Feedback from 2013-14 Ram owners

[8289Diamond]

No issues with starting with any of our Rams 98.5', 03' and now the 2014 CTD. Limited 14' cold starts. In garage and plugged in today at -15. Coolant was 110 at startup. Had good heat in about 10 min. Much faster heat up than past models with all conditions the same. One radio re-flash so far. Anti-lock reprogram notice due. Ordered last March took delivery May 9th. Coon Rapids Ram from Jim Sr. Very pleased so far.

[schrederman]

My mileage readout is "happy" by a couple of mpg usually. Real time... doin' the math mileage for mine in 18 - 20 on the hiway cruising at 70. My towing mileage is 13 - 15 towing my TT at 65, which usually doesn't weigh more than 6500#. These figures are done with the gallons pumped and miles driven, not with the truck's computer. The 1-tons and heavier trucks have lower gear ratios... i.e. higher numbers. Mine has the 3.42 axle ratio and that helps. I've put 10,500 miles on her so far and I've filled the DEF tank twice. I have towed a bit over 4K miles. I would definitely buy this truck again, but not from the same dealer... I was a Ford-only guy since the '80s... Enjoy!

[KenHwy61]

Thanks for the replies. It's good to hear of quick warm-ups even at sub-zero temps and the few problems people seem to be having. My wife likes to drive our truck when it snows so it is important for any new truck to have good heat and be "lady friendly" as in not be smelly, noisy and ride like an old dumptruck! I think all the newer trucks have come all long way in those regards

[schrederman]

I especially like that my seat, and steering wheel heaters come on automatically at 39 degrees and below. Takes the chill off pretty quickly.


22 months to retirement...

[KenHwy61]

Automatically heated seats and steering wheel, now that sounds great! I was looking at the SLT model and I don't think it includes such niceties. The cost of the Laramie package pushes it out of my price range as I still have a new camper to finish paying off. RVing sure can be an expensive hobby!

22 months to retirement. Close enough to start marking off the calendar!

[btritschler1437]

The exhaust brake on the CTD is better than Ford's prior to '15. My '11 Ford F-350 had a small fuel tank, RAM is larger, 32 gals. Have towed about 12,000 miles now out of 24,400 miles. Only recall was for a radio update. I like the NAV system, in fact I like everything about the truck. The only thing the truck lacks is electric retractable side mirrors. DEF is no problem, mileage is good for a 4.10 rear. Seats more comfortable than my Ford. I have the Aisin transmission. Of the three transmissions available this is the heaviest duty. This is an interesting truck: Italian car company, truck is assembled in Mexico, with an American engine and rear, and a Japanese transmission (owned by Toyota).

[Fufys]

I have a 2014 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi. I have a Crusader 295 which weighs 9000 empty and the coil springs barely move at all I had a 2013 3500 diesel and I think I have almost as much power with the hemi. I like tHe coil springs just in case I want to add airbags later on. I get around 13 city, 18 hwy and 9-11 mpg towing. This is my 5th Ram and I have no complaints.

[KenHwy61]

Rams can be an interesting mix of component suppliers but that is not all that unusual anymore. As long as it all works reliably together. I was wondering about the coil spring suspension on the 2500 but people seem to like the smoother ride and I haven't heard anything bad about towing with it. I am curious though why the previous poster Fufys went from the Cummins to the gas. I don't hear that too often although I do see both sides of the subject.

[Fufys]

This is a reply for Kenhwy61. I had a 38 ft Sierra 5er that I pulled with my 3500 that weight 12,000 lbs, but I sold them both and bought a 1500 thinking that my travelling days were over. I got camping fever and bought a Laredo TT that my 1500 pulled easily. We had a major design flaw with the Laredo and Keystone would not even admit the problem much less correct it. So we traded it in for the Crusader and bought the 2500 with the 6.4 hemi. The main reason was the extra cost for the diesel engine. All this trading caused a severe cash shortage. I have nothing but good things to say about the Cummins, just couldn't afford it and the hemi is handling the Crusader very well.

[The_Rhino]

Although I cannot comment on the '13-'14 diesels, Ram honored the powertrain warranty on my '11 2500 w/5.7 Hemi @96,000 miles. We are new to camping & had to buy our TV, TT & supplies all in the same year... Therefore we could not afford buying new this time around... However, when we upgrade, I am definitely considering Ram as my first choice.

[KenHwy61]

Trading often does get expensive and I am myself still paying on my camper so I understand where you're at. I may buy a leftover 2014 soon or wait to get a slightly used truck to save money. Some of the leftover 2014 diesel Tradesman models are under 40K now with 0% financing but even so that is still a lot of money. I've heard good things about the new 6.4 Hemi. If my Chevy 6.0 had that much power I might not be thinking of trading it in!

[KenHwy61]

Originally Posted by The_Rhino

Although I cannot comment on the '13-'14 diesels, Ram honored the powertrain warranty on my '11 2500 w/5.7 Hemi @96,000 miles. We are new to camping & had to buy our TV, TT & supplies all in the same year... Therefore we could not afford buying new this time around... However, when we upgrade, I am definitely considering Ram as my first choice.

RVing can be very expensive without added and unexpected costs so I'm glad Ram covered the engine. Do you know why the engine failed? When towing up the Sawtooth mountains above lake Superior my engine was running at 5000 rpm and the whole time I was waiting for a piston to come flying through the hood! It didn't seem to hurt the engine any but to be on the safe side I did change the oil the next day.

[DocGTO]

I've had 2 CTDs. An 2003 5.9 and then the redesigned 2010 3500 with the 6.7. The 2010 is the same as the 13 and up but the 2010 didn't have the urea injection to burn off the spot and it was an issue and the fuel milage was crap so I went to a 2014 Duramax. Now, any of the urea trucks from all the big 3 are improvements over the previous regen systems and the milage is up on all of them. The new Dodges are real nice inside and out as well. I'm not sold yet on the Aisen yet but I never had any issues with the 68RFE in my 2010.

As far as I'm concerned, you cannot go wrong with any of the big 3 now a days.

[DocGTO]

Originally Posted by KenHwy61

RVing can be very expensive without added and unexpected costs so I'm glad Ram covered the engine. Do you know why the engine failed? When towing up the Sawtooth mountains above lake Superior my engine was running at 5000 rpm and the whole time I was waiting for a piston to come flying through the hood! It didn't seem to hurt the engine any but to be on the safe side I did change the oil the next day.

The 6.0s are not that powerul but they are built like tanks! You would be surprised what a true HP tuners or EFI live tune does for that motor. I had mine custom tuned. And it is a solid 25bhp and more throttle response and less torque management. Mpg up 2 across the board.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by KenHwy61

I'm glad Ram covered the engine. Do you know why the engine failed?

In '13 I only paid $14K for a 2 year-old Ram 2500 CC ST with the balance of the powertrain warranty left. No Ohio rust compared to all of the older trucks I looked at in the same price range... However, there were no maintenance records from the previous owner, including CarFax records, etc. so I knew I was taking a risk... I have no idea if the previous owner followed the maintenance schedule, etc.

After a year of commuting & 30 days of camping this summer, I was driving to a meeting after work (no TT or payload) when the engine sounded like it exploded inside. Prior to this I heard no chattering valves, etc. to provide a warning. The oil level was checked at every fill-up and it was fine at time-of-death. Based on the internal damage caused to the block, the dealer thinks a valve dropped into the cylinder setting off a chain reaction which jammed a cylinder, bent a rod & locked the engine. For instance, when the truck came to a stop, I could not engage the starter to see if it would turn-over...

I feel blessed/lucky that this happened @ 4,000 miles under the 100K warranty... Although the first dealer said Ram wanted maintenance records from the previous owner, I took it to a larger Ram dealer & they handled everything. Although I was considering the F150HD EB as my next TV, I like the towing experience "feeling" a real 3/4 ton truck provides. I like my payload capacity of 3,000 lbs. & if I trade-up I would probably go with the 6.4 Hemi for the extra payload/tow capacity margin.

[schrederman]

Originally Posted by KenHwy61

Automatically heated seats and steering wheel, now that sounds great! I was looking at the SLT model and I don't think it includes such niceties. The cost of the Laramie package pushes it out of my price range as I still have a new camper to finish paying off. RVing sure can be an expensive hobby!

22 months to retirement. Close enough to start marking off the calendar!

Mine's not a Laramie... It's a Lone Star Edition, which is a slightly upgraded SLT. Check what packages are available, because the "Lone Star" is called something else in states other than Texas

.

[MickeyD]

I have a 2014 2500 CC CTD 4x4 Laramie with 8800 miles. I use it as a daily driver and it gets about 19 on the highway and 16 in city driving. The ride is good for running 70 psi in the tires, and despite the payload rating for 1900 pounds, I have carried 3500 pounds in the bed and it did fine. Between the heated and cooled seats, great leather, terrific radio, good ergonomics, it eats miles and has spoiled me. It was the emergency replacement for a 2014 GMC 1500 CC 4x4 Z-71 that got pushed around very uncomfortably by the new travel trailer. The new Ram tows the our LaCrosse 329 TT which weighs close to 11,000 loaded and it does great, mileage is a little lower than I hoped at 11, but we normally run fast and it should get better as it breaks in. Finally found the first problem, a small water leak by the cab brake light after driving for 3 hours in hard rain.

I looked at the 2015 Chevy 2500 (the GMC is a lot better looking truck but the headlights are horrible and makes driving at night very stressful) but the Ram drove a lot better and felt a lot "tighter" and better put together. The Duramax/Allison felt like a great combo, but the rest of the truck was not up to it. A diesel mechanic friend advised me to stay away from Ford, said that he has seen a lot of failures that Ford blames on bad fuel and refuses to cover under warranty and leaves the owner with very expensive repairs. He said that the perfect truck would be a Chevy with a Cummins and Allison transmission because the Rams are too "fugly".

The Ram pulls great and is definitely in charge (had a hour drive averaging 65 with a 20 to 30 mile an hour side wind and light rain in fairly heavy traffic and no sway or other bad behavior), they did a good job on the updated suspension. Two links on the WD bars or four, sway bar on or off, 800 pounds of firewood, bicycles, and other junk either in or out when we go camping, the truck does not care. I did put a Ranch Hand cow catcher bumper on the front that weighs almost 300 pounds (for deer), so I am going to upgrade the shocks when it warms up.

This is the first Chrysler I have had in about 30 years and they have really come a long way. The interior is great, very quiet, no rattles, power is incredible, so far I am very happy with the truck. Downsides are it is too tall to fit in the garage, it is not great in tight parking lots, off the line acceleration is a little sluggish until the turbo spools up (takes about two seconds and then it is off like a rocket), and the Cummins sounds like a Cummins, loud, makes ordering at a drive through an adventure sometimes. You hear a little rumble inside the truck, but it sounds like a real diesel outside. I haven't tracked the DEF use very closely, but I pour a 2.5 gallon jug of it in about every 2000 miles. Seems to use a lot more when towing than empty. This is the first diesel that I have had in about 20 years and they sure have come a long way.

[WFD]

Originally Posted by MickeyD

This is the first Chrysler I have had in about 30 years and they have really come a long way. This is the first diesel that I have had in about 20 years and they sure have come a long way.

Hey I thought Ram was Ram now, and that they were distancing themselves from the Chrysler badge! ...It's a Ram you're driving...not a Chrysler!

[ependydad]

MickeyD, I've gotten to the point where I just shut it down for drive thrus. Nonsense trying to shout over it!

[MickeyD]

I think that when it really comes down to it I am driving a great big black Fiat.