[RAMblinMan]

This is my first post here. I'm hoping for some feedback and have some specific questions about the Rebels. I currently have 2 Rams and prior to my current 04 SLT 4x4 Hemi Quad Cab, I had a 2000 Laramie 4x4 Off-Road 5.9. I also have a 04.5 2500 SLT 5.9 Cummins quad cab that I bought last year. I am thinking about selling my Hemi and getting a new Ram. I don't tow or haul much but a pickup just suits my size and tastes better than anything else. I thought I might be interested in one of the new EcoDiesels, but after joining a forum and reading some posts and asking some questions, I'm just not quite sure the bugs are worked out of those models yet. Plus, I love my Hemi and would love to get another one, and I really like the exterior styling of the Rebel. I definitely want the Hemi option. I like many of the electronic and other bells and whistles but I don't really care about the cargo box option or a sunroof and don't really care for built in navigation. Below are a few areas where I would like to get some feedback with respect to the Rebel.

Air ride suspension - it appears this is standard right? If I have a set of 35" Toyo MT's on my current Ram that I would like to put on the rebel, will they fit with the OEM wheels and suspension height? All I had to do with mine is level it and the 35's work perfectly. How does the air ride work or get in the way of things like leveling or lifting?

Interior - I don't have leather today but I do like leather and realize the Rebel has 1 interior option. How does it stack up against leather or traditional cloth?

MDS - my Hemi was built before MDS was offered. Though I do have modified dual exhaust now and it is somewhat loud, I can live without it. Long story as to how I even got it to start with. Other than changing the exhaust note with an aftermarket setup, is it extremely noticeable when the MDS kicks in? I bought my wife a Honda Accord V6 and it has the technology that knocks out half the cylinders at cruising speed, but I never notice it. My wife says she does but I don't. Just wondering if it is similar. Also, can it be deactivated if desired (I know it impacts mileage) via onboard options or optional tuner?

In addition to the above things, any feedback, good or bad, anyone has about the Rebel would be appreciated.

 

[johnj]

On your tires - the stock Rebel wheels are 17x8s. They'll accept your tires if they're r17's. You didn't really say what size rim they fit. However, some people have had some rubbing with 35' tires. I think they've all resolved it. Best to go looking through the forum, there's plenty to read on it. The air ride is part of the leveling system and provides a bit of lift. There are tweaks you can do to it to gain a little more lift. Again, read the forums, there's way to much in there for me to retype it all.

The seats we have seem plenty sturdy to me. I don't tend to be hard on truck seats. But I am a big guy at 6'6" and 250+ lbs. Normally I'd want something sturdy just because, but these seem fine so far. It's easy enough to put covers on the seats if you think they're problematic. Some guys don't like the looks. Most seem to like them a lot.

MDS: some guys like it, some don't. I notice it all the time, got used to listening for it. Helps with gas mileage. Can't deactivate the MDS unless you drop down from D to 7th gear or lower.** You might be able to deactivate it through a tuner. It has caused a couple of very very slight hesitations for me on acceleration as it kicks off. But I've had several vehicles with turbos over the years and this is nowhere near as bad as a turbocharger's wastegate delay. If you're driving normally in traffic, you're not really going to notice it a lot except for the little green ECO dashlight and the very slight difference in the engine sound and feel. You can disable the little green light from console menus. Some guys have found it disabled when they got their truck, others enabled. Depends on which sales guy touched it last, I guess. I'd enable it so you can see what's going on. I wasn't always feeling the MDS kick in at first, even though I saw the light pretty often. Now that I know exactly what it feels like, I feel it kick in all the time even at low speeds. Glad it's trying to save a bit of gas all the time. It doesn't have very much effect on the exhaust note, but it might be more noticeable if you've opened up the exhaust.

** Tranny is a nice, smooth 8-speed. You get the big circular dash knob that only selects "D" for forward gears. Two buttons on the steering wheel for up/downshifting work fine. But they're not in a good spot if you don't have big hands. Not great ergonomics for shifting.

Basically the Rebel is just another Ram with a few trim items changed, and only a couple of actual "mods." I liked the look, and I'm thinking to the future. Resellability when I'm ready to change vehicles is always important. Standard models are fine, but can take a while to sell, unless you're just going to trade them in and take a big hit from the dealer on that. I've sold about 80% of the vehicles I've own directly to other people, and traded in the rest. If it's a good vehicle in great shape, I sell it outright because it's worth a lot more than the dealers will offer. Otherwise when I'm done with them they've worth almost nothing and it's just easier to trade them as negotiation fodder. The Rebel is one of those more special models that will sell well later when I'm ready to replace it. That's a good part of the reason I bought it rather than some of the other trim models. Plus, it's pretty well loaded, more luxury than I need in a truck, and it accommodates all my routine runabout and hauling needs.

If you're going to buy one, be sure that you step through the forums. There are options like the instrument cluster that you don't want to miss. And there are some bewares to consider. In my estimation, there aren't any issues that are specific to the Rebel, other than one related to instrument lighting in the Rebel cluster, which shouldn't put you off from wanting it. All the other problems so far are common to all Rams with the same components. Sunroofs leaking, for example, is a past known issue with some Rams. Same with some cabin whistling, usually around the windshield.

Summary: again, read the forums here. There's a lot to be learned.

 

[RAMblinMan]

On your tires - the stock Rebel wheels are 17x8s. They'll accept your tires if they're r17's. You didn't really say what size rim they fit. However, some people have had some rubbing with 35' tires. I think they've all resolved it.

I don't remember the exact width of my wheels - I do know they are aftermarket moto metals but they are 17's (sorry I should have stated that) and I remember keeping the OEM backspacing or pretty close to it. But I think they may be 1 inch wider than the stock 20" wheels that came on the truck. My MT's are almost brand new and I really like them and I think they would really add to the look of the rebel. But I don't want to have to go cutting fenders on a brand new truck. I probably wouldn't want the wheels to be swapped, just the tires, so it would likely be part of the deal, assuming I did a trade-in, where I'd just get the dealer to swap the tires before taking delivery. So, I imagine if they won't fit without some sort of modifications, they won't do it.

I am definitely planning on doing some reading around the site. I'm not looking to buy tomorrow, so I have plenty of time. Just wanted to get some takes on what I was thinking. Thanks