Ram truck problems ?

spoon059 wrote:
I have a 2015 Cummins. That gave me the redesigned frame and DEF exhaust treatment. I am very happy with my truck. I have had 2 issues with my truck.

#1 is the stock Transforce tires are garbage... not that big of a deal, but I will have to shell out some money to replace them earlier than I expected.
#2 was a DEF quality error message. I ran my tank down pretty low and filled up with 5 gallons of DEF and got a P207 error message. Searching the forums I saw all sorts of horror scenarios... the truck will go to limp mode within 200 miles, you have to pay several hundred dollars to drain your DEF tank, etc. Stupid me, I just cleared the code and kept driving with nary a problem. Its been several thousand miles with no ill effects. I have a company vehicle, so my Ram is used for towing and occasional errands.

Other than that, SUPER happy with my truck.

My good friend has the 6.4 Hemi and is annoyed at the transmission ratios. Pulling his 5er in the eastern mountains, he struggles to maintain speed in 4th gear, then the trans drops into 2nd gear and RPM's race. Truck moves the weight fine, but he is annoyed that the trans wants to stay in 4th too long, then skips 3rd and goes straight to 2nd. Other than that, he loves his truck which is also his daily driver.

We have a camping partner with a pre-DEF 2011 Cummins 6.7. Because his EGR is more involved, he tends to have a dirtier engine and shorter oil life. He also has a more frequent maintenance schedule with his EGR valve cleaning and other items. His fuel mileage is a little worse because it uses diesel in the regen process. Though he has the older frame, he has no front end issues. He tows a moderately sized 5er and drivers his truck as a daily driver. He likes his truck and has no complaints.

We have another camping partner that had a 2014 Ram 2500 with the Cummins and towed a massive 40+ foot 5er with either 3 or 4 slides on it. Coming back from a trip to the mountains at the end of the summer he destroyed his rear axle. I'm not sure what exactly went on it... but I know he was overloaded by a substantial amount... I'm sure he was over his axle rating by a bunch. Plenty of engine, transmission was fine, brakes and exhaust brake were always keeping him in control going up and down the mountains... but rear axle couldn't handle the weight.

I've got another camping partner with a 2006 5.9, stock engine, trans and tires. This is his towing vehicle only, he has a small car for commuting. They tow a 26 foot bumper pull trailer and love their truck. No major issues, no front end issues, no trans issues. No odd sounds, no rust, no body issues. He has a beautiful clean truck and loves it. People literally come up to him at gas stations and campgrounds and ask him if he is willing to sell it... That is pretty impressive!

Are the Rams perfect...? I don't think so. I like my Ram quite a bit though and am happy that I found my truck used (8 months and 10K miles). I have been super happy. Sometimes I miss the peppy quickness of my Tundra, but the Ram feels more solid, weighing in at 2000 lbs heavier. You cannot go wrong with any of the big three's current offerings.

Couldn't your friend just use the toggle shift button and drop it to 3rd himself?

Chrysler, Ram and Jeep products seem to have an above average number of electrical issues, especially in vehicle that are >5 years old. Bad/broken grounds and problems inside their "smart" fuse boxes. Some vehicles have been recalled but many others using the same/similar parts have not.

These problems are hard to diagnose and can be expensive to fix.

Pre-DEF 6.7L motors could be fuel hogs, depending on driving cycle. If towing all the time, it wasn't bad. But running light or doing any in-town driving put mine in regen more often than not.

I have a 2015 Cummins. That gave me the redesigned frame and DEF exhaust treatment. I am very happy with my truck. I have had 2 issues with my truck.

#1 is the stock Transforce tires are garbage... not that big of a deal, but I will have to shell out some money to replace them earlier than I expected.
#2 was a DEF quality error message. I ran my tank down pretty low and filled up with 5 gallons of DEF and got a P207 error message. Searching the forums I saw all sorts of horror scenarios... the truck will go to limp mode within 200 miles, you have to pay several hundred dollars to drain your DEF tank, etc. Stupid me, I just cleared the code and kept driving with nary a problem. Its been several thousand miles with no ill effects. I have a company vehicle, so my Ram is used for towing and occasional errands.

Other than that, SUPER happy with my truck.

My good friend has the 6.4 Hemi and is annoyed at the transmission ratios. Pulling his 5er in the eastern mountains, he struggles to maintain speed in 4th gear, then the trans drops into 2nd gear and RPM's race. Truck moves the weight fine, but he is annoyed that the trans wants to stay in 4th too long, then skips 3rd and goes straight to 2nd. Other than that, he loves his truck which is also his daily driver.

We have a camping partner with a pre-DEF 2011 Cummins 6.7. Because his EGR is more involved, he tends to have a dirtier engine and shorter oil life. He also has a more frequent maintenance schedule with his EGR valve cleaning and other items. His fuel mileage is a little worse because it uses diesel in the regen process. Though he has the older frame, he has no front end issues. He tows a moderately sized 5er and drivers his truck as a daily driver. He likes his truck and has no complaints.

We have another camping partner that had a 2014 Ram 2500 with the Cummins and towed a massive 40+ foot 5er with either 3 or 4 slides on it. Coming back from a trip to the mountains at the end of the summer he destroyed his rear axle. I'm not sure what exactly went on it... but I know he was overloaded by a substantial amount... I'm sure he was over his axle rating by a bunch. Plenty of engine, transmission was fine, brakes and exhaust brake were always keeping him in control going up and down the mountains... but rear axle couldn't handle the weight.

I've got another camping partner with a 2006 5.9, stock engine, trans and tires. This is his towing vehicle only, he has a small car for commuting. They tow a 26 foot bumper pull trailer and love their truck. No major issues, no front end issues, no trans issues. No odd sounds, no rust, no body issues. He has a beautiful clean truck and loves it. People literally come up to him at gas stations and campgrounds and ask him if he is willing to sell it... That is pretty impressive!

Are the Rams perfect...? I don't think so. I like my Ram quite a bit though and am happy that I found my truck used (8 months and 10K miles). I have been super happy. Sometimes I miss the peppy quickness of my Tundra, but the Ram feels more solid, weighing in at 2000 lbs heavier. You cannot go wrong with any of the big three's current offerings.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I don't think the Cummins or 6.4 will make a bit of difference with a Camper on board. I am sure some of the weight will hit the front axle but I really don't see a problem with the Cummins up front.

In reality your right on paper there is a 1000 lbs difference in payload between the diesel and the gas , the gas in the configuration I am looking at has a trailer rating of 15900 of course it is not going to handle that weight like my current diesel does but that same configuration has I think 7K payload and 5900 camper rating , I know I will miss the diesel when towing the fifth wheel but we wont be towing much or far , and there is upfront cost of the diesel still thinking ,thanks for the replyMike

I don't think the Cummins or 6.4 will make a bit of difference with a Camper on board. I am sure some of the weight will hit the front axle but I really don't see a problem with the Cummins up front.

thomasmnile wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:


Did you read the OP question? Obviously not.. And 20k miles is nothing to brag about either and has nothing to do with the OP question other than gloating.

Have to agree, as the OP's inquiry was rather general in nature. Is he considering a new or used vehicle? Which generation powertrain? Pre or post emissions? There isn't much difference in body design from MY 2005 to present, but I certainly hope the engineers at FCA have figured out whatever problem causes it to rain inside my truck as much as it does outside. Problems like that are so 1960's...........:B

Thanks for the replies and sorry if the post was of a general nature, we are buying a truck camper but will still need to tow the fifth wheel but only about 300 miles a year .My current truck which is a 2007 chevy DRW duramax ,On Paper , doesn't have the capacity we need for the truck camper so we are looking at replacing our truck and the ram trucks have more capacity in the same configurations as GM or Fords , fords are close but I have had bad luck with ford cars and SUV's don't really want to go there again. I have had most of the problems with my GM trucks that I listed in the original post and some were the same problems even after model changes like the intermediate steering shaft problem was across two model changes so I think what I wanted to know is does ram correct design issues within a reasonable amount of time when they happen or as has been my experience with my Chevy's and GMC's just let them ride for several model years. Looking at the 6.4 gas motor, again for capacity reasons, and have not found much bad written on the motor. We are not sure yet if I want to give up the diesel, but all the new emission's stuff is a little scary after your warranty is up. If we go diesel it may be a year or two old truck we look for if we go with the gas 6.4 it would be new so I was asking for information back a few model years. We are still researching and the replies have been very helpful thanks.
Mike

Me Again wrote:

blofgren wrote:

Me Again wrote:

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Interesting how people quote problems that occurred on 6.0 Ford diesels, Dodges with 4 spd transmissions, injector problems in Duramax diesels a couple of engine generations ago. The current crop of diesel trucks are pretty good. They have all experienced a learning curve and have become pretty good as a result. Buy what you like there isn't much difference from one to another anymore.

B.O.

That is why I said 2015+ RAM's have most of the bugs worked out, and then along came Troy!!!!!

Chris

And yet I'm extremely happy with my "substandard" 2013 Ram. This site really is going downhill.....:R

But how many recalls have occur for your 2013. They are basically the same from 2013 on, but adjustments had to be made and buy backs occurred.

Yes it was horrible dropping the truck off at the dealership twice for them. It was even worse that FCA gave me $450 in dealership credit for my trouble.

2016 CTD 2500, about 4500 miles without a hint of a problem. Small sample size but I hope it stays that way!

Towed 29K combined with 11 RAM Dually 65K at trade. Recall for washer fluid bottle and tie rod. Towed over 1/2 miles with NO issues.

15 RAM Dually with Aisin towing a combined 33K for 30K with just under 1/2 miles towing. ZERO issues other than security update I can do at home or have dealer complete.