2019-2025 Major Differences

[BrightWhiteNight]

Help me spend my money! As I mentioned in my new member greeting I'm shopping for a 2500 CTD. Pretty much settled on a Laramie but could be interested in higher trim.

I'm new to the HD world and for all practical purposes new to RAM, since my previous ride was a 1995 2WD 1500 5.9 non-Hemi, I figure there is near ZERO carryover. I would love to have anyone's input to assist my shopping as to what's good or not so good. From reading many, many, many, threads here and a little research elsewhere I've learned a lot but welcome the views you all can offer.
Of course anxious to see/hear all of what the 2025 has to offer and would love to order exactly what I want(and get the new tranny), esthetically I really dislike the shape and size of the new mirrors enough to favor a '22 or earlier. That decision is still open though.

Any advice on what to consider or what to stay away from is welcome.

Current ideas/questions:

19-21, tunable with stock ECU, 22 with alternate ECU, 23-25?????
21 & 22, didn't need the HPFP or HVAC Recall/TSB, so less opportunity for less than spectacular maintenance ?
8.4" vs 12", actually like the smaller screen much better, other than size what does the 12 bring?
U4 vs U5, reliability? features? Not much of a techie, might even consider disabling the OTA stuff? Bad enough I have a smart phone, I don't want a smart truck.
Safety Group, seems like a lot to have trouble with and a huge ugly bulge behind the mirror, but I do think I want the DRVM?

TIA for any and all help.

 

[Brutal_HO]

IMHO, 21 is kind of the sweet spot. No known/apparent regen issues (jury's still out on lifters) but you get DRVM and UC5, digital tow mode camera (if you can find one) trailer surround if needed, etc.

19-20 BCM, etc. (still don't know what's preventing it) doesn't have the tilt/roll gauges available in the Off Road pages if that matters.

2025 is going to be a game changer with the new trans and revised emissions, etc.

 

[Shots]

Help me spend my money! As I mentioned in my new member greeting I'm shopping for a 2500 CTD. Pretty much settled on a Laramie but could be interested in higher trim.

I'm new to the HD world and for all practical purposes new to RAM, since my previous ride was a 1995 2WD 1500 5.9 non-Hemi, I figure there is near ZERO carryover. I would love to have anyone's input to assist my shopping as to what's good or not so good. From reading many, many, many, threads here and a little research elsewhere I've learned a lot but welcome the views you all can offer.
Of course anxious to see/hear all of what the 2025 has to offer and would love to order exactly what I want(and get the new tranny), esthetically I really dislike the shape and size of the new mirrors enough to favor a '22 or earlier. That decision is still open though.

Any advice on what to consider or what to stay away from is welcome.

Current ideas/questions:

19-21, tunable with stock ECU, 22 with alternate ECU, 23-25?????
21 & 22, didn't need the HPFP or HVAC Recall/TSB, so less opportunity for less than spectacular maintenance ?
8.4" vs 12", actually like the smaller screen much better, other than size what does the 12 bring?
U4 vs U5, reliability? features? Not much of a techie, might even consider disabling the OTA stuff? Bad enough I have a smart phone, I don't want a smart truck.
Safety Group, seems like a lot to have trouble with and a huge ugly bulge behind the mirror, but I do think I want the DRVM?

TIA for any and all help.

I can't help you with the CTD questions, but I can help with the tech options.

The 8.4" vs 12" radios:
I guess I may be old, but I prefer physical buttons to all these touch screen devices. Touch screen is nice, don't get me wrong, but I want my hvac, seat warmers, etc to be operable by touch not by having to look at a screen. Here's the bad news for you. If you're looking at Laramie and above, you have no 8.4" radio option. They all get the 12" and frankly most of the Big Horns/Lonestars that I looked at had it too.
The good news though, is they did a pretty good job with the update from the last Uconnect software to the current one. My last truck (2021) had the old version. While the radio in my current truck (2023) is not dramatically different, there are things that were updated and makes it more user friendly while driving. It's little things like making the seats/wheel accessible via a little button (not physical though) that is pinned at the top of the screen. On the last version you had to go to the "comfort" page or set it as a card on the screen. The pinned feature makes it much easier to use.

The Safety Group:
This is all stuff you can do without, but they're absolutely worth a box in front of the mirror. After a while you won't even notice it. As for "a lot to have trouble with" that's the same concern that's been around every time new tech starts to become popular (such as power windows, or automatic transmissions). It's something you have to decide for yourself if you want to worry about it. Worst case though, if a feature on the safety group stops working, it's no different than never having had it at all. Low risk, high reward.
I say high reward because they're really nice features. The blind-spot and cross path features themselves are worth it to me. Adaptive cruise is actually really nice, and not something I expected to like as much as I do. Auto high-beams and rain sensitive wipers are another one I thought were kinda gimmicky until I had them. I'm pretty good about dimming my high beams for people, but it saves you when you forget. The wipers though? I love them. Yes it's easy enough to adjust them, but those times you're driving through an area with patchy cover, you're constantly adjusting the wipers. With automatic ones, you don't have to deal with it. I'm not saying it's needed. It's absolutely a luxury item, but if you can afford the luxury, go for it.

I hope that helped with those two items on your list. Happy shopping.

 

[BrightWhiteNight]

IMHO, 21 is kind of the sweet spot. No known/apparent regen issues (jury's still out on lifters) but you get DRVM and UC5, digital tow mode camera (if you can find one) trailer surround if needed, etc.

19-20 BCM, etc. (still don't know what's preventing it) doesn't have the tilt/roll gauges available in the Off Road pages if that matters.

2025 is going to be a game changer with the new trans and revised emissions, etc.

Thanks so much for the help Brutal. I'm not schooled enough yet to be aware of Model Year changes/availability on the DRVM, but I thought UC5 started with 22, am I off on that?

 

[poorman_pw]

If it matters to you.. I don’t believe Uconnect 5 with wireless care play made its way into the HD line up until 2022. The steering wheel controls are still carried over from the 4th gen until 2022 too. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal… until I got it and I love it.

Re the new tow mirrors… I didn’t like them at first but found a deal on a tradesman pw that had them.. after driving a truck with the old style shortly after, I wouldn’t trade my new mirrors in for nothing. Wish there was a kit to add blind spot monitoring to those already.

 

[Back of me hand]

The new mirrors (2023+) are so much better than prior. Power extend out/in when towing a wide trailer. Dual mirrors that cover the entire truck and trailer side. Both mirrors are powered as well whereas on competitors the smaller convex mirror is still manual. It’s awesome to be able to see basically your entire blind spot, see your trailer tires, etc in one glance.

The 12” screen is so much better for running CarPlay. Split screen with half showing google maps and the other half showing another app is legit.

Brutal and Shots covered the rest. A lot of the new features you can live without, but man once you have them there’s no going back.

 

[BrightWhiteNight]

I can't help you with the CTD questions, but I can help with the tech options.

The 8.4" vs 12" radios:
I guess I may be old, but I prefer physical buttons to all these touch screen devices. Touch screen is nice, don't get me wrong, but I want my hvac, seat warmers, etc to be operable by touch not by having to look at a screen. Here's the bad news for you. If you're looking at Laramie and above, you have no 8.4" radio option. They all get the 12" and frankly most of the Big Horns/Lonestars that I looked at had it too.
The good news though, is they did a pretty good job with the update from the last Uconnect software to the current one. My last truck (2021) had the old version. While the radio in my current truck (2023) is not dramatically different, there are things that were updated and makes it more user friendly while driving. It's little things like making the seats/wheel accessible via a little button (not physical though) that is pinned at the top of the screen. On the last version you had to go to the "comfort" page or set it as a card on the screen. The pinned feature makes it much easier to use.

The Safety Group:
This is all stuff you can do without, but they're absolutely worth a box in front of the mirror. After a while you won't even notice it. As for "a lot to have trouble with" that's the same concern that's been around every time new tech starts to become popular (such as power windows, or automatic transmissions). It's something you have to decide for yourself if you want to worry about it. Worst case though, if a feature on the safety group stops working, it's no different than never having had it at all. Low risk, high reward.
I say high reward because they're really nice features. The blind-spot and cross path features themselves are worth it to me. Adaptive cruise is actually really nice, and not something I expected to like as much as I do. Auto high-beams and rain sensitive wipers are another one I thought were kinda gimmicky until I had them. I'm pretty good about dimming my high beams for people, but it saves you when you forget. The wipers though? I love them. Yes it's easy enough to adjust them, but those times you're driving through an area with patchy cover, you're constantly adjusting the wipers. With automatic ones, you don't have to deal with it. I'm not saying it's needed. It's absolutely a luxury item, but if you can afford the luxury, go for it.

I hope that helped with those two items on your list. Happy shopping.

 

[BrightWhiteNight]

I can't help you with the CTD questions, but I can help with the tech options.

The 8.4" vs 12" radios:
I guess I may be old, but I prefer physical buttons to all these touch screen devices. Touch screen is nice, don't get me wrong, but I want my hvac, seat warmers, etc to be operable by touch not by having to look at a screen. Here's the bad news for you. If you're looking at Laramie and above, you have no 8.4" radio option. They all get the 12" and frankly most of the Big Horns/Lonestars that I looked at had it too.
The good news though, is they did a pretty good job with the update from the last Uconnect software to the current one. My last truck (2021) had the old version. While the radio in my current truck (2023) is not dramatically different, there are things that were updated and makes it more user friendly while driving. It's little things like making the seats/wheel accessible via a little button (not physical though) that is pinned at the top of the screen. On the last version you had to go to the "comfort" page or set it as a card on the screen. The pinned feature makes it much easier to use.

The Safety Group:
This is all stuff you can do without, but they're absolutely worth a box in front of the mirror. After a while you won't even notice it. As for "a lot to have trouble with" that's the same concern that's been around every time new tech starts to become popular (such as power windows, or automatic transmissions). It's something you have to decide for yourself if you want to worry about it. Worst case though, if a feature on the safety group stops working, it's no different than never having had it at all. Low risk, high reward.
I say high reward because they're really nice features. The blind-spot and cross path features themselves are worth it to me. Adaptive cruise is actually really nice, and not something I expected to like as much as I do. Auto high-beams and rain sensitive wipers are another one I thought were kinda gimmicky until I had them. I'm pretty good about dimming my high beams for people, but it saves you when you forget. The wipers though? I love them. Yes it's easy enough to adjust them, but those times you're driving through an area with patchy cover, you're constantly adjusting the wipers. With automatic ones, you don't have to deal with it. I'm not saying it's needed. It's absolutely a luxury item, but if you can afford the luxury, go for it.

I hope that helped with those two items on your list. Happy shopping.

Thanks @Shots for all the detail!
I think we are of like mind on the 8.4/12 issue, and the buttons and knobs. I have seen a few Laramie's with the 8.4 which I believe was the base standard, but like the bucket seats/console option, it seems a very high percentage are ordered with the 12. I also appreciate your "Low risk, High reward" viewpoint and the wipers need no persuasion!

 

[@JC]

2025 is going to be a game changer with the new trans and revised emissions, etc.

Still the crappy 4th gen cab, epic fail from RAM.

 

[Shots]

The 12” screen is so much better for running CarPlay. Split screen with half showing google maps and the other half showing another app is legit.

Ooo, yeah, good point there. Essentially splitting the 12" screen into two smaller screens so you can use CarPlay or AndroidAuto while another "card" shows something else, like Maps.

Thanks @Shots for all the detail!
I think we are of like mind on the 8.4/12 issue, and the buttons and knobs. I have seen a few Laramie's with the 8.4 which I believe was the base standard, but like the bucket seats/console option, it seems a very high percentage are ordered with the 12. I also appreciate your "Low risk, High reward" viewpoint and the wipers need no persuasion!

Wow, I didn't think it was possible to get the 8.4 with a Laramie. That's actually good news for anyone looking to have buttons but still want some add-ons.

 

[AH64ID]

Wow, I didn't think it was possible to get the 8.4 with a Laramie. That's actually good news for anyone looking to have buttons but still want some add-ons.

The 8.4 was the standard Uconnect for Laramie and higher until 2025.

One of the reasons I really like my 22 Laramie is 8.4 w/out Nav with Level 1 Laramie, Front bucket seats, fender flares, and I didn’t have to get the safety group. I was able to keep the 8.4 w/out nav and get every option I wanted.

I’m rather disappointed in the 12” display on the 25 Laramie’s, or even level 1 Laramie package starting in 23. Also pretty disappointed in the mandated safety group stuff.

 

[Brutal_HO]

The 8.4 was the standard Uconnect for Laramie and higher until 2025.

One of the reasons I really like my 22 Laramie is 8.4 w/out Nav with Level 1 Laramie, Front bucket seats, fender flares, and I didn’t have to get the safety group. I was able to keep the 8.4 w/out nav and get every option I wanted.

I’m rather disappointed in the 12” display on the 25 Laramie’s, or even level 1 Laramie package starting in 23. Also pretty disappointed in the mandated safety group stuff.

It does appear they have the smaller ACC mirror module from the 1500 at least.

 

[Shots]

The 8.4 was the standard Uconnect for Laramie and higher until 2025.

One of the reasons I really like my 22 Laramie is 8.4 w/out Nav with Level 1 Laramie, Front bucket seats, fender flares, and I didn’t have to get the safety group. I was able to keep the 8.4 w/out nav and get every option I wanted.

I’m rather disappointed in the 12” display on the 25 Laramie’s, or even level 1 Laramie package starting in 23. Also pretty disappointed in the mandated safety group stuff.

The only mandated safety item that really bugs me is the RSRA (rear seat reminder alert). I haven't had the rear seat down in my truck since the day I bought it. I have the fold-flat-floors down and use the back seat to put stuff, not kids. It's been 20+ years since there's been a young kid in my back seat. I don't need a reminder to tell me to check for a kid that doesn't exist.

**And before someone says you can turn it off, no I can't. I've got one of the '23s that fell into the 3 month span where they didn't have that feature. FCA won't turn it off, and allegedly can't enable the feature so I can turn it off myself.

 

[Jimmy07]

It does appear they have the smaller ACC mirror module from the 1500 at least.

Yeah it’s quite a bit smaller now. They’re calling it a HALF DASM, because it’s now used in conjunction with the long range radar in the grill. It functions a lot better than previously, no more hard braking when someone cuts in front of you, and it speeds up/slows down more “naturally” to keep the set distance with the vehicle in front.

 

[Jimmy07]

**And before someone says you can turn it off, no I can't. I've got one of the '23s that fell into the 3 month span where they didn't have that feature. FCA won't turn it off, and allegedly can't enable the feature so I can turn it off myself.

You’ve known for almost a year now that you can use alfaobd to get this disabled. At this point now, you are the only reason that it’s not turned off yet.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Yeah it’s quite a bit smaller now. They’re calling it a HALF DASM, because it’s now used in conjunction with the long range radar in the grill. It functions a lot better than previously, no more hard braking when someone cuts in front of you, and it speeds up/slows down more “naturally” to keep the set distance with the vehicle in front.

That's right, I completely forgot about that front mounted radar!

 

[Shots]

You’ve known for almost a year now that you can use alfaobd to get this disabled. At this point now, you are the only reason that it’s not turned off yet.

You're absolutely right, I could. But I shouldn't have to go aftermarket and get into the computer of a brand new truck to enable a feature that is available from the factory on nearly every other truck of the same make/model/year.

If I hadn't already had a Jscan (which I do), and I was comfortable messing with the coding (which I'm not) I'd enable the feature with alfaobd. Unfortunately it isn't entirely plain language like the Jscan, and I don't have the nerve to mess with abbreviations and codes that I don't understand. Nor should I have to, which is entirely the point, and why it pisses me off.
But we're taking a tangent. The point was, most of the mandated safety features aren't too troublesome.

 

[sstoner911]

You're absolutely right, I could. But I shouldn't have to go aftermarket and get into the computer of a brand new truck to enable a feature that is available from the factory on nearly every other truck of the same make/model/year.

If I hadn't already had a Jscan (which I do), and I was comfortable messing with the coding (which I'm not) I'd enable the feature with alfaobd. Unfortunately it isn't entirely plain language like the Jscan, and I don't have the nerve to mess with abbreviations and codes that I don't understand. Nor should I have to, which is entirely the point, and why it pisses me off.
But we're taking a tangent. The point was, most of the mandated safety features aren't too troublesome.

Coding? Are you serious?

ALFAOBD would take 3 minutes and its point and click.

 

[Shots]

Yes, coding. You may not have to know how to code, but that's exactly what you're changing.

That said, it is not "point and click." You still have to know the abbreviations and where to find them. In my thread about disabling RSRA, Jimmy07 was kind enough to try to help, and posted this. What the heck are FOA or CSO? You're not going to just pick up an alphaobd, scroll through a menu and find something that says RSRA to simply flip a switch. Jscan is pretty much worded that straight forward, which is why I bought it instead.

Again, if I had an alphobd when he gave me this info I may have tried it. I don't know though, I'd be very worried about adding/removing things to the computer, especially when it's not clearly labeled. The only thing I've done with the Jscan is adjust the TPMS threshold and tire size. Not adding anything, or removing anything. Simply adjusting the value of something that is already there, AND it's spelled out in plain language what you're doing. Obviously it's not as capable as alphaobd, but it does seem to be a bit more dummy proof (ie, me).

 

[Xflight29]

Still the crappy 4th gen cab, epic fail from RAM.

I have to ask, why is the 4th Gen cab so crappy? I have more than enough room in my 2019 Cab & Chassis + my 2020 Mega Cab. How much room does someone need to drive or be a passenger? Both Ram and Chevy are so close in shoulder and head room + leg room I just don't get the concern. Again, just my opinion.