I know there are a couple of these threads, but every person has different preferences and I definitely could have used more real world user opinions than YouTube reviewers going on dealer test drives. I've put about 1500 miles on and at this point the excitement of a new truck has worn off enough for an objective look at whether this is everything I wanted it to be.
This is a long post so in summary, I love the truck and would absolutely go through the order process again, but it's not perfect and I do have a couple of complaints.
Prior vehicle: 2017 Wrangler Rubicon
Other vehicles considered: Ram 1500, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500 gas and diesel, Ram 2500 diesel
New vehicle: 2022 Ram 2500 CCSB SRW Longhorn, Hemi
This is my first truck, I didn't graduate up from a half ton so some aspects of truck ownership caught me by surprise. I wanted a truck because I have a race car project and semi often I'll have loads of 1500-2000 lbs between tools, parts, supplies, etc. I was originally looking at the 1500 Ram Longhorn, but their payload is abysmal at about 1000-1200 lbs. With that in mind I opted for the gasser as I do not anticipate pulling a large trailer or anything more than a car plus tools.
Payload: 2920 lbs
Towing: 16650 lbs
Exterior:
In my opinion the truck looks great! I love the Patriot Blue and it goes well with the chrome. The 18" wheels look nice without being flashy and leave enough sidewall for a decent ride. The only thing I'm not really a fan of is the grill. The large horizontal slats are a little odd looking and I think it would be great with a Limited grill swapped in.
From a practical standpoint this truck is TALL. I'm 6'1" and just reaching into the engine bay for the oil fill cap, dipstick, and other maintenance areas is actually a little difficult. I did not order the bed step, I would highly recommend getting it or adding aftermarket as getting in and out of the bed is much easier with the step. Some form of running board or power step would also be a smart idea assuming that you do not intend on going off road. The height also poses an issue with some drive throughs and many parking garages. That was not something I had anticipated until I started looking for parking on the trip back home from MD.
Interior:
Honestly the two tone brown and black leather is a big part of why I went with the Longhorn. The western detailing is a lot and it's not to some people's taste. I was not a fan of the filigree on the standard Longhorn seats or the fake buckles on the seat back pockets. The black/cattle tan does away with the filigree, but the buckles remain and to me they're chintzy. That being said I love how much space there is.
There's a lot of talk about the 5th gen cab being bigger than the currently available 4th gen cab, but for my purposes there is plenty of room. I wish the glove boxes were a little deeper than they are and the pockets along the side of the console are just a c hair too narrow to fit my maglite. The little shelf above the USB outlets is perfect for a pocket flash light and chapstick. With the foam door inserts the driver and front passenger each have 3 cup holders which is more than adequate. The underseat storage in the rear is much shallower than I thought it was, it will not fit a 3 day pack like I was hoping. I currently have one floor bin holding roadside equipment (jumper cables, triangle, etc.), one holding some of my recovery equipment (tow strap, gloves, shackles), and the rest of my recovery equipment under the driver side rear seat (chains, more shackles) and ratchet straps as well. The middle and passenger side have a sub and enclosure which I did not know as the model I test drove was a lower trim. There is space under the seat back and above/behind the storage compartment where you could stash low profile objects like a folded up blanket or a small tool kit, but anything solid like that may move around and no longer be accessible.
Tech:
Although I have a Longhorn, I did not option level 1, safety, or any of the other tech packages. The 8.4" screen seems responsive and I haven't experienced any lag. Some of the vehicle settings could use a better explanation in the setup menu.
I have experienced a rear sensor warning on the dash which I assume is moisture related as it was during a storm. The rain sense wipers suck, they don't go fast enough in hard rain and they take too long to to turn on and off. They also will activate when the windshield is not wet which wears the blades and grinds grit into the glass. The reverse tilt mirrors are unnecessary in my opinion since the spotter mirrors give good visibility along the sides.
Comfort:
The seats are great, I do not experience fatigue on long trips like I did in my Jeep. The ride is good for a truck. It may be because I was already used to a solid front axle and full frame, but I think ride quality complaints are overstated. I have the factory AT tires set to the door jam pressures. The top of the door and the center console lid are a good height to rest elbows while driving. I really think a telescoping wheel would make a huge improvement. I like to sit close to the wheel, but far from the pedals and currently even with the adjustable pedals all the way back this is hard to achieve. The ventilated seats are nice, but I wish they had a stronger fan. The AC sucks. I would rate it as barely adequate in Florida. If parked in the shade or on a long drive it's fine, but if parked in the sun all day it takes a while to cool the cabin. The air could be colder and blow harder.
Driving Feel:
The steering is very heavy, and lacks feedback. It's a truck so this doesn't bother me. The brake feel sucks. This topic has been beaten to death so all I will say is I wish the brakes would bite harder when slowly applying the pedal and not just when braking quickly in a panic stop. That being said in a panic stop they do their job. Tow haul mode really wakes it up around town with the higher shift points and I believe different throttle map (I could be wrong, this is purely seat of the pants feel). The truck is by no means fast, but it's fast enough for a truck. The stock tires are not great, but I think the complaints are overstated unless you drive in muddy conditions regularly or possibly on slick boat ramps. On street in the dry and wet they're fine. I haven't experienced hydroplaning and on some wet corners I've goosed the gas and the tires did spin, but nothing unpredictable. An unloaded truck has no weight in the ass anyway. Turning into inclines like driveways and some parking lots is a bit jarring at certain speeds and I think the Thuren sway bar is on my list of to buy items.
Random observations and pet peeves:
The windshield stays foggy longer than in my past vehicles. One day while driving it went from 0 fog to fully fogged up instantly, but cleared up ok with the defroster on.
The stock Longhorn floor mats look great, but do not have good coverage. I have put in Husky Xact Contour mats which have better coverage and more fluid capacity, but the rubber is thinner feeling and they don't look as nice.
The knob shifter takes up dash space and looks dumb, but it's functional even if I don't like it. I also miss having a lever for the t-case.
The chirping exhaust on the hemis is lound and obnoxious. I can hear it from inside with the windows closed. The stock exhaust is also way too quiet and it really bothers me how crushed the head pipes are going into the factory y pipe. All three issues are remedied with an exhaust job which I will have done as soon as I can find a local shop that can mandrel bend and won't charge an arm and a leg for stainless.
I sometimes hear a power steering squeal when the wheel is about 15 deg from full lock.
The interior accent lighting is nice for finding buttons and latches in the dark.
No lifter tick so far, just did the break in oil change. Speaking of oil changes, 0w40 is expensive and I wish they'd designed with a different weight in mind. And the filter being over front end parts is stupid.
Mpg so far (unloaded) is about 15 cruising 80, about 10 in town, and 12-13 mixed per the computer.
This is a long post so in summary, I love the truck and would absolutely go through the order process again, but it's not perfect and I do have a couple of complaints.
Prior vehicle: 2017 Wrangler Rubicon
Other vehicles considered: Ram 1500, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500 gas and diesel, Ram 2500 diesel
New vehicle: 2022 Ram 2500 CCSB SRW Longhorn, Hemi
This is my first truck, I didn't graduate up from a half ton so some aspects of truck ownership caught me by surprise. I wanted a truck because I have a race car project and semi often I'll have loads of 1500-2000 lbs between tools, parts, supplies, etc. I was originally looking at the 1500 Ram Longhorn, but their payload is abysmal at about 1000-1200 lbs. With that in mind I opted for the gasser as I do not anticipate pulling a large trailer or anything more than a car plus tools.
Payload: 2920 lbs
Towing: 16650 lbs
Exterior:
In my opinion the truck looks great! I love the Patriot Blue and it goes well with the chrome. The 18" wheels look nice without being flashy and leave enough sidewall for a decent ride. The only thing I'm not really a fan of is the grill. The large horizontal slats are a little odd looking and I think it would be great with a Limited grill swapped in.
From a practical standpoint this truck is TALL. I'm 6'1" and just reaching into the engine bay for the oil fill cap, dipstick, and other maintenance areas is actually a little difficult. I did not order the bed step, I would highly recommend getting it or adding aftermarket as getting in and out of the bed is much easier with the step. Some form of running board or power step would also be a smart idea assuming that you do not intend on going off road. The height also poses an issue with some drive throughs and many parking garages. That was not something I had anticipated until I started looking for parking on the trip back home from MD.
Interior:
Honestly the two tone brown and black leather is a big part of why I went with the Longhorn. The western detailing is a lot and it's not to some people's taste. I was not a fan of the filigree on the standard Longhorn seats or the fake buckles on the seat back pockets. The black/cattle tan does away with the filigree, but the buckles remain and to me they're chintzy. That being said I love how much space there is.
There's a lot of talk about the 5th gen cab being bigger than the currently available 4th gen cab, but for my purposes there is plenty of room. I wish the glove boxes were a little deeper than they are and the pockets along the side of the console are just a c hair too narrow to fit my maglite. The little shelf above the USB outlets is perfect for a pocket flash light and chapstick. With the foam door inserts the driver and front passenger each have 3 cup holders which is more than adequate. The underseat storage in the rear is much shallower than I thought it was, it will not fit a 3 day pack like I was hoping. I currently have one floor bin holding roadside equipment (jumper cables, triangle, etc.), one holding some of my recovery equipment (tow strap, gloves, shackles), and the rest of my recovery equipment under the driver side rear seat (chains, more shackles) and ratchet straps as well. The middle and passenger side have a sub and enclosure which I did not know as the model I test drove was a lower trim. There is space under the seat back and above/behind the storage compartment where you could stash low profile objects like a folded up blanket or a small tool kit, but anything solid like that may move around and no longer be accessible.
Tech:
Although I have a Longhorn, I did not option level 1, safety, or any of the other tech packages. The 8.4" screen seems responsive and I haven't experienced any lag. Some of the vehicle settings could use a better explanation in the setup menu.
I have experienced a rear sensor warning on the dash which I assume is moisture related as it was during a storm. The rain sense wipers suck, they don't go fast enough in hard rain and they take too long to to turn on and off. They also will activate when the windshield is not wet which wears the blades and grinds grit into the glass. The reverse tilt mirrors are unnecessary in my opinion since the spotter mirrors give good visibility along the sides.
Comfort:
The seats are great, I do not experience fatigue on long trips like I did in my Jeep. The ride is good for a truck. It may be because I was already used to a solid front axle and full frame, but I think ride quality complaints are overstated. I have the factory AT tires set to the door jam pressures. The top of the door and the center console lid are a good height to rest elbows while driving. I really think a telescoping wheel would make a huge improvement. I like to sit close to the wheel, but far from the pedals and currently even with the adjustable pedals all the way back this is hard to achieve. The ventilated seats are nice, but I wish they had a stronger fan. The AC sucks. I would rate it as barely adequate in Florida. If parked in the shade or on a long drive it's fine, but if parked in the sun all day it takes a while to cool the cabin. The air could be colder and blow harder.
Driving Feel:
The steering is very heavy, and lacks feedback. It's a truck so this doesn't bother me. The brake feel sucks. This topic has been beaten to death so all I will say is I wish the brakes would bite harder when slowly applying the pedal and not just when braking quickly in a panic stop. That being said in a panic stop they do their job. Tow haul mode really wakes it up around town with the higher shift points and I believe different throttle map (I could be wrong, this is purely seat of the pants feel). The truck is by no means fast, but it's fast enough for a truck. The stock tires are not great, but I think the complaints are overstated unless you drive in muddy conditions regularly or possibly on slick boat ramps. On street in the dry and wet they're fine. I haven't experienced hydroplaning and on some wet corners I've goosed the gas and the tires did spin, but nothing unpredictable. An unloaded truck has no weight in the ass anyway. Turning into inclines like driveways and some parking lots is a bit jarring at certain speeds and I think the Thuren sway bar is on my list of to buy items.
Random observations and pet peeves:
The windshield stays foggy longer than in my past vehicles. One day while driving it went from 0 fog to fully fogged up instantly, but cleared up ok with the defroster on.
The stock Longhorn floor mats look great, but do not have good coverage. I have put in Husky Xact Contour mats which have better coverage and more fluid capacity, but the rubber is thinner feeling and they don't look as nice.
The knob shifter takes up dash space and looks dumb, but it's functional even if I don't like it. I also miss having a lever for the t-case.
The chirping exhaust on the hemis is lound and obnoxious. I can hear it from inside with the windows closed. The stock exhaust is also way too quiet and it really bothers me how crushed the head pipes are going into the factory y pipe. All three issues are remedied with an exhaust job which I will have done as soon as I can find a local shop that can mandrel bend and won't charge an arm and a leg for stainless.
I sometimes hear a power steering squeal when the wheel is about 15 deg from full lock.
The interior accent lighting is nice for finding buttons and latches in the dark.
No lifter tick so far, just did the break in oil change. Speaking of oil changes, 0w40 is expensive and I wish they'd designed with a different weight in mind. And the filter being over front end parts is stupid.
Mpg so far (unloaded) is about 15 cruising 80, about 10 in town, and 12-13 mixed per the computer.
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