Anyone have or had direct experience with a 2014-2017 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi? My 04 2500 Ram has 200k and I could use the extra cab room of the crew cab with growing boys. Seems these are the best priced of the used 1500 trucks in that age with under 60k miles. I dont recall hearing much bad about them.

I can't comment on 14-17, but I had a 2009, which was the first year for that body style. The truck has the 5.7L Hemi in it, and it has proven to be a great motor. The only issue was a front differential leak, and then the wiring for the 4WD became corroded and had to be replaced back in March. My son has been driving the truck for 2 years now, and it still keeps on going. He has replaced wheel bearings and tie rod ends, but with over 130K miles that's understandable. My only advice is when you replace the plugs, replace the coils at the same time as well. I know my truck still calls for changing one set of plugs at 30K, both at 60K, etc. I have a friend that was a Dodge mechanic, and said to forgo that and change them all around 100K as they are platinum plugs. I changed them all out over a 1.5 years ago, when I had 95K on the truck, I should have done it around 80K, as the truck had it's old pep back once they were changed out.

I own a 2016 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 hemi.Only has 41,000 miles on the OD.No hiccups yet.

Do yourself a big favor and stick with a 2500.

Why would I need to do that? The most I haul is a 4000 lb boat and trailer. The 2500 long bed I have now will barely fit in the garage. Surely the 1500s won't self destruct sue to suspension and lack of frame material?

The 1500s are just a lot less truck. I just threw it out there, sorry.

Understood and I agree, but less truck is what I need. I ended up with this 2500 a few years back because I was tired of looking, it was close and a decent deal. Ive had both, gas and diesel, 2500 and 1500 and for my use if I'm being realistic the 1500 gas is completely adequate. If I could find a cummins with lower miles in my price range I would get it but they are pricey used.

The only diesel I've owned was a VW. 😂

Like you I downsized to a 1500 in 2015
Very good truck, it will pull my trailer with
a Ford 1920 tractor with ease.
Gas mileage on the road is around 20 mpg
Around town is 15.
No issues at all.
Coach

Hudge - I have that same truck in the TRX-4, and it has been a stellar purchase. Aside from the normal wear and tear I haven't had any issues.

I just put it over 160k, and it will be getting its fourth set of new tires this week.

I bought a 2015 1500 Ram new with the 5.7 and have about 45,000 miles on it. The only out of the ordinary problem was that the cruise control switch died at 40,000, and cost me about $250 to have replaced. Other than that I'm complaint free. I'm not sure about your gas mileage priorities, but mine isn't too bad. It's a standard cab 8' bed with the 3.92 axle. At 55mph it can get 22 - 23 mpg.

Have a 2012 1500 with the Hemi. Other than routine maintenance I had to replace a noisy idler pulley on the serpine belt and repair the wire for the backup camera where it enters the tailgate. Been probably the most trouble free truck I have owned.

No it is not a 2500 when it comes to hauling but I have a 2500 diesel for the heavy stuff. It rides and handles quite nicely, gets respectable mileage and pulls up to 8000 pounds more than acceptably.

My wife has a 15 5.7 8 speed, that replaced her 2011 6 speed that was wrecked. The 8 speed is amazing, 15/21 mpg. The only issue we had on 11 in 70k was the heater core which is a PITA on those. The 15 has had zero issues besides a few safety computer flash updates in 30k. Quick little truck with 400 hp. The 3.21 gears get great mpg, but the tow rating is only 7k,

I contrast my 3500/5.7 w/ 4.10 gears averaged about 12 mpg.

I have a 2016 Ram 1500 4WD with the "Eco-diesel". On a Thanksgiving trip to East Texas, I got 25.7 mpg on the way up, 26.9 coming back. My previous truck was a Ram 3500 4WD with the 6.7 L Cummins diesel. Great truck, but really more truck than I needed. The 1500 rides MUCH better, pulls what I need to pull right now, and obviously gets GREAT mileage - I have gotten over 30 mpg on a few trips. Besides the 3500, I have had two 2500 Rams with the Cummins engines, and for my needs, I like this 1500 diesel better than any of them.

Mike Holmes

After a lifetime of being a GM owner I bought my first Ram in 2015. It was the 1500 crew cab with 5.7 Hemi. That truck had the 6 speed transmission with 3.55 gears. It got17-20 mpg in mixed driving conditions. I had zero problems and really liked the truck. I put a ton of miles on a truck, usually 30,000+ a year. I traded it off after a year and a half because I wanted to upgrade to more features.

My 2017 Ram is a Big Horn with more bells and whistles. It is a crew cab also. It has the same 395 hp 5.7 Hemi but this time I have the 8 speed tranny with 3.92 gears. I average 20 mpg in mixed driving conditions and have gotten as high as 23 mpg on longer highway trips.

Between the two I've put on 85,000 miles in three years They are roomy, comfortable and handle well. They will not handle the load of a 2500 but I only pull boats and utility trailers with atv's and small tractors. As background my previous truck was a 2500 GMC duramax that I had for ten years. I realized I didn't need that much truck and went to the 1500.

I've had no repairs or problems and have only had programing upgrades as they've come up when I took the trucks in for service. Based on this limited experience I would say get one.

I bought a 2014 Ram 1500 Express Quad Cab (34k miles) last Sept. from Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg, ID. It has the 5.7, 6-spd., 4x4, trailer tow. pkg., 3.55 axle. While the payload gets used up pretty fast, towing is ok for what I use it for - 19' TT. I bought an extended warranty from my insurance company but haven't used it. It has only needed software upgrades, and have another one to take care of (factory recall). It has been a decent vehicle, comfortable, reliable, economical, plenty of power. Very happy with it. I especially like the gear selector on the shifter, and the fact that there is leg room for the middle passenger - hate the center consoles that extend all the way to the firewall. I chose the Express trim because I did not want all the extra electronic gizmos that cost $$ and I would not use.

forepaw

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like several of you have made the switch from a 2500 to a 1500 and have been satisfied. I will likely be looking at the express trim as well, I just prefer the painted bumpers and seem to have everything I would need. Navigation would be nice but I've done without it in every vehicle I've ever had before so I can manage. There appears to be many to choose from in the $25k range with under 50k miles. This would not be a daily driver as work provides a truck for me to use during the day. My 04 2500 longbed while a good truck is too big for my use and I just don't trust it to go on long trips with 200k although it has never left me stranded or failed to start and run. Most of the ones I have seen have the 3.21 ratio which I wonder how they do having the 8 speed and towing. Likely the most I would be towing any distance is a 18' CC boat with hunting gear, 4000 lb probably.

I had a 14 Ram 1500, Big Horn, 5.7L, 4x4. I traded it on a Ford a few months back. I regret it. I like the Ram quite a bit better. I don't dislike the Ford, but I loved that Ram. It had 130K on it when I traded it. The only reason I went with Ford was the bigger cab. When I get 60K on this truck I'm going back to the Ram. I can't think of anything I didn't like on the Ram.

It was the best truck I've ever had. I will say the Ford has less road noise. The Ram didn't have a lot, but it's noticeably less on the Ford.

I've got a 2010 Ram 1500 Lariat with the 5.7 and it pulls everything I need it too with ease, it's rated to 10k lbs but I would never come close to hauling that much weight. I figure the most weight I've pulled with it was probably around 4500 lbs or so, up some pretty steep hills over the years and it sure is nice to keep it at 65 when doing so. The only issues I've had so far was exhaust manifold bolts breaking off on both sides (aft bolts) and a leaking pinion seal in the rear end, the early version 4th gen Rams were known for breaking those bolts but I was unaware of it until I had already purchased my truck. Even with those issues i'm pretty happy with the rig overall but if I were to do it again, I'd get the crew cab.

When I had the first few free oil changes from the dealer when I bought the truck. They suggested at the 30K mile oil change I do the plugs as well. I thought it was insane to have to do them that fast. So, I talked to one of the techs. He said pretty much the same thing. Wait until 100K or when the performance started to drop off.

I would agree with you, it was around 85K miles when that happened.

I did have some bad luck with two sets of tires, but that was just the tires and not the truck. I regret going back to a Chevy Silverado, I miss the get up adn go of the Hemi. I made a trip from Arkansas to Charleston, SC the week I bought it in July 2011, I got 21 mpg from AL to SC, and 19 mpg from AR to AL. I have made a few long trips with it in Alaska since we moved there and got 21 mpg on a couple of them. My son does not have such luck, he likes to get speeding tickets instead. Got two in two months this summer in it.

Yeah, I talked to a couple of guys that were GS's in the office with us that had the Ram w/Hemis when I was still AD Air Force, and they all said to wait until around 100K as well to change the plugs and coils out in them. I think one got to 98K, before he did his and he was happy. I had a friend that had the non-hemi, and he changed his out at the 30K intervals, as he claims the dealer told him it would void his warranty if he didn't.

Yep, I totally forgot about the manifold bolts as mine were replaced around 58K if I remember correctly. Lithia Dodge in Anchorage told me it's a known issue and Dodge refuses to change the bolts or whatever needs to be done to repair it. I'm pretty sure my son's truck needs replacing again, but I told him he's paying for it to be done this go around.

I would pass on any truck with the 3.21 gears. Not enough mileage improvement for the loss of torque.

Well I'm still looking. Lots out there but no real deals on a low mileage used one coming up. The more I look at them the more I like the Big Horn package. Might as well get all the bells and whistles if you're gonna pay. I keep seeing a few eco diesels popping up, some not th st far out of budget. Any thoughts on long term reliability and value on them vs the Hemi? I'm sure they would retain value better and would get better hwy and towing mileage.

Most of what I'm seeing is around 28k before actually visiting the dealerships to talk hard numbers. Eco diesels start around 30. Trucks are just too damn expensive these days.

I think the 8 speed trans makes this a non issue. Just select 1 gear lower and it's virtually the same final drive ratios as the .392's
The 1st gear ratio is still lower than the old 6 speed with the higher gears.

We have 2 2015 ram 1500 quad cabs with the hemi engines in them. I'm currently at 27,000 miles, and the wife's truck is only at 17,000 miles ( it pays to live really close to work and lead extremely boring lives. We both love them and wouldn't change a thing.
I just pulled my friends 20 ft 1972 camp trailer (5500# )to Orofino and back for a steelhead/whitetail trip and we pulled whitebird hill at 55 MPH, I could have been going faster but I was quite happy keeping it at or above 3 miles per gallon on the ascent.
Just before we left I asked my buddy if the trailer brakes worked and he said he was told they did when he bought it. I reached down and tried the brakes and nothing nada zip.......I was quite worried about the downhill portions until Midvale hill, I just locked out everything higher than 5th gear, and the engine braking did almost all of the work. At one point I was slightly exceeding 60mph and used the brakes, but I could've done without,as I was nearly to the bottom by then.
The 8 speed trans makes all the difference in the world, I'd definitely look for one with it.And both of our trucks are bighorn packages. We have the heated seats, and steering wheel as well, it's great on the lower back after a lifetime of being a young stupid guy that thought he was invincible.

They sure are expensive once you start adding equipment. I bought my '17 Ram 1500 in the tradesman package new with a few extras in '17 for 24K. It has the V6 but it pulls my 3500 pound boat like it's not there. I would have gone for a V8, but that's when the price really starts shooting up and I just didn't need it. On a trip from NOLA to Colorado this summer I got 26.1 MPG for the 1300 mile trip. MPG seems to drop off rapidly once above 70. Even going into a light headwind at 70 it starts dropping off. That probably has to do with the truck's aero, and you'll probably see that with the Hemi as well. Even in Tradesman trim, this truck is the quietest truck I have ever had. Consumer Reports calls it "luxury car quiet." The ride is also very compliant for a truck due to the coil spring suspension. It takes away a bit from the towing capacity, but that's a non-issue for you. At this point I like this truck better than any other truck I have owned. I thought the V6 would leave me a bit disappointed with power, but if you rode in it, you wouldn't know it had a 6 unless I told you.

My Dodge has been a good vehicle!

So the question at this point is it worth a little more to get the eco diesel with more miles or stick with the Hemi and lower miles?

That is good to know. 3500 lbs is way more than I would tow so I'll keep that info filed away in case I ever look at the Rams.

Had a 2015 1500 eco diesel. Good for mileage but not made for towing. Towing a 21’ Crownline 215ss it would struggle very bad, and mileage would be around 15. Same with a feather lite 2 horse slant. The injectors were replaced at 43 k and the egr cooler twice before 51k. Truck went down the road for a 16 3/4 ton Highcountry w the DMax. This being the wife’s truck, I drive a 3500 Ram SRW with the 6.7 Cummins. To me the 1500 felt like a grocery getter more than a truck.