2021 RAM 3500 purchase on hold.

[SnoKing]

That's the Alaskan way, replacement parts are to expensive, cheaper to buy a new truck after some time.

I worked a winter in the early 70's in Anchorage with NCR. I worked on electronic account machines mostly. However they sent me to a small store to work on a cash register, and the manager was pissed at me when a part was not available to fix it, and I said "well you are in Alaska!" And he said don't give me that c r a p!

 

[DonFitzwater]

I worked a winter in the early 70's in Anchorage with NCR. I worked on electronic account machines mostly. However they sent me to a small store to work on a cash register, and the manager was pissed at me when a part was not available to fix it, and I said "well you are in Alaska!" And he said don't give me that c r a p!

You should hear my customers who are complaining about backorders related to covid shutdown.........

 

[SnoKing]

So, I was at a RAM dealer today trying to get the drag link recall cleared after I installed the new style months ago. And a new 5500 came in on the hook. So I walked over and talked to the service writer as the hook guy was unhooking it. I said CP4-2 failure, and he said yes. I asked how many miles on it and he said 9,500 and owner was loosing 4K a day in business with the truck down. I ask if they were seeing many failures and the answer was yes, and that getting parts was a major issue. He said most of the failures they are seeing is and similar mileage.

 

[R.Taylor]

Quoting Sno's post.....

"owner was loosing 4K a day in business with the truck down"

Uh, No. $4k a day... One Truck? What's he hauling... Cocaine for a Cartel? Maybe $400 a day. But honestly.... If you were making $4k a day you'd most likely let the service department sort it out and just pick up another. A quick bed change and your back to work. Plus being a business... The truck is a 100% write-off on taxes and if you were pulling in $80k a month ($960,000.00 a year) you'd be wanting as many fat deductions as possible.

 

[JR]

What's an extra zero amongst friends....or tax payers....

 

[SnoKing]

Maybe he has a crew of workers that depend on the truck. Concrete finisher, brick layer etc.

 

[R.Taylor]

Maybe he has a crew of workers that depend on the truck. Concrete finisher, brick layer etc.

If you're doing $4k jobs daily 5 days a week your going to have more than one truck.... Sorry. Customer was probably just emotional and trying to lay it on the service writer nice and thick.

 

[SnoKing]

If you're doing $4k jobs daily 5 days a week your going to have more than one truck.... Sorry. Customer was probably just emotional and trying to lay it on the service writer nice and thick.

So if he is on a shoe string and his truck is down for 2 or 3 months, he is still screwed.

 

[nukegm]

Quoting Sno's post.....

"owner was loosing 4K a day in business with the truck down"

Uh, No. $4k a day... One Truck? What's he hauling... Cocaine for a Cartel? Maybe $400 a day. But honestly.... If you were making $4k a day you'd most likely let the service department sort it out and just pick up another. A quick bed change and your back to work. Plus being a business... The truck is a 100% write-off on taxes and if you were pulling in $80k a month ($960,000.00 a year) you'd be wanting as many fat deductions as possible.

either way i feel bad for the owner of that dead truck....its a bad place to be with the unavailable parts. when my 18 2500 died at 6k miles with no clutch - was at dealer for 31 days. thankfully i have a near dead 2001 2500 that i was able to use for work. ram needs to get a handle on the pump issue, if you could call it that. cheers comrades!

 

[endoscott]

If you're doing $4k jobs daily 5 days a week your going to have more than one truck.... Sorry. Customer was probably just emotional and trying to lay it on the service writer nice and thick.

MAN, I would be emotional as hell! Especially if its a month or 6 weeks for parts. Forget about if I am losing money at work, what if we are on our way to somewhere warm for camping, hiking, golfing? Way worse if its for work of course, no matter if its $400 a day or $4000 a day, but whatever you use the truck for its a s---show when it can't be repaired in a timely manner. I was mad when I had to wait a week and a half for my turbo actuator. Part was on the shelf, had to wait for a "warranty inspection". Its like the guv'mint is running this company now. Gonna just hold on to my 2014.

 

[Tuesdak]

$4k a day... One Truck? What's he hauling...

Up to six passengers, Workers, at $50 an hour for a 12 hour day is $3600.00. Last fleet we worked with also billed the truck to the job by the hour. Sometimes the truck made more per hour than the worker. Called time and materials. Say the road is out from a mudslide: the state can hire outfits on an emergency basis and pay them enough to delay other work they normally have.

Maybe it tows some equipment as well. Yeah pic is a reg cab, but, a work truck makes money... The cost to delay or loose a job can be more than what is earned per day. Now you have to rent something, pay people to stand around, do nothing, and wait for the rental to show up... That worker with a valid driver's license, the one you went through 20 interviews to find, Yeah: you pay that one regardless or they be gone that day. So losses per day can be higher than what is earned per day.

 

[Minnow101]

If anyone watches any of the Hotshot Youtuberers, its definitely possible a owner/operator can lose out on that kind on money.

One RV hotshotter ended up buying another Ram because his 2019 Ram was laid up over 2 months awaiting CP4 parts. It was either buying a new truck or going bankrupt. Another car hauler hotshotter bought a used tractor in order to stay in business.

Anyone diminishing the financial impact these CP4 failures are having on owners who need their trucks to make a living are either outrageously indifferent or incredibly ignorant.

 

[robert31]

Quoting Sno's post.....

"owner was loosing 4K a day in business with the truck down"

Uh, No. $4k a day... One Truck? What's he hauling... Cocaine for a Cartel? Maybe $400 a day. But honestly.... If you were making $4k a day you'd most likely let the service department sort it out and just pick up another. A quick bed change and your back to work. Plus being a business... The truck is a 100% write-off on taxes and if you were pulling in $80k a month ($960,000.00 a year) you'd be wanting as many fat deductions as possible.

Revenue doesn’t equal profit. Truck payment, payroll, repairs/maintenance, rent, utilities, etc come out of the $4k per day. Plenty of businesses gross over $1M a year; doesn’t mean that’s their net profit.

 

[Tuesdak]

@Minnow101 I wouldn't go that far: most people haul an RV or just want a diesel. They have no idea and no reason to have asked about making money or running a business that depends on a pickup or fleet of say 600 pickups, A Frame trucks, etc. I get where you are coming from, but, I humbly suggest that forums like these can inform people that have had no reason to ask and thus feel amounts earned or lost over a breakdown are absurd. They simply don't know.

 

[seahawkdodge]

My Ecodiesel was in the shop for 86 days. Luckily the dealership gave me a Jeep Renegade as a loaner...

 

[HPSimpson]

My Ecodiesel was in the shop for 86 days. Luckily the dealership gave me a Jeep Renegade as a loaner...

Yep I had Ecodiesel '14 driving down highway engine sezied, the dealer just set at dealer for 90 days I lemon the Ram out.

 

[seahawkdodge]

Yep I had Ecodiesel '14 driving down highway engine sezied, the dealer just set at dealer for 90 days I lemon the Ram out.

I did the same thing. My EGR cooler started leaking right before the recall was announced. No parts, so it sat for 86 days. FCA eventually settled the lemon law case, and I went back to a Cummins.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

Back in 2013 Cummins had told us that they cold ran 100% of the engines made. Cold meaning hook up to an electric motor spin over check for oil leaks an pressure. But No fuel or firing of engine. One out of every 1000 was hot tested with fuel. So it’s not likely that the issues with these CP4 pumps would have shown up at the factory level.

This is not true. Every engine is run through Cold Test as well as an unloaded Hot Test, where the engine's started and runs under its own power. About 1 in 35 go to the longer loaded hot test.

 

[EDankievitch]

Then they changed their process since 2013

 

[Wiredawg]

This is not true. Every engine is run through Cold Test as well as an unloaded Hot Test, where the engine's started and runs under its own power. About 1 in 35 go to the longer loaded hot test.

Thanks for updating this... when I visited Cummins Plant in Columbus Indiana in 2002, Cummins was hot starting EVERY 3rd Gen engine coming off the line. Really cool the setup they had for the runup stands.

Cool beans, Ron