F150 or RAM 1500? Here to help get this sorted...

[Awood05]

I’m coming off of a 2016 3.5L EcoBoost. At 120k of nearly all highway miles, the thing started coming apart. Had to replace the throttle body, all plugs/wires, passenger side turbo, and both side exhaust/turbo manifolds. Cost me $8k just to get the truck driveable again and now I’m continually worrying that the other turbo is going to go. By the way, I had done every single scheduled maintenance.

I’m switching to RAM.

I just recently switched to RAM myself. So far I am VERY happy. The interior is incredible. The ride is super smooth (air ride suspension). Love the sound of the V8. Oh and of course that screen....12” of WOW.

I had a 2018 Raptor for two years. Between the cam phasers, the blue smoke screen you’d leave when you let the truck idle for more than 5 minutes, various other issues and that ****ty transmission I was completely turned off from the F150. I traded it in for a 2020 Explorer ST, but that was a problem in it‘s own right. So glad to be back in a truck and am in love with my RAM.

 

[PowerJrod]

I agree with this, 2018 Ford F150 3.5L EcoBoost never got great gas mileage and is very comparable to my Hemi. Under load I would expect the Hemi to do better mileage wise

Not even just mileage wise, but long term reliability too. Larger engines just usually don't have to work as hard. Turbos makes their engine components run harder, hotter and end result..? Less durability. Anyone who argues with that has never used a truck for solid work purposes... guaranteed.

 

[RHCan]

I have limited Etorque with 3.92 gears. Towed 5500 trailer to my sister recently. Over400 miles.As far as I’m concerned it performed flawlessly.

 

[Boston]

I don’t think 5000ft is really enough to cause a major reduction in power. Some just not major.
I don’t think the interior of the 20 f150 is anything to write home about. 21 is better.

One thing you don’t ask about is payload. A 5700lb boat plus trailer is likely to put 800lbs on the back of the pickup. No add all your family and stuff in the bed and we’re are you?

Now is the time to carefully look at those yellow payload stickers on the B pillar.

 

[PowerJrod]

I don’t think 5000ft is really enough to cause a major reduction in power. Some just not major.
I don’t think the interior of the 20 f150 is anything to write home about. 21 is better.

One thing you don’t ask about is payload. A 5700lb boat plus trailer is likely to put 800lbs on the back of the pickup. No add all your family and stuff in the bed and we’re are you?

Now is the time to carefully look at those yellow payload stickers on the B pillar.

General rule is that for every 1,000 feet of elevation, NA engines lose around 3% of power. So even with 15% reduction on the Hemi, it still is going to be more reliable being that it has 8 cylinders.

 

[LakesAZ]

I don’t think 5000ft is really enough to cause a major reduction in power. Some just not major.
I don’t think the interior of the 20 f150 is anything to write home about. 21 is better.

One thing you don’t ask about is payload. A 5700lb boat plus trailer is likely to put 800lbs on the back of the pickup. No add all your family and stuff in the bed and we’re are you?

Now is the time to carefully look at those yellow payload stickers on the B pillar.

Generally speaking, an engine loses three percent of its rated power for every 1,000 feet of altitude gained. This means you could lose as much as 20% of your vehicle's horsepower if you drive it from sea level to Big Bear Lake in California.(with its 6,750 elevation).

 

[PowerJrod]

Generally speaking, an engine loses three percent of its rated power for every 1,000 feet of altitude gained. This means you could lose as much as 20% of your vehicle's horsepower if you drive it from sea level to Big Bear Lake in California.(with its 6,750 elevation).

Yep. I'd rather be pushing a V8 harder than a V6 lol.

 

[Buz]

I think the 10 speed has improved their gas mileage some over the older Ford 6 speed that I had. Now the 10 speed peeps don’t seem to be super pleased with the transmission overall, thats a lot of gears to be hunting through... Can you imagine the rebuild price on that? Shudder.

I did not like the excessive shifting, especially downshifting when slowing down, of the 10 speed tranny in my 2.7 Ecoboost. It really is overkill.
There is no reason a half ton pickup with 400ft/lbs of torque needs 10 gears. 8 is plenty.

 

[Gertrude]

We were planning to buy an f150. We almost bought a fully loaded used 2019 but couldn't quite get the price down low enough. My husband wasn't interested in the Ram but I made him test drive one just to rule it out since we keep our trucks forever. He fell in love immediately. We drove both trucks over a notoriously bumpy bridge, and the Ram was the winner - we barely felt them! The Ford wasn't as good, though definitely better than our 07 Titan or my 16 Pilot. The backseat is way more spacious and comfortable in the Ram - though we are all tall people, so that may not be as bit of a concern for you. The ram has better storage and the interior is way nicer, too. The backseat cup holder in the middle seat armrest of the Ford was a cheapy plastic one that slid out of the armrest. If they cheaped out on that instead of having cup holders built into the armrest like most other vehicles, we couldn't help but wonder what else they cheaped out on. We also felt like the door pillars in the Ram were well placed to give a panoramic view - the Ford pillars blocked our sight line. The towing ability was comparable between the two, and I can't speak to the high altitude, but the fit and finish and thoughtfulness that went into the Ram makes it head and shoulders over all the other current trucks as far as we are concerned.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Another satisfied customer...

 

[corn]

I test drove a 20 Lariat with the 3.5 yesterday and when the truck downshifted it was pretty rough. Had to be sure of my big money decision. I love the power of a turbo charged engine but it can't compare to the sound of a V-8! This afternoon I'm headed to the Ram dealer today to pick up my new Laramie!

 

[PorBoy]

^^^. Glad to read that you’ve made a conscious decision, of course I’m Ram biased lol..

 

[LakesAZ]

I test drove a 20 Lariat with the 3.5 yesterday and when the truck downshifted it was pretty rough. Had to be sure of my big money decision. I love the power of a turbo charged engine but it can't compare to the sound of a V-8! This afternoon I'm headed to the Ram dealer today to pick up my new Laramie!

Good Choice Corn. And that is one good looking truck. I have been thinking about putting black rims on mine and that picture of yours has pushed me even further in that direction.

 

[silver billet]

I did not like the excessive shifting, especially downshifting when slowing down, of the 10 speed tranny in my 2.7 Ecoboost. It really is overkill.
There is no reason a half ton pickup with 400ft/lbs of torque needs 10 gears. 8 is plenty.

I would buy a ZF 10+ speed in a heartbeat. I love the 8 speed, it really is world class and I have no complaints with it whatsoever, but I would also never turn down 2 extra gears.

IMHO it's not the gear count, it's the tuning. The more gears you have, the more you reach that point where you have a gear for every 50 rpms, and it allows the truck to put you right in the best spot for power and MPG. Think of a CVT, which is basically this idea to the extreme. They are the best in terms of MPG and power, though current implementations can use some work (looking at you Nissan/Honda).

Gear hunting can be eliminated with better tuning. Downshifting can skip gears, or hold them (for example the last 4 gears in our trucks don't really get downshifted into unless you are coming to a complete stop, it stays in 4 until it's almost stopped, or until you get on the gas where it then immediately downshifts into the gear you need based on current speed and throttle/load).

Even upshifting, you don't have to run through all the gears with no load, but for towing, or climbing hills where you just need a slight bump in power, it can be very effective.

I say, bring on the ZF 10 speed!

 

[PowerJrod]

I test drove a 20 Lariat with the 3.5 yesterday and when the truck downshifted it was pretty rough. Had to be sure of my big money decision. I love the power of a turbo charged engine but it can't compare to the sound of a V-8! This afternoon I'm headed to the Ram dealer today to pick up my new Laramie!

Nice looking!!!!

 

[PowerJrod]

Now I want the black package on my white Ram.... thanks a lot

 

[VdMer]

Did Ford ever fix their frozen door locks and IWE issues? That got me out of my '16 Ford at only 26k miles. At that elevation and winter temps, it would easily cause those doors to fail, driving you toward insane things known in the f150 circles as the 'ghetto fix'. IWE would be a concern if 4x4 was a need.

 

[Buz]

I would buy a ZF 10+ speed in a heartbeat. I love the 8 speed, it really is world class and I have no complaints with it whatsoever, but I would also never turn down 2 extra gears.

IMHO it's not the gear count, it's the tuning. The more gears you have, the more you reach that point where you have a gear for every 50 rpms, and it allows the truck to put you right in the best spot for power and MPG. Think of a CVT, which is basically this idea to the extreme. They are the best in terms of MPG and power, though current implementations can use some work (looking at you Nissan/Honda).

Gear hunting can be eliminated with better tuning. Downshifting can skip gears, or hold them (for example the last 4 gears in our trucks don't really get downshifted into unless you are coming to a complete stop, it stays in 4 until it's almost stopped, or until you get on the gas where it then immediately downshifts into the gear you need based on current speed and throttle/load).

Even upshifting, you don't have to run through all the gears with no load, but for towing, or climbing hills where you just need a slight bump in power, it can be very effective.

I say, bring on the ZF 10 speed!

The 10 speed needs more refining to be more smooth; at which point I'll no longer complain about the overactive transmission.
My 2.7 ecoboost had ample torque down low which is what made me feel 10 gears was too many. It really didn't need the help of those extra 2 gears and the busy-ness it created.

 

[nburd]

Ouch. Thats the scary part about turbo anything. While I’d like to see RAM offer one, it’s potentially a spendy repair. For those who don't drive alot and trade every 3 years it’s not likely an issue.

They did make a bunch of Ecoboost reliability upgrades in 2018

 

[PowerJrod]

I would buy a ZF 10+ speed in a heartbeat. I love the 8 speed, it really is world class and I have no complaints with it whatsoever, but I would also never turn down 2 extra gears.

IMHO it's not the gear count, it's the tuning. The more gears you have, the more you reach that point where you have a gear for every 50 rpms, and it allows the truck to put you right in the best spot for power and MPG. Think of a CVT, which is basically this idea to the extreme. They are the best in terms of MPG and power, though current implementations can use some work (looking at you Nissan/Honda).

Gear hunting can be eliminated with better tuning. Downshifting can skip gears, or hold them (for example the last 4 gears in our trucks don't really get downshifted into unless you are coming to a complete stop, it stays in 4 until it's almost stopped, or until you get on the gas where it then immediately downshifts into the gear you need based on current speed and throttle/load).

Even upshifting, you don't have to run through all the gears with no load, but for towing, or climbing hills where you just need a slight bump in power, it can be very effective.

I say, bring on the ZF 10 speed!

Isn't BMW using a ZF 10 speed..? Or one of them is...
But too much potential for crap to break, no need for it in a truck.