Ram 25 Hemi

[deerefan]

Planning to replace my 2015 Silverado 2500 6.0 within the next year or so. I have narrowed my search down to a Ram with the 6.4 Hemi. I would like some opinions on it if possible please. I have not completely ruled out Ford or Chevy, but it seems you get more for your dollar with Ram. Thoughts?

 

[nisaacs]

I can't help with the 6.4 but I had a '21, 2500, Cummins SO/6spd Tradesman 10k GVW, with coil springs and add on air bags. It was a quality truck with 50k miles on it when I traded it.

I now have a '25, 2500, Cummins HO/8spd Bighorn 11040 GVW, with coil springs and add on air bags. Only 11k miles on it but seems to be another quality truck.

I really like the interior/exterior of the 4th gen Rams. The 2500 rides and drives great. With the sway bars front and rear and track bars front and rear, it corners like it is on a rail, loaded or empty. If you have any specific questions I will try and answer them.

Look closely, because they are almost identical, first picture is the '21, 2nd is the '25.

 

[deerefan]

I can't help with the 6.4 but I had a '21, 2500, Cummins SO/6spd Tradesman 10k GVW, with coil springs and add on air bags. It was a quality truck with 50k miles on it when I traded it.

I now have a '25, 2500, Cummins HO/8spd Bighorn 11040 GVW, with coil springs and add on air bags. Only 11k miles on it but seems to be another quality truck.

I really like the interior/exterior of the 4th gen Rams. The 2500 rides and drives great. With the sway bars front and rear and track bars front and rear, it corners like it is on a rail, loaded or empty. If you have any specific questions I will try and answer them.

Look closely, because they are almost identical, first picture is the '21, 2nd is the '25.

View attachment 5249124View attachment 5249125

I had an 18 with a Cummins that I regretfully traded when my towing needs changed. It was a very capable truck.

 

[dieselscout80]

I’m driving a 2020 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 gas engine with 4.10 axle gears and I really like it.

It pulls great and gets good MPG for a HD pickup.

I highly recommend getting one with the 4.10 axle ratio. I can get 18 mpg on the highway if I control my skinny pedal appropriately.

I’m getting close to 100k miles and my only repair was replacing the thermostat as it wasn’t closing.

I will say if you are looking to pull a larger fifth wheel trailer I would recommend a 3500. The Ram 2500’s have a coil or air spring rear suspension. The air spring setup I have no experience with but have heard of a few issues.

My truck has coil springs in the rear and it seems like it has more sway with higher center of gravity loads than previous leaf springs trucks. People sometimes add rear air bags plumbing them separately and that helps with swaying.

I wouldn’t be concerned about a gooseneck equipment trailer even loaded with hay.

Yes I like and recommend my 6.4 Hemi Ram 2500.

 

[Tinhack]

I have narrowed my search down to a Ram with the 6.4 Hemi.

I hope you don't drive it like the typical Ram Driver. They're worse than Tesla Drivers for thinking they own the road. On my last trip to the big city, I happened by both. I hope Stellantis goes out of business and Tesla switches to robots.

 

[Hay Dude]

Ummmm, alrighty then.

I am also a highly satisfied Ram owner. Back in 2020, I was originally sold on Ram over Ford & GM for 4 primary reasons.

1. Cheaper-more features for less money
2. Higher towing rating (GCWR)
3. Much Longer warranty that covered entire powertrain, not just engine.
4. Cummins engine-only medium duty and also offered as an Ag tractor engine.

Suggestion: See if you can find a low miles used Cummins. Maybe a ‘22-‘25? It’ll be well discounted of the initial depreciation, and probably 25K cheaper than new.

I really like mine

 

[deerefan]

Ummmm, alrighty then.

I am also a highly satisfied Ram owner. Back in 2020, I was originally sold on Ram over Ford & GM for 4 primary reasons.

1. Cheaper-more features for less money
2. Higher towing rating (GCWR)
3. Much Longer warranty that covered entire powertrain, not just engine.
4. Cummins engine-only medium duty and also offered as an Ag tractor engine.

I am a huge Cummins fan for many reasons. The only reason I am not pursuing a Cummins for my first choice is our towing needs and frequency don’t require a diesel and our budget doesn’t support the additional upfront cost and out of warranty repairs. Hopefully a lot of the emission components eventually go away. Our family has been heavy agricultural for generations with the majority of our diesel equipment operated by Cummins. When things were at their peak, we had 2 Kenworth W900 with Cummins, a one ton Ram with a Cummins and a Case 850D bulldozer with a Cummins. Very little downtime with any of those. My wife and I are the only ones remaining that farm, albeit on a small scale, mainly hay. We will eventually move back into cattle but not in the next couple years.

 

[Snobdds]

What's up with the title?

 

[deerefan]

What's up with the title?

I have no clue. It does that for some reason from time to time when I submit a post from my phone.

 

[Hay Dude]

I am a huge Cummins fan for many reasons. The only reason I am not pursuing a Cummins for my first choice is our towing needs and frequency don’t require a diesel and our budget doesn’t support the additional upfront cost and out of warranty repairs. Hopefully a lot of the emission components eventually go away. Our family has been heavy agricultural for generations with the majority of our diesel equipment operated by Cummins. When things were at their peak, we had 2 Kenworth W900 with Cummins, a one ton Ram with a Cummins and a Case 850D bulldozer with a Cummins. Very little downtime with any of those. My wife and I are the only ones remaining that farm, albeit on a small scale, mainly hay. We will eventually move back into cattle but not in the next couple years.

10 year/100,000 mile warranty should keep you covered for a long, long time.
You can even extend it should you want to.
But yeah, I get it if you don’t tow, probably not worth it.

 

[sd455dan]

Nephew has a 2017 gas RAM, He used it to haul the 550 TLB for me. It pulled that load fine. ( probably over the 26K registration) especially after we saw the TLB ROPS label and added the trailers weight.

Hemi/ truck is about to break 100K miles, No issues at all so far AFAIK.

 

[steve2]

Planning to replace my 2015 Silverado 2500 6.0 within the next year or so. I have narrowed my search down to a Ram with the 6.4 Hemi. I would like some opinions on it if possible please. I have not completely ruled out Ford or Chevy, but it seems you get more for your dollar with Ram. Thoughts?

Go fotr it. I have 2017 tradesman 2500 with 6.4 hauling 10k gooseneck 2000 mile across country and back each year. At 89k miles no mechanical issues handles and tows the trailer well on cruise control at 65 all day long. Two caveats one I keep as close to OEM as possible with tires (street tires) as it handles trailer well and I don’t want to mess with success. It’s 4wd but with street tires you don’t have much traction on WV red clay mud. Two auto transmission shifts more frequently than Chevy and ford trying to catch best mileage I assume. It bothered me until I talked with a trusted mechanic who said to quit worrying about it set cruise and let it do its thing. I do have the trans serviced at regular intervals. This may or may not be an issue with the newer rams

 

[Too many Kubotas]

To me, if it has 4:10s it should be a good setup.

My girlfriend had a 3500 6.4 for a while and really liked it. It was primarily used to pull her gooseneck horse trailer and my main concern was the lack of an exhaust brake, which is quite helpful here in the Rockies. Well, she claimed it did just fine using downshifting as needed.

Full disclosure: She got Cummins again. And the reason she sold the prior one was frozen DEF.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I had a 2022 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 6.4L hemi

Last September I traded it in for a 2025 Ram 2500 Tradesman with the 6.7L HO Cummins.

I really liked the 6.4L and it handled most loads easily. I bought the gas engine because I was expecting to be doing less towing with it.

Last March I bought a GMC 1500 to do most of my 'running around' and after having that truck, and still towing more and heavier loads with the Ram 6.4L is when I decided to go back to a diesel.

I'm very happy with the 2025 2500 with the diesel now. I'm still pulling heavier loads and I feel it handles those loads a bit better than the gas did. And the 6.7L gets better fuel mileage than I expected. I get about 20-22 mpg when not towing anything.

If I had to start all over, I would probably go with the diesel over the gas. But, it is a $12,000 option and that is significant. One thing that helped me decide to buy the diesel is that the truck was well equipped for a Tradesman and it was $16,000 off of the $73,000 sticker price.

 

[deerefan]

I had a 2022 Ram 2500 Laramie with the 6.4L hemi

Last September I traded it in for a 2025 Ram 2500 Tradesman with the 6.7L HO Cummins.

I really liked the 6.4L and it handled most loads easily. I bought the gas engine because I was expecting to be doing less towing with it.

Last March I bought a GMC 1500 to do most of my 'running around' and after having that truck, and still towing more and heavier loads with the Ram 6.4L is when I decided to go back to a diesel.

I'm very happy with the 2025 2500 with the diesel now. I'm still pulling heavier loads and I feel it handles those loads a bit better than the gas did. And the 6.7L gets better fuel mileage than I expected. I get about 20-22 mpg when not towing anything.

If I had to start all over, I would probably go with the diesel over the gas. But, it is a $12,000 option and that is significant. One thing that helped me decide to buy the diesel is that the truck was well equipped for a Tradesman and it was $16,000 off of the $73,000 sticker price.

Thanks for sharing. I absolutely love the Cummins. The heaviest load I will pull is 10k max. I just like the way a 2500/3500 handles the weight.

 

[General Lee]

Cummins isn't what they used to be. They switched to hydraulic lifters in their engines and paired with all the emission crap, they are not as reliable as the old 5.9 cummins. 2019-2024 models have a grid heater instead of glow plugs and over time there are reports of a bolt rusting out in the grid heater and dropping into a cylinder. 2025+ they went back to glow plugs. And yes, I own a RAM

 

[General Lee]

Go fotr it. I have 2017 tradesman 2500 with 6.4 hauling 10k gooseneck 2000 mile across country and back each year. At 89k miles no mechanical issues handles and tows the trailer well on cruise control at 65 all day long. Two caveats one I keep as close to OEM as possible with tires (street tires) as it handles trailer well and I don’t want to mess with success. It’s 4wd but with street tires you don’t have much traction on WV red clay mud. Two auto transmission shifts more frequently than Chevy and ford trying to catch best mileage I assume. It bothered me until I talked with a trusted mechanic who said to quit worrying about it set cruise and let it do its thing. I do have the trans serviced at regular intervals. This may or may not be an issue with the newer rams

I can't stand the 6 speed in my 24' RAM Cummins. It wants to be in 6th gear doing 40mph lugging the engine. I'm constantly locking out 6th gear.

 

[deerefan]

Cummins isn't what they used to be. They switched to hydraulic lifters in their engines and paired with all the emission crap, they are not as reliable as the old 5.9 cummins. 2019-2024 models have a grid heater instead of spark plugs and over time there are reports of a bolt rusting out in the grid heater and dropping into a cylinder. 2025+ they went back to glow plugs. And yes, I own a RAM

I can’t speak to the newer ones. My most recent Cummins was an 18 model. We had a 5.9 in a 1 ton on the farm. Sold it to a brick layer with 345k on the clock. Original engine and manual transmission. Was on its second clutch.

 

[dodge man]

Cummins isn't what they used to be. They switched to hydraulic lifters in their engines and paired with all the emission crap, they are not as reliable as the old 5.9 cummins. 2019-2024 models have a grid heater instead of glow plugs and over time there are reports of a bolt rusting out in the grid heater and dropping into a cylinder. 2025+ they went back to glow plugs. And yes, I own a RAM

I think they had grid heaters going back a lot longer than 2019. My 2004 had a grid heater.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

2019-2024 models have a grid heater instead of glow plugs and over time there are reports of a bolt rusting out in the grid heater and dropping into a cylinder. 2025+ they went back to glow plugs.

As pointed out above, the grid heaters have been around for a while. Glow plugs have not.

Also, there's no issue with corrosion on the grid heater bolts. A loose connection at the isolator, sometimes caused by a stuck solenoid, melts the bolt and sometimes the nut and part of the bolt makes it into the number six cylinder.

The fix is quite simple: Disconnect the lead to the solenoid at the battery. With the grid heater inoperable the bolt can't melt.

Lastly, people are putting 400,000 to 500,000 on their roller lifter Cummins with no problems.