I doubt there will be any Cummins engine changes before 2028-2029. Those require lengthy road testing and market socialization and we’ve seen nothing of the sort in the rumor mill, so we are probably several years away from new Cummins engines. New 8 speed transmission is my guess as to the most substantive power train change we’ll see for 4-5 years. A truck company is never going to surprise its conservative buyers with a potentially controversial new engine without years of runway to get the market primed for it.
If I were looking at a 2024 Limited HD, I might think about waiting to see if a 2025 Tungsten HD comes out, and/or the other new features such as totally keyless operation, self-driving capabilities, etc. as promised for the 2025 1500 Tungsten. But if you aren’t going for a top-level trim then the only substantive change you might expect to miss out on would be a new transmission, which rumors suggest would be a ZF heavy duty 8 speed. I have 150,000 miles on ZF’s light duty 8-speed across my Land Rover LR4 and 2022 1500. It’s an excellent transmission—smooth, usually crisp, and reliable. The big advantage of an 8 speed is the ~10% fuel economy gain it would surely offer. If you don’t care about the absolute smoothest shifts or 10% in fuel savings, then you’re probably not missing anything by having a 6-speed today.
I traded in my 2022 1500 Limited EcoDiesel and bought a 2024 3500 Limited which just got delivered today, in fact. I would’ve waited for a 2025 3500, but I needed the 3500 NOW for summer and spring towing plans. I could not wait. If a Tungsten with an 8-speed is offered for 2025, I might make a quick upgrade, in 9-12 months, though. The Tungsten has great features for heavy road trippers and tech early adopters like me.
One huge surprise was the 10% off MSRP on 2024 models RAM gave HD buyers in December. Not sure if that’s still going on but I saved an extra $10,000 on my truck I didn’t expect to. That was great news for ordering last October and closing the deal December 26.