Looking at replacing my 2004 Hemi Ram Quad cab. Started shopping for a Ram 1500 Crew cab 4X4 with a 5.7 Hoping to find a left over '17. After driving a few , I have a few questions.
Is the shifter knob and electric transfer case dependable? The manual ones I have just need lubed once a year.
If some dumb a$$ puts it in reverse on the freeway, does the computer ignore it?
One of the Hemi's ticked when cold. Mine dos too, but its 13 years old.
The coil springs ride nice, do they handle a load as well as the leaf /t bars did?
I have a 2016 Quad cab hemi 4 X 4 SLT ( just plain truck with chrome bumpers)
It is my farm truck
Every two weeks I go to the mill to get some soybeans for the cows
700 to 800 pounds loaded right at the back by the tail gate ( easier to reach to unload)
It is a bit squishy feeling on the road with all the weight right at the back
My truck has the column shift lever but from what I understand it is still all electric from there to transmission and have never had any troubles with it or the 4 X 4 knob
Not really noticed too much noise like a tic when it is cold start up
I have noticed after it is warmed up and just sitting in the truck motor running ( waiting for wife to come out from work) there is a slight vibration to the point of being annoying
Overall I am happy with it
This is my third of this generation body style and will get another when the time is right :2thumbs:
My 2015 ram ticked as well. About 90% of the time. I too had the knob shifter. Not sure about the reverse question but if you turn the truck off in drive and are stipped, it will beep and put it in park for you. As for the transfer case, it depends on which one you get. My lone star or bighorn version was not what I expected. It pretty much was like a all wheel drive system. No matter what you had it in, the truck would have to detect slippage before engaging the front. After traction was made it would go 2wd drive again till slippage, that is for the auto mode. 4x4 lock does the same but doesn't exit 4x4 till you stop completely. I used to be on a ram forum but sold my truck cause I lost my job in September. If you look for it you can find a lot of info on the ram systems. It's not a true 4x4 locking system.
Plus there's no trans dipstick anymore. The 8 speed is maintanance free I guess. Good luck
Luke
I thought I'd answer these better. I went on a rant last post.
Quote from: flyinlow on December 10, 2017, 06:04:06 PM
Looking at replacing my 2004 Hemi Ram Quad cab. Started shopping for a Ram 1500 Crew cab 4X4 with a 5.7 Hoping to find a left over '17. After driving a few , I have a few questions.
Is the shifter knob and electric transfer case dependable? The manual ones I have just need lubed once a year.
Not much maintenance at all
If some dumb a$$ puts it in reverse on the freeway, does the computer ignore it?
Idk
One of the Hemi's ticked when cold. Mine dos too, but its 13 years old.
Mine did it hot and cold. 35k on it.
The coil springs ride nice, do they handle a load as well as the leaf /t bars did?
Not in my opinion. The coils suck. Truck sags bad. Most add airbags.
Hope I'm not scaring you away. It was a damn good truck. It had 3.23 gears and would pull my 30' camper great. But it was kinda bouncy. It did weigh 7200lbs which was the limit.
Luke
Trying to find a 17 leftover is gonna be slim pickings now , not saying you won't or can't , but most likely going to be hard to find what you exactly want . I was in the same situation you are in a year ago , I had a 2004 Hemi Quad cab 4x4 , 3.92's and saw around in Sept the big savings on 16 leftovers , so I started searching but could not find exactly what I wanted ( had to be a Laramie ,4x4 , black , sunroof , and 3.92's ) . In the end the dealer basically told me to just order one as they could give me just about the same savings , and it would be exactly what I want , and right from the start it wouldn't already be technically a year old truck . Ordered it Nov 11th , came in Dec 18th . Very happy I did it .
As far as the truck , I honestly don't notice any ticking . The knob is weird coming from regular shifters , you get used to it . I thought the same thing , what if by mistake you throw it into reverse ? I don't know if it will let you , you might have to be completely stopped to do so ? I don't want to try either , LOL .
As far as towing/loads goes , I intend on putting air bags in mine anyway as I will be towing a 24' enclosed trailer .As you mentioned , comparing it to the old leaf springs , it is a very plush ride now , so it does make you ask yourself if it is up to the task . They claim it is , so roll with it . With 3.92's , the towing capacity is 10,300 lbs .
Also , get the Alpine system , sounds incredible for a stock radio !!!
Quote from: 69 OUR/TEA on December 10, 2017, 07:56:48 PM
Trying to find a 17 leftover is gonna be slim pickings now , not saying you won't or can't , but most likely going to be hard to find what you exactly want . I was in the same situation you are in a year ago , I had a 2004 Hemi Quad cab 4x4 , 3.92's and saw around in Sept the big savings on 16 leftovers , so I started searching but could not find exactly what I wanted ( had to be a Laramie ,4x4 , black , sunroof , and 3.92's ) . In the end the dealer basically told me to just order one as they could give me just about the same savings , and it would be exactly what I want , and right from the start it wouldn't already be technically a year old truck . Ordered it Nov 11th , came in Dec 18th . Very happy I did it .
As far as the truck , I honestly don't notice any ticking . The knob is weird coming from regular shifters , you get used to it . I thought the same thing , what if by mistake you throw it into reverse ? I don't know if it will let you , you might have to be completely stopped to do so ? I don't want to try either , LOL .
As far as towing/loads goes , I intend on putting air bags in mine anyway as I will be towing a 24' enclosed trailer .As you mentioned , comparing it to the old leaf springs , it is a very plush ride now , so it does make you ask yourself if it is up to the task . They claim it is , so roll with it . With 3.92's , the towing capacity is 10,300 lbs .
Also , get the Alpine system , sounds incredible for a stock radio !!!
He makes some very good points
the 3.23 was only like 8k on the towing on my 2015.
Luke
Yea ,my 2004 has 3.92's with the 20 inch wheels. Most of the trucks I have looked at have 3.21 axles. I thought they used the 3.92's to make up for the 20 inch wheels over the base 17 inch wheel. The new Hemi makes 50HP and 35 ft lb more .It also has better gearing in the ZF eight speed. I was wondering if that would make up for the axle difference?
Do add on air bags work well?
I have a car trailer and a box trailer , both 7000 gvw. The current truck handles them. I just want the new truck to do as well or better.
I've heard some people with newer Rams complain about an annoying lag in throttle response when taking off from a dead stop that the factory can't fix. An aftermarket device called "Pedal Commander" seems to be the only help.
Quote from: flyinlow on December 10, 2017, 06:04:06 PM
Is the shifter knob and electric transfer case dependable? The manual ones I have just need lubed once a year.
I have not heard any problems with them. They need little-to-no maintenance.
If some dumb a$$ puts it in reverse on the freeway, does the computer ignore it?
Yes, the computer ignores it. It will tell you "Speed Too High For Gear Change"
One of the Hemi's ticked when cold. Mine dos too, but its 13 years old.
My brand new 2017 ticks when cold/ first fire up of the day.
The coil springs ride nice, do they handle a load as well as the leaf /t bars did?
My mom's 2012 1500 rides nice. I have air suspension on mine so I can't comment personally on my truck.
We have a newer Laramie 1500 with around 150,000 on it now. We do get a tick on start up for 10 seconds or so.
The truck runs great and drives like a dream on smooth payment.
Two things I do not care for. The rear suspension is weak. I have a GMC and couple Fords and the Ram is by far the weakest rear suspension of any truck I have ever owned. For this reason alone I gave this truck to my wife for her daily driver. The other issue is it pulls when you hit bumps on the road at highway speed. I have had it aligned, tires, suspension replaced it is is always the same. From everything I have read it is very common with the Rams.
If you looking to tow, you will need air bags or step it up to a 2500 or 3500.
I bought a 15. It hammered bad a few times on startup. I had my wife take it to work for a few weeks as she worked beside the Dodge dealer. One day it was hammering really bad and she took it over there. They acknowledged it was pounding and kept screwing around with it until it quieted down. They never did anything to repair it. I am pretty angry about the way FCA treated us. They should have thrown a complete set of lifters in it and I would have nothing to complain about.
That said the coil spring suspension is useless for hauling a load. I don't plan on keeping this truck but if I do I think it is airlift who make airbags that go inside the rear coil springs for relatively cheap and I will buy a set.
Coming from Magnums and Diesels I find the 5.7 is not that great of a truck engine. It doesn't have the lowend grunt a truck engine should have. However if you don't mind buzzing it at 4000RPM up a hill with a load on it, it will haul the load.
Other than that, no problems. It handles well, stops well and doesn't squeek or rattle.
One more thing, the trailer mirrors are junk when in the standard position. They are large enough but don't get the job done. My 05 mirrors were far superior. When flipped up these ones are fine but they are almost unsafe when down.
Quote from: Mytur Binsdirti on January 30, 2018, 01:39:01 PM
I had a new 1500 for a rental & I really liked it with the exception of the shift dial on the dash. I hated that with a passion.
That is an option on the fancier trucks
My truck 2016 has the regular level on the column
The ticking on my 06 ram 2500 has just been broken exhaust manifold bolts. Pull the inner fender off and replace bolts and gaskets. Couple hour job on each side. 150,000 miles farm work and pulling trailers. Still going strong.
Quote from: flyinlow on December 11, 2017, 07:54:23 AM
I have a car trailer and a box trailer , both 7000 gvw. The current truck handles them. I just want the new truck to do as well or better.
Open trailer, I would say the 1500 is fine. If you have an enclosed car trailer, the 2500 is the way to go. All the half ton trucks out there can pull an enclosed, but the 2500 suspension does it much better.
Quote from: 70 sublime on January 30, 2018, 02:41:05 PM
Quote from: Mytur Binsdirti on January 30, 2018, 01:39:01 PM
I had a new 1500 for a rental & I really liked it with the exception of the shift dial on the dash. I hated that with a passion.
That is an option on the fancier
My truck 2016 has the regular level on the column
Not a big fan of it, especially with how close it is to the Uconnect volume knob. Ive turned the wrong one more than once on the wife's '17 Rebel.
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Good questions, I too have a '04 1500 that I was thinking of upgrading. I've towed my enclosed trailer with the 1500, but want to step up to a 2500 next time along with the larger hemi. Has anyone here owned or driven the 6.4 Hemi? My 5.7 struggles to pull the mountains between Georgia and Pennsylvania when going to shows. I'm hoping the 6.4 won't have an issue.
The HP isn't much more but the torque is.
I have a 2015 hemi express. 4x4, 1500,
Drives good, Engine has plenty of power. Suspension squats real bad under weight but truck travels with the load well. I would bag it if i was working it more. Going to get a plow so i will try Timberens first. I did level kit up front for more clearance. Nice truck i love it. Might be the last 1/2 ton i buy however.
i would go with the 8 speed (knob shifter) if i could do it over. better millage.