Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Dodge Ram (2002) UNVEILED!

12357…14

Comments

  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    The R/T is has no 5 sp. option? I figure that the full size performance trucks,like the F150 lightening, does not get manual trans, but compact/mid sized? I heard that the silverado is going to get an "SS" model to go against the lightening, btw. I hope dodge does the same with their regular cab. Maybe that hemi would be perfect (with a STICK).

    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.
  • moparmadmoparmad Member Posts: 197
    Now that you mention it I was at the parts store getting parts for my Aunt's Olds about a month ago when the parts kid standing outside asked me what kind of exhaust my truck had. He looked at me kinda funny when I said it was stock,I just dismissed it as folly,but maybe he thought it sounded different too. Too many years as a carpenter and too many trips in my Cuda probably robbed me of too much of my hearing to really tell. But I do know that so far everyone to a person who has driven my truck has remarked on how surprised they were as to how quick it was. I traded a '96 Ram with a 360 and automatic for this truck and was also surprised how much quicker my '01 is.
  • badrammanbadramman Member Posts: 61
    Yeah I talked to a dealer about the R/T once. And he told me that the only manual tranny that Dodge has for the 360(they don't use the same one from the 318 due to torque) is the one they use in the diesels and they deemed it too heavy for sport use? And the auto is any lighter? Whatever
  • rshansonrshanson Member Posts: 2
    Is that 278 miles useing most of the 26 gallon tank? that seems a little thirsty for a 4.7 with a
    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.
  • badrammanbadramman Member Posts: 61
    His mileage will improve after the motor's broken in.
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    rshanson, I still had 37 miles to go, according to the overhead console information-thing. (I am not taking chances). It was actually barely over 1/8 tank when I decided to gas up. according to the manual, badramman, mileage should improve @ around 2K miles. It says that Mileage on sticker was 14/17. Seems like 12/15 right now.
  • badrammanbadramman Member Posts: 61
    My local dealer just got a black one in yestrerday. Even with the chrome front end they look sweet. I can't wait to see a sport package.
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    The chrome treatment looks good ONLY in dark colors, especially black, IMO. I've seen only black and red. The red is real kickin' with the sport package.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    my local dealership has about 7 on his lot right now. so far he has only gotten slt and sport models, no slt+. imo, the sport grill and billet bars is killer and the best looking. and one of his trucks has the image package with 20 inchers! those suckers look great!
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    yeah, some dealerships around here has anywhere from 7-12 new rams, in SLT and Sport, too. How I know is because the dealers are STILL calling me (dodge solicits your name out to these local dealers). Anyway, I was driving by one dodge dealer and saw a regular cab patriot blue sport 4x4. I pulled over and looked at it. man, if I had enough dough to get another right now, I would have plucked that one off the lot saturday. Even moparmad would have loved that one.
  • moparmadmoparmad Member Posts: 197
    The quadcab I saw was black. I hope the regular cab looks better to me,and my 2001 Ram is patriot blue and silver two tone,so I am partial to patriot blue. I saw rumors that the Dakota was supposed to be coming in Omaha Orange which was described as an eye popping color. Has anyone else heard of this or seen the color? I think it would look tough on a Dak.
  • dsemmendsemmen Member Posts: 12
    What idiot designed this truck!! It would be a GREAT truck, but there are NO rear seat head restraints! Your back seat passanger's heads will go right through the window, or their necks will suffer sever whiplash or worse, if you have to stop fast. How Stupid!! That should have been basic! Ford made the same mistake but corrected it with the spring 2001 models of their supercrew. In 2002 all Fords have the rear head restraints. I believe the Chevy Silverado does as well. How could have Dodge ruined what would have been the best of the bunch. Now, Ford's F150 is still King.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    it is called "cost-cutting", man! dodge has been giving some lame excuse about headrests blocking the rear view...hogwash if you ask me. i test drove a quad the other day, imo, if they were to put headrests on the rear seat, they'd have to be awefully small since the seat back is very thin. also, dodge should have made the 4 wheel anti-locks standard. ford did... let's hope these deficiencies are fixed by the time the hemi shows up!
  • bowhuntwibowhuntwi Member Posts: 262
    Both the 2002 Dodge & Ford SuperCrew, waited months for the dodge to come out before I bought. My 10 yr old (he's an expert on riding in the back seat)got a sore back on a 10 minute test drive of the new dodge, complained of the slant of the seat, plus no head rests, the seats are cardboard thin, very uncomfortable (This was on a SLT)I thought it did drive pretty well, but the minus's was too many. Test drove the 02 SuperCrew, had padding in their seats, headrests all around, drove great, no complaints from the back seat either. Had the new Off-road pkg. with Rancho shocks. Plus they have great financing and was willing to deal, unlike Dodge. Hopefully dodge will improve their truck as they go along. I bought the the Ford it was right for us.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    is somewhat like a church pew. I doubt if it's not all that comfortable for a long ride. Although it's much better than the Tundra rear seat.

    Bob
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    this weekend we rode in the truck for nealy two hours. My 6 year old at 4'6" and 60#, fell asleep in the rear. that's enough for me.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    how two adults will do with a two hour trip in the back seat. It's not so much the space, it's the seat back angle and somewhat thin padding of the seat back that I'd be concerned about.

    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
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    well yeah, of course, 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".
  • bowhuntwibowhuntwi Member Posts: 262
    He had the expert knowledge of riding in the most roomiest of back seats of any crew cab. He still chose the SuperCrew over the Ram Quad Cab. tav does yours have the premium cloth seats or the standard cloth? The one complaint is that the rear windows don't go all the way down like the dodge (i think). I told him the trade off was that we got the power moonroof and 6cd changer. Every Truck is great to the person that buys it, whether it's ford, chevy, dodge,gmc or from the funny market. That's what great about living in the US of A. You have the choice to pick the truck that you want to drive. Unlike other places in this troubled world.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    on Dodge's part. It looks—or give the impression—of being a crew cab, when in fact, it's probably only a bit roomier (if that) than a Chevy extended cab.

    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
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    bowhuntwi,
    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."
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    even though the dodge quad was designed to compete against the supercabs from other manufacturers...it seems to me that it competes against both supercabs and also the 1/2 ton crew cabs. hopefully dodge didn't make a mistake by not offering three models on the 1/2 ton truck.(ie...regular, super and crew). it appears to me that gm and ford have more ground covered by offering three truck models. especially since there are people out there who simply don't want a truck that looks like a crew cab...even if that truck ('02 quad) is intended to compete with supercabs...
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    tavgrad,

    moonroofs are indeed available on both the supercrew and supercab fords...
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    Hmmm. I didn't recall seeing that as an option three years ago. That's what the sales guy at the dealer told me. Maybe a pop-up, but not power..but you are right. They are available now.

    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.
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    tavgrad,

    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...
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    I checked and found rear headrests in: Sierra/Silverado extended and crew cabs, F150 supercrew, toyota tundra access cab.

    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.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    calling a "true" Dodge Crew cab, if they should decide to make one, the Grand Quad Cab?

    Bob
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    grand has too many jeep or minivan overtones, don't ya think?
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    It's a logical (marketing) "link" to other Dodge products. Dodge has used the word "Grand" to distinguish "longer" versions of an existing model, so why not here too?

    Bob
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    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?)
  • bowhuntwibowhuntwi Member Posts: 262
    From her visit to Truckville to see the Mayor that the Quad was not a crew cab (this came from dodge Person). It's an extended cab with 4 doors opening the same way. I looked at my SCrew last night and it seems that the back doors are wider then dodge, but then again, ford took 12" from the box and dodge only took 3". Dodge even sent me a $500 coupon to use to go buy a 02 Quad expiring on 12/31/01. I'm beginning to wander if there sales are lower then expected with offering a coupon so soon.

    They said that the true crew would be out in the 2500 & 3500 series.
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    Sales are not low. Sales are none. I have not seen any others on the road yet.

    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).
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    You're doing just fine... :)

    Bob
  • bowhuntwibowhuntwi Member Posts: 262
    I didn't know I was going to buy a Screw, things just fell into place. I'm just getting used to the downsizing from a Super Duty. The plus's are more then the minus's so that's good. Wish you all the luck with your Quad. I haven't seen any on the road, only sitting on the dealer's lots. You know with Dodge going to 20" & Ford going to 17" tires, chevies must now be considered low riders.........
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    Lowrider chevies:
    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.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    I was just reading through the '02 Ram 1500 brochure and the '02 HD Ram 2500/3500 brochure, and discovered that Dodge requires trailer brakes for any trailer weighing over 1000 pounds!

    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
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    COrporate Lawyers will be probably have the future brochures reconstructured even after the first batches were sent out.
    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.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    No, not all trailers have brakes. In fact, here in Maryland only trailers weighing 3000 pounds or more are required to have brakes. Trying to find a utility trailer that's rated for under 3000 pounds—and with brakes—is just about impossible to find. You can certainly add brakes, but it's very costly to do so.

    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
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    Thanks, Bob. I'll start checking out that topic. Once I'm more familiar on the subject, I'll participate. Which one is it?

    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.
  • badrammanbadramman Member Posts: 61
    It only says that in the manual to cover their asses in case someone does something foolish!

    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!
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    uh, thanks, badramman.....

    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?
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    just a matter of time before Ford and everyone else falls in line with GM and Dodge in terms of trailer brake policy.

    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
  • buckmaster1buckmaster1 Member Posts: 20
    I really wanted to like this new truck before I saw it in person.When you redesign a product you have to look at ALL ASPECTS of what your competion is offering.Right off the bat lose the antique 360 motor -I know the small motor is a new one,but if you need a big motor you still get the old 360-No Thanks. This truck is missing rear disc brakes- standard on GM,this ones a no brainer- a major factor for any experienced truck owner who tows.How about a traction sensitive automatic four wheel drive-like GM.The dashboard is really ugly and evokes no emotion,the old dodge dash was pretty nice.If you want larger tires and wheels they offer a 18 or 20 inch combo that looks like a ghetto style wheel and tire-not a work truck appearance combining function and style.Those big wheels look like a rap singers truck would.Truth of the matter is the more I look at the new dodge the more I like the old style better.I am really surprised at daimler for not kicking the competions [non-permissible content removed] on this truck.This truck is not a premium truck like GMC but could have easily stole a lot more sales by fine tuning the old big Dodge which was much more like a real truck than this new trendy skirt driven one.Oh well.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    You make some valid points. A new larger 5.7 Hemi will come next year, and will replace the current 5.9.

    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
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    buckie,

    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
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Actually, I'm not in the market for a pickup right now. Let's just say I'm an interested "lurker."

    Bob
  • emaleemale Member Posts: 1,380
    sebring95,

    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.
  • moparmadmoparmad Member Posts: 197
    I saw my first 2002 regular cab yesterday,I'm still retching from the sight. I'm more glad I bought the 2001 every time I pass my local Dodge dealer. Unfortunately if the Ram is the shape of things to come from mother Mopar,I have bought my last Ram.
  • sirfelixsirfelix Member Posts: 3
    I recently purchased this truck and noticed that the amount of air blowing out the right-hand 3 out of 5 center vents is very weak compared to the 2 left hand center vents. There is also quite a bit of air flowing from the right-hand floor vent. This problem occurs on any vent setting whether the air is circulated or not. The problem also occurs when the A/C setting is set to blow only out of the dashboard vents.
    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.
  • tavgradtavgrad Member Posts: 201
    sirfelix.
    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....
This discussion has been closed.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles