2014 or newer ram 2500 reviews?

I've ridden in both the 68RFE and the Aisin. The Aisin hands down shifts better to me. The shift scheduling along with the added torque makes towing pretty effortless. My best bud tows a YJ on an equipment trailer (about 7500#) behind his 3500 with an Aisin and you truly don't know its back there.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Notice a big difference between the two trainees other than the extra power? I've been eyeballing a few 2500's, but really want a 3500 with the Aisin ASC69RC. They are just so hard to find, and the only way to know for sure is check the VIN.
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How does one go about checking this with the vin?
 
rabb11d said:
How does one go about checking this with the vin?
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First off, make sure it's a 2013 or newer 3500 as they didn't offer it in the 2500s.
Go here: Ram Trucks - Contact Us
Then on the left sidebar click on "Equipment Listing"
Then in the middle of the page, input the VIN.

It will download a PDF of the full build sheet. Then look through it or do a search for "Aisin". If it has it, it will be near the bottom of the build sheet.

And if you can contrive a direct link to that, please send it to me, as it's really annoying to have to go to another page first every time.
 
jeepinmatt said:
First off, make sure it's a 2013 or newer 3500 as they didn't offer it in the 2500s.
Go here: Ram Trucks - Contact Us
Then on the left sidebar click on "Equipment Listing"
Then in the middle of the page, input the VIN.

It will download a PDF of the full build sheet. Then look through it or do a search for "Aisin". If it has it, it will be near the bottom of the build sheet.

And if you can contrive a direct link to that, please send it to me, as it's really annoying to have to go to another page first every time.
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Geez...

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Jody Treadway said:
I have gone back and forth with trading mine towards a 3500 so I can get the Aisin and the Cummins tune that comes with it. Having previously been a transmission tech for Dodge, I opted for the hand shaker.
Once the warranty is over, I suspect some parts will fall off the front of engine and underneath and more power for towing will be available.
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I drive the truck daily but still considered a manual when I was shopping for my 14. The problem is with the traffic around Charlotte I knew I'd be hating life within 6 months.I have been strongly thinking about doing the light weight conversion myself. The problem is there is no tuning for the Aisin and what's the point of putting the truck on a diet if you can't turn it up a little bit.

jeepinmatt said:
Notice a big difference between the two trainees other than the extra power? I've been eyeballing a few 2500's, but really want a 3500 with the Aisin ASC69RC. They are just so hard to find, and the only way to know for sure is check the VIN.
Click to expand...

The extra 50 ft/lbs of torque and 15 HP or whatever it is are ate up in the additional weight of the Mega Cab and drivetrain loss with the bigger trans. What you do notice is smoother shifts and the truck doesn't always shift up into 6th gear and lug around during daily driving. The big change is when you hook a trailer to it. It's just a night and day difference. The truck just seems to always be in the right gear. It doesn't hunt like the old 48RE and 68RE do. In the end if I was just dragging my Jeep around I would have stuck with the 2500 but with my boat there is no way I would feel comfortable making multiple trips a year to the coast with it.

Also you can tell the trucks apart by the dipstick in the engine bay. If it's on the passenger side its a 68 if it's on the Drivers side its an Aisin.
 
ABadJeeper said:
I drive the truck daily but still considered a manual when I was shopping for my 14. The problem is with the traffic around Charlotte I knew I'd be hating life within 6 months.I have been strongly thinking about doing the light weight conversion myself. The problem is there is no tuning for the Aisin and what's the point of putting the truck on a diet if you can't turn it up a little bit.



The extra 50 ft/lbs of torque and 15 HP or whatever it is are ate up in the additional weight of the Mega Cab and drivetrain loss with the bigger trans. What you do notice is smoother shifts and the truck doesn't always shift up into 6th gear and lug around during daily driving. The big change is when you hook a trailer to it. It's just a night and day difference. The truck just seems to always be in the right gear. It doesn't hunt like the old 48RE and 68RE do. In the end if I was just dragging my Jeep around I would have stuck with the 2500 but with my boat there is no way I would feel comfortable making multiple trips a year to the coast with it.

Also you can tell the trucks apart by the dipstick in the engine bay. If it's on the passenger side its a 68 if it's on the Drivers side its an Aisin.
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One thing a lot of the 68/66rfe guys do when driving around town is drive with tow/haul mode to avoid the terrible shift schedule. Can't stand what they do from the factory to satisfy the EPA, it actually makes their transmissions less reliable and burn up OD clutches. Hp tuners now has a tune for the 1500 8 speeds so I'm hoping they come along or someone does so we can tune the 6 spds better. If I could figure out the electronics I'd toss a G56 in with my Hemi and enjoy the shit out of it.
 
If you do get a truck with the g56 don't plan on throwing a lot of extra power at it. G56 will start grenading around 600hp.
 
My g56 has seen a few rides in another truck
IMG00029-20101012-1236.jpg
 
YotaOnRocks said:
If you do get a truck with the g56 don't plan on throwing a lot of extra power at it. G56 will start grenading around 600hp.
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I've heard that myself.
I do want to do an EGR delete/ mild tune just for the sake of longer engine life and a tad more torque when towing. I don't get in a rush with a rig in tow. I mean, we're all going to the same trail so why race up the mountains?
 
Jody Treadway said:
I don't get in a rush with a rig in tow. I mean, we're all going to the same trail so why race up the mountains?
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Same reason you race anytime, it's fun:flipoff2:
And a little cooler when you have a load behind you.

I don't have the patience on the road to go slower just because. I'd already be towing with an RV if I did.
 
GONOVRIT said:
Why?
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My boat ready to fish is somewhere right around 14k depending on how much fuel and crap I have aboard. My 2500 was a crew cab, between that and the trans shifting like poop I just didn't think the truck was going to last long without me throwing some money at it.

99JeepXJ said:
One thing a lot of the 68/66rfe guys do when driving around town is drive with tow/haul mode to avoid the terrible shift schedule. Can't stand what they do from the factory to satisfy the EPA, it actually makes their transmissions less reliable and burn up OD clutches. Hp tuners now has a tune for the 1500 8 speeds so I'm hoping they come along or someone does so we can tune the 6 spds better. If I could figure out the electronics I'd toss a G56 in with my Hemi and enjoy the shit out of it.
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I couldn't agree more. The shifting schedule sucked.
 
I've got a 2015, 4X4, 2500 crew cab Cummins automatic. In my opinion, the coil sprung rear end rides like a dream. Huge improvement over leaf sprung previous years. Air pressure is key. I dropped mine to 70# and that doesn't piss off the TPMS light. I can get 23 mpg rolling down the highway at 60-70 mph unloaded. That's mostly a result of those 3.42 gears. I only tow once or twice in a month, and that's to the trail with my S10. Easily a 10K load and fuel economy drops off quickly. I'm talking 12-14 mpg. I could do better, but I set the cruise control and let that Cummins earn its keep. I'm in the same boat as @Jody Treadway when it comes to trailers. I just traded mine in on a PJ 34' triple axle bumper pull (ETA 2 months). Trailer with 2 rigs is gonna put me right at rated capacity and we're gonna see just what that Cummins is made of. So far, 17K miles and not a single issue. The first 5K miles was in the first month with a cross country trip to Moab hauling my 18' PJ and a side by side.
Ram 2500.JPG
 
GONOVRIT said:
Fify

Nothing like having a clutch or trans kerplode at 70mph with a load in tow.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
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I wouldn't know, I've towed hundreds of thousands of miles with a handshaker and never had any of those things happen. The 2 auto tow rigs I had both got trannys after riding with me for a relatively short time.
 
BIGWOODY said:
I wouldn't know, I've towed hundreds of thousands of miles with a handshaker and never had any of those things happen. The 2 auto tow rigs I had both got trannys after riding with me for a relatively short time.
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The bitch with the new ones is that you have to get the auto if you want a truck that's full power. They de-tune the manual trans trucks.
 
BigSouth said:
I've got a 2015, 4X4, 2500 crew cab Cummins automatic. In my opinion, the coil sprung rear end rides like a dream. Huge improvement over leaf sprung previous years. Air pressure is key. I dropped mine to 70# and that doesn't piss off the TPMS light. I can get 23 mpg rolling down the highway at 60-70 mph unloaded. That's mostly a result of those 3.42 gears. I only tow once or twice in a month, and that's to the trail with my S10. Easily a 10K load and fuel economy drops off quickly. I'm talking 12-14 mpg. I could do better, but I set the cruise control and let that Cummins earn its keep. I'm in the same boat as @Jody Treadway when it comes to trailers. I just traded mine in on a PJ 34' triple axle bumper pull (ETA 2 months). Trailer with 2 rigs is gonna put me right at rated capacity and we're gonna see just what that Cummins is made of. So far, 17K miles and not a single issue. The first 5K miles was in the first month with a cross country trip to Moab hauling my 18' PJ and a side by side.
View attachment 247355
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How do you like the Ram boxes? I'd love to not have a crossover toolbox in my next truck.
 
BIGWOODY said:
My '11CTD with the lightest of tunes/full delete still easily pulls as well or better than my turned up '01 did. I did however , remove the junk dual mass flywheel right after buying it and put a single mass to avoid said flywheel/clutch explosions.
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Did you leave the clutch stock?
 
jeepinmatt said:
How do you like the Ram boxes? I'd love to not have a crossover toolbox in my next truck.
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I love the Rambox (that's what she said!). They lock and unlock with the fob. There's lights on both ends. One side stays full of nothing but straps and tiedowns. Other side, basic tools and gloves. I think they're perfect for my use, but a contractor could wear them out pretty easily. They're a whole lot of plastic. The inside of the bed with the movable divider and tie down rail are also huge pluses.
 
BigSouth said:
I love the Rambox (that's what she said!). They lock and unlock with the fob. There's lights on both ends. One side stays full of nothing but straps and tiedowns. Other side, basic tools and gloves. I think they're perfect for my use, but a contractor could wear them out pretty easily. They're a whole lot of plastic. The inside of the bed with the movable divider and tie down rail are also huge pluses.
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Only the 2013 and newer lock/unlock with the fob. Not that I've been doing research or anything :cool:
 
shawn said:
Did you leave the clutch stock?
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Valeo Clutch Kit Slave Flywheel 05-12 Dodge RAM 2500 3500 6.7L Turbo Diesel | eBay

$550 through my shop ....my buddy put one in and has 80k on his, running an '11 dually hotshot truck that is turned up a bit more than mine but not ridiculous. I did that and overfilled the tranny by a quart or two and it's quiet as a mouse(especially in 6th) compared to how it was before.
I will add I put well over 150k on my '01 myself(truck had 125k when I bought it) and never put a clutch in it, people who wheeled with me know I wasn't easy on it, but really knowing and understanding how to drive a manual tranny you can make a clutch last a looooooong time.
 
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