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Dodge Ram (2002) UNVEILED!
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02 Ram update: week 1: btw city/hiway, 278 I put on truck, before I had to fill up.($40). No problems to report.
Gripe #3: The windshield wipers are far too small for the raking windshield.
355 rear end.I do much better with my 2001 360 4x4
with a 410 rear end though it is 2 weeks older than yours.
Bob
As clever as Dodge is with the interior, my guess is that a traditional "Crew Cab" with a back seat that matches the front seat (for comfort) would be much more comfortable on long trips.
Bob
Just because it has 4 doors, does not make it a crew cab. It just has all doors going in the conventional direction, that's all. My two larger friends said that a it's not good on cross country trips. ( I think I posted that a few weeks ago).
Yes,it is extremely roomy enough (leg area), but the incline is not "posturepedically" sound for extended amount of time. Eventually, like bowhuntwi's son, my 6 yr old will complain about it, too..and by that time, I will probably be getting the crew cab (that gives me four-five years, of which is my financing term). You are right on the #216 post, bob. Just got out of a toyota p/u, and believe you me..my kid said "It is Way worlds better".
Nothing like confusing the public... GM just did that with the new Chevy/GMC HD1500 crew cab; which has the 2500 model GVW and specs, but is badged as a 1500HD.
Bob
Of course your son will not be cumfy in the quad's cab. Look what he got out of! Supercrew and Ram quad cab is not in the same category at all. The supercrew, if I'm not mistaken, is a separate model from the F150 models or is something like a premium model of the F150 line. Power moonroofs are not available in the others. (I was looking at the F150 flareside, too. Still like 'em).
When I got the ram, I saw the whatever you call it that classifies a vehicle, and it said "4Dr Extended cab." I think the crew cabs are classified as "4Dr Crew cab".
btw, The rear windows go all the way down. And I believe the cloth is premium.
bob, i wonder what the marketing gurus are gonna do when the Ram 2500's with crew cabs come out. Hey dodge, how about calling it the "Quad Crew."
moonroofs are indeed available on both the supercrew and supercab fords...
Dodge DID make the mistake. As of now, they have only two cab models: regular and quad. Long and short beds available on both. That would seem strange as to why they did not offer the club cab again. I guess that is the innovative part. While the other extended cabs where you have to open the front doors to get to the rear, you can just open the rear doors first. It is not for people who hate the 4 door look.
Ford and chevy initailly didn't have most of these things we are griping about now availble. Over the seasons these came in. i.e., gm's only had three doors for two years, gm's standard tires were only 15", etc. ford has abs standard NOW and no headrests, etc. And have we forgotten about toyota?
I think Dodge will make these things we have discussed about available probably next year.
ford does have headrests on the supercrew, but not sure about the supercab. with dodge offering side curtain airbags and such, i'm really surprised that they didn't make 4 wheel anti-locks standard. to me, that is a bit of a blunder...
frankly, i think dodge was blindsided when ford and gm began offering 1/2 ton crew cabs in the last 1-1 1/2 years. makes me really wonder what dodge would do if they could do it over again? i'll bet there'd still be three truck models instead of two...
Antilock brakes? Why is it not standard? i guess because dodge's survey showed that most people would not get them, and the history of buying rams showed that most did not opt for them. Besides, when offroading, antilock brakes can be your worst enemy. Oddly enough, my ram has 4 wheel ABS, but no side air bags.
Bob
Bob
They will come out with a crew cab when the HD's are out. Whether or not the 1/2 tons get it remains to be seen. Saw a few prototypes driving around here in LA (half covered, but can still tell) this summer.
Grand Quad Cab, sounds about right. As long as they don't put that "Limited" moniker on it. (that should be another topic to start up-why does the manufacturers use the same monikers?)
They said that the true crew would be out in the 2500 & 3500 series.
Also, the big 2 1/2 are closing down some plants due to the economy. Doubtful if they start back production in full schwing until the first of the year.
It's one of those marketing ploys again (Bob, help me out here) as what they call INCENTIVES, to lure the proposed consumer to purchase. Coupons and rebates are the biggest things. Daimler Chrysler already has a preferred customers discount on their stuff right on the sticker(except Mercedes), anywhere from $500 to 1500. Chevy, GM and Ford solicted me with various coupons.
You should have told me you were going to buy the S-crew...I would have emailed you my coupons. (three up to $1500).
Bob
The only ones I saw with a decent higher stance are with the Z71 off road pkg, and even with that, the stance is still lower than the others. The supercrews look killer in 4wd, esp. with the rancho shocks and with the fender kits.
Yeah, when I bought mine, the salesperson said that I was like one in 3 in southern california who got one. Dodge Rams are not that popular out here. Mostly f-150's (especially supercrews), toyota tundras and chev silverados in terms of full size pickups). Only a few people have complimented my new ram, but I see a lot of gawkers as I'm driving around.
You read that correctly... Imagine a Ram 3500 is rated to tow over 14,000 pounds; but if the trailer doesn't have brakes, it can only tow 1000 pounds.
GM is almost as bad with their full-size trucks, their limit is I believe 2000 pounds for a trailer without brakes. And... the Chevy brochure is very explicit about this. They go in to great detail about trailer brakes, whereas the Dodge brochure treats this subject as a small footnote in the brochure—but it's there nonetheless.
I guess the corporate lawyers must be working overtime...
Bob
I asked for the brochure in August and just got it last week (after the fact now, I own one).
I'm ignorant to this, but I thought all trailers had brakes. Everytime I rented the small trailers in the past, they had brakes.
Maybe I should read the brochure. When it's broken in, I'm intending to take it to the wild with the ATV in the bed.
I have a 5'x8' utility trailer that I use mostly for hauling yard waste to the landfill. It has a GVW of 2500 pounds, and empty weighs 670 pounds. It doesn't have brakes. This is a very typical utility-type of trailer, nothing unusual at all. So with any new Dodge Ram, I could only haul a 330 pound payload.
BTW, if you only have a 4-prong wiring outlet, your truck is not set up for electric trailer brakes. You could, however, use a trailer with surge brakes.
Tavgrad- Don't feel bad in your ignorance. I suspect most people who trailer, are also unaware of this. I would also read the owner's manual. I'm sure this info will be spelled out in even greater detail there.
Finally, I just started a discussion over on "News & Views" on this topic, hoping to get some input from the greater Edmunds community on this subject. It impacts on anybody who tows, not just Dodge Ram owners.
Bob
I read the manual in sections to figure something out, like how to operate all interior functions. I will definitely start on the chapters on towing and heavier hauling.
02 Ram Update: 1500 miles and gas mileage in city has finally improved. Now I'm getting an average of 13/17. Truck has pickup, more agile than I thought.
I've hauled 3,500lbs(with a trailer) in my 2500 without tailer brakes several times. You just have to take it slow and use common sense when towing.
Tavgrad,
Tow what you want. Just don't try to sue Dodge if you get into an accident!
Ok, I take it that the schmucks that are plowing past me on freeways pulling medium sized/larger trailers (and I don't see brake lights or wires on trailers) are the foolish ones, huh?
If that becomes the case, I hope trailer manufacturers respond with lighter-duty trailers equipped with brakes. Of course that doesn't do anything for those of us already with light-duty trailers without brakes.
Contractors and landscapers who tow on a regular basis I'm sure are aware of this, or if not, usually have larger trailers that require brakes. It's the person who tows only occasionally (the typical Harry homeowner) who's most likely unaware of this issue.
Bob
I do wish ABS were standard, and I wish the full-time 4WD were at least available as an option. It's available on the Durango and Dakota, and GM offers Auto-Trac, which is an on-demand full-time system. Also, ABS is standard on GM full-size trucks.
Bob
And A chevy silverado is a premium truck?
I do agree that the dash of the ram looks like a minivan, but I overlook that with the seat storages. I also agree with the 5.9 should have been dumped, too. But like rsholland said, the hemi will come with the heavy duties for 03.
13" 4wheel disc brakes are standard on the Ram. Rear ABS is standard on all but SLT+ which gets all four standard. It's an option that is only $495, for those who wants it. (Unlike me, but I got them anyway). AS I said before, dodge did research and found that not many dodge owners would get ABS. For any experienced Off roader, ABS is your worst enemy.
the ram has been a leader in off roading, and I'm sure the "Off-Roadster package" will come back for 03 or 04.
The 17" wheel/tire combo are standard, I believe 15" are standard on GM and no 17" are offered (except MAYBE ones with the Z71 package.) Absolutely NO full size truck can have the swamp-worthy wheel tire combo unless you lift it 5" or so.
All of those "advantages" that your precious GM's have did not arrive when the trucks debuted in 1999. For example, a 4th door just became standard, Z71 package was offered in 2001, and the heavy duties in 01. Ford just made 4 wheel ABS standard in 02 and a crew cab in 01.
This is the truck's first year, so all of the things that the others have, it will probably get next year and I'm quite sure that it will blow away the competition. Dodge's mistake was that they didn't put them all in with the debut. Bob, are you waiting for it, too?
And wait a minute. I'm not trying to start up another GM bashing post here. Chevy trucks "evoke no emotion" to me, inside and out. I actually like the GMC Sierra. If I had more dough to blow, I would have bought the 02 SIerra Denali. Now THAT is a premium truck.
tavgrad
Bob
interesting! the availability of a v/10 in the 1/2 ton must have been a very short lived deal. i've never seen or heard of anyone who has one.
At first my local service dealer said it was probably a "blend door" problem, but later called to tell me that "there is no normal repair for this issue". I wasn't happy with that answer.
I called Dodge Corporate offices and found that they are aware of this problem on 2002 Dodge Rams and their engineering department is working on a fix and should be out later this year.
Funny. the one far left of me (driver's side) is a little weak, now that you've mentioned it. Thanks for looking into it.
moparmad,
as the old saying goes, "you can't please everybody". And I can see how you hate it. You actually like the pre-1994 rams and power wagons....