What's the word on the 2012 Ram?

[jcmseven]

I have been looking a little at a new truck. I probably am going to wait and see what GMC comes out with in its new style 2500 slated for release later next year, but in the interim have been looking around as any good truck enthusiast would. I have been very satisfied with my GMC and at 77,000 miles it is running well. The only issue I have with it is the smallish back seat relative to its crew cab layout. We would really like to take our truck on long trips but the back seat is tight with regard to floor and leg room, even for our small children (they have a lot of stuff). This generally means we take my wife's Acura on the long trips and though we have not had it one year, it already has 38,000 miles on it. I have been looking at these Ram 2500 Megacab diesels and they look nice. I really like that Longhorn trim, though I am not not too keen on those seats. They seem to have monstrous room in the back with way more interior storage than my current 2500. I have never really considered looking at a Ram truck but it seems that vehicle may be one that merits a look. I suppose my chief concern is that I am not considering a truck that has issues or areas of performance or durability concern. I would appreciate any input from our ranks who have experience with these trucks. I am nowhere near making a decision but probably would not even go drive one unless it is felt a worthwhile investigation.

John M

 

[shortthrow50]

i have a 2011 crew cab cummins diesel ram. The back seat is as big as a regular suv. Mega crew cab is huge. I dont know what else to tell ya buddy. I have owned 3 brand new rams in the past 10 years and never had anything catastrophic go bad and nothing go bad outside of warranty. I have 10 year 100k mile bumper to bumper warranty for extra 1500 bucks on the 2011. The cummins diesel is tried and true. I stand by cummins not becuase of dodge but becuase we used them in our peterbilt trucks back when my parents had the trash bussiness years back. Your gonna get dodge haters that will trash the truck but the same will happen if you mention a ford or a chevy. Fords new diesel is a mystery motor to me and everyone else. International is no longer making power stroke. Im not saying that becuase im a ford hater. I always have a mustang in my garage no matter what year it is. The fact of the matter is, ford built their own in house diesel and it isnt tried and true and already having issues

 

[Dmace]

As far as room is concerned, RAM has two regular four door options as well as the Mega Cab. The Quad Cab has smaller rear doors than the fronts with less leg room compared to the Crew Cab which has four full sized doors with more leg room in the rear. The Mega Cab is a Crew Cab long bed truck with a short bed on it which allows an extra 18" behind the rear seats for storage. Also, the rear seats can recline, very nice!

The old Mega Cabs were RAM 1500's with the HEMI the only engine choice and 3/4 ton suspension. Now the Mega Cab is available in 2500 or 3500 with HEMI or CUMMINS and even in a dually setup.

Long time proven engines and transmissions, all new interiors, all the standard and optional equipment as the others and typically 5-10% cheaper. You really can't go wrong with the RAM.

I too am anxiously awaiting what GM has in store for model year 2013. Ford wont be on my short list until their new gas and diesel engines prove themselves and they change that ugly front end.

 

[tlbuser]

I too am anxiously awaiting what GM has in store for model year 2013. Ford wont be on my short list until their new gas and diesel engines prove themselves and they change that ugly front end.

Just can't resist poking the bear ?

 

[wmonroe]

One thing to consider is Ram is doing a mild redesign for 2013 (similair to the 05-06 redesign) and they are also bumping the hp to 395/800 and going to urea. The mega cab has an unblievable amount of room in the cab but the regular crew cab also has plenty of room if you need the long bed. I am a Dodge/Cummins fan myself as i've had 3 Dodges (2 Cummins), my dad has 1 cummins and had 4 Rams, my brother has a Cummins and have had no trouble out of any of them other than standard maintenance.
Drive them all and see which one fits you best, all the trucks will serve you fine and they all have strengths and weaknesses.

 

[jcmseven]

From what I've heard they offer good resale. I usually will start looking around 70-90 k miles on my current ride, though I occasionally keep longer. I have had no service issues from my gmc, and it has been the best truck I have owned. In my preliminary research I noted that the ram looked nice and had some features and room mine does not. We had visions of taking mine on long trips, etc. But it really offers the room of a large super cab rather than a crew prompting this inquiry. I jet am not familiar with the ram brand and whether it offers similar diesel performance and reliability as I cannot afford to have my truck out of service.

John m

 

[Diamondpilot]

I like the new Ram and love the Mega Cab but do not care for the head lights/front end looks. I like the last model much better. I also wish they would put the Asian tranny in them. If they did fix the front end and put the better tranny in that they do on the Cab and Chassis models I would be a buyer. Another issue for me is I believe they dropped the 3500 SRW and dont offer a GVWR high enough for me in a 2500 to do what I want. I am not a dually man, been there done that with a work issued GMC 3500 and hated it. I love my 06 F-350 SRW with the HD 11,500# GVWR that will do what most duallys will.

As for GM they are pitiful as room goes like you said. My 2007 F-150 Super Crew had more room than my 2005 GMC 3500 Dmax Crew cab and the new F-150's like my dad 2011 Eco Boost is even bigger yet.

I always said the GM trucks were 3/4 of the trucks that Ford and Dodge were. Talking size here.:thumbsup:

If you look close at GM the 3/4 ton are the same as the 1/2 tons where Ford and Dodge use different ones.


Chris

 

[US American]

They are good trucks, as mentioned. With the extra weight of a mega cab I would go 3500. The 68rfe transmission has performed well and was beefed up a little more after its first few years. The Achilles heel of the setup is the emissions system, which eats a lot of fuel, dilutes the oil with diesel, and occasionally causes turbo problems. The mpgs are not there like the old 5.9 setups.

Most problems have been fixed or minimized. If you work them hard they seem to be more trouble free. Short trips and/or unloaded stop and go driving is what they don't like. If you change oil on schedule the fuel dilution should not be a problem.

 

[dodge man]

I recently bought a 2004 Quad Cab diesel and so far I love it. I also looked at a Mega Cab that had the hemi. It was a nice truck but for some reason the rest of the family didn't like the looks. Since I don't ride in the back, it didn't matter to me. The newer trucks look great and I think they have made a lot of minor improvments over the years. As far as the newer Cummins, I think they are good solid engines, although they have the emissions stuff. I'm no expert on the 6.7 so I'd do a lot of reading on the diesel forums, you will get the idea of the problem areas.

This is the forum I get the most info from. http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/

Just keep in mind, its like other forums, people don't post and say "everything is O.K.", they post when they have problems. After I bought my truck, I was running out and checking something every other day because I read about some problem area on my truck, but so far so good.

 

[jcmseven]

I drive a lot. About 35-40K per year, but much of my driving is unloaded. I like a diesel engined truck, though right now it is expensive to operate. I have found I get better residual value out of a diesel as my trucks when sold or traded typically are low year, higher mileage trucks that are well-maintained. In this case I have felt as though I have gotten a higher percentage value than I would have with a high mileage gas motor. I want to be clear; I love my truck. It has been flawless. I take exceptional care of my equipment though which likely contributes to the good service I get. I bought my truck in no small part due to the excellent service manager that worked at my dealership, but he has moved away for family reasons and is no longer at that dealership. For this reason, I no longer feel the emotional tie to them as I have prior. There are many features about my GMC I really like but we take fairly frequent trips (most recently to St Simons, GA) and it is very challenging to put our gear, toys, movies, dolls, bikes, bags and occasionally motorized toys in my current truck without our feeling like being sardines in a can. My wife's car is an Acura MDX, which is not that large either, so between the two we do not have a car that can really meet the demands of us and the kids. This is not to mention that when I pull, which is rare, I can pull some weight making a 3/4 truck of some additional benefit. My main concern is that I trade a good truck which I like but is a little small in some areas I need more room for a bigger cabbed truck that gives trouble and has less-good resale and I would not want to make that mistake. Whether I decide to get another GMC in 2014 or a Dodge in 2012 I likely will be getting something else in 2015-2017 assuming I am alive and have the money, and the Mayan universe has not caused the end of us all.

John M