Long Term 2016 Ram 1500 Update – Cross Canada Drive:

As I write this, it is now exactly two years since I purchased my 2016 Ram 1500 Sport. In that time I have racked up 40,000kms (24,800+ miles) on it putting it through its paces, off-roading, towing, hauling, snowboarding trips to the mountain, camping and a couple of road trips thrown in along the way. While there were a few initial quality issues that I had the dealer take care of under warranty which I wrote about here, the truck has been flawless for the past year and a half and 32,000 kms (18,880+ miles).

Just recently I took the truck on a roadtrip from the suburbs of Vancouver, B.C to Thunder Bay, Ontario. This trip was just shy of 3,000 kms (1860+ miles) each way. On the way there I stopped in Winnipeg, Manitoba for two days as I was looking at some properties there and then continued on my way. I drove from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay the next day and got a hotel for the night. While the original plan was to carry on to Toronto the next day, due to a few things that came up at home I ended up having to try and get home as quickly as I could. I drove from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Medicine Hat, Alberta the next day, a total of 1,800kms (1,110 miles). I made it home the following night around 8 PM.

I couldn’t think of a better vehicle to take such a road trip in. The large fuel tank (32 Gallon). Combined with the fact that the truck was returning between 21 and 22 MPG on the highway at 75-80 mph even though it has the 3.92 gearing, a leveling kit on and big heavy tires meant that fuel stops were kept to a minimum. Typically I would fill up in the 1/4 to half a tank range if there was a gas station that was convenient to get to from the highway. I never once felt fatigued, even when putting in an 18-hour stint behind the wheel, the seats were comfortable even if a bit on the firm side of which I do feel helped to reduce fatigue. I also really appreciated having the knob shifter as opposed to a console shifter on this trip due to the space that it opens in the center console area. You could throw snacks or whatever you needed in the console bin to keep them in easy reach while the under armrest storage would easily hold multiple large water bottles or Gatorade bottles.

The truck itself just glided along with the cruise control set for the whole trip. Never once did it do anything weird, the POI screen on the UConnect navigation system made it easy to find gas stations close to the highway, the navigation system itself worked excellently and always took me to my destination in a direct way and multiple media sources made it easy to have fresh music for the whole trip.

After the minor initial quality issues, this truck has been flawless, the exterior and interior still look new with no signs of wear. I’ve also spent the past two years making this truck my own, adding a tonneau cover, in channel vent visors, blacking out all the badges, installing a leveling kit along with 285/65/20 BFGoodrich K02’s, a Magnaflow muffler, Cold air intake and a throttle response controller. Typically I go through a lot of vehicles and don’t get too attached to them, this truck is different, but as I’ve noticed with every Chrysler group vehicle that I’ve owned, there is something about them that does cause you to get attached.

As the owner of 5thGenRams.com, I really should trade this truck in and pick up a 2019 Ram 1500, which is something I am going to do, the 5th gen trucks build on these 4th generation Rams and take pickups to a whole new level period. I’m just not so sure I’m ready to part with my truck just yet. What I can say is that this truck doesn’t owe me anything, I’ve made new friends because of it, and at the end of the day, if I never bought this truck, there would be no 5thGenRams.com or Moparinsiders.com. If you’re looking for a used truck, a 2009-2018 Ram is worth a look although I’d recommend going with a 2013+ with the eight-speed if possible, or if you’re looking for a value priced new truck the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic would fit the bill.

Maintenance This Period: Wheel alignment, road force balance, tire rotation, Oil change at 40,0000 kms.
Problems: None