5th Gen Ram 2500 & 3500

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papa_smurf

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Thinking of getting rid of my old HD truck and my newer Gladiator, and going back to only having 1 truck. Looking at moving into a slightly used Ram 2500 4WD with the 6.7 Cummins.

Any personal experience here on these newer Rams? To me the interior and exterior look great, and the 6.7 & 68RFE seem similar to the previous generation. Just checking to see if we have anyone with personal experience on them good or bad. Not looking for hearsay or things read on the internet.
 
@anmesia has one and may have some insight on newer models.

As with any HD truck maintenance is key when looking for a used one.

What HD truck are you getting rid of?

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BloodRunsThicker said:
@anmesia has one and may have some insight on newer models.

As with any HD truck maintenance is key when looking for a used one.

What HD truck are you getting rid of?

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Getting rid of a 2008 Chevy 2500HD, Duramax & Allison combo, ~175k miles. It's been a good truck and the powertrain is solid, but the cab & interior are in pretty rough shape, and the body isn't great either. With the used market as high as it is I think it's time to let it go. But the Gladiator isn't quite what I need for hauling/towing.
 
How new are you thinking? My father in law has a 2013 2500 4x4 4-door with the 5.7L hemi gas engine, and I can share his thoughts on the truck in general (but it’s not a Cummins)
 
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DangerRuss said:
How new are you thinking? My father in law has a 2013 2500 4x4 4-door with the 5.7L hemi gas engine, and I can share his thoughts on the truck in general (but it’s not a Cummins)
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5th gen specifically, starting in 2019. Feel free to share, are his thoughts positive or negative? My wife's grandfather has a 2020 1500 with the 5.7 and loves it. They are getting good power out of that Hemi, but after owning my 2500 Duramax I ain't going back to gas.
 
I've got a 21 1500 5.7L and it's excellent. I've had it since January and it's still a thrill to drive. More power than I need. Laramie package provides more comfort than I deserve.

I'd say sell the old truck and sit on that cash. Drive the Gladiator around a little while until supply returns. Then use the cash and trade or sell the Gladiator...all while not paying the exorbitant prices trucks are fetching right now.
 
papa_smurf said:
5th gen specifically, starting in 2019. Feel free to share, are his thoughts positive or negative? My wife's grandfather has a 2020 1500 with the 5.7 and loves it. They are getting good power out of that Hemi, but after owning my 2500 Duramax I ain't going back to gas.
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He has liked it. He’s owned it for a few years, bought it with about 45k miles. Short bed. Has 110k miles on it now. Repairs it has needed:
-Rear pinion seal replaced around 100k miles (was leaking)
-Spark plugs replaced because it developed a miss (Duh - the plugs had 105k on them!)
-Now has a check engine light from some evap issue, but the garage couldn’t find the issue, so he’s rolling on with it because the county he lives in will pass inspection even if light is on.
He’d love to have the diesel (had a nice 2001 many years ago with the Cummins and loved it, sold with 160k on it), but couldn’t justify the purchase price of the diesel for what he uses the truck for.
He infrequently pulls a big 5th wheel camper, but it’s only a few times per year. The truck handles it fine. And now he’s planning to sell the camper. Other than the camper, his towing needs fall within the 1/2-ton full-size pickup range.
 
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I’ve got a 2017 now, but had 2019 new gen before as work truck. 2019-2020 trucks have CP4 injection pump that is prone to failure, 2021 and on went back to CP3. Interiors and overall quality was nice and ride was good. No complains from this end.
 
I’ve got a 2020 Ram EcoDiesel with nearly 30K on it. No issues whatsoever, love it. 30mpg on the highway and averaging 27-28 mpg with probably 70% highway driving.

Just as an FYI, the Hemi requires mid grade gasoline which is usually a few pennies more than diesel fuel.

Year 2020 for the EcoDiesel was a third generation engine. Completely redesigned with only 22 engine components that are common with previous EcoDiesel engines. IMHO, they got it right. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if something were to happen to this one.


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The charter company I work for has a 2018 3500 dually 4x4. That truck is a beast. It’s been deleted and other than the death wobble twice it’s been a great truck.
 
As far as Rams go I’ve had a 2017 CC Laramie 5.7 4x4 loved it. Traded it in for a 2020 CC Laramie 5.7 etorque 4x4 loved it. Traded it in for a 2021 TRX. Love it too. No experience with owning the 6.7 but do work on quite a few of them at work. First thing I would do is delete and tune it.
 
ncav8tor said:
Just as an FYI, the Hemi requires mid grade gasoline which is usually a few pennies more than diesel fuel.
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I forget how they word it in the manual, but it’s not “required.” Maybe something like “you’ll get better performance with 89 octane.” I run 89 just to be a good boy and obey the mechanical overlords. But I took it as it won’t void the warranty if they find 87 in the tank.
 
Superduty > Ram. There’s no real comparison.

-former diesel tech/6.7 Cummins owner/6.7 PS f250 platinum owner

believe me when I say the ONLY reliable thing about a dodge is the motor. And even that doesn’t include the problematic turbo’s… buy once cry once.
 
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ncav8tor said:
I’ve got a 2020 Ram EcoDiesel with nearly 30K on it. No issues whatsoever, love it. 30mpg on the highway and averaging 27-28 mpg with probably 70% highway driving.

Just as an FYI, the Hemi requires mid grade gasoline which is usually a few pennies more than diesel fuel.

Year 2020 for the EcoDiesel was a third generation engine. Completely redesigned with only 22 engine components that are common with previous EcoDiesel engines. IMHO, they got it right. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if something were to happen to this one.


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I get 20+ consistently on 87. And in my owner manual it says 87.
 
I cant give any opinions on the newer 6.7s, but my 07 ram 2500 with the last of the 5.9 cummins is an absolute beast when towing, and i dont have to do that DEF crap. I think they went to the 6.7 in 07 1/2, im just really glad i dont have all the smog bs to deal with. My deisel mechanic brother in law says avoid the def motors at any cost when we were looking to buy a hd truck. Said they are horrendously expensive to repair. Doest help the op much, just throwing it out there.
 
LeeMajors said:
I get 20+ consistently on 87. And in my owner manual it says 87.
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That’s great! Are you running the 6 cylinder or the 5.7 Hemi?

I just reviewed the 2020 manual and for the 6 cylinder they recommend 87 or better but one won’t gain anything by going higher with the 6 banger.

In the HEMI, the 2020 manual states 87-89 octane, with 89 octane providing the “optimal performance and economy”. The manual sez that light pinging might happen with lower octanes.

Both of my buddies that run the HEMI use 89 octane in theirs. I guess it’s whatever works well for the individual.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the 2500/3500 trucks.


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ncav8tor said:
That’s great! Are you running the 6 cylinder or the 5.7 Hemi?

I just reviewed the 2020 manual and for the 6 cylinder they recommend 87 or better but one won’t gain anything by going higher with the 6 banger.

In the HEMI, the 2020 manual states 87-89 octane, with 89 octane providing the “optimal performance and economy”. The manual sez that light pinging might happen with lower octanes.

Both of my buddies that run the HEMI use 89 octane in theirs. I guess it’s whatever works well for the individual.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the 2500/3500 trucks.


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5.7 hemi
 
At work they have a late 4th gen 5500 dump truck and 3500 flatbed work truck. Also a 5th gen utility body work truck.

The dump truck is a manual that for some reason has a reverse gear higher than first. It's horrible. So it eats clutches since no manual locking hubs means you can't do "2wd low range" and has emissions/Regen related issues which the mechanic thinks is very much related to attempts at backing heavy loads or trailers up tight twisty driveways while going as slow as possible... It also has a variety of drivers and a lot of the younger guys driving it doesn't help.

The 3500 and the 5th gen (4500 I think?). Apparently give zero problems and are awesome. They are usually driven by the same guys daily as they are assigned . But I drove the 5th gen a couple times and that thing is stupid strong and smooth.

I was actually talking to the owner a few days ago. We were talking about my 4th gen 1500 and how I really like it (ford guy here). He is a die hard Chevy guy but with trucks being in short supply since covid. They just got what they could. He said he was impressed enough with these Rams that they were about to buy another one with utility body to replace the mechanics old 07' or so Duramax.
 
9outof10mms said:
I forget how they word it in the manual, but it’s not “required.” Maybe something like “you’ll get better performance with 89 octane.” I run 89 just to be a good boy and obey the mechanical overlords. But I took it as it won’t void the warranty if they find 87 in the tank.
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For our '16 hemi 1500. 89 octane is "recommended". But the manual does say something about 87 being adequate.

I would presume in hard conditions. Heavy towing, hot areas and/or high elevations you might get some pinging or noticeably reduced performance but otherwise probably not an issue.

Since mine is not a dd. I usually use 89. But I have run it on 87 plenty of times. No pinging, no acceleration issues, no temp differences, nothing I can notice just driving around. Only thing I notice is I seem to get about 1mpg better on 89 pretty consistently. Not near enough to offset the increased price. I swear I remember it being a 10 cent jump from 87 to 89 to 93. But now that I have something that prefers 89 it's always 30 cents plus🤔
 
Pogue said:
Superduty > Ram. There’s no real comparison.

-former diesel tech/6.7 Cummins owner/6.7 PS f250 platinum owner

believe me when I say the ONLY reliable thing about a dodge is the motor. And even that doesn’t include the problematic turbo’s… buy once cry once.
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I'm down with this. 2012, 2016 and 2019 F250 SRW owner. 6.7 is trouble free and stronger than you need a truck to be. Now, I recently (2 months ago) traded my 2019 F250 for a 2021 F150 (not gonna bore w/ details), and the dealer gave me 62K for a 2019 F250 SRW Lariat crew with 98K miles. Truck was immaculate, but damn. You may just be swapping money.
 
My 14 2500 cummins has been ok only few minor issues. Like mentioned earler i do know when they went to the cp4 there was some issues in the newer trucks. Still miss my older cummins before all the electronics though but it was not stock either.
 
SimpleMan said:
I'm down with this. 2012, 2016 and 2019 F250 SRW owner. 6.7 is trouble free and stronger than you need a truck to be. Now, I recently (2 months ago) traded my 2019 F250 for a 2021 F150 (not gonna bore w/ details), and the dealer gave me 62K for a 2019 F250 SRW Lariat crew with 98K miles. Truck was immaculate, but damn. You may just be swapping money.
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There’s some issues with the 2011-2014 6.7 powerstroke. Cracking exhaust valves. Smaller turbo, troublesome cp4 restrictive intake, but 2015+ Ford corrected every one of those things and the motors are simply amazing now. 650hp capable with a delete/tune an NO other supporting mods. And it’ll make that power all day every day and never hiccup. No fretting for the 11-14 guys either, Ford sells a retrofit kit with the 15+ components that’ll have yours every bit as reliable.
 
Pogue said:
There’s some issues with the 2011-2014 6.7 powerstroke. Cracking exhaust valves. Smaller turbo, troublesome cp4 restrictive intake, but 2015+ Ford corrected every one of those things and the motors are simply amazing now. 650hp capable with a delete/tune an NO other supporting mods. And it’ll make that power all day every day and never hiccup. No fretting for the 11-14 guys either, Ford sells a retrofit kit with the 15+ components that’ll have yours every bit as reliable.
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My 2012 was a good one, I guess, but I'm a sales guy that mostly roams the interstates. I will say, although irrelevant, I'm riding a 2021 3.5 EcoBoost now (2nd one), and I'm liking it, a lot. 3.55 rearend, 14K lb tow capacity. I don't pay for my fuel, so I don't worry with mileage, but the 2019 6.7 did a pretty good bit better.
 
papa_smurf said:
Getting rid of a 2008 Chevy 2500HD, Duramax & Allison combo, ~175k miles. It's been a good truck and the powertrain is solid, but the cab & interior are in pretty rough shape, and the body isn't great either. With the used market as high as it is I think it's time to let it go. But the Gladiator isn't quite what I need for hauling/towing.
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So when is the for sale ad coming?
 
Here's the ad for the Chevy 2500

SOLD - FS - 2008 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 Duramax

Up for sale is my 2008 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 Duramax, Crew Cab. It has 175,000 Miles, and I have owned it since it had 108,000 miles. Located in the Hickory, NC area. Disclosures: It has a dent in the passenger door, and a couple places in the front bumper near a fog light (fog light isn't...
carolinafirearmsforum.com carolinafirearmsforum.com
 
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