V6 Crew Cab Longhorn with RamBox - Overall and Driving Impressions

[habu987]

I picked up my truck on Friday! I've got pictures over here in this thread.

As a disclaimer before I go any further, this is my first truck. I've owned and leased sedans and SUVs in the past (and got handed down my mom's minivan for my first vehicle back in the day), mostly the non luxury brands, though I do have extensive experience driving an Audi A4 and a BMW X5. I traded in a 2014 Hyundai Azera that I'd had for a few years.

I really like the truck! I spent about 15 minutes at the dealership going through a QC checklist (the one from the delivery checklist thread) and only found one very slight niggle--both RamBox lids sit about .2" above the bed side. It is noticeable when you're up close, but nowhere near as bad as some of the early RamBox misalignments people posted when they started to come in. When I take it in for the first service, I'll see if they can adjust them to be flush. Besides that, everything on the QC checklist passed with flying colors. The bed step and bed extender pins from the BUG package were missing (the divider was included), but I knew that was most likely going to be the case going into it. The sales guy (Craig at Koons CJDR) noted that on the contract and will order them when they're available.

All that out of the way, here's my point by point review and impressions, having had the truck for a few days and put on ~90 miles.

• Interior quality: Excellent all around. I haven't seen any mismatched trim, the fit and finish is uniformly excellent, and the materials feel high quality all around. Ambient lighting works and the light above the upper glove box is a mostly uniform line. I'd say the interior definitely feels like a $65k vehicle.
• Passenger room: Really not sufficient for any reasonable person's people carrying needs...just kidding! Way more room front and back than my Azera, which was a full size sedan. My wife sat in the backseat behind me with our son while we were erranding yesterday and she noted that she had roughly 10" of knee room, which is about 6" more than she had in the Azera. That, and the flat floor, makes for a great space for passengers.
• Noise level: This bad boy is quiet! My Azera was pretty quiet, but this thing is much quieter. So far I haven't been able to hear normal traffic around me, though I can still hear the loud motorcycles and other loud vehicles. Drove through rain this morning and it was muted compared to previous vehicles. Conversing with my wife in the back seat was very easy at highway speeds.
• Sound system: 100%. Still fiddling with the equalizer to nail it down, but the quality and volume are terrific.
• RamBoxes: Love 'em! Tossed my swimming gear (among many other things, I'm a competitive swimmer and coach) in one and had room to put the groceries in there after a run to the store. I put my ice scraper and a few odds 'n ends in the other one and still have plenty of room for other stuff. Side note--the lids don't stick at all on mine when I close them (I don't need to slam them, just shut them with the same force as the doors), but pushing the button only pops the lids up maybe .5", just enough for me to put my finger under the lip and open them manually. I'm not sure if they're supposed to pop open more than that when you hit the button, but it doesn't bother me so far. Might be a different matter when there's snow and ice in the mix, but for now not a problem. Anyone else with RamBoxes have the same thing happen with theirs?
• Suspension: I can definitely tell I'm driving a truck, but the suspension is actually better than my Azera. That one had a really flinty ride--serene on the highway, but broken pavement sucked and expansion joints on a curved stretch of the road were uncomfortable to drive over, since you'd bounce and shimmy sideways. Much more muted response to the same driving conditions, and I think the pending Hellwig sway bar purchase will help take care of any residual shimmying, I wouldn't go so far as to say the air suspension is buttery smooth, but it's definitely smoother than the Azera.
• Start/Stop: Doesn't bother me in the slightest. So much of the traffic in Northern Virginia where I am is stop and go, so I'm taking full advantage of it. It is noticeable with a pretty small shudder when it restarts, but it's quick and way less of a hassle than any other auto start/stop vehicle I've driven, including a truly abominable Jeep Grand Cherokee rental I had back in May.
• Engine: I test drove two Hemis before I ordered my truck and I can tell this is definitely not a Hemi, but I'm perfectly happy with its amount of power. It's not a rocket ship, but so far it's met my driving needs with no problems whatsoever. The transmission is another matter, more on that below.
• Transmission: I assume it's because it's in the learning phase, but I haven't been 100% happy with it so far.
  • My 11.2 mile drive home from the dealer was during rush hour, so it took me about 45 minutes. Stop and go on the highway for about 10 of those miles, and there were 2-3 times where the transmission jerked and the truck lurched forward. Hasn't happened since then, but I also haven't been in traffic like that since then.
  • Shifting patterns if I'm not doing a continual acceleration are odd. There's definitely a tendency to not downshift unless I prod the gas pedal harder than I'd like, especially in the 30-50 mph range. Case in point, we had an outing yesterday that was 18 miles out and back, mostly on a parkway with only a few stoplights and a 50 mph speed limit. Accelerating up to 30-35 from the lights was no problem, but the more gradual acceleration to 50-55 as the cars spread out would either result in no downshift unless I jabbed the pedal, or would not upshift once I reached my desired speed unless I took my foot off the pedal momentarily. For the latter, there were multiple times I'd get to 50 and would cruise in whatever low gear at 2.5-3k RPM until I took my foot off the pedal, then it'd downshift and go back to the ~1.5k RPM it should've been at. I need to turn on the gear indicator in the dash so I can see where it's getting bogged down and if it's the same gears every time. If all this is from the transmission being in learning mode, I expect the hilly terrain isn't helping, either. On the other hand, if I'm doing a continual, steady acceleration from a stop to 50-60, there's no bogging down or anything, the shifts are crisp and the RPMs stay where I'd expect.

Weather permitting, I'll get more pictures next weekend, and will have another couple hundred miles under my belt to report upon.

Loving it so far!

 

[19RamLimited]

Congrats on your truck. Very anxious to hear your long term impressions of the 6 cylinder e torque . Also what your gas mileage is like. Its a big difference from the vehicles you have owned previously but its a great, great interior. I honestly feel like I'm in a euro sedan or something when I sit in it. Plus how quiet it is. RFL said its the quietest truck they have driven.

These really are great trucks. So enjoy it and keep us up to date on how its doing for you.

 

[DaYooper]

I picked up my truck on Friday! I've got pictures in this thread.

I'm missing the pictures.

UPDATE: Ok, found them.

 

[Edwards]

I picked up my truck on Friday! I've got pictures in this thread.

As a disclaimer before I go any further, this is my first truck. I've owned and leased sedans and SUVs in the past (and got handed down my mom's minivan for my first vehicle back in the day), mostly the non luxury brands, though I do have extensive experience driving an Audi A4 and a BMW X5. I traded in a 2014 Hyundai Azera that I'd had for a few years.

I really like the truck! I spent about 15 minutes at the dealership going through a QC checklist (the one from the delivery checklist thread) and only found one very slight niggle--both RamBox lids sit about .2" above the bed side. It is noticeable when you're up close, but nowhere near as bad as some of the early RamBox misalignments people posted when they started to come in. When I take it in for the first service, I'll see if they can adjust them to be flush. Besides that, everything on the QC checklist passed with flying colors. The bed step and bed extender pins from the BUG package were missing (the divider was included), but I knew that was most likely going to be the case going into it. The sales guy (Craig at Koons CJDR) noted that on the contract and will order them when they're available.

All that out of the way, here's my point by point review and impressions, having had the truck for a few days and put on ~90 miles.

• Interior quality: Excellent all around. I haven't seen any mismatched trim, the fit and finish is uniformly excellent, and the materials feel high quality all around. Ambient lighting works and the light above the upper glove box is a mostly uniform line. I'd say the interior definitely feels like a $65k vehicle.
• Passenger room: Really not sufficient for any reasonable person's people carrying needs...just kidding! Way more room front and back than my Azera, which was a full size sedan. My wife sat in the backseat behind me with our son while we were erranding yesterday and she noted that she had roughly 10" of knee room, which is about 6" more than she had in the Azera. That, and the flat floor, makes for a great space for passengers.
• RamBoxes: Love 'em! Tossed my swimming gear (among many other things, I'm a competitive swimmer and coach) in one and had room to put the groceries in there after a run to the store. I put my ice scraper and a few odds 'n ends in the other one and still have plenty of room for other stuff. Side note--the lids don't stick at all on mine when I close them (I don't need to slam them, just shut them with the same force as the doors), but pushing the button only pops the lids up maybe .5", just enough for me to put my finger under the lip and open them manually. I'm not sure if they're supposed to pop open more than that when you hit the button, but it doesn't bother me so far. Might be a different matter when there's snow and ice in the mix, but for now not a problem. Anyone else with RamBoxes have the same thing happen with theirs?
• Suspension: I can definitely tell I'm driving a truck, but the suspension is actually better than my Azera. That one had a really flinty ride--serene on the highway, but broken pavement sucked and expansion joints on a curved stretch of the road were uncomfortable to drive over, since you'd bounce and shimmy sideways. Much more muted response to the same driving conditions, and I think the pending Hellwig sway bar purchase will help take care of any residual shimmying, I wouldn't go so far as to say the air suspension is buttery smooth, but it's definitely smoother than the Azera.
• Start/Stop: Doesn't bother me in the slightest. So much of the traffic in Northern Virginia where I am is stop and go, so I'm taking full advantage of it. It is noticeable with a pretty small shudder when it restarts, but it's quick and way less of a hassle than any other auto start/stop vehicle I've driven, including a truly abominable Jeep Grand Cherokee rental I had back in May.
• Engine: I test drove two Hemis before I ordered my truck and I can tell this is definitely not a Hemi, but I'm perfectly happy with its amount of power. It's not a rocket ship, but so far it's met my driving needs with no problems whatsoever. The transmission is another matter, more on that below.
• Transmission: I assume it's because it's in the learning phase, but I haven't been 100% happy with it so far.
  • My 11.2 mile drive home from the dealer was during rush hour, so it took me about 45 minutes. Stop and go on the highway for about 10 of those miles, and there were 2-3 times where the transmission jerked and the truck lurched forward. Hasn't happened since then, but I also haven't been in traffic like that since then.
  • Shifting patterns if I'm not doing a continual acceleration are odd. There's definitely a tendency to not downshift unless I prod the gas pedal harder than I'd like, especially in the 30-50 mph range. Case in point, we had an outing yesterday that was 18 miles out and back, mostly on a parkway with only a few stoplights and a 50 mph speed limit. Accelerating up to 30-35 from the lights was no problem, but the more gradual acceleration to 50-55 as the cars spread out would either result in no downshift unless I jabbed the pedal, or would not upshift once I reached my desired speed unless I took my foot off the pedal momentarily. For the latter, there were multiple times I'd get to 50 and would cruise in whatever low gear at 2.5-3k RPM until I took my foot off the pedal, then it'd downshift and go back to the ~1.5k RPM it should've been at. I need to turn on the gear indicator in the dash so I can see where it's getting bogged down and if it's the same gears every time. If all this is from the transmission being in learning mode, I expect the hilly terrain isn't helping, either. On the other hand, if I'm doing a continual, steady acceleration from a stop to 50-60, there's no bogging down or anything, the shifts are crisp and the RPMs stay where I'd expect.

Weather permitting, I'll get more pictures next weekend, and will have another couple hundred miles under my belt to report upon.

Loving it so far!

On the RamBox, they all only open about that much unless you adjust them to close more tightly and then they open 50% more when button pushed, i.e. not much more.
Also, adjusting them to sit more flush is a fair amount of work and every bit they close tighter means more force to close since you have to compress the weatherstripping more.
Having lived with RamBox for 5 weeks now, I'd leave them alone if I were you. They will break in some and ride a bit lower over time.

 

[habu987]

On the RamBox, they all only open about that much unless you adjust them to close more tightly and then they open 50% more when button pushed, i.e. not much more.
Also, adjusting them to sit more flush is a fair amount of work and every bit they close tighter means more force to close since you have to compress the weatherstripping more.
Having lived with RamBox for 5 weeks now, I'd leave them alone if I were you. They will break in some and ride a bit lower over time.

Good to know! I'm not a huge stickler on the appearance as it currently is, and as long as they're still waterproof, that's all I really care about.

 

[Lakewake]

Congrats on your new truck. The transmission was a little buggy on the 1st 1000 miles. Now at just over 2k, it is much smoother and no longer lurching forward.

 

[YoAdrian]

I'm missing the pictures.

@habu987 unfortunately the site doesn’t highlight embedded links automagically, so when I add them I also bold and underline the text as well so folks can see the link (it’s there Yooper!).

 

[Neurobit]

Congrats. Glad to hear everything in QC was good to go.
Hope to see more reports on MPG and transmission in the future.

Cheers,

 

[Phoon]

I have started running my hemi in tow haul mode most of the time, on the advice of my tuner. He does custom tunes on my other cars (not the new ram) and says that the way new transmissions are tuned to lug the motor does little for fuel economy in real world driving conditions, it is mostly helpful for EPA testing. Tow/haul mode holds the gears a little longer and makes the truck feel more responsive. I haven't noticed a difference in my average economy since running it in tow/haul, it also downshifts very smoothly and gives you a bit of engine braking.

 

[habu987]

@habu987 unfortunately the site doesn’t highlight embedded links automagically, so when I add them I also bold and underline the text as well so folks can see the link (it’s there Yooper!).

Thanks, edited to update!

 

[habu987]

Congrats on your truck. Very anxious to hear your long term impressions of the 6 cylinder e torque . Also what your gas mileage is like. Its a big difference from the vehicles you have owned previously but its a great, great interior. I honestly feel like I'm in a euro sedan or something when I sit in it. Plus how quiet it is. RFL said its the quietest truck they have driven.

These really are great trucks. So enjoy it and keep us up to date on how its doing for you.

Thanks!

Lie-o-meter said 13.8 mpg when I picked it up (21 miles on the odometer), it was at 18.9 mpg yesterday afternoon, which included the terrible traffic on Friday and about 45 minutes of idling and ~90 more miles on the clock.

I won't really track the mileage for the rest of this tank, but will do a manual calc when I fill up and start posting on fuelly. My normal mileage mix is roughly 75-25, mabye 70-30 city-highway. I've got a ~1000 mile road trip planned over Christmas visiting the parental units and in-laws, so I should get a good idea of highway mpg then.

 

[4sallypat]

Thanks for the post = now I am searching for the very limited inventory of 3.6L RAMs....

 

[habu987]

I have two rattles in the cabin. Neither is very loud, and when I have the radio on with the volume above 5 (which is pretty much 100% of the time), I can't hear the rattles.

I spent about 15 minutes yesterday driving without the radio on and identified that one rattle is coming from the sunroof and the other is coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the rear passenger side of the cabin. I haven't been able to nail down if it's coming from the rear window, or the seat, or somewhere else.

Taking it in tomorrow morning, hopefully they'll be able to resolve the rattling.

Besides that, everything is fantastic!

 

[RamCares]

I have two rattles in the cabin. Neither is very loud, and when I have the radio on with the volume above 5 (which is pretty much 100% of the time), I can't hear the rattles.

I spent about 15 minutes yesterday driving without the radio on and identified that one rattle is coming from the sunroof and the other is coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the rear passenger side of the cabin. I haven't been able to nail down if it's coming from the rear window, or the seat, or somewhere else.

Taking it in tomorrow morning, hopefully they'll be able to resolve the rattling.

Besides that, everything is fantastic!

Hi habu987,

I am happy to hear that overall you are loving your new Ram! Feel free to follow up after your dealership looks at your car tomorrow. If there is anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to send a private message.

Kaitlin
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[19RamLimited]

I have two rattles in the cabin. Neither is very loud, and when I have the radio on with the volume above 5 (which is pretty much 100% of the time), I can't hear the rattles.

I spent about 15 minutes yesterday driving without the radio on and identified that one rattle is coming from the sunroof and the other is coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the rear passenger side of the cabin. I haven't been able to nail down if it's coming from the rear window, or the seat, or somewhere else.

Taking it in tomorrow morning, hopefully they'll be able to resolve the rattling.

Besides that, everything is fantastic!

I had a rattle under my passenger seat. I looked and the seat module that clips into the bottom had come I clipped.

You may check. It’s black and has a large continental sticker on it

 

[habu987]

So, uh, I feel kind of embarrassed...

We had snow yesterday and the truck sat out all day with the roof covered in snow. No rattles from the sunroof this morning.

In terms of the other rattle...turns out the car seat had a small metal bit that I had missed when I was tightening everything down, that was the rear seat rattle I'd heard. Picked up the truck this afternoon and went on a 10 minute test drive with the service manager over some stretches of rough pavement sans car seat...nary a rattle!

Uh, looks like I need to break out the electrician's tape again tomorrow!

 

[T_Strey5]

@habu987 After a month of ownership, how’s the MPG looking?

 

[habu987]

@habu987 After a month of ownership, how’s the MPG looking?

Still holding at around 17.1. I'll fill up next week and the fuelly badge in my signature will be updated, but so far it's looking like it's holding the same.

I'm still doing a 75/25 or 80/20 mix of city/highway, but overall my MPG is trending lower than I expected.

 

[T_Strey5]

Still holding at around 17.1. I'll fill up next week and the fuelly badge in my signature will be updated, but so far it's looking like it's holding the same.

I'm still doing a 75/25 or 80/20 mix of city/highway, but overall my MPG is trending lower than I expected.

Thanks! Just now seeing the fuelly badge. Appreciate the info. So far you seem to be the only source for owner opinions on the V6.

 

[habu987]

I've had the truck for about 6.5 months now, meant to do a 6 month check in a couple weeks ago but got sidetracked...

Took the truck in two weeks ago to have some recalls taken care of and have them investigate/fix two transmission issues:

• Every now and then there was a rough shift somewhere between 3rd-6th gear and it would jolt while shifting--it wasn't regular and I could go days between rough shifts
• The truck would stay stuck in 7th gear and was very hesitant to shift into 8th

After getting Stormy back from the dealer, I've noticed it shifting into 8th much more frequently! There're three stretches of road on my daily commute where I never would hit 8th gear and now it's cruising in 8th for those whole sections. I also haven't noticed any rough shifts between 3rd-6th gear since then, but did get one rough shift from 6th-7th this morning.

Besides the shifting issues, it's been a good 6+ months! I've been doing more highway driving the past couple of months, so the last few tanks have been closer to a 50/50 mix of highway and city, which is reflected in my overall MPG. Still not very happy with the fuel economy, but everything else is great!

As an aside, I spoke to the parts department at the Ram dealership down the road, they didn't have anything in their system for the bed step, yet a 10 second online search showed several online Mopar parts stores listing it...