Introducing the Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500

This series will focus on my ownership experience with my 2016 Ram 1500 Sport
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Just short of 2 years ago, I was in the market for a full sized pickup to replace my 2012 Mercedes C350 coupe. While I loved that car, it just wasn’t practical for my lifestyle and I needed something with a little more utility.

My 2012 Mercedes C350 Coupe (Mopar Insiders photo)

I should preface this by saying that prior to owning 2 Mercedes in a row I have typically always owned a Ford, GM or a Mopar vehicle. In the beginning of my search for a new truck I was looking at 2016 Ford F150s and while they are nice trucks, I noticed build quality issues with every one I looked at. After about a week of searching I found an F150 that I liked and left a deposit on it. After getting home that night, I kept thinking about it and wasn’t really all that excited about it as one should be when purchasing a new car. It was then that I decided I was going to go look at Ram 1500s the next morning.

The test drive

The next morning I called a salesman that works at a local CDJR dealer that my parents had previously purchased a Grand Cherokee through. I told him that I was looking for a loaded Ram 1500 Sport, he said that they had 2 left which funnily enough were sent over to them by Abbotsford Chrysler the dealer our own forum member @BobbiBigWheels works at and that currently allows us to review their in stock vehicles.

2016 Ram 1500 the day I brought it home (Mopar Insiders photo)

Upon my arrival to the dealership, out front was a Ram 1500 Sport crew cab in Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl. Upon driving the truck I fell in love. I’ve had friends that had 2009 and 2011 Ram 1500s and always liked them, but this is the first time I had been in one of the post 2013 refresh trucks. The Hemi and ZF 8 speed combo is perfect, feeling powerful and refined, the refreshed interior looks great, fit and finish was perfect with high quality materials everywhere. I’d say the interiors of these trucks were best in class even going up against the newer GM twins and Ford F150. The ride was amazing for a full sized truck thanks to Rams unique link coil rear suspension, on all the F150s that I had test drove the rear end would pogo stick over rough roads where the Ram stayed planted and secure. I knew right away that I was buying the Ram.

After returning to the dealer I walked the lot as I really didn’t want another black vehicle and was shown the other Sport they had in stock, a Blue Streak Pearl crew cab. The second I saw it, I knew that was the one, I gave up the front and rear parking sensors that the black one had but that wasn’t a big deal, I HAD to have that colour.

My Window Sticker (Mopar Insiders photo)

This truck had almost everything except for the rear window defroster, Ram Box, air suspension or parking sensors, most were options that I didn’t want or care if I had anyways but what is important is that it had everything I was looking for. Sticker price was $64,440 Canadian, with rebates and negotiation I got them down to $49,500 and drove off the lot in my new truck on the spot. My first order of business was to drive my new truck straight to the Ford dealer and get my deposit back, when they asked why I pointed right at my new Ram sitting proudly outfront the dealer.

2016 Ram 1500 – How it looks currently (Mopar Insiders photo)

(In this series I will be talking about the past 2 years of ownership as well as whats to come, maintenance, modifications both present and future, off roading with it, taking it to the dragstrip etc. Stay tuned as there is a lot more to come.)

 

[Jared B]

This article will be going live on the main page tomorrow, but I wanted to post it on the forums first for all our members to get a first look at. I'm also curious to hear everyones thoughts as I recap my last 2 years of ownership, go through my experiences with maintenance, warranty work, taking it to the dragstrip, off roading, modifications etc.

 

[devildodge]

I am very impressed with the quality of articles and pictures we are getting.

These owner experience threads are great.

Thanks for all your doing for the MOPAR enthusiasts.

 

[UN4GTBL]

I'm looking forward to the next installment of this story.

For the F-150 - my biggest complaint is I have no spot to rest my left arm when driving it. The window ledge is angled down, and my arm didn't want to stay there.

 

[SpeedyV]

I can't wait to have the chance to post a similar experience...about the 2019 Ram I have on order

 

[Jared B]

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 part 2

Mopar Insiders Long Term Ram 1500 (Mopar Insiders photo)​

My maintenance history, and warranty issues I've had addressed

Last week

I introduced you to the Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500, my 2016 Ram 1500 Sport crew cab 4×4. This week I will take you through the warranty issues and maintenance that the truck has required in the past 22 months.

Warranty

While my truck hasn’t been absolutely perfect, there have been a few warranty issues that have come up. All of these issues have been relatively minor and were easily and quicky dealt with by my local dealers service department.

1. Around the 1000km mark, while sitting in the passenger seat while letting my brother drive my truck I noticed an air leak around the passenger front door area. The dealer replaced the weatherstrip and the issue has been gone since.
2. Around the 5000km mark, the drivers front window came off the track on 2 separate occasions when trying to use it in cold temperatures, after the second time the dealer replaced the window regulator and the issue has not come back.
3. The cruise control started working intermittently around 8000km, the dealer replaced the cruise contol buttons on the steering wheel and it hasn’t been an issue since.

One issue that I have had with the truck since new and still has not been resolved is a slight vibration at highway speeds as if you are driving on a square wheel. The truck has been in a few times for it and rebalancing the tires seems to move the speed around that it happens at. I did have a set of 22 inch SRT-10 wheels on the truck for awhile and the vibration went away. I have since put the stock 20s back on and replaced the Goodyear tires that came with the truck with load range e BFGoodrich KO2’s. The vibration is back and more pronounced with the load range e tires. I am planning to have the tires road force balanced and will report back if that solves the issue. If not I believe that one or more of the wheels was made out of round and will then be taking it up with the dealer.

Maintenance

Blackstone Labs oil analysis report (Mopar Insiders)​

With only 33k kms on the clock, maintenance so far has been pretty light. Even though FCA says that you can go 1 year or 16k kms between oil changes I don’t push mine nearly that far. At 5500kms I had the first oil change done by the selling dealer and switched to synthetic, total cost taxes in was $154.17. After that I decided to start doing the oil changes myself, at 12,500km I did another oil change using Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic 5w-20 and a Mobil 1 synthetic oil filter. At 20,000kms I did a combustion and fuel system cleaning using Seafoam engine cleaner. I also changed the oil again this time using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Synthetic 5w-20 and used a larger Mobil 1 synthetic oil filter for a 2010 Hemi Ram. At this time I also rotated the tires and lubed all the caliper slide pins. When the 30,000km mark hit I again changed the oil with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-20 and used the larger Mobil 1 oil filter. I also sent an oil sample off to Blackstone Labs to see how the oil looked after a 10k km interval and to get an idea as to how my engine was wearing. Everything looks good and I will continue with a 10k km interval and again send a sample out when I hit the 60k km mark.

For those that didn’t know Ram switched to a smaller oil filter in 2013 for the 5.7 Hemi. After researching it I found that the larger filter from a 2009-2012 Ram will work on the later trucks with no issue. I have now been running the larger filters for the last 2 oil changes with no problems and I would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to stretch their oil change intervals.

Stay tuned to Mopar Insiders for all the updates relating for our long term Ram 1500, next week we will go into modifications that have been performed on the vehicle. Check out our Forums section for more great content.

 

[SpeedyV]

Interested to hear about your balancing. I’m guessing it’s a wheel...I’ve had three sets of KO2s, and they’re great on the highway.

 

[Jared B]

Interested to hear about your balancing. I’m guessing it’s a wheel...I’ve had three sets of KO2s, and they’re great on the highway.

I'll update after I get it done. I believe it is too as it did it even with the stock Goodyears on it, it's just more pronounced now with the KO2's on it. I feel like trying to prove its a wheel to the dealer is going to be the hard part, but hopefully the road force balancing will pinpoint a bad wheel if there is one and make it easier to prove.

 

[Jared B]

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 Part 3:​

What it’s like living with a Ram 1500
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Last week I told you about the maintenance and minor warranty issues that I have had with my 2016 Ram, this week I am going to get into what it’s like living with the truck on a daily basis. Since I have purchased the truck I have towed, hauled, taken it off roading, driven it in a bunch of snow storms, taken it on a few camping trips, road trips and taken it to the drag strip.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

Everyday driving

This is an easy vehicle to live with on a day to day basis. After you get used to the size which doesn’t take long at all, it is quite maneuverable thanks to a tight turning radius (for a vehicle of its size), excellent site lines and the high resolution back up camera. I average about 16 MPG in typical driving although I should mention that where I live is hilly and full of traffic lights. On longer road trips I have seen as high as 23 MPG to a tank which in my opinion for a full sized crew cab 4×4 truck with a V8 and 3.92 gears is nothing to sneeze at. Power is abundant making merging into traffic or overtaking a slow moving vehicle on a 2 lane road effortless. The Hemi V8 is buttery smooth and the ZF 8 speed transmission is almost undetectable in its operation.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

While the interior isn’t up to the caliber of the 2019 Ram 1500 it has been in many opinions the class leader until the all new Ram debuted 6 months ago. Everything in the interior has held up well, feels high quality and thanks to a thorough detailing schedule and the addition of Husky floor liners the truck still looks brand new inside. There is no unusual wear on any of the controls and no squeaks or rattles to be heard. Seats are comfortable if a touch on the firm side but look great and leg room is plentiful in all seating positions. Lots of great tech features and the optional 506 watt Alpine stereo system make the cabin an enjoyable place to spend time.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

Towing

In the time that I have owned my Ram I have only towed a few times with it. While my particular configuration has a J2807 compliant tow rating of 10,170 lbs I never got close to that. I towed a few trailers and boats that came in around the 5500lb mark and the truck just laughed it off. There was a bit more squat than I’d like if I was regularly towing but that can be easily and cheaply fixed with an aftermarket airbag solution, I am more than happy with the trade off for a better ride than a more traditional leaf spring rear suspension. If you’re regularly towing loads closer to the max towing rating you would be best served looking at a 2500 or 3500 but for most recreational boats and trailers the 1500 handles them just fine.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

Off Roading

While this truck is mostly a pavement princess it has spent its fair share of time off road and in the mud. The first time I went out the truck still had the stock Goodyear Wrangler SR-As on it and while they are a comfortable tire for the street thats about where it ends for them. While I didn’t get stuck thanks to the excellent 4wd system the tires had a hard time maintaining traction. I have since replaced the Goodyears with a set of BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2’s and they fared much better in the slippery stuff. The truck hasn’t got stuck yet and has always got me where I needed to go, be it to a remote camping spot, playing around in the mud, or getting to the top of a mountain on a used up logging road.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

Speaking of camping, a few weekends ago I completely loaded the bed of the truck up with gear, fit 3 people in the truck along with more gear in the cab and headed an hour and a half out of town to a campground located about 15km up a logging road. The truck didn’t even flinch and my passengers and myself made it up in complete comfort.

Mopar Insiders long term Ram 1500 (Moparinsiders)

The drag strip

While not a natural place for a big heavy truck, more and more pickups are being taken to drag strips as power outputs keep increasing. I spend a lot of time in my youth on the drag strip and just for fun I decided to take the Ram out last year. I was expecting the truck to go Mid 15s but on my first run with traction control on and without touching anything the truck went 15.2 at 89 MPH. I was now dead set to get the truck into the 14s which I felt I could do. For my next 3 runs I turned the traction control off and selected 6th gear using the electronic range select (this only allows the transmission to use 1st through 6thgear). I went 15.013, 15.010 and 15.002 all at 91 MPH with lousy 2.2 second 60 foot times. I was so close to running a 14 I could taste it but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get another run in that night. I later learned that foot braking these Rams to launch actually causes the computer to pull timing, which in turn will result in a slower run. Unfortunately I was footbraking the truck all night and I’m hoping to go back this year and pull a 14 second pass out of it, but I have also since added larger and heavier tires. I plan to go back again this year and will document the whole night for you guys.

That wraps up the long term Ram update for this week, make sure you stay tuned to Mopar Insiders for more great content and check out our Forums section for much more.

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[devildodge]

Thanks for that update. I love seeing Rams being used. @Jared B looks like your Ram has provided some good times and has been a good vehicle.

And this site just keeps getting better...having a hard time keeping up with the sites as they get more traffic all while I get less time...we just can't bring ourselves to leave camp and work is busy...but the days are getting shorter now so soon it will be winter again

 

[Jared B]

Thanks! The truck has been awesome, provided a lot of good times and great memories. I'm very attached to it and still think it is a great looking truck, BUT I think my time with it is coming to an end shortly.

 

[UN4GTBL]

Nice!

We took my buddy's EcoDiesel camping last weekend, and it's laughable how much stuff you can put in them. My only complaint with the DS is the front passenger footwell.

He came to my house to get my stuff with the bed full of his work stuff, so we put all of my stuff in the back seat area, and then went to his place, emptied the bed, and then put the rest of the camping stuff in. We literally took an empty cooler just to help fill up the bed lol.

 

[Jared B]

Yeah they can hold a lot of stuff that's for sure.