New 2500 2020 trucks

[Turbo Terry]

Went to dealer to look at new trucks yesterday. Nice 27 year old kid selling trucks but doesn’t know anything much about them. Very sad. Looking at a new Cummins but want a factory exhaust brake. So can I get one on a 6 speed. Manuel transmission or just the automatics And I see two different automatics also. Which one and why ? Also want the rear air suspension. And which gear in the rear . I haul a 3000 lbs slide in truck camper. Give me good advice on what I need in a new 2500 ??? Thanks

 

[gsbrockman]

Well.......you won’t be getting a manual in your 2020. The G56 was canned beginning with the 2019 MY. Since you’re looking at a 2500......the only automatic will be the 68RFE. It is a good, dependable, reliable transmission.

 

[grabinov]

I know everyone will have an opinion, but maybe consider the following with regard to the rear air. My experience with it is that, other than being automatic, it's just a very complex (and expensive) way to have the ability to change your "spring rate" as you change loads. It works reasonably well, but you have very little control over it in terms of adjusting on the fly. Basically you set the truck to "normal" or "alternate ride height" (those are the two driving modes). In alternate ride height the truck self levels and should hold itself there as you add the load. IT sometimes gets confused if you add a load and the truck is not running (you shut down while lowering on the trailer or camper), and then won't figure out where it is for a while. No great harm, just a warning light, but it's not perfect. The rear air in the 2500 is NOT like that in the 3500. It's your entire rear suspension (or it's your entire rear "spring".

I have the feature on my truck and, pulling a heavy 5th wheel, if I had it to do again, I'd just buy the coil spring truck and add airbags myself as I did on my prior truck. If you add an on-board compressor and in-cab controls you have lots of adjustability that you can control. I loved that setup. The one real advantage I've found with the rear-air system is, believe it or not, the ability to let the air OUT of the bags in the bag to load a motorcycle in the trailer. The truck drops a few inches which makes getting a motorcycle up a ramp and into a 4wd Ram truck a bit easier.

It has also been my experience that finding aftermarket suspension parts for the airbag trucks is tough. If you want a new sway bar to go with your heavy camper, or a lift (unlikely I suppose), or different shocks or whatever, you'll find many of the parts say "coil spring trucks only". Thuren Suspension now has some of it figured out, but the solutions are not perfect.

Just for consideration. I'm certainly not unhappy with mine, I just would do something different if I knew then what I know now.

By the way, the factory exhaust brake is terrific, and well worth the automatic transmission. I have a brand new Ford truck at work and the exhaust brake isn't nearly as good or as adjustable. The automatic transmission are very good now, with lots of manual control (to/haul and manual shifting) and torque converters that lock in nearly all of the forward gears so that the engine has a huge number of ratios to choose from. With that, you can easily haul a 3,000 camper and still run the 3.42 rear end. I tow an 11,000lb 5th wheel with mine (68RFE and 3.42 gears). and I can still get 21mpg on the highway empty if I keep the speeds down, or cruise at 80 at a low RPM.

Greg

 

[Ozymandias]

Every Ram comes with Exhaust brake from factory, for 14? years now.

You want Adaptive Cruise Control.

You want Surround Camera System.

You want Emercency Brake Assist.

3.73 is a GREAT ratio for all usages.

And get a 3500 SRW for such a heavy camper.

 

[Turbo Terry]

I was told a 3500 would ride too rough empty. Will look at emergency brake assist Thanks

 

[lpennock]

3500 with air assist is smoother than the leaf only. Both ride better than a 3rd gen 2500 or 3500.

 

[RVTRKN]

My 2019 SRW 3500 rides real smooth with the auto level system, compared to my 3500 DRW that I traded in. Also the 3500 SRW can come with the Aisin HO CTD. The 3:42 rear diff is no longer, the 2500 and 3500 minimum rear diff is 3:73 and is the only ratio unless you go with a DRW 3500. For your camper at 3000 lbs, the 3500 should be your choice. Test drive a 3500 SRW with the air system, you'll be surprized how smooth it rides. So far, I'm not impressed with the Auto level system, but I'm still learning the advantages of it. So little is known on the air system, but what I have learned recently, is the spring package is different than a 3500 SRW without the air system, that I believe is why its so smooth. A big problem with sales not knowing their product. When new automotive products hit the market, the sales seems to be the last to know. I went through this in 06 when I was ordering my 07 MY 3500 C&C. Good luck with whatever you chose.

 

[TFucili]

The 2500 air ride is bags only, and IMHO would be a poor choice with a high CG truck camper. I would absolutely go 3500 SRW.

 

[kthaxton]

Another vote for a 3500 with that camper.

 

[lpennock]

Another vote for the 3500.

PS. To keep the GVW police happy a 3000 lb camper will put a 2500 over max GVW and payload rating. Not that it won't carry it, it will just be over the door tag weights.

 

[JohnM45]

Another vote for the 3500.

PS. To keep the GVW police happy a 3000 lb camper will put a 2500 over max GVW and payload rating. Not that it won't carry it, it will just be over the door tag weights.

Just for a point of reference, my '18 2500 Regular cab, long bed diesel has a door sticker payload of 2550 pounds. The only way I see a 2500 getting into the 3000 pound payload range is with a gas engine. And if you choose a Crew Cab, it probably won't happen even with a gasser.

Again, those are model year 2018 numbers. I'm not sure how payloads have changed for the 2019 and 2020 trucks.

 

[kthaxton]

Just for a point of reference, my '18 2500 Regular cab, long bed diesel has a door sticker payload of 2550 pounds. The only way I see a 2500 getting into the 3000 pound payload range is with a gas engine. And if you choose a Crew Cab, it probably won't happen even with a gasser.

Additionally, 3000 lbs is likely the dry weight of the camper....and....there's even a paper that comes with 2500's that says slide in campers are not recommended.

 

[TFucili]

If you are insistent on a 2500 I would advise NOT getting the air suspension, but rather get the coils, and add Airlift 7500 bags, which mount outboard of the springs, and plumb them with independent control. But, from the department of redundancy, be wise and get a 3500 with air assist.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I have the rear air ride on my 2015 3500 DRW along with the AISIN. Both have been flawless with 68k on the clock. The ride will be lousy from the Dealer unless you get them to drop the air pressure in the rears to 35psi for an unloaded test ride. That pressure is plenty for daily driving.

Truck sets nearly level in ALT ride with or without the RV even with my FULL RAW of 9,800#.

February will be 5 years with ZERO issues on the air ride system. I love it and it's a very comfortable ride.

 

[Ozymandias]

Thumbs up for the Airride on the 3500.
Empty it runs on the smooth Leaf Springs, the added load is carried by the Airbags.
O
I sat in the rear on pretty rough roads and it was perfect.

 

[SnoKing]

Went to dealer to look at new trucks yesterday. Nice 27 year old kid selling trucks but doesn’t know anything much about them. Very sad. Looking at a new Cummins but want a factory exhaust brake. So can I get one on a 6 speed. Manuel transmission or just the automatics And I see two different automatics also. Which one and why ? Also want the rear air suspension. And which gear in the rear . I haul a 3000 lbs slide in truck camper. Give me good advice on what I need in a new 2500 ??? Thanks

You need more than a 2500 for 3000# slide in camper. If I was buy a new truck for a camper, it would be a dually. 3500 SRW will sort of work, however that dually with the high camper will be much better. So forget the 2500's.

 

[Turbo Terry]

Very good info on the 3500. This is the info I’m looking for. Thanks to all. I’m taking notes

 

[jhenderson]

Very good info on the 3500. This is the info I’m looking for. Thanks to all. I’m taking notes

Too bad the salesman doesn’t care enough to learn for his employment what we’ve learned for our purchases.

 

[Newsa]

My 2013 2500 is only rated to carry 2350 ish in the bed. I second the 3500 srw that snoking and ozzy recommend. Finding a manual transmission will be tough. You would be looking for a used one and there aren't many out there

 

[Turbo Terry]

Yes if they are selling it you would think they would try to know as much as possible but they go to the ram website and try to look up the answers. And never really find out anything.