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Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 9:14 am**

Since I’ve bwen toying with the idea of a new truck, fate gave me a gift. I rented a car while on business and the only thing hertz had was a ram 1500 crew cab. So here’s what I thought

Interior wise it wasn’t a loaded Laramie but still pretty darn nice. The interior room is pretty spectacular to be honest. I liked the dash layouts except the side mounted tach and it’s clear they have put some thought into it. I’d even call it plush

The engine. It had the 5.7. But not sure what gears. I’m guessing the 3.29 since it was a rental. The engine is supposed to put out 410hp and 395 torque. I have to say I wasn’t that impressed. My Sequioa is noticeably quicker. I have better gears so it’s hard to say but I am giving up 39hp to the ram. Now this comment is going make some crazy but I didn’t like the sound. It reminded me of a truck with glass packs when accelerating it was fun for the first 10 miles then I found it annoying. At 55-60 it was pretty quiet but above 60 I thought it had a slight exhaust drone that I thought would get annoying. Then again I don’t like CC on a boat so what can I say

The transmission was pretty smooth on the way up by I thought it struggled slowing down and when finding gears say after going around a curve. I found it pretty clunky overall. My 11 year old sequioa is much smoother overall

The suspension much to my surprise was somewhat “wallow-y”. My Sequioa is actually much stiffer over bumps. This makes me wonder what it would be like with the boat behind it.

The mileage was about 17 in a mix of city/highway driving over about 60 miles so no real advantage there

Overall, I liked the truck, but I can’t say I loved it like I hoped I might. Different trim levels might change things. I rode in a ram 2500 recently and actually found the Cummins to be just as quiet as the Hemi an really didn’t ride much different.

Anyway, just thought I’d share

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 9:46 am**

I had a '97 RAM 1500, and while totally different trucks it sounds like the design intent hasn't changed. I loved the interior in that truck, and the 318CI V8 sounded great, but was under powered for the rated capacity. Suspension on that truck was actually too stiff up front, it rode like a war wagon unloaded, but loaded down it felt good. The trans was horrible, and I went through 3 rebuilds in 80k miles. Trans temp would shoot over 200* hauling a load of pillows, let alone a boat or construction trailer. Personally, for me the transmission is what makes a truck. Other things can be upgraded to support specific needs, but an unreliable transmission makes a truck a hard pass for me. I'll never own another RAM, but I had a bad experience, YMMV.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 11:12 am**

You make a really interesting point about the transmission temperatures. I'm always the guy that puts the gauges up where I can see them. The coolant temp ran right at 201-208
The oil temp was 213
the transmission temps ranged from 183 to 201 in my time driving it, which I thought might be a bit on the high side given it was unloaded, but who knows

Interesting comment on on the suspension--this one actually seemed too soft. It reminded me more of a 1980's land yacht than a truck

Again, really nice truck, but not sure I liked it enough to buy it, at least the Big Horn edition.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 11:22 am**

I bought a new 1998 Ram 1500 and drove it until it got totaled in 2012.

1998_Dodge_wrecked.jpg

I bought it back from the insurance company, cut and straightened the frame and it is now a very reliable flatbed farm truck.

166_0087.JPG

The kids have all grown up driving it around the farm and they love it. After a lot of driving lessons starting by sitting on my lap steering (age 5), my daughter has been driving it by herself since she was 11 and her friends couldn't believe that she got to drive it whenever she wanted. She would blow through a whole tank of gas in a weekend just driving around the farm with the dog riding shotgun. Everything still works on it, A/C still blows cold and has never been charged. Great truck!

DSCI0235.JPG

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 11:31 am**

I have owned Dodge's, Fords, and Chevy's over the last 30 years, and they all have their good points and they all have their bad ones. Right now I have a 3/4 ton Chevy that runs on CNG or straight gas, but I'm about to thump it in the head and get a Duramax. I think... But if the right deal came along on a 3/4 Ford or Dodge diesel I would probably pull the trigger on either one!

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 11:32 am**

sailor55330 wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:12 am You make a really interesting point about the transmission temperatures. I'm always the guy that puts the gauges up where I can see them. The coolant temp ran right at 201-208
The oil temp was 213
the transmission temps ranged from 183 to 201 in my time driving it, which I thought might be a bit on the high side given it was unloaded, but who kno

New truck transmissions are designed to operate at much higher temperatures as compared to the transmissions of old. Freaked me out the first time I saw it too, but after some research I found the thermostat on my F150 doesn't even start to send fluid to the Auxiliary transmission cooler until the temp hits 205.

190 - 205 are normal operating temperatures while just driving around unloaded. People routinely see 225 while towing, and most say not to worry until it hits 230.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 11:53 am**

NautiGirl wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:32 am
sailor55330 wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:12 am You make a really interesting point about the transmission temperatures. I'm always the guy that puts the gauges up where I can see them. The coolant temp ran right at 201-208
The oil temp was 213
the transmission temps ranged from 183 to 201 in my time driving it, which I thought might be a bit on the high side given it was unloaded, but who kno
New truck transmissions are designed to operate at much higher temperatures as compared to the transmissions of old. Freaked me out the first time I saw it too, but after some research I found the thermostat on my F150 doesn't even start to send fluid to the Auxiliary transmission cooler until the temp hits 205.

190 - 205 are normal operating temperatures while just driving around unloaded. People routinely see 225 while towing, and most say not to worry until it hits 230.

You know, I think I've read that about tranny temps before and I know today's fluids are better than ever, but I guess I'm getting old---still freaks me out. Kind of like using a 0w oil in a v-8. Drink the Kool-aid....glug glug glug

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 12:02 pm**

I dunno, sounds like marking smoke and mirrors, the rule of thumb is if trans fluid AFT and ATF +4 hit 220 the friction modifiers break down and a flush needs to be performed. I don't care what truck I'm in, if trans gets above 200 I get concerned. I added a fan to the trans cooler on my truck because in stop an go traffic pulling my 8k travel trailer it would creep up to 210ish and I had it flushed after the last time that happened for good measure. I have a built trans in my truck, but none of that matters if the fluid is cooked.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 12:12 pm**

sailor55330 wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 9:14 am Since I’ve bwen toying with the idea of a new truck, fate gave me a gift. I rented a car while on business and the only thing hertz had was a ram 1500 crew cab. So here’s what I thought

Interior wise it wasn’t a loaded Laramie but still pretty darn nice. The interior room is pretty spectacular to be honest. I liked the dash layouts except the side mounted tach and it’s clear they have put some thought into it. I’d even call it plush

The engine. It had the 5.7. But not sure what gears. I’m guessing the 3.29 since it was a rental. The engine is supposed to put out 410hp and 395 torque. I have to say I wasn’t that impressed. My Sequioa is noticeably quicker. I have better gears so it’s hard to say but I am giving up 39hp to the ram. Now this comment is going make some crazy but I didn’t like the sound. It reminded me of a truck with glass packs when accelerating it was fun for the first 10 miles then I found it annoying. At 55-60 it was pretty quiet but above 60 I thought it had a slight exhaust drone that I thought would get annoying. Then again I don’t like CC on a boat so what can I say

The transmission was pretty smooth on the way up by I thought it struggled slowing down and when finding gears say after going around a curve. I found it pretty clunky overall. My 11 year old sequioa is much smoother overall

The suspension much to my surprise was somewhat “wallow-y”. My Sequioa is actually much stiffer over bumps. This makes me wonder what it would be like with the boat behind it.

The mileage was about 17 in a mix of city/highway driving over about 60 miles so no real advantage there

Overall, I liked the truck, but I can’t say I loved it like I hoped I might. Different trim levels might change things. I rode in a ram 2500 recently and actually found the Cummins to be just as quiet as the Hemi an really didn’t ride much different.

Anyway, just thought I’d share

Doesn't like CC = heretic

Driving a 2016 GMC 2500 Duramax right now. Pulling the 13k boat and trailer, the transmission does pretty well though does start creeping up in temp. Haven't pulled it in any real mountains yet, so probably would have to add an auxiliary tranny cooler if I did.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 12:15 pm**

sailor55330 wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:53 am
NautiGirl wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:32 am
sailor55330 wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:12 am You make a really interesting point about the transmission temperatures. I'm always the guy that puts the gauges up where I can see them. The coolant temp ran right at 201-208
The oil temp was 213
the transmission temps ranged from 183 to 201 in my time driving it, which I thought might be a bit on the high side given it was unloaded, but who kno
New truck transmissions are designed to operate at much higher temperatures as compared to the transmissions of old. Freaked me out the first time I saw it too, but after some research I found the thermostat on my F150 doesn't even start to send fluid to the Auxiliary transmission cooler until the temp hits 205.

190 - 205 are normal operating temperatures while just driving around unloaded. People routinely see 225 while towing, and most say not to worry until it hits 230.
You know, I think I've read that about tranny temps before and I know today's fluids are better than ever, but I guess I'm getting old---still freaks me out. Kind of like using a 0w oil in a v-8. Drink the Kool-aid....glug glug glug

I am the same way with long oil change intervals, the BMW Long Life 01 Specification supports 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Just can't make myself do that, especially when a DIY oil change is around $40.

As far as the transmission goes, almost everyone is using transmissions built by or based on designs by ZF Group. They made 3.5 million of the ZF8HP which is an 8 speed automatic that goes in everything from the BMW M5 to the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Here is a good article that explains why it's so popular: https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/05/02/vide ... -business/

The new transmissions just run hotter, but they are designed to from the ground up. Just close your eyes and go with it lol.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 12:20 pm**

akorcovelos wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 12:02 pm I dunno, sounds like marking smoke and mirrors, the rule of thumb is if trans fluid AFT and ATF +4 hit 220 the friction modifiers break down and a flush needs to be performed. I don't care what truck I'm in, if trans gets above 200 I get concerned. I added a fan to the trans cooler on my truck because in stop an go traffic pulling my 8k travel trailer it would creep up to 210ish and I had it flushed after the last time that happened for good measure. I have a built trans in my truck, but none of that matters if the fluid is cooked.

Don't buy a 2015+ F150 then, or a GM for that matter since they share the transmission. The transmissions have an internal thermostat that will not fully open to circulate fluid to the cooler until they hit ~195. It takes about 30min of freeway driving unloaded for my truck to get over 200. It wont climb past 205 unloaded though.

They are just designed to run hotter.

20190219_081943.jpg

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 2:42 pm**

We have a 2015 Expedition with the 3.5 Ecoboost, I've never even thought to set the trans temp in the digital dash though since the most it hauls is kids to football practice. I'll have to watch it and see where it runs.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 3:01 pm**

akorcovelos wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 2:42 pm We have a 2015 Expedition with the 3.5 Ecoboost, I've never even thought to set the trans temp in the digital dash though since the most it hauls is kids to football practice. I'll have to watch it and see where it runs.

You have to enable the Digital Trans Temp in the display /w FORScan. https://forscan.org/home.html Pretty simple to do, ForSCAN is free but you will need an ODBII cable. This is the one most people use:

I originally bought it to program out the Fake V8 Engine noise, but have used it more than I thought I would. There is a ton of stuff you can switch on and off with it.

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 5:03 pm**

Yeah I have forscan and an ELM327 Bluetooth adapter for tuning my 7.3 SuperDuty. I’ll poke around and find the PID to enable the trans temp. Thanks!

Posted: **Wed May 15, 2019 5:05 pm**

Southerncomfort wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 12:12 pm Doesn't like CC = heretic

Don't be silly. Everybody likes CobaltChat.

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