Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 2016 Ram 2500 or 3500 owners

Anyone have a 2016 Ram 2500 or 3500 with the Cummins? Thanks to my son I’m now in the market for a new truck

To the Ford and Chevy fans, I’m not interested. I’ve driven enough of them in the oil field that to me there is just no significant difference to the Ram. I’m looking for a basic truck that can haul a load when required. My truck worked well for 10 years I had it and I see no reason to change brands.

I’m leaning towards the tradesman 2500 crew cab 4X4 with the auto transmission, manual transfer case, limited slip diff and I’m debating the rear air suspension. Also debating the short box or long box. My old truck had the short box and I really didn’t have any issues hauling building materials with the tail gate down, and I did appreciate navigating parking lots with the shorter wheel base. I’m leaning towards the short base and just using a trailer if I need more capacity.

Curious of those who have the new rams if they went with the airbag rear and like the suspension or if there were any other features they were glad they chose.

I don't know about the '16's, but a few years earlier the 2500 and 3500 were identical except for the springs. Add air bags to a 2500 and you have a 3500. If you want to verify that, go to any parts store and compare part numbers on any of parts involved in brakes, suspension, bearings, etc.

Check w/ Badger if he doesn't post here. I thinks his is older than '16, but will have good advice.

I have a 2500 and a 3500. Both have the Cummins.

The 2500 would have been better with the rear air. It gets 20-21 mpg in mixed driving. Only gripe is that is limited to what it can haul/pull because of the lack of rear air.

I don't have a gripe about the 3500. It will pull and handle anything I hook onto. It's a beast. But I only get 13-14 mpg in mixed driving with that one.

2500 is a 6 1/2 foot bed.

3500 is sporting a flatbed.

I have the truck you just described.. It's a great truck here in Colorado I avg 21-22 mpg on the hwy thats according to the computer. City I get 16 mpg, the motor rated at 370 hp 800ft lbs of torque.. I didn't get the airbags on mine.. So far I have been impressed with it...

My '16 Crew cab long bed 2500 is my first Diesel. The rear airbag system is a fixed system, ie it has an inert gas filled tank. It has 3 ride heights, and adjusts to the factory 1 degree rake regardless of how heavy the load is, and it drops to load a 5th wheel trailer, nice feature. I have rear springs, and my truck at loaded height is 6" higher than my 05 dodge QC 2wd. This taller height, loaded, necessitated I raise my 5th wheel trailer 6". I made a box frame of 2" x 6" x .250 wall tubing to get it to ride correctly, with Goodyear bags set 30 psi it keeps the truck and trailer at zero slope on the rv. I choose to adjust the ride height myself using bags vs the ~ $1500 premium of the factory air system.

I believe you can adjust the factory system by making an adjustable arm that the sensor uses, but I am not 100% it will work, as Ram says it maintains the 1 degree factory rake for manufactures reasons ( I assume headlights and other braking system operations)

I added a BDS throttle sensitive booster to the pedal, it increases the reaction of the fuel pedal, and now is almost as responsive as my Hemi truck offline, as-built it was a dog, a few second delay in the engine actually receiving my desire to move ...lol. Cost was ~ $250 WITH THE REMOTE BUTTON.

I love the exhaust brake for towing downhill, saves the crap out of the brakes, and is more enjoyable.

I have 2013 3500 crew cab long bed with a hemi, it takes 5 acres to turn around. Wish they had smaller rear seat option. Get the backup camera and the radio with bluetooth hands free. I would check the RV forums on the rear air vs springs, a few folks have had issues withe the factory air ride and different RV's. The 3500 with leaf springs is a really stiff ride.

Yea, the bluetooth, large screen and backup- bed camera is nice, but I think the tradesman has neither options, nor the rear airbag system. I went Bighorn, so I am not sure what limitations are on the Tradesman, but think those options are not available.

And BTW, they are ordering 2017's for 4 weeks or so, so I believe what's in stock is all the 16's there will be.

SIL has the 3500 Tradesman 4x4 with all the goodies.

He has the backup camera and bluetoth.

And a text to start feature. A text to the truck on a cold winter morning while the coffee is brewing, and the rig is all warmed up and ready to go when he steps out the door.
The built in gooseneck hitch and tie downs come in pretty handy for his use. And I just watch him disappear when trying to follow him up a hill with my Chevy 5.7.

I am VERY impressed with the automatic engine braking on steep descents.

Why are you lying on here? You told me you traded that for a cherry yellow uberlanche!

you can get the camera and radio upgrade in tradesman for about $1k, most of them around here are ordered that way now. Airbags are the same on all models as far as I know.

I bought a 2016 3500 4x4 dually Tradesman. It is a very impressive truck. Make double darn sure you order the limited slip in the 2500. I believe it is standard on the 3500. Should be standard on all the trucks.

The exhaust brake was a very nice surprise how well it works. It has three settings; off, full, and smart. I use the smart when I am towing. My truck has the 3.42 rear end and it was plenty for the 12,000 lb race car trailer I tow.

My truck also came with the 5th wheel/gooseneck option already installed and it is a good option to get because it is ready for the drop in ball or the new platform 5th wheel.

The only thing I don't like about my truck and I am nitpicking is the arm rest on the door is rock hard. I will pick up a pad from Camping World or something.

I didn't get the Aisin transmission with the 900 ft lb Cummins option. I just got the regular automatic with the 800 ft lb Cummins which is plenty in my opinion. These trucks are getting to the point that they can pull much more than they can safely stop or control.

Another couple of surprises were how comfortable the seats are. I have a 2014 535d BMW and both my wife and I think the Ram's seats are as comfortable. Another huge plus is how little wind or road noise there is in the truck going down the highway.

I did not get the air bag suspension in the rear and at times wish I had.

To each their own, but I think it looks pretty stupid when a Ram owner drives his truck with the mirrors flipped out when they aren't pulling a trailer. It reminds me of the clowns that walk around with the Bluetooth ear pieces in their ears. Look at me!

That's my church truck me and quartet use to go to church

I had a 2005 2500 Cummins Quad Cab with the 4 spd auto and 4:10 gears. I traded it in on a 2016 2500 Cummins. The new one is a mega cab with the 6'4" bed. It has a 6spd tranny with 3:42 gears. The new 2500's also have rear coil springs in place of leafs and mine has a rear anti-sway bar behind the rear differential. The 3500's still have leafs. Both were/are 4x4. The new one is long, and you can tell when trying to park.

Old one got around 14 mpg in town and while towing normal trailers at 70mph and 10 mpg pulling our 5th wheel. It would get 18 mpg unloaded on highway. New one gets around 15 mpg in town and around 21 highway (empty). Haven't pulled 5th wheel far enough to determine highway mpg. All of those figures were hand calculated, not computer.

New truck seems slower off of the line. Old one could smoke the tires, new one not so much. But, mid-range and passing is better with the new one.

The ride with the new one actually feels stiffer on rough (washboarded roads). But, I thinks it's just a perception.

With the 6 speed tranny, it really cruises nice at highway speed. Pulling the 5th wheel, it does very well. In fact, it does great.

Comfort-wise, I sprung for the Longhorn edition. So it has all of the bells and whistles. The seats are very, very comfortable. More so than anything else I've been in. The teenage boys and the labrador love the mega cab, especially after being crammed in the back of the quad cab. The rear camera and the bed camera are very nice when hooking up trailers. I didn't think I'd care about the bluetooth, but have to admit that I love it now.

I forgot to add that mine has the upfitter switches for accessories. I put a 91 gallon fuel tank in the bed with a pump that I can refill other stuff. The tank has a gravity feed into my truck's tank that work great.

The 12v DC pump has an on off switch and it is supposed to be wired directly to the battery. I wired it through a relay and used one of the upfitter switches on my dash as the master on/off. This reduces the likelihood of someone stealing the diesel and the pump somehow knocking itself on or something.

One of the dumbest things about these trucks is that they come with a cap less fuel tank. You can get a nice magnetic cap for about $16 and it keeps the dust, dirt, and accidental splash of DPF over into your diesel tank. They put the two fillers next to each other and this isn't one of Dodge's better ideas.

I don't like the idea that the door isn't lockable either. I wish I could put a locking cap on it, but I haven't found one. You can put a locking filler door on a 2500, but they don't make one that fits right on a 3500 dually. You will at least want to get the aftermarket cap for it.

There were times after I got back towing the boat from a long day of fishing that I forgot to flip the mirrors back the following day and my son would give me grief about how stupid it looked.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Haha! I am sure that happens a lot even with the Fords and GMs, but it is either more noticeable with the Rams or it is the Ram owners that have this affinity to have them out.

The salesman tried to turn them out when I test drove it and I nearly flipped out. I said there is no way in hell I will drive this truck with them extended and no trailer behind it. So there must be something about Ram drivers that even the salesmen think it is an appeal.

I have a 2014 2500 Cummings Tradesman. Love the truck plenty of power and room with the quad cab. Put on after market airbags for when I am towing the heavy stuff and it is worth it. Milage is 17 to 18 around town and 21 to 23 on a trip when not loaded heavy. I know carpet and cloth interior are nice but for me vinyl floors and seats are the ticket especially if you pland on using it when hunting. Easy to clean and keep looking nice.