Positive Thread!

[brucie]

Thanks! You may literally be a lifesaver.

 

[brucie]

No, I have the 8.4. I can't remember exactly how I did it, but there is a camera icon in apps I think. You can drag the icons around and place one in the bottom menu line that stays available. Same one your audio, climate, etc is in. I can just tap it when I'm going slow and it will bring up the surround view on my Bighorn.

I can't believe I have discovered another feature 4 months into owning the truck. Thank you again. Just went outside in the dead of night to give it a shot. Sure enough you can drag anything from the Apps menu to the bottom menu bar. The hard decision is what do you want to get rid of? I decided on climate, since I have manual controls although I am more comfortable with the uConnect controls. I may have to re-think that. The surround cam gives you access to all the cams, so it a two step process to get to the front cam. Anyway, thanks for giving me something new to play with. I swear I have read a decent amount of that manual, but I obviously need to read more.

Edit: Couldn't have been easier to find in the manual. Literally like the first paragraph of the uconnect section. Duhhh

 

[Burn'n Oil]

- Ginormous grunt! The way this engine pulls never gets old.
- I have never, ever been in a one-ton pickup that rides and handles as well as this one does.
- The LED headlights are hands down the best lighting I've had on any vehicle.
- The interior, especially with the LongHorn trim, is gorgeous! It's just nice to be in.
- At last, an instrumentation (EVIC) option the puts all the critical engine/transmission operating data on one page.

I'm getting too old to get aroused by mechanical stuff, generally. This truck has been an exception.

 

[Jeffmc306]

... People seem to really hate the Firestone Transforce tires it came with, but so far, I have no complaints. They are balanced well and wet traction has been adequate. Hopefully this winter I will get to test out snow traction. Not sure how fast they will wear.

Brucie, I also have the Transforce AT's and had a different experience with them on wet and snow. I was in a flat driveway with 1" of snow and had to put it in 4WD to keep from spinning the tires. I had the same experience on wet pavement too. I did a quick search on TireRack and checked reviews.

The tire finished 6th out of 6. One guy who left a review also has a 2019 RAM 2500 and lives in the next town over. Here's an excerpt :
First light rain I had the truck's rear end broke free from the a stop when accelerating from at a stop light. I slipped nearly 70% of the time during wet conditions. On highways Truck never felt one with the road control was sporadic and when it the road is wet with cross winds pucker factor jumps to a 8 at highway speeds. ... worst truck tire Firestone ever has made. I buy a truck priced over $60K and the manufacture puts these death traps on? It's beyond me and almost to the point of negligent on both Firestone for making these and RAM for buying them.

I couldn't agree more. It's a pity because I only have 5K miles on them and tow a travel trailer. I have a choice to either keep them until they wear out (and hope I never have to stop quickly on wet pavement) or spend $1300 (installed) to replace them with something like Michelin Defenders and try to get something for the take-offs.

Hope yours work out better than mine.

 

[RamGuy84]

I'm a 9-time Ram owner and really like my 19' Limited Cummins, but I wish I would have gotten a gas engine. The Ram has always handled my towing duties better than a Ford, though a power stroke is much more fun to drive IMO. You don't get the mpg that you do in a Cummins though. The Limited interior and those Limited gauges with the blue outline at night are my favorite part of the truck. I wish the cabin would be the same at the 1500s though. I really want a twin panel moonroof in a truck like this.

 

[brucie]

Brucie, I also have the Transforce AT's and had a different experience with them on wet and snow. I was in a flat driveway with 1" of snow and had to put it in 4WD to keep from spinning the tires. I had the same experience on wet pavement too. I did a quick search on TireRack and checked reviews.

The tire finished 6th out of 6. One guy who left a review also has a 2019 RAM 2500 and lives in the next town over. Here's an excerpt :
First light rain I had the truck's rear end broke free from the a stop when accelerating from at a stop light. I slipped nearly 70% of the time during wet conditions. On highways Truck never felt one with the road control was sporadic and when it the road is wet with cross winds pucker factor jumps to a 8 at highway speeds. ... worst truck tire Firestone ever has made. I buy a truck priced over $60K and the manufacture puts these death traps on? It's beyond me and almost to the point of negligent on both Firestone for making these and RAM for buying them.

I couldn't agree more. It's a pity because I only have 5K miles on them and tow a travel trailer. I have a choice to either keep them until they wear out (and hope I never have to stop quickly on wet pavement) or spend $1300 (installed) to replace them with something like Michelin Defenders and try to get something for the take-offs.

Hope yours work out better than mine.

I am aware of the Tire Rack reviews. I'm not saying they are great tires, just that I have had zero issues with them. I pulled a 6000 pound trailer with them in on/off pouring rain for almost 250 miles couple of weekends ago with no issues. I drive slow in those conditions and try to avoid hydroplaning whenever possible We haven't had any snow yet, so I have no experience with them in that weather. The biggest complaint I've seen is tread life and I have less than 5K miles on them. They do seem to be wearing pretty fast and I don't expect to get even 40K out of them. I've been looking at new tires too. I have 18 inch wheels and decent tires can be found for about $800 plus install. Tire bucks may be going to the trailer before this summer. We have been pushing some Chinese off-brand tires all around the country. From the east coast- A trip to the Canadian Rockies, Another Trip to Arizona and another to northern Quebec plus others. Probably have 20K miles on those suckers and they barely look used. Our luck may be running out because they are 4 years old next month. I keep hearing how bad those Chinese tires and (knock knock) that isn't our experience. Then again my trailer never goes faster than 62 mph.

To get back to positive: another feature I like is being able to track trailer mileage. I hope that odometer never gets reset, because it is nice to know how many miles you have on your trailer for maintenance purposes. Things like wheel bearing re-packing, etc.

 

[MobyDick]

I'm a 9-time Ram owner and really like my 19' Limited Cummins, but I wish I would have gotten a gas engine. The Ram has always handled my towing duties better than a Ford, though a power stroke is much more fun to drive IMO. You don't get the mpg that you do in a Cummins though. The Limited interior and those Limited gauges with the blue outline at night are my favorite part of the truck. I wish the cabin would be the same at the 1500s though. I really want a twin panel moonroof in a truck like this.

I’ve always been a diesel owner. Power stroke AND Cummins but this time I went with gas option. Although I miss the low end of the diesel the gas motor really does all I’ll ever need!


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[Wileykid]

Brucie, I also have the Transforce AT's and had a different experience with them on wet and snow. I was in a flat driveway with 1" of snow and had to put it in 4WD to keep from spinning the tires. I had the same experience on wet pavement too. I did a quick search on TireRack and checked reviews.

The tire finished 6th out of 6. One guy who left a review also has a 2019 RAM 2500 and lives in the next town over. Here's an excerpt :
First light rain I had the truck's rear end broke free from the a stop when accelerating from at a stop light. I slipped nearly 70% of the time during wet conditions. On highways Truck never felt one with the road control was sporadic and when it the road is wet with cross winds pucker factor jumps to a 8 at highway speeds. ... worst truck tire Firestone ever has made. I buy a truck priced over $60K and the manufacture puts these death traps on? It's beyond me and almost to the point of negligent on both Firestone for making these and RAM for buying them.

I couldn't agree more. It's a pity because I only have 5K miles on them and tow a travel trailer. I have a choice to either keep them until they wear out (and hope I never have to stop quickly on wet pavement) or spend $1300 (installed) to replace them with something like Michelin Defenders and try to get something for the take-offs.

Hope yours work out better than mine.

Have to agree with that review. The Transforce on my truck break loose on a turn from a stop in the rain, and yesterday going straight in the rain from a stop light. I have to be very cautious on how much power I give from a stop, and it is worse when I am towing. They are "OK" once they get going, but for me, they are best for fair weather conditions.

Positive remarks: Nice quiet interior, and I like the front end. It is not square and bulky looking like the other brands.

 

[voltedge]

Only 600 miles so far and less than 300 of those was by myself as my wife drove the remainder of the miles on the truck, but I am very satisfied. Are there some things that could be better or different? Yes, of course. Overall, I can hands down say that this truck is leaps and bounds above my 19' GMC 1500 new style truck. The seats sit more comfortable although they could stand to be allowed to adjust a tad bit lower. The actual smoothness and overall control of the truck feels better than the 1500 GM and this is a 2500 CTD truck which really shouldn't happen on paper anyway. The interior overwhelmingly destroys the GM attempt on their new trucks minus the better GM 360 degree camera system that offers more views and a tad better picture quality. The diesel fuel mileage is actually a mile to two per gallon better than the GM 6.2 v8 gas truck although I haven't towed with it yet and can only go off unloaded numbers. The only real easily immediately noticeable advantage that my GM truck has is their new redesigned larger crew cab with the flatter rear floor which my passengers definitely appreciate. I realize that Ram will do another redesign with the new 1500 series cab in a year or so, but I missed my previous 14' Ram Laramie CTD, that I didn't wanna wait any longer. I was shopping the new 2020 GMC Sierra HD Duramax trucks against my Ram, but with a $5-6K msrp difference and a large host of incentives coupled with a much larger trade in value on my old truck, the Ram was nearly $20k less!!! Super excited to see how smoother than my 14' Ram 68rfe transmission does once I start towing my enclosed trailer.

 

[MaximumSteel]

THe auto-dimming headlights are Awesome...set it and forget it. I never used high beams much until now. And those led headlights and fog lights are the BOMB! Putting off additional lighting for now because they are so bright I'm not sure I need any more.

 

[MobyDick]

1500 miles in and the 6.4 keeps getting smoother and smoother!


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[Riveyman]

THe auto-dimming headlights are Awesome...set it and forget it. I never used high beams much until now. And those led headlights and fog lights are the BOMB! Putting off additional lighting for now because they are so bright I'm not sure I need any more.

Had them on the other day. Pretty impressed how good they work. Couple of times, I didn't think they dimmed, and after the approaching vehicle passed they brightened right up..
The LED headlights ARE SO BRIGHT, I've not used the high beams much.

 

[Bob_ag]

I simply can't get over how well behaved this 8 speed transmission is. The shifting just feels effortless and just seems like it is perfectly matched to the 6.4.

Just about to hit 500 miles, excited to get the camper hooked up soon.

 

[Jeffmc306]

I simply can't get over how well behaved this 8 speed transmission is. The shifting just feels effortless and just seems like it is perfectly matched to the 6.4.

Just about to hit 500 miles, excited to get the camper hooked up soon.

Bob, you are spot-on! That 8 speed and the 6.4 is a great combination; I think you're going to love towing the camper. Last August we did a 2500 mile trip to the Colorado Rockies and back. After one fuel stop I forgot to re-engage the Tow-Haul mode. I noticed the computer's fuel economy climbing. I looked down and the RPM's had dropped more than before - the truck was in 8th gear! And, every now and then the ECO light would come on... Towing a 6500 lbs Airstream on 4 cylinders! Granted, we were on relatively flat highway but you gotta love that Hemi's torque plus the 8 speed combo.
*I'm actually getting the same or better fuel economy than I did with the 2019 RAM 1500 5.7.

Post some photos of your setup once you it hitched up!
-Jeff

 

[MaximumSteel]

Bob, you are spot-on! That 8 speed and the 6.4 is a great combination; I think you're going to love towing the camper. Last August we did a 2500 mile trip to the Colorado Rockies and back. After one fuel stop I forgot to re-engage the Tow-Haul mode. I noticed the computer's fuel economy climbing. I looked down and the RPM's had dropped more than before - the truck was in 8th gear! And, every now and then the ECO light would come on... Towing a 6500 lbs Airstream on 4 cylinders! Granted, we were on relatively flat highway but you gotta love that Hemi's torque plus the 8 speed combo.
*I'm actually getting the same or better fuel economy than I did with the 2019 RAM 1500 5.7.

Post some photos of your setup once you it hitched up!
-Jeff

Dang...I should have tried towing my 2300# tear drop trailer without using Tow Mode on my 2,500 mile trip last month. I was vigilant in making sure it was turned on. Eco light rarely came on and I coulda used a couple more MPG. I thought it was best practice to use Tow Mode when towing. Is the consensus that there is no harm as long as power/shift points aren't annoying?

 

[Jeffmc306]

MaximumSteel, with such a light load, you should be fine without using Tow/Haul full time. I experimented while towing and would switch it on if we hit a hilly area to avoid frequent downshifts. When in Tow/Hall, it does reprogram shift points (locks out 8th gear from my observation) and will stay in a lower gear longer before up-shifting. There's smarter people than me on the forum that may know more about the engineering part but the truck's ECM does a pretty good job in normal mode. I added Trans Temp to the gauge cluster and it never moved more than a few degrees. RAM engineers did their homework on cooling etc.

Try it next time you've got the Teardrop out. By the way, what kind of trailer do you have? My wife's best friend has a nuCamp T@B 400 and towed it with a Subie Forester stick. She said everyone was giving her the "double-middle finger" in the Colorado mountains. She upgraded to a Honda Ridgeline this year!

 

[MaximumSteel]

@Jeffmc306 I will definitely try towing without tow mode next time I'm pulling the teardrop. As for the teardrop it is the 5x10 OffRoad Edition (ORE) from tcteardrops.com. I've had it about 4 years and before I got the PowerWagon last Sept I towed it with a modded Subaru Outback. Subaru pulled it fine, but the weight and offroad articulation was too much for the unibody. We welded/fixed, but it just continued to split from fatigue where the aftermarket class III hitch mounted.

 

[Jeffmc306]

@Jeffmc306 I will definitely try towing without tow mode next time I'm pulling the teardrop. As for the teardrop it is the 5x10 OffRoad Edition (ORE) from tcteardrops.com. I've had it about 4 years and before I got the PowerWagon last Sept I towed it with a modded Subaru Outback. Subaru pulled it fine, but the weight and offroad articulation was too much for the unibody. We welded/fixed, but it just continued to split from fatigue where the aftermarket class III hitch mounted.
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@MaximumSteel, okay now that is one cool rig! I could see myself going for the rugged off-road route in my younger days! We did the pop up, and tent thing for years but now the wife and I appreciate (require?) more creature comforts. Where were you with the Outback in the last photo? It reminds me of Arches or Canyonlands in Moab. Very nice!

 

[MaximumSteel]

@MaximumSteel, okay now that is one cool rig! I could see myself going for the rugged off-road route in my younger days! We did the pop up, and tent thing for years but now the wife and I appreciate (require?) more creature comforts. Where were you with the Outback in the last photo? It reminds me of Arches or Canyonlands in Moab. Very nice!

Good eye...West of Moab up Long Canyon between 279/Colorado river and 313 North of Dead Horse State Park. Later found out it was called Pucker Pass here’s a google maps code for exact location: G7VV+89 Moab, Utah

 

[hutchman]

I had 19,000 trouble free miles on mine when I traded. It was one of the three best trucks I've ever owned. The other two were the 18 Rebel I traded in on the 19 HD,and the other is the 20 1500 Limited that I traded my 2500 in on. Ram has really stepped up their game over the last 10 years.