Personal First impressions.

Picked up the truck monday. So I Have had 24 hours with it roughly.

Thought I would drop my opinions on it so far. Please keep in mind my ram will be always be a dodge to me. and im a scatter brain so if you have trouble understanding I apologize.

Previous truck was a F-350 lariat 2011 6.7, previous to that was a 2007 2500 slt dodge, and before that 2005 1500 slt dodge.

Engine / transmission- Still a hemi, I knew and loved, the transmission is smoother then a babys bum, excited by this as the ford was pretty glitchy in gears. This truck feels as good or better then my f350 with my 20 ft 3500 pound trailer behind it pulling around the lot, I cannot speak on highway at this time.

Projector headlights - Pretty decent, I cannot say I was blown away with their performance, But I would say I found them to be about equal to running the expensive bulbs... With that being said as well, My initial response was very disappointed, as All the screens in the truck really were adding alot of light pollution. Once turned down, things started looking better. Also with the black there is some bubbling of the coating inside the light looks like a screwdriver hit it a few times. This was also observed with with many of the same lights sitting at the dealer, no matter the model they were on. I will mention I am happy to be back with the dodge lights, as when it got cold damp, the superduty lights had a tendency to pile on the ice causing very limited visibility in conditions less then favorable for pulling over safely.

Tires/Rims - Not much to write home about here, as long as rims are not 20" im a happy camper only time will tell how these wear. Its very nice to get a useful set of tires with the truck for once. So I only need to buy my winters, I wont have 1 extra set sitting around doing nothing for the life of the truck. I have run toyo m/t's before and they did not last long and were hard on mileage. I hopeing these are a happier medium from the line.

Shocks / suspension - have not looked into what bil shock they are running, but i am a little surprised they did not opt for some simple looking 5100's . I have had a couple oddball thunks in my front end. Will have to keep an eye on that as im not sure if its a flaw in the truck or perhaps a road condition. Still miles ahead of the junk ford tossed in with the fx4 package that was a "ford spec, rancho" by ford spec it usually means as cheap as possible.
The air bag system, could be better, the mall crawl/offroad setting is to restrictive and if I see pretty ladys at 60 km an hour it will not allow me to show off my prowess. The flip side, if i want to go hang with the honda civics, it will not let me drive, also the entry / exit could be better, as the stop>hit lower button> wait patiently > tell passenger to hold up > then finally hop out. Is not working for me, once the funds free up, its back to running boards.


fender flares- happy to see this style as I am really tired of seeing the riveted style. Will be my first set of flares on a vehicle, however After seeing the paint damage on my ford/dodge from many gravel roads, this was no longer an option I was willing to skip on my next truck.

Truck bed/Tailgate - Bed is a bit too small, Going to miss the superduty's. however i live in a dense neighborhood and being a smaller truck now, will really pay off. Hate the big logo, but you cannot really see it in black. Dealer advised to leave it on, if there is paint issues. The tailgate locks and opens with the doors... this is so huge in my world. Will I miss my tailgate step, not really as the truck lowers to a good height. actually reducing trips into the bed, because I can reach most of the cargo from the ground.



Back up system - Sensors not installed, still adjusting, dont think I will miss them, once I relearn not to rely on a audible beep. Camera- Really missing my ford one as it was way more useful in the rearview mirror. Also The guidelines bending to your steering is annoying as ****.

Alpine sound system - Light years ahead of the old dodge system / ford 8 speaker "premium" brandless. Sounds phenominal, satisfies the inner teenager. Was a little sad to find the sub took up a spot under the seat, as the ford had its located behind the seat, leaving under the seat wide open.


Mirrors - Happy to see these fold in and out, electronically, I became very fond of this feature on my ford, however its much less useful with these mirrors. Ford super duty mirrors win hands down, Missing my blind spot mirrors. Not really sure why my mirror changes different colors in the morning, one was clear, one had a green tint until i started driving.

Dashboard screen- the size of the one in the ford was way more managable, i think dodge over did it here, turn it down....

Seats- ford wins here as well, dodge your seats suck, I dont see these remaining solid for very long.

Steering wheel- best steering wheel, however a touch slippery, the heating function is leaving me wondering where it has been all my life.


uconnect- seems more refined then the sync system seems to play nicer with my iphone. Enjoyable experience so far.

A few last notes, a few years ago ram changed their doors from opening against the roof, to opening under the roof, this is a huge move for me, all my previous trucks , had wind noise issues, and always got snowed in when the doors were opened after a big storm. I hope this helps with both of those.

Also I have gotten more looks from good looking blond girls, then I did in my ford, the running total is now 1

At the end of the day, its a ram, with a very practical trim package for a person who spends much time on gravel roads and muddy locations.