# New 2013 Ram 3500 Laramie Mega Cab



## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Well, I just couldn't pass up all of the improvements on the 2013 Ram trucks, so I traded in my 15 month old truck for the newest latest, greatest. I did take a bit of a financial hit, but $5,000 out of pocket, one additional year of payments and $100 more per month is something I can live with. While I "liked" my 2012 Ram, I just wasn't thrilled with it. I settled for it over the GM and Ford offerings mainly because of the Cummins engine and the huge Mega Cab interior. I picked up the new truck on July 5th and I can honestly say so far I love it! Here's a long-winded rundown of my thoughts:

Pro's:

The Cummins turbo-diesel has been given 35 more horsepower and 50 more ft-lb of torque, bringing it to 385hp & 850 ft-lb. The 2012 model seemed to be a bit lacking at times in the power department when pulling heavy loads on moderate to steep hills. Turbo lag also seems to be less now. The engine has a somewhat deeper note, but actually seems to be less noticeable in the passenger compartment. Very smooth running and responsive. It has a new cooling system with dual radiators and dual transmission coolers for 25% more cooling efficiency. Also now B20 compatible.

The frame has been strengthened and redesigned, increasing my payload from 2,550lb to 4,703lb and towing capacity has gone from 12,900lb to 17,100lb. The trailer hitch receiver is now 2-1/2" and it comes with an adapter to allow use of 2" hitches.

The new AISIN 6 speed heavy-duty transmission is a huge improvement over the 68RFE transmission. Much smoother shifting, quiet and no more "clunking" when shifting in and out of reverse. It communicates much better with the engine and is amazing in tow-haul mode. One of the best improvements made to the new trucks.

The suspension has been changed to a 3 link with bigger stabilizer bar in the front and Hotchkis leaf suspension in the rear. Massive components provide a more stable ride with less body roll, but is still really comfortable, especially on So Cal's sectional concrete freeways.

The already competent exhaust brake has been changed to a 2 stage system. The first setting provides maximum braking to slow you down on steep hills. The "smart" setting is less aggressive and attempts to maintain your speed rather than slow the truck. It worked very well on our first towing trip last week.

The star upgrade for me has to be the new dash and electronics. Completely redesigned with a 7" EVIC (electronic vehicle information center) screen above the steering wheel and an 8.1" navigation/stereo/climate control/media screen. These two screens provide in full color just about every bit of information about the truck that you could want. The EVIC is customizable, so you can choose what information to display. Scrolling through the screens will give you data on up to four different trailers towed, remaining fuel and oil filter life, remaining oil life, percent trailer braking so you can fine-tune the controller, trans temp, coolant temp, oil temp & pressure, average mileage, instant mileage, stored messages, and gobs more. The navigation screen is simply amazing. It now fully controls my iPod and displays everything from album art to all menu structures. GPS is greatly improved with 3-D screens and better voice recognition. You can control the seat cooling & heating from this screen as well as all of the climate controls. There's also phone and app screens for things like Yelp. A techie's wet dream come true.

An active air intake system will either pull air from under the hood or through the grille depending on altitude and outside temperature.

Keyless entry and ignition - I just need to have the key fob in my pocket.

Brighter projection headlights and LED taillights and turn signals. Soft blue LED lights in the door pockets and under the rear seats give a bit of nice lighting and ambience at night.

FUEL ECONOMY!! The combination of a 3.42:1 rear axle, DEF emissions system and auto front axle disconnect is giving a HUGE increase in mileage. I used to baby the 2012 truck to get MAYBE 14-15mpg during my work week, driving like a little old man in the #4 lane on the freeway at 60mph. I finished my first work week with the new truck and came in at 19.3mpg, driving at 65mph on the freeway. City mileage is around 14-15mpg and towing looks to be similar at 11-12mpg....so far.

Auto-dimming high beams, rain sensing wipers, an improved GPS/satellite antenna and roadside assistance / 911 buttons on the rear-view mirror round out the improvements that I'm aware of at the moment.

Cons and things I'm not sure about (a very small list):

An annoying seat belt or door open chime when the ignition is set to "acc" or "on" and the driver's door is open. Can't figure out how to get rid of it.

Various engine and other noises. There's a "crackling" noise from the engine with moderate to hard acceleration. It sounds like an older car with the timing off causing pre-ignition. I think the 2012 truck had this noise when it was new, but I just can't remember. There's also a weird high-pitched "yelp" or "bark" when I stomp on the accelerator. It may be the turbo, not sure. The most prevalent noises were last week when towing. There's a rattling of some sort from under the right rear seat and a harmonic vibration from the driveline (I think) that both start when the engine is under load and acceleration at around 55mph. Not evident at all when not towing.

The biggest negative so far is the capless fuel filler. What a pain in the butt! My first experience with a big truck stop diesel nozzle resulted in a big burp of fuel all over my arms and feet. How pleasant at 5am when driving 400 miles for camping! I just discovered that there's not just one, but two metal spring-loaded flappers in the fill pipe. I may not have been inserting the nozzle all the way to open the second flapper which caused the diesel to erupt out of the filler. It worked fine with the smaller nozzle at Chevron the first couple of times I used it, but then spilled all over on my third visit. Not real impressive.....

As you can see, I'm pretty impressed with the new truck and the positives far outweigh the negatives!


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

So ... you must be one of those retired California public employees I've been hearing about.







Hey, a guy has got to have his toys so more power to ya!


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Leedek said:


> So ... you must be one of those retired California public employees I've been hearing about.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope, not retired and work in the private sector. Nice guess though.


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

How about some pics of the new truck


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Nice write up...but dang dude...WHERE ARE THE PICTURES!!!!!!


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

The exterior hasn't changed much and looks pretty similar to my signature photo - same color so I could keep the bed shell. I'll get a few new shots and post them.


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