Compare Ford F550 to Ram 5500

2015 Ram 5500 HD 4wd Tradesman 60" CA







Crew cab with 197.4" wheelbase
19,000 lb GVWR with 26,000 lb GCWR



Cummins I6 6.7 liter diesel
Chassis cab tune 325 hp @ 2800 rpm and 750 ft-lb @ 1700 rpm
Aisin AS69RC 6-speed automatic
New Process NV271 manual transfer case





Magna Steyr 275mm 7250 lb FAWR





Dana S14-111L limited slip with 4.44 ratio 13,500 lb RAWR 14,500 lbs OEM rated





Palfinger Badger low sill flat bed



DeeZee 36x18x18 under bed boxes



Curt Double Lock 30K lb gooseneck



SuperHitch Magnum 20K dual receiver



Short range FastGun turnbuckles



4'x7'x3/4" horse stall mats



Unloaded weight 10,225 lbs









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How about a pic or two of the new truck? Exterior, interior, dash, etc.

FishOnOne wrote:
Thanks for the follow up...

X2...

Thanks for the follow up...

ken white wrote:
Keep us posted on how well you like, or dislike, that beast...

:)

The additional width of the DRW 5500 has not been problem since driving a SRW with a truck camper puts you at the same width. I used to tow a 8.5' wide toy hauler prior to owning a truck camper, so my experience may not mirror those that tow something skinnier. The additional 3' in length of this crew cab with 9' deck verses my extended cab short bed has been the biggest challenge. With the truck camper and hitch extension, I am 25' long and no longer can fit in to a single parking space. If it is a big lot, you can park in the back. However I had trouble finding parking at an outlet mall the week before Thanksgiving and had to back in to a space with green belt to rear so the additional length did not block the aisle. Parallel parking up to this point has worked out for me, but these spots were in sleepy towns without much congestion. We have alternate open top vehicles we take with us to get around when the weather is better, so this will be less of an issue for about half our trips.

Mileage has been 10-12 mpg for the first 1000 miles. When empty, the truck weighs over 10,000 lbs and is over 14,000 lbs with the camper on the back. This is slightly less mileage than what my 6.0 Powerstroke gave me after being broken in and hauling 2500 lbs less. The PSD didn't lose much mileage when towing my 8000 lb trailer while hauling the camper, but I haven't towed the trailer more than 50 miles with the Cummins yet to give you an idea of mileage.

I test drove the longer chassis version of the 5500 with no deck and hitch installed. The rear wanted to hop when going over bumps because of the stiff springs and 19.5" wheels. My shorter chassis and almost 2000 lbs of deck, spare and hitch make the ride tolerable empty but the F250 with suspension upgrades and 19.5's rode better empty. When loaded with the 4000 lb camper, the ride is almost as comfortable the F250 loaded, but the suspension is firmer and tighter. I can see why many people would advise to use an air cushioned hitched if you use one of these trucks to tow a fifth wheel. People always claim you get stability out of the wider stance of the DRW verses a SRW. I have to argue it has more to do with the spring rate of the springs and the stiffness of the anti-sway (stabilizer) bar. Although my F250's motions were controlled when hauling a heavy load, the 5500 has reduced those motions due to suspension rated for twice the weight. In rough driving even with my load, you feel more jarring verses a suspension that is flexing with greater travel. In the future, we plan to go with a bigger heavier truck camper and possibly bigger enclosed trailer - We can live with the firmness since we know we now have upgrade options later that would not be possible with our previous truck.

Me Again wrote:
I thought the main job of a service writer was to up sale one on services that they really did not need, and maybe fix the original problem on the second or third visit. Chris

Not mine. He never tries to upsell me and he knows vehicles very well. I would shop around for a new dealer if your service writer is trying to upsell you.

Keep us posted on how well you like, or dislike, that beast...

:)

Just to finish off this thread:

Although I was seriously looking at the gasoline engines, they reduced the capacities of these trucks. The gas engines would be sufficient for what I currently haul and tow, but my future requirements will be higher and would be pushing the limits of the gasoline engines can offer. The chassis cab trucks run engines that tuned less aggressively than the pickups, so you must look at chassis cab specifications when comparing and ignore the hype about the latest pickup tune that one-ups the competitor.

This led me back to comparing the the two 6.7 liter diesels and their matching 6-speed automatics. I had very good luck with the 6.0 PSD and 5R110 in F250 and have always like the cab layout looks of the Ford. This put the Cummins with the Aisin at slight disadvantage from the onset, but I always judge companies on their current merits verses their past accomplishments. The Powerstroke has had issues with some Bosch parts that did put question in my mind but the fact Ford is now placing them in their Class 6 and 7 trucks gave me some confidence that they have resolved or mitigated the problems they had in the past.

Ford has been in the chassis cab market for a long time and has reliable platforms that pretty much dominate the the Class 4 and 5 market since GM dropped of it. If you need an upfit for a Ford, almost everyone will have multiple options from which to choose. Ram has only been doing this since 2008 but was lucky to get to some help from Freightliner which spawned the Sterling Bullet line as well the Dodge chassis cabs. The fact that most chassis cab accessories are based on standard frame rail width cab to axle distances does give you some choices, but there are some items that might have fitment issues due to varying placement of fillers and suspension hangers. Dodge's choice of using the Magna Steyr front axle without manual locking hubs left some doubt verses the tried Dana's in the Fords. I have not tracked any issues with the Magna axles, but Ram did upgrade the front suspension to a 5-link recently.

I was looking at the base trim models without all the gadgets and fobbles now being offered yet still wanted comfort. The base cloth seats in the Ford have a lumbar support and you sit more in the seat with side bolsters. The Ram only has slide and tilt adjustments and has more of a flat cushioned seat. Although both interiors look similar inside, Ford has more cushioned rubberized panels than Ram making it feel richer than the latter. Both offer power windows, cruise control and upfit switch options but the Ram came with better base radio and driver information panel than the Ford.

In the end, I had slight bias to the Ford due the availability of an extended cab, dual tanks and Dana 130 axle in a 60" CA chassis. The Ram won out on price, better instrumentation and less worry about the Bosch 4.x fuel pump issues. I ordered the Ram 5500 with Cummins and Aisin just before Labor Day and took delivery at the end of October.

The following day I drove the Ram home, I sold my F250 to a private party. It had been for sale since September, but the timing couldn't have turned out better and I think both me as the seller and the buyer got a good deal verses either of us using a dealer.

mike mck wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
No personal experience here either, but my neighbors, sister's friend's dog catcher had a F550 that was nothing but problems. I think that person is actually FishOn's neighbor, but you won't hear him say that as he only seems to know or talk to people that have problems with RAMs.

Personal experience here. old 99 F550. 7.3 powerstroke. 250K miles. Spent first 10 years of it's life hauling live stock trailers. last 2 years hauling my 5K lb camper.

I'm going with personal experience as opposed to emotional opinion every time.

I would say Bionic Man is full of emotional opinions. :R

Bionic Man wrote:
No personal experience here either, but my neighbors, sister's friend's dog catcher had a F550 that was nothing but problems. I think that person is actually FishOn's neighbor, but you won't hear him say that as he only seems to know or talk to people that have problems with RAMs.

Personal experience here. old 99 F550. 7.3 powerstroke. 250K miles. Spent first 10 years of it's life hauling live stock trailers. last 2 years hauling my 5K lb camper.

I'm going with personal experience as opposed to emotional opinion every time.