6 month review

[AZ8]

Now that I’ve had the truck for 6 months, thought I’d throw out a few things. So far it’s been a great truck and a joy to drive. The 6.4 is by far the strongest engine I’ve had in any of my previous trucks. Just love the power!

Towing: No 5th wheel…..yet. Maybe next summer??…. So the only towing I’ve done is my utility trailer with the Can Am Defender. What a joy it is that I don’t even know it’s back there! lol My last truck, 1/2 ton Silverado, even that small load, I knew it was towing something.

Gas mileage: Ehh, didn’t buy it for that!

Ride: City driving does well with the stop and go. Like a restrained race horse…..WOT in the city can be fun! What a blast!! Great ride on the freeway. Fells great on the hills and the beefier brakes are much better than my 1/2 ton. Don’t get pushed around by the 18 wheelers anymore. Forest roads are a different story. Haha. Definitely a rougher ride than the 1/2 ton Silverado(Super comfy seats, even on rough roads). Trade off to the 3/4 ton. That’s what my side by side is for anyways!

HVAC:

AC: A lot to be desired. For a new truck and the 6.4, the A/C for the most part is underwhelming. This will be the first summer, so we’ll see how it does. Fortunately, I live at 7000’ so the crazy desert temps found in Phoenix won’t be an issue. But If I lived in Phoenix, this might be a deal breaker. AC is so important here in the desert Southwest. My Silverado, even after 20 years was ice cold and I had to turn the temp up sometimes.

Defrost: Driver’s side is weak. Passenger windshield will be completely clear and the drivers side will still have 20% ice/frost. Sometimes I gotta lean to the right to see. I find no adjustments in my 8.4 UConnect 5. Gotta figure something out since I’m in possible frost from mid-September to Memorial Day and 110”+ of snow per winter.

Quirks: Can’t open door while backing up! Scared me the first time I did that! Pretty used to it now, but sure miss the ability to crack the door open while backing, especially with my trailer, to make sure the approach is good!

The dreaded 3 chirps! I leave for work at 4-430am. Enough said!

————-

So with that, I’ve been adding a lot of accessories, but now it’s time start really enjoying this truck. Looking forward to this summer with camping trips, UTV riding and scouting trips for upcoming hunts. So far the truck hasn’t disappointed!

 

[ThankfulLutheran]

I have 2023 2500 6.4 Ram Laramie MegaCab I picked up in August 2023. I don’t have any of the issues you’ve had with the air conditioner or defroster. I live in the Sacramento Valley where temperatures can reach 110 in the summer months. The air conditioner gets so cold my son asks me to turn it down while he’s sitting in the back seat.

 

[LegendaryLawman]

Dodge AC systems have never been the best to say the least. My 3rd gen was bad, slightly low on Freon added some and made a world of difference. Maybe yours is low from the factory?

 

[AZ8]

Yes, the AC isn't bad, but it's just weak compared to my other vehicles. Defrost just plain sucks on the drivers side! lol

I go in next week for a recall and I'll mention it to them.

 

[Riddick]

The AC being weak is a well known issue with these trucks. I opted to install a ball valve to block coolant from circulating through the heater core during the summer months. While I did not test this myself many people have reported a 10 degree drop in AC temps. You will not be able to adjust your temps with the valve closed, it will be on full cold 100% of the time. I have had this installed for 2 summers and it made a big difference.

I was lazy and ended up purchasing the kit below. The valve is descent quality but the hose is trash, after 6 months my hose started swelling up and I am lucky it did not bust. I swapped it out with a higher grade hose and its been holding up fine since. You can visit your local hardware store and get all required parts for 10 bucks. Here is a link to the kit on Amazon.

Amazon.com

 

[NC Rebel]

My AC takes forever to cool down the truck, but once it gets there it maintains the temperature adequately.

 

[Firebird]

Nice review!
Yes, Ram's AC is not as good as it should be, but it's basically adequate (I'm in Florida)
The 6.4 is a fabulous engine! I say this as a very long time Cummins buyer
The interior is the best of the big 3
The 8 speed is fantastic!

 

[AZ8]

The AC being weak is a well known issue with these trucks. I opted to install a ball valve to block coolant from circulating through the heater core during the summer months. While I did not test this myself many people have reported a 10 degree drop in AC temps. You will not be able to adjust your temps with the valve closed, it will be on full cold 100% of the time. I have had this installed for 2 summers and it made a big difference.

I was lazy and ended up purchasing the kit below. The valve is descent quality but the hose is trash, after 6 months my hose started swelling up and I am lucky it did not bust. I swapped it out with a higher grade hose and its been holding up fine since. You can visit your local hardware store and get all required parts for 10 bucks. Here is a link to the kit on Amazon.

Amazon.com

Interesting mod. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

 

[dieselscout80]

The AC being weak is a well known issue with these trucks. I opted to install a ball valve to block coolant from circulating through the heater core during the summer months. While I did not test this myself many people have reported a 10 degree drop in AC temps. You will not be able to adjust your temps with the valve closed, it will be on full cold 100% of the time. I have had this installed for 2 summers and it made a big difference.

I was lazy and ended up purchasing the kit below. The valve is descent quality but the hose is trash, after 6 months my hose started swelling up and I am lucky it did not bust. I swapped it out with a higher grade hose and its been holding up fine since. You can visit your local hardware store and get all required parts for 10 bucks. Here is a link to the kit on Amazon.

Amazon.com

Just open or close the valve partially.

 

[JimKIII]

The AC being weak is a well known issue with these trucks. I opted to install a ball valve to block coolant from circulating through the heater core during the summer months. While I did not test this myself many people have reported a 10 degree drop in AC temps. You will not be able to adjust your temps with the valve closed, it will be on full cold 100% of the time. I have had this installed for 2 summers and it made a big difference.

I was lazy and ended up purchasing the kit below. The valve is descent quality but the hose is trash, after 6 months my hose started swelling up and I am lucky it did not bust. I swapped it out with a higher grade hose and its been holding up fine since. You can visit your local hardware store and get all required parts for 10 bucks. Here is a link to the kit on Amazon.

Amazon.com

Thanks for the tip!

BTW, is this a mod that will break the warranty? With the way dealers are these days, I'm hesitant to do anything to my truck that would allow them to deny warranty work.

 

[LegendaryLawman]

Thanks for the tip!

BTW, is this a mod that will break the warranty? With the way dealers are these days, I'm hesitant to do anything to my truck that would allow them to deny warranty work.

Your dealer needs to be educated on the magnuson moss warranty act. They must prove the mod caused the failure. I cannot see any failure they could say this caused other than a coolant leak directly related to this device which wouldn’t be covered.

You could essentially run junk fram filters and they couldn’t do anything since they don’t provide filters so they can’t deny claims based on the ones you bought.