Looking at a 2014 Ram 3500 Need Opinions

[rowekmr]

A buddy of mines bought a 2014 Ram 3500 Tradesman dually new back then to haul a 3 car trailer and DD in between. Now he's getting out of the business and having a "fire" sell. I normally won't consider something that was used commercially but I know he maintained it decently and didn't beat on it. Truck has about 168K and has auto tran what should I be concerned about or look for? I don't know much about the Cummins but are there any weak point in this drive train?

Thanks

[Jarlaxle]

transferred wrote:
That is some deep rust on the inside of the engine compartment for something that is three years old.. My 2005 looks nothing like that. Possible flood car?

You're in Cali...the truck is in salt-encrusted Chicago.

[rowekmr]

Clean the bay of the engine that they didn't even attach all necessary pieces???? lol
That dealership (not mines) was a piece of work. It was the closest one to my house that I tried because I didn't want to haul that truck all around the city on my trailer.

It's a shame you have to shop around to find a place that wants your money BUT will give good service. I already called another dealership and spoke with their service writer and will give them a try next time. Too bad there isn't a database of quality tested dealerships by consumers.

I'm through half a tank and had no issues thus far.

Me Again wrote:
Lie o meter may be off about 1.5 MPG.

Time for car wash to clean engine bay. Surprised your dealer did not do it. A clean motor runs better, as it personally feels more loved. Oh, and it is nicer to work on a clean motor if you have to. Chris

[blofgren]

The only way I can tell my truck is in regen is slightly lower instantaneous fuel economy and a "hot" smell from under the truck after parking it.

[Cummins12V98]

Me Again wrote:
Lie o meter may be off about 1.5 MPG.

Time for car wash to clean engine bay. Surprised your dealer did not do it. A clean motor runs better, as it personally feels more loved. Oh, and it is nicer to work on a clean motor if you have to. Chris

Mine is off by .4 consistently.

[Me_Again]

Lie o meter may be off about 1.5 MPG.

Time for car wash to clean engine bay. Surprised your dealer did not do it. A clean motor runs better, as it personally feels more loved. Oh, and it is nicer to work on a clean motor if you have to. Chris

[rowekmr]

I gotcha but just giving first impressions on the mileage. Thus far I'm avg 15-16 mpg which ain't bad with my local traffic. On highway if I reset on flat lands it's 20 mpg that I use as reference for best possible on long trips empty. In my previous vehicles hand calculating yielded similar numbers (Ford) to the readout so I began to trust them. I only think tunes can throw off some.

I do wonder how often do these go through regen cycles and how can I tell when it does?

Cummins12V98 wrote:

ib516 wrote:
It's missing the top radiator cover. That might effect airflow. I'd get a replacement.

I agree!

Happy you got it going. BUT don't put too much into those MPG numbers you are seeing. Truth is miles divided by gallons over a few tanks.

[spoon059]

You can option up a Tradesman pretty good. Congrats on the truck, hope it works well for you. I love my 2015 Tradesman!

[Bedlam]

If you have 3.0 version of the radio (base model), it is monochrome and does not have a touch screen. The 5.0 version is most likely what you have since they typically were not putting in the 7.0 in the base truck. Mine is a 3.0 with the optional remote CD/media player.

[rowekmr]

I thought being a tradesman it was a stripped model with power options only but has touch screen radio, dash gives a lot of vehicle information, factory remote start and rear back up camera I guess I've been stuck in a cave with regards to newer truck offerings.

[rowekmr]

I thought it looked strange. Never saw it complete so didn't know what it was missing. Now looking at the above picture I can see how it should look. This in itself speaks volumes on the quality of service I got from the dealership.

ib516 wrote:
It's missing the top radiator cover. That might effect airflow. I'd get a replacement.

[Cummins12V98]

ib516 wrote:
It's missing the top radiator cover. That might effect airflow. I'd get a replacement.

I agree!

Happy you got it going. BUT don't put too much into those MPG numbers you are seeing. Truth is miles divided by gallons over a few tanks.

[ib516]

It's missing the top radiator cover. That might effect airflow. I'd get a replacement.

[Grit_dog]

Glad you got it fixed. Stil a decent deal for sure. Them parts get expensive,'specially when they're coming off the dealer shelves...

[rowekmr]

Had to go to the Service Director to find out why they kept saying truck was ready then put it off. He called the mechanic at home on his off day to find out that truck kicked a CEL light. Told me to give him a few days. Got a call today that it was ready. Was told it needed a reflash to address the CEL and they are "confident" there are no other issues. When I arrived and got the paper work I saw a lot of recalls done so maybe that explains why they took so long.

I picked it up and first impressions is...man this thing it big, I'm 6'04" and still have to step up high just to get in since it doesn't have running boards.

This engine is very quiet like it's not even a diesel (I'm used to the 6.0L rattle). Driving was very smooth almost like a 1500 until I hit a bump then I could tell I was in a HD truck but I am still impressed at the smoothness of the suspension for something with this amount of payload capacity. I was with the previous owner when he was towing a 30K load way back and the suspension didn't bottom out then.
Smooth power delivery, no turbo noise or smoke (I did say I am used to 6.0l's), trans shifts smartly not overly harsh but not sloppy either. City driving I was getting 15-17 mpg!!!!! I have driven trucks that couldn't get that on smooth level highway so I can't wait to get it on the highway and see if I can surpass 20 mpg. But to be honest I hadn't noticed a regen cycle so maybe things will change with that. With mileage this good I wonder if deleting them is worth it or will bring an improvement.

Looking at the parts prices I think next time I get one that needs moderate work I will buy a wrecked parts truck. My parts prices was about 2500 for things forward of the engine. I am glad everything else was fine but that was what the driver said that the fan blade let loose and he pulled it over so there was no overheating or abuse.