22 Ram 5500 reviews

[Pressure_welder]

Yea, i suppose a smart guy wouldve kept the 5.9, even though the "dodge" around it was what was falling apart and costing me a small fortune. Deleting is entirely possible, but such a huge gamble with losing warranty, parts are just unreal expensive. But in reality, a delete would've paid for itself about a literal 5x in this last 2 weeks between lost wages and vehicle rental. At the end of the day id be completely if ram just covered my vehicle rental as i understand things break down. While its a premature statment, the vibe i got today, is it will be a tooth and nail fight to even have them cover the vehicle rental. I am a reasonable person, and call me crazy but i do expect there to be SOME shoulder to lean on when you spend 100k+ on a truck and it dosent perform. especially when it breaks down with less than 10,000km.

did the math at coffee break today, and after vehicle rental and lost income, iam right at about 15,500$ lost since the 27th. That will include the remainder of this week simply because i was removed from the contract i was on. Fun and games.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Its like that for all brands. My calls to ram cares Canada have been the same they are useless and are reading from a script with no intention of helping anyone…

Delete it and do not look back you will still have a warranty but not on some parts. The emissions is the biggest issue so you wont likely need warranty anyway once it breathes better

 

[Pressure_welder]

I think ill probably give it the 3 strikes and your out mentality, if the emissions gives me trouble twice more all of its gone, got pricing today from my buddy who owns a big performance diesel shop on deletes. I thought your entire power train warranty was void if you deleted? Engine/Driveline.

And yes as of right now, i would agree with your helz, my experience with ram care thus far was condescending, and dismissive. Well see if the "escalation" process yields anything.

 

[jsalbre]

I make certain to reserve it for pretty serious situations (like this one) but I've found a snail-mail letter to the division (RAM) CEO, with CC to your selling dealerships owner tends to work out pretty well.

 

[Pressure_welder]

Figured id give another review now winter seems to be over! just a touch over 12,000km on the truck now. All in all, i am still incredibly happy with the rig so far it serves as a great welding platform for me, nice to get into a truck with heated seats when working in -35 temps... first world problems i know. So i know i mentioned it before but i can say enough about the "offroad tire" option. They are the michelin xds2 and they performed VERY VERY well this winter. Ive been pushing snow with the bumper and they still grip and go, as well as there ice performance is top notch. Last week at a customers mine spring thaw allowed for some mud exposure as well, and they performed well..... definatly needed 4x4 though. I would dare say they may be better than my duratracs. They also track extremely well. I highly recommend this option if your ordering a 45/5500 and encounter any adverse weather conditions!

Def.... well i wont get into my def issues i suppose its a moot point as i am sure all 3 brands encounter the same issues. But the most brief description i can give, is this truck was collectively down for a month this winter with intermittent def issues/not being able to get into the dealer right away due to back log. Frankly cost me alot of money in down time. Ram Care is nothing short of the worlds biggest joke, and will do anything they can to NOT help you. The dealer however was excellent getting me in as soon as they can. But if your looking for support from Ram, good luck.

Fuel consumption.... again a moot point on a truck this size but thought id share. So fully outfitted with my welding deck and equipment im just a touch over 13,000lbs This winter i saw an average of about 11.8 mpg, so that would be my 50km round trip daily commute to the shop, idling, and our small city driving. I found this to be reasonable. Now that the temperatures have increased, and winter diesel has been replaced it seems i have jumped up to about 13.4 mpg with the same style of driving... minus idling. Again quite reasonable. Even with my previous 19 denali 3500 drw the best i saw with it empty was 15 mpg with the same driving. Now best case scenerio highway driving, i can squeeze 16.5 mpg which i think is also acceptable, the denali was about 18mpg. SO fuel mileage is of course a touch worse with this 5500, but i think would only be comparable if you put on alot of miles. For me i run about 20,000 KM a year so while sure i am losing SOME money, i would say the difference of 3-4 MPG difference between a typical 3500 drw is negligible for my situation i feel. If i was a hot shotter i think my tone would change! Now id be curious to see what a set of 4:10s would do on a 5500 for mpg increase "empty" would you gain back that 3mpg? id bet if you gained anything it may be 1-2 max. I am actually not even sure if 4:10s can be ordered on a 5500. For me i just dont understand the bogus ratings on these 45/5500s. The trucks are identical except for gearing and extra leaves.

Family vehicle, so this is my daily driver/work truck/family vehicle. I have two young boys 5 and 3, and so far i have no complaints from them riding in the back, but i suppose its too soon to know. My wife quite likes the truck, shes always been partial to our Rams vs Gm's. Sorry to the GM guys.... but the interiors are just so night and day..... comparing 22 gm to 22 ram. My father inlaws at4 is a nice truck but the interior is awful, seats feel like plywood benches. Anyway wife says she does notice a touch rougher ride, but says she has to look for it. But on a flat highway, it rides just like a half ton. One thing to also note for those with kids etc is height! this 5500 was easily 6" taller than my 19 denali drw, this thing is tall ! which i love for job sites. But keep in mind throwing kids into car seats in the back is a reach, but certainly not a game changer.

I love this truck and its technology, and was an excellent purchase i feel. Although i am a jack fish and like shiney things, when we were buying my wifes 23 grand cherokee L the salesmen questioned me about my 5500 as they just dont really exist around here, they said mind if we appraise it? and i said go ahead everything's for sale for the right price. Anyway, they came back with almost 6000$ more than i paid brand new for it. So while its not 100%, there currently building me an identical truck in a 23, except in the black cyrstal pearl..... except loaded up with everything this time, 12" screen, heated rear seats, blah blah. Gotta say i really liked the digital guage cluster in my wifes grand cherokee. Well see what they come back with number wise but said if they could match or be a bit lower monthly payment wise id consider ordering the 23.

Id be curious to know when rams refresh is coming out, ive heard 2025.

 

[Pressure_welder]

Good day everyone! so my mind is always rolling with ideas.... Decided to have a look online at the 2023 ram 3500 chassis cab charts and see that they've seemed to increase payload a bit to about 6200lbs which is quite impressive. This past fall i also started a project on a new all aluminum "traditional" Canadian style welding bed and sloop which will almost cut my bed weight in half from the current setup i am running. (i am so sick of steel beds even with powder coat) the new aluminum bed fully outfitted should sit around 2500-3000 lbs with the sloop and tools. Unfortunately i am unable to haul a gooseneck with the sloop on the deck but this is just the nature of the beast but is easily removeable with 4 pins and a skid steer. So it seems payload has somewhat become a non issue with me, with some confidence i would say the move to this aluminum deck has put me back into a 3500 DRW chassis cab world.

Granted! i absolutely love this 5500, the only issues I've had are def related. The ride quality i find is certainly tolerable. About the only negatives i have with it which were "known" before purchase is fuel economy at about 11-12mpg avg, and i suppose ride quality. The new aluminum deck will be going on this truck for the time being which i know will make my ride quality suffer a bit more. But i am starting to wonder about the validity of going to the 3500 chassis cab, 3.73's and back into 17s with regular tires. I am debating weather the fuel economy increase and ride quality would be worth the move. I likely wont be considering the move until 2024s come out, but also thinking it may be wise to move this 5500 while it has such low KM. I put on roughly 30,000KM a year. Id consider the purchase tomorrow, but the only thing that is holding me back is the current interest rates.... i am into this truck with 4.49% and i believe current rates are basically 7%. So likely not a smart financial move currently. Granted i am not too concerned about monthly payments.... we put a massive amount down on this 5500, think we only owe 30,000$ on it right now, so there would be substantial equity going into the new one. I am curious about an update to the rams too though! id hate to buy the same truck again only to find out a re-vamp was close. Frankly, i am terrible with trucks...... trucks have always been a passion of mine and i get bored quickly. I must admit though, its defiantly hard to beat the way this 5500 looks all rigged up on site

 

[LikeABoss]

I put the Kelderman 2 stage on my 4500 and ride quality is much better. Worth a look if you want to stay with a 5500. You’d want to do it before the new bed to make sure bed mounts don’t interfere. You can get it with or without the integrated hitch.

 

[AH64ID]

Good day everyone! so my mind is always rolling with ideas.... Decided to have a look online at the 2023 ram 3500 chassis cab charts and see that they've seemed to increase payload a bit to about 6200lbs which is quite impressive. This past fall i also started a project on a new all aluminum "traditional" Canadian style welding bed and sloop which will almost cut my bed weight in half from the current setup i am running. (i am so sick of steel beds even with powder coat) the new aluminum bed fully outfitted should sit around 2500-3000 lbs with the sloop and tools. Unfortunately i am unable to haul a gooseneck with the sloop on the deck but this is just the nature of the beast but is easily removeable with 4 pins and a skid steer. So it seems payload has somewhat become a non issue with me, with some confidence i would say the move to this aluminum deck has put me back into a 3500 DRW chassis cab world.

Granted! i absolutely love this 5500, the only issues I've had are def related. The ride quality i find is certainly tolerable. About the only negatives i have with it which were "known" before purchase is fuel economy at about 11-12mpg avg, and i suppose ride quality. The new aluminum deck will be going on this truck for the time being which i know will make my ride quality suffer a bit more. But i am starting to wonder about the validity of going to the 3500 chassis cab, 3.73's and back into 17s with regular tires. I am debating weather the fuel economy increase and ride quality would be worth the move. I likely wont be considering the move until 2024s come out, but also thinking it may be wise to move this 5500 while it has such low KM. I put on roughly 30,000KM a year. Id consider the purchase tomorrow, but the only thing that is holding me back is the current interest rates.... i am into this truck with 4.49% and i believe current rates are basically 7%. So likely not a smart financial move currently. Granted i am not too concerned about monthly payments.... we put a massive amount down on this 5500, think we only owe 30,000$ on it right now, so there would be substantial equity going into the new one. I am curious about an update to the rams too though! id hate to buy the same truck again only to find out a re-vamp was close. Frankly, i am terrible with trucks...... trucks have always been a passion of mine and i get bored quickly. I must admit though, its defiantly hard to beat the way this 5500 looks all rigged up on site

The GVWR of the 3500 C&C DRW is still 14,000, so I’m not sure that anything has changed for payload as the trucks likely aren’t lighter.

 

[Blythkd1]

The GVWR of the 3500 C&C DRW is still 14,000, so I’m not sure that anything has changed for payload as the trucks likely aren’t lighter.

I didn't weigh mine when I got it but I'm guessing it weighed near 8k. So that leaves 6k for bed, accessories and load. It's a plenty capable truck. I've scaled it when towing a heavy load and with the truck itself tipping the scales right at 14k, it doesn't feel like it's bothering it all. A little more wouldn't hurt it. The tires are nowhere near loaded and the axle has plenty of buffer left. But if you feel like you need to keep it at 14k max, you'd have to do the calculations to see if that'll serve the purpose.

Pretty sure there's some 5% auto loans back out there now. Wouldn't be much of a step from 4.49. I'd like to trade too but my current financing is at less than 2% so that makes it a little tougher for me. I've financed so many vehicles at 0%, I'd hate to jump back up to 5%. I hate paying interest on a vehicle.

 

[AH64ID]

I didn't weigh mine when I got it but I'm guessing it weighed near 8k. So that leaves 6k for bed, accessories and load. It's a plenty capable truck. I've scaled it when towing a heavy load and with the truck itself tipping the scales right at 14k, it doesn't feel like it's bothering it all. A little more wouldn't hurt it. The tires are nowhere near loaded and the axle has plenty of buffer left. But if you feel like you need to keep it at 14k max, you'd have to do the calculations to see if that'll serve the purpose.

Pretty sure there's some 5% auto loans back out there now. Wouldn't be much of a step from 4.49. I'd like to trade too but my current financing is at less than 2% so that makes it a little tougher for me. I've financed so many vehicles at 0%, I'd hate to jump back up to 5%. I hate paying interest on a vehicle.

They are very capable, just pointing out that there likely wasn’t a change to increase payload.

 

[Great White North Eh]

I put the Kelderman 2 stage on my 4500 and ride quality is much better. Worth a look if you want to stay with a 5500. You’d want to do it before the new bed to make sure bed mounts don’t interfere. You can get it with or without the integrated hitch.

How much does it drop if you dump the air for hooking up a trailer? What is the approximate price and did you install yourself? Thx.

 

[Great White North Eh]

Good day everyone! so my mind is always rolling with ideas.... Decided to have a look online at the 2023 ram 3500 chassis cab charts and see that they've seemed to increase payload a bit to about 6200lbs which is quite impressive. This past fall i also started a project on a new all aluminum "traditional" Canadian style welding bed and sloop which will almost cut my bed weight in half from the current setup i am running. (i am so sick of steel beds even with powder coat) the new aluminum bed fully outfitted should sit around 2500-3000 lbs with the sloop and tools. Unfortunately i am unable to haul a gooseneck with the sloop on the deck but this is just the nature of the beast but is easily removeable with 4 pins and a skid steer. So it seems payload has somewhat become a non issue with me, with some confidence i would say the move to this aluminum deck has put me back into a 3500 DRW chassis cab world.

Granted! i absolutely love this 5500, the only issues I've had are def related. The ride quality i find is certainly tolerable. About the only negatives i have with it which were "known" before purchase is fuel economy at about 11-12mpg avg, and i suppose ride quality. The new aluminum deck will be going on this truck for the time being which i know will make my ride quality suffer a bit more. But i am starting to wonder about the validity of going to the 3500 chassis cab, 3.73's and back into 17s with regular tires. I am debating weather the fuel economy increase and ride quality would be worth the move. I likely wont be considering the move until 2024s come out, but also thinking it may be wise to move this 5500 while it has such low KM. I put on roughly 30,000KM a year. Id consider the purchase tomorrow, but the only thing that is holding me back is the current interest rates.... i am into this truck with 4.49% and i believe current rates are basically 7%. So likely not a smart financial move currently. Granted i am not too concerned about monthly payments.... we put a massive amount down on this 5500, think we only owe 30,000$ on it right now, so there would be substantial equity going into the new one. I am curious about an update to the rams too though! id hate to buy the same truck again only to find out a re-vamp was close. Frankly, i am terrible with trucks...... trucks have always been a passion of mine and i get bored quickly. I must admit though, its defiantly hard to beat the way this 5500 looks all rigged up on site

Picks of the new ‘’beer can bed’’ please and what was your material cost? Your frame rails would be a fair bit different from 3500 to 45-5500 I think so future swaps would not be seem less. Probably not a huge deal but if you want to turn and burn (pun intended) you would be down longer.

 

[Adam06]

Has anyone tried running the front airbag system? Does it make a difference in ride quality?

 

[LikeABoss]

How much does it drop if you dump the air for hooking up a trailer? What is the approximate price and did you install yourself? Thx.

I can check. Probably 4-5”. Cost was about 2300 shipped. I installed myself. They have a reputation for terrible instructions but this is pretty self explanatory. They did send a hodgepodge of coarse and fine nuts and bolts that didn’t match up requiring a couple trips to the hardware store. Other than that, not bad.

 

[LikeABoss]

How much does it drop if you dump the air for hooking up a trailer? What is the approximate price and did you install yourself? Thx.

I was way off. Just 2”

 

[Great White North Eh]

I was way off. Just 2”

Hopefully that’s not what she said …

 

[gprguy]

Has anyone tried running the front airbag system? Does it make a difference in ride quality?

I have it (along with the 4 link rear) on my 4500. I put both on at the same time so it's hard to separate them as far as the ride quality improvement. My general thought is it did help some and I like that the front is height adjustable. Pretty easy install too.

Way back when I put only the front bags on my 2003 3500 SRW to level it (the kit was pretty cheap back then) and it helped although that truck didn't ride too terrible to start with.

 

[Adam06]

Does it require alignment after installation on front? I do have a 12000 lb winch with Westin cattle pusher. It would be nice to level it with the air bags. Thanks

 

[gprguy]

Does it require alignment after installation on front? I do have a 12000 lb winch with Westin cattle pusher. It would be nice to level it with the air bags. Thanks

Shouldn't, it just replaces the air bags and shocks. If you set it to some new ride height that is significantly different than stock perhaps. I do have to get my 4500 aligned but it was off from the factory, installing the Kelderman didn't make it better or worse.

 

[Pressure_welder]

Picks of the new ‘’beer can bed’’ please and what was your material cost? Your frame rails would be a fair bit different from 3500 to 45-5500 I think so future swaps would not be seem less. Probably not a huge deal but if you want to turn and burn (pun intended) you would be down longer.

Hahaha no "military grade aluminum" ford crap going down here. Skirts, tailboard and deck are all 1/4" 5053, cabinet is 3/16", frame rails are 4" x 2" x 1/4" and crossmembers are 2.5" square 3/16" wall. Pretty common thing up here in Canada with guys running aluminum beds, they just hold up so much better to the elements, and i am doneeee with steel decks after this last 5000$+ coating job rusting after a year, by rusting i should clairify just in spots.... its not awful but my OCD sees it as massive gross rust spots. As for frame rails on trucks that'll be a none issue, for as long as i am running my welding business ill always be buying cab and chassis which are standard dimensionally as long as you stay with a 60" C/A, so this bed would be plug and play on any CC. As for material costs, just for aluminum i am at 3k right now and thats for the back half of the deck, completed id imagine it'll be close to 7ish.

Iam copying this ACE deck to a tee that they just finished for a guy, know the owner, they do pretty stellar work, But you'll pay 30k + for one. only thing i am going to line'x though is the top deck and fenders, for now anyway.

yea with the weight savings of this deck vs steel, and some of our trailering requirements changing i am borderline in 3500 DRW territory. Just unsure if the mpg increase/ride quality improvement is worth the change vs having that reserve capacity. She cruises quite nicely on the highway but were still at 2000 RPM at 110kmh. Just wondering if between the de-rated cummins and 3.73s we'd see some improvement. If i remember correctly i was seeing 16 avg with my last personal 18 limited dually. We really don't hate the ride of the 5500 its certainly tolerable. It'll change a bit when we put the aluminum deck on for sure but may be negligible. We looked into liquid spring, and keldermen...... and while super nice kits its basically 10k cdn to get into one, and we only keep trucks 2-3 years so the justification just wasn't there. That and id imagine you'd almost never get your money back out of it during re-sale.