Yet another LERN ME thread: late model Ram 1500 Edition

This year, I've sorta grown agitated with our vehicles. We already threw in the towel and replaced the wife's old 2010 Mazda 3 with a new CX-5 (which we LOVE by the way), but my fleet has remained unchanged. My Mazda 3 has needed some things, but it's as good as ever at 170k miles. My Trans Am is still in full-on project car limbo, but I've been picking at it when I can. And my 1997 Dodge Dakota... that thing is one step away from getting a Viking Funeral at this point. Every time I need to use it, something breaks, causing me to waste half the day trying to repair it.  So far this year, I've done the following:

-Steering shaft

-Front wheel hub bearings

-Front brakes

-Front-to-rear brake line and rear brake hose

-fixed the horn wiring

-rear drum self adjusters

-Outer tie rods

 It still needs the rear leaf spring shackles replaced, an alignment, shocks, some rust repair, and more. Put it this way: I'm getting sick of constantly wrenching on it. I've been hunting for a relatively cheap replacement for it (think sub-$2k) but everything in that price range is the same deal. Hell, everything up to about $5k around here is the same truck which needs rockers, cab corners, and more. 

That lead me to start looking at newer stuff, and then I remembered that these are a thing:

Ram made a short bed single cab 2WD truck with a Hemi that does sub-6 second 0-60 times and runs the 1/4 in 14 flat. Can you say muscle truck? It's basically a 5000lb Challenger with a bed. They also made it in 4x4 flavors. 2015-up received the 8-speed automatic, which helps with highway mileage a bit. And out of the crop of recent 1/2 tons, I think these far and away look the best. Now, I have a friend with a 2015 Ram 4-door with the Hemi and 8-speed, and he's liked it so far. I've driven it a few times and towed with it as well, and it's comfortable and has plenty of power. 

My thinking is that I could possibly score one of these with somewhat higher mileage, even an earlier 6-speed auto one, in the low teens, sell/trade in my Dakota, and keep my Mazda for now. I would split DD duty with the Mazda, and if I got a 2WD one, still use the Mazda in the winter when it snows. No more fixing the truck every time I need to use it, with a side order of Hemi-powered insanity. 

What I don't know are the weaknesses of these trucks. They have cylinder deactivation, but do they have the same oiling problems as the GM trucks? How do they hold up long term, like over 100K miles? How easy are they to work on? Do they rot out like the 2002-08ish trucks do?  

Should I just stick to trying to find a cheap replacement truck and forget this dumb idea?

Thanks for indulging me yet again. 

The ZF 8-speed is a great transmission, so I'd shoot for a 13+ one.  Pretty sure they're way more reliable than the 545RFE and 65RFE of the earlier 09-12 models.

They're not fuel efficient with the 5.7L and have a lower payload than competitor trucks due to the rear coil spring setup, but they also ride well because of that.

I don't have much more to add than that because I've never worked on one or owned one. They were high on my list before I decided I couldn't get a full-size with my commute.

I'm unsure about the RT version but these are on my radar for real truck to manage my needs.  The Rams come to the top as the lowest cost full size.  The Tundras and Titans seem to be similar but a few k higher in general.  I'm finding a bunch of 09-12 rams in the 8-12k range which seems like a lot of truck for the money despite them not have the newer bits of the 13 on trucks.  Curious what you find.

For me, I'm tired of borrowing trucks and having to keep my wife in a full frame SUV to allow for my minimal towing desires.  

I just rode with my buddy in his. It gets 7-8mpg towing a 6k enclosed trailer and is already rusty in the rockers and rear wheel well edges. Other than that it was a nice place to be and he said it was really reliable so far. The only thing that really scared me was the rust. 

My dad had a '11 or '12 Ram and recently got a '17 that was still on the lot new. He loves them. The '11 made my '06 F160 feel antiquated what with the stability/AWD.

I think the ZF 8-speed is great. I have the down-spec one in the Grand Cherokee.

I just ran a Build your own on a not completely stripped, but low option 2018 Tradesman with small cap, small box, 2wd BIG engine and it came back at $28k and quick discounts to $25k.  Does that mean that $23k is possible NEW? 

Heck, I ran the build again with no options other than big engine and posi, in white of course and it came to $27k and immediate discounts took it to $23.2k, for a 2018.  

2015-up received the 8-speed automatic, which helps with highway mileage a bit.

Yeah, and it also helps it run that 1/4 mile you talked about. The 6spd was a 2012-only thing, and I can tell you for sure that the 2011-down 5spd Hemi will not do anywhere near a 14 flat because first gear feels like it starts in 2nd gear (and compared to the 8spd it basically does).  I would echo the recommendation to go for the 8spd. I seriously like the 3.6/8spd more than the 5.7/5spd and while the 6spd is probably 'enough better', why bother seeking out a one-year-only thing when bumping up the next gear gets you the full monty. 

I had a 2011 Ram 1500 Express. It was a single cab short bed 2wd. It was a Hemi, 5 speed with 3.55s. I REALLY wanted an R/T but was too poor. I put a VaraRam intake on it, a 14" Magnaflow SIDO muffler, Hellwig front and rear sways and a 3" electric cutout. I was running canned Diablosport tunes which disabled MDS (which droned horribly when activated). I could knock down 20 mpg on the highway if I drove it nice (rarely haha). I heard that it was electronically limited to 105 MPH . I also put 22" SRT10 replica wheels on it.

I was very happy with that truck despite the gas mileage biased rear ratio and the 5 speed auto. I really wanted to supercharge it but sadly I had to sell it before that happened. It was a poor mans R/T. I do miss it sometimes.

At the dealer

All fixed up

Pretty bare bones.

I paid a hair over $20k in 2012. It was a fun truck.

FWIW, a buddy of mine has had a single-cab 2wd '03 Ram with the 5.7L for 8-10 years. His dad bought a new '15 outfitted the same then promptly passed away. So my buddy drove the '15 for a year then decided to go back to the '03 and turned in the '15 back to his family. He didn't like that the '15 felt bulkier/heavier and wasn't any faster. He also hated that the '15 had no CD player in favor of phone/media player only.

It’s looking like the drive trains are pretty good. But you’re in New England right?

I can’t even believe the rotted beds on these late model Dodge trucks up here. Like I can’t believe there’s not a class action law suit yet bad.

In reply to AnthonyGS :

That's funny because I traded my Express in on the Jeep that I currently have. It would of been too hard to fit 3 kids (1 in a carseat, 1 in a booster and a 13yo) in a single cab truck.

I still keep an eye out for 2012+ RAM 1500s. If my truck was a crew cab, I'd still have it (and it would be paid off by now!).

In reply to AnthonyGS :

Wow, I am in the exact dilemma you are in. I love the Jeep as a daily. It's sprightly (6 speed) and maneuverable. Its great in the woods. But I cannot tow hardly anything (2k lb tow limit) and it only holds 4 people. Has a decent sound system.

The truck is an ok daily. It's comfortable and effortless to drive (diesel = torques!!1!1!!). But it's huge (crew cab long bed 4wd) and I always seem to find the smallest, most inconvienent parking lots. It could tow a house and it holds 6 people. Fuel mileage is dismal. No cruise control.

I wish I could find something with decent off-road capability, tow capacity and not be the size of a battleship (oh and affordable too).

ebonyandivory said:

It’s looking like the drive trains are pretty good. But you’re in New England right?

I can’t even believe the rotted beds on these late model Dodge trucks up here. Like I can’t believe there’s not a class action law suit yet bad.

I have not seen a 2002-2008 Ram with intact bed sides in about 10 years. Every single one in New England has holes above the rear wheels. They must have figured out that issue on the 2009+ trucks because I still haven't seen a rusty one.

That said, New England has been less than kind to all of the trucks from that era. GM trucks have dissolving rockers and cab corners, and the Fords like to lose the bottoms of the cab under the extended cab. Toyota frames... well, you know what they do, but at least they acknowledged this and have fixed many of them free of charge! GM and Ford also have serious frame issues as well. The only ones that seem to have come through unscathed are Nissans. The only rusty ones I've seen from that time are ones that looked like someone beat the truck with a sledgehammer in a fit of rage, and the paint was missing. 

Tony Sestito said:

 

 It's basically a 5000lb Challenger with a bed.

I didnt realize they were that much lighter then the Challengers

*buh dum tis*

I forgot to mention how good the Hemi sounds at full song with a straight through muffler. I put a Mufflex DOD14M on it. It's basically a 14" Magnaflow SIDO muffler with pipes.

We sold our '06 RAM quad cab, short bed 4X4 with the Hemi a few years ago.  I loved the truck, but was nervous about rust as mine was one of the only ones around with non-perforated sheetmetal, so I figured I'd sell it before it became a rust bucket.

The only other thing that bothered me about it was that the oil pan looked like it was about to rust through.

I loved the truck, but as Tony said, the '02-08s in New England seem to disintegrate from rust.

I wish I could find something with decent off-road capability, tow capacity and not be the size of a battleship (oh and affordable too).

What's affordable? How old? 

If you can take 10 years old there's always V8 Pathfinder 4wd, GX470, and Porsche Cayenne.

Getting better than 15mpg and having it be both new and affordable is a pretty tall ask, though!  

In Ohio the big rust dividing line is U.S. 30. The '03 I mentioned above was fine when it spent most of its time here in Columbus and parked at military bases in the South, but when it went back up to Northeast Ohio for only two years it came back with rust-through on the wheelwells. I remember visiting Canton in 2013 and being aghast at the state of 3rd gen Ram beds.