Possibly Ordering a Laramie Soon

[pensfan]

Seeing the incentives available plus my affiliate discount, I am thinking of trading my '16 Ram on a new Laramie.
I have 2 questions.
If I go with the Night Edition, they force you into 22" tires. Those of you who have the 22's, what is the tread life compared to the 20's. Using the Michelin Defender LTX as the basis, it appears the 20 starts life with 1.5 32nds more tread. Given the 22's cost $70 + more a tire I am wary of getting the 22's.
Those of you with '25 Rams with the passenger screen that the level 2 package forces on you, how useful is it? Seems like a waste of glove box space to me and something your passenger may use on a long trip. I hate how they force stuff like this on us.
I don't know why they can't offer the Night with the level 1 package, other than greed.
My other option would be to get a Sport and buy the black badges from Allmoparparts at 30% off. On the Sport you can't get the black side steps, so these would have to be a separate purchase also. If I go this route git is abouy $1000 cheaper than the Night and I get 20" tires. I like the Sport wheels as they sit.
Any opinions would be welcomed.

 

[rick619]

Changing out the wheels and tires is much less work than the emblems. Mine is a '23 Big Horn Sport and came with 20" chrome wheels. I ended up buying new wheels and tires. If you want the OEM black wheels, maybe find someone selling take offs. Then sell yours.

 

[atdegs]

I went your second route and I think it turned out great. '25 Laramie with black badges and nerf bars. Mine is level 1, and I like the wheels quite a bit. They're my preference over the black 22s.

 

[pensfan]

I went your second route and I think it turned out great. '25 Laramie with black badges and nerf bars. Mine is level 1, and I like the wheels quite a bit. They're my preference over the black 22s.

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This is what I really want to do, except I want get the Mopar black side steps. They are 600 doing a factory order on a Night. Aftermarket they are twice as much.. The wheels are my favorite over the black. Black pockets with machine edges.
How long did it take to do the all of the letters and badges? Is the tailgate difficult to do? I would almost be ok with chrome letters if it wasn't for the big billboard sized RAM.
I am trying to estimate how much labor time I would have to pay. Parts and labor may cost almost as much as the night upgrade.
Where did you buy the badges? All Mopar Parts is 30% off.

 

[pensfan]

Changing out the wheels and tires is much less work than the emblems. Mine is a '23 Big Horn Sport and came with 20" chrome wheels. I ended up buying new wheels and tires. If you want the OEM black wheels, maybe find someone selling take offs. Then sell yours.

I'm ok with the Laramie 20' wheels. They are black pockets with machine edges.
My concern is tread ware. It appears the tread on the 22's is not as deep as the 20's on the same tire. I realize the 22's will make less revolutions per mile. Is it enough to offset less tread.

 

[Biga]

yea I ended up with a Laramie sport, overall I like the look but I would have preferred the night edition. The black badges are the biggest thing I am missing although I think the bright red tail lights look out of place sometimes. I think the smoked night edition lights would look better even with chrome badging. i would swap them over but really waiting for an all LED option. I added black running boards.

 

[pensfan]

yea I ended up with a Laramie sport, overall I like the look but I would have preferred the night edition. The black badges are the biggest thing I am missing although I think the bright red tail lights look out of place sometimes. I think the smoked night edition lights would look better even with chrome badging. i would swap them over but really waiting for an all LED option. I added black running boards.
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The black badges would make a difference. I would also have the RWL tires turned around. With the black and silver wheels, it is too much. I don't know why they insist on using them.

 

[atdegs]

This is what I really want to do, except I want get the Mopar black side steps. They are 600 doing a factory order on a Night. Aftermarket they are twice as much.. The wheels are my favorite over the black. Black pockets with machine edges.
How long did it take to do the all of the letters and badges? Is the tailgate difficult to do? I would almost be ok with chrome letters if it wasn't for the big billboard sized RAM.
I am trying to estimate how much labor time I would have to pay. Parts and labor may cost almost as much as the night upgrade.
Where did you buy the badges? All Mopar Parts is 30% off.

It probably took me two hours to do all the badges. Honestly the big front and rear RAM were the easiest, they're held on by clips and not just glue. The adhesive is just awful. Get some 3M adhesive remover.
And just for reference, my side steps were something like $300, there's others I like better, but not for 4x the money.

 

[pensfan]

It probably took me two hours to do all the badges. Honestly the big front and rear RAM were the easiest, they're held on by clips and not just glue. The adhesive is just awful. Get some 3M adhesive remover.
And just for reference, my side steps were something like $300, there's others I like better, but not for 4x the money.

How did you access the tailgate letters?

 

[atdegs]

How did you access the tailgate letters?

The process I used was to tape around them to protect the paint, heat them up with a heat gun, then use plastic pry bar tools to pull up the adhesive. If you use the new letters as a guide to where the clips are, you can slide a putty knife in where you know there's a clip. Then just press into it and pull the letter out to release it. Mine came off intact, I actually just sold them on ebay to recoup over a third of the money I had into new badges. The new ones just peel and stick/clip.

 

[Biga]

Has anyone tried the Reflective Concept vinyl overlays for the tail gate letters?

Thanks,

 

[pensfan]

The process I used was to tape around them to protect the paint, heat them up with a heat gun, then use plastic pry bar tools to pull up the adhesive. If you use the new letters as a guide to where the clips are, you can slide a putty knife in where you know there's a clip. Then just press into it and pull the letter out to release it. Mine came off intact, I actually just sold them on ebay to recoup over a third of the money I had into new badges. The new ones just peel and stick/clip.

I thought the tailgate letters would have been accessed through the panel with the bolts on the tailgate.

 

[atdegs]

I thought the tailgate letters would have been accessed through the panel with the bolts on the tailgate.

No reason to take the tailgate apart. I don't think it would really help since the adhesive all needs to be pulled away on the outside anyway.

 

[dajogejr]

Rim size depends on what you plan on doing and where you drive.
I had 20’s for my previous 3 Rams.
I have 22’s now on my night edition. They are the nicest looking rims I’ve had, factory, by far to date.
The factory Pirellis on 22’s suck for mileage. Grip is fine.. I’m at 21K miles…and they’re about ready to be changed.
Michelin will be my next tire.

As far as 22 vs 20.
Air ride smooths out about everything…. I don’t notice much difference in 20 vs 22. I do know it feels more planted in turns than “rolly” with 20s. But not much.

If you plan on taking it off road, get 20s. My roads in MI are horrible…and I’m just waiting for the day I break a 22” rim. May never happen…but it’s on my mind. My truck sees a two track once in a blue moon.
Otherwise, it’s pavement king.

Snow, rain, etc, wide and flat tires are gonna suck unless you go full aggressive tread. And even then it won’t be as good as a taller sidewall, narrower tire.

As far as tread depth, can’t tell you about factory tires. I can tell you Michelin Defender LTX are 11/32 new as a 275/60 R20 and the same as a 285/45 R22.

22’s new, as factory take off, are valuable. Trade them in if that’s a major concern.

Passenger screen wasn’t an option on my 23, if it was, I would’ve gone for it. There is so much storage in the truck.. the only thing that goes in my glovebox, as is.. is owners manual. No loss for me.

Just giving you perspective as somone who drove on 20” rims from 2006, 2008, 2015 Ram perspective until my 23 on 22”s.
2015 and 2023 both limiters, so 4 corner air if that helps.

 

[pensfan]

Rim size depends on what you plan on doing and where you drive.
I had 20’s for my previous 3 Rams.
I have 22’s now on my night edition. They are the nicest looking rims I’ve had, factory, by far to date.
The factory Pirellis on 22’s suck for mileage. Grip is fine.. I’m at 21K miles…and they’re about ready to be changed.
Michelin will be my next tire.

As far as 22 vs 20.
Air ride smooths out about everything…. I don’t notice much difference in 20 vs 22. I do know it feels more planted in turns than “rolly” with 20s. But not much.

If you plan on taking it off road, get 20s. My roads in MI are horrible…and I’m just waiting for the day I break a 22” rim. May never happen…but it’s on my mind. My truck sees a two track once in a blue moon.
Otherwise, it’s pavement king.

Snow, rain, etc, wide and flat tires are gonna suck unless you go full aggressive tread. And even then it won’t be as good as a taller sidewall, narrower tire.

As far as tread depth, can’t tell you about factory tires. I can tell you Michelin Defender LTX are 11/32 new as a 275/60 R20 and the same as a 285/45 R22.

22’s new, as factory take off, are valuable. Trade them in if that’s a major concern.

Passenger screen wasn’t an option on my 23, if it was, I would’ve gone for it. There is so much storage in the truck.. the only thing that goes in my glovebox, as is.. is owners manual. No loss for me.

Just giving you perspective as somone who drove on 20” rims from 2006, 2008, 2015 Ram perspective until my 23 on 22”s.
2015 and 2023 both limiters, so 4 corner air if that helps.

Thanks for your detailed reply.
I brought home a Laramie Night yesterday for a test ride as my garage is really tight. I had to remove the inside T handle on the lock to get the truck in without ruining the Satellite antenna. The '16 antenna is mounted to the left so it never hit handle. Once the handle came off it was fine. Only a few inches left from the rear bumper to the door. the The truck seems to sit higher with the 22's than my '16 with 20's and it is more of a step up than the '16.
I like the Hurricane more than I thought I would. Smooth shifts and adequate power here on the hills of Pittsburgh. I don't think I would miss the Hemi.
The original GY Wranglers on my '16 lasted 18K and they were at 4/32 and slick in wet. I've had 2 sets of the Defender LTX tires and will need a 3rd soon if I keep my '16.
I've gone from an '05 with '17's , a 14 with both 18 and later 20, now the 16 with 20's , and now these big 22's if I pull the trigger.
i could do without the passenger screen as it will see little use except maybe on a long trip.
No air suspension for me though. Another potential problem, just like power side steps.
thx again