2009 Dodge Ram Pickup 1500: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2009 Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 as our editors live with this car for a year.
What do you want to know about?
- Introduction
- Man, We're Going to Need a Bigger Toilet
- You Loook Marvelous, Absolutely Marvelous
- Road Trip!
- Child of the Corn OR Manly Man
- Trucker Chic OR Cocoon
- It Takes a Mopar to Tow a Mopar
- Rocky Mountain High = 12.5 MPG
- "Does This Trailer Make My Butt Sag?"
- 2505 Miles, 2 Mountain Passes, 6000-lbs, 11.7 mpg
- Easy Bluetooth Pairing
- The Boss
- 3 Things
- Large and In Charge
- Comfort Food
- Moving day
- X Games Warrior
- Two-wheel hauler
- "Dump" Truck
- Open Thread: Part 2
- The Inconvenient Cupholder
- Track Testing
- Desert shuttle
- The Chrome Has Got To Go
- The Great Divider
- The True End of Childhood
- Trucks Hold Stuff, Part XVII
- You Write the Caption
- Our Favorite Caption
- How's the Stereo?
- First Service
- Long Way Home
- Over 5,000 miles
- Handy Dressing Room/Locker
- Are you Sirius?
- A Delicate Question
- Equestrian Center Trip No. 2
- Shortbed, Longboard, Loads of Tech
- Fuel Fillers and Chrome Interior Bling
- Essential Tech
- E Ticket Ride
- It's All Ball Bearings Nowadays...
- "Going To The Mattresses" — and other truck stuff
- Ridin' High
- Shifter
- Tree Trimmer
- Dash Stitching's All the Rage
- Things That Make You Go Hmmm
- Remote Start With Benefits
- Badger
- Doesn't Like the Desert
- Is the Rambox Worth It?
- Rambox — Brilliant Idea, Sorry Execution
- Navigation Fail
- Light It Up
- On the Road Again
- Dog Approved
- Ram Box
- Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Time Change
- Let's Do the Bumper Warp Again
- Bumper Damage Repaired
- Designer Shopping Cart
- A Trip to Remember
- You Write the Caption: November
- Our Favorite Caption: November
- Towing In Comfort
- Towing Impressions
- Chromey Goodness
- At 15,000 Miles
- Open Thread
- Not Exactly for Small Errands
- So Easy
- Scraaaaaaape!
- Comparing Trucks
- Beep, Beep, Beep...
- 2009 (Dodge) Ram 1500
- Bed Questions Answered
- What Trailer?
- Our Favorite Caption
- You Write the Caption
- Body Damage Repaired
- Obligatory Home Depot Run
- Yeah, I'm Dead!
- Desert Rat
- Coverage
- Towing Economy
- Interior Touches
- It's No Megacab and It's Not a Problem
- Service and RamBox replacement
- Everything I Need
- Great Tow Vehicle
- Trouble Letting Go
- 20,000 Miles
- HazMat Disposal
- Tailgate Dings
- How Many Girl Scout Cookies Can It Carry?
- Truckload of Girl Scout Cookies
- Liar
- Track Star
- Buuuudyyyyyyyyy!
- Orange Peel
- Drywall Approved
- Ram Versus Porsche Turbo
- How a Truck Bed Should Look
- Towing My Own Personal Miata Project
- 25 Kilomiles and Counting
- Yet Another Roadside Stranding Prevented by TPMS
- How Many Rams?
- Haulin' TV
- Better Than a Gas Station Burrito
- Will It Make a Good Old Truck?
- Puddles Are Meant To Be Driven Through
- Clean Bike, Dirty Truck
- 25,000-Mile Service Performed
- Tied Down All Weekend
- A Nefarious Prick
- Wearing Well
- Radio Silence
- Radio Seems Fine
- When a Big Truck Isn't Cool
- Every Good Road Trip Vehicle Has This...
- The Big Three-O
- Loaded
- The Best Full Size Truck I've Ever Driven
- DIY Home Improvement
- Two Coolant Temp Gauges?
- Ram Box is Cooler
- A Towing Twofer
- Dyno-Tested
- Our Favorite Caption
- One Last Road Trip
- Closure
- Service Kleptos
- Weekend Warrior Duty
- Wrap-Up
Introduction
At the press introduction of the 2009 Ford F-150, one Ford employee derided the also-new-for-2009 Dodge Ram as a "coffee-shop truck." This was meant to imply that, unlike the beefy Ford, the Dodge was, you know, a sissy truck.
To which we, the proud possessors of a brand-spanking-new Inferno Red 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew 4x4, say, "Hell yes, it's a coffee shop truck." We plan in the next year to frequent a whole slew of coffee houses in our monster-size, chrome-slathered, coil-spring-having Ram. We also will commute in this Hemi-powered beast. We will drive it across the country. We will tow vintage cars and motorcycles with it. We will pay for a whole lot of gasoline. We will load it with children, adults, adults who act like children, mulch, bed frames, statuary...whatever. We might even do some light off-roading in it. And you know what? Our bare hands will be kept warm and toasty the whole time thanks to the optional heated steering wheel.
That's right: Our truck has a heated steering wheel to go with its heated and ventilated, leather-covered front seats. Just because the Ram is a truck doesn't mean it has to be an uncomfortable truck.
What We Got
What we got was no less than the ultimate 1500 Series Dodge Ram. That starts with the biggest, most powerful engine available in the regular-duty Ram, the 390-horsepower, 407 pound-feet of torque 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The Hemi comes bolted to a five-speed automatic with automanual operation. We backed that up with the optional "anti-spin" differential carrying 3.92 gearing. We also opted for the four-wheel-drive system with an optional electric shift-on-demand transfer case.
We got the Crew Cab with its four big doors, even if it meant that we'd have to settle for the shorty 5-foot-7-inch bed. In addition to providing generous rear-seat room (with heated rear seats in our case, of course), ordering the Crew Cab also brings in-floor storage bins in the rear footwell and it meant we could opt for the Ram's newest trick, the RamBox Cargo Management System.
Dodge says the RamBox's (yes, the company insists that the words be smashed together) two bed-wall lockable storage boxes can hold 240 12-ounce cans. It also squeezes the bed's maximum width by more than 15 inches. We'll see if the covered and lockable 7.4 cubic feet of cargo space that the RamBox provides proves to be worth the 11.6 cubic feet of cargo bed storage it sacrifices and the not-insubstantial $1,895 it adds to the bottom line. At least it comes with an easy-to-use cargo bed divider and some movable tie-down cleats.
The surprisingly luxurious Laramie line already gave us the 115-volt two-prong electrical outlet, power-sliding rear window, dual-zone climate control, 20-inch chrome wheels, foglamps, locking tailgate, 506-watt, nine-speaker surround-sound Alpine audio system, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, power memory 10-way driver and six-way passenger seats and a whole host of other comfort and convenience items that a trucker from 20 years ago would never have believed could be found in a pickup.
On top of all this we added Inferno Red pearl coat paint for $225, because, well, aren't all new Dodges supposed to be Inferno Red? We also got the front bucket seats which, for $500 in option charges, also nets you the console-mounted automatic shift lever, heated second-row seats, ventilated front seats and floor mats. Then we piled on Customer Preferred Package 25H ($795), which comes with ParkSense rear parking assist (any assistance in maneuvering this 19-foot-long monster is appreciated), electric shift-on-demand transfer case and dual rear exhaust (with neat bumper cutouts).
The 3.92 rear end cost $375. The UConnect navigation system with Sirius traffic service for one year cost $945. The ParkView rear-mounted camera (again, any assistance is appreciated) added $200. Finally, we checked the option box for the Class IV receiver hitch for $335. If all this sounds somewhat familiar, that's because our long-termer is basically identical to the Ram that won our full-size pickup truck comparison test. We left off the sunroof, skid plates and tow hooks, 32-gallon fuel tank and the rear-seat entertainment system to keep the final tally below $50K.
Even so, when you throw in the $900 (!) destination charge our Ram still costs a whopping $49,660. For perspective, though, it comes with more square acreage of chrome plating than a 1959 Chrysler New Yorker.
Why We Got It
Beyond the fact that we like coffee quite a lot, we got the Ram to see how we would feel after a year with the coil-spring rear suspension that has impressed us so much in our early drives (and that has provided Ford material for its snotty sissy-truck barbs) and in that full-size pickup truck comparison test.
We will, in this year, endeavor to answer questions such as: Should I pay all that money for the RamBox? Will we be able to keep the miles-per-gallon readings solidly in the double digits? Is there any real reason for this thing to be so hulking that the top of its hood is shoulder-high on a tall guy? Can our shortest staffer climb into the cabin without a step stool? How long before a staffer takes a picture of the Ram next to our Smart car? And, finally, could Dodge have possibly found space for any more ram-head logos?
It should be a good year. Stay tuned to our long-term blogs for the next 12 months as we put 20,000 miles on this Mopar. Cheers.
Current Odometer: 604 miles
Best Fuel Economy: 13.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 10.5 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 12.0 mpg
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
We've recently taken delivery of a new workhorse for the Inside Line long-term fleet. And we're realizing already that while the optional RamBox storage constricts the bed size of our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew 4x4, we're going to have to pick-up our cargo-hauling game.
Our new two-piece porcelain throne looks positively Smurf-sized in the bed of our Hemi-powered Ram. The adjustable cargo divider, that comes as part of the RamBox option package,effectively and easily kept the boxes in place and left enough room in the bed to carry the contents a small plumbing-supply store.
Pound-for-pound our new long-term Dodge Ram Laramie Crew Cab might have more chrome on it than any other vehicle currently on sale. That's not a dig. We like chrome. It looks good. We like shiny things. Some of us even like Las Vegas.
But recently my nearly 4-year-old daughter took a rare break from her tricycle laps around the back yard to demonstrate another use for the shiny stuff: coif checking. Once the hair-clip was returned to its rightful place, she hopped back aboard her red machine and continued the race.
Dodge has not yet figured out how to make customers pay extra for this dual-function chrome bumper.
Here we go again! In a couple of days we'll be pointing the big, shiny snout of our brand-spankin'-new Dodge Ram West and hitting the go pedal. That's right: We're going cross-country with our new truck so that it may spend its days out in sunny Southern California.
Yours truly will handle the first leg from Detroit to Boulder, Colorado. My goal is to maintain at least 15 mpg. Along the way, I anticipate blogging about corn, highways, corn and also corn. Oh, and I might even keep a tally of how many left-lane dawdlers I can intimidate with our angry-red truck.
Once in Boulder, I'll hand the truck off to some guy named Karl Brauer. I'm told I'll recognize him as the guy standing next to a 1970 Plymouth GTX. The plan is to trailer his GTX back to LA, all the while spreading righteous Mopar all across the land.
Should be a good trip and we'll see how much we regret not having ordered up the optional big gas tank. Join us.
See below, a pic of the last time Karl towed the GTX cross-country.
With about 1,300 miles to cover in our new long-term Dodge Ram on the trip from Detroit to Boulder, Colo, we have some alone-time on our hands. Even splitting the drive up into two days (Detroit to Lincoln, Neb. one day and Lincoln to Boulder on the second), there's almost exactly 1,000,000 miles of corn-wrapped straight, flat Interstate 80 to cover each day.
In a decent automobile, which early impressions indicate the Ram certainly is, this is a monstrously boring drive. Like, drum-solo kind of boring. The kind of boring that might inspire a grown man to affix Bugles-brand corn-based snack trumpets to each of his eight fingers, just...you know...to see. We're not saying that we actually did this, but I did.
Anyway, somewhere around Des Moines, with the Ram blasting down the road, we naturally pondered the Kinsey Scale.
Make the jump for an explanation and a photo of possibly the saddest Ford Pinto ever.
Kinsey reckoned that folks' sexual orientation could be anywhere along a spectrum, with totally homosexual to completely straight or somewhere in between. He even came up with a handy 1-to-6 scale. I reckon there's a similar situation going on with pickup trucks. The difference is car companies and their designers invariably try to push their pickups as far to the "macho" side of the Pickupsey Scale and as far from the "wimpy" as humanly possible.If a Ram is a 5, then a Subaru Baja is a 1.
The Ram scores here. It is big. It's tall. It's muscular. It's got shoulders. It's got slightly angry eyes. At idle it sounds like a offshore race boat. So there we are, truckin' along, confident in the fact that we had easily the most manly steed on the road. If they're paying attention at all, people dawdling in left lane get quickly out of the way when they see the Ram a comin'.
But wait, what is this? There appears to be something massive closing in on the Ram's tailgate. We take a good look in the rear-view and, damn, I've been out macho-ed. There's a Ford Super Duty playing our game. And it has that GRILLE — a veritable chrome Parthenon. It's side mirrors, extended out on beefy dual struts could provide shelter for a small family. I ease over, beaten. As he (was there a chance it wasn't a male driver?) powers past. His girlfriend/wife/life-companion has her bare feet hanging out the passenger window. Now, how are we going to compete with that?
Luckily, we pulled into the next rest stop to find the "pickup" pictured below. We laughed a big belly laugh. Also, does a Ford Pinto really need a couple jugs of gasoline cantilevered off its butt? Just asking.
It occurs to me that the Ram strikes a nice balance in this regard. It looks capable without looking too much like a cartoon body-builder.
Other items of interest:
The Ram's interior is uncommonly nice for a pickup. Our only major issue with it was the mushy seats. The butt-ache began after only about 150 miles. It was a long day, for our butt.
There's a change receptacle above the navigation system screen that's covered in rubberized plastic that provided the perfect place to stabilize our hand by grabbing the ridge with our fingers. This allowed our thumb to accurately operate the touch screen menus. It's the little things.
We averaged 16.8 mpg for the day. That's better than we thought we would do. But this still-green motor we couldn't match the EPA's 18 mpg highway estimate.
We saw a Dodge Ram billboard somewhere in Nebraska (likely next to the corn field) that said, and we paraphrase here: It Swallowed a Luxury Car. It's closer to the truth than your average advertisement.
We've gone on the record saying that Ram's interior is the best within the Chrysler group. Yeah, yeah, there's not much competition. But still. What with the excellent ride quality, nice looking and feeling interior materials and a reasonably quiet deportment, the Ram is luxurious. That's certainly true in our nearly loaded Laramie version. Out on the big wide open, the Ram has a way of shrinking to manageable proportions. It's only when we got off the expressway and tried to squeeze the three-ton bug-killer through tight gas stations and restaurant parking lots that the vehicle's size becomes bothersome.
Make the jump to learn more.
And so, like we would in any luxury-liner we set the cruise to a reasonable speed (the limit in Nebraska is 75 mph), sealed the windows up, plugged in our iPod and occasionally noodled with the nav system or sampled some Raw Dog comedy beamed down from a satellite. Not too shabby.
But then, in the land where suspenders aren't some quirky fashion statement but a device to hold up your pants, we felt a little silly. So, in time-honored pickup-truck fashion we turned the Ram into a convection oven. No, an old-school pickup wouldn't have four power side windows (with auto up and down on the fronts) or a power-sliding rear window, but you get the point. We cranked them all full-open and let the whirling prairie heat slowly bake us. And damn, if that didn't feel good. We even rested our left arm on the window frame and used a more relaxed steering-wheel-grip strategy. This allowed us to sunburn our left arm quite nicely. The Alpine sound system has the juice to keep up with the maelstrom. It felt even better knowing that we could simply power the windows up and set the automatic climate control to full-wimp mode.
We could get used to road-tripping in this vehicle. Well, we could if we had something to tow or haul (which Karl will after I hand him the keys here in Boulder). Otherwise, the 15.1 mpg average fuel economy on this 1,300-mile trip brings a pang of guilt. That fuel economy dropped like a rock once we locked into a good pace in Nebraska and then started climbing slowly but relentlessly uphill in Eastern Colorado.
A couple of other things of interest:
The automatic transmission delivers soft, stuttering upshifts under full throttle. Now, we don't expect the snappiness of Ferrari's new dual-clutch box, but the Ram's shifts feel a bit weak.
Perhaps more than any other material known to man, chrome highlights the carcasses of various bugs that have met their end on the Ram's grille and side mirrors. Sorry Karl, but at least you know you'll always have a snack should you need one on the long, lonely portions of your drive.
Did you know that there are two-story RVs? Neither did we.
After picking up (and de-bugifying) our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 I've hooked a U-Haul car trailer to its Class IV hitch and loaded up one 1970 Plymouth GTX.
Departure time from the Mile High City is T-minus 10 minutes. Waiting for me are over 1,000 miles, two 10,000-plus-foot mountain passes and several long stretches of triple-digit temperatures through Arizona, Nevada and California's Death Valley.
In the few miles between the local U-Haul franchise and my Dad's house this pair of Mopars generated quite a few second glances, call-outs and thumbs up. So far the "That thing gotta Hemi?" count is at zero.I'll be sure to report which yocal grabs that low-hanging fruit first.
Pre-GTX towing the Ram offered plenty of power, stable handling, a comfortable ride and high-teens MPG. We'll soon know what 6,000-lbs of muscle-car-bearing trailer does to each of those traits. For those who care, the one-way cost of an open, two-axleU-Haul car transporter between Denver and Los Angeles was $754, including $72 for $10,000 insurance and $66 in taxes.
See you on the other side (of the Continental Divide).
It's official: the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 can knock down mountains, even when dragging 6,000 pounds behind it. The run from Denver to Grand Junction is approximately 250 miles and includes among the highest highway passes (Loveland and Vail)in North America.
TheRam pulledmy Plymouth GTX overboth passes at an average speed of 60 mph and could hit 70 whenever Iwanted, even on the steepest inclines. The only reason it didn't average70 is the trailer'smax speed rating of 55 mph. Sixty seems within the margin of error and a few quick blasts to 70 felt completely confident, butI'm not going to maintain that kind of speed on twistyI70 with 6,000 pounds in tow (even if the Ramis ready and willing).
A quick check of the Denver-to-Grand Junctionfuel sheet shows 12.5 mpg on that stretch of the trip. Considering the altitude,tonnage and my average speed, I'll take it.
Vegas Baby!
Some previous posts onour Long-Term 2009Dodge Ram 1500 had people commenting on how much it is supposedly sagging in the back with the car trailer attached.
I looked through the photos from my trip between Denver and L.A. (a wrap-up of the trip coming soon), and I honestly don't think it's an issue. First, in terms of actual sag, I feel it's barely perceptible. Certainly it wasn't a dominant aspect of this truck/trailer combo whenever I looked at it during the trip.
More importantly, the amount of supposed sag had no effect on the truck's driving dynamics. Light front-end feel? Nope.Excessive or uncontrolledbounce over bumps? Nope (coil springs were not an issue here). Reduced braking force from lack of weight transfer to the front tires during braking? Not that I could tell. The Ram stoppedright now whenever I needed it to.
I'm thinking there's a psychological element here. It's like the super-big wheels on too many cars these days. Do they really improve performance? After a certain point, no, they actually compromise performance even if they supposedly look better.
Same thing here; it might not look as cool as a completely, 100% level truck would look. But is it actually affecting performance? Not as far as I can tell.
Maybe it was somthing in the pure Rocky Mountain spring water, but somewhere between Detroit andLos Angelesour long-term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 managed to multiply. What left Motor City and a single Mopar arrivedon the West Coastwith anotherin tow.
A demanding trip considering the two mountain passes and triple-digit temps in-between, but the Ram shrugged it off, covering the 2,505 miles without incident and averaging a not-terrible11.7 mpg.
Unladenacross flat and (relatively cool) Middle America the Dodge'swasrunning at12.8 mpg while traveling at...er, "healthy" speeds according to Mr. Pund. Adding the 6,000-pound trailer, then scaling the Rockies and barreling through 100-plus desert heat(including a blast-furnace-like headwind) dropped fuel efficiency to 10.5 mpg between Denver and LA.
The Ram actually gotthirstier after crossing the mountain passes. Not sure how much of this was the heat, headwind or perhaps a slightly higher average speed as I got more comfortable with the idea of keeping those three tons in check. The Dodge genuinely felt unfazed in terms of acceleration, braking and handling,which only madeit harder to maintain the proscribed 55-60 mph. Several times I glanced at the speedo and saw a figure considerably higher. Whoops!
Beyond the Ram's power and poise it's worth noting the level of comfort provided throughout this journey. For instance, the dual-zone climate control kept the large cabin cool, even when the exterior tempwas reading108 degrees. And despite it's somewhat brick-wall profile wind noise was never an issue, either while listeing to the audio system or utilizing the Bluetooth for hands-free phone calls.
If there's a chink in the Ram's hearty armor it comes in the form of limited travel range. As Dan indicated in an earlier post, the small gas tank (roughly 23 gallons) means fuel stops come approximately once every 250 miles. Dan managed 327 on one tank, but with the trailer attached the best I could do was 248 miles (at which pointthe distance-to-empty display was showing a disturbing "16 miles"before I foundthis Sinclair station 20 milesnorth of Vegas).
A "Dealer Service" message also showed up in the driver's information display at 2,600 miles. It isrequesting an oil change, which seems early in today's world of 15,000-mile changesbut maybe the oil sensor could discern the heavy-duty use the truck was seeing.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodge fares as a SoCal runabout in the coming weeks, though you can be certain it willexperience towing and hauling duty again. Plus Ipersonally intend to try out the "RamBox-as-ice-chest" concept put forth by Dodge. I love that idea.
Hands-free Bluetooth pairing isn't anything new. But Dodge does it right in the Ram. It's intuitive, simple to execute and works the first time. And you don't have to stop.
There's too much chrome on this version of the Ram. It looks like a truck that would be driven by the bad guy/construction foreman in a bronco bustin' buddy film.
Here are three things I like about this new Dodge Ram. 1) The aftermarket looking exhaust pipes that run straight out the back. 2) The sound of the Hemi through those pipes. 3) Theautomatic transmission. Itsometimes is too eager to kick down but during normaldrivingupshifts are smooth and downshifts almost imperceptible when slowing to a stop.
Just look at that picture. Driving down my narrow neighborhood streets is like piloting a 747 through the Grand Canyon.
We got us some Mopar truck.
It's big. It's red. It has a heated steering wheel.
It carries stuff. It's comfy. And it's car of the week.
Yeehaw.
I got a new place recently and read in our blogs a few weeks ago that we were going to get along-term Dodge Ram. Hmmmm....perhaps I could put that to good use.
So this past weekend I moved all my crapand our Ram was very helpful. Our 5.5 foot long bed was a tad short on capacity, but the crew-cab was great for hauling my moving crew.
I told my friends who I invited to helpthat I didn't have much stuff and that we would be finished by noon. Six moving guys, three hand trucks, and seven hours later, we were finished. It always takes twice as long as you think.
I hate moving.
Let's hear your pick-up truck moving stories.
Last year, I rolled up over to the X Games in our long-term Benz C300. That was completely out of whack as all the surrounding vehicles were tall-boy pickup trucks as shown below.
This year, I showed up in our long-term Ram 1500 pickup.
And guess what? I was out of place again...
I ended up accidently parking in Subaru nation.
What should I take to the 2010 X Games? A Ford Fiesta in honor of Kenny Brack's victory?
Who know's what lot I will end up in next year.
Check out some of the action shots from the 2009 X Games Rally Final.
We've got a long-term truck again? Hallelujah, it means a dirt-bike shuttle has returned. Headed out into the Mojave today (early, before the Sun's Anvil gets warmed up), the Ram gets tagged to haul a pair of dirtbikes for some wide-open-throttle therapy. How's it fare as a bike burro?
Well, we've the four-wheel-drive model, which ups ride height but puts the tailgate farther from the pavement. This means using the curb trick (backing the rear wheels right up to the curb at the driveway's mouth), to get the lip of the tailgate close enough to earth for solo flights up the ReadyRamp. We'll have to find a curve of the earth to mock this out in the Mojave, otherwise you end up with rocket-launch ramp angles.
Once the bikes are in, Ford's mocked step and handle would make the climb into the bed easier, but on the upside, the ReadyRamp from my dearly departed 2005 F-150 fits about perfectly on the Ram, locking into the tailgate's latches as a secure bed-extender. The plastic extender that came with our Ram will spend the day in the garage, as it's not designed to pull double duty as a ramp.
Our Ram is the Crew 5'7" with RamBox, a 5-foot 7-inch bed with the optional tool box in each side, which narrows the width of the bed by 15.7 inches (66.7 vs. 51 inches), making two bikes about as cozy as they would be in my Ridgeline (49.5 inches). They slide in with a slight bar maneuver, and unlike the Ridgeline, with the tailgate down you can use a bed extender, as even the rangy KTM 450 ends before the dropped gate.
The adjustable rail-side tie-down points work a treat, easily moving up to provide cinching points, and the welded loops in the floor up at each corner makes getting the two bikes latched down easy enough given the limited space. Once in and hopping out for a pic, you realize how much of these extended crew cabs pickups trucks are dedicated to crew, but the flip up seats makes for tons of room in back for two ridiculous gear bags.
It's not exactly a secret around the office that I've been working on the landscaping at my house this summer. I've been using various long-term cars to haul various plants from various nurseries for weeks now, complaining loudly about the whole dirty, sweaty, process.
Having conquered most of the smaller areas, I'm now forced to deal with reducing the size of the wide, front flower bed, and hauling away the mess.
The first step: remove the buckling concrete border that snakes across the lawn. Turns out, a 10-pound sledgehammer and a shovel is all that's needed.
Oh, and a truck.
Step 2: load the broken slabs into the back of our already well-loved 2009 Dodge Ram pickup. No bedliner is a downer, and not willing to be the first editor to turn the shiny red Ram's bed into a box of scratches, I grab an old beach blanket out of the garage and build a protective plaid layer between the bright red metal and concrete filth.
Step 3: enlist an able-bodied staffer (we'll call him, Mike) to help unload the concrete at the local Santa Monica dump. He unloads while I cheerfully photograph the effort from the front of the Ram's bed.
We're driving the first 2009 Ram the dump workers have seen at the "yard," and the ground crew is anxious to get a closer look at the truck. Towel-covered mask-man asks Mike to open up the side-storage Ram box, telling him confidentially it will be "a good place to stash your schrooms when you head up to the mountains."
Another worker saunters up when he sees me shooting the whole smelly scene, convinced I'm a camera-toting member of the dump paparazzi.
"Make sure you get a picture of that guy," he whispers. "That's Tommy Chong unloading the green Toyota Tundra." I obliging point my Olympus at the truck parked two down from me, where Cheech's supposed Chong is lurking behind an extra-large gold picture frame.
What do you want to know about the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew 4x4?
Have you seen any on the road? Have you driven one? Write a review or ask questions in the comments section.
Our long-term Ram has 2 convenient cupholders in the center console. But it also has 2 cupholders (actually bottle holders unless you want some major spillage) in each door that are below the seat.
You can reach down to grab the bottle, but it's very inconvenient. And if you try to pull the bottle up from there, you may do a deep bend that will take your eyes off the road and might put a hurt on your arm & hand because of the tight clearance. Weird.
I suppose you could keep the drink in there until you stop for your picnic.
Had enough of dirtbikes, home remodeling and moving posts yet? I hope not, because we've been waiting for a new truck for a long time. Stuff's been piling up. But for the next few minutes, let's venture into the world of performance testing with a really big truck.
Follow the jump for full results: 0-60, quarter mile, slalom, skidpad and braking. Oh, and as-tested weight!
Vehicle: 2009 Dodge Ram 1500
Odometer: 33,42
Date: 07/21/2009
Driver: Josh Jacquot
Price: $49,660
Specifications:
Drive Type: Four-wheel drive
Transmission Type: Five-speed automatic with tow/haul mode
Engine Type: 90-degree V8 Displacement (cc/cu-in): 5,654 (345)
Redline (rpm): 5,800
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 390 @ 5,600
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 407 @ 4,000
Brake Type (front): Ventilated disc
Brake Type (rear): Solid disc
Steering System: Rack-and-pinion with hydraulic power assist
Suspension Type (front): independent, double wishbones, coil springs and stabalizer bar
Suspension Type (rear): Solid axle, coil springs, trailing links, panhard rod and stabilizer bar
Tire Size (front): P275/60R20 114S
Tire Size (rear): P275/60R20 114S
Tire Brand: Goodyear
Tire Model: Wrangler HP
Tire Type: All-season
Wheel Size: 20-by-9
Wheel Material (front/rear): Chrome clad aluminum alloy
As-tested Curb Weight (lb): 5,677
Test Results:
0-30 (sec): 2.9
0-45 (sec): 4.7
0-60 (sec): 7.6
0-75 (sec): 10.9
1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 15.6 @ 85.
4 0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 7.2
30-0 (ft): 33
60-0 (ft): 130
Braking Rating: Average
Slalom (mph): 57.9 (55.2 with traction/stability control on)
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): .68 (.66 with traction/stability control on)
Handling Rating: Average
Db @ Idle: 46.6
Db @ Full Throttle: 72.4
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 64.8
Acceleration Comments: Quicker with trac on. Stomping the pedal is the quickest way — at least on this day. No real technique required. Manual shifts are slower.
Braking Comments: Like most full-size trucks, pedal feel is long and soft. Fade (from 130-135 feet) isn't perceptible through the pedal.
Handling Comments: Skid pad: Tall and soft like all trucks, the Ram exhibits the same vague controls and slow responses one would expect from a 5,700-lb pickup. Oh, and it understeers. Lots.. Slalom: Squirming a full-size truck between the cones is never easy and the Ram is no exception. Stab control will easily punish if inputs aren't very smooth or if you get behind — which is easy.
Our new Ram long-term truck pulled yeoman's duty yesterday, hauling a pair of dirtbikes out into the Mojave and back. It was my first bit of time in the new Ram and I was seriously impressed. Our Laramie spec crew-cab feels more like a luxury car, as the coil-sprung rear axle makes a notable difference in ride quality.
We used the time travelling out and back to the desert to make some hands-free calls on the Uconnect system, which worked without a hitch and has a usable volume range and excellent sound quality. The Hemi V8 hauled us effortlessly over the 4000-plus foot El Cajon pass, and sounds muffled but sweet while doing so. The cabin is hushed, and the adjustable shoulder belt is appreciated with the comfy and adjustable power seats.
The Ram box option does narrow the load bed (about 16 inches), so if you're looking for pure volume out back, you might want to skip that option. The boxes are also not very deep in their centers (because of the intruding wheel well), so anything bigger than a large power-tool may not fit, though longer, low-profile items such as levels will drop in no problem. The added width of the boxes also makes it tough to reach into the bed (especially with the added height of the 4x4 model), a common complaint with the F150 and its tall sides.
On the up side, the Ram Boxes are convenient with a locking, push-button latch that makes access from next to the truck a snap. The tops are also wide enough and covered with a grippy (when dry) plastic cover that allows you to easily stand on the bedside (great for loading bikes).
They also serve as near perfect benches, letting you call pickup-bed meetings if you're in a pinch for conference space. And though you give up some width, the combined volume of the two Ram boxes makes for great storage of smaller items that you might normally need to leave in the cab, or place in an aftermarket box that would shorten the bed length.
Chrome wheels are fine for some trucks.
But not trucks with four-wheel drive. And not trucks with Hemi V8s either. Not to mention trucks with giant Ram badges on their noses or dual exhaust pipes sticking out their rear bumpers.
Nope. I'll give them polished aluminum maybe, but the shiny stuff is just wrong. Other than that, I really like this truck so far. We'll see how it holds up.
When Kelly and I ventured to the Santa Monica dump last week, I couldn't immediately figure out how to remove the adjustable cargo divider so I could easily toss the concrete out of the bed. After returning back to the office, a few minutes of investigative work down in the garage proved that it's actually a fairly easy mechanism to work. In my defense, the putrid smell of decomposing dump-stuff and the appearance of the great Tommy Chong is pretty distracting.
Twist the knob to its vertical position, spread out the butterfly arms, and you are free to remove the divider or place it in the notch that will prevent your cargo from moving around. It's pretty straight-forward looking back on it.
However, the cool part is that Dodge gives the divider another purpose. It doubles as a bed-extender, which is useful considering the two extra doors and RamBoxes make our bed under-endowed at just 5 feet 7 inches. Pull the tailgate down, connect the extender to the two knobs along the side of the bed and the divider transforms like a piece of Optimus Prime into a bed extender. Voila! There are now two extra feet of space to work with.
Stay tuned for a "Will it Fit?" post on how many twelve packs of Natty Light you can stuff in the RamBox storage containers.
"I don't know how many boxes I have" my girlfriend told me over the phone two weeks ago. "The last time I saw that stuff I was leaving for college."
When I was charged with this mission, the first thing I thought of was to make sure I get our Dodge reserved for the weekend.
A lot of people think that when you move out of the house, either going to college or some other change in life, that's the end of childhood. I don't think so. I think when your parents call you sometime in your late 20's to mid 30's, and tell you to get all your crap out of their attic/garage because they need the room, that's the true end of childhood.
I just hope our Ram is big enough for the untold stack of boxes waiting for me in a garage 400 miles away from Los Angeles. There could be stacks of J. J. Fad cassettes, various Body Glove stretchy shorts, a few ratty-ass Cabbage Patch dolls, assorted VHS exercise tapes missing their protective covers and a sprinkling of Badminton trophies to finish off this mess.
I hit the road in a few minutes. I have a lot of questions in my mind as I roll out: I hope that I've got enough cord. I hope I have enough patience. I wonder when I can get some lunch.
The one thing I'm sure? That stuff ain't coming into my place.
We've wasted no time in using our longterm 2009 Dodge Ram pickup as a... well, a pickup. Last night I picked upthis toolbox from craigslist, the three pieces of which tetrised perfectly into the bed in the orientation you see here.
The bed's narrower than standard due to the Rambox option. It wasn't an issue in this case but it's something to be aware of if you need every last cubic centimeter of bed space in your truck... in which case you probably wouldn't get a crew cab anyway, but there it is.
Upon loading the goods, I absently clicked the tailgate latch open and began to let the tailgate drop, assuming it was damped (hey, the Tundra spoiled me). Turns out the Ram's is not. I caught myself (and the tailgate) at the last second. Ah well.
The cargo divider does, in fact, rule. It is very stiff yet weighs almost nothing and is dead-simple to use to boot.
It's one of those things that's so handy you wonder how you used a pickup without one.
Yeah, it needs a bedliner. We know.
Karl sent me this photo of his 1970 Plymouth GTX and our 2009 Dodge Ram taking a breather on the highway.
We offer you: I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for a Hemi Today
I'm sure you can beat that.
We'll post our favorite at 4PM Santa Monica time.
Thanks to eidolways for this week's favorite caption.
Here are the others that made us cheer:
The Mopar Wave (gjupp)
Later they regretted posing for "Mopars Gone Wild!" (ergsum)
Who'd guess a UHaul would have the best wheels? (oldchap)
I want my clunker back (hybris)
We who are about to do a burnout, salute you! (eidolways)
Im in ur desert Overheatin ur Mopars (wrinklebump)
So, do two Hemis make an entire sphere? (actualsize)
This is a great place to build "Mopar Ranch" (mnorm1)
F the GTX, Kill the Ram, Marry the trailer (at least it's reliable) (subaru123)
Damn, now we'll never make it the Pahrump Concours d'Elegance! (ergsum)
Driving with Pac Man (oldchap)
I'd rather push two Mopars than drive a Chevy (mustang5507)
What was your favorite?
It may seem odd to even consider the audio system in a beefy full size truck like the Dodge but chances are Ram owner will spend plenty of time behind the wheel. Nothing makes the hours and miles of a Texas sized road trip slip by faster that a good sound system. Here's what you get with the Laramie
The standard audio system on the Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie is a 506 wattsurroundsound unit. It includes 9 Alpine speakers plus a subwoofer, USB and aux connections, an internal hard drive, single CD/DVD player and it's satellite radio ready with 12 free months of service.
How it Sounds -
Bass is deep and tight and mids add a nice well rounded sound. Electric guitar with distortion soundsespecailly good. Unfortunately, the highs are just too overpowering and aresometimes shrill. Highs are also where distortion creeps in and on the whole everything simply sounds over boosted — sort of like Tom Cruise cranking up the EQ on his parents stereo in Risky Business. The good part is that the subtleties of certain tracks are more noticeable - background horns, sampling or scratching come to life on this system. The down side is that some subtleties should remain subtle. For example, trackswith a lot ofreverb cansound far too echo-y. Listen to anything like rock, rap or even pop for any length of time and it starts to feel rather taxing. Thankfully it's all anchored by clean, deep bass and taking the treble adjustment down a few clicks helps. Overall sound quality is a good solid B.
How it works -
The Laramie's audio system does a lot and that means many screens and menus to accomplish a given task. While listening to music via hard drive, CD, DVD or even memory stick, the tracks are listed on the main screen and you can jump right to a specific track by just touching it. The touchscreen is a good idea but the screen is too small -onlya few trackscan show at one time. Plus,the interface is a combination of thoughtful features and datedgraphics.However,a real high point is a small key pad that lets you punch in the exact radio station number without having to fumble through presets or twisting a dial endlessly. This is especially nice when it comes to satellite radio. Redundant steering wheel mounted controls on the back of the wheel are excellent too and that's been the case for a few years now with Chrysler products. In terms of function, this systemgets a B+.
Our 2009 Dodge Ram requested its first service right around the 3,000-mark. We'd just driven her cross-country, so some fresh oil was the least we could do. A lube and filter set us back $39.82 at La Brea Chrysler Jeep.
We called for an appointment the day prior, waited about 30 minutes while the service was performed and were on our way. Based on this visit we'd definitely use this dealer again. But the next timewe'll swing by Starbucks before subjecting our taste buds toits sub-par house blended coffee.
Long Way Home
Well, I'm back from the long drive back in the Ram from Palo Alto, a town about 350 miles north of where I live. I took the Ram up there to pack it full of my girlfriends childhood memories that her aunt doesn't want to store in her garage anymore. At least I thought it was just some childhood stuff.
When I opened the door of the aunt's two car garage, I found half of it filled with boxes and furniture. Not only was it my girlfriend's stuff, but her brother's (who also lives in LA), and her late mother's. We sifted through a lot of it and tossed a bunch, then packed half of what she wanted to keep into the cab and the bed of our Ram. Thanks to the suggestion of hybris, I bought a bungee cargo net and a few ratchet straps for safe measure.
(By the way, can you tell where we stopped for a quick bite on the way back? Notice the folded mirrors to fit in the parking spot!)
I should have read all of hybris' suggestions and rented a bigger truck. Now I have to make a second trip and pick up the other half.
We broke through the 5,000-mile barrier in the 2009 Dodge Ram yesterday. So far she's still in one piece after across-country drive and a few weeks in California.Let's hope we can say the same in another 5,000 miles.
This past weekend we used the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 to tow a Miata racecar up to Buttonwillow for the 24 Hours of Lemons Buttonwillow Histrionics. I'll leave it to JayKav to go over how the towing went. I just wanted to express my appreciation for the truck's rear tinted windows and ample room in the second row.
Ya see, our team's theme was Molly Maid, meaning we had to dress up like French maids complete with feather dusters. And thanks to the roomy second row and tinted windows, I was able to use the truck as a dressing room. And this was even though the second row was filled with racing helmets, driving suits and groceries. This saved me from having to walk the length of the paddock in costume since our teammate's parents' air-conditioned motorhome was located clear on the other side of the paddock. Thank you, Dodge Ram!!!
The truck also served as a handy locker that protected our valuables. Apparently there were some thefts during the race. So every time we all left our pit to go watch the race, we threw everything we didn't want to be stolen into the rear seat where the tinted windows protected them from prying eyes. Made us feel secure and able to focus on more important things...like racing!
BTW, this morning when I was gassing up the truck, this lil ol' man waddled up to me after having just finished washing his windows and asked me if I was from Detroit. He rapped his knuckles on the truck, referring to its Michigan plates. "I'm not but the truck is," I replied. "I'm from Detroit and I used to work at Dodge Corporation," he beamed proudly. "Wow!" was all I could think to say since that was the response he seemed to want. We both smiled at each other and then parted ways. "Dodge Corporation"?
I was born and raised a city girl. I grew up in a big three-story house that didn't even have a lawn. We had no use for any kind of truck.
Perhaps that's why it's such a novelty to me. But I LOVE driving pickup trucks!
We haven't had a truck in our fleet in a while, so it took a little time to get used to how high it sits. Driving out of the parking garage I kept thinking I was going to scrape the ceiling. But the Ram fits just fine.
Someday I'll give you a treat and post video bloopers of me trying to climb into the cab. There's no step.
I couldn't figure out how to use my iPod in it. There is an Aux port but I lost my Aux cord a long time ago. I searched in the glove box and found some strange looking cables but none of them were for the iPod. Then I noticed the USB port. I plugged in my iPod but it wouldn't recognize it.
I tried to tell
Sync
the voice-recognition system my problems but it wouldn't listen. So, I did what I always do when I have an audio-related question. I ran to Brian Moody for help. He says the USB port is for loading music onto the hard drive or for uploading photos. It won't recognize my iPod. He recalls us having a short-term test Ram for a while that had an iPod connection. So, there must be a way. We may have to get a special cable. I listened to Sirius satellite radio instead.
I'm not sure how to ask this while still maintaining some level of decorum, but here it goes. How do you climb into a tall full-size truck without crunching the business?
If I go one leg in/up, as I would in any othervehicle, thatends with the, er,gents landing first on the edge of the seat. I've tried other forms of ingress using the grab handle to hoist myself upward first, but that alwaysends with some awkward folding procedure between the door, opening,wheel and seat. Maybe there is no easy way of getting into a tall truck.
Because of this, I'm not sure if shorter people would have an easier or harder time climbing aboard the Ram. But I do know that women would find it less, er, crunching.
This one goes out to kissel1.
My husband desperately needed horse manure and a bale of straw for his vegetable garden, so we took our annual trip to the LA Equestrian Center in Burbank over the weekend. Last year, we easily fit 2 bales of straw and about the same amount of manure (about4 large trash bags full) in the back of the long-term Tundra.For this trip, we packed the bed of our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 with just 1 bale of straw along with4 bags of horse poop (sorry I didn't get the money shot of the bags open in the bed this year).
Even with the intrusion of the Ram Boxes into the bed's usable space (for this purpose, at least), there was plenty room for more, but we only needed that amount (a little straw and composted manure go a long way in a small urban backyard garden).
After shovelling horse doo into the bags in the hot mid-day sun, my husband was really grateful for the Ram's optional ventilated leatherseats.
The hillsides of Southern California weren't the only thing on fire this week. Back-to-back south swells had the beaches firing, which meant I needed transport for a 10-foot surfboard. Which meant I needed our long-term Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.
Even though it's a shortbed, it accommodated my longboard just fine. And it received the approval of the locals at the beach. "Cool grille," commented one while walking by with his board. "Bitchin' truck," remarked another while peeling off his wetsuit. "Are you really from Michigan?" another asked after spying the license plate.
But besides having room for my board and getting the thumbs-up from the bros at the beach, I found the Ram's in-cabin tech came in handy. The ParkSense Rear Park Assist System helps avoid bang-ups when backing this beast. Too bad you can't add an extra sensor for a surfboard.
I'm also a fan of Chrysler's UConnect hands-free phone system for its simplicity. Just push a button on the head unit (which should instead be on the steering wheel ... and is one of my few gripes with the system) and it walks you through pairing a phone by voice even while you're driving. But only if you have the passenger do it.
Or at least tell the system that the passenger is doing it.
The more time I spend in the Ram the more I like it. It's got the refinement and on-road solitude of the F-150 with the grunt of the Tundra and Silverado. Two things I've noticed may bother future owners. It's often tough to find a position for the fuel filler nozzle that lets the pump fill the tank while unattended. I may have just been having bad luck with swift filling pumps (this shot here at a slow filling Mobil pump did not make the nozzle constantly click off during the fill — a first for me), but when you've 20-plus gallons to pump, being able to leave the nozzle unattended is pretty convenient.
And about that chrome trim.
Our Laramie spec interior has chrome trim on the door pulls and around the shift gate, which managed to blind me simultaneously from two angles mid-day when the sun was high. This forces sort of an elbows-out driving stature but at least encourages you to keep two hands on the wheel. I'm not a big fan of chrome in the cabin just for this reason, but it looks like the door-pull bling is across the Ram lineup, while the console shifter only haunts the top two trim levels.
I usually tend to think having both rear parking sensors and a backup camera on the same vehicle is overkill, but in the case of the Ram, the combination feels like necessary equipment.
Last night, I had to make a run to a grocery store that has tight parking spaces in a cramped, crowded underground structure. The Ram's backup camera showed me what was behind me, but given the mammoth size of the truck's bed, it wasn't always easy to get a sense of how far I was from that threatening pillar or that adjacent car. Enter the parking sensor, which chimed in with an enthusiastic squeal or two if things began getting uncomfortably close. It took all the stress out of parking such a large vehicle.
Which tech features do you consider essential for modern driving?
E Ticket Ride
OK, maybe C.
When I was a kid my parents used to take us to Wildwood, NJ's boardwalk in the summer. One of my favorite rides was the Golden Nugget Mine. It was an indoor roller coaster surrounded by the ghosts of gold-mining prospectors and skeletons and such.
Driving the tall Dodge Ram through our parking garage reminds me of this ride. I know the Ram fits under the roof, but it still makes me duck when I pass under signs and sprinklers. It just looks so close.
So, I made a little video of my adventures in the parking garage.
It's All Ball Bearings Nowadays...
I was posed the question late yesterday: "MINI-E, or Dodge Ram?"
My inner dude immediately answered for me, "I'll take the Ram." A little surprised at my snap answer, I realized I had started pretty early that morning so I could run a few errands before I headed home for the day. Yeah, I headed to the Home Depot.
I've got a few weekend projects I'm juggling at the moment. I was thinking of going 220... 221, whatever it takes. I got lost in the maze of aisles for a while and ended up walking out with a variety pack of emery cloth for a reason I couldn't recall. On the way back to my truck I witnessed this crass display:
I guess I could tip my hat to the fella for not getting the truly vulgar plastic/rubber variety available in a rainbow of colors that I've seen dangling from other hitches. These home-made variety, IMHO, maintained some shred of creativity and humor.
Withcontrol ofour Long-Term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 over the past week I tried to cram as many truck-dependent duties into my loan period as possible. Everything from a bed replacement for the ever-growing boy to a vacuum cleaner upgrade for the ever-responsive household systems manager ("thanks dear")was on this list.
Beyond cargo hauling I knew there were family transportation needs over the holiday weekend, with two birthdays celebrations and a shopping run included in the fun. As expected, the Hemi-powered Crew-Cab Dodge Ram merely scoffed at my definition of "demanding truck duties."
Loading and hauling the new mattress, boxspring and frame home couldn't have been easier. The tie-down rails made securing the load easy, and while the obstructed rear view could have proven aggravating during parking maneuvers the Ram's rearview camera made it a non-issue.
The next day had us looking to replace our Regan-era vaccum cleaner, and after deciding on thenew Riccar Radiance (made in the USA, and really sucks!) we had to get it home safely. Plenty of room in the bed, but the vacuum store owner had already unboxed and assembled the cleaner. Thethought of our shiny new Riccorbouncing around the bed and trading paint with the Dodge(despite the near perfect color match) didn't appeal to me.
Moving the passenger seat all-the-way back allowed the vacuum, vacuum accessory box and two backpacksto ride shotgun, butmy family of four still had to fit in the cab, too.Nosweat. Putting the wife and kids three across the rear seat wasn't even a hint of an issue in terms of space or comfort.Actually, at one point thewife offered an unsolicited comment regarding the high comfort provided by the Ram's seats (front and rear).
The Ram's final cargo run involved hauling a load of auto parts about 50 miles. None of the parts were particularly heavy, but two of the boxes were quite large. This (like the mattress and vacuum runs) was yet another outing that included all four family members, and it confirmed the Ram's obvious abilityto serve as a comfortable and roomyfamily car or a powerful and capable full-size truck. Or both. Simultaneously.
In celebration of the fourth day of Fourth Grade, I drove my daughter to school in our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram pickup.
"It's fun up here," she said. "I like to look down at all the little people."
At which point I tried to point out the safety benefits of a large vehicle witha high seating position and wide visibility, even introduced the phrase, "commanding view of the road."
"Look at the little VW Beetle," she replied. "It's soooo cute from up here."
She won. Again.
I like most things about the Ram's cabin. It's spacious and comfy, and it looks great, too. But I just don't get the shifter.
First of all, there's the size — sure, a big truck deserves a big shifter, but the Ram's is too big for most hands to comfortably grip. And there are these chrome things that look like buttons on either end, but they're not buttons — their only purpose seems to be making the shift knob feel even more awkward in your hand. Also, the shifter feels hollow and flimsy — it lacks the weightiness you'd expect from a shifter in such a hefty truck.
Anyway... not a deal-breaker by any means. How do you feel about the shifter in your ride?
This weekend our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 was on chore duty. Overgrown trees and shrubs scaled the wall and had to be cut back. A couple of passes with the trimmer and it was all over. The bed was full of clippings and the job done.
Sometimes I forget just how convenient it is to have a truck around.
Our long-term Dodge Ram Laramie has a stitched dash top. It looks fantastic and lends some high-class flair to a type of vehicle not known for such frivolity and to a brand that's, well, Dodge. Of course, this isn't a real stitched dash. The stitches are real, but they aren't keeping two pieces of leather (or pleather) together. That's OK, it still looks nice.
I bring this up because it's a growing fad in the industry. To my best recollection, the first mainstream car in recent memory to have a stitched dash top was the Cadillac CTS. I always thought the stitchingwas a big reason for that car'sperceived high-quality look and feel. Our long-term 750i also has the stitching and it too looks great — ditto our long-term Genesis, which actually puts some of those stitches through real leather. The list is growing by the day it would seem, as the Lincoln MKT also has stitching
My question is when does this design element jump the shark?I don't think including it in a high-lux pickup like the Ram sullies the effect in a $90,000 BMW, but what happens if they throw blatantly fake stitching ina future Nissan Sentra or Kia Rio? Perhapsfake stitching that looks like this?Will it become like all that ridiculously fake wood trim they decided to stuff into every car about eight years ago and some companies still insist upon? Indeed, look around and you'll notice that more and more brands are switching tometal trims, darker woods or different materials altogether to spruce upinteriors.
Then again, wood is still around (just look at the Ram)and probably will always be around. Is dash stitching like that or will it be like digital instruments? I guess only time will tell. For now at least, I like it.
These are the keys to our 2009 Dodge Ram. What's wrong with this picture?
Josh recently posted a picture of our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500's key ringand posed the question: "What's wrong with this picture?"
I am not here to answer that question.
But I can talk about one thing that's right with it: Remote start.
Andremote start isnot just for the Ice Road Truckers among us.
When paired with the remote window roll-down function, it's a great way to get the A/C fired up and help it displace some of thehot air trapped insidebefore you haul your backsideinto a sweltering cab.
There is a catch, of course. After you climb inside you cannot simply shift into reverse and drive off. And those rolled-down windowsremain frozen in the down position.
To undo those things you must first insert the key and click it over two positions tothe "run" position. Protection isin place if you forget and apply a full twist, so there's no worry of re-engagingthe starterand thereby torturing your flywheel, your ears and your dignity.
But this somewhat redundant step is necessary to preventan opportunistic thieffrom getting in and driving away in your running, unlockedand windowless truck while you're stillstriding across the parking lot towards it.
Without these seven badges, all located in plain sight from the driver's seat, I would have had no idea I was driving a Dodge Ram. Don't forget the one on the driver's seat too.
Incidentally, the Mechanic is rumored to have had the Ram's head logo branded into his back after he got into our Ram without his shirt on, again, after it had been parked out in the sun all day.
Late last week we used the Ram to support a photo shoot on Ford's new F-150 SVT Raptor in the SoCal Desert. The Ram was enlisted because we needed a vehicle to haul a ton of gear over rough terrain (at low speed) and, well, it's the only truck we've got in the fleet right now.
This didn't go so well.
After a few hours of trundling through the desert, which, in these parts, is admittedly full of rocks, the big Dodge's right front tire went flat. We changed it and headed home on the spare. The repair cost $20 and took a half hour the following morning.
But within a few hours of the repair the tire pressurewarning light reappeared.Our gauge showed the left rear was at 25 psi. We filled it up, the light went out and we hoped for the best. Wishful thinking. Saturday morning the light was back and the tire was at 25 psi. Back to the tire shop where we plunked down $200 for a new 275/60R20 Goodyear Wrangler HP. The sidewall puncture causing the slow leakwasn't repairable.
This is disapointing. A truck should be able to spend a day driving gravel roads in the desert without a $220 tire bill.
I like the fact that Dodge tried to be innovative with the design of the new Ram, but I'm not finding the new Rambox option all that helpful. It seems like a good idea on paper, but I've used this truck for various chores and rarely have I found a good use for the sidewall boxes.
Maybe if we had harsher weather I would feel more compelled to jam stuff into the narrow storage boxes. Or if I used the truck as a utility vehicle for a daily job. But on a personal use vehicle, the Ramboxes just take up bed space that I'd rather have instead.
Unlike Mr. Hellwig, I'm a big fan of the Rambox. The saddlebags are perfectly suited to the way I use a truck, providing storage for dirty or heavy items which I don't want to carry in the cab. They greatly increase the truck's lockable storage space and create only a minimum compromise to my use of the bed. And, until now, they've done this perfectly.However...
After our little adventure in the dirt about ten days ago I noticed that the trailer hitch (an admittedly heavy, sharp item) had worn holes into the walls of the Rambox. I haven't looked, but I'd bet the Ram's owner's manual says something about keeping items like this in the Rambox. Even so, a dirty, sharp, heavy trailer hitch is exactly the kind of item usersneed to carry in the Rambox, so it should be designed for such use.
The top photo shows the holes in the rearmost section of the Rambox and the bottom photo shows the hole worn into the fender well. Yes, that's daylight you can see through the holes.Again, this isdisappointing. I love the Rambox and its utility, but it's far less usable than I had initially hoped.
Navigation Fail
Two weeks ago the family and I made a trip up the coast to Lake Lopez which is just outside of San Luis Obispo on the central coast. I programmed the destination into the nav system which then proceeded to be mightily confused. Specifically, it wouldn't highlight the route or show a list of turns. In other words, it wouldn't navigate.
I bought a map.
Light It Up
I went for an extended romp in the Mojave over this past weekend. After spending quite a bit of time in the harsh climate, you get dried out.
At about 1am, I woke up plenty thirsty even though I had been putting down the water all day. I stumbled out of my tent and out to the truck to grab a something to drink. I was pretty sure I'd have to hunt for the water in the moonless night, but to my surprise, the thing light up when I popped the hatch! It was like Vincent Vega opening the case in Pulp Fiction.
When you're tired, thirsty and just want to get back to bed, the little things like this are a blessing.
On the Road Again
It's 6:30 in the AM. I brewed a cup of nasty instant coffee and started packing up my camping gear. I had a big day ahead of me and every minute counts.
Just after the sun rose over the Mojave I jumped on the 395 heading to Tahoe. I volunteered to close my family's summer cabin down for the approaching winter. Thankfully my 370 mile drive north could be tempered with satellite radio.
When I got to my cabin, it was cold and miserable. I rushed through the various steps to winterize the cabin so I could get away from the mix of freezing rain and snow coming down outside. I was done in under two hours and started south to Truckee, the nearest big town with cell reception and gas stations. I drove the hour to get there and called my folks to tell them I was done. As I spoke the words "it's closed," I realized I had left the valve toward the shower head. Bad things could happen, I had to go back...
The clock was not my friend. I made the long drive back to LA, doubling up on some NOS energy drinks and listening to Dodgers blow it in the 9th. The drive was made easier by the fairly large fuel tank (26 gallons), and considering the big engine and bulky truck it's powering, I got a decent 16mpg on the drive back. The ample room inside also made of a comfortable ride.
I normally wouldn't recommend driving 950 miles in one day. But if I ever have to make one of those grueling slogs again, I know that the Ram wouldn't be a bad choice. As long as there a decent number of gas stations along the way.
For some of us, comfortable accommodation of two Golden Retrievers (medium-sized, extra-goofy) is a primary requirement for any vehicle we're going to take on the road. Happily, our Dodge Ram easily meets that standard. With just a sheet tossed over the back seat and floor to contain the shedding, it had Callie and Tequila sleeping soundly through back-to-back-to-back three-hour, 200-mile stints this weekend.
If it did nothing else, the Ram would already be a winner for me.
But of course, it does a lot more. Its human passengers are just as comfy in front, thanks to well cushioned seats that sit at natural chair height. And the smooth freeway ride helps make a nine-hour trip tolerable. The thing even steers nicely for its size, and corners willingly
I've become a big fan of the Ram boxes in the bed sides, with their ability to accept all the gear you'd rather not leave out in the open, — a power drill, and some kitchen appliances in this case — but also don't want fighting the dogs for space in the back seat. Yes, the boxes squeeze bed space a bit, but I don't find that objectionable.
On our northbound leg, we got 15-16 miles per gallon at a sustained 75-ish on I-5. Not at all bad, given the truck's size and mass. Coming back, Mother Nature provided a welcome boost in the form of a persistent and powerful tail wind. A dip in the jet stream put a strong southerly flow over most of the west coast that day, and with a load only slightly lighter, and at the same speed on the same route, we got 18-19 mpg coming home.
We didn't buy extra kibble with the money we saved on gas, but we could have.
Question:
How much can we squeeze intothe Ram Box in our
2009 Dodge Ram?
Answer after the break...
Answer:
One Bryn, Senior Editor for Edmunds.com.
Yesterday, I decided to tackle changing the clock in our long-term Dodge Ram. It was a pleasantly quick and easy process. No RTFMing needed.
I just tapped the clock display on the radio's main screen and up popped the screen pictured above left. Tapped the "daylight savings" virtual button once and it moved the clock to standard time just like that (above right). I hit the "save" button, and was done with it.
Did you change your car's clock yet? Was it easy?
I was standing behind our long-term Ram the other day and happened to notice that the plastic piece on our rear bumper is warping. Deja vu. At least it doesn't get in the way ofoperating the tailgate,like it did on our long-term Dodge Grand Caravan.
As Bryn mentioned, we were still waiting to get the go-ahead from our insurance carrier before repairing therear bumper damage on our2009 Dodge Ram. Not long afterher post went up, we received the settlement check. And the repairs were completed just as quickly.
Within 2 days the new bumper was ordered, shipped and installed. The at-fault driver's insurance company picked up the $637.43 tab.
Days out of service: 2
Total Cost: None
This past weekend our 2009 Dodge Ram didn't do any heavy lifting. It didn't haul anything, tow anything, or crush anything. Instead it just transported a few girls from shopping malls to outdoor eateries, same as any comfortable sedan.
And none of the women complained about it either. Once loaded up, the ladies seemed mostly impressed with its un-trucklike qualities. The roomy rear seat, the softly padded center console, the contrasting interior stitching, as well as the Ram's nav, Satellite radio and heated seats were all complimented.
But I felt kinda felt bad for the Ram, making it play shopping cart all day. Especially when it'ssoobvious that itcan do so much more.
A handful of friends got together this past weekend to remember Howard Rayon, a good friend who lost his battle with cancer a couple of weeks ago.
Howard was an amazing guy who could not sit still: he was a firefighter who rose to the level of Deputy Chief of the Santee, California fire department, a lawyer who practiced labor law, he sat on the board of his local credit union, he was part of an arson investigationstrike force andhe played a key role on atravelling management team that coordinated the response to large-scale brush fires and other disasters all over the country.
I knew him as an SCCA member whoraced a Formula Veeand worked as a volunteer course marshall at small club events and large professional races alike.That eventually grew into a 9-year stintas atravelling member of the CART/Champ Car/Indy Car safety team, the on-track rescue squad that helped get driverswith names you'd recognize safely out of their wrecked racecars at tracks around the globe.
Borrego Springs was one ofthe quiet places he liked to visit on those rare occasions when heallowed himself somedowntime, so atight-knit groupof his racing friends piled into off-road vehicles and headed for a remote overlook in the Borrego Badlands to watch the sun set and tell Howard stories.
Five of us climbed into the 2009 Dodge Ram truck for the trip. Everyone had plenty of spacein the new Crew Cab andthe RamBox storage compartments proved a handy place to keep the coats and jackets we'd need after sunset dust free. Out back, the RamBox's bed divider kept the all-important cooler and folding chairs from slamming about on the dusty track.
The route wasn't particularly challenging, but the coil spring rear suspension proved its worth once more by providing an admirable combination of good ride and good articulation over the bumps and dips. My passengers did grumble about the lack of roof-mounted grab handles a time or two as we lurched along the rougher sections, however.
Adios, my friend.
Vehicle Testing Director Dan Edmunds took this picture of our Dodge Ram in a minor predicament.
We suggest: Spy Shots: Ram Caught Dino Testing
What is your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Thanks to vwthing1 for this week's favorite caption.
Here are the others that made us roar:
Damn, Ford Raptors! (ergsum)
I don't trust these valets at Jurassic Parking. (ergsum)
So this is what it's like to be a standalone brand. (lowmilelude)
My name is Ram, and I could really use some help please. (lowmilelude)
I think I just oiled myself! (ergsum)
Do you think they saurus? (aleclance)
Hemisaurus-rex (ddoouugg)
La Brea Mopar Pits (ddoouugg)
Watch out, they can smell red ink! (ergsum)
Damn, they over grilled my meal again! (ergsum)
Hey, they left the keys! Lets take it! (ergsum)
I'll pass. I'll grab a Prius later. The doc says I need to eat more greens. (ergsum)
Ram Box Lunch (ergsum)
Gone in 60 seconds with one foot of rollout (like on a drag strip) (subaru123)
Obama Administration Thugs Corner Edmund's Staffer Over Clunkers Flap (rick8365)
What was your favorite?
A heated steering wheel. I daydreamed about such a wondrousunicorn during my formative years living in thebitingcold of central Massachusetts. Alas, it did not exist in those days.
Fast forward to today and BMWs and such have offered heated steering wheels for years now, but our 2009 Dodge Ram longtermer is the first pickup I've found myself in that had such a feature.
I can hear it already. "No self-respecting truck guy would EVER need such a sissy feature."
I towed about 4000 pounds exactly 1,101 miles over the past few days. Each morningnorth of Sacramentothe ambient temperature was in the high 30s-ish. And I clicked that button on every single time I climbed into the saddle (pardon the dust — I hadn't yet cleaned the truck).
Ifliking aheated steering wheel in a truck makes me a sissy, then you can call me Ms Spacek.
In fact, I'd argue that heated steering wheels make even more sense in a pickup than in a luxury car. In a luxury car, once you're in, you're in. With the Ram, I would constantly climb into and out of the truck whilemixing short trips with various truck-related activities suchfilling fuel cans, packing equipment into the cab, handling grimy car parts andloading the bed, and then getting out again and unloading all this stuff in multiple steps.
I'd put on my mechanic's gloves for the dirty work but didn't want keep them on while driving because:
a. they'dgank up the steering wheel, and
b. wearing gloves while driving sucks. You lose tactility and gloves of the work variety are kinda slippery on the wheel. It's just plainsafer (and nicer) to drive sans gloves. That is, assuming the wheel is not ice cold or you're not in a racecar.
So, all of this is an elaborate way to say that I freaking love the heated steering wheel in our longterm Ram. Heats up quickly, too. Fifteen seconds and the surface is noticeably warm.
I'll have towing impressions for you ina followup post.
As mentioned earlier, last weekend I towed with our longterm 2009 Dodge Ramroughly 4000 pounds for more than a thousandmiles.
In a nutshell, the voyage was exactly as you'd prefer — uneventful. Here are some observations.
Despite its characteristic visual tail "sag," the Ram rode and steered remarkably like it wasn't towing at all. Which is to say, very well indeed — the ride was as plush as ever. (The tongue weight was close to 15 % despite the optical illusion in the photo above.)
There's enough reserve power in the Ram's 5.7-liter engine that there were no sweaty palm momentswhile accelerating with the extra weight. I'd still give the nod to the Tundra's powertrain as being the superior unit due to its closer gear spacing and broader powerband (plus the Toyota runs on 87 octane while the Ram asks for 89), but the Ram was just fine with this relatively modest load once I engaged tow/haul mode.
Seat comfort is pretty good. I especially like that they have cooling fans, which is great on long hauls like this one.
Not a fan of the old-school nav system. Crummy. You've heard already. Also not digging the blinding plasti-chrome interior accents. Again, you've heard.
The Ram has a handy display that can be summoned by pressing the controls on the steering wheel. In it you can scroll through coolant temp, oil pressure, oil temp, transmission temp, and a few others. It displays the current reading and supplements it witha linear "gauge" beneath it.Cool.
Ascending the Tejon Pass, a grade of about 6-7% for a couple miles,I locked the cruiseand scrolled among these parameters. At 4500 rpm, coolant temp reached a peak of 218 degrees F, trans temp hit 175 and oil pressure was 51 psi. None of these were unexpected, save for the oil temp which soared to 260 near the apex of the grade. It took several miles of downhill driving (i.e. light load with plenty of cooling airflow) before the oil temp even began to drop from this peak.
Is chromey a word? Well, that's how I like to describe our Dodge Ram truck.
It's covered in chrome details: grille, wheels, interior trim.
Besides being bedazzled, it also does duty as a real honest-to-goodness pickup. We've towed, we've hauled (stuff and arse), we've bumped into things, we've been bumped.
Yup, it's car of the week.
We are twoweeks shy of thehalfway point in our test of the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500. We've alreadyreachedthe 15,000-mile mark. It's popularity in ourfleet is proof that the utility of a truck can'tbe matched.
To date our only out-of-pocket expenses wenttowards routine maintenance. And the only time the truck spent out of service was parked at the body shop waiting for a new rear bumper.
Total cost: $200
Days out of service: 2
What do you want to know about the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500?
Have you driven one or been a passenger in one? Have you seen any on the road? Where they covered in chrome like ours?
Write your questions and reviews in the comments section. And let us know if there are any details you want us to photographorvideo?
I like driving the Dodge Ram. I like barreling along the freeway. I like blocking the sun with its massiveness. But I don't like running errands in the Ram. Duh, right?
But sometimes you have to. I needed to make a post office run this morning. Maneuvering around my sleepy beach community is not easy. Some of the streets are tiny.
Jumping out of the Ram and climbing back into the Ram when you are only 5'4" tall is pretty hilarious. Now that's something I should video.
By the way, the parts are in and we're scheduled to have the Rambox liners fixed on Thursday.
P.S. Check out that sweet yellow Chevelle in the parking lot.
You asked about the interior of the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500. It's holding up just fine, thank you.
There's some stubborn dog hair in the back that doesn't want to be vacuumed up. But other than that, so far, so good.
Did we ever show you how easy it is to stow the rear seats? No buttons, straps or special instructions. Just lift it with your hand and push it back down.
Here's a video:
OK, let's hear it. Call me an idiot. I can take it.
I was pulling into a parking space in Inside Line's test-car garage, and scraaaaape, POP, went the right side of the full-size Dodge Ram.
"Shoot," I muttered. (Not really, just trying to keep it clean).
I scraped the truck's side on an, uh, inconveniently placed cement pole.
Based on the loud noise, I feared the damage would be much worse. Turns out, the loud popping noise wasabody panel cringing and flexing back into place.
Still, I managed to take out three separate panels, a feat my boss, Editor in Chief Scott Oldham wasn't afraid to point out: "What did you do? Confirm you made contact and then floor it?," he asked.
No estimate yet, but rest assured I'll be paying my stupid tax for some time to come.
You asked how the Dodge Ram compares to the Toyota Tundra and Chevy Silverado.
Vehicle Testing Director Dan Edmunds wrote this article:
2009 Full-Size Pickup Truck Comparison Test and Video
where he compared four full-size pickups trucks: the Tundra, Silverado, Ram and Ford F-150.
He tested suspension, visibility, storage, entertainment features, performance, towing, safety, fuel consumption, etc. etc. etc.
There are lots of charts and a fun video, too. Check it out.
P.S. The photo has nothing to do with this post. I just spotted those Christmas lights and the big full moon and had to snap a picture.
See the tailgate facing the ground? It houses a back-up camera and that camera is also facing the ground. What's more, the parking proximity sensors see the tailgate when it's in the down position. As you might imagine, this combination conspires to make some funny things happen inside the Ram's cockpit.
And by funny things I mean a view of the ground from the back-up camera and incessant beeping from the parking sensors.
The above photo shows what the back-up camera sees in this scenario. Not really a big deal, but driving with the tailgate down does eliminate the possibility of using the camera when parking. Select "drive" and the display returns to whichever mode you had selected before reversing.
And this handy little button makes the parking sensors stop freaking out.
With the recent news that the "Dodge" branding would soon be disappearing (becoming simply "Ram"), I took a census of exactly how many alterations would be forthcoming for the 2010-model year. It turns out, not too many. Also, I noticed that our Ram has "Sync." I thought that was a Ford thing. Jump with me...
Oh, wait, that button just makes all temperatures concur.
On a completely different topic, I noticed the truck's idle was lumpier than I had anticipated. You can't see it on the tachometer, and it doesn't change with the AC on or off, but you can feel the V8's subtle rumble in the seat of your pants from a stop up to about 10 mph if you don't touch the accelerator. Vehicle wrangler, Mike Schmidt, said I was the first to mention it, so we'll have it checked out with the next service visit.
The other day in the open thread, commenter yellowmiata askedfor apictureofour Ram's bed with a piece of sheetrock in itto see how much the Ram Boxeslimit the space. Well, I don't have any sheetrock lying around, but I did measure the inside ofthe bed for you. And after doing a bit of research on the sizes of sheetrock available (and learning quite a lotabout sheetrock/drywall/gypsum board in general. Sheetrock always sounded like aFlintstones character to me; now I know better), I think it's safe to say that a4x8-foot sheet of drywall will not fit in the bed of our truck.Jump forthe measurements.
Length: 66.5 inches
Length with bed extender stowed: 64 inches
Length with bed extender in use: 84 inches
Width: 49.5 inches
Width from tiedown to tiedown: 45.5 inches
Depth (just for fun): 20.5 inches
I enslaved the RAM for bike hauling duties this past weekend, part of what's becoming a post L.A. Auto Show dirtbiking tradition. Last time, I squeezed two dirtbikes into the narrowed bed between the two RAM Boxes. Though they fit with a little bar wrangling, this time I decided to use the 3-rail trailer instead.
This is a sub-400 pound single axle trailer with no electric brakes, and I suspected our burly RAM would hardly notice it hanging on. The RAM very conveniently provides both 4-pole and 7-pole connectors as part of our tow-package equipped 1500, and having both means no need for an adaptor. The connectors are mounted a fair ways above the receiver hitch, each with their own spring mounted cover. Their position helps keep them out of harm's way, but made the stretch to the 4-pole connector pretty much at the limit of my trailer's wiring.
As suspected, the maybe 900 pounds of trailer and bikes could hardly be felt by the RAM and its Hemi V8, which hauled us up over El Cajon pass on I-15 towards Victorville with no drop in the freeway pace and zero movement of the temp gauge. Reaching the trailhead involves a few miles of washboard fireroad, and the RAM's coil-sprung rear suspension continues to impress: The dirt-road portion felt smooth enough to be mistaken for tarmac. The dirtbike ride [below] was epic, and we'll have to find something harder for the RAM to haul...
Thanks to ergsum once again for this week's favorite caption.
Here are the other jokers:
Let me fix this. How is anyone supposed to take you seriously? (lowmilelude)
Batgirl trades in her Utility Belt for a RamBox. (ergsum)
"So you have room for a grappling gun on that thing, but not a hairpin?" (lowmilelude)
Action shot: IL staffer handles a sharp hairpin! (ergsum)
Zlott! Biff! Zowee! Ram! (ergsum)
Bailout Girl and Greenback Lady saves the Ram! (And taxpayers weep) (e90_m3)
Holy girls in tights, Ramman! (ergsum)
I live. I ride. I am. Batman. (robert4380)
"Insert funny comment from ergsum here". (vt8919)
"We'll blend in perfectly at the upcoming White House dinner! They won't suspect a thing!" (vt8919)
What was your favorite?
Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Pardilla took this photo at the 24 Hours of LeMons.
We suggest: Same Ram Time, Same Ram Channel
What's your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 is back from the body shop after nearly two weeks. Much of the time was spent dealing with the insurance company. The work itself,including the wait for parts took about 6 days.When all was said and done our little indiscretion set us back one very, very pretty penny.
Total Cost: $2,291.32
Days Out of Service: 11
I just got the keys to our new house. What do I do next? Get the keys to our Ram and make the first (of many) trips to Home Depot.
The back patio was gross. Covered in gunk, paint and mold I headed straight to the rental department and got a big ol' power washer. I forgot to bring any tie downs, so thankfully the Ram was equipped to hold the $1,000 power washer in place. I didn't want to damage something on the first home project. That indignity is saved for a time when someone can witness my stupidity.
The Ram seems even more portly when driving around densely populated areas. I'm especially nervous when driving in parking lots/garages.
Here in Santa Monica, they have large parking garages for the shoppers. I was pulling out of one garage to the street, but it's the kind of garage where you can't see the pedestrians on the sidewalks. I approached with great caution, looking into the convex mirrors for signs of people outside.
Just as I got my nose out onto the sidewalk a group of young guys walks right out in front of me. I nearly crush one guy and his saucer wide eyes reflect his similarly felt sentiments. He looks up at me, I can read his lips as he says: "Nice truck, dude." He gives me an enthusiastic thumbs up, then walks off down the street.
I wish I could be so enthusiastic after a near death experience.
I decided to take advantage of the lull in new house moving/painting/I gotta fix that madness and skip out early Sunday morning to the Mojave. A brief 90 minute drive and there I was, in the middle of Nowheresville. Peaceful.
I spent some time romping the open road and a little time listening for the Chukar and California Quail while hiking the rugged terrain. I probably could have done the trip in my Mazda 3, but it was a whole lot funner in the Ram with it's massive power and clearance.
Before long my mind started to fill with the house check list. I to putty the holes in my walls now so it's dry enough to paint at 8pm, put the trash out for tomorrows pickup....
Back on the road, the Ram's calm demeanor helped me relax and just enjoy the ride. By the time I got back home, everything was fine. I felt calm and relaxed. It was nice to have the ability to briefly get away to a peaceful place, and I was thankful the Ram made it fun.
During the several long drives my lady and I took around the Southland and up to San Francisco in the last two weeks in our long term Ram, I was so very thankful for extendable visors.
It may seem like a little thing, but with a large amount of glass comes a big exposure to glare. That annoying kind of glare you get while driving for hours and hours, burning your retinas and making your drive miserable. Being able to cover that windshield corner and the bit near the B pillar are major aggravating relievers.
Last Friday, I topped up our longterm 2009 Dodge Ram's tank before towing a car on a two-axleopen trailerto Streets of Willow and back to the LA basin. That part of the trip was 216 miles.
Then I drove 37 miles in city slicker mode (i.e. not towing) before remembering that I wanted to refill right after de-hitching the trailer in order to assess the fuel economy of the towing trip. I also have a knack of forgetting to take photos of the complete rig(which explains photo of city slicker mode above). Oh well.
So this tankrepresents mostly towing, but not 100%. Total fuel economy was 12.6 miles per gallon.
When towing, tow/haul mode was engaged and the trip consisted almost entirely of freeway miles. The weight of the car + trailer is about 4000 pounds. Overall, 12.6 mpg isabout what I expected.
Among the many things I like about the Dodge Ram, here are two interior features that I appreciate.
When listening to Sirius radio, I like when I get full information on the music. For example, in the picture above, I can see the name of the show, the year it was produced, the song title and artist. All important stuff when listening to B'way showtunes. With the many show revivals, I like to know who is singing and in what year. Not all vehicles provide complete information. Some just show the name of the song or the show. I want it all.
I also like the small shelf that sits above the screen. It looks nice and is convenient for little things like coins or a pen.
You might remember the Megacab. It was Dodge's attempt to out-crewcab Chevrolet and Ford and it was a marketing failure.
It was huge in a way that wasn't necessary. It made the exterior of the Ram look out of proportion and the benefits inside seemed minimal. It didn't last very long.
The latest version of the Dodge Ram has a more traditional crew cab and as you can see, there is more than enough passenger room. Cargo room is pretty solid too if you fold up the seat bottoms.
Sure, instances will come up when a little extra room in back would help. But having a 10-liter diesel up front might help every once in a while too and Dodge hasn't bothered making that an option. Yet.
Back in October, Josh Jacquot posted that our 2009 Dodge Ram's RamBox was a neat idea, but wasn't as tough as it should be. To illustrate the point, he had a nice photo of the ground...taken through the gaping hole in the RamBox caused by a trailer hitch.
The majority of you agreed with Josh: This thing should be able to handle some serious use. Strangely enough, Dodge agreed too and covered the part under warranty. Trouble is, they A) wereon backorder and B) kept showing up to the dealer broken.
Just about 3-months later an in-tact RamBox showed up just when we needed service for our Ram.
We dropped the truck off at LaBrea Chrysler/Jeep around7:30 and they kept it overnight. We were given the option to pick it up at 18:45, but waited for the morning.
The service included an oil change, tire rotation and a service/fluid change on the differentials. Total cost: $63.00
More photos after the jump...
Turns out, I'm a truck girl.
This week I drove our 2009 Dodge Ram for four days straight, and not because I needed to haul something,tow something, or smash something to smithereens.
But just because I wanted to.
Sure, it can be a hassle to climb into the cab in heels or a dress, but once you're up there, the cabin is awesome. The view is great, the seat is comfortable, and our Ram has all the ammenities of a luxury sedan.
Plus, should I decide at the last minute that I need to haul, tow or smash something, I'm good to go.
Versatility, thy name is Ram.
Our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 is definitely being used in the mannerin which a pickup is intended. It was my tow vehicle once again this past weekend, this time to Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, AZ, and back to the Edmunds mothership here in Santa Monica.
The trip confirmed my earlier impressions that the Ram is a fine tow vehicle.The cabin is exceptionally devoid of tire roar and wind noise, which reduces the fatigue you experience during those long hauls. It rides very well, too. It'sreally rather plush, especially withall its amenities.
Long stints in the saddle are made nicer by the butt fans in the seat, andthe backup camera makes lining up the trailer hitch a one-attempt affair. So simple. The seat and steering wheel heaters fire up quickly. Did I alreadymention I love that heated wheel? Yes, I believe I did.
Here's a minor observation — when the climate control is set to "auto," it won't let you switch on the recirc. I tried this a couple of times when following a particularly stinky truck. Turns out you have to go to manual first, then engage recirc. Weird.
Fuel economy for this 620-mile round trip averaged 12.5 mpg, which is ever soslightly lower than the 12.6 mpg measured on a previous towing excursion. It's a statistically insignificant difference, but I'll go ahead and attributethe 0.1 mpg reduction to these bad boys:
That's30,000 nickels right there ($1,500), weighing a total of 337 pounds. And it's what you get when you take the overall win at the 24 Hours of LeMons, which is exactly what my team, Eyesore Racing, did over the weekend.
I don't know why I've never used this feature before. You know how I'm always going on about heated seats. Well, our Dodge Ram has a heated steering wheel. This is nothing new, I know. I've just never tried it before. I thought it was kind of silly in Southern California, the way some of you think we're silly for using seat heaters so often.
But OMG!
It's sooo nice. It gets really warm but not too warm. So cozy. Oh no, I'm at work already? But I don't want to let go. I think I'll drive around the block. Tee hee.
Now all I need is a heated cupholder for my coffee.
Last night on my ride home, our Dodge Ram passed 20,000 miles.
It's been bumped and bruised, towed a LeMon or two, hauled a lot of stuff, hauled a lot of a$$, and it's still going strong.
And it does all this with a pretty spiffy interior that includes heated seats and a glorious heated steering wheel.
We like it. What about you?
You know that pile of old paint cans, solvents, and other accumulated stuff in the garage that you've been ignoring? Well, I got rid of mine this weekend. I was thankful for the Dodge Ram's nifty adjustable bed-divider that kept the cargo from moving around on the way to the disposal site.
I was also grateful for the smooth riding suspension, even with what amounts to an empty bed. I also mangaged to raise the running, average fuel economy (at least according to the onboard computer) from 14.1 mpg to 15.3 over the course of 275 miles.
So I'm walking around the back of our 2009 Dodge Ram yesterday and found this quarter-sized ding in the tailgate. We don't own this truck, so we'll have to fix it before the loan ends. Personally,Iconsider damage like thisa badge of courage. To me it says, "Hey, I use my truck like it was intended. I load stuff. I unload stuff.Sometimesthat means I'm going to bang up the tailgate."
But what if you owned it? Is a tailgate ding something you would repair?
On Saturday I used our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 to pickup my 10-girl Girl Scout troop's entire cookie order. Before I post the full story tomorrow afternoon, anyone care to guess how many cases (12 boxes of cookies to a case) fit securely in the Ram's 6-foot 4-inch bed?
We completely removed the Dodge's "Multi-Position Box Divider/Extender," and the load was approximately six inchestaller than the bed's side walls. The bed was completely full, so we put the last six cases in the cab's rear seat.
Although we did not use the RamBoxes during the actual cookie transport, four cases of cookieswould've fit nicely in each box.
February in my house means Girl Scout cookies. Lots and lots of Girl Scout cookies. Loyal IL readers may already know that as a troop leader and cookie mom, I'm responsible for picking up our entire troop's order from the "cookie warehouse," and I'veused long-term vehicles for this chore in 2007 (Kia Sedona),2008 (Hyundai Veracruz)and 2009 (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo).
This year, the 2009 Dodge Ram was my accomplice, and we made our way over to the temporary warehouse in the wee hours of Saturday morning. In the past, we've been required to bring our own labor, but this year, two willing Girl Scout volunteers loaded Troop 4723's 88 cases in less than five minutes. Eighty-one cases fit snuggly in the Ram's 76-inch bed, and the remaining seven were tossed in the rear seat of the Dodge's Quad cab.
It's the first time I've used an open-bed truck to transport the cookies, and I have to admit, it sure beat climibing into the back of an SUV or minivan.
While calculating the monthly fuel economy for Donna's soon-to-be-posted fleet summary, I discovered the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500's trip computerto bea big fat liar. No surprise, as we've never seen our trip meter divided by gallons added calculation agree with vehicle-generated averages, but this one seems farther off than most. I reset the running average before the weekend began and after driving 261.8 miles, I added 18.794 gallons of 89-octane this morning for an average of 13.9 mpg. The trip computer showed 15.4 mpg or about a 10% difference. Just sayin'.
Okay, I'm sold on our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram as a track support vehicle. I've used it a few times in this capacity, and each time it excels. This past weekend saw it serving tow and track supportduty from Los Angeles to Sonoma, home of Infineon Raceway. That track, by the way, is completely awesome. But I digress.
First, the Rambox. It's nearly as long as a Miata is wide, judging by the way it swallows an entire spare Miata steering rack complete with tie rod ends. Holds spare dampers, tiedown straps, tools... basically it's a great place for all the grimy stuff you don't want in the cabin but still want locked away. Knowing of the Rambox's fragility, though, I'm extra careful about what I put in there, and make sure pointy stuff is protected.
The Rambox does force you to be smart about packing the bed, but it'll hold everything I need — seven spare tires, a fueling rig, jerrycans, spare rusty suspension parts,a big plastic box full of important stuff that I never realize I actually have with me when the need arises, various and sundry other bits.
Flip-up rear seats are fantastic. Yeah, other trucks have them, too. I'm glad for that. Great feature.
Ridiculously tight turning circle. I mean really impressive.
Huge cabin. Lots of cargo capacity.
Hit the jump to see a list of a few items I wish the Ram had:
1. Stronger detents in the rear doors. They're weaksauce. If you open the doors all the way, the lightest breeze or a finger tap will close them, whacking you in your tookus. Heck, even the simple act of opening them briskly has them bouncing closed again. Very annoying.
2. A tailgate damper. I'm in a hurry at the track. I want to click the tailgate handle as I walk by without breaking stride sothat I can fetch the crap that needs to go in the bed. Yeah, it's only a few seconds to ease it down. But other trucks have damped tailgates; why can't the Ram?
3. An analog clock in the cabin. When the truck's switched off, there's no way to know how much of a hurry I need to be in while I'm rounding up items in the cabin. Can't wear a watch at the track; it'd get destroyed and/or risk breaking my wrist. And my arms are full of stuff, so no reaching into my pocket for the ol' cellphone watch.
Minor stuff. Great truck.
Buuuudyyyyyyyyy!
I love trucks. Having said that, there are two reasons I'd NEVER get one:
First, I live on the west side of LA. There is a ton a traffic, lots of small streets and the parking can be a massive pain in the a** with such a large vehicle.
Second, I don't want to be "that guy." That guy who owns a truck. Every dirt bag you know that you haven't talked to in three years will call you up and ask how you're doing, how's the lady, how's this or that. They don't care about you. The jerk has a couch they want to ditch in an alley someplace and they can't fit it in their Civic. You (the truck owner) are now their best buddy in the world.
It's for those very reasons I asked for the keys of the Ram. Our company is "that guy" and I hit them up for a favor. Granted, it was very handy to have the truck for the flea market I went to, the four truck loads of boxes I had in storage and hauling away the unwanted cabinets. But in the end, I was that schmuck. I was living the free-loader's dream.
The only hiccup to the dream was a temperamental key fob. It wouldn't always unlock when I hit the key. I used the key to unlock the door but when I opened it the alarm went off. I stood there with sirens blazing hitting the unlock key until it finally worked several stressful minutes later.
I'm ashamed to say that I started to entertain other low-life schemes of truck use. Maybe I could pick up those fence segments at Home Depot. Maybe I could buy those bags of fertilizer and mulch for the garden...
Maybe I can call in another favor.
I walked out to our 2009 Dodge Ram this morning and caught a glimpse of the paint just behind the cab of the truck. Is thatorange peel? And it extends up the back of the cab and onto the roof. Nodody likes to see that.
Igrabbed thekeys to our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500the other day. I neededto pick up some insulation and drywall.Plenty of width. Even with the RamBox bins. The4x8-foot sheets slidinto the bed just fine. It was almost as ifDodge planned it that way. Now if only they could do something about making drywall less heavy.
This isn't a fair fight.When it comes tothe 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and the 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo, it's clear that one haulsmore than the other.
Ah, but the answer differs depending on what is being hauled, if you catch my, er, drift.
Recently I had to (had to) drive a Porsche Turbo from our test track back to the offices in Santa Monica where, once there,I would trade the keys for those ofa 2009 Dodge Ram. My race jack was at the track, so it needed to ride in both machines to trace a path back to my garage.
The rear-engined Porsche, of course, has a "frunk", aforward-placed trunkthat's deep enough to hold three carry-on suitcases, standing up. My somewhat pricey OTC aluminum floor jack fits within as if it were made for it, with room to spare. It's locked away, it's not rattling around in there, and it's not banging around inside the passenger comparment. Surprising, actually.
For the homeward legI was looking forward to the Dodge Ram and its Ram Box. But it can't cope. The space is simply too skinny. I have stops to make and the bed obviously isn't lockable, so the passenger compartmentis my only choice. Good thing I have no passengers. I didn't bring tie-downs, so it's going to roll around if I corner too smartly. I don't dare put it on the leather seats and strap it in witha seat belt.
So if you need to haul an aluminumfloor jack or haul butt, a Porsche Turbois the better choice. The Dodge Ram does rather better when it comes to hauling drywall, washing machines, toolboxes, girlscout cookiesor racecar trailers, though. Heck, you could tow the Porsche with the Ram, if you needed to.
Now there's a truck bed. I have no problem whatsoever with the scratches thatdecorate our 2009 Dodge Ram's bed. Shows it's being used as intended. Gives it character. Heck, this one's not even really that bad.
I would go so far as to say that if one's truck bed doesn't have such scratches, the owner didn't need to own apickup in the first place. Need to tow but don't haul? Get an SUV. Want to go off-road? Here's a Jeep.
"What of bedliners?" you say. I hate them. Stuff slides around too easily on their cartoonishly ribbed surface. The cutouts in their lower corners usually give poor access to the tie-down cleats beneath. My hauling needs often include plastic gas cans, and bedliners and gas cans don't play well together on account of static electricity buildup. I could go on.
Besides, to my eyes, those things arelike a bra on the nose of a Porsche — looks worse than going natural. And who are wesaving the paint for? The next guy?
"What about spray-in bedliners, such as those named after large African mammals?" That's just paint of another color. Sure, it's thicker, but that stuff still scratches through, albeit with more difficulty. I'd take it if it were factory installed, but on an after-sale basisI'm not interested.
What's the big deal? This is a truck bed. You can't see any of thiswith the tailgate up. Scratches are totally consistent with the point of the vehicle. They'rea kind of badge of honor. How come people get bothered by this?
I spent the weekend using the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and a borrowed heavy-duty trailerto shuttle my own personal project Miata to and from the body shop to get the trunk pulled straight.But thisMiata is not the long-term 1994 long-term Miata that Jay will tinker with and maybe let us driveif we ask real nice over the next year or so.
No, my 1990 Mazda Miata redefines the term "long-term" as I've had it in my care for over 20 years. It's a race car, you see, and I'm restoring it. Only driven on weekends, less than 7,000 actual miles. Sharp-eyed readers saw it in the background of the GMC Terrain suspension walkaround(photo #2) in the middle of a complete teardown.
Why would I use the word "restore" when referring to a 1990 Mazda Miata? Well, this is the first Miata to ever win a race in North America. That factoid didn't seem to be a big deal back in the day when it happened, but a ton of Miata racecars have been built and Miata wins have beennotched in the years since thatmaiden victory, scored in this very car by yours truly.
But enough about that.The Dodge Ram barely even blinked with this load. It towed nice and smooth. OK, the towed weight was probably no more than 4,000 lbs and my buddy Craig lent me an outstanding trailer, but this truckhas never once disappointed me. The bigger test will comeover the April 10-11 weekend, when I tow the carover hill and dale on the way northto Laguna Seca/Mazda Raceway for the Miatas at Mazda Raceway 20-year anniversary Miata-only track day event and party. I'll have stuff in the bed and crew in the Crew Cab. Should be fun. Stop by and say hello if you're nearby.
Our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 has been in the fleet forjust undernine months. This morning, on my way into work, it passed the 25,000 mile mark on a non-descript surface street in Gardena, California. No spectators at all witnessed this historic event.
While taking the above photo with my crummy point-and-shoot in poor light, I was reminded how nicely laid-out and clearly marked the Ram's gauges really are. And there a lot of them, too.
In addition to thesix dials you see here, the central display can be toggled with steering-mounted buttons to show engine hours, transmission temperature, oil temperature and a couple of others that are of particular interest to heavy-duty users and those who tow trailers. In fact the transmission temperature readout will be particularly useful when I tow my Miata up to Montereya couple of Saturdays from now.
Incidentally, 669 engine hours over 25,000 miles works out to a lifetime average speed of 37.4 mph, including idle time. Don't know what that means, but it would be interesting to compare to, say, a Porsche 911 GT3 if it had an hour meter.
It was cold, it was dark, it was 5:35 in the morning. I was running about 15 minutes behind scheduleand I was in a hurry to get onto the freeway before traffic started to build.
And then this happened: the TPMS warning light on our 2009 Dodge Ram's dashwinked on along with a "Low Tire Pressure" message on the display as Iwarmed the truck'sengine.
I grabbed my trusty tire gaugeto see which one it was, first glancing at the door jamb to confirm the recommended tire pressure, which turned out to be 35 psi. Three out of four were bang-on that mark, but the right front was down to 26 psi.
I heard no hissing and the nearest gas station was only two miles away, so off I went. After all,the Ramhad been parked all night andthe tirewas nowhere close to flat. Sure, I could have fired up my garage compressor, but in the pre-dawn light my neighbors would not have been amused.
At the gas station, I added air, overfilling the tire somewhat to 38 psito give me a buffer in case some leaked out on the 50-mile drive to work. If the pressure did come down and the light came on again, I reasoned, I could always stop once more, refill, and hopscotch my way to the office.
That turned out to be unnecessary. I made it in one go and the TPMS light did not come back on. Once in our garage, I measured the tire pressure again: 38 psi. No change. Try as I might, I couldn't see a nail or any other reason forthe low tire. We decided to monitor the right front for awhile before taking it in for repair.
Today, one day later, Josh has the truck. As of an hour ago, it's still at 38 psi.It must be a very slow leak, indeed. Maybe some crudwason the valve seal and it got blown out when I put the gauge on. Maybe there is a very tiny brad or staple hiding where we can't see it. We'll keep aneye on it.
Whateverthe root cause of the air loss, TPMS hasyet-again warned us well beforeprolonged low-pressure driving due to an unnoticedslow leak could turn into a roadside flat or blowout. Since the systems became mandatory a couple of years ago, we've had over a dozen such warnings on various cars in our long-term fleet that were easily handled with low-stress flat tire repairs at a tire shop, at our convenience.
Unlessthe test carhit something really big and developed a very fast leak or a sidewall tear, no one has had to call AAA, no one has had to break out the jackand spare.
I'm a big fan of TPMS. It's one of the best new NHTSA safety regulations to come along in a long time.
Here's a Dodge Ram trivia question for you. How many rams appear on the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500? This one is on the tailgate. But there are others.
And that's what a 52-inch LG DLP television looks like in the back seat of the Ram. Fit perfectly. It measures 56"x36"x15" so the Ram is the only vehicle in our fleet that would allow me transport it standing up.
Yes, I moved last week. No, it wasn't fun.
If you're really cool, you'll remember that Senior Video Specialist (I'm only going to type that out once) John Adolph and I took our last long-term Dodge to Bonneville in search of quiche, that as Editor in Chief Scott Oldham put it, was "to die for!"
This time, John Adolph, video mercenary Charlie Barkhorn and I loaded into another Dodge and headed to Vegas to cover the Fuel Sipper Smackdown. Now in its third installment, The Smackdown took the usual route from San Bernardino to Las Vegas, by way of Death Valley. Far from the leisurely trip you think it was, we spent more time in the Ram then we did anywhere else, including the buffet, and dumped over 850 miles onto this thing in two days.
Observations? Oh yeah, we got 'em.
The Nav:
Dodge, Fiat, whomever, it's time to get a new system. While it's nice enough to look at, not being able to enter a new destination while moving almost caused us to punch this thing back into the dash. I can understand being concerned about the driver being distracted, but if you have a sensor telling you there's a passenger in the passenger's seat (and that said passenger is wearing their seatbelt) you might want to forward that information along to unlock the nav system. Changes in destination necessitated pulling over, putting the Ram in park and then fumbling through the stupid menus only to find that the system wasn't up to date enough for more than a few parts of Las Vegas. Don't let it happen again.
Also, like our Caravan, the nav calculates the time remaining on some unknown average speed that is not reflected by the posted speed limits. Check out the picture below to see what I mean.
The Motor:
Oh yeah. It's got one. Getting to 120 mph is not only easy, it's actually pretty fun. We were all unprofessional drivers on a closed course, too.
Storage:
Well, it's a truck. Needless to say, it held a lot of stuff. Coolers and hard cases rode out back with the bed divider keeping everything nicely pinned to the front of the bed. Soft gear, electronics (stuff we didn't want baking in the sun) rode in the cab in the backseat. Tripods? The three of them all fit in one RamBox. That is awesome. Granted, we could have put them in the cab with us, but having all been hit by one twenty-pound tripod before, none of us liked the idea of getting hit by three. The center console earned its keep too. There was room for radios, phones, an iPod (no one here has a Zune, sorry) beef jerky, chargers, sunglasses and even a bottle of Perrier. The upper storage bin easily held the aptly named sixteen-ounce gas station burrito, seen below. The same could not be said for my colon.
Fuel Economy:
Since we were witness to a fuel economy test, we decided to play along and keep records of our trip as well. While not as scientific as the testing team (we're artists, people) we did manage to record our mileage and stopped at the same gas stations as the testing team along their route. Our results? We averaged 14.02 miles per gallon over 850 miles with a low of 11.85 mpg and a high of 16.30 mpg. Consider the driving we did, which included a wicked headwind on the way home, that's nothing to be ashamed of.
While in Vegas, we did have time for one side trip. While Ron Montoya was trying not to get arrested, we stopped by the Shelby American factoryto have a look at their collection of Cobras, various Mustangs, a GT40 and even a Dodge Omni GLH. There's also a gift shop, because nothing says sorry for having gambled away the 401k to the Mrs. like a pair of authorized Carroll Shelby socks. If you're in the area, and you've run out of money, check it out. Admission is free.
Our Dodge Ram is a seriously nice truck. On top of its beefy towing and hauling towing capacities, it's got a comfortable ride, a huge interior and enough luxury features to rival a Lexus ES350's. Other than fitting into compact parking spaces, you can pretty much do it all with this thing. But it does make me wonder what our Ram will be like in 35 years.
I dig old 4WD pickups with dents, faded paint, big off-road tires, solid-axle front suspensions and maybe a dog in the back for good measure. Editor Hellwig's got a '75 Ford F-250 that I'm a bit jealous of. Yet I just can't picture our Ram as an old 4WD truck. Nobody's going to want to break it in because it's just too darn nice.
It rained yesterday. There were some big mud puddles. Since I was driving the Ram, it seemed necessary to splash around a little. Trucks look better with dirt on them.
Well here's an unusual mix. Normally we'd be hauling filthy dirt bikes in the back of our typically preened Dodge RAM (with weekly washes, none of the fleet ever gets that crusty). Thanks to Romans mud puddle adventures and an assault on the Honda 250X with a determined pressure washer, the somewhat pristine bike spent part of the weekend on display in the back of our long-term Dodge RAM 1500.
Our 4x4 RAM's bed sports a fair amount of elevation, making creative driveway positioning a must for motorcycle loading unless you like launch-pad ramp angles. Though the RamBox option narrows the bed, there still tons of room in back for any one bike, and the adjustable cleats of the tie down system make cinching it down a snap. A factory bed-liner might be nice to help ward off corrosion, though I'm not sure if it would improve grip.
In typical California fashion, sundown brought a swift drop in temperature, turning the steel bed surface into a condensation plate. The nocturnal reload ended with unintended gymnastics as a frictional coefficient that would make ice seem gritty sent the low-siding front wheel and my first leg off towards the front of the bed. Luckily, by using the plastic tailgate cap as a shin grater on my trailing leg, I eventually halted the split. I should know better than to load in the dark.
Last week I brought our Ram to Lithia Dodge of Fresno for its 25,000-mile service, which entailed an oil change and a tire rotation. I've been to this dealership twice before, firstfor our departed Grand Caravan and then our Challenger. As was the case with those appointments, Lithia's service was prompt and courteous. Total cost was $56.30.
We don't promote it as much as I think we should, but our Local Dealer Ratings feature is still alive on the Edmunds site where you can read and write sales and service reviews about your local dealers. Remember to tell your friends and family about it.
Our long-term 2009 Dodge RAM 1500 spent another weekend hauling motorcycles around. Combine a functional ride like the RAM with HEMI power, and you begin to appreciate the stout integrated cargo tie downs. I've never put huge trust in any mounting point that wasn't welded in place, but the RAM's setup is starting to win me over.
Mounted along each long side at the top of the inside of the RAM's bed, the aluminum rails are notched every few inches and provides two composite tie down cleats per side. Each cleat is flared and looped, making it easy to cinch rope or hook-in tie downs. The spring-loaded knobs in the center of the loops rotate out to loosen the cleats, letting you position it along the rail.
The way the plastic cleats interact with the aluminum rail, even the slightest side tension tends to lock the cleat in place. You'll constantly hang the cleat up just moving it loose along the rail. Actually setting the cleat into one of the notches and then snugging it down with the threaded knob almost seems like overkill. Once secured into a notch, the cleats did not budge even when hauled on with some serious Ancra tie down straps.
The adjustable placement, combined with the welded loops in the corners of the bed made for drama-free hauling', a bonus when constantly succumbing to the HEMI's urge to lunge away from stop lights. Hauling duties complete, the RamBox setup is a sweet spot to stow tie-downs, as the deep well towards the back of each box caches such ropey cargo without it constantly sliding around.
What the what? Why, that's a spare tire on our longterm 2009 Dodge Ram 1500!
It's a long story, filled with intrigue and scofflaws. And I'm going to share it with you.
Okay, I'm lying about the intrigue.But not the scofflaws.
Picture it. Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA. May 2010. The Ram is my tow vehicle. The TPMS light flicks on during the drive back to the hotel after the first day of a two day race. I hit the driver's front tire with some air the next morning on my way back to the track a few miles away. There's a tire service in the paddock, so I'll have 'em fix whatever's ailing it.
Sure enough, I find a nail. Dead center of the tread. Easy plug job. Tire service plugs it for $20. Done deal.
Not done deal. TPMS lights up again on the way to our Sacramento stopover after the race. Tire service guy is a tool. Can't even get a simple patch job done correctly. I pull off the freeway and hit it with some air. I'll deal with it proper-like in the morning.
Next morning, sure enough, the TPMS light's back on.I decide that towing any distance with a plugged tire that's losing air isn't a smart idea. If the failing plug lets go all at once, I'll cause a wreck that'll take out the tri-state area.
Time to suck it up and just throw the spare on. This thing's a truck. It's got a full size, real-deal spare.
No, it doesn't. It has a temporary use spare. Crap. No way I'm towing 8 hours back to LA on a speed- and distance-restricted donut. Gotta get the plugged tire fixed.
Conveniently, the stock tires are Goodyears, and the local Goodyear tire shop is not far from where I installed the spare. Inconveniently, they don't have the equipment to deal with 20 inch wheels, so they don't sell the associated tires. Guess what the Ram has?
Still, they can at least diagnose the leak. They inflate the leaky tire to 60 psi and slather soapy water over the plug. It's not leaking there. Guess the paddock tire guy wasn't a tool after all. Hmm. Out back the tire goes, to be immersed in a water tub to locate the real leak.
Hardly visible with the naked eye, the sourceof the leak is revealed — a tiny pinprick dead smack in the center of the sidewall. It's an unusual place fora puncture, but not unheard of.
At least, that's what I thought until I remembered that my teammate's street car also experienced a flat tire. At the track. Because of a puncture. In the driver's front tire. Due toa tiny pinprick dead smack in the center of the sidewall.
Hmm.
Turns out, the Willows police department receivedseveral reports of sidewall punctures from patrons of the hotel at which we stayed during the race. Track-related vehicles — and that includes trucks serving as support vehicles — were apparently targeted.
Up the road, America's Tire sold us a replacementtire, a BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tire since they didn't have the exact stock tire on hand. Beggars can't be choosers. Total bill out the door: $216.85.
As for the Ram, the scissor jack is prettyfiddly — it won't sitflat on the pavement, so when you try to crankit up with the sixty feet of extension rods, it flops aroundlike a fish on dry land. The spare weighsa thousand tons, too.
Still, no awl-wielding ass clown can deflate my affection for the Ram as a tow vehicle. I'm really going to miss it when it leaves.
Trip distance: 1,125.7 miles
Fuel economy while towing: 12.2 mpg
Peak oil temp observed while towing over the Grapevine again: 235 degrees F
Sure, it's a little dirty today, but the Ram's interior is wearing well given its mileage. At more than 28,000 miles it's driver's seat bolster shows no wear. Because of the Ram's height I drag my backside over this bolster every time I get it or out. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Other areas are doing well, too.
The driver's-side window switches look and function as new. Again, not an area I'd expect wear, but they serve as another example of quality from a manufacturer who has let us down significantly in the recent past.
Overall, the Ram's interior is remarkably tight and durable. With the exception of the few places where we've simply neglected it, it looks new (or if could if it were clean).
Go home team!
On the way into the office one morning this week, I pushed the volume on/off switch on the Ram's head unit and nothing happened. The display was dark and the audio system was silent. I pushed the switch several more times to try to get the radio to come back to life before I came to the conclusion that I'd have to make my commute in silence.
At least I could catch up on a few phones calls while stuck in traffic, so I dialed a friend. And before I could hit the speaker option on my iPhone to comply with California's hands-free law, I was startled by a sound coming over the truck's speakers.
While the audio wasn't working, the Bluetooth system was since I'd previously paired my phone. Before I heard a ring, my friend's voice mail greeting came blasting through the speakers (as captured in the video below). But the radio display was still blank and I couldn't view his name and number on it, per usual.
By the time I got to our offices the radio display was coming back to life, although it was dim. And when I jumped back into the truck at the end of the day, the display was working normally.
If I had to choose between making phones calls and listening to music, I'd always chose tunes over talking, especially at the end of a long day.
Last week Doug had trouble with the radio and displayin our 2009 Dodge Ram.Over the past week I've put400 miles on it. Istarted it at least30times. Iturned the radio display on and off twice that many times.I even fumbledaround with the dimmer switch, assumingthat played a role. Despite my poking and prodding, theRam didn't miss a beat.
We will continue to monitor the issue, but the radioseems fine now.
...A place to comfortably hold your pizza box, that is.
The Ram's center console and shifter couldn't be better suited to this job.
Yes, we were parked. Relax.
Our long-term Ram hit 30,000 miles over the holiday weekend on highway 68 just east of Carmel California. Follow along later this week for more on this little adventure.
Here's what 408 pounds of orange Austrian two-wheeled badassery looks like in the back of the Ram. Couldn't even detect its presence. Other than being paranoid about losing it and driving accordingly, there's was no real reduction in the Ram's performance. Over the course of 420 miles, it rode virtually the same and its power was still more than adequate. When it comes to the combination of towing, hauling and ride quality, I haven't experienced a better truck.
But it's hard to eat a pizza on the tailgate with a motorcycle in the bed.
Like the title says...
It's got the best ride by a mile. Wait, make that two miles. The motor is great. It's comfortable, etc. If I could get one with a flat black grille and a manual transmission, I'd be a happy man.
Dodge > Chevy > Toyota > Ford > Nissan
Living in the same town as your car-testing colleagues is a good thing, especially when you have a last-minute need for a truck.
The Sundayafternoontext conversation between me and Manager of Vehicle Testing Mike Schmidt (fellow Long Beachian) went something like this:
Me: What are you driving?
Schmidt: Ram.
Me: You busy?
Schmidt: Why?
Me: C'mon.
Schmidt: What do you need to move?
Me: Ganahl lumber yard. Need 200 ft of baseboard and door casing.
Schmidt:Game's at 4. Better be quick.
Turns out,my"rental" truck came with free labor.
That Mike Schmidt's one nice guy.
So which coolant temp gauge do you prefer, an analog dial with no numbers or a digital thingamabob with numbers? Seems like the guys at Mom Mopar couldn't decide so they gave the Ram one of each.
Me? I want an analog deal with numbers.
It took me a full year, but I finally figured out a practical use for the Ram's Ram Box. Yes, we had a good party. By the way, that's nine bags of ice. Please don't drink and drive.
For the first time, Ihad two at once last night. My initials appeared next to two vehicles on the sign out sheet, and now my driveway is filled with2009 Dodge Ram 1500, towing a rented U-haul trailer, which iscarryingthe 2009 Mini E.
The idea was to get the Mini E to the test track with a full charge, because thetime has come to conduct its wrap-up test. The Dodge's days are numbered, too. Using one to tow the other is a classic case of killing two birds with one stone.
If we have enough time, we may use this pair for another special test we've wanted to do for a long time. Stay tuned.
Hoo boy. For a second there, I thought that was a photo of our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 on — get this — a chassis dyno.
<rubs eyes>
Wait, what?
Call ita Mopar kind of day. Photographer extraordinaire Kurt Niebuhr had driven the Ram to the dyno on the day we dyno-tested the Viper. Things wrapped up with the Viper and before we knew it, the Ram's 5.7-liter V8 was singing a full-throttle song while spinning the rollers. The explanation eludes us. Maybe it was the exhaust fumes. Maybe the Starbucks lady slipped a little something-something in our Pike Place that morning, who knows.
Whatever the root cause, it happened, and this is the result. Dodge's pushrod "Hemi" V8 is rated at 390 horsepower at 5600 rpmand 407 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The chassis dyno measures output at the wheels, and the Dynojet 248 inertia dyno we typically use had this to say about that (click chart for a larger image):
A 3% SAE weather correction has been applied.
You'll notice that the data starts at a relatively high 3,750 rpm, a direct result of the automatic transmission's tendency to downshift even in manual mode. Hitting wide-open throttle at anything lessthan 3,750 rpm triggered a downshift, which caused revs to soar andabortedthe run.
Fortunately, this is low enough in the rev range to capture the torque peak. We measured328 hp at 5,700 rpm and 336 lb-ft at 4,050 rpm to the wheels.
We haven't dyno-tested many trucks recently but a few years back I wrote a pickup comparison test of the 2007 Tundra, Silverado and Titan that included a trip to this very dyno. Unfortunately theraw data is long gone but this image of each truck's horsepower remains, and is duplicated below, alongside a similarly scaled version of the Ram's run. I realize it's not an ideal way to compare the trucksbut please bear with me:
Disclaimer: All the usual disclaimers pertaining to dyno testing on different days (years, even) apply here. Still, it's worth noting that the 5.7-liter V8 in the Ram is remarkably akin to the Tundra's 381-hp 5.7-liter V8in the magnitude and character of its power delivery, as it continues making power all the way to its 5,750 rpm fuel cut.
Also worth noting, however, that the Ram recommends 89 octane (which is what we had in the tank) whereas these other trucks herewere tested on87 octane.
On amore personal level, this time spent on the dyno with the Ram was perhaps my final opportunity to wheel — er, throttle — the big truck. And I'mgonna miss it.It's been a terrific truck.
Thanks to anonimo for this week's favorite caption.
Here are the others that had us ROTFLing:
Trust me, it works better than "The Club"! (ergsum)
Mini E shown with the new range-extending option and potential future fuel supply (9krpm)
Here you go Rex, you'll get a charge out of this bite sized snack (technetium99)
T-Rex arms and the Mini-E; both have limited range of reach (ergsum)
Objects that appear in mirror are ABOUT TO EAT YOU OM NOM NOM (sherief)
Every picture tells a story, this one is Al-E-Gorical (ergsum)
Road Ptrip (sherief)
Honey, I meant for you to pick up Trex, not T-Rex! (miraa)
I hear this will offset my carbon footprint (punkr0cksux)
Dyno tested. Dino approved. (benya_p)
Dan creates a Mini Dino RAMa (ergsum)
Towannisaurus Rex (thegraduate)
And, in the musical category, to the theme of Ghostbusters:
When your Mini-E
Runs out of Juice
Who you gonna call!
Tow-Truckers (punkr0cksux)
What was your favorite?
The Ram will be leaving us shortly. I had very little time left to replace the stove at my family's cabin north of Lake Tahoe. I reserved the Ram for an extended weekend, went home and packed.
Our cabin was closed for the winter, so it was important that my lady and I left early so we could get there with some daylight left to turn the power back on and flush the plumbing of all the antifreeze. Come early Friday morning we left L.A. for a stopover in Truckee to pick up the new stove.
I love trucks and this has been one of my favorites of all time to drive. I think it looks great, it's super comfortable, it's powerful and is a blast to drive. I felt sentimental as I drove the many hours north to Truckee, knowing that this would be my last trip in the Ram.
I used the Ram to close my family's cabin for winter last season. I used it to move into my house. I used it on a couple of really nice camping trips. I drove thousands and thousands of miles in our Ram and I loved every minute of it. In fact, the Ram would always be my first choice of vehicle in the long-term fleet, over the GT-R, over the Viper, over anything. It has been my favorite long-term vehicle in the last few years.
When I got to Truckee, the guys at the Sears helped me load the stove into the back. I used the integrated box divider to snug the box into the bed and with the adjustable cargo tie-downs I was able to get three ratchet straps around it all. I know these cargo management features are not unique to Dodge, but they're super convenient and efficient.
During the drive up the mountain, the strong engine made it feel as though there was no oven in the cargo bed. The Ram effortlessly powered up the steep grades. We got to my cabin later than I hoped. I unloaded the new stove from the bed, loaded up the old one and took it to the dump 40 miles away.
When I got back, I discovered that a pipe hadn't drained properly so it froze and burst over the winter. A bunch of sediment had gotten into the pipes and blocked the drain line. The primitive plumbing in our cabin made it so I had to shut off the main, making staying for the weekend rather unpleasant. A plumber friend of ours in the area couldn't make it out till Monday. That meant it was a quick turn around for us. The next morning it was back into the truck for a long drive home.
During the nine hour drive back, my lady and I both loved the comfort the Ram offered to us weary travelers. I never got numb butt/things. My back didn't get stiff. The only thing I got tired of was driving. I had been in the truck for almost two days.
When I pulled into the office this morning, I checked Trip B. I put 1,371 miles on it over the weekend. A lot of driving, a lot of dead bugs on the grille, a lot of good memories.
This is probably the only long term vehicle I will truly miss.
After my trip up to Truckee, I was able to squeeze one last use out of the Ram. It was time to put an end to that damn storage that's been a pain in my side for the last few months. Three pieces of furniture were all that remained in the once packed 10'x15' space. In two trips we closed the account and I gave up my garage for the foreseeable future.
It was suggested by a few readers comments that I'm not an enthusiast if I prefer the Ram over the GT-R and that I only like the Ram because I had something to move. Am I going to deny that I used the Ram to do a lot of dirty work? Obviously no. It has been immensely helpful to me in the last year. But in all honesty, I loved driving this thing empty. It came with the added bonus of being able to haul my stuff around.
Don't get me wrong, I like the GT-R. It was a blast to drive, but I prefer trucks. I don't think that makes me less of an enthusiast. Just makes me a truck guy. Why don't I buy it? Believe me, if I could buy this thing, I would. It just aint' gonna fit into my life at this moment with a mortgage, an engagement ring and car payments. I've only so much money to go around, but it does make me look to about two years down the road when I can plunk money down on a truck of my own. A year in the Ram has really shown me that I should have bought a used pick-up as I had planned instead of my Mazda 3. The deal I got on the 3 was so smoking good at the time that I went for it.
In the mean time, I'll definitely be looking forward to the next truck that comes into the office. And yes canadaphant, I think the Ram might miss me. (That comment made me laugh for half the afternoon).
In the spirit of sketchy dealer service, I pulled this blog from the back of my drawer. I can't believe I forgot about it. Yes, our 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 is gone butits memory lives on. This is a picture of its new oil filler cap. Why did we buy that, you ask?
At 25,000 miles we serviced the Ram at Lithia Dodge. Well, we think there could be a kleptomaniac in the house. We are not qualified to make a clinical diagnosis, but here's what we have to go on. The Ram went in with a cap. And when it left, no cap. Our only regret is that it took us several days to realize it was missing. It reminds me of the day our long term Q7 returned from service with a pair of channel-locks under the hood.
Do you have a dealer service horror story? Let's hear it.
No lumber. No towing. No hard hat job sites. Just bicycles and fruit.
A couple of weekends ago a put our long-term 2009 Dodge Ram though the Suburbanites Truck Test.
The rigorous battery of tests included:
1) Haul the wife and kids around like any other car, SUV or minivan.
2) Haul the family and their bikes to the beach for a leisurely afternoon ride.
3) Haul us down to Irvine (60 freeway miles or so one way) tothe pick your own strawberries farm. (And no I didn't do donuts in the farm's dirt parking lot. Okay, so I did.)
By Sunday night I concluded that the coil sprung Ram is my favorite of the full-size truck choices. It's perfect for my city boy needs. Itsride and comfort levels are exemplary and its interior appointments are without a doubt class leading.
Still, not so sure I would get the Ram Box.
Wrap-Up
Think back to your favorite car. Maybe it was a truck. You really didn't care what others thought of it. No words could break that special bond between the two of you. But somewhere along the way you were separated. Maybe you couldn't make the payments. Maybe your neighbor stole it in the middle of the night. Maybe a pack of tree-hugging Earth Liberation Front eco-terrorists turned it into a candle. Or maybe you borrowed it from Dodge 12 months ago and now it has to go back.
Inside Line spent the past year with the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. For more than 33,000 miles we drove the Ram across the long-term blog pages, a mileage milestone that ranks on top for any 12-month durability test in the history of our fleet. Functionality had a lot to do with its popularity, admittedly. The Ram could haul, tow and for one stretch it was the only genuine four-wheel drive in the garage. But there was more to this pickup. And each of us will list a different reason why it ranks among our favorites.
Why We Got It
The 2009 Dodge Ram pickup truck was all-new. But it was significant for one reason above all others: coil springs. Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds bellowed, "Prepare yourselves, fellow truckers, for a brand new day. No more will you be surprised by a sideways leap of the ass end of your truck when you encounter midcorner bumps or cross railroad tracks. No more will your insides turn into a quivering bowl of gelatin as you traverse a lumpy freeway. And no longer will you and your passengers quiver at the sight of a washboard dirt road or a poorly maintained driveway. The 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup has been healed!"
Praise for the new Ram was not limited to our first drive of the truck. It also won our full-size truck comparison test.
Durability
We enjoyed driving the Ram, as a truck or just as transportation. Senior Editor Dan Pund volunteered to drive it from Michigan to Colorado, where he would hand the reins to a West Coast staffer. Pund reflected on his trip, "With about 1,300 miles to cover in our new long-term Dodge Ram, we have some alone-time on our hands. Even splitting the drive up into two days, there are almost exactly 1,000,000 miles of corn-wrapped straight, flat Interstate 80 to cover. In a decent automobile, which early impressions indicate the Ram certainly is, this is a monstrously boring drive. The kind of boring that might inspire a grown man to affix Bugles-brand corn-based snack trumpets to each of his eight fingers, just...you know...to see. We're not saying that we actually did this, but I did."
Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh towed with the Ram for several thousand miles during its tenure. Kavanagh reflected, "The Ram drove and steered remarkably well with 4,000 pounds behind it. The ride was plush as ever. There is enough reserve power in the Ram's 5.7-liter engine that there were no sweaty-palm moments while accelerating. We drove the Tejon Pass, a grade of about 6-7 percent, for a couple miles. I locked the cruise. At 4,500 rpm coolant temperature reached a peak of 218 degrees F, trans temp hit 175 and oil pressure was 51 psi. These were expected, save for the oil temperature, which soared to 260 near the apex of the grade. It took several miles of downhill driving (i.e., light load with plenty of cooling airflow) before the oil temp even began to drop from this peak."
Our problem history with the Ram was minor. Nearly 18,000 miles into our test we began to question the advertised sturdiness of its RamBoxes. Take a tow hitch, store it in the RamBox, add a splash of road imperfection and serve the punctured plastic RamBox liner under warranty. Aside from the RamBox incident, our dealer visits were limited to routine maintenance at recommended 6,000-mile intervals. La Brea Chrysler Jeep handled the bulk of our maintenance needs and did so to our satisfaction. We should probably mention the morning we struck an inanimate object, but we'll leave that out.
Total Body Repair Costs: $2,291.32
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 12 months): $253.06
Additional Maintenance Costs: None
Warranty Repairs: Replace RamBox liner and RamBox key cylinder
Non-Warranty Repairs: $456.85 to replace 2 tires
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 4
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: None
Days Out of Service: 8 to repair body damage
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: None
Performance and Fuel Economy
We sent the Ram through our standard battery of tests when it was new and again as our test wrapped up. Our first track test of the long-term Ram was impressive. But we were quite pleased to see that after 33,000 miles of service it was even better.
Senior Editor Josh Jacquot noted while testing, "Stomping the pedal is the quickest way to accelerate. Brake torque doesn't help. No real technique required." Acceleration from zero to 60 mph required 7.4 seconds (7.0 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) en route to a quarter-mile pass of 15.3 seconds at 89 mph. These figures mark a 0.2-second improvement from its first track test. Similarly, slalom speed increased to 60.3 mph and lateral acceleration around the skid pad bumped to 0.70g. Stopping distance from 60 mph remained consistent at 130 feet.
Over the course of 12 months we tracked fuel economy in the Ram with and without a trailer in tow. We averaged 14 mpg over the course of our test, with a best tank of nearly 20 mpg. Stick a trailer behind it and the figures drop as expected. Our average fuel economy with 4,000 pounds in tow was 11 mpg, with a best single tank of 12.9 mpg. That average fell to 11.7 mpg while pulling 6,000 pounds. Neither came close to the Ram's 9,100-pound maximum towing capacity.
Best Fuel Economy: 19.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 10.5 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 14.0 mpg
Retained Value
When our long-term Ram arrived, the odometer read 97 and the sticker in the window read $49,660. Over the next year we drove it cross-country, towed numerous heaps of metal behind it and filled the bed with everything under the sun.
By the conclusion of our test, Edmunds' TMV® Calculator valued our Ram at $30,026 based on a private-party sale. That equates to depreciation of 40 percent. For a point of reference, our long-term 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and 2007 Toyota Tundra depreciated 46 and 38 percent, respectively. The Chevy had 32,000 miles at the time of sale, making it a better comparison than the Toyota, which only ended its term with 26,000 miles.
True Market Value at service end: $30,026
Depreciation: $19,634 or 40 percent of original MSRP
Final Odometer Reading: 33,234
Summing Up
We have a new favorite car. And it's a truck. Our goal is to accumulate at least 20,000 miles on all long-term testers during their stay so the Ram's massive mileage accumulation is big news. Almost as big a story as a half-ton truck that offers class-leading ride comfort and competitive towing ability.
One year with the Ram made clear to us that this is the suspension of tomorrow. Not once did we shy away from the Dodge because it "drives like a truck." Instead, we drove it everywhere. We went cross-country, one-third of the distance pulling a trailer. We towed cars to the track. And sometimes we just drove it around town because our kids liked to sit up high and look down on other cars. Let's not even start with all of the stuff we hauled in the bed.
Dodge showed us that a truck can have redeeming qualities beyond its sheer utility and that even a truck could be comfortable. We will miss the Ram.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.