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Into a 2020 Ram Rebel from a 2014 (4th gen) Ram 1500 Sport

HydroRebel

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Hi everyone,

I wanted to create this thread about a month ago but decided to hold off to allow a little more time to evaluate my new 2020 Rebel. I'm coming from a 2014 Ram 1500 sport that I bought in February of 2014. I had that truck for just over 6 years and in the end it had 99,262 km on it and a helluva lot of engine hours due to where I live. In the winter time it spent several hours idling every day but not so much in the summer time. I wanted to emphasize that as I've read a lot of things about hemi cam/lifter issues. I also wasn't Johnny on the spot with oil changes and general maintenance and plus I drove the truck like I stole it, except when my kids were in with me. Bottom line is that truck took a lot of abuse and kept on ticking (but not the hemi tick ;)). The only issue I had in my 6 years of ownership was a blown fuse for the 12V cigarette lighter, that's it. My previous truck to that was a 2008 Toyota Tundra that was plagued with electrical gremlins which left me stranded all the time so despite what I read all the time about Toyota reliability and Ram reliability my experience has been the opposite. I'm not a brand loyal person just simply stating things from my experience with these vehicles.

Ever since it's introduction in 2016 the Ram Rebel has been calling out to me. I managed to resist for years up until I seen a 2020 Hydro Blue Rebel at my local dealer. That particular one isn't the one I took home as it didn't have all the options I was looking for but I found one at another dealer in a different province and my local dealer grabbed it for me. The only thing it had that I didn't want was the tow mirrors so I had it pre-arranged to have the mirrors swapped out for power-folding ones. To my surprise they actually ordered color-matched mirrors which I ended up liking a little better. I drove the truck home on July 30. I loved my murdered out 2014 sport so do I regret trading it in for a 2020 Rebel?

Of course not. It's hard to believe that they could make an already awesome interior better but IMO they did. The back seat in the crew cab is a bit bigger than the previous gen which makes it easier for the kids (and me helping them in their seats). Love the way the Rebel handles and drives both in city and highway. I haven't had it in the severe off-road yet but I'll be completely honest that wasn't my main intent, though it will be heading there eventually. I also love the way it looked from the factory, even though I modded some stuff, but I'm the type of person who don't like doing irreversible mods unless they're absolutely necessary.

I'm also very particular and I will mention some of the things that I don't like even though it's more nitpicking more than anything. My truck has all LED premium lighting except the 3rd brake light. Why they would skimp there is beyond me. I swapped the cargo lights to LED's that I already had on hand and left the brake light alone (for now). In Canada DRL's are mandatory and I didn't like having low beams as the default DRL. I thought that the amber turn signals on the 4th gen were awesome for DRL's. Luckily all I had to do was buy the SGW bypass as I already had everything else so that was a quick and easy fix. I also felt that the truck was too quiet stock. Swapping to a Magnaflow cut and clamp was also an easy fix. I have kids and neighbours so I didn't want it too loud and the Magnaflow did the trick for me. That's pretty much it for the nitpicking.

Edit: I forgot one thing. The block heater cord (I know this won't apply to everyone) was way too short. We need the block heater in Northern Canada in the winter time! I ended up installing a Noco plug at the bottom of the front bumper which I have to admit will work much better for me than the traditional cord hanging and flopping around against the grille.

Sorry for the long post (I could go on) but I'll conclude by saying that I'm an extremely happy camper. I love being a Rebel owner and have zero regrets trading in for one. My only hope is that it's as reliable as my last truck. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
 
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Itsallgoodhh

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Nice post, I purchased a Rebel at the end of July myself, traded out of a F250. I had to chuckle a bit about the LED’s, I don’t understand why they skimped there either. I purchased a set of interior LED replacement bulbs because for me the interior is too dim. I installed a K&N CAI and throttle commander which takes all throttle lag away and puts the torque to the rear instantly. I also installed a Carven cut and clamp exhaust with 5” black ceramic tips and deleted the resonators, awesome rumble and with the previously mentioned mods it really woke the Hemi up big time. Fuel milage increased by 1.5/2 MPG. Super happy with this truck, wife was a little jealous so she found a 2020 Bighorn white night edition for herself
 

HydroRebel

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Nice post, I purchased a Rebel at the end of July myself, traded out of a F250. I had to chuckle a bit about the LED’s, I don’t understand why they skimped there either. I purchased a set of interior LED replacement bulbs because for me the interior is too dim. I installed a K&N CAI and throttle commander which takes all throttle lag away and puts the torque to the rear instantly. I also installed a Carven cut and clamp exhaust with 5” black ceramic tips and deleted the resonators, awesome rumble and with the previously mentioned mods it really woke the Hemi up big time. Fuel milage increased by 1.5/2 MPG. Super happy with this truck, wife was a little jealous so she found a 2020 Bighorn white night edition for herself

Thanks for commenting and congratulations of your Rebel and Bighorn! Funny you mention the Carven cut and clamp that is the one I was originally interested in but finding one in Canada was tough so I went with the Magnaflow instead. I also thought about a resonator delete but was happy enough with a muffler swap, at least for now!
 

Ram Man 727

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Great write up ! .. I too went form a 2014 Ram 1500 (Laramie though) into my 2020 Rebel in September. Love the new ride!
How did you do the Norco plug install? Do you have pics? I can't believe how short the block heater cord is and have to do something with mine.
Thanks!
 

HydroRebel

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Great write up ! .. I too went form a 2014 Ram 1500 (Laramie though) into my 2020 Rebel in September. Love the new ride!
How did you do the Norco plug install? Do you have pics? I can't believe how short the block heater cord is and have to do something with mine.
Thanks!
Thank you and congratulations on your new rebel also. Yes the short block heater cord was a shocker and I'm glad I discovered it when I did. I installed the Noco plug on the passenger side right on the bottom so it's hardly visible. It's been holding up great so far and while I was originally a little annoyed that I had to do this, I certainly prefer it to the traditional hanging cord. There's plenty of other locations to install the plug this was just my preferred location.
 

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Hydroblueguy

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Hi everyone,

I wanted to create this thread about a month ago but decided to hold off to allow a little more time to evaluate my new 2020 Rebel. I'm coming from a 2014 Ram 1500 sport that I bought in February of 2014. I had that truck for just over 6 years and in the end it had 99,262 km on it and a helluva lot of engine hours due to where I live. In the winter time it spent several hours idling every day but not so much in the summer time. I wanted to emphasize that as I've read a lot of things about hemi cam/lifter issues. I also wasn't Johnny on the spot with oil changes and general maintenance and plus I drove the truck like I stole it, except when my kids were in with me. Bottom line is that truck took a lot of abuse and kept on ticking (but not the hemi tick ;)). The only issue I had in my 6 years of ownership was a blown fuse for the 12V cigarette lighter, that's it. My previous truck to that was a 2008 Toyota Tundra that was plagued with electrical gremlins which left me stranded all the time so despite what I read all the time about Toyota reliability and Ram reliability my experience has been the opposite. I'm not a brand loyal person just simply stating things from my experience with these vehicles.

Ever since it's introduction in 2016 the Ram Rebel has been calling out to me. I managed to resist for years up until I seen a 2020 Hydro Blue Rebel at my local dealer. That particular one isn't the one I took home as it didn't have all the options I was looking for but I found one at another dealer in a different province and my local dealer grabbed it for me. The only thing it had that I didn't want was the tow mirrors so I had it pre-arranged to have the mirrors swapped out for power-folding ones. To my surprise they actually ordered color-matched mirrors which I ended up liking a little better. I drove the truck home on July 30. I loved my murdered out 2014 sport so do I regret trading it in for a 2020 Rebel?

Of course not. It's hard to believe that they could make an already awesome interior better but IMO they did. The back seat in the crew cab is a bit bigger than the previous gen which makes it easier for the kids (and me helping them in their seats). Love the way the Rebel handles and drives both in city and highway. I haven't had it in the severe off-road yet but I'll be completely honest that wasn't my main intent, though it will be heading there eventually. I also love the way it looked from the factory, even though I modded some stuff, but I'm the type of person who don't like doing irreversible mods unless they're absolutely necessary.

I'm also very particular and I will mention some of the things that I don't like even though it's more nitpicking more than anything. My truck has all LED premium lighting except the 3rd brake light. Why they would skimp there is beyond me. I swapped the cargo lights to LED's that I already had on hand and left the brake light alone (for now). In Canada DRL's are mandatory and I didn't like having low beams as the default DRL. I thought that the amber turn signals on the 4th gen were awesome for DRL's. Luckily all I had to do was buy the SGW bypass as I already had everything else so that was a quick and easy fix. I also felt that the truck was too quiet stock. Swapping to a Magnaflow cut and clamp was also an easy fix. I have kids and neighbours so I didn't want it too loud and the Magnaflow did the trick for me. That's pretty much it for the nitpicking.

Edit: I forgot one thing. The block heater cord (I know this won't apply to everyone) was way too short. We need the block heater in Northern Canada in the winter time! I ended up installing a Noco plug at the bottom of the front bumper which I have to admit will work much better for me than the traditional cord hanging and flopping around against the grille.

Sorry for the long post (I could go on) but I'll conclude by saying that I'm an extremely happy camper. I love being a Rebel owner and have zero regrets trading in for one. My only hope is that it's as reliable as my last truck. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
I had problems with my 19 Laramie, ram finally agreed to lemon law it and I built a 2021 Laramie! It’s arrived but I can’t pick it up until all rams paper work is complete. Anyway love your truck. I looked at the rebel hydro also, very sharp, but think the Laramie is more realistic for daily driving and ride comfort. I know all brands have issues and this is the first time anything like this has happened to me. Hopefully no issues with the 2021. I hope you have the same luck with your rebel as you had with the 2014!
 

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HydroRebel

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I had problems with my 19 Laramie, ram finally agreed to lemon law it and I built a 2021 Laramie! It’s arrived but I can’t pick it up until all rams paper work is complete. Anyway love your truck. I looked at the rebel hydro also, very sharp, but think the Laramie is more realistic for daily driving and ride comfort. I know all brands have issues and this is the first time anything like this has happened to me. Hopefully no issues with the 2021. I hope you have the same luck with your rebel as you had with the 2014!
Well thank you for your kind words. It definitely sucks when you have issues with any vehicle but it sounds like they're making it right. Hopefully you take possession by Christmas time (what a nice gift that would be). The only vehicle that I ever had issues with was a Toyota Tundra so nothing is bulletproof! I agree with you about a Laramie being more realistic. That being said the Rebel does make for a great daily driver also. They did a great job on all trim levels IMO. Wishing you a trouble free 2021 Laramie!
 

Ram Man 727

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Thank you and congratulations on your new rebel also. Yes the short block heater cord was a shocker and I'm glad I discovered it when I did. I installed the Noco plug on the passenger side right on the bottom so it's hardly visible. It's been holding up great so far and while I was originally a little annoyed that I had to do this, I certainly prefer it to the traditional hanging cord. There's plenty of other locations to install the plug this was just my preferred location.
Perfect, thank you ! great spot to mount it. The Noco I see online comes with a 16" cord. Was 16" long enough to route or did you have t add an extension?
Thanks again!
 

HydroRebel

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Perfect, thank you ! great spot to mount it. The Noco I see online comes with a 16" cord. Was 16" long enough to route or did you have t add an extension?
Thanks again!
The 16" cord on the Noco was plenty long. I rerouted the existing block heater cable to better secure it and I do remember having extra length when finished. I also wrapped the connection (Noco to block heater plug) with self fusing tape just as an extra precaution, though probably unnecessary. Good luck!
 

Ram Man 727

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The 16" cord on the Noco was plenty long. I rerouted the existing block heater cable to better secure it and I do remember having extra length when finished. I also wrapped the connection (Noco to block heater plug) with self fusing tape just as an extra precaution, though probably unnecessary. Good luck!
Perfect, thank you.. added to my "To Do" list :)
 

Warrensch

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Hope you like the rebel and that it treats you well. Thanks for posting the pictures for placement on the block heater cord.... I mean really the cord is so short you can hardly get it out the side of the hood. I’m in northern Alberta and ya we need the block heater more than I would like. I also just picked up a 2020 rebel and I drive it for work every day in some pretty harsh conditions and so far i love it.


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HydroRebel

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Hope you like the rebel and that it treats you well. Thanks for posting the pictures for placement on the block heater cord.... I mean really the cord is so short you can hardly get it out the side of the hood. I’m in northern Alberta and ya we need the block heater more than I would like. I also just picked up a 2020 rebel and I drive it for work every day in some pretty harsh conditions and so far i love it.


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I couldn't agree more. While I do carpool these days I still drive the rebel to work every 2nd day (also northern Alberta). Winter started in October this year and I drove in plenty of harsh conditions so far and the stock duratracs held up nicely so far. Very happy with this truck.
 

traveller09

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Congrats on the truck, we are looking. We were going the Tundra route for reliability but took a step back after renting an SR5 that killed our backs and then test driving a TRD Pro and Platinum and realizing the seats were only mildly more comfortable than the SR5. Not to mention how Spartan the interior is, even on the Platinum.

Question about the tires, from our experts in the Canadian north. Are the Duratracs working out? What is your preferred off road tire for your climate?
 

2019REBEL

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On my 3rd winter with mine. No problems going any place with them. 10cm(4 inches) fresh snow this morning and roads not plowed going to work. Breezed right through it.
 

CaptainCJ35

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I won't speak for our Canadian friends, but here in New England the Duratracs are great in the sloppy snow we get locally. NOTE: they aren't snow rated with the "three peak" symbol that other Duratracs are. Not sure if there's an actual difference or if Goodyear simply didn't pay to have the OEM 275/70/18 tires rated. It's possible they run a different compound for longevity. However, as I said, they've been great for me in slushy snow, ice, some mud and sand.
 

HydroRebel

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Question about the tires, from our experts in the Canadian north. Are the Duratracs working out? What is your preferred off road tire for your climate?
I was curious how the stock duratracs would hold up in a Northern Alberta winter and we got an early one this year (October). This is my first Winter with them and I do plenty of driving on the highway and around the city and so far I'm very happy with their performance. Really good in the snow though not the greatest on ice. I drive to the road conditions though I would do the same with any tire. I like them better than BF Goodrich KO2's. Studded tires and ordinary winter tires would certainly do a lot better on ice but for me I see no reason to swap to a winter tire.
 

ChadT

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I was curious how the stock duratracs would hold up in a Northern Alberta winter and we got an early one this year (October). This is my first Winter with them and I do plenty of driving on the highway and around the city and so far I'm very happy with their performance. Really good in the snow though not the greatest on ice. I drive to the road conditions though I would do the same with any tire. I like them better than BF Goodrich KO2's. Studded tires and ordinary winter tires would certainly do a lot better on ice but for me I see no reason to swap to a winter tire.

I'm not in Canada so I have lesser winters, BUT I've run both BFG KO2s and Duratracs in winters on winters, loved both!

3PMSF Rating thusfar hasnt let me down.
This year I'm running Toyo AT3s, it snowed once, they were good in the little bit I drove
 

Ram Man 727

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For those who use the block heater and find the incredible short plug to be a PIA.. I took the advice from HydroRebel and added a Noco plug. I mounted the plug on the rear of my truck, just to the left of the license plate and ran the wiring (extension cord) along the frame from back to front and into the engine compartment. No more having to open the hood every time I plug my truck in! The Noco plug blends in nicely on the back bumper and makes it even easier for me to plug my truck in since I always back into my driveway. Noco Plug with 6' cord (GCP1E), added a 16.5' extension cord and it was the perfect length to reach into the engine compartment to the short block heater cord. I used Self Fusing Tape to seal the Noco plug to the extension cord.
 

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