Narg
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- Joined
- Jun 29, 2019
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After driving my feature over loaded RAM 1500 Laramie Longhorn for 1 year, I thought I'd come back and give my extended opinion on this fantastic truck. I gave a rather lengthy review right after I purchased the truck last year, so time for a follow up I think. Many things I post here are the same, but I’ve added a lot more from my few hours and miles over the past year.
After a couple false starts from some shady dealers, I found one that was good enough to work with. I special ordered and waited for delivery, then eased into this truck one week before the infamous start of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Much to my chagrin I had little reason or was flat unable to drive the truck much the first few months of ownership. Things did pick up for me later in the year, and recently very much. I now have a few miles and hours to note. But, due to that downturn in activity, only a tiny collection of 8,000 clicks have been recorded, hopefully, enough to worthy of a year’s review. I hope you enjoy this gathering of thoughts and experiences.
As we all know, RAM raised the bar. In brief, the things I feel RAM has beat out the other 2 major contenders on are Ride quality, Style, and Engine performance. There is a few other notable wins, like the first for a 12” radio/nav screen and the awesome mild hybrid setup. The latter while not first was a major improvement though, more about that later. As well as a short list of things I believe RAM still needs work on.
First, the thing that brought me to this truck in my big switch from almost a lifetime of Chevy trucks back to RAM, in that as my ride as a teenager was a Dodge. Ride quality of this truck beats out GM and Ford by a wide margin. Only GM has taken note as they seem to be toying with the idea for trucks by adding independent suspension and air rides to their truck-based Tahoe and Suburban. I’ll only consider GM again if they go with the same ride features on their full-size trucks. Only a couple of improvements RAM needs to improve are road handling characteristics, and to get rid of that stupid speed limiting feature of the air ride control. GM and to some extent Ford still handle like sports cars in comparison to the RAM, but I guess that is a trade off for the much more appreciated ride quality. If RAM can dial in the control, I’d be a permanent RAM guy from now on, no excuses. A good comparison is the reviews of the Hellcat based Charger. Reviewers say it is top, but only in a straight line. Almost same could be said for the RAM in ride quality. The best handling truck I ever owned was a Chevy Z71. It was so dialed that even a hefty cross wind would not be noticeable. It went where you pointed it, no deviations and cornered beautifully. However, this GM variant would rattle your teeth on even the slightest bump or washboard in the road, getting negativity from my aging back and my wife. Both of which require more attention these days. Where the RAM will glide over almost everything. The RAM will sometimes get a bit shaky, and not be pointed in the same vector out of a washboard. But still won’t cause my back to wrench painfully when it does, or the other to apply wrenching notes to my ears... Win goes to RAM for this quality, even if not quite perfect.
The Styling of the RAM has taken it above the other trucks hands down in my opinion as well as many others. It is true eye candy in the form of a truck, both inside and out. Ford has kept very traditional, if not boring in their styling which could be considered good. But to me, GM has really gone off a cliff. RAM keeps their exteriors truck like with well-proportioned dimensions that has made the other two look like also rans, far behind RAM today. Also with an interior that goes above and beyond in style and comfort. Ford has attempted to meet up with RAM on this, but I don’t feel they quite made it. GM is an even more distant third now than ever in this arena. I’ve appreciated GM in the past with interiors that were not ugly, nor pretty but duty driven and rugged. They’ve lost that recently and gone out right ugly, while reducing material quality some from what I can tell. Super win for RAM on the interior looks and especially comfort as I can sit in these seats all day long, as I sometimes do on my journeys for the work I do. The last GM I owned, my legs would fall asleep in those darn seats. Not good. Glad RAM got that down perfectly.
Next big win is one that I really didn’t expect. RAMs power train in my 2020 version has got to be the best I’ve ever owned, hands down. It’s super powerful, extremely smooth and has yet to disappoint. The 5.7 Hemi with eTorque is just at 30 HP and about 30 foot pounds of torque over the last GM I owned. An amazingly noticeable even if only less than 10% difference by the numbers. It is more comparable to GM’s 6.2 L power provider, and with better MPG to boot. I opted for the 3.21 rear end ratio for efficiency, and glad I did. I had a mid-level rear end in my last GM made truck, which is not an option on the RAM and should be. With my Chevy I thought it’s pull was fantastic. I was wrong, the RAM pulls so much better. The tow rating of my truck is a mere 9,000 lbs with this gearing, which is kind of a laugh as the payload is also a measly 1,000 lbs, so I’ll never be able to tow that much once you factor in my fat butt in the seat. RAM does need to work on its payload issues. Ford wins on payload hands down from what I’ve noticed. Getting almost 50% more payload in their top end loaded rides. But Ford’s power, while better on paper, just doesn’t equal the sensation you get from the gas pedal in my RAM. There’s a lot more than numbers on a paper if you ask me. It is so much eager to move than and Ford I’ve recently driven, and my last Chevy too. It weighs in at almost a ½ ton heavier than that Chevy, but you couldn’t tell it by the gas pedal. The best thing about the power plant in my RAM is how smooth it is. I believe that is due to the eTorque system. Shifting is utterly unnoticeable in all but a few situations. It never seems to be in the wrong gear, which was a big problem with my last GM ride which always shifting badly. Some Fords I drive occasionally also shift badly at times. Their dual made 10 speed helped, but didn’t quite fix. Also, the RAM 5.7 seems to be utterly ignorant of the cold, with perfect starts, and very little loss of power as it warms up to operating temp. All Fords and GMs I’ve driven in the past were quite useless for a few minutes after start in sub-freezing weather. The RAM never seems afraid to poor on the power no matter when you want it. The eTorque system I absolutely love. I don’t mind the start stop feature at all due to how smooth it is in this truck. Plus, the added shifting torque to the engine it does makes this a must have feature to me. Good thing is RAM doesn’t force the eTorque feature in a truck if you are not the same as I am, as you can order the 5.7 power plant without it. The other two truck makers do force the start stop feature for the most part, and theirs are far from the same smoothness as RAM. And GMs start stop is so rough, Ford is better, but only because their small engines are so much lighter. My wife has a 4 cyl Cadillac XT4, a super fun little SUV, and it’s start stop is good. I feel because the 4 cyl is so light, each stop and restart is also very smooth, like my RAM. A big V8 is quite different and heavy. With the powerful electric motor and belt method RAM uses they have that worked out perfectly. I much prefer to not burn fuel if I do not need to at lights and waiting in the drive through lane. I also have come to love the dial shifter. Did take getting used to, and I still sometimes fumble it, accidentally putting it in park when I’m alternating forward and back for parking. The auto park brake is another unpredictable thing RAM needs to work on. It often doesn’t release shifting out of park, and a couple times failed to engage. But the shifter is very neat overall. Speaking of Park, I do wish the truck would shift to park automatically on turning the engine off, like other similar vehicles do. It's a pain to forget that, and have to turn the truck back on, then shift, then off again to fix it.
Other niceties that grow on me more and more as I drive this truck are the adaptive cruise and lane keep. I did have the chance to go all out on options on this truck, and took that chance. A chance I’ve worked on for a couple decades, slowly increasing the features of each truck I’ve owned, using the growing equity of each to move farther north on the sticker price. The adaptive cruise did surprise me as while driving through very hilly our mountainous roads, it will slow with auto braking keep downhill speeds in check. Something I’ve not experienced in any other vehicle. Very nice, as a heavy truck can really get moving on some of the hills I’ve taken. Though, the jury is still out on the auto-braking crash avoidance feature. That feature you can find on a LOT of cars and trucks these days. The truck often brakes as I back into my driveway, with the rough concrete and its many cracks. And, I’ve had the truck come to a screeching halt in forward motion twice for not properly apparent reasons. I believe I can repeat this action, as it occurred both times while moving under a bridge on a high sun lit day with another vehicle at good but not far distance in front of me. Fortunately, both times nobody behind me. As the truck transitions from shade to sun light, if the vehicle in front is at just the right distance the truck will panic and solidly brake. Not too close, as I’m not a tail gating type and never get too close. RAM has work to do here I think. Speaking of dark to light, I still hope RAM fixes the dash lights. The difference between when the headlights are off, and when they are on with the dash dim feature turned on makes the dash light change too extreme. In twilight, and when going under big bridges or through tunnels, the dash utterly disappears to my eyes. The dial settings are of little help and on full bright is too much when the night is deep and super dark. I’m pushed to continually adjust the brightness. Never had that happen in any other vehicle before and never touching the dash brightness on those, so improvement is much wanted there.
The 12” radio/nav screen has been a blast to have and use in this truck. Still love the split mode with my iPhone on top and radio controls on bottom. That will be missed if I can’t get it on future trucks. Some improvements could be had here, as switching into and out of phone mode when I take calls is unpredictable. I’m used to other trucks I’ve had just knowing exactly what to do after a call is done. The RAM never seems to do the same thing twice when a call ends. Sometimes staying on the phone screen, other times moving back to where it should be though sometimes picking a random mode. The radio screen brightness and skins are nicely adjustable, and I have found a happy medium where the dash light brightness problem doesn’t affect me much on that screen at least. The touch responsiveness is the best from my experience. I’m still getting used to having so much of the feature’s control pushed to this screen rather than having a hard button on things like seat and wheel heaters. At least the air/heat controls remain on separate around the screen, which I like. All truck makers need to keep a keen thought on how they do these controls. Tiny controls are not good in a truck, and touch screens while nice are far from perfect in all situations. Especially with gloves, and when tired from a long work day. Another unpredictable feature on my truck are the auto extending side steps. Love them overall, but sometimes they stay in the out position until I am up to speed as I drive off. And, sometimes they fail to extend when I open the door. Seems to be somewhat normal from what I’ve learned from a few folks and the dealership.
Some other highly enjoyable features are the RAM Boxes on either side of the bed. Yep, they are loaded right now. Killing more of that precious 1,000 lbs of payload I have (ha ha). And, the split tailgate is highly usable. I laugh at GM when I see their current “goodbye” commercial, as their tail gate is truly useless in comparison if you ask me. So little access to the bed in that tiny opening. Yet, I still have the step into the bed with the bumper when I open mine sideways. I use this tailgate almost every time I get into the bed. I can’t see myself ever using the GM tailgate to justify its price. Ford’s tail gate has some neat ideas. Still, I’ll take the RAM tail gate any day over those two. I also opted for the super big sunroof. That was a big maybe in my book, and I’m sure it also ate away at some of that precious cargo rating. But I’m finding I’m using much more than I thought I would. Still debatable if I do that again, but for those that It’s a must have, you won’t be disappointed at all. It’s a great sunroof.
The surround cameras in this truck have been a very useful tool. I rarely attempt to park without it. Using it almost 100% for my back up parking I almost always do in my driveway and parking lots. Other trucks can get this, and I recommend it highly. GM’s got more angles on their camera system, which is nice. I also do wish I could use the surround cameras at speed. For checking lane position and while towing and such. Another speed control thing RAM should just stop, just flat out stop it with speed control on other things like the air suspension. I think all trucks have speed limited features, and it’s quite stupid we are controlled by the system rather than being in control of it at times. While the aero mode with the air ride at highway speed is OK, all other limits and changes are very unwelcome. Stop it RAM. Just stop. I may add a cancel switch to the power of the air ride to add more control at some point. I’ve tried to fix the camera speed drop out, but that didn’t work too well.
Speaking of changes, this is one truck I’ve done very little aftermarket adjustment to. I’ve always loved how you can really up the ability of a truck with so many aftermarket ideas. I’ve not felt as much need to do so on my RAM as I have in the past with other trucks I’ve owned. I do look forward to putting larger tires on it in the future. And will continue to toy with the idea of add-ons like the Z-Automotive Tazer-DT I purchased but stopped using due to the flakey-ness it added to the truck. It was nice to stop the camera drop out with the Tazer, but I could not live with the quirky aftereffects of this device. I have done a few minor updates, like new lights in the RAM Boxes that are much brighter. And the dividers in the RAM Box. I might also get the kick down bumper step, now that they offer it where it is installed more in the middle of the bumper rather than the side of it since I have the split tailgate.
Overall, I’m still very pleased with my RAM. It’s been a great truck, and I hope to put many more miles on it and more hours in the seat in the future. I usually get up to twice the milage per year as I’ve had over the past year with the painful but understandable lock downs. I believe those future miles will leave me smiling ear to ear.
After a couple false starts from some shady dealers, I found one that was good enough to work with. I special ordered and waited for delivery, then eased into this truck one week before the infamous start of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Much to my chagrin I had little reason or was flat unable to drive the truck much the first few months of ownership. Things did pick up for me later in the year, and recently very much. I now have a few miles and hours to note. But, due to that downturn in activity, only a tiny collection of 8,000 clicks have been recorded, hopefully, enough to worthy of a year’s review. I hope you enjoy this gathering of thoughts and experiences.
As we all know, RAM raised the bar. In brief, the things I feel RAM has beat out the other 2 major contenders on are Ride quality, Style, and Engine performance. There is a few other notable wins, like the first for a 12” radio/nav screen and the awesome mild hybrid setup. The latter while not first was a major improvement though, more about that later. As well as a short list of things I believe RAM still needs work on.
First, the thing that brought me to this truck in my big switch from almost a lifetime of Chevy trucks back to RAM, in that as my ride as a teenager was a Dodge. Ride quality of this truck beats out GM and Ford by a wide margin. Only GM has taken note as they seem to be toying with the idea for trucks by adding independent suspension and air rides to their truck-based Tahoe and Suburban. I’ll only consider GM again if they go with the same ride features on their full-size trucks. Only a couple of improvements RAM needs to improve are road handling characteristics, and to get rid of that stupid speed limiting feature of the air ride control. GM and to some extent Ford still handle like sports cars in comparison to the RAM, but I guess that is a trade off for the much more appreciated ride quality. If RAM can dial in the control, I’d be a permanent RAM guy from now on, no excuses. A good comparison is the reviews of the Hellcat based Charger. Reviewers say it is top, but only in a straight line. Almost same could be said for the RAM in ride quality. The best handling truck I ever owned was a Chevy Z71. It was so dialed that even a hefty cross wind would not be noticeable. It went where you pointed it, no deviations and cornered beautifully. However, this GM variant would rattle your teeth on even the slightest bump or washboard in the road, getting negativity from my aging back and my wife. Both of which require more attention these days. Where the RAM will glide over almost everything. The RAM will sometimes get a bit shaky, and not be pointed in the same vector out of a washboard. But still won’t cause my back to wrench painfully when it does, or the other to apply wrenching notes to my ears... Win goes to RAM for this quality, even if not quite perfect.
The Styling of the RAM has taken it above the other trucks hands down in my opinion as well as many others. It is true eye candy in the form of a truck, both inside and out. Ford has kept very traditional, if not boring in their styling which could be considered good. But to me, GM has really gone off a cliff. RAM keeps their exteriors truck like with well-proportioned dimensions that has made the other two look like also rans, far behind RAM today. Also with an interior that goes above and beyond in style and comfort. Ford has attempted to meet up with RAM on this, but I don’t feel they quite made it. GM is an even more distant third now than ever in this arena. I’ve appreciated GM in the past with interiors that were not ugly, nor pretty but duty driven and rugged. They’ve lost that recently and gone out right ugly, while reducing material quality some from what I can tell. Super win for RAM on the interior looks and especially comfort as I can sit in these seats all day long, as I sometimes do on my journeys for the work I do. The last GM I owned, my legs would fall asleep in those darn seats. Not good. Glad RAM got that down perfectly.
Next big win is one that I really didn’t expect. RAMs power train in my 2020 version has got to be the best I’ve ever owned, hands down. It’s super powerful, extremely smooth and has yet to disappoint. The 5.7 Hemi with eTorque is just at 30 HP and about 30 foot pounds of torque over the last GM I owned. An amazingly noticeable even if only less than 10% difference by the numbers. It is more comparable to GM’s 6.2 L power provider, and with better MPG to boot. I opted for the 3.21 rear end ratio for efficiency, and glad I did. I had a mid-level rear end in my last GM made truck, which is not an option on the RAM and should be. With my Chevy I thought it’s pull was fantastic. I was wrong, the RAM pulls so much better. The tow rating of my truck is a mere 9,000 lbs with this gearing, which is kind of a laugh as the payload is also a measly 1,000 lbs, so I’ll never be able to tow that much once you factor in my fat butt in the seat. RAM does need to work on its payload issues. Ford wins on payload hands down from what I’ve noticed. Getting almost 50% more payload in their top end loaded rides. But Ford’s power, while better on paper, just doesn’t equal the sensation you get from the gas pedal in my RAM. There’s a lot more than numbers on a paper if you ask me. It is so much eager to move than and Ford I’ve recently driven, and my last Chevy too. It weighs in at almost a ½ ton heavier than that Chevy, but you couldn’t tell it by the gas pedal. The best thing about the power plant in my RAM is how smooth it is. I believe that is due to the eTorque system. Shifting is utterly unnoticeable in all but a few situations. It never seems to be in the wrong gear, which was a big problem with my last GM ride which always shifting badly. Some Fords I drive occasionally also shift badly at times. Their dual made 10 speed helped, but didn’t quite fix. Also, the RAM 5.7 seems to be utterly ignorant of the cold, with perfect starts, and very little loss of power as it warms up to operating temp. All Fords and GMs I’ve driven in the past were quite useless for a few minutes after start in sub-freezing weather. The RAM never seems afraid to poor on the power no matter when you want it. The eTorque system I absolutely love. I don’t mind the start stop feature at all due to how smooth it is in this truck. Plus, the added shifting torque to the engine it does makes this a must have feature to me. Good thing is RAM doesn’t force the eTorque feature in a truck if you are not the same as I am, as you can order the 5.7 power plant without it. The other two truck makers do force the start stop feature for the most part, and theirs are far from the same smoothness as RAM. And GMs start stop is so rough, Ford is better, but only because their small engines are so much lighter. My wife has a 4 cyl Cadillac XT4, a super fun little SUV, and it’s start stop is good. I feel because the 4 cyl is so light, each stop and restart is also very smooth, like my RAM. A big V8 is quite different and heavy. With the powerful electric motor and belt method RAM uses they have that worked out perfectly. I much prefer to not burn fuel if I do not need to at lights and waiting in the drive through lane. I also have come to love the dial shifter. Did take getting used to, and I still sometimes fumble it, accidentally putting it in park when I’m alternating forward and back for parking. The auto park brake is another unpredictable thing RAM needs to work on. It often doesn’t release shifting out of park, and a couple times failed to engage. But the shifter is very neat overall. Speaking of Park, I do wish the truck would shift to park automatically on turning the engine off, like other similar vehicles do. It's a pain to forget that, and have to turn the truck back on, then shift, then off again to fix it.
Other niceties that grow on me more and more as I drive this truck are the adaptive cruise and lane keep. I did have the chance to go all out on options on this truck, and took that chance. A chance I’ve worked on for a couple decades, slowly increasing the features of each truck I’ve owned, using the growing equity of each to move farther north on the sticker price. The adaptive cruise did surprise me as while driving through very hilly our mountainous roads, it will slow with auto braking keep downhill speeds in check. Something I’ve not experienced in any other vehicle. Very nice, as a heavy truck can really get moving on some of the hills I’ve taken. Though, the jury is still out on the auto-braking crash avoidance feature. That feature you can find on a LOT of cars and trucks these days. The truck often brakes as I back into my driveway, with the rough concrete and its many cracks. And, I’ve had the truck come to a screeching halt in forward motion twice for not properly apparent reasons. I believe I can repeat this action, as it occurred both times while moving under a bridge on a high sun lit day with another vehicle at good but not far distance in front of me. Fortunately, both times nobody behind me. As the truck transitions from shade to sun light, if the vehicle in front is at just the right distance the truck will panic and solidly brake. Not too close, as I’m not a tail gating type and never get too close. RAM has work to do here I think. Speaking of dark to light, I still hope RAM fixes the dash lights. The difference between when the headlights are off, and when they are on with the dash dim feature turned on makes the dash light change too extreme. In twilight, and when going under big bridges or through tunnels, the dash utterly disappears to my eyes. The dial settings are of little help and on full bright is too much when the night is deep and super dark. I’m pushed to continually adjust the brightness. Never had that happen in any other vehicle before and never touching the dash brightness on those, so improvement is much wanted there.
The 12” radio/nav screen has been a blast to have and use in this truck. Still love the split mode with my iPhone on top and radio controls on bottom. That will be missed if I can’t get it on future trucks. Some improvements could be had here, as switching into and out of phone mode when I take calls is unpredictable. I’m used to other trucks I’ve had just knowing exactly what to do after a call is done. The RAM never seems to do the same thing twice when a call ends. Sometimes staying on the phone screen, other times moving back to where it should be though sometimes picking a random mode. The radio screen brightness and skins are nicely adjustable, and I have found a happy medium where the dash light brightness problem doesn’t affect me much on that screen at least. The touch responsiveness is the best from my experience. I’m still getting used to having so much of the feature’s control pushed to this screen rather than having a hard button on things like seat and wheel heaters. At least the air/heat controls remain on separate around the screen, which I like. All truck makers need to keep a keen thought on how they do these controls. Tiny controls are not good in a truck, and touch screens while nice are far from perfect in all situations. Especially with gloves, and when tired from a long work day. Another unpredictable feature on my truck are the auto extending side steps. Love them overall, but sometimes they stay in the out position until I am up to speed as I drive off. And, sometimes they fail to extend when I open the door. Seems to be somewhat normal from what I’ve learned from a few folks and the dealership.
Some other highly enjoyable features are the RAM Boxes on either side of the bed. Yep, they are loaded right now. Killing more of that precious 1,000 lbs of payload I have (ha ha). And, the split tailgate is highly usable. I laugh at GM when I see their current “goodbye” commercial, as their tail gate is truly useless in comparison if you ask me. So little access to the bed in that tiny opening. Yet, I still have the step into the bed with the bumper when I open mine sideways. I use this tailgate almost every time I get into the bed. I can’t see myself ever using the GM tailgate to justify its price. Ford’s tail gate has some neat ideas. Still, I’ll take the RAM tail gate any day over those two. I also opted for the super big sunroof. That was a big maybe in my book, and I’m sure it also ate away at some of that precious cargo rating. But I’m finding I’m using much more than I thought I would. Still debatable if I do that again, but for those that It’s a must have, you won’t be disappointed at all. It’s a great sunroof.
The surround cameras in this truck have been a very useful tool. I rarely attempt to park without it. Using it almost 100% for my back up parking I almost always do in my driveway and parking lots. Other trucks can get this, and I recommend it highly. GM’s got more angles on their camera system, which is nice. I also do wish I could use the surround cameras at speed. For checking lane position and while towing and such. Another speed control thing RAM should just stop, just flat out stop it with speed control on other things like the air suspension. I think all trucks have speed limited features, and it’s quite stupid we are controlled by the system rather than being in control of it at times. While the aero mode with the air ride at highway speed is OK, all other limits and changes are very unwelcome. Stop it RAM. Just stop. I may add a cancel switch to the power of the air ride to add more control at some point. I’ve tried to fix the camera speed drop out, but that didn’t work too well.
Speaking of changes, this is one truck I’ve done very little aftermarket adjustment to. I’ve always loved how you can really up the ability of a truck with so many aftermarket ideas. I’ve not felt as much need to do so on my RAM as I have in the past with other trucks I’ve owned. I do look forward to putting larger tires on it in the future. And will continue to toy with the idea of add-ons like the Z-Automotive Tazer-DT I purchased but stopped using due to the flakey-ness it added to the truck. It was nice to stop the camera drop out with the Tazer, but I could not live with the quirky aftereffects of this device. I have done a few minor updates, like new lights in the RAM Boxes that are much brighter. And the dividers in the RAM Box. I might also get the kick down bumper step, now that they offer it where it is installed more in the middle of the bumper rather than the side of it since I have the split tailgate.
Overall, I’m still very pleased with my RAM. It’s been a great truck, and I hope to put many more miles on it and more hours in the seat in the future. I usually get up to twice the milage per year as I’ve had over the past year with the painful but understandable lock downs. I believe those future miles will leave me smiling ear to ear.
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