I can tell you that in doing their marketing they intentionally try not to limit themselves to one singular group because these vehicles are intended to cover a WIDE range of uses.

If they built a truck to just your specifications, another person that uses it differently than you do would wonder why the heck they did things that way

It is difficult to make it perfect for everyone but I think they are trying to listen and make improvements when they can.

 

Doggone it, I missed it at work.....

If any of you guys happen to correspond with them, let them know they are VERY welcome to monitor this site, lord knows we complain a lot.

I also did not see any comment on a freaking 4 cylinder 1500. Also, one other reason for locking hubs that transcends fuel mileage, etc. is the fact that the front driveshaft is NOT spinning all the time, like a timebomb waiting to go off. If anyone has witnessed this, they would realize the danger that it poses.

Anyway, hope we can do this again sometime ( hopefully when I am NOT stuck at work.....)

 

Is the whole chat copied somewhere?

 

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...r-t272171.html

 

Thank you very much. Just read all 10 pages of it. Some very good info. Now I know why they don't always offer certain options.

 

I read thru it, and there was some good info.. but I got the impression they were defending their decisions more than they were taking suggestions.. Manual hubs as the case in point, the only response I saw was "Why would you want that"...

I also thought it was interesting that this time they stated they had no clue about a 7 speed manual trans, yet the same Q&A on TDR is where the engineers mentioned its possibility.

 

I was on Conference Call with them at the time and I did not get the feeling they were defending their position. My gut feeling is they have done some testing and overall they feel most of their customers are better served with what they have now.

They asked why would you want them? because they really wanted to know...

I don't think that Ram understands just how hard so many of you work these trucks and the benefits guys like us see in lockable hubs. Many of the people that buy these trucks do NOT want to have to get out in the mud or snow to lock in a hub.

 

I think the main reason is the combination of unit bearings on an axle without locking hubs are much cheaper and easier to manufacture and assemble. There is alot more machine work that must be done to provide serviceable bearings, and even more when locking hubs are added. Probably a few hundred dollars per axle...which is money in their pockets now. Cant blame them if people still buy the trucks.

 

Oh yeah no doubt bottom line comes into play as a huge determining factor, they are after all trying to make a profit It would be nice to see them offer it as an option though so that those of us that want it, can have it

 

I understand the money thing, its also the reason they did away with CAD.. cheaper and they get to sell more u-joints since they always spin.

It is good that they have Q&A sessions, but I think if they spent some time reading they would see what goes on and possibly see more things that people like/dislike... Similar to the response about the overhead mileage, they said it should be within .5, I can tell you that mine has only been within .5 twice since I bought the truck, 50K miles ago.. Yes i have a Smarty, but that didn't seem to change it too much, is still quite off with stock.

Thanks again for setting it up Top.

 

Mine has always been consistantly 2-2.5 mpg high even after I put
larger tires on at 75,000 miles and recalibrated the speedo

 

As my miles increase so does my error.. I average just over 17% off now. Which is usually 3-4 mpgs.

Both mine and my dads were close accurate, within 5%, for the first 20K miles then they really went off... It seems the OE programming assumes the engine will break in much more than it actually does.

 

i feel the same way, i want manual hubs so i dont have u-joints going every 25k. i also would like to see greasable ball joints. make it a part of the plow prep option, manual hubs, greasable ball joints and servicable wheel bearings. id pay extra for it, and im sure alot of others would too!

 

Manual hubs are on the short list of mods for me, so I am paying for it either way.. OEM would just be easier.

2wd low is almost invaluable.

 

you saw the response of the engineers after they asked me why i wanted manual hubs and serviceable bearings..and i gave them what i thought was a well thought legitimate response..lol they didnt respond. I dont know if it was from the large amount of questions or they just didnt want to hear about it