My '13 Ram 1500 is the crew cab, 6' 4" (short bed, if you ask me...). But that was one of the things that really narrowed the field, when I was buying a new half ton two years ago. It was basically Ford or Ram for a lot of reasons at that time, but they were the only two that offered the cab and bed config I wanted, so it really was down to those two. For my purposes and priorities, the Ram was the winner between those them. But I could have been happy with an EcoBoost too. And if heavier towing and hauling were a priority, the EB would have been the clear winner. The F-150 has changed a lot with the new version, it looks even more compelling now.
I was looking for a truck that I knew I was going to keep for a long time. Ten years or more. So, resale was of no importance, but warranty was of much importance. The EcoBoost would have cost me about $5K more, and had only a 3 year warranty vs. the lifetime warranty I got with the Ram. Neither the extra $5K nor the warranty would not have mattered if I was only keeping the truck 3 or 4 years. As I'd have got most of the higher price back on re-sale/trade-in and wouldn't have been keeping it past the warranty period anyway. But, knowing I was going to be keeping the truck a long time, the price difference did matter and the huge difference in warranty mattered even more.
And, I didn't need the significantly higher tow/haul rating of the F-150 either. The Ram, while pitiful in this area, is "enough" for my needs and purposes.
The Ram definitely rides a lot nicer. Coil/link vs. leafs is no contest. A big reason I went half ton for the first time in my life, is my back can't take the ride of an empty 3/4 ton for 10 hours at a time anymore (even the new coil/link Ram 2500's aren't as plush as my 1500). So, the difference in ride quality, which is pretty big, was more important to me than it would be to most truck buyers. Heck, I remember when ride quality meant literally nothing to me in a truck. Now it means a lot.
The interior finish and features of the Ram were definitely a step above the F-150 two years ago too, comparing the King Ranch to the Laramie Longhorn, the Ram was just plain nicer and better thought out and configured. I think the new '15 F-150 has definitely improved on that score though.
I knew I'd be putting 34's or 35's on my new truck the day I bought it. The Ram is cheaper/easier to fit those size tires on - you can run 35's with just a leveling kit. And it was another area the Ram cost less, as the Ford dealers wouldn't do anything for me on new tires but LHM set me up with all new Duratrac's (34's) for $800.
My next tires will probably be 35's and I won't have to change anything except the wheels. I'd have had to change quite a bit on the F-150 to properly fit 35's.
EB was the obvious winner in MPG and with the '15 model is doing even better. For how I have my truck setup (34's and 3.92's), talking to several EB owners, real life MPG between the '13s is that the EB actually only gets about 2 MPG better (MPG comments in this thread are right in line with that too, my Hemi w/8 speed avgs 18 MPG to St. George and back empty, doing 80-85 MPH and gets 14-15 around town). For how few miles I put on my truck, it would have taken forever and ever to make up the $5K difference in cost on MPG. It really just wasn't an issue in my decision.
I love, love, love the Ram boxes. The other mfg's need to figure out how to offer the same thing without infringing any patents or anything - they're awesome.
But, anyway... Things have changed a lot in the two short years since I did all my research. So my information is all dated. But back then, for my needs and priorities only Ford and Ram were really worth considering. Ram won for me, for the reasons outlined above. Ford has improved a lot of things with the '15 F-150. Ram hasn't really changed much, except for the new diesel option which in my mind should only make sense for a limited number of buyers.
My two cents... If you are towing a boat to Powell, maybe a car hauler or heavier bumper pull now and then, only keeping it a few years, neither the price difference or the warranty really matter. If you need to tow and haul heavier loads the F-150 totally kills the Ram. So, in you shoes Russ, I think I'd probably just go get another new EcoBoost
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- DAA
