Just outta curiosity, what don't you like about your Ram? Most seem to like them well enough, kind of surprised to see your sig.

 

Honestly, I don't think it's a Ram problem, as it is a new vehicle problem. Too many computers not letting you do what you want and monitoring things it doesn't need to just to annoy you later (I.e. light bulbs, CANBUS). 4WD systems that are electronic...even the manual T-cases won't engage if certain sensors aren't reading right.

Torque management and the 'dead pedal' that goes with it are the biggest issues for me. With the Ram anyways, I can floor it while letting out on the clutch and it won't get much past 1500rpm and bog down. This is quite dangerous when trying to cross traffic. Hell, I even stalled it one day pulling my trailer (only 7k) trying to take off from a light.
Stability control system that cannot be turned off (no having fun offroad or in the snow). I am currently looking into a way to disable the steering angle sensor in the clockspring to fix this problem (I can spin in a straight line all day long, but as soon as the front tires turn some, ABS kicks in and kills it)

Dealer-only software that the truck needs to be able to do anything with it...
TPMS (Luckily, my truck only has TPIS)

Etc...

I just need to come to the agreement that new vehicles are not for me

 

I just traded a Cummins...Mine was manual though and did not have as much of the issues. Once you had that thing moving in any gear you could mash the throttle and it would take off with no hesitation.

I will admit the truck we ended up with was not as impressive as another I drove...But it didn't have options we wanted. We're up to 1,500 miles and it's definitely not the truck I drove off the lot, it's taking a while to come around. I have some long towing trips planned which hopefully will bring it around.

And F2502011, I was a little misleading in my comments on the Ecoboost...We have both a 2015 f150 and the 2017 f250 so I get to drive them both daily. And your truck sounds exactly like ours and I'd join you in an ecoboosted super duty myself!

 

You have a link to '17 6.7 dyno charts? Thank you

 

After having 3 Rams with the G56 6-speed manual, word to the wise. Don't mash the throttle as soon as you let the clutch out or you get the exact result you described. Say you're starting out from a dead stop...use whatever gear you start out in (we always did 2nd empty and 1st loaded), give it the throttle you need to pull out, once you have the truck moving and have satisfied the computer that the truck is moving you can slam on it as hard as you want. You can't rush shifting those trucks in stock form or they will make an idiot out of you in a hurry. Ram does that programming to save the stock p.o.s. clutch they use, once everything is fully engaged and the computer recognizes that you should be able to drive it however you want. Just my ~100k miles of experience shifting them.

 

Sage advice, which means you can't side step the clutch on a 7000 rpm dump like in my drag racing days.

Actually your weak link on our trucks is the u joints and rear suspension. Leaf springs and their axle wrap with the kind of torque these engines put out can rip the axle assembly and drive shaft right out from under the truck in extreme cases.

 

I actually really want to buy a G56-equipped RAM. I've heard bad things about the cheap dual-mass clutches and even the G56 housings cracking, and now this about throttle management...but for some reason the idea of still being able to buy an HD truck with a diesel engine and a stick appeals...especially since being able to buy a manual transmission is rapidly going away across all segments. I'll never be giving up my Ford, but who knows...maybe a nice Tradesman regular cab 4x4 Cummins for the work fleet?

 

I've had a fee g56 trucks. Personally im not a fan. Mine were 2006 and 2007 models. Only reason I bought them is the autos had a bad reputation. The g56 is definitely a long throw between gears. It seems like half the time 1st gear is way too low to start in but 2nd was too high. Clutches don't last if you pull heavy, I ended up with a double disk clutch, it worked but took a ton of leg to push the pedal in. Autos are so.good now that manuals are obsolete IMO. although the ram autos shift horribly compared to the torqshift.

 

My romance with manual transmissions ended about a year after I started driving trucks. 250,000 miles on 10- and 13-speed transmissions kind of wore me out. Absolutely no interest anymore, especially now that modern autos do just about everything better.

 

I'll gladly sell you mine Only 6k miles on it!

The only housings I have ever heard of cracking, was hearsay of one or two stories of sled pullers running ungodly power through them.

I honestly think that once deleted and tuned, 90% of the problems go away. At least that's what I've been told...

 

Haha, not a bad looking truck, although I think the duallies with regular cabs look a little strange no matter what the brand.

There is actually a pretty rare truck for sale at some RAM dealer in North Carolina - a 2017 3500 CrewCab diesel 4x4 with the G56, a Laramie, power roof, nav, etc...for $10k off. I think the final price was $56k. But I'm not interested in buying a "fancy" one of these...it would be pretty much the base spec.

I'm guessing with the next RAM redesign, the manual transmission will go away completely from these trucks. I kind of want one before that happens. I like to shift...even a somewhat agrarian manual like the G56 / Cummins combo. I imagine a base Tradesman SRW 4x4 / Cummins G56 combo gets reasonably good fuel economy.

 

Thanks! I'm not a fan of the Ram beds, with the huge 1-piece side panel. I'm putting money away for a flatbed.

As for the mileage, I get 16mpg around town with 'spirited' driving. I don't get on the highway much, but if I keep it at 70mph I think it's around 18mpg. I have 3.73 gears and these itty-bitty stock tires.

And BTW, if you are thinking about one, keep in mind that ANY Ram SRW with the Cummins after 2012 or so is ONLY available with 3.42 gears. No other option unless you go dually (3.42, 3.73, 4.10....no 4.10 with the manual trans though)