2024 RAM 2500 quick review
- Thread starter dja4260
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2024
- Messages
- 179
yes... you have the Hemi... I think you can subtract about 500 lbs from the 2500 series if they have the Cummins...
This happens all the time in RV forum land. Comparing the highest payload spec 1500 to the lowest 2500. Yes, there's overlap.
Our recently purchased 3500 SRW cummins megacab 4x4 is 4174 payload sticker. Laramie. Loaded. Every weight adding option box checked. Sunroof, console, heated rear seats, etc. 12,400 gvwr.
The equivalent 2500 models I looked at were typically 2200 payload. Whatever. I'd add airbags if I had to, like I did on our prior 3/4 ton diesel. Payload spec is a nothingburger when the difference is a set of rear springs and a door sticker. 10,000 GVWR is an administrative derate on 3/4 ton diesels and has been for 20 years.
Last edited:
More like over 1k pounds.
The problem is people want to squabble over a tank of gas on a 10k+ rig and neglect all the other stuff that gets added to a truck. Six pounds per gallon, 30 gallons is 180 pounds. If you're that close, you've got bigger problems.
It's a truck. If you think the 180 pounds of fuel matters...running boards, floor mats, wheels and tires, exhaust, bedliner, hitches, bed covers, racks, tools, recovery gear, and spare parts stuffed in every nook and cranny of the cab. It's a truck. The custom bits and gear dwarf any fuel tank calculus you set out to perform.
On our last truck, I swapped the factory 26 gallon tank for a 62 gallon model. The truck, sitting in the driveway, was 900 pounds shy of GVWR. Just the truck with a full tank and all the gear and hardware that constituted typical packout. Add three humans, a dog, and the fifth wheel...go camping.
JHZR2
Staff member
Nice truck! I like the vinyl seats and steel wheels. That will be a strong truck for a long time. Check up on the known weak points and get it oil coated. Good luck with it!
@dja4260 any more updates? We might be buying a truck in the near future and I'm seriously considering this. There's a couple relatively close to me optioned similarly with the exception of the 8.4 in screen that can be had for around 43k before ttl.
Also so if it comes with the 8.4-in screen it does have Android Auto?
Also so if it comes with the 8.4-in screen it does have Android Auto?
IIRC. yes. They dont make 10 different 8.4 screens. Every one I've seen has it.
I just hit 2000 miles. Thus far I have zero complaints. Mine has just enough features to keep me satisfied. It pulls/tows really nice. Significant difference/improvement when compared to my 2014 Silverado. It has the power to do what I need and feels very grounded. Oil changes are simple too. It uses an odd oil spec so your options are limited. I have an apple phone and I'm able to plug it in via USB or bluetooth. The Uconnect works fairly well and I wish that I had the 8.4''in screen...
I don't regret my purchase as of yet.
Anything in particular you'd like me to touch on?
Hey thank you, that is super helpful. I like the packaging and the truck seems to be a good value. I've read of some issues with lifters on the 6.4 but seems very very random and not the norm necessarily.
Had also read something about harsh downshifts when coming to a stop, any thing like that happened on yours?
No, I find the 8 speed to be very smooth. It’s always where it needs to be from a gear perspective. There have been zero shifts of concern. It’s a sealed unit, which stinks for me as I’ll need to pay to have it serviced. Through my research, this ZF unit is stout. It must have an excellent trans cooler as in 100 degree temps, the trans sits at 167-170 degrees, regardless of load.
I know the lifters are a thing. I also know the failure rate is low. I see these motors sitting and idling all day, everyday for commercial use. I have to imagine the idle hours significantly increase the likelihood of an issue.
Incredibly helpful again I appreciate it sir! Happy to hear you're enjoying it
Today for no reason I received in the mail a Mopar pen of touchup paint. Unexpected and appreciated!
Also, last week I received a $50 check from the dealer for the review I left. Combine that with the $150 check I received from the dealer due to "overpaying" on my plate transfer fees (even though I agreed to an OTD price), I have some coin to put towards gas. Lord knows this thing sucks up the gas!
Also, last week I received a $50 check from the dealer for the review I left. Combine that with the $150 check I received from the dealer due to "overpaying" on my plate transfer fees (even though I agreed to an OTD price), I have some coin to put towards gas. Lord knows this thing sucks up the gas!
The lifter problems on both the 6.4 Hemi and the 7.3 Godzillas seem to come from extended idling, and this might also become an issue on the 6.6L L8T. The 6.4 seems to depend on oil being slung up to spots on the camshaft from the crank, so low speed idling causes oil starvation there. The other two engines have variable volume oil pumps that seem to produce lower pressures than needed at idle.
For a personal use truck, there is a lot less idling, so the chances of the problems coming up is somewhat lower.
As far as sealed transmissions go, they're eminently self-serviceable. I do drop-the-pan and drain and fill services on my Aisin/Toyota AB60F all the time (like 40k miles, we tow, a lot). I'd argue it's as easy or possibly easier than filling the old style transmissions through the dipstick tubes. The 10-speed transmissions on the Fords and GM HD trucks are also sealed AFAIK.
Doubt a lifter issue will arise in the L8T.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
The camshaft and lifter are not lubricated by splash, there's a large chunk of the block in the way. They are oiled from the pressurized lifter bores where oil runs down the lifter body and onto the roller/lobe interface, which is typical for a modern roller engine.
The 6.4L, like the 5.7L and 6.2L experienced lifter material quality issues (and to a lesser extent camshaft core quality issues, since they are surface hardened, not billet) which resulted in the pin or roller developing a groove in it where the needles eventually catch and pile-up, seizing the roller, which then rapidly wears the camshaft and roller. The lifters were revised several times, most recently in 2018, which seems to have dramatically reduced the number of failures.
Because it's a materials problem (inadequate/inconsistent hardening) it's a time-based manifestation. Ergo, on an engine that sees a lot of highway miles, it's going to require significantly more miles for the surface to be breached than on an engine that idles a lot. Both accrue a similar number of hours but dramatically different mileage.
