2014 Ram Powerwagon

[87GMCJimmy]

As a PW owner, I'm not enamoured with the change in the rear diff. Good luck with it off road - you loose over an inch of clearance. The 10.5 is a rock anchor with tires aired down, even with 35's. On stock 33's it will be right about 4 to 5" clearance when at 20 PSI. You'll need 37's on the truck to have the same clearance I do on 35's. That will require regearing and a minimum of a 4" lift too boot.

As far as the coils go, it should eliminate the biggest problem a PW has in soft terrain; axle hop due to spring wrap. Wait until Carli, Icon, and AEV tune a set specifically for the truck - it will be awesome.

Sent via gigawatt laser...

I agree, I drag the heck outta my 10.5" rear even with 37s!!! Don't need 4" lift though, I have a mix of Carli/Thuren that netted me 2" over stock stuff on my Power Wagon and I fit 37s totally fine!!! Also, IDK about need to regear for 37s, although the 6.4L's numbers aren't any huge jump, their curves may be much better. BUT, at least the 11.5" gives the option of regearing!!!! Aside from one person's claim that 10.5" Corporate 14 bolt gears can be modded to fit (never saw any proof of that claim though), I have not seen any mention of any gears lower than 4.56 gears for the AAM 10.5.

 

[Halligan]

According to the video they've switched from BFG AT's to Goodyear Duratracs. Overall I really like it minus the gaudy graphics.

 

[LimaMikeMike]

The only other thing I dislike besides the graphics is the new wheel design, it looks to have the same centre cap design as the 18" 2500/3500 rims. This means that if you were to install a free spin kit the rims would have to be machined to fit over the hub, kinda makes tire rotation a hassle.

Why a free spin kit? The PW has no CAD

 

[crawler#976]

The only other thing I dislike besides the graphics is the new wheel design, it looks to have the same centre cap design as the 18" 2500/3500 rims. This means that if you were to install a free spin kit the rims would have to be machined to fit over the hub, kinda makes tire rotation a hassle.

Why a free spin kit? The PW has no CAD

They should be the Power Wagon specific rim - they have a inner and outer bead seat for better tire retention at lower pressures. It's not quite as pronounced as the old Rubicon wheel, but it's bigger than the standard inner bead.

The free spin kit is nice, but it's only going to gain you fractions of a mile in MPG. The biggest reason to use one is the get rid of the unit bearings - if you think it will pay for itself on MPG, that's been proven to be a myth by several PW owners.

 

[LimaMikeMike]

They should be the Power Wagon specific rim - they have a inner and outer bead seat for better tire retention at lower pressures. It's not quite as pronounced as the old Rubicon wheel, but it's bigger than the standard inner bead.

The free spin kit is nice, but it's only going to gain you fractions of a mile in MPG. The biggest reason to use one is the get rid of the unit bearings - if you think it will pay for itself on MPG, that's been proven to be a myth by several PW owners.

Agreed on the MPG gain, definitely not enough to pay for itself athough it did make a 1 mpg gain on my diesel. However being able to service your front hubs like the older trucks is the biggest benefit. It would be interesting to see if there is any mpg improvement with the design changes, I would suspect the truck is somewhat heavier than the 2013 version and prolly more than couple hundred pounds heaver than the 3rd gen pw.

Looking at the video the centre cap an the wheel is the small style like the 2013-2014 3500/2500 18/20" with the lugnuts exposed as opposed to covered under the cap on the 03-12 trucks. its definitely still a 17" rim though hopefully with the bead retention ring you mentioned, who knows if the hub is still the same design as the 13 pw too so existing free spin kits may not fit anyway.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Before people criticize the rear coils too much, you may want to feel the truck at a dealer / autoshow.

I too, was skeptical based on the soft 1500 coils, but a 2014 2500 is STIFF. I'd say it's as stiff, if not stiffer than a leaf sprung 3500 SRW. Both my buddy and I were hanging off the tailgate and the suspension barely budged.

Just because it's coil sprung doesn't mean it's soft or weak - up-armored Humvees gross nearly 15k lbs...

Kind of...
I own a 2014 3500 SRW 4wd. It's much stiffer than a coil 2500. It rides much firmer. Much. The 2500 rides almost like a half ton compared to mine. And the springs will carry much more load. Mine is rated for almost 1750# more payload than an equivalent 3/4 ton truck. Drive them both. Look at the payload sticker on the door frame and decide. The biggest issue for me was the payload and the inevitable long wait for stronger coils for the 2500. I carry a ~3200# truck camper, and need the much stiffer 3500# springs to do it. If I want lockers, I'll have to go ARB. Oh, and the cummins is STILL not available on the Powerwagon.

 

[Saiyan66]

I'm kinda disappointed that they went back to 4.10 gears with it. For anyone wanting to run larger tires (35" or 37") it will almost necessitate a gear swap. The nice thing about having a double overdrive transmission is that you can run a little more gear without winding out on the highway. Also I think the truck should come factory with at least 35" tires because of how dang big it is and the previously mentioned problems with differential clearance. I also bet that the older Power Wagon's will out articulate the new ones due to the difference in rear suspension design. The new link setup has a sway bar on the rear and I didn't read anything about a disconnect for that one, just the front. I agree with a previous poster that this should be available with a regular cab and a manual transmission as well. The good news is that you can run 37" tires on bone stock 2014 2500's and the only issue is that they rub on the radius arms.

 

[ckupq]

When I read the specs all I saw was a 2" lift, lockers and the same size tires I'm running on my 1500 stock. You'd be farther ahead to get a diesel with a BB, spartan lockers, and a winch plate.

I'm kinda disappointed that they went back to 4.10 gears with it. For anyone wanting to run larger tires (35" or 37") it will almost necessitate a gear swap. The nice thing about having a double overdrive transmission is that you can run a little more gear without winding out on the highway. Also I think the truck should come factory with at least 35" tires because of how dang big it is and the previously mentioned problems with differential clearance. I also bet that the older Power Wagon's will out articulate the new ones due to the difference in rear suspension design. The new link setup has a sway bar on the rear and I didn't read anything about a disconnect for that one, just the front. I agree with a previous poster that this should be available with a regular cab and a manual transmission as well. The good news is that you can run 37" tires on bone stock 2014 2500's and the only issue is that they rub on the radius arms.

 

[RoyJ]

When I read the specs all I saw was a 2" lift, lockers and the same size tires I'm running on my 1500 stock. You'd be farther ahead to get a diesel with a BB, spartan lockers, and a winch plate.

Hope you're not implying a PW is a 1500 + 2" lift + lockers...

I realize there isn't a huge difference between a regular 2500 and a PW, but keep in mind the 2014 2500 itself is a big upgrade from before, and just about any competitor. A super stiff 50 ksi frame, 11.5 rear axle, 6.4 Hemi, etc. The sway disconnects, lockers, winch, is simply icing on the cake.

 

[RoyJ]

Kind of...
I own a 2014 3500 SRW 4wd. It's much stiffer than a coil 2500. It rides much firmer. Much. The 2500 rides almost like a half ton compared to mine. And the springs will carry much more load. Mine is rated for almost 1750# more payload than an equivalent 3/4 ton truck. Drive them both. Look at the payload sticker on the door frame and decide. The biggest issue for me was the payload and the inevitable long wait for stronger coils for the 2500. I carry a ~3200# truck camper, and need the much stiffer 3500# springs to do it. If I want lockers, I'll have to go ARB. Oh, and the cummins is STILL not available on the Powerwagon.

I wasn't saying the 2500 is stiffer or as stiff as a 3500. Rather, that it is every bit as stiff as the previous leaf sprung 2500.

A lot of people looks at the coils, and instantly thinks coils = no weight capacity.

In Canada at least, a Reg Cab, Hemi 6.4 2500 4x4 can carry 3600 lbs, not bad compared to the 4020 of the 3500 SRW:

 

[ripperj]

My local dealer has a 3500 SRW listed with the 5.7 Hemi, not the 6.4 I assumed it was a typo, the chart above indicates you can order either Hemi? (at least in Canada) Seems weird that they would keep production of two gassers so close in size, maybe depends on build date??

 

[ckupq]

I'm saying its a disappointment. I'm saying Its not worth the upgrade if you could have the thing for a $2000 ,a weekend in your garage, and a trip to the tire store.

 

[RoyJ]

My local dealer has a 3500 SRW listed with the 5.7 Hemi, not the 6.4 I assumed it was a typo, the chart above indicates you can order either Hemi? (at least in Canada) Seems weird that they would keep production of two gassers so close in size, maybe depends on build date??

In Canada you definitely could order both, but I've rarely, if ever, seen a 2014MY with a 5.7.

I believe it's one of those transition plans to avoid parts shortage and use up old stock.

The 6.4 also come in two flavours, one for 2500/3500SRW and one for the DRW, where hp is lower (artificially chopped at the torque peak) but engine is rated for higher duty cycle.

 

[docb14]

Ok, here is a question for those "In the Know"
A 2014 power wagon will be in the works for me in the upcoming months. I have drooled over them long enough and the time for a new truck has come. Here is my issue though:

The non power wagon 6.4 hemi crew cab 4x4 2500 truck with the 4.10 rear can tow about 15,500lbs
The 2014 power wagon is only rated for just under 11,000lbs
The only difference between the two (since the engine, transmission, and gear ratio is the same) is the softer coil spring suspension that the power wagon comes with.
The softer suspension is what contributes to the PW being so capable off road.

I want to be able to pull a boat and trailer in the future that weighs easily over 11,000lbs, maybe even 12,000lbs.

Since the only difference is the springs, can I just add a set of air bags to the back (when and if they become available) which will allow the PW to pull the weight?
I know the airbags can decrease the rear flex of the suspension but I am not too worried about really flexing the rear end of the truck. I'm not a rock crawler.

Please tell me where my logic is flawed with this idea.

Yes I know there are those that will say just get a non PW Ram (or diesel) but I will not be pulling the boat very often and I want a power wagon due to the winch, lift, lockers, disconnects, general bad-***-ness, etc all of which is under warranty.

 

[Littlehouse]

I'm pretty sure you would be fine with airbags. They even have some that attach up top so you don't lose articulation when aired down. The real problem is do you want to overload the truck? Say you wreck towing that trailer, you'd be in a world of hurt.

If you're towing that much i'd go diesel. I know u said no, but thats a ton of weight.