Hey guys (and gals). I am about to embark on my Mopar experience but I need some honest questions answered. I recently sold my 5.0 mustang to buy a truck. I have about 11,500 to spend and I love the way the 2002 and up Rams look sound, etc..... but are they actually good, reliable trucks? I'm looking at Ram 1500 quad cabs in particular, 2 wheel drive. I would eventually like to tow about a 22- 27 foot boat out of a dock without any problems with her. My questions are as follows:

1) do I absolutely need 4 wheel drive to get that size boat out of a dock?
2) Do I need a hemi?
3)How many miles can I expect to see my Ram last because I can get really good deals on Rams with about 85,000 miles on em'
4)Do rams have notorious mechanical problems?
5) what should I look out for when buying a used Ram?
Finally, and please dont take offense to this, but with my budget and my requirements for the boat and quad cab, should I consider a truck other then an Ram, and if so what??
Thank you very much for your help and time!!!

 

it's a truck, get 4 wheel drive cos there'll be that one time you need it, and won't have it. you might as well get the hemi, the 4.7 is sparse on horses and torque. miles depends on maintenance and prior driving. the only thing to look out for that i know of is the death wobble, see search for info. rams and fords haul the best.

 

A hemi or a cummins will jerk your boat around with ease,the 4.7 is a good engine but it will be working hard. I'm not sure where you live but here in Ohio with winter being what it is a 4wd is almost mandatory,I'll never buy anything else after having owned a 4wd. I'm not sure on life expectancy,proper maintenence should yield you many many miles,I know people with 2nd gen Rams with well over 200k on them. There are a few notorious problems but no more than with any other mass produced vehicle,a quick browse of the forum should give you a good idea on what problems people are seeing if any. I have owned Chevys and had Fords for work/company trucks truth is all the modern pickups are pretty darn good. For towing other than Dodge I'd say the chevy Duramax Diesel is a good tow rig,and fords seem to be a little better than chevy for towing if you are going with a gasser. Personally I just returned from an ATV trip through the West Virginia mountains towing an 18' Tandem axle beefy trailer with three large utility quads on it and My Hemi 1500 performed like a champ the tow/haul mode really works well in the mountains not only going up but coming down the mountains as well.

 

for a boat that size, a 4.7 ram will be fine. I used to tow our 25" great white with a Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0L I6 and it did just fine. The main thing about getting a boat out of the water is having decent tires and a steady foot. Not enough traction and too much throttle and you're screwed.

 

Wow Pyro you are a brave man, I have a 4.0 in my Wrangler and I've towed smaller stuff with it but I'd be uneasy about a 25' boat. More so because of the braking and stuff than the power of the engine but I haven't even thought about towing with the Jeep since I got the Hemi Ram. I agree you could tow just fine with the 4.7 but you can tow just fine+80hp with the hemi and you will never wonder in the back of your mind "what if I had gotten the Hemi". I don't know anyone who has ever complained about having too much power,lol

 

Rams are statistically the longest lasting trucks on the road today. thats why i bought one instead of an F250 or a silverado. for me the new Tundras and Titans weren't even a consideration since the models are so new. i wanted a brand with some history and a few decades of working out the kinks. that's why you should buy a Ram! which Ram exactly all depends on what you need it for today, and what you may need it for in the future. Dodge makes so many different Ram "packages" it's ridiculous. But a Ram vs any other truck in it's class will always come out on top

 

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Launching a 22-27 ft boat WILL require your back tires to be in the water.... leaving them on top of submerged concrete.... concrete which quite potentially will have slimy moss growing on it.

You WILL need 4x4 to pull out of the boat launch with a boat that size. I've seen people have problems pulling a 14' aluminum out of the water due to tires spinning on submerged concrete with no 4x4.

 

for launching a boat that size id agree on the 4x4, regardless of what brand truck you get. you don't NEED the hemi. the 4.7 is a good engine, and should have plenty for you. check out mmstar23's truck 4.7, 2wd

If you dont' care about fuel economy, go get an old (2002) 5.9 gas motor. Damn thing is near buletproof. Its a dog of an engine (low hp), but will out tow most other gas motors.

a cummins is going to be out of your budget, and you certainly don't need it for that size boat.

 

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