be blocking the only diesel pump...and they're right. 10 open gas pumps...some moron blocking the only diesel pump.

 

[duunoit]

Lastly, someone mentioned that no matter where you go, some buffoon will be blocking the only diesel pump...and they're right. 10 open gas pumps...some moron blocking the only diesel pump.

this is true...

 

[cuminslvr]

One of the things that I noticed on mine was the lag off the line. I think it has more to do with pedal by wire than turbo lag. I got the pedal commander installed last week, and I run it on a city setting +3 and the lag is gone. Look it up or do some searched on it here on this site. It was 270 bucks. Well worth it. Mine came with the adjusting grill and also a cover for it when it gets really cold. Id be happy if I don't need to use the block heater. I'd need to get the cable and then play contortionist to get it installed.

 

[pgr1990]

I did the opposite. Went from a ‘15 eco diesel to an ‘18 5.7.

If you’re doing a LOT of driving I recommend the ecodiesel the fuel economy is insane. If you want more power all around and the nice growl of a v8 go for the 5.7

Both have their perks for sure!

Also, if you have any powertrain issues remember the parts have to be ordered from Europe as the ecodiesel has a VM motori engine and can take some time for parts to be shipped over the pond, while the hemi parts can be had within 24 hours.


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