Less than thrilled with my 2021 Laramie 2500

[jadmt]

I would think the PW has much more to offer off-road than the F 150 does. Just depends what you use it for. I think the PW is one of a kind.

absolutely.

 

[Joel19Ram]

For fuel economy mine gets about 16-17 in the city and 21mpg on highway. Make sure your not measure fuel economy during regen...

For acceleration issue that is easily fixed with a Banks PedalMonster. It is by far the best $300 I have spent on my truck. It is a night and day/ seat of the pants difference! The factory throttle response is purposely de-tuned. This gadget will remove that spongy feeling and lack of throttle response. It is inline tuning so it is undetected and will not affect warranty. Watch video below:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RamGuy84]

First, let me say I'm an Engineering VP whose been doing product development for over 30 years so I'll admit I'm very detail oriented and have very high expectations when i buy something expensive. I know what it takes to engineer a quality product that delivers on customer expectations, and I also know when a product falls short. Also, I'm not a die hard fan of any brand, I will buy what I think is best and/or a good deal for what you're getting. I've owned Chevy, Ford, and Dodge trucks. This is not my first Dodge, I bought a new SRT10 Quad cab when they first came out. I bought the 2021 Ram 2500 in January after reading about the 3-peat win of TOTY by the Ram in Car and Driver, and because I needed a better tow vehicle than my F150.

That said, I'm not yet feeling like this truck lives up to my expectations. I'd like to share some take aways I've had, and like to hear other's feedback.

1. Fuel economy - I thought diesel engines were supposed to get better mileage than gas counterparts. I traded in a 2016 F150 Limited with the Ecoboost V6. That truck got around 13 mpg around town (nowhere near what ford claims btw), and after 1100 miles on the 2500, I'm seeing about 13 mpg. I do not drive this truck hard, or accelerate hard. I was expecting better than the ford. Also, while I've not done any long trips yet, when I'm cruising on the toll road at 75, I'm seeing about 17 to 18 mpg on the instantaneous mpg display. That's telling me I'm not going to see the 25 mpg highway I've heard about.

2. Acceleration - I know this truck is much heavier than the F150 but was expecting decent acceleration from the Ram. Unfortunately, the 2500 has really disappointing acceleration for all the torque it's supposed to have. Haven't timed it yet but my seat of the pants guess is at least 8 to 9 secs 0 to 60 or more. Before, you guys flame me, i didn't buy this truck for its acceleration, but this is disappointing coming from the ecoboost. You've really got to time your merging and passing with this thing. Whereas the F150 would light up the tires from a dead stop and even bark the tires if I stomped it at 20 mph.

3. Interior - This is a bright spot, mostly, for the Ram. The interior design and build quality is very good for the most part. Materials are nice and the interior looks really upscale for a pickup. Now for the disappointments. I'm 6'7", so very tall. I had no fit issues in the F150, headroom and legroom were great. Btw, both trucks have power sun roofs (which I hate but buying a truck off the lot always has these). I have limited headroom in the Ram and my hair rubs sometimes. Also, legroom between my right knee and the trailer brake control module on the lower part of the dash to the right of steering wheel is very limited. This truck is HUGE, how am I having fit issues?

4. Feature execution - There are a few features on this truck that are nice features, but poorly executed. The first is the Auto High Beams. Whoever wrote the user story (defined how it should work) for this feature must not drive at night. If you enable this feature in settings then you MUST keep your turn signal/high beam stalk pushed forward for auto high beams to work. However, when you use the turn signal to indicate a turn or lane change, it's very easy to pull the stalk back accidentally then your high beams turn off, and you won't notice it until the next time you're driving at night and realize your high beams aren't coming on. Also, there is no way to override the truck's decision about whether the brights should be on. To manually override and turn the brights on, you have to go into settings, navigate the menu, find the right setting, turn it off, then you can push the stalk forward and get them on, this isn't going to happen while your driving. Why does this matter? It matters since the truck's light sensors seem to be oversensitive to reflections from street signs and keep turning the brights off. There's also no hysteresis built in so the brights will go on and off often on certain stretches of road. The F150 did this right. Just turn the setting on and the brights come on and off as the truck determines, but if you push the stalk forward, you can override the truck and force the high beams to stay on. Another poorly design feature is the gauge/center stack backlight control. The dial isn't fully linear meaning you can't just rotate from dim to max brightness as you would expect. If you rotate it to the highest brightness, without clicking it into "max brightness", there is a big step in brightness between those two settings. Why does this matter? Well if you're driving in very overcast days or at twilight, and the truck turns its headlights on, the gauges will dim to the point they're very difficult to see. The only way to fix this is rotate the dial to the max position which it clicks into. The gauges are now readable but as soon as it gets fully dark, they're WAY too bright in the cab and are distracting. Another feature is how you select channels on the sound system. In GM's, you can set your favorites from any receiver (satellite, FM, or AM). Your favorites then present all these to you and you can select from what you like without needing to switch receiver modes. The system does that for you. On the RAM's 12" system, if you want to switch between an FM station and a Satellite channel (which I do often), you have to switch screens to the source screen, then select the mode you want, then switch back to the main screen to see your favorites, then select your favorite from that list, all while you're driving - not going to happen. Yes, there's a button on the back of the steering wheel, but you have to rotate through all the sources to get to the one you want. GM did this right.
I list these as examples of where Dodge had good ideas, but really don't spend time undertanding their cutomers like Ford and GM seem to have done. I could go on, but the point is made.

Ok, I'd like to hear other's thoughts about their experience with their new Ram 2500.

Wow, when I made similar comments like this on here awhile back, I did get flamed.

Having owned a 2020 F-350 Platinum power stroke and a 2019 Ram 3500 Limited Cummins for the business at the same time, heres how I see it.

1. Interior- Ram all the way, except for the lack of telescopic steering and dimensions like headroom, legroom, etc. Also, I found the platinum seats in the 2020 and newer Fords to be way more comfortable than any Ram seat. In the 19 and older Fords, it would be the exact opposite. I also appreciate the giving me more engine info than the ford, especially battery voltage.

2. Visibility-Ford wins. The windshield is just flat out larger and gives you a better view overall. Also, the mirrors I think are far superior than the flip up Ram mirrors.

3. Powertrain-I personally prefer to drive the Ford power stroke, however with towing, the Ram wins. I noticed that with the 10 speed while towing in T/H especially at a stoplight on an incline, the engine would rev, but the truck wouldn't move, but then suddenly it would take off and shift into 4th. So just driving around, I prefer Ford, but towing, I prefer Ram. I would passing acceleration to suck with both of them.

4. Bed- Ford wins! Wider and slightly longer. For those of us who use it to haul stuff, you can appreciate that. I do like Ford's tailgate step, though useless if you have a trailer connected. It disappointed me when Ram offered no solutions expect for a bed step, which you can put on any truck.

5. Towing Connections-Ram wins. I've never once had an issue with the 7 pin connector or had any issues with electrical connections with the truck and trailer. With the Ford, especially in the winter I had problems with the dash dining chime going off all of the time telling me some light was out when it wasn't or the brakes were out and they weren't. My trailer doesn't have an onboard battery, but has an electric jack. With the Ford, the electric jack and the cargo lights inside would not work unless the Ford was in Drive or Neutral. Its the way the Ford is wired. I had to get a wire the connected to one of the pins to make it hot all of the time for these things to work while the truck was in park or not turned on. With the Ram, the lights and jack always work the when trailer is plugged into the truck .

6. Social Media- I recently noticed Ford being "woke" on twitter and other social media platforms. I looked at Ram's platforms and didnt see anything from them with regard to race and politics, so thats a plus. I'll probably get lit up for this, but oh well. We all have a right to our opinions.

 

[Rob122]

12 years as a motorcycle, jet ski, snowmobile mechanic. Take a guess as to how many times I had to bend my arm in 7 places to get to an adjustment some engineer designed on cad and wondered if the office guys ever actually touched anything they drew up...
Kidding aside, I have a pretty barebones 19 big horn. I can manage 22mpg highway without the cruise, 11 or so pulling 8k tt in mixed terrain.
I have the little 5 inch screen. Aftermarket has almost no options. The camera sucks if the sun shines in the cab, you can't see the screen. The shifter on the column came loose. I tightened it up. The boot over said shifter wore through and has a hole in it. The door hinges get sticky and the rollers don't work, some pb blaster frees them up. The tailgate has no self damping. This is stupid. I bought a $30 kit to install.
There's no power outlet in the back seat. I run a 6 foot cable from the front to the kids dvd players on long trips. Why is there no outlet? This baffles me.
It's honestly hard to see over the hood if I have to see close. I'm 5'11.
I can't tap the horn. You have to push hard to make it work and then you're a jerk because its more than a friendly toot.
It randomly drops the connection to my phone during calls. No idea why.
It's not fast, I never expected it to be. It pulls things like an absolute champ though, that's why I bought it.
Agree on the dash lights, it's not a good transition.
Low rpm manners could be a little better but it is a HD truck. 1k rpm around the neighborhood can be a bit jerky.
Turning quickly after switching from Reverse to Drive or vice versa gives you a moment of dead steering pump.
Oil changes are simple, fuel filters are simple.
It warms up incredibly fast on cold days. Like 15 degrees, warm in 5 minutes.
The exhaust brake is great.
It runs quiet for what is is when towing unless you're pushing it up a hill and it didn't downshift.
The wind doesn't affect it like a half ton.
It's comfortable.
The tow mirrors work well.
Overall it's about what I expected. I hope they update the injector pump.

 

[JohnandDonna]

I should clarify on my post above, I do disagree with the mileage claims, my 05 nv5600 truck doesn’t even get 20 on the hwy at 75. 16-20 I feel is very realistic for these trucks depending on speed. As for being a hot rod forget the hemi I think they’re turds compared to a Cummins regardless of year. My 21 hits 45-60 in the blink of an eye and merges effortlessly with 70mph traffic on the hwy

The 6.4 Hemi is NOT a turd! I have it with the 4.10 gears and the acceleration is great. When not towing the takeoff is very peppy. When towing I have plenty of power to spare. Also remember the 6.4 Hemi in the HD trucks is not the same 6.4 Hemi that is in the Challenges and Chargers. Completely different set up.

 

[E-Rod]

Clock location not ideal:
On the 12" screen, does anyone else wish there was a more prominent clock display...especially when appleCarPlay is hooked up. There ought to be one in large font at the top of the screen and above RPM/MPH screen

 

[Badunit]

The 6.4 Hemi, 4.10, and the ZF 8 speed appear to be a pretty good combo. I test drove a Power Wagon like that and it felt good. MPG was worse than I was thinking it would be on the 80mph highway test (10mpg) but it shifted when it was supposed to, unlike with the older 6 speed. It is still a far cry from the Cummins for highway cruising, though. The Cummins doesn't require a downshift for "smallish" hills like the Hemi does and gets 17-18mpg vs 10mpg on this same stretch of highway (30-40 miles out, then return). I have been on the fence about trading for a Power Wagon and going back to gas, which is more peppy and fun in my opinion, but I love how the Cummins tractors down the highway effortlessly and I do a lot of that.

There is a lot to love about the Ram. I took this thread as a discussion of things that could be improved, not bashing.

 

[Deleted member 80]

The seat thing is so subjective. I have owned all three, and find the Ram seat the best for thousand mile days. I can't see(literally)how the Ford mirrors are functionally better. They power out, but don't have power spot mirrors, which I value more. For 102" toy hauler I think the Ram mirror has more reach. Neither is as good as a real truck mirror, IMHO.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

The reason the ecoboost feels faster is because its twin turbo, its got no torque management (cummins needs this or it will eat transmissions) and 4000lbs lighter... i had an ecoduce rental when my 19 was in the body shop what a trurd it had power but the trans was junk shifting all over the place but did wonderful burnouts!... if your the engineer you claim to be you should be able to understand these things....

 

[Bozo]

My fuel economy is great.........when it sits in the driveway. Not been sitting much lately, 12-14mpg, occasional 18 when I dont have to use the right foot.

 

[BLuRRnAWAY]

I guess I'm used to my Jeep Wrangler, 10-13 MPG.

 

[RamGuy84]

The seat thing is so subjective. I have owned all three, and find the Ram seat the best for thousand mile days. I can't see(literally)how the Ford mirrors are functionally better. They power out, but don't have power spot mirrors, which I value more. For 102" toy hauler I think the Ram mirror has more reach. Neither is as good as a real truck mirror, IMHO.

Many of things...seats, uconnect, mirrors, etc are all subjective. If you haven't been in a 2020 or newer Ford Lariat or Platinum, then you cannot make the comparison.

 

[Xflight29]

Why are you comparing? No truck will suit everyone.

 

[Bozo]

Many of things...seats, uconnect, mirrors, etc are all subjective. If you haven't been in a 2020 or newer Ford Lariat or Platinum, then you cannot make the comparison.

That is true, but can anybody get over the fact that the aluminum body on the fords rips so damn easily?

 

[Millmutt]

First, let me say I'm an Engineering VP whose been doing product development for over 30 years so I'll admit I'm very detail oriented and have very high expectations when i buy something expensive. I know what it takes to engineer a quality product that delivers on customer expectations, and I also know when a product falls short. Also, I'm not a die hard fan of any brand, I will buy what I think is best and/or a good deal for what you're getting. I've owned Chevy, Ford, and Dodge trucks. This is not my first Dodge, I bought a new SRT10 Quad cab when they first came out. I bought the 2021 Ram 2500 in January after reading about the 3-peat win of TOTY by the Ram in Car and Driver, and because I needed a better tow vehicle than my F150.

That said, I'm not yet feeling like this truck lives up to my expectations. I'd like to share some take aways I've had, and like to hear other's feedback.

1. Fuel economy - I thought diesel engines were supposed to get better mileage than gas counterparts. I traded in a 2016 F150 Limited with the Ecoboost V6. That truck got around 13 mpg around town (nowhere near what ford claims btw), and after 1100 miles on the 2500, I'm seeing about 13 mpg. I do not drive this truck hard, or accelerate hard. I was expecting better than the ford. Also, while I've not done any long trips yet, when I'm cruising on the toll road at 75, I'm seeing about 17 to 18 mpg on the instantaneous mpg display. That's telling me I'm not going to see the 25 mpg highway I've heard about.

2. Acceleration - I know this truck is much heavier than the F150 but was expecting decent acceleration from the Ram. Unfortunately, the 2500 has really disappointing acceleration for all the torque it's supposed to have. Haven't timed it yet but my seat of the pants guess is at least 8 to 9 secs 0 to 60 or more. Before, you guys flame me, i didn't buy this truck for its acceleration, but this is disappointing coming from the ecoboost. You've really got to time your merging and passing with this thing. Whereas the F150 would light up the tires from a dead stop and even bark the tires if I stomped it at 20 mph.

3. Interior - This is a bright spot, mostly, for the Ram. The interior design and build quality is very good for the most part. Materials are nice and the interior looks really upscale for a pickup. Now for the disappointments. I'm 6'7", so very tall. I had no fit issues in the F150, headroom and legroom were great. Btw, both trucks have power sun roofs (which I hate but buying a truck off the lot always has these). I have limited headroom in the Ram and my hair rubs sometimes. Also, legroom between my right knee and the trailer brake control module on the lower part of the dash to the right of steering wheel is very limited. This truck is HUGE, how am I having fit issues?

4. Feature execution - There are a few features on this truck that are nice features, but poorly executed. The first is the Auto High Beams. Whoever wrote the user story (defined how it should work) for this feature must not drive at night. If you enable this feature in settings then you MUST keep your turn signal/high beam stalk pushed forward for auto high beams to work. However, when you use the turn signal to indicate a turn or lane change, it's very easy to pull the stalk back accidentally then your high beams turn off, and you won't notice it until the next time you're driving at night and realize your high beams aren't coming on. Also, there is no way to override the truck's decision about whether the brights should be on. To manually override and turn the brights on, you have to go into settings, navigate the menu, find the right setting, turn it off, then you can push the stalk forward and get them on, this isn't going to happen while your driving. Why does this matter? It matters since the truck's light sensors seem to be oversensitive to reflections from street signs and keep turning the brights off. There's also no hysteresis built in so the brights will go on and off often on certain stretches of road. The F150 did this right. Just turn the setting on and the brights come on and off as the truck determines, but if you push the stalk forward, you can override the truck and force the high beams to stay on. Another poorly design feature is the gauge/center stack backlight control. The dial isn't fully linear meaning you can't just rotate from dim to max brightness as you would expect. If you rotate it to the highest brightness, without clicking it into "max brightness", there is a big step in brightness between those two settings. Why does this matter? Well if you're driving in very overcast days or at twilight, and the truck turns its headlights on, the gauges will dim to the point they're very difficult to see. The only way to fix this is rotate the dial to the max position which it clicks into. The gauges are now readable but as soon as it gets fully dark, they're WAY too bright in the cab and are distracting. Another feature is how you select channels on the sound system. In GM's, you can set your favorites from any receiver (satellite, FM, or AM). Your favorites then present all these to you and you can select from what you like without needing to switch receiver modes. The system does that for you. On the RAM's 12" system, if you want to switch between an FM station and a Satellite channel (which I do often), you have to switch screens to the source screen, then select the mode you want, then switch back to the main screen to see your favorites, then select your favorite from that list, all while you're driving - not going to happen. Yes, there's a button on the back of the steering wheel, but you have to rotate through all the sources to get to the one you want. GM did this right.
I list these as examples of where Dodge had good ideas, but really don't spend time undertanding their cutomers like Ford and GM seem to have done. I could go on, but the point is made.

Ok, I'd like to hear other's thoughts about their experience with their new Ram 2500.

You are regretful of your purchase and then proceeded to dump more no return money into a truck you don't like. Needed to do some Due Diligence. No one forced you to purchase the truck and all the features you don't like might suit someone else just fine. These vehicles are all different for a reason to try to attract buyers and retain owners. I have had them all as well, Ford, GM, and now Ram. I think they are are good and different. And by the way the gripe on the auto high beams, my Mercedes works the same way but I still like the car after 5 years.

 

[EDM]

I too have owned an Ecoboost and experienced the acceleration you speak of. I went to an Ecodiesel after that which was a real dog off the line. I agree that the F150 was impressive, but it's nothing compared to my wife's Tesla. It's all relative, and in my opinion I like firm well mannered acceleration in a tow rig. The ecodiesel lacked the oomph to tow well. The F150 handled loads fine, but was VERY thirsty. I'm of the opinion that a Cummins 2500 is in a class above the half tons once you hook it up to a trailer. This truck just chugs along comfortably. There's no hill too steep or headwind too strong. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones when it comes to mileage. Unhooked I average just a hair under 20 MPG and towing our 8,000 lb travel trailer it's around 12.

 

[Deleted member 80]

Many of things...seats, uconnect, mirrors, etc are all subjective. If you haven't been in a 2020 or newer Ford Lariat or Platinum, then you cannot make the comparison.

I have been in a friend's '20 Ford, and my opinion stands.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Clock location not ideal:
On the 12" screen, does anyone else wish there was a more prominent clock display...especially when appleCarPlay is hooked up. There ought to be one in large font at the top of the screen and above RPM/MPH screen

I get ZERO clock when Android Auto is connected wired.

 

[HD5280]

First, thanks for all the replies so quickly. I knew this might be a bit controversial, but I wanted to hear other views.

A couple comments about why did I buy the Ram 2500? I recently (last year) bought an enclosed 28ft car hauler to haul a couple of my cars/trucks to car shows out of state. The F150 pulled it but struggled. I knew it was time to upgrade to a diesel for the pulling torque.

That said, and I'm pretty aggravated at myself about this, I jumped the gun when purchasing it. I hadn't done all the detailed research I normally do, but found a decent Laramie 2500 Night Edition at 7K off sticker sitting on a lot near me. I just went to look at it, since I hadn't looked at one before, but long story short, I came home with it. My bad, and now I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse.

Honestly, to try to make myself like it more, I've already dumped several thousand in upgrades into it with new wheels/tires, leveling kit, amp research power steps, gatortrax tonneau cover, front light bar and led lights, etc. Maybe not the best strategy.

I'm hoping the first time I hook up that car hauler and tow a car several hundred miles, I'll realize why I bought it.

As I mentioned in my post, I know the truck is heavier than the ford, and I didn't buy it to be a hot rod, but to be honest, it's way slower than I expected given the 850 ft.lbs of torque. That should give a little better seat of the pants feel. Sorry, not trying to aggravate the Cummins fans.

Also, it's a bit disappointing to hear there's a new cab formthe HD trucks just around the corner, again my mistake for not doing my homework.

Anyway, interesting reading everyone's take. Thx,

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[HD5280]

Clock location not ideal:
On the 12" screen, does anyone else wish there was a more prominent clock display...especially when appleCarPlay is hooked up. There ought to be one in large font at the top of the screen and above RPM/MPH screen

Add it to your cluster through screen setup. Mine is in the “center” option which is perfect IMO. I never look at the 12” for time any longer.