I bought my '07.5 Ram 2500 4x4 brand-new off the lot. And ever since it seems I've been fighting one issue or another with the truck. Friends tell me to sell it. Screw that - I'm making it mine.
I tried to be a good little camper and leave it mostly stock. That hadn't worked out so well for me. Chrysler finally seemed to get the bugs worked out of the ECU systems for the 6.7L Cummins platform. The suck part is they used thousands of loyal customers like me who shelled out more than $50K on these vehicles as their rolling test bed, feeding us fixes as they came up with them to troubles that knowingly went to market. But those issues seem to be behind me. And so is my 3-year, 36K warranty.
I've already upgraded the fuel system and added a Bully Dog tuner into the mix. The result? My unloaded highway mileage has improved from roughly 16mpg to a solid 19-plus mpg. With the new, smaller and lighter BFG tires I'm putting on this week that should increase even more. Keep in mind that's with all the emissions crap still plugged in. If I wanted to "off-road-only" this sucker and remove the DPF, Cat, and NOX filters from the exhaust and remove the EGR stuff I'd be solidly into the 23-24 mpg range on the freeway with an honest 800lb-ft or torque.
I've also had it with some other stuff on this vehicle. From day one the steering has been lackluster.The stock ball joints were completely worn at 20K miles, so now I've got Dynatrac ball joints and the company's excellent Free-Spin kit installed. The Dynatrac parts noticeably helped the steering, but the factory steering box has been literally coming apart since the 15K mile mark.Thankfully, PSC Motorsports has a fix, which I'll be installing this weekend on my free time.
I'm also fed up with the ride and handling of my 3/4-ton Megacab. Why is it a truck rated to tow this much is so wallowy in the corners, yet rough on the highway? KORE, Carli, and Thuren have the answer. I'll do some research for a new suspension. I'm thinking Bilstein's new 5160 shocks will find their way under along with some new front coils and rear leaf springs.
Then there's the exterior. The metal is paper-thin. Any small door contact in a parking lot results in a noticable ding. Hell, if you even lean up against it the fender will dent! Rocker guards of some sort, I'm thinking come first. Let those housewives who can't park bash their edges of their doors in on some tubular steel and not my sheetmetal. I was also floored to find my grille shell chrome veneer bubbling and peeling off. Nice, huh? Think aftermarket billet. Don't want to: have to.
In the end, I really love my Ram truck. It's comfy to drive, has tons of power to pull anything I attach to the tow hitch, and my family of 5 and all our gear fit with room left over. My problem was I tried to leave it stock(ish). Shoulda known: you just gotta make a rig your own.