Comparing Ram 1500s

[gordinho80]

Hi all. I'm looking at replacing my current truck, 2001 F150 Super Crew with a newer Ram 1500. I'm looking at the 1500s because I don't think I will truly need a 2500.

We have a 2000 Coachmen 2790TB which has a GVWR of about 7400 lbs. 1500s with the 5.7 Hemi are capable of towing this size trailer just fine, I think. Plus we will only be going out a couple of times a year at first, maybe a 1000 miles round trip max. Rest of the time, the truck will be a daily driver. I don't commute for work, so I would really only be using it to drive to a from our families' houses 45 minutes away every week.

The 2 on my short list right now,
2011 1500 Crew Cab Outdoors package 5.7 V8 with 3.94 gears and larger AT tires with the 5 speed auto (545RFE).

2012 1500 Crew Cab SLT Big Horn package 5.7 V8 with 3.55 gears and the 6 speed auto (65RFE).

Both are similar in price, 2011 priced at $1k more than the 2012. The 2011 also has what they list as the 205mm HD front axle as opposed to the 2012 215mm axle. 2011 also has an Anti-Spin rear differential.

I'm leaning more toward the 2011, to be honest, mostly due to the axle ratio. Price difference is really insignificant considering both are priced at below KBB, but the 2012 is listed at $2400 below KBB while the 2011 is only $800 below KBB with the higher asking price. Not sure how much wiggle room there is there in the price... so lets say both stay at these prices. What would you all pick?

[troubledwaters]

GordonThree wrote:
I scoffed at the weight police until I bought a bigger truck since it was roughly the same price I was paying for the smaller one. Sometimes these weight police do know what they're talking about and more truck it seems is better

BenK wrote:
it like trying to explain sex to a virgin...

I can assure you I am not a virgin; I got lots of years and miles towing under my belt. I currently tow with an F250. I can't wait until I can get back to a properly equipped F150. I can list of whole lot of reasons why the F250 is just not acceptable to me; but one overriding reality is - That 3.5 ecoboost and 10 speed transmission is hard to ignore.

[Grit_dog]

SoundGuy wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
BTW don’t let the weight cops scare you too much about the “low payload”. It’s a common theme on here, but with a wdh and/or one of the many available easy suspension mods, the axle and the rest of the truck will do fine with it.

Easy for you to say but are you going to be there later to help explain what's going on when the OP does run out of payload capacity when so much of it is being used up by trailer tongue weight, leaving little remaining for passengers and cargo in the truck bed? Heck, we don't even know what that passenger & cargo load will be. Good grief, the OP like anyone else needs to run the numbers first and ignore terrible "no problem" advice like yours. :R

You’re correct, he could be wanting to haul a cord of firewood to camp and have 3 - 300lb kids in the backseat. Or he could be a normal dude with basic math skills and able to identify and decide, within reason, how much he is or can or is comfortable carrying.
And FWIW the “numbers” get run on here daily almost ad nauseum for similar setups. So pretty easy to figure out. Since the OP didn’t ask about payload capacity, but rather a gut check on 2 very similar trucks I surmised he wasn’t after the payload advice although I’ll admit my response would summon the number crunchers. I should have left that part off. Apologies.
OP, nice truck!

[Grit_dog]

^ Very informative. So the upper gears didn’t change and presumably they still only had a single overdrive gear?

[ib516]

The transmission didn't change for 2011 to 2012. The software did, and so did the name. The 545RFE has always had 6 ratios, it just used 2 different 2nd gear ratios depending on if it was an upshift or a kickdown. In 2012, they just allowed the computer to choose 1, 2, 2 prime, 3, 4, 5. They did this because all the competition had real 6 speeds and it was an advertising Achilles heel.

[SoundGuy]

gordinho80 wrote:
Thanks all. Pulling the trigger on the 2012. It’s the better deal and it’s in better shape.

Here's a 2001 brochure showing your same 2000 trailer and the GVWR is listed @ 7600 lbs, UVW ~ 5000 lbs. Loaded & ready to camp I'd expect this trailer to weigh at least 6000 lbs, if not more depending on how much junk you drag along with you. 13% gross tongue weight of 6000 lbs is 780 lbs, and could be even higher depending on your cargo load. Knowing this it would be worth your while to figure out whether this particular Ram offers sufficient payload capacity for towing your trailer while also carrying everyone & everything else. 😉

[Terryallan]

Honestly. Unless you have one of the really low payload Rams. you should be fine. Your TT prolly will never weigh 7400lb anyway, unless it starts out high to begin with.
We towed our 7400lb GVWR TT with a 5.4, 3.55, F150. Did a great job. However. It weighs only in the 5800 to 6000lb range loaded ready to camp. Try to keep your weight to 6000 or so, and you will be good to go

[VernDiesel]

I know you didn’t ask but fwiw I tow TTs with my Ram 1500 commercially. You will need a properly sized WDH and to set the hitch per scale results. Some air bags or neoprene Sumu springs might also be beneficial if you load the bed. Also starting 2013 you could the 8 speed which was a dramatic improvement in fuel economy, towing & towing economy, hill decent control, acceleration & reliability. I have 375,000 miles on my 2014 Ecodiesel 8 speed. No trans issues. Both Chevy & Ford had a better transmission than the old 4/5/6 speed.

[BenK]

it like trying to explain sex to a virgin... :B :S :W

GordonThree wrote:
I scoffed at the weight police until I bought a bigger truck since it was roughly the same price I was paying for the smaller one. Sometimes these weight police do know what they're talking about and more truck it seems is better 🙂

[gordinho80]

Thanks all. Pulling the trigger on the 2012. It’s the better deal and it’s in better shape.

[GordonThree]

I scoffed at the weight police until I bought a bigger truck since it was roughly the same price I was paying for the smaller one. Sometimes these weight police do know what they're talking about and more truck it seems is better 🙂

[TurnThePage]

On the other hand, the sky isn't falling if they're a couple hundred pounds over GVWR. Especially with this generation of Ram. Lot's of slop left in the numbers.

[SoundGuy]

Grit dog wrote:
BTW don’t let the weight cops scare you too much about the “low payload”. It’s a common theme on here, but with a wdh and/or one of the many available easy suspension mods, the axle and the rest of the truck will do fine with it.

Easy for you to say but are you going to be there later to help explain what's going on when the OP does run out of payload capacity when so much of it is being used up by trailer tongue weight, leaving little remaining for passengers and cargo in the truck bed? Heck, we don't even know what that passenger & cargo load will be. Good grief, the OP like anyone else needs to run the numbers first and ignore terrible "no problem" advice like yours. :R

[GordonThree]

Payload sticker on both? My 13 Ram was an Outdoorsman package, and had a pretty poor payload, only 1200 lbs. Even with my small trailer, that 1200 # was GONE in no time.

Did those model years have the coilover rear suspension? The backend sagged bad on my 2013. Fill the bed up with toys, firewood, generator, extra water and then add the trailer, sag city.

[TurnThePage]

I also think either is plenty of truck for that trailer. I also like the 3.92 gears. I don't think the 6 speed is that much of a step up from that 5 speed. The 5 speed is a reliable model. The thing that gets complained about with it is the wide spacing of the low gears, which only affects shifts during acceleration when towing. It's not a show stopper at all. The limited slip could come in quite handy. I personally wouldn't be without some form of locking differential.