F550 or Ram 5500 or ???

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

You're going into this with a lot of bogus info stuck in your head, id STRONGLY suggest a lot more research before pulling the trigger on something so expensive...

For my lastest build i was torn between the F550 and the 5500

You really have to drive both of them before even considering which is best.

I drove both on the same day, and after trying the 2, it was a no brainer. The 5500 was leaps and bounds quieter (roadnoise) on the freeway, and the seats were considerably more comfortable.

Specs and price are damn close to identical on the 2 so it boils down to personal preference.

Things i didnt like about the F550:
-Road noise
-Very cheesy, too futuristic interior
-The def tank is in a REALLY stupid spot that robs a lot of valuable storage box space under the subframe.

Things i didnt like about the 5500:
-VERY limited aftermarket support

Again, i would STRONGLY suggest a lot more research before pulling the trigger.

Go through my videos and find the one of me flexing the frame. There is not a chance in hell you can direct mount a camper box to either the F550 or the 5500, not a chance at all.

A lot of folks regurgitate "New diesels emissions are satan and your truck is going to explode" nonsense. It usually starts as it does above in this thread... "I've heard... bla bla bla"

I have friends with the both the new F550s and the 5500s driving the crap out of them, a couple of them have over 100k on them already. None have had the satanic diesel emissions problems that the intraweb trolls continue to regurgitate.

Any rig, gas, diesel, electric, anything can eventually have problems... and if you look hard enough, you can find catastrophic failures with damn near any vehicle ever made.

Lay off the 3rd party intraweb speak and look for real numbers.

 

[Tex68w]

The only issues RAM has had in recent years is with the CP4 pump and they went back to the CP3 in 2021 and from what I understand, there's a fix for the 2019-20 trucks now as well. Ford still uses the CP4 so take that into consideration. Diesel still makes sense for heavy payloads and heavy towing so if you're doing either of those then it's still a no brainer IMHO. Initial cost increase (purchase price) for a diesel is certainly a factor, but the increased fuel costs for diesel are so minimal that they don't really add up to much. Oil changes are the same with these newer gassers holding 12-15qts. of oil just like the diesels. A few fuel filters and the minuscule cost of DEF and that's really the only difference in maintenance between the diesel and a gasser, where things get drastically different is when it comes to service and repairs, diesels are much more expensive to work on.

I've owned a few of both makes and like the others have already pointed out, there's a lot to like about both brands. I miss the cab and styling of the Ford but I prefer the engine and aftermarket of the RAM, things are different when it comes to the chassis cab trucks though, Ford definitely has the advantage with the aftermarket there. Go and drive them and you'll have a much clearer picture of which one speaks to you the most.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Oh, and the other HUGE thing that Ford had that Ram doesn’t is there extra cab. Ram only has Reg cab and Crew cab. I really wanted the middle, extra cab. But…. ??‍♂️

 

[GPurcell01]

The only issues RAM has had in recent years is with the CP4 pump and they went back to the CP3 in 2021 and from what I understand, there's a fix for the 2019-20 trucks now as well. Ford still uses the CP4 so take that into consideration. Diesel still makes sense for heavy payloads and heavy towing so if you're doing either of those then it's still a no brainer IMHO. Initial cost increase (purchase price) for a diesel is certainly a factor, but the increased fuel costs for diesel are so minimal that they don't really add up to much. Oil changes are the same with these newer gassers holding 12-15qts. of oil just like the diesels. A few fuel filters and the minuscule cost of DEF and that's really the only difference in maintenance between the diesel and a gasser, where things get drastically different is when it comes to service and repairs, diesels are much more expensive to work on.

I've owned a few of both makes and like the others have already pointed out, there's a lot to like about both brands. I miss the cab and styling of the Ford but I prefer the engine and aftermarket of the RAM, things are different when it comes to the chassis cab trucks though, Ford definitely has the advantage with the aftermarket there. Go and drive them and you'll have a much clearer picture of which one speaks to you the most.

This right here. The fact that they got rid of the CP4 is what made me choose a Ram over another Ford. It's actually not a direct swap to a CP3 - it is now a CP-ISB21. Basically a refreshed CP3 so still happy with it.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I find the CP3 vs CP4 argument interesting…

Lots of intraweb chatter and YouTube videos about the CP4 being a grenade and time bomb etc…

But on the main Cummins forum (where those dudes complain about EVERYTHING) with a crap ton of members, there’s less than a half dozen that have actually had any issues. % wise, it’s close to nill

For whatever it’s worth, in 2020 when Cummins announced the CP4, it was supposedly a new generation version to fix prior issues. Based on minimal validated complaints of issues, seems the new variant is fine.

??‍♂️

 

[GPurcell01]

I find the CP3 vs CP4 argument interesting…

Lots of intraweb chatter and YouTube videos about the CP4 being a grenade and time bomb etc…

But on the main Cummins forum (where those dudes complain about EVERYTHING) with a crap ton of members, there’s less than a half dozen that have actually had any issues. % wise, it’s close to nill

For whatever it’s worth, in 2020 when Cummins announced the CP4, it was supposedly a new generation version to fix prior issues. Based on minimal validated complaints of issues, seems the new variant is fine.

??‍♂️

This would be correct. I believe it's when they went to the "symmetrical" version of the CP4 and they do have a lot less failures. I fell very far down the hole of fuel pumps...

For me seeing the switch to yet a different pump validated that there was a problem that they saw needing a remedy. The CP4 in a maintained truck is probably just fine and will not have issues (good fuel, additives, ect.) but it was piece of mind for me when shopping.

 

[jadmt]

I run two Ram dealerships. Right now there is no way I would by any Stellantis product. But, with that being said, they are making us a lot of money!

hard to argue that logic. What is the biggest issue you are seeing with Stellantis and ram in general? thanks

 

[deserteagle56]

hard to argue that logic. What is the biggest issue you are seeing with Stellantis and ram in general? thanks

I wanted to get something more comfortable - something that wouldn't beat me up so much off-road - than my 2006 Wrangler Rubicon so I started doing my research. Reading the posts on the Wrangler forums scared me off...a high percentage of new Jeeps with major electrical problems that disable them so a tow truck is needed. Where I take my Jeeps a tow truck isn't going to go.




In that second photo, this is happening while the Jeep is being driven with the key fob in the vehicle. Almost all of the new Wranglers are some type of hybrid, with two batteries. When one battery suddenly dies - which they seem to do early - the Jeep is disabled. Don't know how relevant the Jeep problems are to Ram, but quality control is the major Stellantis issue.

 

[dreells]

I run two Ram dealerships. Right now there is no way I would by any Stellantis product. But, with that being said, they are making us a lot of money!

For those of us not in the know, would you care to elaborate on why you wouldn't buy any of their products?

 

[Explorerinil]

I wanted to get something more comfortable - something that wouldn't beat me up so much off-road - than my 2006 Wrangler Rubicon so I started doing my research. Reading the posts on the Wrangler forums scared me off...a high percentage of new Jeeps with major electrical problems that disable them so a tow truck is needed. Where I take my Jeeps a tow truck isn't going to go.
View attachment 690671

View attachment 690672

In that second photo, this is happening while the Jeep is being driven with the key fob in the vehicle. Almost all of the new Wranglers are some type of hybrid, with two batteries. When one battery suddenly dies - which they seem to do early - the Jeep is disabled. Don't know how relevant the Jeep problems are to Ram, but quality control is the major Stellantis issue.

Quality control is a huge issue with the big three, not just ram. My 19 ram had better fit and finish than my 2021 super duty. I have found pieces of metal painted over in the roof of my truck, like a big bubble, never had that with any ram, espically my 19 ram.

 

[UglyViking]

I find the CP3 vs CP4 argument interesting…

Lots of intraweb chatter and YouTube videos about the CP4 being a grenade and time bomb etc…

But on the main Cummins forum (where those dudes complain about EVERYTHING) with a crap ton of members, there’s less than a half dozen that have actually had any issues. % wise, it’s close to nill

For whatever it’s worth, in 2020 when Cummins announced the CP4, it was supposedly a new generation version to fix prior issues. Based on minimal validated complaints of issues, seems the new variant is fine.

??‍♂️

I have spent a lot, probably too much, time reading up on the CP4 vs CP3, failure rates, etc. I get where you're coming from but I don't think that Cummins forum is as active for the 5th gens as it is/was for prior versions. It may be better now but currently/previously HDrams was much more active in terms of everything going on.

That said, I'm on all the groups and forums and I've seen a ton of complaints about failures, a few guys having back to back failures. There seems to be no cure in terms of additives (about half the guys running some sort of additive, the other half not), and the newer pump still fails, maybe not as often, who knows as it was only in half a model year (late half 2020 trucks).

There is a reason that FCA spent the time, money and headache to redesign the CP4 from an asymmetrical pump to a symmetrical pump, and then spent even more money swapping over to a CP3. Furthermore, the NHTSA is currently investigating this, so we will eventually find out the total number of cases.

Now, to be fair, I expect this number to be low. Total failures are likely sub 5% chance. The downside is that if it does go down, there is a high likelihood you are replacing a whole engine. At minimum you're replacing the entire injection system. Personally, I'm still driving mine and hoping for the best, but I refuse to tune or anything until I get the pump swapped.

 

[cobro92]

I have spent a lot, probably too much, time reading up on the CP4 vs CP3, failure rates, etc. I get where you're coming from but I don't think that Cummins forum is as active for the 5th gens as it is/was for prior versions. It may be better now but currently/previously HDrams was much more active in terms of everything going on.

That said, I'm on all the groups and forums and I've seen a ton of complaints about failures, a few guys having back to back failures. There seems to be no cure in terms of additives (about half the guys running some sort of additive, the other half not), and the newer pump still fails, maybe not as often, who knows as it was only in half a model year (late half 2020 trucks).

There is a reason that FCA spent the time, money and headache to redesign the CP4 from an asymmetrical pump to a symmetrical pump, and then spent even more money swapping over to a CP3. Furthermore, the NHTSA is currently investigating this, so we will eventually find out the total number of cases.

Now, to be fair, I expect this number to be low. Total failures are likely sub 5% chance. The downside is that if it does go down, there is a high likelihood you are replacing a whole engine. At minimum you're replacing the entire injection system. Personally, I'm still driving mine and hoping for the best, but I refuse to tune or anything until I get the pump swapped.

Obviously it would be totally catastrophic to have to replace the whole engine if the CP4 goes down. Thankfully the aftermarket has an answer. There is a CP4 bypass kit that protects the engine if and when the CP4 kicks the bucket. With the kit you will only have to replace the CP4 unit, not the whole engine.

It’s sad that we need the aftermarket to help fix what should be fixed at the factory, but hey at least it’s a solution.

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[Ninelitetrip]

If you are really interested in the longevity and serviceability of the Ford 6.7 this YT channel is a good watch. He is Ford mechanic in a dealership wrenching daily on personal, commercial, and utility 6.7 Super Duty. My takeaway is follow the maintenance schedule as listed is key to longevity. He shows some crazy abuse on these trucks, like never changing the oil, or what long idle times do to the EGR. He also looks at the CP4 and some workarounds.

https://www.youtube.com/c/PowerStrokeTechTalkwARod/videos

 

[jbaucom]

I have no direct personal experience with any of the 3/4-ton + trucks, but the anecdotal electrical issues with Stellantis products (along with what deserteagle556 presented above) is not that different from my personal experience with electrical issues in new Ford products - both my current 2019 F150 and the 2020 Edge rental that I was in for a month. I wouldn't say that Ford or Stellantis make bad trucks, and I'd have a hard time saying that one was any better than the other. My personal opinion is that it would be difficult for me to spend money with either Ford or Stellantis right now, unless no one else offered the configuration I was looking for.

 

[pith helmet]

Any rig, gas, diesel, electric, anything can eventually have problems... and if you look hard enough, you can find catastrophic failures with damn near any vehicle ever made.

Lay off the 3rd party intraweb speak and look for real numbers.

true enough. i am looking for a used 1 ton and i have gotten some really good first hand advice, a lot of anecdotes and a few rants, but if i took it all it would exclude every truck on the market in the last 25 years.