Lifelong Ford guy, now driving a 2020 Laramie Sport

[bigoldthor]

Hello everyone,

I come from a long line of Ford ownership. My brother works at the big truck plant in Louisville, so I always get the A-plan pricing, which helps. But I was getting pretty bored after having had a 2009 XLT, 2013 XLT, 2015 Lariat, and 2017 Lariat. When I saw the 5th gen Rams come out, I knew it was just a matter of time.

Just bought it Saturday, 2/8. It is soooooo refined, elegant, and smooth. The looks absolutely blow me away. Not much of a modder other than a tonneau cover, step tubes, and maybe some different floor mats. I just like to drive a nice, comfortable, quiet, refined vehicle, and this Ram checks all the right boxes for me.

Observations so far:

• The ride...wow!
• The looks...wow!
• The interior is absolutely gorgeous and comfortable.
• Love the thoughtful storage designs and options
• Audio is amazing.
• Fuel economy so far is not so good, but hoping it will improve as I start using 89, increase tire pressure a bit, and it gets broken in. Regardless, mpg is a relatively minor thing for me.

My Laramie options are fairly middling, I guess:

• Diamond Black Crystal Pearl
• Customer Preferred Package 25H
• Laramie Level 1 Equipment Group
• Etc.

Looking forward to chatting with you folks and learning more about this amazing truck. Hope I can contribute some of my own words of wisdom, wit, humor, and charm, too.

 

[NC Rebel]

Nice truck and welcome ! I just picked mine up several weeks ago, so far loving the ride !

 

[PorBoy]

Welcome and we look forward to hearing your thoughts six months down the line.

 

[Fatherof3]

Welcome , that’s a beautiful truck . I hope it gives you many trouble free miles .

 

[RJS]

Nice truck, mine is a 19 Laramie level 2 with 12", it came with the Mopar all weather floor mats. You might want to look at those as an upgrade for yours, they're about $108 on Amazon. My Average fuel Mileage dropped into the low 16's mostly city/rural when cold weather hit, Probably winter gas. I now have about 5000 miles on it and it's creeping close to 17 now.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Welcome, that's a nice truck you've got.
Coming from several F150's, other than the ride and interior plusses for the RAM, what do think about the drivetrain differences? Did you have a 5.0, or one of the ecoboosts?

My thoughts from the 15' F150 2.7 (just an XLT so the Ltd RAM is a huge step up in the interior and ride thus an unfair comparison): It was the older 6 speed but seemed to not hunt for gears and shift just fine, no real idea exactly how the 10 speed in the Ford compares with our current ZF.

Power wise, even the 2.7 (w/3.55's) was as good as the hemi (3.21), and did get about 15-20% better mileage (I get 19-20 highway with the hemi, the F150 got 23-24) if you kept your foot out of it. If you didn't then the 2.7 gets about the same as the hemi.

As far as a tow platform, without Max payload or Max tow options, the aluminun F150 was only so-so as it seemed more "skittish" due to the weight drop when empty but ok when there was a decent sized trailer behind it (double axle covered equipment trailer with a total weight of maybe 5K).

Overall fit and finish seems better in the RAM, and (apples to oranges again) available tech can't even be compared.

Price at the time heavily favored RAM, the equivalent Ford (not X or A plan) seemed to be 10K + more expensive. (Lariat vs Laramie, King Ranch or Platinum vs Limited).

Thank you for your thoughts since you owned several of the F150's!

 

[bigoldthor]

Welcome, that's a nice truck you've got.
Coming from several F150's, other than the ride and interior plusses for the RAM, what do think about the drivetrain differences? Did you have a 5.0, or one of the ecoboosts?

My thoughts from the 15' F150 2.7 (just an XLT so the Ltd RAM is a huge step up in the interior and ride thus an unfair comparison): It was the older 6 speed but seemed to not hunt for gears and shift just fine, no real idea exactly how the 10 speed in the Ford compares with our current ZF.

Power wise, even the 2.7 (w/3.55's) was as good as the hemi (3.21), and did get about 15-20% better mileage (I get 19-20 highway with the hemi, the F150 got 23-24) if you kept your foot out of it. If you didn't then the 2.7 gets about the same as the hemi.

As far as a tow platform, without Max payload or Max tow options, the aluminun F150 was only so-so as it seemed more "skittish" due to the weight drop when empty but ok when there was a decent sized trailer behind it (double axle covered equipment trailer with a total weight of maybe 5K).

Overall fit and finish seems better in the RAM, and (apples to oranges again) available tech can't even be compared.

Price at the time heavily favored RAM, the equivalent Ford (not X or A plan) seemed to be 10K + more expensive. (Lariat vs Laramie, King Ranch or Platinum vs Limited).

Thank you for your thoughts since you owned several of the F150's!

Thanks for the welcome, WW4T! Here are my observations between the F150's and this Ram after only 4 days of ownership:

• In the 2009, I had the 4.6L 32v engine. Solid, dependable, a workhorse. Plenty of engine for my relatively light needs around the house. Gas mileage was so-so but I don't remember exactly what it was. It had the 3.73 rear end which is probably part of the reason the f.e. wasn't great, but no biggie.
• In the 2013, I had the 2nd gen 3.5 Ecoboost. While it was strong, the f.e. was not good. Averaged about 15mpg in mixed driving, though I did get 19-20 on highway trips if I kept my foot out of the throttle and kept it at 75 or under. Didn't tow much with it, but had no issues. Strong acceleration. It still had the 6-speed back then.
• In the 2015, I had the 5.0L Coyote. Very solid engine, plenty of power and torque. F.e. around 15 in mixed, but got 18-19 on highway drives. Sounded great, towed great, and drove very nice.
• In the 2017, I had the 3rd gen 3.5 Ecoboost. Performance was similar to the 2015, but f.e. was better by 2mpg (17mpg) in mixed driving. Highway was similar, though...19-20 no matter what. I did get a full 20.3 mpg on a round trip from Southwest Indiana to coastal Virginia and back in 2018. Though I drove sensibly, I didn't baby it. Not really sure how I managed that tbh.
• As for towing, the only towing I did with the aluminum was pretty lightweight, like an ATV or SXS on a trailer, so probably less than 2-3k lbs. Of course no problems there and no skittishness, but heavier loads may have been different.
• I think the ZF 8speed is an outstanding transmission from what I've read and experienced. I should mention I bought a new 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie and owned it for about a year, but ended up trading it for the 2017 F150 due to some issues with poor trimwork, wheels finish, and overall exterior fit and finish. But I *loved* the way it drove and the interior. It also had the ZF 8 speed, and my experience with it was wonderful.
• Ram definitely wins on the value front. Ford is just getting too proud of their vehicles and may be pricing customers away. Even with the A-plan, a similarly equipped F150 would've cost me more than the Ram, by a few grand.
• The fit and finish on my F150's was always outstanding. I never had any issues in that area. The 2017 drove wonderfully, but it doesn't compare to the Ram. It was beginning to have backup camera flickering issues and the key fob would occasionally fail to communicate with the truck. Other than that, I loved it.
• That said, I just can't describe how nice the fit and finish seems to be on this Ram so far, especially the interior. I'm just blown away by it, honestly. I like to just sit in it and appreciate it. I know the new will wear off eventually, but I'm definitely still in the honeymoon stage.
• The tech on this is easily on par with or better than the F150's. Now, I had the 502A package on the 2017, so it had basically everything this Ram has plus the full panoramic sunroof and nav and a few other things that this Ram doesn't. But the Uconnect system is much more elegant than even the Sync 3, which is pretty good in its own right. There are many other things that are just more well-thought-out on the Ram as I see it now. I'm sure I'll write more about this in future posts.

Sorry for the novelette, but when I get started, it's hard to stop me.

Cheers!

 

[bigoldthor]

Nice truck, mine is a 19 Laramie level 2 with 12", it came with the Mopar all weather floor mats. You might want to look at those as an upgrade for yours, they're about $108 on Amazon. My Average fuel Mileage dropped into the low 16's mostly city/rural when cold weather hit, Probably winter gas. I now have about 5000 miles on it and it's creeping close to 17 now.

Thanks for the tip on the floor mats. Are they the OEM version? Can you get them at the dealer for about the same?

Hope my mpg creeps up too. Are you using 89 as recommended in the manual? Top tier fuels or other brand(s)? Tire pressure?

 

[Willwork4truck]

Thanks for the tip on the floor mats. Are they the OEM version? Can you get them at the dealer for about the same?

Hope my mpg creeps up too. Are you using 89 as recommended in the manual? Top tier fuels or other brand(s)? Tire pressure?

89 is a good choice especially if you use the accelerator much, lol. For more gradual starts/up to speed then 87 does fine. Hills or towing then 89 would be preferable IMHO. Can always mix tanks (like at Costco where there is no mid-grade).

Here's a decent article: https://www.geico.com/living/driving/auto/auto-care/fuel-additives/

Top tier has a better or more complete additive package (as I've read), so yes to that. I usually avoid the "corner no-name" gas stations in favor of major brands or Costco. It seems like whenever I stop at a "no-name" (like Circle K), my mileage drops. I don't know any fuel tanker drivers so can't really say if they deliver the same fuels to differing brands or not. There's a lot of debate of octane and brands, like hundreds of posts/threads all over the internet. I do hear my truck (hemi) ping slightly on 87 without hills or hard use.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Thanks for the welcome, WW4T! Here are my observations between the F150's and this Ram after only 4 days of ownership:

• In the 2009, I had the 4.6L 32v engine. Solid, dependable, a workhorse. Plenty of engine for my relatively light needs around the house. Gas mileage was so-so but I don't remember exactly what it was. It had the 3.73 rear end which is probably part of the reason the f.e. wasn't great, but no biggie.
• In the 2013, I had the 2nd gen 3.5 Ecoboost. While it was strong, the f.e. was not good. Averaged about 15mpg in mixed driving, though I did get 19-20 on highway trips if I kept my foot out of the throttle and kept it at 75 or under. Didn't tow much with it, but had no issues. Strong acceleration. It still had the 6-speed back then.
• In the 2015, I had the 5.0L Coyote. Very solid engine, plenty of power and torque. F.e. around 15 in mixed, but got 18-19 on highway drives. Sounded great, towed great, and drove very nice.
• In the 2017, I had the 3rd gen 3.5 Ecoboost. Performance was similar to the 2015, but f.e. was better by 2mpg (17mpg) in mixed driving. Highway was similar, though...19-20 no matter what. I did get a full 20.3 mpg on a round trip from Southwest Indiana to coastal Virginia and back in 2018. Though I drove sensibly, I didn't baby it. Not really sure how I managed that tbh.
• As for towing, the only towing I did with the aluminum was pretty lightweight, like an ATV or SXS on a trailer, so probably less than 2-3k lbs. Of course no problems there and no skittishness, but heavier loads may have been different.
• I think the ZF 8speed is an outstanding transmission from what I've read and experienced. I should mention I bought a new 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie and owned it for about a year, but ended up trading it for the 2017 F150 due to some issues with poor trimwork, wheels finish, and overall exterior fit and finish. But I *loved* the way it drove and the interior. It also had the ZF 8 speed, and my experience with it was wonderful.
• Ram definitely wins on the value front. Ford is just getting too proud of their vehicles and may be pricing customers away. Even with the A-plan, a similarly equipped F150 would've cost me more than the Ram, by a few grand.
• The fit and finish on my F150's was always outstanding. I never had any issues in that area. The 2017 drove wonderfully, but it doesn't compare to the Ram. It was beginning to have backup camera flickering issues and the key fob would occasionally fail to communicate with the truck. Other than that, I loved it.
• That said, I just can't describe how nice the fit and finish seems to be on this Ram so far, especially the interior. I'm just blown away by it, honestly. I like to just sit in it and appreciate it. I know the new will wear off eventually, but I'm definitely still in the honeymoon stage.
• The tech on this is easily on par with or better than the F150's. Now, I had the 502A package on the 2017, so it had basically everything this Ram has plus the full panoramic sunroof and nav and a few other things that this Ram doesn't. But the Uconnect system is much more elegant than even the Sync 3, which is pretty good in its own right. There are many other things that are just more well-thought-out on the Ram as I see it now. I'm sure I'll write more about this in future posts.

Sorry for the novelette, but when I get started, it's hard to stop me.

Cheers!

Thanks for the detail, well thought out reply with facts. That always helps the lurkers out there who are fence-sitting.
I've got no axe to grind with Ford, they make a good truck. Currently the RAM fills the bill/checks the boxes, so that's what I have. If I traded around more like some do, I'd be looking at what Ford does in 2021 (supposed refresh date) but I am a bit leery of their dependence on turbos. (That's a whole nother' topic of course).

Thanks again for the info and welcome to RAM and the forum.

I don't remember if you said you'd applied for the Allstate sponsored $250 rebate, there are threads about it. No spamming from Allstate and many here have gotten the $250 rebate checks...

 

[bigoldthor]

Thanks for the detail, well thought out reply with facts. That always helps the lurkers out there who are fence-sitting.
I've got no axe to grind with Ford, they make a good truck. Currently the RAM fills the bill/checks the boxes, so that's what I have. If I traded around more like some do, I'd be looking at what Ford does in 2021 (supposed refresh date) but I am a bit leery of their dependence on turbos. (That's a whole nother' topic of course).

Thanks again for the info and welcome to RAM and the forum.

I don't remember if you said you'd applied for the Allstate sponsored $250 rebate, there are threads about it. No spamming from Allstate and many here have gotten the $250 rebate checks...

Yes, I'm anxious to see what Ford does in 2021. I *thought* it was more than a refresh but the next generation...don't quote me on that. But since the 13th gen goes from 2015-2020, which is 6 my's, I wouldn't be surprised. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy the Ram for a long while, hopefully.

I didn't know about the $250 rebate from Allstate...I'll look into it. I already have my insurance through Allstate so maybe it's just a new customer thing? I'll find out. Thanks for the tip!

 

[bigoldthor]

89 is a good choice especially if you use the accelerator much, lol. For more gradual starts/up to speed then 87 does fine. Hills or towing then 89 would be preferable IMHO. Can always mix tanks (like at Costco where there is no mid-grade).

Here's a decent article: https://www.geico.com/living/driving/auto/auto-care/fuel-additives/

Top tier has a better or more complete additive package (as I've read), so yes to that. I usually avoid the "corner no-name" gas stations in favor of major brands or Costco. It seems like whenever I stop at a "no-name" (like Circle K), my mileage drops. I don't know any fuel tanker drivers so can't really say if they deliver the same fuels to differing brands or not. There's a lot of debate of octane and brands, like hundreds of posts/threads all over the internet. I do hear my truck (hemi) ping slightly on 87 without hills or hard use.

I used to do a TON of research on motor oils and fuels (was a long-time member/poster on BITOG if you know about them). Anyway, I was always intrigued by the "top tier" fuels and tried some, though I couldn't tell a huge difference from the butt dyno or my own calculations. That said, I do believe it's legitimate and I'm going to give them a go for a while to see if it works or just "makes me feel better" lol.

Just got my first tankful (well, 2/3 of a tank...just couldn't wait any longer for some dumb reason) and used Shell 89. We'll see. It was $.25 more than 87 which isn't too bad ($2.429 vs. $2.179), or 11.5% more. I doubt I'll get 11.5% better f.e., but if it's overall better for the engine, gives a smidge more performance, and a bit of improved f.e., I'll probably stick with it.

 

[bigoldthor]

89 is a good choice especially if you use the accelerator much, lol. For more gradual starts/up to speed then 87 does fine. Hills or towing then 89 would be preferable IMHO. Can always mix tanks (like at Costco where there is no mid-grade).

Here's a decent article: https://www.geico.com/living/driving/auto/auto-care/fuel-additives/

Top tier has a better or more complete additive package (as I've read), so yes to that. I usually avoid the "corner no-name" gas stations in favor of major brands or Costco. It seems like whenever I stop at a "no-name" (like Circle K), my mileage drops. I don't know any fuel tanker drivers so can't really say if they deliver the same fuels to differing brands or not. There's a lot of debate of octane and brands, like hundreds of posts/threads all over the internet. I do hear my truck (hemi) ping slightly on 87 without hills or hard use.

Also, liked these quotes from your linked article:

If your owner’s manual does suggest premium gas, there is a reason. Cars that require premium gasoline have high-compression engines, turbo chargers and other high performance aspects. Not using premium won’t necessarily hurt your engine, but you could lose some of the performance of that premium engine you paid for.​

Filling up at a station with “Top Tier” gas might help you save on maintenance costs in the long run. Your car can get plaque build-up from gasoline deposits. While most gasoline today has detergent additives in it already to help keep fuel injectors and valves clean, filling up at stations with a “Top Tier” designation on the pump offers some substantial reassurance. “Top Tier” is an official designation from the Environmental Protection Agency that identifies gas meeting a minimum standard of performance and cleanliness. Premium or regular, “Top Tier” gas meets a standard of higher-percentage detergent additives.​

 

[RJS]

Thanks for the tip on the floor mats. Are they the OEM version? Can you get them at the dealer for about the same?

Hope my mpg creeps up too. Are you using 89 as recommended in the manual? Top tier fuels or other brand(s)? Tire pressure?

OEM version and they are available at the dealer. Looks like list is $150 but most dealers have a 15% coupon if you register your truck on mymopar.com I've used them twice at my dealer.

Mats - https://store.mopar.com/accessories...ather_mat_kits_black_crew_cab_82215321AB.html

Using about any 87 brand, whatever is a few cents cheaper. Air pressure - 37- 40 PSI depending on temps, tires are the Dueler Alenza HT's that are OEM on my Laramie. They have turned out to very good tires in Michigan winters and overall in general.

 

[Ole Tater]

Welcome! I come from a long line of Ford owners and myself have owned a variety of ford trucks over the years but I bought my first ram truck in 08 and haven't looked back as far as trucks go. I still love the Mustang but I cant see myself in another truck besides a Ram for a long time. Its the overall package in my opinion and priced where it should be, Ford and Chevy are good trucks but their prices are getting out of hand for what you get.

 

[bigoldthor]

Welcome! I come from a long line of Ford owners and myself have owned a variety of ford trucks over the years but I bought my first ram truck in 08 and haven't looked back as far as trucks go. I still love the Mustang but I cant see myself in another truck besides a Ram for a long time. Its the overall package in my opinion and priced where it should be, Ford and Chevy are good trucks but their prices are getting out of hand for what you get.

Well said. Even with the A-plan, they're getting to be just ridiculous. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Willwork4truck]

OP, the Allstate sponsored $250 rebate doesn't require their insurance, just a registered non FCA vehicle elsewhere in the immediate family.

Patsy1099, you there?

 

[Willwork4truck]

Yes, I'm anxious to see what Ford does in 2021. I *thought* it was more than a refresh but the next generation...don't quote me on that. But since the 13th gen goes from 2015-2020, which is 6 my's, I wouldn't be surprised. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy the Ram for a long while, hopefully.

I didn't know about the $250 rebate from Allstate...I'll look into it. I already have my insurance through Allstate so maybe it's just a new customer thing? I'll find out. Thanks for the tip!

Here's info on the rebate. Patsy must be asleep...

BonusDrive

www.bonusdrive.com

 

[bigoldthor]

Here's info on the rebate. Patsy must be asleep...

BonusDrive

www.bonusdrive.com

Dude, that is awesome...thanks so much! I just submitted all my information. Looks like I'll be getting $250 of spending money...to be used for Ram accessories, of course.

 

[rebel without a cause]

I also dumped my 2017 F-150 for a 2020 Rebel.
But I had an issue with my 2017 regarding the IWE system. The IWE needs vacuum to stay in 2wd. If you have a vacuum leak it will try to engage 4wd. If you have partial vacuum then 4wd won't fully engage. Keep in mind this is all while your selector is in the 2wd position. By default if the IWE system fully fails the truck defaults to 4wd no matter that the selector is in 2wd. The diaphragm in the check valves have been failing. Not a 100% failure just unable to completely seal for full vacuum. This partial failure is causing the IWE to partially start to engage the 4wd default.

This happened to me a total of 5 times in a 3 year span and the truck only had 20K miles on it when I turned it in. Always fixed free under warranty but still a pain the *** and after warranty ran out the truck went, bye, bye.