Link to the truck info: https://mopar1973man.com/garage/vehicle/143-2014-ram-2500/?show=tab_3

I'm starting this thread to keep track of everything I do to my new to me 2014 Ram 2500 Laramie. 

I don't have plans to go crazy with it like I did the 2nd gen. The most it'll probably ever have is a mild towing tune and deletes. 

How I bought it: 32K miles Completely stock engine trans. 50 gallon transferflow fuel tank in the bed, Air lift bags with in-cab controls, and a tri-fold tonneau cover. 

Picture from the CL ad:

 

Pictures of the day I got it home:

Big difference between 96 and 2014

 

I did purchase the factory style in-bed gooseneck kit last week to pull the big trailers with. It's made by Kurt, and everything seems to fit and work as it should. I've put the truck to work right away as my 2nd gen is down at the moment. 2K in the bed there (bags at 20psi)

 

 

 

So from the pictures you can see I don't have the tractor sitting in the right spot. I was being lazy and didn't want to move the tractor after the ramps were up. The first thing I noticed is this truck easily stays level with the bags in the rear. I wouldn't be surprised if the tounge weight was around 3K+ with this load (trailer and tractor together were 13-14K)

It's very different towing with an auto - I've never done it with a larger trailer. The trans seemed fine with the load though. The truck has plenty of power in 1-5 even with 3.42 gears. In 6th at 70mph it is below 1500rpm, so I kept it in 5th. 

The turbo spools wicked fast compared to the 2nd gen, although I can clearly feel when torque management is holding the truck back. The exhaust brake feature is awesome. I'm not sure if it works quite as well as an aftermarket one, but it held everything back pretty well. 

So far I'm pleased with the purchase! If anyone has questions, ask away!

Edited November 1, 20177 yr by TFaoro

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Tell them you want to see the damaged parts. Tell them you want to see the pan after its removed or dropped. It's your privilege to make these demands if they are not will to comply find another dealer. I had a special understanding with the service manager and could get peeks at the work being done.

 

24 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

use and abuse that warranty man.  Like Mike said, require to see the damaged parts, and the box/plastic for the new parts.  

I'll see what the local dealer says this week. I still don't like it, but I guess it's cheaper and I need the time to finish the 2nd gen. 

 

59 minutes ago, AH64ID said:

 

You were expecting higher? That seems pretty good for the trailer. 

Compared to the 2nd gen that's pretty bad haha. I bet it would have gotten 15-16 considering it got 12mpg grossing 27K.

I know how you feel having monkeys do things to your tuck, maye you get lucky and they do it right.

On the other hand friend of mine just had new fuel lines put on his car got bent over for $750 drove to Chicago about 4 hour drive for him and noticed his mileage sucked and when parked had fuel leaking on the ground. I just check price on new fuel lines $150 for a whole set, maybe an hour or two worth of work. He's but hurt at this moment. I told him it's more then likely quick connect fittings and he can probably do it himself, but after 750 you shouldn't have to. 

good luck getting to see the old parts, if it's warranty, FCA gets them. 

if it were me, i'd take lotsa pics from under the truck, mark all the nuts/bolts with paint, and compare when it's complete. 

Thinking about a set of wheels for the new pig. These are 20x10 with a -19 offset. I'm thinking 20x9 with a 0 or +1 offset as I want the wheels tucked (I like my paint!)

 

If anyone has some suggestions post them up. @trreed thinks the ones I like suck, so let's see what you guys like!

Edited January 16, 20187 yr by TFaoro

Tucked under is way better. Trust me...

Edited January 16, 20187 yr by Mopar1973Man

All aftermarket will poke out some. i've never seen an aftermarket that tucks like OEM. 

 

But why care what I think?  It's your truck. I'll just laugh at you whenever I see it.

Edited January 16, 20187 yr by trreed

13 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Tucked under is way better. Trust me...

Oh I know - I hurt the paint on my 2nd gen with tires that weren't tucked. Lesson learned!

18 minutes ago, Killer223 said:

All aftermarket will poke out some. i've never seen an aftermarket that tucks like OEM. 

 

No..... It all depends on how the wheel is setup. There's wheels with +24 offset that'll sit inside the steel fenders - which would be WAY inside the factory flares. 

7 minutes ago, trreed said:

But why care what I think?  It's your truck. I'll just laugh at you whenever I see it.

Don't bring your jealousy out on the forum young padawan 

Go tucked... your paint, BJ's, and wheel bearings will also thank you.

10 minutes ago, TFaoro said:

Oh I know - I hurt the paint on my 2nd gen with tires that weren't tucked. Lesson learned!

 

Even with my old modular mags and slight outward offset I got tired of every 40 miles of cleaning the side window glass because I could not see to do a lane change on the interstate. So I have to roll down my windows just so I could see the mirror. 

 

 

Did someone delete their truck? 

3 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Did someone delete their truck? 

Not quite yet.... I'm going to have the dealer fix the nasty oil pan leak, then she'll get deleted. It's been drinking DEF like crazy, so that's my excuse. I'll be using WARP tuning written by me to delete it and optimize the stock tune for better mileage. 

I'm curious why you didn't get a Smarty?

you need warp for delete tunes, the smarty udc pro won't do it.  It is a smarty device though, just sold from outside of the EPA's reach.

Edited February 19, 20187 yr by Me78569

9 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I'm curious why you didn't get a Smarty?

 

2 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

you need warp for delete tunes, the smarty udc pro won't do it.  It is a smarty device though, just sold from outside of the EPA's reach.

Nick is correct. "RaceMe Ultra and MM3" are literally a Smarty Touch with delete software. They're made in Europe and sold from Europe or Canada. MM3 is the same as the RaceMe, but it doesn't have pre-loaded tunes in it. 

Hmmm... 

 

I had a long discussion with a friend about the 4th gen truck and their issues. Like I told him if people of our caliber were to dive in and figure the engine out we might be able to keep from deleting them completely. Kind of like the early years of catalytic converters on the 1980's cars that people chopped off. Now they are just part of the car. So eventually I'm hoping the same knowledge comes to the diesel realm for the 4th gens. 

9 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Hmmm... 

 

I had a long discussion with a friend about the 4th gen truck and their issues. Like I told him if people of our caliber were to dive in and figure the engine out we might be able to keep from deleting them completely. Kind of like the early years of catalytic converters on the 1980's cars that people chopped off. Now they are just part of the car. So eventually I'm hoping the same knowledge comes to the diesel realm for the 4th gens. 

Unfortunately I don't think it matters how many smart people get together to try and solve the problem. An EGR is an EGR - they'll always decrease efficiency and fill the intake with soot. 

The rest of the exhaust system might be okay for now. It seems people with 2013+ have many less issues than the 07.5-09 and even the 10-12 model years. 

I've read the EGR is open a lot less on the 2013+, but after having a monitor and seeing mine open 30+% at almost all times I'm not convinced that information is correct. 

I think if the manufactures can get rid of the EGR and work on increasing the reliability of the rest of the exhaust system things will be pretty decent. Until then, those of us who don't want to deal with "200 miles until 5mph" will delete. 

51 minutes ago, TFaoro said:

An EGR is an EGR - they'll always decrease efficiency and fill the intake with soot. 

 

I'll have to agree with the EGR system that is a very stupid system that never worked since the 70's. If you are feeding the engine CO²   mixed with the air you are decreasing the amount of oxygen that the fire can burn reducing power. Then turn around you are demanding more power to make up for the loss of power. Hence wasting fuel. I don't buy the acid rain thing that the EGR is supposed to prevent. 

 

55 minutes ago, TFaoro said:

I think if the manufactures can get rid of the EGR and work on increasing the reliability of the rest of the exhaust system things will be pretty decent.

 

That would be a good idea. 

 

56 minutes ago, TFaoro said:

Until then, those of us who don't want to deal with "200 miles until 5mph" will delete.

 

Can you explain that... 

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Can you explain that... 

When the truck has a DEF issue, it'll pop up with a message that you have 200 miles until it goes into a 5mph limp mode. Now if you keep the truck running it'll keep going past 200 without an issue. If you shut it down, it could get stuck in limp mode.