Guess ram is the preferred truck of the rodeo

"j250ex" (j250ex)
04/02/2016 at 23:51 • Filed to: None

Spent some time at the rodeo this weekend. Granted the thing was sponsored by ram so I saw a lot of new ram trucks but it was interesting that the majority of the actual contestants were using ram 3500's to tow their horse trailer. I know ford has the light duty truck market locked in but what’s the heavy duty market spread like? Seems like people who actually tow trailers for a living seem to prefer ram.

DISCUSSION (16)

bob and john > j250ex
04/02/2016 at 23:54

yea, ram has the cummins motor. and frankly, cummins KNOWS how to make a big diesel.

Blondude > j250ex
04/02/2016 at 23:56

Something something “rather be cummin than strokin’”

Also, for some reason the thumbnail made it look like that Ram was slammed to the ground along with the trailer. Now I’m kinda disappointed.

Wobbles the Mind > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:01

I wonder if a majority of those buying these trucks were younger (under 30) when the mid-90s Dodge Ram came out of no where looking like a big rig with way more luxury features and ride. Add in that big rig look they remember (which the 3500 does best) plus the Cummins diesel Peter Black mentioned and you pretty much have a group of people buying their dream “family” truck.

I know I still have a great fondness to the truck because I remember that new design being the first time I really fell in love with a truck due to it looking like the Semi toys I played with *cough*Optimus*sniff*

fhrblig > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:02

Maybe because you can still get them with the Cummins and a manual, that is a plus for some people.

Birddog > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:05

Not just Rodeo. A former employer who is a dyed in the wool Ford guy has a Ram Dually that’s pretty much just for towing his Horses, his friends have a similar setup. All of his work trucks are F150 XLs or older Econolines.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:07

Don’t know about the Powerstroke, but as someone who has a to use either a Duramax or a Cummins for work, when it’s up to me, I’ll choose the Cummins every time. It tows effortlessly, in comparison to the Duramax struggling. Also, if you have to idle a lot, I’ve noticed the Cummins DPF takes waaaaaaay longer to clog. Like the Duramax DPF takes a day, while the Cummins takes a week, longer. As for why they choose them over the Ford’s: the 6.0 and 6.4 Powerjokes.

slipperysallylikespenguins > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:15

As someone who has worked in the oil industry and construction, I’ve noticed that Fords are pretty much all fleet sales as they are the cheapest option that way. But for small companies, Dodge is typically the choice. Part of that comes down to the 6.0 diesel that Fords had. For a few years they were terrible and a lot of small businesses got burned with trucks always being in the shop. Dodge was there to pick up their business and has done well to keep it.

j250ex > fhrblig
04/03/2016 at 00:17

That might be the case. The most popular model I was seeing was a 3500 with the mega cab option. Not sure if you could get those in a manual. Oh and a ranch hand grill. Had to have one of those

j250ex > Blondude
04/03/2016 at 00:20

It was a portrait snapshot on my phone that I cropped a little. So it probably did mess with the dimensions a little.

slipperysallylikespenguins > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:25

As someone who has worked in the oil and construction industries, I’ve noticed that most of the Fords are fleet sales. They are the cheapest option in bulk. Small businesses generally choose Dodge. This is because a lot of businesses got burned when Ford introduced the 6.0. Companies had constant repairs and down time. Dodge was there to pick up their business and has done well to keep it.

j250ex > slipperysallylikespenguins
04/03/2016 at 00:43

I would believe that. I know a lot of people who got burned by the 6.0 and then again with the 6.4.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 00:48

Stick and cummins are available across the range IIRC.

ranwhenparked > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 01:00

I think it’s pretty hard to tell, exactly. I believe Ford, GM, and FCA don’t break out heavy duty numbers from the rest of their full-size pickup sales.

6Cylinder > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 02:46

The family demolition company bought a new F550 and F450 a few years ago. One ate a turbo and one required a cab off engine replacement at under 10k miles.

Powerstrokes are wack.

Gone > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 06:56

Last I’d seen, Ford is still #1 in HDs, but Dodge is #2 with the GM twins bringing up the rear. Ram and GM swap when talking half tons. Not a lot of love for the GMs in HD guise.

Overall sales it’s usually Ford, GM twins (combined), then Dodge. But sometimes Ford/GM swap and then broken down, Ram is selling just behind Chevy own it’s own.

As was mentioned, Ford gets a lot of fleet sales from O&G, construction, mining, and rentals i.e. U-Haul and car rental places that rent trucks. It’ll be interesting with the downturn in O&G if Ford doesn’t meet sales projections. They still are showing YoY growth however.

PWRandSPD > j250ex
04/03/2016 at 19:36

I don’t do rodeos, but I do haul a horse trailer and have for a long time. My father has always been a Ford guy, my brother a Chevy guy, and I have a Ram. My trailer is 38' nose to tail and holds 6 horses, all the equipment, a golf cart and a dirt bike. I ran my last Ram 3500 with the Cummins for 17 years and 260,000 give or take miles fairly trouble free. Almost all of those miles were towing. That truck met its demise when I loaned it out and it got jackknifed. Being 17 years old, the paint damage alone was enough to total it. So what did I do, I bought a new/used 2014 Ram with the Cummins. I could not b happier. I will run this rig till it no longer move under its own power. I know many people with larger trailers with all the major HD trucks to pull them. The Rams are very popular and well liked.