With great sadness I am leaving!

[Swegian]

Nice Truck:
Did the same thing in 2013 with a Sport 5.7 Ram to haul my Parents in Law around when it was time to support them. Put the full side step/kick bar so it was easy to get them in.

Gave me the ability to pull up to 9k trailers with a very roomy 4dr interior.

We still have the inlaws f250 cub cab but totally not practile to get normal adults in the back much less elders.

Loved my Ram. 160k later, multiple upgrades and the wife see's a 2020 JLU Bikini Blue Sport. (You probably know how that story ends) We had both for a year more and after completely rebuilding the Ram thru the dealer. (Mechanic experience-rebuilt first car, 69 Nomad Chevelle SW in 1974 in 10th grade) Took busy working so trusted dealer got the jo done.

But wife says, "dont you want your own jeep again" about 13 months later. Long story and traded for 21 Jlu Rubicon Diesel.

What I really wanted was a Gladiator, so about 6mo ago got a 21 Diese Glad.

But i digress....if I didn't have my Father in Laws f250 IH diesel to haul the heavy stuff up to 17k trailers maybe id not have let go of the Ram. It treated the family well and held up better than the many for an chevy's over the years.

I wish you and the family well. I hit about 110k before the ac and heater cores needed attention. That was a pain. Even more so than my 74 chev van.

God Bless

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[ChrisNLA]

Jealous of all that space.

Also think that the Ram's have some of the nicest interiors in the lower trim cloth seat segments.

I drove one several years ago but they haven't changed much in the inside in quite a long time. Only modest updates and revisions.

I thought for sure I'd hate that dial shifter but it was extremely easy to get used to during a test drive and by the end I didn't mind it at all.

 

[HorneyBadger]

Yea, got issues trying to get comfortable with the dial shifter. I saw the cloth and it was pretty nice. I dont really care if its leather or cloth but the wife.... She likes that leather with the heated seat!!!

 

[ChrisNLA]

Yea, got issues trying to get comfortable with the dial shifter. I saw the cloth and it was pretty nice. I dont really care if its leather or cloth but the wife.... She likes that leather with the heated seat!!!

I'm a cloth guy.

One reason being, I'm not rich and leather seat trucks tend to be pricey

The other, leather in Louisiana gets HOT. Cloth does not.

I really just don't need much. Lol. Power windows, lock, Android Auto, a V8, remote start, and a tow package.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Oddly enough between my Gladiator and my wife's Wrangler we found the greatest reason that we couldn't assist her sister moving in with us after a major surgery. I am forever thankful.

We find our Jeeps to be the easiest vehicles to get into and out of, due to the power steps. Even others find it easy in and out with the well-placed handles jeep furnishes and the power steps.
Other vehicles have you trying to climb up out of them or down into them. These - step up and slide in. Simple. Even the Ram loaner we had was harder to get into and out of (of course, it lacked steps but you had so far to slide to get in and out)
My wife is in a group of quilters with varying ages and abilities and no one has had any real issues getting in and out.

Now that being said - if I had to go to a truck with more capability as far as payload or towing, I'd opt for a Ram with the Hurricane.
To me, the hemi is only a name, and is growing long in tooth, not nearly as efficient as other engines in its class. Time to totally revamp what they call the hemi, or replace it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yea, got issues trying to get comfortable with the dial shifter.

It just takes getting used to. Everything else we've driven over the years has the shifter in the old-school place - often even if it's only electric. We found it weird, but after a while, got used to it on the loaner.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Now that being said - if I had to go to a truck with more capability as far as payload or towing, I'd opt for a Ram with the Hurricane.
To me, the hemi is only a name, and isn't growing long in tooth, not nearly as efficient as other engines in its class. Time to totally revamp what they call the hemi, or replace it.

Hemi's had the best commercials back in the day.

I just want to drive around making aggressive V8 sounds, damn the cost.

 

[HorneyBadger]

We find our Jeeps to be the easiest vehicles to get into and out of, due to the power steps. Even others find it easy in and out with the well-placed handles jeep furnishes and the power steps.
Other vehicles have you trying to climb up out of them or down into them. These - step up and slide in. Simple. Even the Ram loaner we had was harder to get into and out of (of course, it lacked steps but you had so far to slide to get in and out)
My wife is in a group of quilters with varying ages and abilities and no one has had any real issues getting in and out.

Now that being said - if I had to go to a truck with more capability as far as payload or towing, I'd opt for a Ram with the Hurricane.
To me, the hemi is only a name, and isn't growing long in tooth, not nearly as efficient as other engines in its class. Time to totally revamp what they call the hemi, or replace it.

ShadowsPapa, thank you for all your wise words over the last few years, bringing sanity to the forum. I found that this RAM is just as tall stock as the Glad with 2" lift. End up having to throw the rope ladder down for the wife to get in. LOL. Already ordered sidestep rather than any electronic. Went with some from Rough Country along with a Tonneau.

So what is going on is we are getting ready to retire and get the hell out of California. Bought a small travel trailer that I thought would be a cinch for the Glad to tow. It is but.... So Cal does not have any flat roads and I found that I have to maintain rather high RPM to maintain speed and it was concerning. Also the wife was a little googly eyed when there were winds or just the rocking motion back and forth. Played with a few things to stabilize including manual shifting but once your confidence level goes out...well. Back to the move, and with the wifes jeep, she was going to follow me and the trailer. Now I am going to carrier her jeep out to Texas and then we can leisurely get to SE Texas where we can look for a new home.
As for engines and complexity. All over the board about that but there is not a engine out there today that is not complex! No more working on the 65 impalla and just listening to it and tell you whats wrong like my dad used to. Electronics and ECM changed all that. Friggin thing telling us its an O2 sensor when it is really a fouled plug.

 

[nbennettksu]

I'm a cloth guy.

One reason being, I'm not rich and leather seat trucks tend to be pricey

The other, leather in Louisiana gets HOT. Cloth does not.

I really just don't need much. Lol. Power windows, lock, Android Auto, a V8, remote start, and a tow package.

Cloth all day!

 

[Mr Miami]

Jealous of all that space.

Also think that the Ram's have some of the nicest interiors in the lower trim cloth seat segments.

I drove one several years ago but they haven't changed much in the inside in quite a long time. Only modest updates and revisions.

I thought for sure I'd hate that dial shifter but it was extremely easy to get used to during a test drive and by the end I didn't mind it at all.

Yes, shifters may appear "different" at first but you get used to them quickly. The first dial shifter I had was in my wife's 2016 BMW. At first, it seemed so weird and reminded me of my grandfather's Chrysler that had pushbuttons to shift. But then, back in the late 70's, I had a Chevy PU with the 3 speed column shifter mounted right below the steering wheel. Later, getting a car with the shifter on the floor was really "high tech" at the time.

Things change. We change.

 

[Splenda]

I had a 2019 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 and had no issues with it. She had 130k miles on her when I traded her.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

ShadowsPapa, thank you for all your wise words over the last few years, bringing sanity to the forum. I found that this RAM is just as tall stock as the Glad with 2" lift. End up having to throw the rope ladder down for the wife to get in. LOL. Already ordered sidestep rather than any electronic. Went with some from Rough Country along with a Tonneau.

So what is going on is we are getting ready to retire and get the hell out of California. Bought a small travel trailer that I thought would be a cinch for the Glad to tow. It is but.... So Cal does not have any flat roads and I found that I have to maintain rather high RPM to maintain speed and it was concerning. Also the wife was a little googly eyed when there were winds or just the rocking motion back and forth. Played with a few things to stabilize including manual shifting but once your confidence level goes out...well. Back to the move, and with the wifes jeep, she was going to follow me and the trailer. Now I am going to carrier her jeep out to Texas and then we can leisurely get to SE Texas where we can look for a new home.
As for engines and complexity. All over the board about that but there is not a engine out there today that is not complex! No more working on the 65 impalla and just listening to it and tell you whats wrong like my dad used to. Electronics and ECM changed all that. Friggin thing telling us its an O2 sensor when it is really a fouled plug.

Life changes, life's changes, and things change with those. Change is the only constant in life.

Engine complexity - could sit in the engine bay of my 55 Chevy 2 door wagon with 350 and in maybe 10-15 minutes, have it ready to pull out, swap out the crank and bearings, put it all back and drive away with it in the same evening.
1 wire to the temp sending unit, 1 to the oil pressure unit, 1 to the coil, a couple to the alternator - and the starter cables to the starter - battery, switch, ignition.

If it was a Ford it was even easier because the starter relay/solenoid was on the fender, so just one cable to the starter and two bolts holding it in place to the bell housing.

We've got some friends who are also going mobile........... sold their pickup and bought a motor home, rigged up the thing to pull her SUV behind them and off they go. But they maintain their home base here in Iowa.

Maybe, someday, things will change enough for us to do something.......but for now, all she says is "I could live there" when she sees pictures of St. Augustine, portions of TX and so on.
My hobbies keep evolving, changing, and I find myself wanting to reduce "things" I have stashed all over the place - my small collection of magneto magnet chargers, Atwanter-Kent ignition boxes, other stuff.

I certainly understand it when people make changes. You'll love the Ram truck, I've been impressed with them for years and the I6 hurricane is an intriguing engine, but then I've always been one to take the lowly I6 into doing more. For me, the challenge is just not there getting a big engine to make power - you can do that with catalog parts, but make real power from an I6, and I'm paying attention. I mean, I could have put an AMC 360 into my Eagle, many have done it, but the 4.0 was more fun to do. I might get a wild hair and decide to put the experimental BMI/Clifford research head I have on it and see about taking it up a notch.

 

[JTGuy]

Many of the U tube over landers are going to full size vehicles. I have thought about it. But the Gladiator is a real cool ride.

 

[smlobx]

…..So what is going on is we are getting ready to retire and get the hell out of California. Bought a small travel trailer that I thought would be a cinch for the Glad to tow. It is but.... So Cal does not have any flat roads and I found that I have to maintain rather high RPM to maintain speed and it was concerning. Also the wife was a little googly eyed when there were winds or just the rocking motion back and forth. Played with a few things to stabilize including manual shifting but once your confidence level goes out...well. Back to the move, and with the wifes jeep, she was going to follow me and the trailer. Now I am going to carrier her jeep out to Texas and then we can leisurely get to SE Texas where we can look for a new home.…

One thing that’s rarely discussed when the subject of towing comes up is the trucks wheelbase. The longer the better! I’m sure you have already figured that out and that's one of the reason I still have my F-350 crew cab LWB. It tows like a dream.

Good luck in your new home search In SE Tx. I did my grad work in Galveston and have fond memories of that area.

 

[biodiesel]

Most people don't tow more than the gladiator will handle, and especially not in a regular basis.

That's very true, however, there are still millions of truck owners who require a full-sized truck.

Owning a $50-100k 2500/3500 for a once in awhile need doesn't make sense financially.

It may not make financial sense, but a lot of people do it. My father-n-law, for example, uses his HD truck maybe 4 - 6 times per year to haul cattle or farm equipment. The same goes for a lot of RVers. It's amazing how many RVers put less than 5,000 miles per year on their HD trucks.

Our Ram Cummins sat for weeks (sometimes months) at a time, but it was nice to have it when needed. Our 2020 Ram EcoDiesel only gets driven 5 - 6 weeks annually. It's strictly a tow rig. As a matter of fact, we just returned from a 2,350-mile towing trip over the last two weeks. That was the first time we've driven the truck since the last 3,000+ mile towing trip back in June. The truck sat all of July, August, and September.

The last Ram Cummins we owned was only driven maybe 15 - 20 days each year, but we still managed to log 10,000 - 12,000 miles annually.

Modern 1/2 tons can do a lot more today than 15+ years ago. That's one reason why I've been operating without a 2500/3500 the last few years, but I'm going to need a Ram HD again.

I'll probably spend closer to $78,000 on a new Ram 3500, but consumers don't need to spend that much on a Heavy Duty truck. My dealer currently has a brand-new 2025 Ram Tradesman crew cab, 4x4, 2500 for $48,973.

The top two pictures are of our Ram HD Cummins. We owned it for 10 years. Surprisingly, it was super cheap to own since we sold it for about $15,000 less than when we bought it new! The HD trucks hold their value.

The rest of the pics are of our Ram 1500 EcoDiesels. We work them pretty hard, but they have been good trucks.

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