2017 Ram 3500 vs 2016 Superduty

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Originally Posted By: BrianF

I am still wanting to test out the Superduty's though.....


It was probably mentioned somewhere in this thread, but if not you should know the Superduty is heavily revised for '17.
 
I had perused the 2017 Superduty but I am not sold on the styling as well as it being the first year model run of a complete redesign. I dont mind the 2016 styling but I like the uncomplicated chassis that has been around for many many years.
 
Well we took delivery of the Ram the other day and ended up putting several hundred km on it, both highway and grid road. I am overly impressed with the ride and handling. The ride is stiff but not punishing and it tracks very well on rough grid roads. I also placed about 300 pounds of softener salt in the bed for ballast. I am under no illusion I am driving a half ton anymore or that it turns like a Geo Metro but I am not unimpressed.

We picked the Megacab for the idea that we will keep this truck for many, many years and take it on long trips, both towing and unloaded. The cab volume is fantastic with more than ample leg room. It is a more plain Jane SLT trim, center console, Uconnect 5.0, no heated seats or wheel, it has the larger center display in the gauge cluster, overhead console, heated mirrors/rear window and just the chrome steel wheels. We had the factory gooseneck installed along with the Line X box liner but I will do a self install for the box mounted 7 pin. I am planning to install the rear cargo camera at some point as well.

So here is a question about the rear mounted 7 pin connector: where can one find the riser plate (for lack of a better term) that allows one to mount the connector higher up in the box? I had seen Ford and Ram use it in pictures but not able to find them on the internet. The Curt connectors I am looking at and have used in the past have the pin connector too long before the 90 degree bend so they have to mount low in the box as not to interfere with the exterior sheet metal.....

thanks
 
Well, this thread has been a bad influence on me. If things go as planned, I should be picking this up Monday.



2017 Ram 3500 Laramie Crew Cab long box, 4x4, HO Cummins, Aisin Transmission, Black Forrest green, Light frost beige leather, Cold weather group, 5th wheel and Gooseneck prep. Some other stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Well, this thread has been a bad influence on me. If things go as planned, I should be picking this up Monday.



2017 Ram 3500 Laramie Crew Cab long box, 4x4, HO Cummins, Aisin Transmission, Black Forrest green, Light frost beige leather, Cold weather group, 5th wheel and Gooseneck prep. Some other stuff.


Great choice, drive it in good health!
 
Nice truck!!!! Well we have about 4000km on ours now. about half has been with about 7-9000lbs of trailer thus far. Drives like a dream, never short on power and the exhaust brake alone made the diesel option worth it. My only complaint is hooking up the gooseneck. Visibility is limited and our rig did not have the cargo camera. Other than that it is great, you wont be unhappy.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianF
Nice truck!!!! Well we have about 4000km on ours now. about half has been with about 7-9000lbs of trailer thus far. Drives like a dream, never short on power and the exhaust brake alone made the diesel option worth it. My only complaint is hooking up the gooseneck. Visibility is limited and our rig did not have the cargo camera. Other than that it is great, you wont be unhappy.


Thanks, I hold you partially responsible.
laugh.gif


My use is going to be mainly towing a 5th wheel toy hauler. Knowing the pin and overall weight of the actual unit, and the weight of what will be in the Toy Hauler, I should be about 500 lbs below the payload, and tow rating of the truck, when loaded up.

In that pic (it was overcast) it looks black, but in the sun it has a dark green metallic hue to it.

Thanks to others that commented too.
 
I had seen a truck in the showroom in that color and it is really nice!! Glad I could have been some bad influence!!
 
Thanks.

I looked at and drove trucks from all three makes. I also had some reservations about all three.

With Ram it was the memories of the '95 Dually I owned. Having been in consumer automotive repair, and having friends that still are, I believe they have improved since then.

With Ford it was mainly the issues that many have had with the Bosch CP4.2 HPFP, and Ford being unwilling to stand behind it when it failed (through no fault of the customer in the cases I'm aware of) leaving customers with a 10k plus repair bill.

With GM it was simply the placement of the DEF tank, and the square wheelwells. Both subjective issues, but since it was my money, and I would have to look at it, they are what they are.

After driving all three 2017 models, and taking into account the reservations I had, and having a clear favorite based on how they drove, I went with the Ram.

Today this video was posted. To say I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement, considering that Ram has the lowest claimed HP and Torque of the three.
 
I love my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins,Best truck i've owned and i've had each of the big 3.124,000 miles on and it runs awesome.I'd love a new one ,but soo many electronics in them now and i don't need a diesel and most likely wouldn't buy diesel again.Enjoy the truck it's beautiful.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Thanks.

I looked at and drove trucks from all three makes. I also had some reservations about all three.

With Ram it was the memories of the '95 Dually I owned. Having been in consumer automotive repair, and having friends that still are, I believe they have improved since then.

With Ford it was mainly the issues that many have had with the Bosch CP4.2 HPFP, and Ford being unwilling to stand behind it when it failed (through no fault of the customer in the cases I'm aware of) leaving customers with a 10k plus repair bill.

With GM it was simply the placement of the DEF tank, and the square wheelwells. Both subjective issues, but since it was my money, and I would have to look at it, they are what they are.

After driving all three 2017 models, and taking into account the reservations I had, and having a clear favorite based on how they drove, I went with the Ram.

Today this video was posted. To say I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement, considering that Ram has the lowest claimed HP and Torque of the three.




Mopar has always been among the most conservative mfgrs with its HP and torque ratings. This goes all the way back to the late sixties when we used math to figure out your HP at the strip.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


Mopar has always been among the most conservative mfgrs with its HP and torque ratings. This goes all the way back to the late sixties when we used math to figure out your HP at the strip.


Calculating the HP based on the vehicle weight, and it's time down the Strip is used to this day, mostly in the Sportsman classes.

Thanks, Astro14.
 
So I am providing a bit of an update on my 3500. So far it has a hair over 13,000km on it. Lots of highway trips and lots of towing, in fact nearly half this mileage is with a trailer. I ran the numbers, hand calculated I am averaging 14.6L/100km. In the last 3 weeks it has put on over 2000km of towing. As well I have used 7.5 gal of DEF.

My old 1500 could barely get 14.6L/100km on the highway, doing the speed limit in ideal conditions. Its unloaded combined average was 17-18L/100km.

So for a heavier, taller truck with over twice the torque I am getting substantially better fuel mileage. Yes this will be offset by some of the maintenance costs such as fuel and CCV filters but I ran the numbers and my oil change costs will be wash with the gasser.

My Sask insurance is only slightly more expensive than my 2011 Ram 1500 was. I think the difference was about 60$ a year and that is taking into account the fact that I added substantial weight onto the 3500's insurance. It is about 100$ per year more than what my old 2006 TB currently is.

My wife and I are still very happy with this purchase and will recommend this truck to anyone in the market for a HD diesel. For those that are looking at an HD gasser, all I can say is this: Once you tow heavy and use the exhaust brake you will be converted. A month ago I had a load of hard core round bales, total weight with hay and trailer was nearing 20,000lb. The exhaust brake scrubbed all my speed on demand and I only needed service brakes while inching up to a controlled intersection. I never felt that amount of control on any trailer on any vehicle I have ever used. I now run the exhaust brake every time I drive my truck.

The Aisin has not skipped a beat either, of course most people report the 68 shifts just fine as well. It has a nice deep 1st gear and requires little throttle to get the heavy loads going. In fact this truck is quite boring while towing.

Fluid temps while unloaded and even loaded are absolutely boring to watch. Coolant and oil temps never exceeded 98 C, trans never exceeded 73 C.

I am still glad I bought the mega cab. The amount of leg room, behind the seat space is enormous. I plan on using this truck now for much more trips/vacations. Its ride is very reasonable for a 1 ton, I have no plans to air the rear tires down to improve the ride at this point.

My only real gripe, which was similar with my previous Ram is the manual shift feature. I like to shift my trucks myself. I prefer the GM and Ford way, which you drop the column shifter down a cog and then you can use the rocker switch for gear selection. The Ram you just have to keep toggling down until you reach your gear and then toggle up to get out of the feature. The display is small and to me seems counter intuitive. Is it a deal killer? Not in the least. Just first world problems. I have not had any of the dead pedal problems either.

Great truck so far and no regrets!
 
Originally Posted By: BrianF
I was edging towards the 3500 because it really is just a couple thou more than the 2500. In the case of the Ram it was for the Aisin. Would the 68RFE do me fine? More than likely but I plan on keeping this truck for many, many, many years and plan to tow heavy the whole time. As well I will get more payload and then will not have to **** around with air bags for the loads I will be towing. While air bags on a 2500 will ride really nice, I am thinking long term maintenance. My wife is also thinking of upgrading the trailer in a few years. going from a 5 horse to a 6.


There are tons of folks that have high miles on the 68RFE. Most of the issues are from heavily tuned trucks and people driving like jerks. Frequent drain and fills will get you far.
 
BrianF,

Thanks for the update. I realized that I never revised my info on the truck I ended up buying. It's a 3500 in the same exterior and interior colors and options (plus a couple more) as the SRW truck I posted a picture of above, but I ended up going with a dually. My payload was going to be right at the rated limit of the SRW truck with the pin weight of the loaded 5th wheel, and the max tow rating would have been exceeded. So since it was going to be mostly a dedicated towing vehicle, I decided on a dually instead. So far I'm pleased with it's capability.
 
I will try and attach an old pic of my truck. Its dirty and well doing what I bought it for.
 
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