Ram trucks

[504RP]

I would like to buy a new tractor but between having to run DEF in these new model tractors and all of the electronics they have on them. I think I am going to stick with what I have now. They are old tractors but they don’t use DEF and aren’t loaded with electronics. I am getting too old to be investing in new tractors anyway. I really feel sorry for the younger generation of farmers. Farming of any kind is hard and expensive enough as it is without having to get equipment fixed that is loaded with electronics. Even the dealers who you buy the equipment from aren’t capable of repairing or working on the electronics that whatever type of machine you take to them to get fixed. Because they don’t know how to work on it themselves.

Watched a documentary where missionaries were trying to help people in Africa learn how to grow crops and farm. The missionaries was trying to find as many of the old 8 and 9N Ford tractors they could get their hands on to give to the people they were trying to help get them started farming. Because those were easy to work on tractors. If you were just a little bit mechanically inclined you could keep them running because they were simple peaces of equipment to repair and keep running. This day and time Equipment dealers don’t want you to be able to work on their products. They want you to have to bring the equipment you bought from them
So they can charge you to let them
fix them. Knowing what i know now. There’s no way I would get into farming for a living.

 

[Travlr]

I would like to buy a new tractor but between having to run DEF in these new model tractors and all of the electronics they have on them. I think I am going to stick with what I have now. They are old tractors but they don't use DEF and aren't loaded with electronics. I am getting too old to be investing in new tractors anyway. I really feel sorry for the younger generation of farmers. Farming of any kind is hard and expensive enough as it is without having to get equipment fixed that is loaded with electronics. Even the dealers who you buy the equipment from aren't capable of repairing or working on the electronics that whatever type of machine you take to them to get fixed. Because they don't know how to work on it themselves.

Watched a documentary where missionaries were trying to help people in Africa learn how to grow crops and farm. The missionaries was trying to find as many of the old 8 and 9N Ford tractors they could get their hands on to give to the people they were trying to help get them started farming. Because those were easy to work on tractors. If you were just a little bit mechanically inclined you could keep them running because they were simple peaces of equipment to repair and keep running. This day and time Equipment dealers don't want you to be able to work on their products. They want you to have to bring the equipment you bought from them
So they can charge you to let them
fix them. Knowing what i know now. There's no way I would get into farming for a living.

This needs to be SHOUTED from the rooftops. Equipment manufacturers think they have farmers over a barrel and are intent on sucking all the juice they can get. But sooner or later the **it will hit the fan and they will have cut their own throats.

 

[CowboyRam]

I would like to buy a new tractor but between having to run DEF in these new model tractors and all of the electronics they have on them. I think I am going to stick with what I have now. They are old tractors but they don't use DEF and aren't loaded with electronics. I am getting too old to be investing in new tractors anyway. I really feel sorry for the younger generation of farmers. Farming of any kind is hard and expensive enough as it is without having to get equipment fixed that is loaded with electronics. Even the dealers who you buy the equipment from aren't capable of repairing or working on the electronics that whatever type of machine you take to them to get fixed. Because they don't know how to work on it themselves.

Watched a documentary where missionaries were trying to help people in Africa learn how to grow crops and farm. The missionaries was trying to find as many of the old 8 and 9N Ford tractors they could get their hands on to give to the people they were trying to help get them started farming. Because those were easy to work on tractors. If you were just a little bit mechanically inclined you could keep them running because they were simple peaces of equipment to repair and keep running. This day and time Equipment dealers don't want you to be able to work on their products. They want you to have to bring the equipment you bought from them
So they can charge you to let them
fix them. Knowing what i know now. There's no way I would get into farming for a living.

Dad had trouble with our 6615 Massey. He didn't have much trouble with the left hand reverse, but he had trouble with running the three point. In order to get the three point to move after starting the tractor you had to press the neutral button twice and then the direction you want it to go. Dad would forget that after he turned off the tractor, it would reset to the default. I lost tract on how many times I would show him how to do it; I would ask if he had it and he would say yep, but no he didn't. You can also change gears and direction with the buttons on the joystick, but I never taught him how to us that; I was afraid I would muddy the water by doing that. Everything on the old Massey we had was all mechanical.

 

[crossbreed]

Not officially looking for another truck just yet, but we have been thinking about maybe before too long.
The first truck I had was an 1989 3/4 ton Dodge. It was described as riding as rough as a spring wagon, steering was loose. but I really liked that truck. It was used pretty hard and was hard working truck.
Traded it in for 1998 1/2 GMC which had plenty of problems. Then a 2006 1/2 ton Chevrolet which has been a good truck, but it's probably ready to change hands. then we got a 3/4 ton 2018 Chevrolet. It's been a good truck, but it's just an extended cab and even though there's plenty of room in the front the seats are just not very comfortable on a long trip, and if anybody is in the back it's an ordeal to get in and out of and really cramped up once in it, and I'm not very tall and long legged.
I've been seeing where Ram is getting good reviews for improving their ride comfort.
I've never had a diesel truck before, but a 3/4 ton Ram Cummins diesel seems interesting to me.
What are y'all's thoughts on Rams both diesels or gasoline?
I've always been kind of partial to Chevrolets but at the same time I've always missed that old Dodge, I'm open to any of the 3. With the plan to move soon the road situation might be a mite rougher there than here so I'm kind of wondering which should hold up the best.

Had a 2014 3/4 ton hemi and it was a very good truck. Hemi had plenty of power on flat land for our 33’ 5th wheel camper and 23’ cattle trailer. Hills though just killed it (and the mileage). Traded for a 2018 with the Cummins and it was a game changer. Power and mileage is incredible. The 14 had leaf springs and was rough as heck. The 18 went to coils and ride improved dramatically. Pulling our now 37’ camper I get 10-12 mpg and empty around 19. Just took a trip to Galveston empty and got 23+ rolling 80 for 5 hours. The dodge isn’t as pretty as the ford or Chevy, but 7-10 grand cheaper also. Very satisfied with ours

 

[simme]

My son has a 2018 Ram 3500 diesel that has never given any trouble. He pulls a 30' gooseneck with equipment and supplies for his fencing business.
My daughter had a 2014 2500 with the 5.7 gas engine. Never had any engine or transmission work done. Was still going strong at 275k miles when it was destroyed in her house fire.
No complaints on either one.

 

[bvf]

i think yall been smelling too much ram ammonia, ram dung,
do some scientific research, or just go to marketplace, read the repair list on the 3500's.
to me it seems that a dodge {got 3 i think opps 4) need a trust fund just to keep them in the road. most will have the front end, the transfer case, transmission, water pump, radiator, steering box, tie rods, clutch dash, rear-end, done and redone every 100,000 miles, for me they dollar me to death, my Chevrolets, my fords, dont have as long organ replacement lists.
dont get me wrong I love my dodges they will pull the load, best medium life motor we have, some stay on the road , some need constant steering to keep in the road,
but those run for ever ford diesels( got 5), have never had such organ replacements, and my Chevrolets are such a pleasure to ride in.
Chevrolets run 300000 til rebuild, transmissions sooner,
ford runs longer usually the front end first
dodge needs renewed every 100000. need 2 to make 1 after 100000.
delivered with humor and experience.
michael brown dvm

 

[Travlr]

i think yall been smelling too much ram ammonia, ram dung,
do some scientific research, or just go to marketplace, read the repair list on the 3500's.
to me it seems that a dodge {got 3 i think opps 4) need a trust fund just to keep them in the road. most will have the front end, the transfer case, transmission, water pump, radiator, steering box, tie rods, clutch dash, rear-end, done and redone every 100,000 miles, for me they dollar me to death, my Chevrolets, my fords, dont have as long organ replacement lists.
dont get me wrong I love my dodges they will pull the load, best medium life motor we have, some stay on the road , some need constant steering to keep in the road,
but those run for ever ford diesels( got 5), have never had such organ replacements, and my Chevrolets are such a pleasure to ride in.
Chevrolets run 300000 til rebuild, transmissions sooner,
ford runs longer usually the front end first
dodge needs renewed every 100000. need 2 to make 1 after 100000.
delivered with humor and experience.
michael brown dvm

I'd be looking at who drives them. I've found that brand or maintenance don't matter nearly as much as how a truck is abused.

 

[Otha]

I think the def system(SCR) catches the flack for all of the emission systems. For me the def system(SCR) is the least invasive. All though I understand people in colder climates may have different problems with the def freezing up. From what I understand the EGR and DPF are much worse for the engine than the SCR. The EGR put dirty exhaust back into the intake of the engine cause carbon build up on those clean air parts. The DPF is the filter that causes back pressure on the engine and requires extra fuel to be burnt to clean out every so often. I had read that it requires 1,100 degree exhaust temperature for the DPF to regen. That's getting into temps that used to be considered redline for older diesels. I've parked my Ram in tall grass after it was regening running down the road and it turned the grass black. Didn't catch fire but it smelled the part and left about a foot circle spot in the grass that was black.

 

[Lucky]

My 02 Ford 250 with a 7.3 doesn't require DEF. A little over 350,000 miles and still running strong. Also it is a 6 speed manual. Very difficult to find a new truck with manual transmission. My mechanic says if you keep a truck with an automatic transmission for the entire life of the truck that odds are you will be replacing the tranny. He replaces them all the time but almost never on the standards.

You won't have to replace the transmission but the clutch will need to be replaced eventually. Last clutch we had replaced in a diesel was $3k. It's tit for tat on the trans.

 

[Dave]

You won't have to replace the transmission but the clutch will need to be replaced eventually. Last clutch we had replaced in a diesel was $3k. It's tit for tat on the trans.

I did a clutch several years ago. It was a long way short of $3,000. I don't remember the exact amount but it was under $2,000. And a transmission is well over $3,000.

 

[simme]

I have a 99 F350 with the 6 speed and manual shift transfer case. At 48,000 miles, the shifter fork in the transfer case wore down and broke. On the way to the sale barn with a 2625 pound cull bull. I was able to get it into 4wd low speed (with manual hubs unlocked). Able to get it to the AB and back home, but a very slow trip. Only $800 to replace the shaft and fork, but that was almost 25 years ago. Mechanic said the Ford replacement shaft was a different design.

Then at 85,000 miles, it developed a knock when stopped in neutral with the clutch out. Went to the truck repair place and he said it was an issue with the 6 speed in those trucks. The pilot bearing in the flywheel that the transmission input shaft fits into had failed. Allowing the input shaft to wobble and wear down. Replaced the input shaft and bearing, clutch and pilot bearing for something over $2000. Back when I was a young fellow, trucks used an oil impregnated pilot bushing instead of a pilot needle bearing. Those bushings seemed to never fail.

Truck has almost 130,000 miles now. I wish it was an automatic. An old guy gets pretty tired pushing that stiff clutch.

 

[Little Joe]

I have a 2002 chevy Z71 1/2 ton with 280,000 on it, has had some minor repairs but nothing major. It has probably pulled more than a lot of average peoples 3/4 tons have and has held up well. Wife has an 06 Tahoe Z71 has around 315,000 miles on it. Replaced the motor in the Tahoe and had it re-painted last year for a cost of $7,000. The interior on the Tahoe still looks almost brand new, it's got leather and is loaded for it's time. My truck is leather as well and both have heated seats. The heated seats are nice when your back hurts, especially on a long trip. I've ran the heated seats in the summer for my lower back before. If I was to buy me a new truck, I would go with the work type model. I would have a hard time without power windows and locks now but could live without the other luxuries. Unless we go on a trip, I don't spend a considerable amount of time in a vehicle.

 

[Atimm693]

I have a 2002 chevy Z71 1/2 ton with 280,000 on it, has had some minor repairs but nothing major. It has probably pulled more than a lot of average peoples 3/4 tons have and has held up well. Wife has an 06 Tahoe Z71 has around 315,000 miles on it. Replaced the motor in the Tahoe and had it re-painted last year for a cost of $7,000. The interior on the Tahoe still looks almost brand new, it's got leather and is loaded for it's time. My truck is leather as well and both have heated seats. The heated seats are nice when your back hurts, especially on a long trip. I've ran the heated seats in the summer for my lower back before. If I was to buy me a new truck, I would go with the work type model. I would have a hard time without power windows and locks now but could live without the other luxuries. Unless we go on a trip, I don't spend a considerable amount of time in a vehicle.

Those were the last good GMs IMO, I had 06 with a little more than 300k on it. The new ones eat cams and lifters like crazy. Repair bill is 3-5k. The newer 6.2s also have had terrible issues with poor machining causing them to spill their guts, last I knew it was hard to even get a new short block, they can't build them fast enough.

Dodge had similar valvetrain problems with the Hemi, evidently their engineers thought oil could run uphill. It's much worse on trucks that idle a lot. I was never a Dodge guy, but they're looking pretty good, since the competition has fallen so far behind. I'm also convinced that there wouldn't have even been a Dodge pickup post-2008 had they not been in bed with Cummins.

I haven't heard much bad about the engines in late model Super Duties. The 3.5/5.0s in the half tons are junk, still riddled with cam phaser/timing chain issues and oil consumption, with another astronomical repair bill. The 2.7 EB considerably better.

I think the def system(SCR) catches the flack for all of the emission systems. For me the def system(SCR) is the least invasive. All though I understand people in colder climates may have different problems with the def freezing up. From what I understand the EGR and DPF are much worse for the engine than the SCR. The EGR put dirty exhaust back into the intake of the engine cause carbon build up on those clean air parts. The DPF is the filter that causes back pressure on the engine and requires extra fuel to be burnt to clean out every so often. I had read that it requires 1,100 degree exhaust temperature for the DPF to regen. That's getting into temps that used to be considered redline for older diesels. I've parked my Ram in tall grass after it was regening running down the road and it turned the grass black. Didn't catch fire but it smelled the part and left about a foot circle spot in the grass that was black.

Def had a really bad reputation from the start, they were injecting extra fuel into some of the cylinders to create the heat needed for regen. All of that heat cooked the engine and turbo, it was also inefficient and detrimental to fuel economy. More recently, they've have added an extra fuel injector in the exhaust after the turbo, so all of the heat is localized to that area.

EGR is bad partly from the carbon buildup as you stated, the other issue is the EGR cooler. Exhaust gases first go through a heat exchanger that's cooled with engine coolant before they're redirected into the intake. That's a ton of heat going back into the cooling system, and if the EGR cooler clogs or springs a leak, now you've got big problems.

 

[Dave]

My red, white , and blue trucks. Just being patriotic. The red is a Ford. It is the newest of the 3. It is a 2002. Has almost double the miles of the other two combined at over 350,000 miles. The blue is a Chevy S-10 we got from 2 little old ladies who didn't even drive it to church. It is a 1994 with about 80,000 original miles. The white is a 3/4 ton Chevy. It is a 2000 with about 120,000 miles. Some retiring Idaho potato farmer bought it new to tow his 5th wheel trailer to Arizona in the winter months. It is decked out with all the extras available back in 2000. I use the Ford to tow anything needing to be towed. Blue is the run around truck. Although this time of the year the Ford gets mid day or later trips as the AC doesn't work in Blue. The wife drives the white one much more than I do.

 

[Otha]

Those were the last good GMs IMO, I had 06 with a little more than 300k on it. The new ones eat cams and lifters like crazy. Repair bill is 3-5k. The newer 6.2s also have had terrible issues with poor machining causing them to spill their guts, last I knew it was hard to even get a new short block, they can't build them fast enough.

Dodge had similar valvetrain problems with the Hemi, evidently their engineers thought oil could run uphill. It's much worse on trucks that idle a lot. I was never a Dodge guy, but they're looking pretty good, since the competition has fallen so far behind. I'm also convinced that there wouldn't have even been a Dodge pickup post-2008 had they not been in bed with Cummins.

I haven't heard much bad about the engines in late model Super Duties. The 3.5/5.0s in the half tons are junk, still riddled with cam phaser/timing chain issues and oil consumption, with another astronomical repair bill. The 2.7 EB considerably better.



Def had a really bad reputation from the start, they were injecting extra fuel into some of the cylinders to create the heat needed for regen. All of that heat cooked the engine and turbo, it was also inefficient and detrimental to fuel economy. More recently, they've have added an extra fuel injector in the exhaust after the turbo, so all of the heat is localized to that area.

EGR is bad partly from the carbon buildup as you stated, the other issue is the EGR cooler. Exhaust gases first go through a heat exchanger that's cooled with engine coolant before they're redirected into the intake. That's a ton of heat going back into the cooling system, and if the EGR cooler clogs or springs a leak, now you've got big problems.

See I think what you said there is the DEF system(SCR) taking the blame for the DPF problems. All that extra fuel and the new extra injector is to clean the DPF. The DEF is injected into the SCR which is a different canister. The DPF filters the exhaust and the SCR where the DEF is injected is a separate component that changes the chemical makeup of the exhaust gasses kinda like a catalytic converter does on a gas engine.

 

[cfpinz]

I have a 99 F350 with the 6 speed and manual shift transfer case. At 48,000 miles, the shifter fork in the transfer case wore down and broke. On the way to the sale barn with a 2625 pound cull bull. I was able to get it into 4wd low speed (with manual hubs unlocked). Able to get it to the AB and back home, but a very slow trip. Only $800 to replace the shaft and fork, but that was almost 25 years ago. Mechanic said the Ford replacement shaft was a different design.

Then at 85,000 miles, it developed a knock when stopped in neutral with the clutch out. Went to the truck repair place and he said it was an issue with the 6 speed in those trucks. The pilot bearing in the flywheel that the transmission input shaft fits into had failed. Allowing the input shaft to wobble and wear down. Replaced the input shaft and bearing, clutch and pilot bearing for something over $2000. Back when I was a young fellow, trucks used an oil impregnated pilot bushing instead of a pilot needle bearing. Those bushings seemed to never fail.

Truck has almost 130,000 miles now. I wish it was an automatic. An old guy gets pretty tired pushing that stiff clutch.

If your truck is a single cab and you run across an automatic that tickles your fancy, I may be interested in your old truck.

 

[simme]

If your truck is a single cab and you run across an automatic that tickles your fancy, I may be interested in your old truck.

It's a crew cab.

 

[Stickney94]

Some use them that way. But many never haul more than groceries. They don't own a sxs, camper or boat. They live in town and go to work and the store. A hay customer owns the local ram/ford dealership and said it is amazing how many trucks get traded in that have never had a hitch in the reciever, not a scratch on the paint inside the hitch.

For many years it was far cheaper to rent a pick-up for the 5-7 times I actually needed a truck in a year. The number of folks around here with 3/4 or 1 ton trucks that perhaps tow something once or twice a month astounds me (boat or fish house). Mostly they commute in them. I have a decade old 1/2 ton RAM that tows just fine the 5-7 times a year I need it to do so. My dad drove a 1964 Chevy pick-up for 40 years as his primary truck. When he finally got a new one he had to order it (base trim) and wait for several months for it to arrive in the middle of SD. White paint, crank windows, single cab, 8' bed.