Another is my truck enough ? questions.

[SDDave]

Originally Posted by Walterthediver

Did the ram have a cummins? If it did then you better keep if for back up, cause your going to need it.

After owning Cummins rams since 2005, the engine speaks for itself... But it was the Ram packaging that lost me.

I'll do a Cummins swap on this one day.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by SDDave

I picked up the trailer today and I am surprised, it sits dead level ( but its also completely empty as well)
I'll load it up and see how it sits like everyone has said. In all fairness and not throwing stones, my 3500 ram sagged pretty good and pretty easy compared to this truck.

Thanks for all your advice.

Sorry, but from the picture on my screen the truck looks like the a## is low & you say the 5er isn't loaded.
From what I've noticed it appears that all Ford's appear to have the a## droop with any type of trailer attached. Is it an illusion or actual droop?

[SDDave]

absolute illusion, I had to walk across the street to the park to get both the tv and fver in the photo. Th park is probably a good 10' higher then ground level maybe more.

I measured it to the ground and there isn't an 1/8" difference between front and back.
If there was I would be posting how I added a leaf to the truck when it was in getting the hitch installed.

[CaptnJohn]

I tow a little heavier with a 16 F350. When hitched the truck drops to level. No springs or bags added.

[Exsquid32]

I tow with a 1999 F250 7.3 2 wheel drive. My 5th wheel is a 2015 Cougar 337FLS. We went from Ohio to Myrtle Beach over the WV mountains with no problem.

[Fishsizzle]

Originally Posted by Walterthediver

Did the ram have a cummins? If it did then you better keep if for back up, cause your going to need it.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Fishsizzle

^^^^^^^^^this is funny

[Fishsizzle]

Originally Posted by Logan X

^^^^^^^^^this is funny

Back in the day, yes, 6.0, 6.4 powerstroke had issues and de-stroking was a good alternative. But today the 6.7 is a great engine. It’s proven itself. Yet anytime someone gets rid of a Dodge it’s like they sacrificed their first born.

The 6.7 Cummins has issues, heck they all do. But it’s no longer needed to yard out an engine and stick a 12V in everything. Or even the vintage 00’s 24 valve. Yes they are good motors, but here we all are 15+ years later.

Ford makes a good diesel, Chevy makes and good diesel and Fiat buys a good diesel. They all work great for a vast majority of us that pull.

So it’s like beating a dead horse, to say pull out your perfectly good engine for a vintage engine that won’t meet today’s emissions.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by SDDave

After owning Cummins rams since 2005, the engine speaks for itself... But it was the Ram packaging that lost me.

I'll do a Cummins swap on this one day.

I have found this statement many times from those who don't consider a Ram, or switch to a Ford or GM from a Ram. I was a Ford man for 42 years, about 17 years of age to 59, I switched to Ram CTD and never looked back. the seats in my last two Ford F250's were worn out at 140,000 miles.
This is the seat in my old Ram at 314,000 miles. I did have the side seam repaired at about 280,000 miles. The surface is still in great shape.




What was was worn out in the interior was the drivers seat belt. It was a somewhat easy process to replace, although I did need to remove the seatback material to replace.

[jsmith948]

Originally Posted by Fishsizzle

Ford makes a good diesel, Chevy makes and good diesel and Fiat buys a good diesel. They all work great for a vast majority of us that pull.

So it’s like beating a dead horse, to say pull out your perfectly good engine for a vintage engine that won’t meet today’s emissions.

I thought Chevy (aka GMC) bought the Duramax diesels from a Japanese outfit known as Izusu??

[Fishsizzle]

Originally Posted by jsmith948

I thought Chevy (aka GMC) bought the Duramax diesels from a Japanese outfit known as Izusu??

They did, but I think that changed awhile back and they took over engine building. Let me look.

[Fishsizzle]

Per the Wick:


Duramax V8 engine
The Duramax is a General Motors V8 diesel engine family for trucks. The 6.6-liter Duramax is produced by DMAX, a joint venture between GM and Isuzu in Moraine, Ohio. The Duramax block and heads are poured at The Defiance GM Powertrain foundry in Defiance, Ohio. This engine was initially installed in 2001 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, and has been an option since then in pickups, vans, and medium-duty trucks. In 2006, production at Moraine was reportedly limited to approximately 200,000 engines per year. On May 9, 2007, DMAX announced the production of the 1,000,000th Duramax V-8 diesel at its Moraine facility.

[jsmith948]

Originally Posted by Fishsizzle

Per the Wick:


Duramax V8 engine
The Duramax is a General Motors V8 diesel engine family for trucks. The 6.6-liter Duramax is produced by DMAX, a joint venture between GM and Isuzu in Moraine, Ohio. The Duramax block and heads are poured at The Defiance GM Powertrain foundry in Defiance, Ohio. This engine was initially installed in 2001 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, and has been an option since then in pickups, vans, and medium-duty trucks. In 2006, production at Moraine was reportedly limited to approximately 200,000 engines per year. On May 9, 2007, DMAX announced the production of the 1,000,000th Duramax V-8 diesel at its Moraine facility.

Huh...thanks for the info. Now I can't call these Chevy and GMC trucks Isuzus anymore

[SDDave]

Originally Posted by Fishsizzle

Back in the day, yes, 6.0, 6.4 powerstroke had issues and de-stroking was a good alternative. But today the 6.7 is a great engine. It’s proven itself. Yet anytime someone gets rid of a Dodge it’s like they sacrificed their first born.

The 6.7 Cummins has issues, heck they all do. But it’s no longer needed to yard out an engine and stick a 12V in everything. Or even the vintage 00’s 24 valve. Yes they are good motors, but here we all are 15+ years later.

Ford makes a good diesel, Chevy makes and good diesel and Fiat buys a good diesel. They all work great for a vast majority of us that pull.

So it’s like beating a dead horse, to say pull out your perfectly good engine for a vintage engine that won’t meet today’s emissions.

Who said I would pull out my perfectly good PS? Once it's worn out and the truck is worth saving your damn right I would do a Cummins swap. By that time these trucks will probably be in the $150k range and I can do a 6.7l 24 valve isb swap for much less than that. Who wouldn't want the best of those both worlds. Being able to work on your truck without having the cab removed is like winning a small lottery. Honestly who really cares about emissions? unless you live in California or feel the need to blacken out the sky ( which I don't) The diesel without a pile of smog crap are actually pretty good on their own especially in light of our refined fuel.

[SDDave]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

I have found this statement many times from those who don't consider a Ram, or switch to a Ford or GM from a Ram. I was a Ford man for 42 years, about 17 years of age to 59, I switched to Ram CTD and never looked back. the seats in my last two Ford F250's were worn out at 140,000 miles.
This is the seat in my old Ram at 314,000 miles. I did have the side seam repaired at about 280,000 miles. The surface is still in great shape.




What was was worn out in the interior was the drivers seat belt. It was a somewhat easy process to replace, although I did need to remove the seatback material to replace.

Seats don't make the truck, my 2012 with 180k miles on it had to have the front driver leather(pleather) bolster replaced twice thanks to me sliding in and out of this truck 15-20 times a day running my construction company.
Lets see a RAM Frontend holdup for longer than a 100k miles then you have something.

[Fishsizzle]

Originally Posted by SDDave

Who said I would pull out my perfectly good PS? Once it's worn out and the truck is worth saving your damn right I would do a Cummins swap. By that time these trucks will probably be in the $150k range and I can do a 6.7l 24 valve isb swap for much less than that. Who wouldn't want the best of those both worlds. Being able to work on your truck without having the cab removed is like winning a small lottery. Honestly who really cares about emissions? unless you live in California or feel the need to blacken out the sky ( which I don't) The diesel without a pile of smog crap are actually pretty good on their own especially in light of our refined fuel.

Wasn’t directed at you at all. Another posted said “hope you saved your Cummins as a back up” I was pointing out that all 3 makers have pretty good engines now.

And honestly, I do care about emissions. I had a 6.4 deleted and loved it. Miss it terribly. But also realize that I don’t own the world and have to have some sense of responsibility towards stewardship of the earth. Pick up my trash, recycle, don’t dump my oil down the drain and keep my rigs running in top shape. And I’ve lived in the OR my whole life. No CA influence for me, even though it does seem the OR should be called North CA these days!

Happy towing

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

I have found this statement many times from those who don't consider a Ram, or switch to a Ford or GM from a Ram. I was a Ford man for 42 years, about 17 years of age to 59, I switched to Ram CTD and never looked back. the seats in my last two Ford F250's were worn out at 140,000 miles.
This is the seat in my old Ram at 314,000 miles. I did have the side seam repaired at about 280,000 miles. The surface is still in great shape.




What was was worn out in the interior was the drivers seat belt. It was a somewhat easy process to replace, although I did need to remove the seatback material to replace.

Sadly, the problem with our ‘99 2500 CTD wasn’t the seats. BTW - the seat fabric in your picture was the same as in our Dodge - I loved that fabric color! It was the fact the truck was rusting out around the engine. With the track bar in that Dodge having to be replaced every year or two (we knew it, accepted it, and were willing to spend money on it), when it hit 13 years of age, the truck literally was rusted so bad the tailgate was losing bits and flakes when you’d slam it shut, and the last straw was the shop I had always taken it to telling me this was the last track bar they could do without replacing more of the front end due to the rust. And that was with me taking the truck to the car wash religiously once a week, with an undercarriage wash, every winter because of the salt here. I’ve never had a truck rust so badly, so quickly, as that Dodge.

Also, Dodge just didn’t get it together in time when we were looking at new trucks in 2009. The interior of a new Dodge just didn’t have the roominess as the Ford did. And with 2 kids in the backseat our suicide doors (extended cab?) didn’t give enough backseat space for their growing leg length, and Dodge’s crew cab didn’t have any more room than our extended cab did. So, off to Ford we went.

[Laredo Tugger]

When I got my Ram a friend told me "the truck will fall apart around the motor". Kinda shrugged it off until I heard the drivers side door "creaking" the other day (has since disappeared).
I am taking extra efforts with maintenance and such and always paying attention to comment on here and elsewhere as what could be "next". The front end gets the nod so far. And yes I know it is a 2018 and I have many miles (hopefully) to go before such problems occur.

As for the seats, I have the Tradseman trim package. Some foam padding and durable seat covers have worked perfectly to make the truck seats comfortable and give protection to the original cloth materials. I can live without heated leather seats and a sunroof,ect..
The "trade-off" (no pun intended) is the payload. 3822 on the door sticker fits my weight ratios perfectly.
And rust is brutal on any metal,regardless which brand of frame it contacts. I do not live in such a place to encounter this,but it sounds like an uphill battle that over time is unavoidable.
RMc

[SDDave]

Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger

When I got my Ram a friend told me "the truck will fall apart around the motor". Kinda shrugged it off until I heard the drivers side door "creaking" the other day (has since disappeared).
I am taking extra efforts with maintenance and such and always paying attention to comment on here and elsewhere as what could be "next". The front end gets the nod so far. And yes I know it is a 2018 and I have many miles (hopefully) to go before such problems occur.

As for the seats, I have the Tradseman trim package. Some foam padding and durable seat covers have worked perfectly to make the truck seats comfortable and give protection to the original cloth materials. I can live without heated leather seats and a sunroof,ect..
The "trade-off" (no pun intended) is the payload. 3822 on the door sticker fits my weight ratios perfectly.
And rust is brutal on any metal,regardless which brand of frame it contacts. I do not live in such a place to encounter this,but it sounds like an uphill battle that over time is unavoidable.
RMc

exactly, the ram is an actual medium duty truck. I’d still have mine now I liked it that much, and I think the rust protection is better than it was in years past.

The Cummins is an incredible engine, but I couldn’t justify the price difference, over my SD. Time will tell if this one holds up as well and for a minimum as long.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger

When I got my Ram a friend told me "the truck will fall apart around the motor". Kinda shrugged it off until I heard the drivers side door "creaking" the other day (has since disappeared).
I am taking extra efforts with maintenance and such and always paying attention to comment on here and elsewhere as what could be "next". The front end gets the nod so far. And yes I know it is a 2018 and I have many miles (hopefully) to go before such problems occur.

As for the seats, I have the Tradseman trim package. Some foam padding and durable seat covers have worked perfectly to make the truck seats comfortable and give protection to the original cloth materials. I can live without heated leather seats and a sunroof,ect..
The "trade-off" (no pun intended) is the payload. 3822 on the door sticker fits my weight ratios perfectly.
And rust is brutal on any metal,regardless which brand of frame it contacts. I do not live in such a place to encounter this,but it sounds like an uphill battle that over time is unavoidable.
RMc

Personally I wouldn't worry about the truck falling apart around the engine - not in the newer Rams.

I owned Ford trucks for about 40 years. They were the best IMO but started falling behind in their "truckness", powertrains and interiors going into the 2000s becoming more "car" oriented to me (all 1/2-3/4 ton SRW). I had driven Ram trucks at work for decades as well and detested them. The claims of "falling apart", uncomfortable, not well built were all well founded.

Enter the new body style Ram circa 1994 of which I took note but they still looked like they needed refinement. Finally moved to a Ram 1500 4x4 Off Road in 2001 followed by a 2002 1500 (new body style) then a 2003 4x4 Off Road. I've owned Rams since. I've not had any issues with the front ends but I don't keep a vehicle past 100k. The interiors are now nicer than the others IMO (that is a personal thing) as well.

Don't get me wrong, all of the Big 3 make excellent trucks. I figure the interiors of all of them will last about the same and the drivetrains have become very good so I don't know that there is a bad choice in the lot - so, not trying to start a debate about which truck is best. Just trying to reassure you that IMO your truck is going to be just fine and not to worry about every little thing thinking it's going to "fall apart".