How do Ram 1500 trucks age? 2013+

[Fordiesel69]

Was curious for those who have owned rams long term, (excluding hemi issues), how these hold up? Especially in the salt belt.

I will go first. I have noticed that the rams seem to have the best metal on their frame rails and cross members. Compared to GM and Ford, on the rams the surface will turn orange and form rust scale, but not the rot / flake scale that indicates the metal is thinning and rotting out. I also noticed the fenders and rock panels are amoungst the worst of brands, somehow with doors and tailgates holding up well.

 

[DriveHard]

bed and rockers rust faster than others IMHO

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I agree. No personal experience with them, but the frames seem to look the best but the rockers and beds go quicker. I'd say the best for rust resistance are the aluminum F150s, the bodys still look good and frames look pretty good. The GM stuff the frames look like trash after a couple years and the bodies get worse every generation.

 

[oil pan 4]

They develope weird electrical problem that are really hard to sort out.

 

[D60]

I service a '12 which is the same as '13 AFAIK? It's a RCSB 4x4 approaching 200k and has actually been great. My non-profit purchased it new so I know the entire history.

I can't speak to rust per se but I'll say common sense says if you're in the rust belt and have the factory "running boards," you won't have them for long. They mostly hook into the rockers and are secured with nutserts or similar. I've had to repair ours due to impacts, not rust.

Other common issues:
-eats rear brakes (this is normal)
-cracked exhaust manifolds
-the stupid wireless ignition key thing wears out
-ours needed additional grounding to cure a recurring transmission limp mode
-has the dumb 2-piece lugnuts

Truthfully it's needed very little since 2012 and is still pleasant to drive. I really like the size of the regular cab but hate that the seat belt on the B-pillar is a mile reach -- really poor design there (and I'm an average healthy male with no shoulder or joint ailments)

 

[SwampSurvivor]

They definitely have rust issues. Wheel wells and rocker panels seem really bad.

 

[GMBoy]

I own a fully loaded top line model 2016 Limited 4x4 and it as 142k miles. No electrical issues, no rust (but this is Texas), no mechanical issues and the interior and exterior still look like new. The leather is like new, no fading in the interior even though it is an outside stored truck. I have had no issues with the air suspension or all the bells and whistles. The only issue I did have was the exhaust manifold bolts breaking causing an exhaust leak which was repaired under warranty way back around 2018. I love this truck and is aging beautifully.

 

[Slick3914]

I own a fully loaded top line model 2016 Limited 4x4 and it as 142k miles. No electrical issues, no rust (but this is Texas), no mechanical issues and the interior and exterior still look like new. The leather is like new, no fading in the interior even though it is an outside stored truck. I have had no issues with the air suspension or all the bells and whistles. The only issue I did have was the exhaust manifold bolts breaking causing an exhaust leak which was repaired under warranty way back around 2018. I love this truck and is aging beautifully.

Obviously we have to ask what oil you’re running, LOL

 

[GMBoy]

Obviously we have to ask what oil you’re running, LOL

LOL! It has seen mostly Mobil 1, some QSUD and last few oil changes were Penn Plat and always 5w/30 and usually between 6-7k miles.

 

[clinebarger]

Don't personally care for 65RFE transmissions, The ZF 8HP is sweet unit!

 

[BrianF]

My 2011 1500 had about 150,000km and traded in for my 3500 in 2017.

No issues with rust around the cab corners, rockers or wheel wells. Same with my 3500 with 167,000km. They are holding up quite well. They see plenty of gravel roads and winter salt.

The hemi needed an exhaust manifold and some new bolts early on but was fine onward, also a rattly noise from the trans dust cover. Had the usual hemi cold start tick but ran like a top until the day she left. I ran it hard on 5w20 under some really heavy loads. While not a 2013+ with the 8 speed, it still impressed me.

My 2017 has been aging well. Very slight squeak from the headliner but the interior is pretty much as right and quiet as the day we bought it. I have a friend with a nice loaded 2017 GMC 1500 6.2 gas. Nice truck but the Ram has aged nicer.

 

[OVERKILL]

We run a fleet of personal vehicles at our office, the majority of which are RAM 1500's. The fleet used to be more diverse, but aside from a Grand Caravan and a lone F-150, it's all RAM 1500's now, some DS's, some DT's.

We've lost three engines in the DS trucks, all at around 200,000 miles, due to lifter failure. Two were 2011's, the most recent was a 2014. Guy with the 2014 loves the truck (it's a well equipped Laramie), so it got a new factory longblock a few months ago.

- If the truck gets regularly sprayed (we use Rust Check) they don't rust. The bodies and frames on ours are all pristine.
- The exhaust manifolds, passenger side, will break the studs. The tech at our dealer would take the manifold off and make sure it's flat and then reinstall with the updated studs. This technique has resulted in no repeat failures, not sure if it's better or worse than slapping on a new manifold.
- The RAM's have all been less needy than the F-150's, which had more issues, such as hangar bearing failure and full A/C system replacement
- The 2-piece lug nuts suck, both on the Ford and the RAM trucks. We have two sets on our personal vehicle and still end up needing to replace one or two every few years.

Aside from the HEMI lifter issues, which, as noted, didn't crop-up until around 200,000 miles, the trucks have had very low TCO.

 

[vwmaniaman]

My 07 Laramie is still in great shape and has no electrical gremlins. My 05 yukon has rusted out rear quarters and lower body below doors is rusted through and gone. Talk about electrical gremlins. it turns on its seat heaters and door refuse to unlock. Window buttons are intermittent. The frame on my Laramie looks new as does everything under the hood. It has 226K on it and has no Hemi tick Quiet and uses no oil in 5K changes. The Yukon doesn't have any noises from the 5.3L or it doesn't use oil either at 216K.

 

[Dr_Dr3i]

Can't really say as mine is only 2 years old, basically brand new still. It's been through 2 midwest winters already but it is garaged.

Best bet is to wash underbody regularly in winter. I've yet to see any surface rust even develop.