What did you do to your Ram today???

[Fishwiz]

Plenty of posts about it and I know I provided in-depth analysis but there is really only a few very specific circumstances where an ED MIGHT make sense. It costs $3K more than the eTorque HEMI and $3200 more than the non-eTorque. Diesel fuel (in most cases) is more expensive as is the maintenance (oil changes, DEF, etc.). I always love when people think they love that they're "saving" money on fuel when they look at their MPG but ignore the up front cost difference, interest (if not paying in full with cash), increased maintenance etc. I drive 20K a year and I would have never broken even with an ED so it was an easy choice to make. Enjoy your truck!

I'm not claiming you're wrong (in fact, you're probably right)... But there's one thing that doesn't appear to be included in your thinking: residual value.

The ED costs more up front, but it retains some of that value a handful of years later when you sell the truck. This will effectively reduce the cost of the ED option and then your fuel savings will break even sooner than you suggest.

I still think the ED is a choice that works for only the "right" person and situation. My original comment was more of an emotional comment to give credit to the post i replied to (he's happy with his mpg, and I'm glad he's enjoying his truck) and to express my current disappointment with my mpg. I'm coming from an f150 3.5 ecoboost.... I was used to plenty of power and reasonable mpg. This will take some time to get used to (5mpg lower is a substantial difference, especially considering I didn't gain a huge power increase for that cost). In know there are lots of ecoboost vs hemi posts too, and many hemi guys knock on the little boosted motors and ecoboost drivers... But those ecoboosts clearly perform well for many people and I don't think they are going away any time soon (until everything is electric or hydrogen).

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[CPenn1086]

Dead level with the tread and you can’t see the bottom of the pinch weld. Up a little and you can see an air gap, but I also spaced the inside of the step 2” off the pinch weld. Anyone over 4’ tall isn’t seeing a gap standing close to the truck. There are more pictures in the amazon review by some guy with a similar handle and a damn good looking bright white Laramie.

Those look great! Was there an "iBoard" sticker in the center of these? I read a review on Amazon that showed a sticker that apparently cannot be removed. Can you confirm this?

 

[5thGenRebel_AMK]

Not today, but last week, gave the wheels a good cleaning since they were looking a little rough. Used chemical guys Diablo wheel cleaner and VRP. Here’s the results.

The wheel cleaner didn’t wow me. I don’t think it did much more than a normal car soap couldn’t do. The tires ended up still faded and brownish after the cleaning. But VRP is pretty amazing. Got the tires looking black. I also use it on my vinyl wrap and interior plastics so it’s pretty versatile.
A week later and the tires are still looking pretty fresh.

looks great. first time i cleaned my tires with tire cleaner, i was annoyed at first because i thought my tire cleaner was turning them brown as well. i ended up cleaning them and rinsing them off 3 times until they weren't brown anymore and they were finally clean. i think there's a lot of chemicals in the rubber when theyre new and it takes a lot of work to clean them

 

[LakesAZ]

Dead level with the tread and you can’t see the bottom of the pinch weld. Up a little and you can see an air gap, but I also spaced the inside of the step 2” off the pinch weld. Anyone over 4’ tall isn’t seeing a gap standing close to the truck. There are more pictures in the amazon review by some guy with a similar handle and a damn good looking bright white Laramie.

Thanks for the pictures and that is really no gap at all. Perfect! I did look at the Amazon review and your truck is much nicer than his. I noticed that they are wet with something that we haven't seen here in a long time. Is that what they call rain? All kidding aside do they feel grippy when wet?

 

[Sir Ramcelot]

I'm not claiming you're wrong (in fact, you're probably right)... But there's one thing that doesn't appear to be included in your thinking: residual value.

The ED costs more up front, but it retains some of that value a handful of years later when you sell the truck. This will effectively reduce the cost of the ED option and then your fuel savings will break even sooner than you suggest.

I still think the ED is a choice that works for only the "right" person and situation. My original comment was more of an emotional comment to give credit to the post i replied to (he's happy with his mpg, and I'm glad he's enjoying his truck) and to express my current disappointment with my mpg. I'm coming from an f150 3.5 ecoboost.... I was used to plenty of power and reasonable mpg. This will take some time to get used to (5mpg lower is a substantial difference, especially considering I didn't gain a huge power increase for that cost). In know there are lots of ecoboost vs hemi posts too, and many hemi guys knock on the little boosted motors and ecoboost drivers... But those ecoboosts clearly perform well for many people and I don't think they are going away any time soon (until everything is electric or hydrogen).

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You're right that the residual isn't included but a quick check on KBB shows that my current truck (eTorque HEMI) vs. my current truck if it were an ED would only net me an increase in value of $686....that's it. You pay $3000 up front for the cost. Say you get 15% off the truck so it's really about $2700 after sales tax (before interest on the loan) but you're only getting back about 25% of the upfront cost before interest so it does affect the break-even slightly but not enough to make it worth it. To put it into perspective, you get 100% of the resale back on a 4x4 vs. a 4x2 so spending the money up front for the 4x4 makes sense. The other problem with the ED, it has a lower payload and lower towing specs vs. the HEMI so unlike the HDs, you can't even take solace in the fact that you can tow more. The ED really is a marketing gimmick to this point at least for RAM.

OTOH--GMC puts its Duramax at the same upgrade cost as the 6.2L V-8 (assuming you aren't ok with the 5.3L V8) so in that case the Duramax is a no-brainer since you're saving money from day 1. I seriously considered it but couldn't get past the 80s/90s interior especially compared to the Ram. Why ANYONE still buys a Tundra when its EPA combined is 14 mpg vs. the Ram's 19 with e-Torque is beyond me but that's why we all have a choice!

 

[yaksushi]

Dead level with the tread and you can’t see the bottom of the pinch weld. Up a little and you can see an air gap, but I also spaced the inside of the step 2” off the pinch weld. Anyone over 4’ tall isn’t seeing a gap standing close to the truck. There are more pictures in the amazon review by some guy with a similar handle and a damn good looking bright white Laramie.

Are those the IB04RAE9B boards?

 

[ClancyO]

Are those the IB04RAE9B boards?

IB-DR258U

These:

APS Premium 6in Black iBoard Running Boards Custom Fit 19-20 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y2WQH3N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yBWJFb6B1N8JS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ClancyO]

Thanks for the pictures and that is really no gap at all. Perfect! I did look at the Amazon review and your truck is much nicer than his. I noticed that they are wet with something that we haven't seen here in a long time. Is that what they call rain? All kidding aside do they feel grippy when wet?

In a couple of week I won’t be seeing much rain either (moving to Nevada). But yeah, the entire length of the board is covered in a rubberized tread. The boards themselves are so well coated and light that when I unpacked them I initially thought they were molded plastic. But they are just extremely well finished aluminum.

 

[ClancyO]

Those look great! Was there an "iBoard" sticker in the center of these? I read a review on Amazon that showed a sticker that apparently cannot be removed. Can you confirm this?

Most of my garage is packed up, now I have to dig out the goo-gone to clean it up!!

 

[COSPILOT]

@COSPILOT, what did it cost to ship your truck to Maui?

It was around $2,500.

 

[jmac]

You're right that the residual isn't included but a quick check on KBB shows that my current truck (eTorque HEMI) vs. my current truck if it were an ED would only net me an increase in value of $686....that's it. You pay $3000 up front for the cost (say you get 15% off the truck so it's really about $2700 after sales tax (before interest on the loan) but you're only getting back about 25% of the upfront cost before interest so it does affect the break-even slightly but not enough to make it worth it. To put it into perspective, you get 100% of the resale back on a 4x4 vs. a 4x2 so spending the money up front for the 4x4 makes sense. The other problem with the ED, it has a lower payload and lower towing specs vs. the HEMI so unlike the HDs, you can't even take solace in the fact that you can tow more. The ED really is a marketing gimmick to this point at least for RAM.

OTOH--GMC puts its Duramax at the same upgrade cost as the 6.2L V-8 (assuming you aren't ok with the 5.3L V8) so in that case the Duramax is a no-brainer since you're saving money from day 1. I seriously considered it but couldn't get past the 80s/90s interior especially compared to the Ram. Why ANYONE still buys a Tundra when its EPA combined is 14 mpg vs. the Ram's 19 with e-Torque is beyond me but that's why we all have a choice!

I had a 2106 Ecodiesel and loved it. Ran great and never had a problem with it. Averaged about 26mpg. is more expensive to maintain, more motor oil at changes, fuel filters and DEF. I was driving about 60 miles per day. changed jobs and now drive about 20 miles peer day. with out long periodic runs you dont get the proper regens and then you get problems. I traded it for my current 2019 hemi Limited before problems came up. Couldn't be happier. better for me in every way.

 

[LakesAZ]

In a couple of week I won’t be seeing much rain either (moving to Nevada). But yeah, the entire length of the board is covered in a rubberized tread. The boards themselves are so well coated and light that when I unpacked them I initially thought they were molded plastic. But they are just extremely well finished aluminum.

Are you moving to the Las Vegas area, or the Reno area?

 

[Amerinamese]

Installed a Husky under seat storage bin and the $13 Amazon screen protector today.

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[ClancyO]

Are you moving to the Las Vegas area, or the Reno area?

Vegas (Henderson). And I’m doing it the hard way.. Almost zero furniture, so everything fits in a 24’ car hauler. I’ll post here as it progresses.

 

[LakesAZ]

Vegas (Henderson). And I’m doing it the hard way.. Almost zero furniture, so everything fits in a 24’ car hauler. I’ll post here as it progresses.

Good Luck in Henderson and safe travels. Let us know what your gas mileage was for the trip towing that 24 footer.

 

[Gitter]

Got the front windows tinted to match the rear. So much better!!

Also got a screen protector for the 12" uConnect and pocket fillers in the bed (in prep for my tonneau that is on it's way).

 

[BowDown]

I'm not claiming you're wrong (in fact, you're probably right)... But there's one thing that doesn't appear to be included in your thinking: residual value.

The ED costs more up front, but it retains some of that value a handful of years later when you sell the truck. This will effectively reduce the cost of the ED option and then your fuel savings will break even sooner than you suggest.

I still think the ED is a choice that works for only the "right" person and situation. My original comment was more of an emotional comment to give credit to the post i replied to (he's happy with his mpg, and I'm glad he's enjoying his truck) and to express my current disappointment with my mpg. I'm coming from an f150 3.5 ecoboost.... I was used to plenty of power and reasonable mpg. This will take some time to get used to (5mpg lower is a substantial difference, especially considering I didn't gain a huge power increase for that cost). In know there are lots of ecoboost vs hemi posts too, and many hemi guys knock on the little boosted motors and ecoboost drivers... But those ecoboosts clearly perform well for many people and I don't think they are going away any time soon (until everything is electric or hydrogen).

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Plenty of posts about it and I know I provided in-depth analysis but there is really only a few very specific circumstances where an ED MIGHT make sense. It costs $3K more than the eTorque HEMI and $3200 more than the non-eTorque. Diesel fuel (in most cases) is more expensive as is the maintenance (oil changes, DEF, etc.). I always love when people think they love that they're "saving" money on fuel when they look at their MPG but ignore the up front cost difference, interest (if not paying in full with cash), increased maintenance etc. I drive 20K a year and I would have never broken even with an ED so it was an easy choice to make. Enjoy your truck!

I think it depends on how well you bought. When I was looking for a Limited (March-July 2020), dealers had ED coming out of their butts. I could buy an ED for the same or less than the same Limited L1 ET 5.7. I regularly saw Limited L1 ED's around $48-53K March, and priced better than 5.7 ET L1 Limited thereafter.

 

[StraightArrow]

Had a bed liner sprayed in... My bed was scratched to hell after only a month!!


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[SilverNight2020]

Nothing like an early morning Luyed reverse lights install. This probably should have take an hour or so to install, but I gave myself a few issues due to my own stupidity. So three hours and a lot of not so nice words to myself later, I finally finished the install. Night and day difference!

 

[Scram1500]

Purchased my first WIX oil filter (well for the RAM anyways). Couldn't wait for a cool down and did a hot oil change. I won't be doing that ever again

Also replaced the OEM rear shocks with Bilstein 4600's, eliminating the rear end wiggle. The combination of the 2" rear lowering springs, Hellwig sway bar, Core 4x4 end links, and Bilsteins truly makes the truck feel like a giant sedan