There are some trade offs
So I’ve recently traded my 2005 3rd gen Ram 1500 Big Horn for this 2014 4th gen Ram 1500 Big Horn. Interior wise, huge upgrade. I love it simple and easy. Much more luxurious with a killer alpine audio system. For the rest of the truck, truck wise, I feel like my 3rd gen was a little better. I’ve since learned that the new Rams with the 4WD Auto( Borg Warner 44-44) is not true full time 4WD when in “4WD lock”. It might as well just be 2WD, 4WD, and 4 low because it doesn’t truly lock into 4WD and jerks when it engages. The towing with rear coil springs isn’t as firm as compared to the 3rd gen with traditional leaf springs. I had to upgrade to stiffer springs just to feel comfortable towing my 5000lbs camper above 60MPH. The transmission is non serviceable and is a sealed unit so to check the transmission fluid could potentially take quite a few hours if not done properly (see YouTube for more details). Also quite disappointed in the fact that my rear end in the 4th gen is an open diff with high gears (highway gearing) wear as the 3rd gen had a limited slip that worked really well with better towing gears. Now for the miles (175,000mi) the truck is in really good shape and still drives like new compared to my 3rd gen with 121,000mi that started to nickel and dime me on top of the rust that was spreading quickly. Overall it is a good truck and the biggest thing is to be on top of your oil changes or you could experience the common lifter failure that costs a lot of money on top of little availability of parts to fix.
Verified Owner
