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Discussion of what made you choose Ram

JohnandDonna said:
If you want a big cab then check out the Ram MegaCab. You can get it on the 2500 or 3500.
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The MC wasn’t an option for me in the Tradesman unfortunately. I sat in a MC but didn’t feel like I got more legroom up front. Still love my truck and believe it’s a superior product.
 
Frank said:
Something that blows my mind on those Range Rovers. 7700 lbs towing capacity...but max tongue weight in the 400 lbs range. Can't use a WDH on most of them either.
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No it’s 770 or 10%. But we need more!
 
For the most part, I have always owned Ford trucks. Dad is a Ford guy so I just automatically carried on the tradition. When it was time to get a 3/4 ton back in October, I decided I would take a look at all 3 brands. I liked the look of the Ram but was still skeptical based on past reputation. People have badmouthed Dodge/Ram for a long time but I stuck to my guns and compared them all. When it came down to it, Ram was the best truck for the best price. After owning it for a few months now, I am very happy with my purchase. I enjoy driving my truck again! There is nothing like putting your foot in it and hearing the 6.4L Hemi come to life. Here are my 4 main reasons for purchasing my Ram.

1. Looks: It just looks badass, like a truck should. Hopefully they don't soften the look in the future.
2. Interior quality/comfort: The fit, finish, and comfort is easily the best IMO.
3. Ride quality: Honestly, I think my HD has just as good, if not better ride than the 2016 F150 I traded in. I was quite surprised by how well it rides.
4. Price: I was able to get everything I wanted (and even a bit more) without breaking the bank. A comparably equipped F250 would have cost me at least 5K more.
 
As others have said, it fits in my garbage. A shame the others are getting so big. Guess I’ll need to build a bigger gagrage.

Glad I have it. Fit and finish is really good, drives really well, lighting is good, and it is comfortable. Drove 2 hours last night in ice, drifting snow and overall crap conditions and it drove fantastic considering the conditions.
 
Had been a chevy guy my whole life. Needed a new truck so I started looking around and neighbor had a Toyota Tundra. Bought and fell in love with the tundra for four years. Decided to get out of the big semi and start hotshotting. Only real way to go was a full blown 3500. So went and test drove one. ended up taking it home that night. Love this thing. Toyota seems to have more modifications and companies that make stuff. But really enjoying the ram and will never go back to a gasser.
 
*cracks knuckles* This is a bit long but why not share.

Been into diesel trucks for a long long time. Next door neighbors had them growing up, always thought big rigs were cool, etc. I just never had the money or justification to buy one. Fast forward to the ripe ole age of 32, worked hard to build the start of my career, bought a house for the wife and kid, put some cash in the bank and 401k and started talking to the wife about getting a TT/5th and finally had an excuse to move from a 1500 to a HD with a diesel. I'll admit, I didn't even try towing anything with my old 1500 beyond jetskis and a light boat but it was just the excuse I wanted, not needed.

Family has been split between Ford/Chevy for a long time. I always liked both but never had Ram anything, owned a jeep I loved though. I decided to test drive the Ford, GMC and RAM. Here is my personal list.

GMC
  • Looked nice but hard to get 37s under it without jacking it to the sky.
  • I liked the function of the bumper/side steps to get into the bed but hated the look. Overall the truck just looked a bit too busy.
  • Even in the AT4 trim I feel like the truck is a bit more blingy than I like.
  • Interior was somehow worse than the previous generation. I just couldn't get over how ugly and oddly laid out everything was.
  • IFS front suspension isn't great. I understand it may ride a bit better but I just hate everything involved with it.
Ford
  • Really like the look of the new super dutys. They look bold without having a ton of add on stuff like GM
  • Engine and trans felt great during the test drive, hear they are holding up really well too
  • Full panel sunroof is amazing
  • I loved the layout of the buttons and switches
  • Interior had a ton of room
  • Can stuff seriously large tires under it
  • That engine bay is cramped! I don't have the time much anymore with a young kid and working a ton to work on my own stuff but I like the idea that if I need to replace something in the engine I can do it in the driveway rather than have to lift the whole cab off the truck.
  • Interior just felt cheap on a lot of parts. I don't understand why all Fords interior plastics feel like cheap plastic while GM/Ram feel nice and warm
  • The aluminum body was a positive and negative. I've heard the early year trucks had issues with paint and corrosion but they seem to have addressed it. That said, the tear strength on aluminum is garbage. I figured if I backed into something or scraped something off road I wanted something I could potentially fix or ignore vs having it sheer half my bed off
RAM
  • First and foremost the Cummins. I've never owned one but just the reliability you hear about these things, and the sound of them, is amazing. Always wanted to rep the cummins so that's a large part of it
  • I think the truck looks the best of the big three. Ford is a close second, and I like little parts of it better, but overall the 5th gen RAM is just the best.
  • Interior felt great. I felt like it had a good amount of room, although backseats could be a bit more compared to the Ford. Quality of everything just looked and felt right
  • Engine layout and engine bay makes DIY stuff possible.
  • Cost was another factor. I would have spent 20k more to get the Ford how I wanted it (admittedly with a few more features) than the RAM. Sure trade in may be a little worse but the only way I seem myself trading in is if I somehow find the 2500 not cutting it and need the leaf rear. Airbags should get me well within where I need to be though
  • Super tiny thing but the black headliner. I love how the interior headliner is black on my truck. At the time to get it in the Ford I would have had to step up to a Platinum and that just seemed silly for a stupid black headliner.
I'm sure there is some other stuff I'm missing but overall I'm pretty impressed. There are def a few things "behind the curtain" that I'm not a fan of for the RAM. I keep tightening the shifter but it keeps coming loose, AC in the summer is trash, vented seats are also pretty trash, sunvisors somehow keep disconnecting from their little snaps, and opening the mirror on the visor requires you have tiny little girl hands, not to mention the CP4. I know a few of these things have fixes which I'll have done when I drop her off for the first oil change/service. Overall I'm hoping for a long relationship with her.
 
500k 5.9 said:
Prior to 2000 I owned nothing but Ford and GM. You couldn't get me in a Dodge if you have one to me back then. But I was wrong. I thought people were kidding when they would say a body will fall off a dodge before the Cummins quit. Finally had a deal I couldn't pass up and have never looked back. My kids had medical needs growing up and I needed a vehicle I knew would start and get us to a hospital no matter hell or high water. The other brands I've had in the past were good but not quite as reassuring as the Cummins. Plus, like h3lzsn1p3er said, six in a row ready to tow.
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I had a 1992 D250 12 valve CTD. The truck had transmission replaced 2 times, rear differential replaced 3 times, front differential once, heater core 2 times, numerous other things, and rusted body out with large holes.

The old 12 Cummins just kept on going, only repairs were valve adjustments every 250,000 Kms, replaced the injections once, and cold weather timing advance sensor every few years ($50 and two minutes to replace).

It is a Million mile motor in a hundred thousand mile truck. I got rid of it at 715,000 Kms, and that 12 valve CTD still ran like new and was a strong as the day I bought it. Sold for $6,000 not bad considering I paid $14,000 for it in 1993 with 45,000 Kms on it.
1992, D250, club cab, LE, loaded (top of the line in its day).
This truck sold me on dodge and was my frist dodge, on my 4th dodge (Ram) now. Before buying the 1992 CTD I owned a few fords, 2 GMCs, and a Toyota this was the most reliable truck I ever owned, never had a single repair except oil changes, and replacing tires and brakes when they wore out, needed a bigger truck and traded it for a new ford. This was my last Ford what a piece of S*^# it was. Only had the ford for one year and got the 1992 12 valve CTD, only Ram trucks ever since.
 
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First truck was a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT QCSB w/4.7L. 2nd was a 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab w/5.7L. Upgraded to a 2016 Ram 2500 Laramie CCSB w/6.7L. My current is a 2019 Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab w/6.7L. Love the exterior and interior styling, interior quality, size of the mega cab for the family, and of course the CTD.
 
Xflight29 said:
Only Ford and GM guys feel the need to place poor judgement on Rams reputation. Enjoy your new Ram.
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I judged Ram based on owning a 99 that was a piece of garbage. And my wife had an 02 Wrangler that was Chrysler-fied and also a piece of garbage. But it's a totally different company today.
 
UglyViking said:
*cracks knuckles* This is a bit long but why not share.

Been into diesel trucks for a long long time. Next door neighbors had them growing up, always thought big rigs were cool, etc. I just never had the money or justification to buy one. Fast forward to the ripe ole age of 32, worked hard to build the start of my career, bought a house for the wife and kid, put some cash in the bank and 401k and started talking to the wife about getting a TT/5th and finally had an excuse to move from a 1500 to a HD with a diesel. I'll admit, I didn't even try towing anything with my old 1500 beyond jetskis and a light boat but it was just the excuse I wanted, not needed.

Family has been split between Ford/Chevy for a long time. I always liked both but never had Ram anything, owned a jeep I loved though. I decided to test drive the Ford, GMC and RAM. Here is my personal list.

GMC
  • Looked nice but hard to get 37s under it without jacking it to the sky.
  • I liked the function of the bumper/side steps to get into the bed but hated the look. Overall the truck just looked a bit too busy.
  • Even in the AT4 trim I feel like the truck is a bit more blingy than I like.
  • Interior was somehow worse than the previous generation. I just couldn't get over how ugly and oddly laid out everything was.
  • IFS front suspension isn't great. I understand it may ride a bit better but I just hate everything involved with it.
Ford
  • Really like the look of the new super dutys. They look bold without having a ton of add on stuff like GM
  • Engine and trans felt great during the test drive, hear they are holding up really well too
  • Full panel sunroof is amazing
  • I loved the layout of the buttons and switches
  • Interior had a ton of room
  • Can stuff seriously large tires under it
  • That engine bay is cramped! I don't have the time much anymore with a young kid and working a ton to work on my own stuff but I like the idea that if I need to replace something in the engine I can do it in the driveway rather than have to lift the whole cab off the truck.
  • Interior just felt cheap on a lot of parts. I don't understand why all Fords interior plastics feel like cheap plastic while GM/Ram feel nice and warm
  • The aluminum body was a positive and negative. I've heard the early year trucks had issues with paint and corrosion but they seem to have addressed it. That said, the tear strength on aluminum is garbage. I figured if I backed into something or scraped something off road I wanted something I could potentially fix or ignore vs having it sheer half my bed off
RAM
  • First and foremost the Cummins. I've never owned one but just the reliability you hear about these things, and the sound of them, is amazing. Always wanted to rep the cummins so that's a large part of it
  • I think the truck looks the best of the big three. Ford is a close second, and I like little parts of it better, but overall the 5th gen RAM is just the best.
  • Interior felt great. I felt like it had a good amount of room, although backseats could be a bit more compared to the Ford. Quality of everything just looked and felt right
  • Engine layout and engine bay makes DIY stuff possible.
  • Cost was another factor. I would have spent 20k more to get the Ford how I wanted it (admittedly with a few more features) than the RAM. Sure trade in may be a little worse but the only way I seem myself trading in is if I somehow find the 2500 not cutting it and need the leaf rear. Airbags should get me well within where I need to be though
  • Super tiny thing but the black headliner. I love how the interior headliner is black on my truck. At the time to get it in the Ford I would have had to step up to a Platinum and that just seemed silly for a stupid black headliner.
I'm sure there is some other stuff I'm missing but overall I'm pretty impressed. There are def a few things "behind the curtain" that I'm not a fan of for the RAM. I keep tightening the shifter but it keeps coming loose, AC in the summer is trash, vented seats are also pretty trash, sunvisors somehow keep disconnecting from their little snaps, and opening the mirror on the visor requires you have tiny little girl hands, not to mention the CP4. I know a few of these things have fixes which I'll have done when I drop her off for the first oil change/service. Overall I'm hoping for a long relationship with her.
Click to expand...
Really a good summary that aligned with many of my findings. Looks are a personal thing, and for me the RAM exterior is the least appealing of the big 3 (except for Chevrolet - not sure what they were thinking). I really liked the GMC but even with Denali trim the interior was way below what RAM and Ford offered. I thought the GMC rode the best unloaded - but again, ride comfort is subjective. GMC also scared me with their continued use of wax coated frames. That just does not work well for those of us in the salt belt. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the RAM was shorter than both the Ford and GMC and the only one that fit in my garage. Also, I believe Cummins is the gold standard among diesel offerings from these 3 companies.

In the end, I don't think there are any bad choices between the 3 manufactures. They all are good trucks. Times are different now, and you don't stay in business if you're producing a product that is inferior to the others.
 
Always had GM trucks until 2014 and the Eco, now in this Cummins and am loving it. Had two Duramaxes early on, (02, 04).
 
Had a 05 GMC Duramax that I really had good luck with. Had it for 10 years with no issues. Did the few mods including tuner and delete and it has plenty of power for pulling my toy hauler. Sold it several years back and it was time to get back into a diesel. Looked at Fords and Rams, didn’t want a Duramax this go around. After looking at them both went with the Ram mainly because it didn’t have the CP4 and I get more for my money. I also think the interior looks better while the Fords I was looking at felt more like a work truck.
 
I had a 1997 and 2001 Dodge RAM and had problems with both. I thought I would never own another Dodge. I've had mostly Fords (5). Never had a GM. Summer of 2019 I had to have my work truck towed (Chevy) for a bad starter. The company rented me a 2020 F150 Lariat and to be honest I was not impressed. The interior was about the same as my 2010 F150 and my wife's Murano seemed to have much more technology. Right when the pandemic hit she brought her Murano to the dealership for an oil change. While I was there I was busy checking out the 2020 Nissan Titan on the floor and that's when it started. After a good hard look at the Titan HD on the web I was leaning toward a GMC Sierra. Not sure why I started looking at RAMs but the more I saw the more I liked. I plan to retire at the end of this year, and since I am superstitious about buying another RAM built in an odd year we decided to pull the trigger instead of waiting until 2022. After and extensive nation-wide search by my dealer and I there was nothing available with everything I wanted in my choice of color. The build was approved by FCA on August 10th. I was reluctant to order another truck (I ordered my '97) due to the agonizing wait the last time, but they promised me a 6-7 week delivery. After several frustrating revised delivery dates for various reasons I finally took delivery on December 1st. I absolutely love this truck. Has everything I want and nothing I don't. I have less the 3000 miles on it but so far I have had no issues what-so-ever.

As a side note the main reason for the delay is the local dealership that I had done business with in the past was under new ownership. He finally confessed he had exceeded his credit limit with FCA and they wouldn't release any more vehicles to him until he could afford to pay for them. Buyer beware. It was worth the wait though.
 
I'll add my .02
I'm a collision repair technician...but im the guy who gets all the train wrecks and all the aluminum trucks due to certifications and what have you.
With that being said, I love working on the aluminum ford's! They make me a good paycheck, but if people actually saw how those trucks are assembled, the repair procedures from Ford, and all of the other aluminum associated processes and issues, you might also look a little closer....plus aluminum truck are wavy as heck. Go look down the side of a dark color aluminum ford, it's so wavy from how the aluminum stamps.

Not going to get started on my opinions of GM, so thats what led me to buy my 2021 3500 ho Ram. Lol.
 
My first new truck was a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 ST with 4.7L with a 6 speed manual transmission. It has been rode hard and put up wet A LOT and towed above it's limits A LOT , all without hardly any maintenance. I mean i did oil changes every 6k and brakes every 100k, maybe 3 set of plugs, 1 clutch, 1 set front wheel bearing and changed all the rear axle bearing and seals. Considering what input that truck through thats not a lot. After 12 years and 300k miles when I decided to go for a diesel

I was already committed to Ram but I looked and play with the builds of the Ford and GM, $$$$ of those builds made me not even test drive one. I knew people with 2500 HD with Cummins so I heard of their longevity. I went to the local dealer placed an order for a '21 like I wanted and 8 weeks later it was delivered, happy happy.
 
At the time I bought my 2016 it was price/value for the dollar and the mega cab. Now, Ram is right up there with Ford and Chevy price wise so who knows what I'll get next time around?


/
 
I've always owned GM's until a couple days ago. I traded my late model Silverado 2500HD on a 2021 Ram 2500 Laramie. Here are the main things I liked that made me want to try a Ram:
1. I think the front end on them is good looking.
2. Cummins. I like the feel, sound, and familiarity of the inline 6 diesel, as opposed to the V8 diesels. A lot of the construction and farm equipment I work around also has Cummins power.
3. Interior quality. I felt like this is an area that GM's didn't do enough on their new trucks.
4. Center console with the bucket seats. It is just really nice with the 2 lids and sliding middle level.
5. Ride quality. The coil suspension, in my opinion, rides quite a bit better than my GM with snow plow springs did.
6. Shorter length overall, and narrower width at the mirrors. This is much easier to fit into the garage. The GM's and Fords are almost a foot longer due to longer cab and beds so I could never leave my trailer hitch on, plus I always had to fold the mirrors in on my silverado to get through the door.

All that being said, there are lots of Pros and Cons back and forth between the brands, and I agree with some of the others who've said they all make good trucks in their own ways.
 
I can’t get over Fords fugly rear fenders on the duallies. That and the ease of which the aluminum tears, among several other gripes. I can never park a Chevy in my driveway.
 
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