What's Your RAM story?

[HSKR R/T]

Hopefully you can get your pants back.

He never had them in the first place by wanting a Taco

 

[Ramroo]

He never had them in the first place by wanting a Taco

Sucks driving with an apron on I bet

 

[Grimgreg]

After 30 years of used vehicles, my Ram is my first new vehicle. I never wanted to be stuck with a car payment, and until now, I hadn't ever been able to save enough to buy new at the time I needed to replace my vehicle. My last truck, an 03 Nissan Frontier, was a great work truck. I bought it used in 2012 with 165k on it and sold it the day I picked up the Ram with 195k and for $1000 less than I paid for it 10 years ago. That was the norm for me, get a used vehicle of about 10 years old, fix all the issues, and use it for a few years until a major issue would present itself.
The Ram is also my first full size, I had a quite a few mini trucks and truck based SUVs in the past. I pushed their limits on hauling many times, and I didn't want to deal with that again. Also, while my Frontier was a Crew Cab, it was tight, with my driver seat in my norm (6'3" guy), there was about 3" between seat back and back seat bottom. So when looking, I was sold on the spacious Crew Cab on the Ram.
I do a good bit of off pavement activities, so I wanted all the goodies for doing that. I looked at the Power Wagon, TRX, and Rebel but didn't like the price that goes with them, not to mention the low mpg of the TRX. I remembered a TFL Truck segment at an auto show where they introduced the Back Country package, so I started looking into that. It is honestly the perfect package for me, all the right equipment and capabilities, with no superfluous crap.
Given how I kept my used vehicles, I plan to have this truck at least 20 years. In about 10 years I'll be in need of an HD but will probably keep this one also when that time comes. Very happy with my first new vehicle, and first Ram.

 

[Islander]

My wife and I lived in Canada for 48 years and always owned Toyotas, 4Runners mostly for their reliability, and they have always been good to me. Never owned a pickup truck.

8 years ago we moved to the Turks & Caicos Islands. In 2017 Hurricane Irma hit us as a Cat 5 and did an incredible amount of damage to the country. We spent weeks cutting down trees, removing debris, fixing roofs etc all of which meant hauling tons of materials, gear and debris in the back of our 4Runners...and made quite a mess of them in the process.

It was 5 years ago that I decided I wanted a pickup and I decided two things...it had to be American...and it had to Be a RAM!!!

I am so excited about getting my first RAM in the next few weeks

 

[BlueMoose]

I had a crush on Rick Simon and I loved his Power Wagon on "Simon & Simon" in the mid-80s. (Do I need to clarify that I'm a woman, since most folks on this forum are men? ), but when I started wanting a pickup truck, I realized I didn't need all the muscle of a Power Wagon. I still loved the look of the Ram, though. And after test driving a Ford, a Chevy, and a Ram all on the same day, I knew I wanted the Ram. Then it was just a matter of finding one with the options I wanted.

 

[Svt40]

Short story.

I owned a 2004 F150 since 2005. Never had any issues other than normal wear and tear. But at 17 years old it was getting a bit weary and began to have a hard time towing my 1942 jeep to events. Who knew it only had 235hp when it was new.

Fast forward to 2020 and I'm in the market for a new F150. I went to seven different Ford dealers within about 100 miles of me and out of all of them only one salesperson came out to speak with me. He basically told me no way he could get me the truck I wanted any time soon.

Fast forward another six months of checking in with Ford dealers I gave up and started looking at other trucks. I did not even think of Ram because all I ever saw were 4th gens and did not like the way they looked. But on the Ram website I found the 5th gen and thought "damn that's nice". So I went to two Ram dealers. The first had a white sport Laramie with the 8 inch screen. The small screen and the polished wheels were a turn off for me. The next dealer had the Laramie I wanted but could not swing the price. So I got a LoneStar silver night edition that had everything I wanted except the LED lights.

 

[Richard320]

My Jeep Cherokee was getting pretty tired with 270,000 miles on it and I hesitated to take it out of the county. My Wrangler is too loud (soft top) and too small for long trips. Thus the wife's Camry was our camping rig. That was getting old and hauling stuff like bulk compost in the cars was also no fun. I wanted a pickup again. I owned three in the past. Anyway I waited and waited and waited for years for the Jeep concept truck to finally go into production.

When the Gladiator appeared, I hated it. The bed's too small for anything and I really don't need 4 doors. And the amount of money they want!! So there's part one.

Part two was my mother dying and me inheriting a quarter of a house in Silicon Valley. So I knew I'd be able to afford a new truck as soon as the legal business wrapped up. I can't justify a 3/4 or 1 ton. I don't much care for Fords. The GMs were ugly. I used to work at Toyota and I developed a strong aversion to Tundras. They were too big for the racks most of us had so fit meant hauling tools all over to do any work and losing a bunch of time and money. I just hate those trucks with a vengeance to this day. Which didn't leave me with many choices.

Part three: My brother bought a Ram. As is his usual M.O., he went down the street from dealer to dealer asking, "What is the absolute cheapest new pickup you have on the lot?" He ended up with a Classic Tradesman and the only option was silver paint instead of white. But it's a pretty decent truck and I've always been sort of partial to Mopar after driving a 383 Sport Fury in high school, and a few Jeeps.

So the house was sold and I was just waiting for everything to clear and get my money. I checked online and a Tacoma was almost as much as a Ram 1500 and the mileage was not much better. For that kind of money, I wanted a V8. I stopped at the local Ram dealer one afternoon to inquire how one goes about ordering exactly what he wants. The salesman knew next to nothing, and he was full of nonsense like "you can order ram boxes on any truck." Do I need to place a deposit? No idea. When's the deadline to order this model year? No idea. The guy who might have known was really interested in buying the Wrangler I drove up in and not so much in answering questions. When he found out I wasn't interested in buying off the lot, he got busy on the phone and ignored me. But I didn't have the money yet, anyway, so I grabbed a brochure and left.

A month later Ram announced a huge sale. 25% of MSRP on any in-stock Ram. No more fantasizing with options. It was time to get serious. There was a lot of inventory in Southern California at the time. Over 9,000 1500s within 200 miles of me. So it was just a matter of finding The One. First cut: 4X4, small cab, long bed. That reduced it to under 1000. V8. White. Trailer package. Factory skid plates. I forget what all. I narrowed it to two; neither had the 33 gallon tank; both came with some other stuff I didn't care about, but we're still talking 25% off. One had eTorque and I was wary of the all new technology. In hindsight, probably a mistake. But oh, well. If the other had been sold, I might be driving an eTorque. We moved some money around temporarily and went to the dealer 30 miles away and bought it cash. No haggling. A couple weeks later I got my inheritance and repaid the retirement account.

 

[New1500customram]

Brand loyalty

im 47, never registered or owned any other brand besides chrysler. I go back to the k car days. Had to buy my 2022 cause i rolled my 2005 reg cab short box. Came away without a bruise or scratch, was warned how sore id be the coming days, didnt have any soreness. I loved that truck, RIP

Oh you just bought up a old memory! The k car. I had a two tone dark blue bottom and light blue top half with the dark blue cloth roof. I drove this car in high school and it felt like i was driving paps car to school everyday. It was a nice car for me at the time, until i turned on the ac the power loss was crazy. I would shut off the ac going up hills.

 

[31RamIt]

My family has been a Dodge/Ram family my whole life. My dad had a '96 1500 with the 5.9 Magnum engine. It was a Laramie SLT 4x4. It was a beast. Handled everything we threw at her. Up mountains, through the snow, hauling a big 5th wheel it had no business hauling. It handled it all.

He then bought a 2006 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins. It was granite gray with a quad cab. We went from a two door club cab to a 4-door diesel monster. All of a sudden the 5th wheel ain't no thing and my 16th birthday comes around. Dad hands me the keys to the '96.

I had that truck through high school and drove it college. I cut the exhaust, added a headache rack, plasti-dipped to my heart's content.

Graduated college and the girl dragged me out to California from Colorado. Took the '96 for the whole drive. Got halfway and one of the wheels came loose. Turns out I didn't tighten the lug nuts right. Nothing broken, roadside fix and we were back at it.

Made it here and the '96 started showing her age. Vacuum leak here, rattle there.. only thing that never had an issue was the dashboard never cracked. Eventually my wife told me it was time to get a new truck. So I went out and bought a 2016 1500 Sport. It was black with chrome accents and had the bells and whistles. I kept the '96 around for some fun times, but eventually the apartment complex started hitting me with notices of no parking permit. Figured it was time to sell her and got a couple grand.

Drove the '16 on a lease for three years. That was a fun truck. Never modified anything, but it sure was nice.

End of my lease comes and I turn it in. I was motorcycle only to save money and we eventually bought our own house. I now had a place for my '96 so I tracked down the guy I sold it to. It had been 3 years, but I took a shot. He sold it after a year to someone else. He gave me the name and my wife found the guy on Facebook. She took another shot and asked if he would be interested in selling it.

What do you know? He was going to sell it that week and I said, "I'll take it." After 3 long years I finally had my baby back. When I picked her up, she was a different girl. The windows were tinted, the stereo was replaced, and the bed had a spray-in liner. Bought her for $1000 which meant I came out on top with an upgraded truck.

I ended up dropping a screw down the intake when I was replacing a leaking plenum gasket. Started her up and thought I threw a rod. Pulled the engine and tore it down. Rebuilt the engine with stronger parts and she was back on the road.

We decided to buy a travel trailer and went out to Utah to get it. We were driving back and one of my spark plug wires melted through in the middle of nowhere. Called up a Napa 30 miles away and that guy drove spark plug wires all the way out to me. Made it home with our brand new trailer.

Eventually I wanted to upgrade. So I bought my 2021 last February. She's everything I could ask for from a truck. I knew I didn't need the '96 anymore and got tired of watching her gather dust in my driveway. So, I listed her for sale again.

Guy hit me up and said he loved 2nd gen Rams. I was sold. He test drove it and said it was one of the best he'd been in. Checked the dash and was astonished it wasn't cracked. It was his 6th 2nd gen Ram so I knew she was in good hands. Gave me $2,200 for her and I watched her drive away.

That brings us to now. My 2021 is my baby and she has emptied my wallet much to my wife's dismay.

 

[Trykonkid11]

My journey started when my parents bought an 89 Ramcharger in 1990, and 8 years later they would sell it to me for $2,500. Like every young man would do, I put on a 4” lift with 33x12.5. It was my prize, I had cut out and replaced the cab corner and had a new paint job. Had it all through high school and into my 2nd year of college. It was not a commuter as my drive to school was over 300 miles. It was a solid truck, but I would down size to an 04’ Dakota 6cyl manual. Had that until graduation, got a full time job (while I waited for the job I really wanted). Traded the Dakota in, bought an 06 Silver 1500 Quad Cab. Started to make the family, Quad cab didn’t work, traded for a 11 Ram 1500 in some sort of brown color. Decided I hated the color traded for a 14 ram Big Horn. A truck I absolutely loved that truck. It was garage kept. Well with time and promotions, I just traded my 14 in with 26k miles on it for a 22 Laramie Sport Rocky Ridge, which is by far the most beautiful thing I’ve ever saw lol. Expensive, yes but was given 38k on my trade and paid 73k for the RR. (For a truck I paid 42k for in 2014 CRAZY). I got it in January and waiting for winter to be over here so I can drive it. My hunting truck was a 98 Jeep Cherokee, now it’s an 05 Dakota with over 200k, which doesn’t get driven due to getting a company truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gary1243]

I had a crush on Rick Simon and I loved his Power Wagon on "Simon & Simon" in the mid-80s. (Do I need to clarify that I'm a woman, since most folks on this forum are men? ), but when I started wanting a pickup truck, I realized I didn't need all the muscle of a Power Wagon. I still loved the look of the Ram, though. And after test driving a Ford, a Chevy, and a Ram all on the same day, I knew I wanted the Ram. Then it was just a matter of finding one with the options I wanted.

I forgot about that show! I guess there were/are alot of shows and movies that brought certain vehicles to the fore front. I hadn’t even thought of that. Now I’m thinking of bullet, starsky and hutch, dukes of hazard, magnum pi. Whoa. I need to turn my nostalgia machine off

 

[Gary1243]

My Jeep Cherokee was getting pretty tired with 270,000 miles on it and I hesitated to take it out of the county. My Wrangler is too loud (soft top) and too small for long trips. Thus the wife's Camry was our camping rig. That was getting old and hauling stuff like bulk compost in the cars was also no fun. I wanted a pickup again. I owned three in the past. Anyway I waited and waited and waited for years for the Jeep concept truck to finally go into production.
View attachment 124352
When the Gladiator appeared, I hated it. The bed's too small for anything and I really don't need 4 doors. And the amount of money they want!! So there's part one.

Part two was my mother dying and me inheriting a quarter of a house in Silicon Valley. So I knew I'd be able to afford a new truck as soon as the legal business wrapped up. I can't justify a 3/4 or 1 ton. I don't much care for Fords. The GMs were ugly. I used to work at Toyota and I developed a strong aversion to Tundras. They were too big for the racks most of us had so fit meant hauling tools all over to do any work and losing a bunch of time and money. I just hate those trucks with a vengeance to this day. Which didn't leave me with many choices.

Part three: My brother bought a Ram. As is his usual M.O., he went down the street from dealer to dealer asking, "What is the absolute cheapest new pickup you have on the lot?" He ended up with a Classic Tradesman and the only option was silver paint instead of white. But it's a pretty decent truck and I've always been sort of partial to Mopar after driving a 383 Sport Fury in high school, and a few Jeeps.

So the house was sold and I was just waiting for everything to clear and get my money. I checked online and a Tacoma was almost as much as a Ram 1500 and the mileage was not much better. For that kind of money, I wanted a V8. I stopped at the local Ram dealer one afternoon to inquire how one goes about ordering exactly what he wants. The salesman knew next to nothing, and he was full of nonsense like "you can order ram boxes on any truck." Do I need to place a deposit? No idea. When's the deadline to order this model year? No idea. The guy who might have known was really interested in buying the Wrangler I drove up in and not so much in answering questions. When he found out I wasn't interested in buying off the lot, he got busy on the phone and ignored me. But I didn't have the money yet, anyway, so I grabbed a brochure and left.

A month later Ram announced a huge sale. 25% of MSRP on any in-stock Ram. No more fantasizing with options. It was time to get serious. There was a lot of inventory in Southern California at the time. Over 9,000 1500s within 200 miles of me. So it was just a matter of finding The One. First cut: 4X4, small cab, long bed. That reduced it to under 1000. V8. White. Trailer package. Factory skid plates. I forget what all. I narrowed it to two; neither had the 33 gallon tank; both came with some other stuff I didn't care about, but we're still talking 25% off. One had eTorque and I was wary of the all new technology. In hindsight, probably a mistake. But oh, well. If the other had been sold, I might be driving an eTorque. We moved some money around temporarily and went to the dealer 30 miles away and bought it cash. No haggling. A couple weeks later I got my inheritance and repaid the retirement account.

Your story made me smile. Your tag of Peoples Republic of California made me laugh. I have two daughters and a bunch of grandkids down in the LA area so the place I swore I would never go, I now go to all the time.

 

[Gary1243]

My family has been a Dodge/Ram family my whole life. My dad had a '96 1500 with the 5.9 Magnum engine. It was a Laramie SLT 4x4. It was a beast. Handled everything we threw at her. Up mountains, through the snow, hauling a big 5th wheel it had no business hauling. It handled it all.

He then bought a 2006 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins. It was granite gray with a quad cab. We went from a two door club cab to a 4-door diesel monster. All of a sudden the 5th wheel ain't no thing and my 16th birthday comes around. Dad hands me the keys to the '96.

I had that truck through high school and drove it college. I cut the exhaust, added a headache rack, plasti-dipped to my heart's content.

Graduated college and the girl dragged me out to California from Colorado. Took the '96 for the whole drive. Got halfway and one of the wheels came loose. Turns out I didn't tighten the lug nuts right. Nothing broken, roadside fix and we were back at it.

Made it here and the '96 started showing her age. Vacuum leak here, rattle there.. only thing that never had an issue was the dashboard never cracked. Eventually my wife told me it was time to get a new truck. So I went out and bought a 2016 1500 Sport. It was black with chrome accents and had the bells and whistles. I kept the '96 around for some fun times, but eventually the apartment complex started hitting me with notices of no parking permit. Figured it was time to sell her and got a couple grand.

Drove the '16 on a lease for three years. That was a fun truck. Never modified anything, but it sure was nice.

End of my lease comes and I turn it in. I was motorcycle only to save money and we eventually bought our own house. I now had a place for my '96 so I tracked down the guy I sold it to. It had been 3 years, but I took a shot. He sold it after a year to someone else. He gave me the name and my wife found the guy on Facebook. She took another shot and asked if he would be interested in selling it.

What do you know? He was going to sell it that week and I said, "I'll take it." After 3 long years I finally had my baby back. When I picked her up, she was a different girl. The windows were tinted, the stereo was replaced, and the bed had a spray-in liner. Bought her for $1000 which meant I came out on top with an upgraded truck.

I ended up dropping a screw down the intake when I was replacing a leaking plenum gasket. Started her up and thought I threw a rod. Pulled the engine and tore it down. Rebuilt the engine with stronger parts and she was back on the road.

We decided to buy a travel trailer and went out to Utah to get it. We were driving back and one of my spark plug wires melted through in the middle of nowhere. Called up a Napa 30 miles away and that guy drove spark plug wires all the way out to me. Made it home with our brand new trailer.

Eventually I wanted to upgrade. So I bought my 2021 last February. She's everything I could ask for from a truck. I knew I didn't need the '96 anymore and got tired of watching her gather dust in my driveway. So, I listed her for sale again.

Guy hit me up and said he loved 2nd gen Rams. I was sold. He test drove it and said it was one of the best he'd been in. Checked the dash and was astonished it wasn't cracked. It was his 6th 2nd gen Ram so I knew she was in good hands. Gave me $2,200 for her and I watched her drive away.

That brings us to now. My 2021 is my baby and she has emptied my wallet much to my wife's dismay.

All because your dad through you the keys to his old truck……….Great story. Great Dad!

 

[Gary1243]

My journey started when my parents bought an 89 Ramcharger in 1990, and 8 years later they would sell it to me for $2,500. Like every young man would do, I put on a 4” lift with 33x12.5. It was my prize, I had cut out and replaced the cab corner and had a new paint job. Had it all through high school and into my 2nd year of college. It was not a commuter as my drive to school was over 300 miles. It was a solid truck, but I would down size to an 04’ Dakota 6cyl manual. Had that until graduation, got a full time job (while I waited for the job I really wanted). Traded the Dakota in, bought an 06 Silver 1500 Quad Cab. Started to make the family, Quad cab didn’t work, traded for a 11 Ram 1500 in some sort of brown color. Decided I hated the color traded for a 14 ram Big Horn. A truck I absolutely loved that truck. It was garage kept. Well with time and promotions, I just traded my 14 in with 26k miles on it for a 22 Laramie Sport Rocky Ridge, which is by far the most beautiful thing I’ve ever saw lol. Expensive, yes but was given 38k on my trade and paid 73k for the RR. (For a truck I paid 42k for in 2014 CRAZY). I got it in January and waiting for winter to be over here so I can drive it. My hunting truck was a 98 Jeep Cherokee, now it’s an 05 Dakota with over 200k, which doesn’t get driven due to getting a company truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shows you what I know. I had never heard of a rocky ridge ram. Had to look it up. That is a nice looking rig. Enjoyed the story.

 

[eerattler]

My first car was actually a 1988 YJ Wrangler with 36" Mud tires. I got it in 1998 from my Mom (who never took it off road at all) with only 30k miles on it. I was a Jeep guy ever since eventually graduating to a WJ and WK Jeep Grand Cherokees. When my family moved to Seattle, WA, I downsized from the Grand Cherokee to a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk. I loved that Jeep but the cargo space and back seat space was limited. As my kid started to grow up and do sports, I found myself hauling more than groceries and camping gear. I considered a Ford or a Chevy, but that felt wrong. I'm a Mopar guy, and after doing my research I wasn't surprised that the Ram was the best truck! So I decided I was going to leave Jeep but stay in the family and got a RAM. Now it doesn't take me six trips to Home Depot for all my wife's gardening stuff!

 

[Wolverine]

Simple actually. Retired, wanted a truck, bought a used 2018 Ram, owned it for 14 months, traded it in for $6,000 more than I paid for a new Ram.

 

[Rlaf75]

I was a Nissan fan for a long time. The last Nissan I drove was a new 2005 Xterra which treated me really good for the 10 years and 150k miles I had it. I bought my first house and quickly outgrew the Xterra and was in the market for a pickup and wanted to go with something other than Japanese this time. I looked at all the full sized pickups, ford Chevy GMC ram and I liked the style of the ram the best. I wound up talking with a friend that is a sales lady for a local ram dealer. She took a 2011 Bighorn QC in as a trade. It was 4 years old one owner but with no miles on it so she gave me a call while that trade deal was still in the works. She held the truck for me for a few days and we made the deal and I drove it home. The 11 ram treated me great with absolutely zero issues for the 5 years I drove it. I happened to be scouring the internet late one night because I couldn't sleep and happened to stumble upon another local ram dealers website and saw they were taking delivery of a new 21 Built to Serve edition in Spitfire Orange so I got excited. I knew nothing about the Built to Serve package but I loved the color. The next morning I drove my 11 ram to the dealer to see about the 21 that the website said was "in transit" and the truck happened to be sitting on the lot. The salesman didnt know the truck was there because it wasnt there when they left the previous night so he said it had to be an after hours delivery as that happens sometimes. I fell in love with it and they gave me decent price for my 11 and we made the deal. I hated to see my 11 go because it was still a great truck but the 21 was just so enticing to me I couldn't walk away.

 

[eerattler]

I was a Nissan fan for a long time. The last Nissan I drove was a new 2005 Xterra which treated me really good for the 10 years and 150k miles I had it. I bought my first house and quickly outgrew the Xterra and was in the market for a pickup and wanted to go with something other than Japanese this time. I looked at all the full sized pickups, ford Chevy GMC ram and I liked the style of the ram the best. I wound up talking with a friend that is a sales lady for a local ram dealer. She took a 2011 Bighorn QC in as a trade. It was 4 years old one owner but with no miles on it so she gave me a call while that trade deal was still in the works. She held the truck for me for a few days and we made the deal and I drove it home. The 11 ram treated me great with absolutely zero issues for the 5 years I drove it. I happened to be scouring the internet late one night because I couldn't sleep and happened to stumble upon another local ram dealers website and saw they were taking delivery of a new 21 Built to Serve edition in Spitfire Orange so I got excited. I knew nothing about the Built to Serve package but I loved the color. The next morning I drove my 11 ram to the dealer to see about the 21 that the website said was "in transit" and the truck happened to be sitting on the lot. The salesman didnt know the truck was there because it wasnt there when they left the previous night so he said it had to be an after hours delivery as that happens sometimes. I fell in love with it and they gave me decent price for my 11 and we made the deal. I hated to see my 11 go because it was still a great truck but the 21 was just so enticing to me I couldn't walk away. View attachment 124368

That's a good looking truck

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I wanted a truck. I ordered a truck. I took delivery of a truck.

Thank you for reading my story.

 

[31RamIt]

I wanted a truck. I ordered a truck. I took delivery of a truck.

Thank you for reading my story.

Paid for the whole seat, but only needed the edge. Riveting.