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2500 to 3500 questions

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Havoc Powersports

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Coming to the board for help deciding on truck!! 2022 ram 2500 4x4 ccsb limited diesel, offroad pkg night edition, hard loaded or 2022 ram 3500 HO ccsb 4x4 limited night edition, hard loaded. Most driving is city hwy and around the farm. How bad is the 3500 ride for daily? Currently have a 2019 ram 2500 4x4 cclb Laramie sport offroad diesel. Before that had a 17 ram 3500 cclb dually 4x4. The price difference is 3k from the 2500 to 3500 HO for the truck order. Thanks
 
'19 2500 ctd ccsb Laramie owner here. I like my coil springs and not having the state taking more from me to drive it. I don't tow heavy or work it too much so the ctd's limited payload was never a concern. Dot hassles when towing my dump trailer were on my mind tho. Very happy with truck, especially after my cp4 is on the chopping block! Happy Hunting!!
 
Was debating between the 2 myself. I don't need the extra ratings but my friends that tow and have upgraded to 3500's say that due to the way the coil setup is configured, you get side motion when the axle moves up and down compared to a leaf suspension that goes straight up and down. This seems like a huge deal for towing (sway) which is pretty much all I would be using the truck for and precisely what my friends are telling me. The upgrade is about $1500. As for the extra registration fees, you can register a 3500 at a lower rating if you never intend on using the extra capacity. I'm not looking at a diesel so I see no issues with that. Thoughts?

Actually it is less than $1500 upgrade due to some features being standard.
 
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What are you going to be towing (if anything) that should be your deciding factor between the 2.

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I have a 2021 3500 SRW Limited night edition and with the plow prep package towing package with the air ride and would not change a thing. My wife vehicle is a Yukon Denali and I would rather drive my 3500 over it I feel it rides better. That’s just my opinion.
 
3500 DRW daily driving ride is not great, not terrible. If you air down the tires the ride is much improved. I have 30k miles on mine over the last year, 1/2 of that towing. I would choose the 3500 over the 2500 again.
 
I'm going from a 2013 2500 mega cab to a 2022 3500 mega cab due to the weight of my new trailer. I wasn't planning on owning anything this big when we bought our 2013, but now that we have it, I should upgrade, or at least that's what I told the wife
 
I went from a 2018 Ram 2500 to a 2021 Ram 3500 and don't notice a difference. The 18 was a short bed and the 3500 is a long bed, not sure if that made a difference. My Dad has a 2019 2500 short bed and I don't find the ride much different than my 3500.

That's when unloaded. Loaded with my 14k fifth wheel the 3500 rides much better and feels much more stable.
 
Get the HO... You can drive them both and you will see the HO is a better choice and you will never not have enough truck....
 
I just went from a 2020 2500 SO SRW to a 2022 3500 SO SRW. The ride on the 2500 is better, but not significantly. I upgraded to the 3500 for payload. Went from just over 2100lbs to just over 3800lbs. My 5er's GVWR is 14.5k. The 3500 does what I need it to do and more even with the SO Cummins. I mainly use it as a daily and highway use. Currently 4k mi on the ODO. Lovin it so far.
 
Havoc Powersports said:
went with 2500, especially since wife said instead of camper trailer we can look at a super c rv.
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Wise move.

If you arent towing much, you dont need a 3500, or even a 2500.

I might have bought a 1500 if I were you.
 
Well I certainly don't "need" a 2500 or 3500 but that's not stopped me yet lol. Owned both models, ride quality is subjective. Owned both air suspension and regular as well. The 3500 is certainly stiff when its not loaded, but I still found it 'comfortable'. Probably biggest difference between the two is how they respond when you hit the various bumps in the road when they are not loaded down/towing ... there, there is a pretty big difference between the two (in my butt-o-meter measuring). The 3500 will be a lot more prone to bouncing and feeling a bit squirrely (very technical term I know).

In the end the 2500 is going to be more comfortable, just no arguing that given the rear coil setup. With what you described as your 'need' its hard to say you 'need a HO 3500' ... but if you 'want' a 3500 HO and the $3k isn't going to determine if you have food on the table & a roof over your head, then get what you 'want' and don't look back.
 
Havoc Powersports said:
Coming to the board for help deciding on truck!! 2022 ram 2500 4x4 ccsb limited diesel, offroad pkg night edition, hard loaded or 2022 ram 3500 HO ccsb 4x4 limited night edition, hard loaded. Most driving is city hwy and around the farm. How bad is the 3500 ride for daily? Currently have a 2019 ram 2500 4x4 cclb Laramie sport offroad diesel. Before that had a 17 ram 3500 cclb dually 4x4. The price difference is 3k from the 2500 to 3500 HO for the truck order. Thanks
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Why do you want to upgrade ? What are you wanting that your current 2500 is not offering?
 
A year ago I test drove a Quad Cab 2500 SB cummins.... Couldn't find a 3500 to test drive... Ordered a Quad Cab 3500HO SB to get the Aisin and leaf springs... with no airbags.... No noticeable difference in the ride that I could tell... 3500 rides pretty nice until you get north of the Mason Dixon Line! Then it really doesn't matter what you drive as the roads suck....
 
aaronedmonton said:
Why do you want to upgrade ? What are you wanting that your current 2500 is not offering?
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Usually upgrade truck every 3 years. my current is a cc long bed that I bought when I owned an excavation business before I sold it, so I no longer need a long bed. Was looking at the 3500 HO for the getup and go fun factor but cooled my tities and went with another 2500 but a ccsb for the more comfortable ride. Ran duallys every time up until the 19's came out then switched to 2500.
 
I just went through this same decision a month ago when I ordered mine. I tow about 10k pounds about half the time and daily drive it empty the other half. I ended up going with the 3500 CCSB limited HO for a couple reasons. I didnt want to worry about payload since tongue weight on my trailer is about 1k and often drive with 4 people in the truck while towing. That starts to get pretty close to 2500 limited payload capacity quickly and I am of the mind that I prefer to have it and not need it than the inverse.

I also wanted the AISIN as I prefer the way it drives and the reliability compared to the 68RFE. The drive feel is super subjective though so take that with a grain of salt.

I test drove the 2500 and 3500 back to back and the 3500 rides a bit more rough for sure but its definitey not unbearable and if you hate it, you can always start to upgrade suspension if you want.
 
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