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22 Ram 5500 reviews

Pressure_welder

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So figured id throw together a bit of a review of the new truck, so far a massive 2500KM on the clock sorry if this gets a bit rambly but thought id share my thoughts from my point of view on a truck of this calibur. Finally got the welding bed installed, and the equipment on ready for work. Just waiting on custom drawer stacks for the toolboxes so as of right now its just small shelves in there. So i would say for the most part other than maybe 300lbs of tools the bed is fully outfitted for work. I havent weighed the truck yet, ill do that next week at the mine have some buckets to do, but i would guestimate in that 12-12,500lb range.

The truck itself coming from my last ram which was a 2015 limited dually to this the improvements are exponential.... wow is all i can say. Seats are super comfortable as ive come to expect with ram, the LED headlights on this laramie are extremely good from factory as well as the fog lights, and i love that cool feature when you turn the steering wheel it lights up the direction youre going. The heated seats and steering wheel are almost too warm which is excellent to get into when working in -35. The rubber floor i also extremely good, i was expecting it to be very industrial feeling like my previous trucks at the generating stations i worked at but the vynil flooring has a very nice cushion feel to it, and seems to melt snow very quickly, and stays plyable in the cold, glad i went with this option. The center console iam still getting used to, i am not sure weather i like it being open at the bottom yet or not but still lots of storage. The u-connect 5 is like having a iphone in your vehicle, the options seem endless in there and i am still learning. Back seat is spacious as i expected, kinda miss the infloor storage boots but not the end of the world. These laramie seats are quite nice as well, plush, and soft. But i must say..... just smiply cant beat the smell of the seats i had in my limited dually. All in all interior/exterior wise Ram hit it out of the park as far as i an concerned. I really dont have a ton of cons at this moment. The pearl white i LOVE! very easy to keep clean, and a classy color.

5500 aspects..... So of course driving it around from the dealership for 2 weeks without a bed was rather frustrating " at times ". ride quality was awful but not always! but i mean what can you expect really without a bed. I will say after bed installation the truck started to behave far better, after the welder and affiliated tools were installed it behaved better yet. I may be stretching just a bit but i would say based on experience the ride quality now would almost equal that of my unloaded 2015 ram limited dually, which to me was perfectly acceptable. Its no half ton of course though. My biggest concern with this purchase was ride quality in relation to a daily driver/family vehicle. So far i can say with the weight i am carrying it provides a perfectly adequate ride experience. Wifes durango is down in the shop so we have a 2500KM round trip to the inlaws for christmas this year so the truck will get to stretch her legs a bit so that may be a bit of a better test. The cabin though, i think makes the ride experience far superior than say maybe its predecessors. I actually just finished a 600KM round trip yesterday picking up the new sled from dealer, driving main highways the thing behaved as well as a cadillac. I would almost venture to say my father inlaws 22 - 3/4 ton AT4 short box duramax is rougher, that thing is brutal. The one thing i do notice is with the wide track front end it does search a bit on highways that are well worn from semis, at times it gets pretty bad with the truck figuring out which slot in the road it wants to fall into. But in all reality this is not a big deal, thats a small price to pay for such an excellent turning radius, wow! amazing. So i knew going in that this truck would obviously be a few points worse on fuel mileage than my previous 1 ton duallies, and that is accurate. For example yesterday my 600KM round trip i found the range of the truck to be quite good with this tank, i was able to get back to the house with just a touch over 1/2 tank, so i forsee roughly 1100km ish per tank. Yesterday was relatively ideal highway driving conditions, sunny, -20, and basically no wind. I seemed to average roughly 13-14mpg for the trip, at close to 13,000lbs with the sled in the back i feel that is perfectly reasonable, my 1 ton wouldve got maybe 15-18mpg. Ive heard that mileage seems to improve after that 4000km point but well see. We live about 20 min by highway on a lake from our "city" if you want to call it that 50,000 people, so about 40 min a day is hwy driving the rest is slower in town driving, idling due to cold weather etc and my average mpg is sitting at about 11mpg. So as a practical daily driver its maybe not the BEST choice in vehicles but when combined into a work/family truck i think it works out in the wash. Honestly i dont think going to a 4500 wouldve provided a much better ride either, i have maybe 5-6000lbs of payload left on this 5500 which is just about perfect when we hook up to our loaded gooseneck or fifth wheel. It leaves me a nice cushion of 2000lbs which i always like to have for that "overkill" scenario. Pulled our gooseneck once with our skid steer which comes in just over 18,000lbs. Can i say that holyyyy **** did i ever miss pulling with a cummins. The previous 19 duramax i had the exhaust brake was awful, i am not even sure why they put it in there its all computer controlled and the TRUCK decides when you need it. The exhaust brake on this cummins.... when you let off the throttle its there instantly BOOM throwing you in your seat. I cant say enough about cummins exhaust brakes, it was the same with my 15. Pulling this load with the 5500 vs my 19 gmc dually is night and day and more from a cummins/duramax perspective than anything. I did notice the superior braking power of the 5500 though and it felt far more planted to the ground. oh!!! another super positive that i was concerned about.... the infamous dead pedal which i had on my 2015 ram..... pull out to pass someone and the truck dosent go anywhere, i was oh so glad to find out, directly out from the dealership parking lot that this truck has no dead pedal. I guess lastly would be power, i drive around like a grandpa as it is so these high hp diesel trucks are sort of lost on me, but yes my 19 gmc with 445hp did have more get up and go, but even this 5500 with 360 has pleanty to pass, and get upto highway speed with a load, if your concerned about the detuned portion of this vehicle during purchase i dont think id put much thought into it unless your into racing from stop lights. One thing that i was actually quite suprised with was the height of this 5500, i parked my 19 gmc dually beside it when i got to the dealer and i swear it was minimum 4-5" taller. Without running boards it was a bit of a jump for me to get into. I like height! the extra clearance for mine work is AWESOME! my 19 gmc was a dozer at times. awful. OH! for anyone curious!!! the off road option atleast when i ordered as the michelin xds2 tires, which is a quality tire which is generally never offered from factory. Just finished hunting season last week and the truck did fantastic driving through 6" of snow without 4x4 to get my buck. Also seem to be quite good on ice. I also have experienced ZERO issues with drive tires on all 4 corners, truck reacts completely normal, only thing is maybe a little bit of extra road noise which is negligible. Highly recommend if considering this option!!!
 

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Pressure_welder

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Part 2


so for my list of cons, which i really have to work for, because everything needs a con this is what ive come up with.

- Mileage, i knew going in, that it wouldnt be stellar. I think if i had the option from factory id go to a 4:10 on the 5500 next time, although in reality how much would that gain a person vs 4.44s 1-2mpg? i think its just the nature of the beast. And in reality compared to a 1 ton dually its maybe 2-3 points worse. But the extra capability i feel makes up for it.

- Ride quality, Yep! its not awesome, and i think for my situation i am lucky because my welding bed setup is relatively heavy along with the affiliated equipment. I think if you were to put on a regular flat bed or a cookie cutter skirted bed and run around unloaded all the time it would be a far worse ride. Keldermen or liquid spring is always an option, however for me that would be a 15,000$ touch not even installed which is just not even in the cards unfortunately. Generally i trade off trucks every 3 years so that investment would not be terribly cost effective.

- Lack of spot to put spare tire, well this is still streching for things but ill throw it in there. Due to the big 55 gal? tank i think it is, no room for spare under the truck which is unfortunate but unavoidable i guess. I was debating putting it in the typical location on headache rack but i feel that would make " THIS " truck look goofy. I did it to my old 5.9 welding truck but it was fitting. Going to have to figure out some form of spare tire mount on the deck somewhere.

- Dealer/ordering experience. Given the current situation of the world i felt my order time was perfectly acceptable, i think i was basically just at 5 months and change. Dealer experience was good to start with, but their lack of experience with HD trucks really shone through in the end. I had specifically asked for backup camera and truck didnt come with one, and dealership basically said oops our bad thought that "group" had it, not a huge deal, ill order one wiring is there for it. Showed up to the dealership one day early as per sales persons request asked if everything was done for pickup and was assured it was. I showed up and truck was not safetied, no flaps, or running boards, window stickers in windows, and blue paint marker from factory all over it from i assume marking parts as "tight or done". So after a minor freak out they were rushing around to complete everything. Numbers DID change over those 5 months on me, while not drastically they still changed which put a bad taste in my mouth, changed by 10$ bi weekly. Again NOT bad but iam an old school hand shake stick to your word kinda guy. Will i ever order from them again? nope! When i am spending 100k everything needs to be spot on, and if there are mistakes its not fixed on my dime. Now onto the Ram side of things, i feel its unreasonable for Ram not to have a Ram tracker option for canadians, its EXTREMELY difficult to get updates of progress on truck, dealer is not that much better. Ram actually said my truck didnt even exist for months, and yet i was getting real time updates from another forum.


In conclusion, i am likely not the best person to take advise from on this particular truck to influence another purchase, but take it for what you can. I would call this 5500 a fully outfitted, luxury-ish? work truck that is a daily driver and family vehicle. My two young boys ride almost daily with me in it, and seem to love the " big truck" as 2.5 yr old calls it. 85% of my miles on this truck will be unloaded miles. But the truck will always have a fully outfitted welding bed to which i am estimating to be just over 4000lbs well find out this week. To date, i am extremely happy with my purchase and i think it will provide alot of trouble free..... DOT stress free miles. The fact i dont have to be concerned about payload anymore is a massive weight off my shoulders no pun intended. In reality a 4500 would have worked, but for the extra 1000$ and the opinons from this forum going to a 5500 was the most logical decision. Unfortunately my welding bed setup takes me out of 1 ton dually world if i ever want to tow a trailer. Would i buy another 5500 down the road? its likely to early to tell for that, well throw some miles on with the family and get their reacation ride wise. The one way 12hr road trip to the inlaws in the north at Christmas will be an excellent test..... 900 km of not bad highway, and 300km of gravel. For anyone considering a purchase like this, i would tell them not to be concerned like i was! ride quality was tamed drastically with an appropriate load in the back, cab and interior is well.... un rivaled in my opinion, and the capability of the truck is un-rivaled.
 

Pressure_welder

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Thanks! Hope to not touch another bed build for a long time lol. And cmonnnn…. Theres a 350 pipe pro under that cover it seems to work ok! Hahah. Actually used to be a lincoln guy through and through, last one was a vantage 400, but iam a jackfish….. the shiney spoon was the pipe pro on the dealer floor lol
 

ASAND400

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I appreciate your thorough review and truck looks great! Stinks dealer didn't stick your agreed upon price.
 

Blythkd1

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Nice truck. What's the bed? I have nearly the same truck in a 3500 chassis cab and had a bed similar to yours in the past but when I ordered this truck, the bed builder told me something like 8-10 months so I found a more basic bed to work for now. I still haven't ordered a good bed.
 

Pressure_welder

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Nice truck. What's the bed? I have nearly the same truck in a 3500 chassis cab and had a bed similar to yours in the past but when I ordered this truck, the bed builder told me something like 8-10 months so I found a more basic bed to work for now. I still haven't ordered a good bed.
Thankyou! I have a welding business shop/mobile so i built it myself. I used to do custom bed builds for customers, western hauler, specific welding beds/skids, oilfield hiab beds, c500 kenny oil rig mover beds. sorta got out of it as time has gone on. Dont take this the wrong way but a majority of your cookie cutter beds are absolute junk CM, northstar, to name a few. used to do installs for customers as well for these beds…. The only thing square on them is the reciever tube, coatings are no better than rattle can, and when CM started using black silicone to hide joints that werent welded i stopped installing cookie cutter beds. Its a niche market, alot of people dont want to pay 20,000+ for a quality bed. Goto rival or ace manufacturing and youll pay 30g for a welding bed…. But itll out last your career lol.

The only quality big name brand ive seen is bradford built!
 

Blythkd1

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I hear ya on the cookie cutter beds quality. Ironic you mentioned Bradford Built, that's what the bed on my truck is now, as well as the nice skirted four corner box bed that was on my last good flatbed truck. They're built in Kansas just a couple hundred miles from me. My only complaint on the nice bed was the boxes, they're a little small and they leak. I haven't found a bed yet that's renowned for maintaining dry boxes though. I got compliments on that skirted bed from coast to coast. I was a little bummed out to find they went from the radiused fender skirt to one they fab from flat pieces. Its flat on top with angled pieces on the front and back. I liked the rounded look much better. I think next time I call them I'll ask if they'll do the old style skirts as a special order.

I've actually considered building my own bed but after having a couple of Bradford beds, I think I'd really miss the powder coat. Their finish stands up very well over time. I guess it's about time to call and check out their leadtime again.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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Been thinking about building a bed for the shop truck but i think the only way i can make that work is if i get jt hot dipped. Even the powder coated beds only last a few years before getting rusty
 

Pressure_welder

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Yes Bradford seems to do a good job, for a production bed anyway. Atleast they dont cut corners and actually weld them…. The welding is a bit to be desired but far better than CM. The few welds that are actuLly on a CM are either missing the joint or full of porosity.

Hellsniper- hot dip would be a good idea, not sure on cost though? I deal with a local powder coater that does high end work for custom cars etc he told me there are different options for tougher powders to stand up a little better to road afflictions. Unfortunately when i needed to coat my bed he was instling his new 14 x 30 oven. So i had to settle for epoxy coating, and armour guard on the deck…. Basically a higher end linex coating. The epoxy is already chipping on the front tapered sections where the clearance lights are. Debating just getting the rest sprayed with armour guard.

So long winded response, but linex is also a great option for bed coatings! I did my 40ft gooseneck about 12 years ago and zero chips, just maybe a little faded if anything
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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Yes Bradford seems to do a good job, for a production bed anyway. Atleast they dont cut corners and actually weld them…. The welding is a bit to be desired but far better than CM. The few welds that are actuLly on a CM are either missing the joint or full of porosity.

Hellsniper- hot dip would be a good idea, not sure on cost though? I deal with a local powder coater that does high end work for custom cars etc he told me there are different options for tougher powders to stand up a little better to road afflictions. Unfortunately when i needed to coat my bed he was instling his new 14 x 30 oven. So i had to settle for epoxy coating, and armour guard on the deck…. Basically a higher end linex coating. The epoxy is already chipping on the front tapered sections where the clearance lights are. Debating just getting the rest sprayed with armour guard.

So long winded response, but linex is also a great option for bed coatings! I did my 40ft gooseneck about 12 years ago and zero chips, just maybe a little faded if anything
Line x is heavy though a great coating we had a truck done it was 5500$ and added 500lbs.

I just sent a 30ft GN for hot dip it was 2500$ worth every penny even with the slight added weight the wait time sucks though usually a 2-3 week turn around as they are so busy

Epoxy is good too but not a lifetime coating either
 

Pressure_welder

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Line x is heavy though a great coating we had a truck done it was 5500$ and added 500lbs.

I just sent a 30ft GN for hot dip it was 2500$ worth every penny even with the slight added weight the wait time sucks though usually a 2-3 week turn around as they are so busy

Epoxy is good too but not a lifetime coating either
Yea epoxy certainly wasnt my first choice but sorta had to getter done situation. Interesting numbers on the galv cheaper than i figured!
 

Jacob

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Sweet rig and bed. I built a simple flat bed and it was a lot of work. I think the 5500 is great with all the weight that is on there all the time.
 

Blythkd1

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Wow, I had no idea you could get something that large hot dipped. And I agree, the pride is not as high as I would have guessed.

Never thought about linex. I'd actually welcome some extra ballast on the back of a dually. I've always been able to tell when my 85 gallon transfer tank was full and appreciated it.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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Wow, I had no idea you could get something that large hot dipped. And I agree, the pride is not as high as I would have guessed.

Never thought about linex. I'd actually welcome some extra ballast on the back of a dually. I've always been able to tell when my 85 gallon transfer tank was full and appreciated it.
All depends on the size of the tank for dipping, one facility we use has a 70ft x 20ft tank they can dip just about anything
 

Pressure_welder

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Found another con! This god awful 3 beeps the truck gives you when you get out and shut the door while its running. I understand the warning but come on! From what i can tell you cant disable it in settings. Still learning wo i could be wrong. Certainly not helpful during hunting season when it slips your mind!
 

AH64ID

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Found another con! This god awful 3 beeps the truck gives you when you get out and shut the door while its running. I understand the warning but come on! From what i can tell you cant disable it in settings. Still learning wo i could be wrong. Certainly not helpful during hunting season when it slips your mind!

It can't be disabled and it's excessivly annoying.
 

Blythkd1

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There's a whole other thread on that 3 beep crap. Last I knew there was supposedly a tuner working on it but it wasn't ready yet. Seems to be some mixed signals on what can or may be done in the future and the status of said fixes.

As far as I know all you can do is leave a fob in the truck. That's what I've been doing when I want to leave my truck running when I'm out on the road.

My fix might not be that popular but if Ram asked me for one suggestion, I would tell them to give us a key again. They could shove that push button where the sun don't shine.
 

Pressure_welder

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Ya i dont understand it none of my previous rams did it. They only beeped once when you locked it while running. For me anyway having key fob/push button start since 2015 i came to take it for granted. When i had that 19 gmc drw denali for 6 months while i waited for this 5500 that was one of my biggest pet peeves was going back to a keyed ignition, not being able to leave the truck running and locked while i go in to get kids for daycare etc. hated the keys!

The only time i had issues was on my 17 eco diesel half ton i had for commuting, batteries died in fob but just needed to hold fob close to button and it started. That eco diesel was a brutal winter starting vehicle
 

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