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Dodge Ram
This is part two of the Dodge Ram discussion.
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I have a 94 ram laramie slt bought it 1.5 years ago. Only 24,000 miles. So whats my beef? So far 4 recalls, blistering paint, cant get the horn to work after 4 visits to the dealer,back rear tail light shorted they cant find it. Now at 56000 miles I need a $1400 overhaul on the transmission. Why'll I'm trying to come up with the money for that the truck acts up coming home tonight and quits working all together. Luckily I was moving and pulled into a service station. The guy was locking up for the night but helped me out. His quick diagnoses is a broken timing gear or chain. I have old cars and trucks all my life and never this much problems so close together or this expensive. I bought this truck thinking newer model less problems what a crock. I should have kept my 78 chevette with 128,000 miles. Never had a repair bill on that car that exceeded $250.00. It is a truck that I loved the looks of it when that model first came out. Well I guess thats it for dodge,chrysler they lost my business when I go broke fixing it and selling it as soon as possible. Anyone else having this many problems with this truck?
Did you do a backgroun check of that 94 ram you bought. It looks like who ever had it before you
did not maintain it very well, or abused it way over its limits. Was it a rental?
I too have a 94 4x4 and use it as a plow truck, and it hasn't had any probelms yet. DO do regular maintence on it, incuding several oil changes a year and also have done one transmissions fluid change, and the truck works and drives like new. I still can't beleive it's almost 6 years old!
I recently read that Dodge is seriously considering to offer a Super Duty-inspired line of HD pickups. If they do decide to go that route, these vehicles would probably hit the dealer's lots in 2004. The regular redesigned light-duty RAMs are currently scheduled to arrive for the 2002 model year.
I think it is safe to assume that Dodge will push its "big-rig" image to new heights with the next generation Super RAMs (Grand RAM??).
Most of the improvements in today's "modern" pickup truck has been either under the skin, or, have occurred from the cab forward to the front bumper. Very little advancement has occurred to the "work area" (the pickup bed and surrounding area). I would love to see Dodge "reinvent" the pickup bed area, especially since these will be primarily "work" trucks. With that thought in mind, here are some things I would like to see happen:
1. Make standard usable "step sides". The idea of a step side makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, today's step sides are mostly styling statements, rather than functional items. The steps are mounted so high up on the rear fender, and are so small, that they are next to useless. Let's see larger stepsides molded lower into the rear fender both fore and aft the wheel well and with a full-width bed, not a narrow bed is is currently the case.
2. Let's see a "factory dump" option for pickups. I'm suggesting that the inside "HD bed liner" (and not the outside fenders) dump.
3. How about a "convertible tailgate" that can become a ramp if needed? It sure would come in handy for loading motorcycles, ATVs, etc.
4. Nissan showed a concept pickup (the Gobi) a couple of years ago, where the top section of the outside rear fenders folded out to become a small work bench with enclosed tool/storage compartments. It's a great idea. The first manufacturer that offers that will make a killing. It will be like the introduction of 4-door extended cabs customers will be asking why didn't anybody think of that before?
I know utility bodies are available, but for some folks, they are just too industrial looking, and, don't appeal to the personal use market.
5. Speaking of folding out pickup bed sides: Remember the old VW pickup (of '50s and '60s vintage)? It had fold down pickup bed sides so that cargo could be off-loaded from the sides, not just the rear. It was a great idea then and now.
By the way, this type of pickup bed design is still very popular on trucks sold overseas. If it works in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and Africa, it can certainly work over here in the States.
6. How about factory offered pickup bed organizers? Think of a pickup bed as something akin to a hall closet in your house (a big empty space). Walk into any Home Depot and look at all of the items that are offered to make closets more useful. I know that the truck after market currently fills this void. I'm saying that the factory could probably do it better. It would certainly "look" better. The problem with most after market items is that they look like "after market items".
7. Most pickup trucks sold overseas also have a protection barrier between the rear of the cab and the pickup bed. I know these are offered through the after market. The factory can do a better looking job.
How about it Dodge? Comments?
Bob
Picture this:
Ram 1500
Ram 2500
Power Ram 2500
Power Ram 3500
That works for me...
Also, I'm also wondering if Dodge would increase the 1500's GVW to around 7000 - 7500 pounds (and not add a light duty 2500 per say) to fill the void that currently exists between the current 1500/2500 models. Doing that would eliminate any model confusion, like that which exists with both of Ford's F-250s.
Bob
9. How about more tie downs? And, tie downs that could be moved and repositioned as needed?
10. How about a tailgate, that when down, would have some sort of device to capture and secure long items? This would be especially useful on short-bed pickups.
I remember seeing not too long ago, some guy in a short bed F-150, with a huge "long" load (tail gate down), at a stop light. When the light turned green, he took off and left his load in the middle of the road! Some sort of capturing device, incorporated into the tail gate would prevent such situations.
Again, I know there is some aftermarket company that offers something along this line. I just think the factory could do a better job.
Bob
1. Better positioning and size of tie downs. When loading a truck with lots of stuff (and the tail gate is down) you can end up with a lot of rope going to one place. For those not great with knot tying more locations, better locations and bigger locations might help.
2. Permanently attached bed liner. Many people go out and buy a bed liner and never remove it. Why not make it part of the bed?
Some thoughts on other parts of the truck.
1. A drop down step for 4x4's my mom is only 4'10" and has extreme trouble getting into my 4x4 1500. I ended up getting steps so that no one would have too much difficulty. Would it be possible to have a pull down step at the door that would allow for easier access to the cab?
2. A change to the 5 speed 4x4 RAM.... why not too large sized drink holders. From the company that places more than a dozen drink holders in a mini-van.... I get a truck with one large (handles McD's supersize holder and one standard (no bigger than large) holder in the front. I'm told it's because I chose both 4x4 and 5-speed... but hey there's still room on the base for 2 super-size adjustable holders.
Howie
The 94 and 95 Rams are notorious for cranky automatics. The electronically controlled automatics introduced in 96 have fared much better.
Brakes were problematic from 94 through early 98, but are much less frequent. If you trwat tyour brakes right, they will be just fine. I have 412K on my 96 Ram 3500, I'm on my original rear shoes, and just mounted front pad set #4 (I'm hard on brakes). I have yet to need the rotors resurfaced. The automatic rear brake adjusters are very poor. Have your rear brakes adjusted by hand regularly, and you will get much better brake life.
Here's my two cents on what we (as a company) should do to improve Ram's.
(1) Bigger, beefier tires.
(2) A nicer interior and make the wood paneling an option if you don't want leather.
(3) More than a single disk CD option.
(4) Power passenger seat
(5) Add another 6" of leg room to the rear seat.
(6) Put the head lights on the sport on all Ram's
(7) Adjustable Extending mirrors.
As far as T-Rex, (and the 6 speed), put it out of your minds folks. I was told that this was a rumor with NO Validity. Sorry.
I was noticing that some people were looking for prices on the Ram, a good site to visit is:
http://members.xoom.com/99overNvoice/Index.htm
The prices are pretty accurate for the 99 model year. They also tell you what Interior, Exterior features and all of your options for every model.
Matt D
Bob
http://www.auto.com/99autoshow/qshow17.htm
USA Today also reports the diesel engine involved is the Cat 3126, rated at 250hp/780 lb-ft.
Now to keep my 96 Ram in good enough shape to make a decent trade-in...
Remember, if you want a 360 with 5 speed, you have to get a 2500 - that combination is not available in the 1500.
Dodge (from what I hear) have fixed most of the problems with brakes, engines, et al, in the 1998 models. Pre-98 models did have a lot of problems, but from what I hear, most 98+ models haven't had many problems.
Ford has always had extremely high quality trucks, but when something goes wrong, it's usually a big thing, like tires falling off... if you can get them to acknowledge it.
That said, I'm ordering a new 99 F150 XLT 4x4 SC. Personal preference is important, and a few hundred dollars here or there in a purchase dael isn't anything compared to having something you want. So drive both, and get which ever one you are happy with.
Word to the wise, the Dodge's will be redesigned in 2000, probably for the 2000 1/2 or 2001 model year. Ford will be right behind them. So the current model (while totally awesome) will not have much life left in it (if you care about that sort of thing.)
Good luck and Happy Holidays,
Ryan Allen
other than putting an egg under your right foot, there's nothing legal you can do. EPA mpg estimates are not "binding" figures, i.e., the vehicle does not have to achieve that. They are uniformly-tested numbers for comparison purposes to another vehicle.
They also talked me out of taking the 15,000-mile-per-year lease and advised me to stick with the 12,000. Their reasoning: the higher mileage would add 3% to my lease payment, when it would be wiser to just put the extra cash in the bank every month. This way, at lease-end, I'd have the money to pay for any overage and if I didn't go over on the mileage, I'd have money in my pocket. The other way, I'd be paying for something I might not use and I can't get my money back for it. I may have found the first and only honest car dealers!
Mileage is often cheaper purchased up front on a lease. In some cases, it's the difference between 8 cents per mile up front and 15 to 20 cpm at the lease end. Unless you can get decent interest on the money you put away, up-front mileage can sometimes be cheaper. Also, some leases can be written so that if you don't use the mileage you paid for up-front, that money is refunded to you.
Sean Wolff
You can lower any 4x4, but not too much. The main reason is the same reason a lift kit costs so much money. You are changing the geometry of the suspension and the angles of the driveshafts, which are designed to be at a certain angle. As opposed to people who "slam" rear-wheel drive trucks, there's a lot less clearance under the engine when you have a front driveshaft, and it limits how much you can lower your truck without components coming in contact with each other during jounce and rebound.
The folks at DaimlerChrysler have unveiled the Dodge Power Wagon concept truck at the Detroit Auto Show. After my laughter died down, I do have this to say about the concept truck....
While it has a powerful, clean engine as well as a strong winch, the sheet metal is something else altogether. It's somewhat likeable, although quite unpracticable. I sure hope the next-generation full-size is not based on this concept.
Also, a top-dog bean counter from VW was observing the Power Wagon and the Chevy Silverado -- Can anyone say "Volkswagon Pickup for the next century?" Ugh, I sure hope not!
I'm just going to stick with my 1991 Ford F-150.
Your assumption was correct; at altitude, use the regular, in spite of its reduced pump octane.