2022 6.4L Tradesman - First Impressions

[Christofo]

I picked up my new truck over the weekend from Mark Dodge and road tripped it ~1000 miles home to Ohio. Figured I would share some of my first impressions. My previous truck was a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT.

Almost 20 weeks from when I ordered the truck to delivery.

• The first thing I noticed was the infamous "chirp" of the 6.4L - i'll just have to get used to it.
• The Hemi seems to have a lot of power, and the transmission is very smooth.
• The truck is very quiet on the inside compared to my last one. It's like a luxury car.
• The cloth seats are quite comfortable, I do wish they had height or lumbar adjustment but I can live without.
• Tire pressures were 80+ psi across the board. I stopped and aired down to the 65/60 as stated on the door. The truck rides very smooth, comparable to my old 1/2t that had a leveling kit on it.
• It wanders a bit on the road. Seemed like I was constantly steering.
• Lane keep assist made me realize how poor I am at staying in the dead center of my lane. I haven't played with the settings at all, but it seems pretty aggressive.
• Adaptive cruise control is great. There were a couple times where it braked when I wouldn't have, but overall the system made the trip a little more enjoyable.
• Digital rearview mirror is great during the day. It has a wide angle clear view that gives you much better rear visibility than the mirror would.
• Blindspot monitoring is a nice addition on such a large vehicle. The passenger mirror seems very magnified to me.. I will have to flip them up and see if there is any improvement.
• The stock stereo system is fantastic. Great bass, clear mids, and crisp highs. I am very impressed with it. It is easily on par with the Bose system that was in my previous truck. I have seen complaints on the forum about the higher end systems, I would be interested to hear them compared to just the base system.
• The plastic door panels on the Tradesman are completely fine. I didn't have a sore elbow like some others said I would.
• Halogen headlights seem to be just at the level of acceptable. I think I will swap them out with the OEM LED headlights and try to sell them to recoup some of the cost.
• The measurements of the truck published by RAM are spot on. I was concerned when ordering that it wouldn't fit in my garage if they were off at all. It clears by about an inch (as expected)!
• I averaged 14.9 MPG hand calculated. The EVIC seemed to be a little more optimistic - closer to 16 MPG on the display.

Overall I am really happy with my purchase so far. Can't wait to do some towing with it to see where it really shines!

My window sticker

 

[aaronedmonton]

I picked up my new truck over the weekend from Mark Dodge and road tripped it ~1000 miles home to Ohio. Figured I would share some of my first impressions. My previous truck was a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT.

Almost 20 weeks from when I ordered the truck to delivery.

• The first thing I noticed was the infamous "chirp" of the 6.4L - i'll just have to get used to it.
• The Hemi seems to have a lot of power, and the transmission is very smooth.
• The truck is very quiet on the inside compared to my last one. It's like a luxury car.
• The cloth seats are quite comfortable, I do wish they had height or lumbar adjustment but I can live without.
• Tire pressures were 80+ psi across the board. I stopped and aired down to the 65/60 as stated on the door. The truck rides very smooth, comparable to my old 1/2t that had a leveling kit on it.
• It wanders a bit on the road. Seemed like I was constantly steering.
• Lane keep assist made me realize how poor I am at staying in the dead center of my lane. I haven't played with the settings at all, but it seems pretty aggressive.
• Adaptive cruise control is great. There were a couple times where it braked when I wouldn't have, but overall the system made the trip a little more enjoyable.
• Digital rearview mirror is great during the day. It has a wide angle clear view that gives you much better rear visibility than the mirror would.
• Blindspot monitoring is a nice addition on such a large vehicle. The passenger mirror seems very magnified to me.. I will have to flip them up and see if there is any improvement.
• The stock stereo system is fantastic. Great bass, clear mids, and crisp highs. I am very impressed with it. It is easily on par with the Bose system that was in my previous truck. I have seen complaints on the forum about the higher end systems, I would be interested to hear them compared to just the base system.
• The plastic door panels on the Tradesman are completely fine. I didn't have a sore elbow like some others said I would.
• Halogen headlights seem to be just at the level of acceptable. I think I will swap them out with the OEM LED headlights and try to sell them to recoup some of the cost.
• The measurements of the truck published by RAM are spot on. I was concerned when ordering that it wouldn't fit in my garage if they were off at all. It clears by about an inch (as expected)!
• I averaged 14.9 MPG hand calculated. The EVIC seemed to be a little more optimistic - closer to 16 MPG on the display.

Overall I am really happy with my purchase so far. Can't wait to do some towing with it to see where it really shines!

My window sticker

View attachment 27363

Nice truck. I like the clearance lights on it.

The Hemi chirp is definitely something…Mine also wanders a bit on the roads. It’s a full time job keeping this thing in the middle of the lane.

 

[dm6]

I picked up my new truck over the weekend from Mark Dodge and road tripped it ~1000 miles home to Ohio. Figured I would share some of my first impressions. My previous truck was a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT.

Almost 20 weeks from when I ordered the truck to delivery.

• The first thing I noticed was the infamous "chirp" of the 6.4L - i'll just have to get used to it.
• The Hemi seems to have a lot of power, and the transmission is very smooth.
• The truck is very quiet on the inside compared to my last one. It's like a luxury car.
• The cloth seats are quite comfortable, I do wish they had height or lumbar adjustment but I can live without.
• Tire pressures were 80+ psi across the board. I stopped and aired down to the 65/60 as stated on the door. The truck rides very smooth, comparable to my old 1/2t that had a leveling kit on it.
• It wanders a bit on the road. Seemed like I was constantly steering.
• Lane keep assist made me realize how poor I am at staying in the dead center of my lane. I haven't played with the settings at all, but it seems pretty aggressive.
• Adaptive cruise control is great. There were a couple times where it braked when I wouldn't have, but overall the system made the trip a little more enjoyable.
• Digital rearview mirror is great during the day. It has a wide angle clear view that gives you much better rear visibility than the mirror would.
• Blindspot monitoring is a nice addition on such a large vehicle. The passenger mirror seems very magnified to me.. I will have to flip them up and see if there is any improvement.
• The stock stereo system is fantastic. Great bass, clear mids, and crisp highs. I am very impressed with it. It is easily on par with the Bose system that was in my previous truck. I have seen complaints on the forum about the higher end systems, I would be interested to hear them compared to just the base system.
• The plastic door panels on the Tradesman are completely fine. I didn't have a sore elbow like some others said I would.
• Halogen headlights seem to be just at the level of acceptable. I think I will swap them out with the OEM LED headlights and try to sell them to recoup some of the cost.
• The measurements of the truck published by RAM are spot on. I was concerned when ordering that it wouldn't fit in my garage if they were off at all. It clears by about an inch (as expected)!
• I averaged 14.9 MPG hand calculated. The EVIC seemed to be a little more optimistic - closer to 16 MPG on the display.

Overall I am really happy with my purchase so far. Can't wait to do some towing with it to see where it really shines!

My window sticker

View attachment 27363

Nice truck! It does seem like I have to steer mine quite a bit, but I didn't think much of it because it is better than an old SUV I was replacing. Do you guys think this has to do with the Transforce tires on it?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Congrats on the new truck.

Couple of suggestions.

Lower the tire pressure down to 50 or less. I run mine at 45/40 but I've changed tires to BFG 35's. the 65/60 is for when the truck is fully loaded. Don't need that much when running empty and the ride will be that much better.

Get an alignment done and use the Thuren specs. When I had mine done, we found out it was out of factory specs from the factory.

The "chirp" is in the exhaust at the merger of the 2 to 1 after the cats. Not sure how to fix it. Once the truck warms up, it goes away. I just roll up the windows and crank up the tunes.

 

[whitexc]

You have a nicely optioned Tradesman. Congrats. Enjoy the truck. They are nice.

Sent from my semi-smart telephonic device

 

[RAM_Dad]

Nice truck. I like the clearance lights on it.

The Hemi chirp is definitely something…Mine also wanders a bit on the roads. It’s a full time job keeping this thing in the middle of the lane.

I noticed a big difference in the “wandering” when I dropped tire pressure from the factory 80 to 55 all around. Not to mention the ride improvement.

 

[RAM_Dad]

One other thing that I immediately noticed (compared to my old 2015 F150) is how smooth and effortless the steering is…wasn’t expecting that.

 

[aaronedmonton]

I noticed a big difference in the “wandering” when I dropped tire pressure from the factory 80 to 55 all around. Not to mention the ride improvement.

Good to know. I think i ride around with 72 all around. The ride quality doesn’t bother me but the wandering is somewhat annoying.

 

[just James]

I've got a 2021, and I have never noticed a chirp, squeal, click, or tap from my 6.4.
And I agree, that motor seems to have a lot of power (Before the diesel fans get their panties all bound up, I mean acceleration power, not towing power).
I have not noticed any excessive wandering with mine.
And yes, it is a very quiet inside. Nice to be able to carry on a quiet conversation on the freeway.
I am not a big fan of the brakes. The pedal effort seems excessive. Yeah, I know that subject has been addressed on here.
I got about 17mpg (if I remember correctly) driving the 400+ miles home from where I bought it. I get about 14-14.5 running around locally.
Love the transmission, very smooth.
I also am glad I got the clearance lights. Really like the way they look.

 

[JALOPYJUNK]

Nice truck! It does seem like I have to steer mine quite a bit, but I didn't think much of it because it is better than an old SUV I was replacing. Do you guys think this has to do with the Transforce tires on it?

I changed mine to the Cooper Discoverer ATP2 and it drives much better. The Transforce A/T's were junk. Sidewalls are very weak. This is my second 2021 Ram 2500. The first on lasted six days and less than 500 miles before it was totaled. The truck only had three wheels on it when it came to a stop. Two of the three Transforce A/T's that were left had blown out. I guess they lost pressure as the truck rolled 3 times. The truck was replaced with an identical truck that I have problems with. At 4400 miles they had to replace the engine do to a frozen lifter roller that ate the camshaft and sent metal through the engine. I am still having issues with extremely poor gas mileage and a very rough idle at times. When the truck was new I was getting 11 mpg in town and 17 mpg on the highway. Now I am getting 5 to 7 mpg in town and 12 to 13 on the highway. These figures are hand calculated. This truck is a 2500 Tradesman 6.4 hemi.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Nice truck dude

 

[sstoner911]

I picked up my new truck over the weekend from Mark Dodge and road tripped it ~1000 miles home to Ohio. Figured I would share some of my first impressions. My previous truck was a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT.

Almost 20 weeks from when I ordered the truck to delivery.

• The first thing I noticed was the infamous "chirp" of the 6.4L - i'll just have to get used to it.
• The Hemi seems to have a lot of power, and the transmission is very smooth.
• The truck is very quiet on the inside compared to my last one. It's like a luxury car.
• The cloth seats are quite comfortable, I do wish they had height or lumbar adjustment but I can live without.
• Tire pressures were 80+ psi across the board. I stopped and aired down to the 65/60 as stated on the door. The truck rides very smooth, comparable to my old 1/2t that had a leveling kit on it.
• It wanders a bit on the road. Seemed like I was constantly steering.
• Lane keep assist made me realize how poor I am at staying in the dead center of my lane. I haven't played with the settings at all, but it seems pretty aggressive.
• Adaptive cruise control is great. There were a couple times where it braked when I wouldn't have, but overall the system made the trip a little more enjoyable.
• Digital rearview mirror is great during the day. It has a wide angle clear view that gives you much better rear visibility than the mirror would.
• Blindspot monitoring is a nice addition on such a large vehicle. The passenger mirror seems very magnified to me.. I will have to flip them up and see if there is any improvement.
• The stock stereo system is fantastic. Great bass, clear mids, and crisp highs. I am very impressed with it. It is easily on par with the Bose system that was in my previous truck. I have seen complaints on the forum about the higher end systems, I would be interested to hear them compared to just the base system.
• The plastic door panels on the Tradesman are completely fine. I didn't have a sore elbow like some others said I would.
• Halogen headlights seem to be just at the level of acceptable. I think I will swap them out with the OEM LED headlights and try to sell them to recoup some of the cost.
• The measurements of the truck published by RAM are spot on. I was concerned when ordering that it wouldn't fit in my garage if they were off at all. It clears by about an inch (as expected)!
• I averaged 14.9 MPG hand calculated. The EVIC seemed to be a little more optimistic - closer to 16 MPG on the display.

Overall I am really happy with my purchase so far. Can't wait to do some towing with it to see where it really shines!

My window sticker

View attachment 27363

Iam courius as to what rearview mirror you have. The digital review is not available if you have adaptive cruise. The adaptive cruise uses a Camera located on the backside of the rearview mirror which the digital mirror does not come with.

My truck has the digital mirror that has a lever you flip back and utilizes a second camera in the third brake light.
Flip the lever back and it switches back to the rearview mirror.

 

[Christofo]

Iam courius as to what rearview mirror you have. The digital review is not available if you have adaptive cruise. The adaptive cruise uses a Camera located on the backside of the rearview mirror which the digital mirror does not come with.

My truck has the digital mirror that has a lever you flip back and utilizes a second camera in the third brake light.
Flip the lever back and it switches back to the rearview mirror.

I have digital rearview + adaptive cruise. It's right on the window sticker as part of the safety group package. Adaptive cruise uses radar mounted in the center of the windshield as far as I know.

 

[sstoner911]

I have digital rearview + adaptive cruise. It's right on the window sticker as part of the safety group package. Adaptive cruise uses radar mounted in the center of the windshield as far as I know.
View attachment 29537

I wonder if they have 2 different ones...If you order the digital rearview mirror that comes with the trailer camera and you select the safety group it won't let you select the safety group.

The way it was explained toe by another forum member was the digital rearview mirror I have is not compatible with adaptive cruise.

Doesb your third brake light have the cargo camera and the digital rearview camera?

 

[Christofo]

I wonder if they have 2 different ones...If you order the digital rearview mirror that comes with the trailer camera and you select the safety group it won't let you select the safety group.

The way it was explained toe by another forum member was the digital rearview mirror I have is not compatible with adaptive cruise.

Doesb your third brake light have the cargo camera and the digital rearview camera?

Yep, I have cargo camera and digital rearview. I have the trailer camera and trailer 360 connections too.

 

[sstoner911]

Yep, I have cargo camera and digital rearview. I have the trailer camera and trailer 360 connections too.

Very odd - I see the safety group does have a digital camera - but if I select the safety group and then try to order the digital camera with tow mode it unselects the safety group - may because the its duplicated? I may have to ask @Jimmy07 again about it because now I am confused!

I didn't feel like making hole in the fiberglass of my travel trailer for the trailer 360 view so I sold that kit.

Congrats on the truck!

 

[Christofo]

Very odd - I see the safety group does have a digital camera - but if I select the safety group and then try to order the digital camera with tow mode it unselects the safety group - may because the its duplicated? I may have to ask @Jimmy07 again about it because now I am confused!

I didn't feel like making hole in the fiberglass of my travel trailer for the trailer 360 view so I sold that kit.

Congrats on the truck!

Looks like you can't select both package. You can select safety group then further down the page you can add the tow-mode camera à la carte. Thanks, I'm up to 3,000 miles on it and loving it so far!

 

[Bigv]

I loved my ram 3/4 with the hemi. Towed thousands of miles and used it to drive to work every day. I now have a Cummins. Both are great trucks. Congratulations.

 

[eljefe]

I went from a 1500 with the Eco Diesel to a 2500 Tradesman with the hemi. Love being in my truck. All I’ve ever driven is a Ram, and they have all had a little wander but never something that bothered me. Agree on the seat, miss the lumbar. I have the 17” wheels so I upgraded from the 245 to 285, made a huge difference.

 

[tla90]

• It wanders a bit on the road. Seemed like I was constantly steering.
• Lane keep assist made me realize how poor I am at staying in the dead center of my lane. I haven't played with the settings at all, but it seems pretty aggressive.
• Blindspot monitoring is a nice addition on such a large vehicle. The passenger mirror seems very magnified to me.. I will have to flip them up and see if there is any improvement.

A few of things I've noticed with these:
1) The lane keep in horrendous on any roads. It just bounces back and forth. Basically unusable
2) Passenger mirror needs to be convex. You miss a lot with it just being a flat mirror. It is a safety concern
3) The wandering is due to the tires. If you pay attention, you can feel them floating as well. This is worse than any M/T tires I have owned, and as bad as Super Swampers. Previously owned a 2500HD with Mickey Thompson MTZs. I think the compound is garbage on them
4) My alignment is off from the factory. I want to get rid of these tires, so I probably won't fix it unless it goes in the shop for something else