looking for recomendation on a used ram to tow my 6550 lb. trailer and race car. I heard early hemi rams and transmission were troublesome. any years to stay away fro? asking advise since I don't have a clue. Thanks

I use my 2012 Ram 1500 quad cab., 2wd shortbed

I've towed several cars on open trailer and have zero complaints with how it pull or stops

the 545RFE was very reliable, the problem is they are approaching 20 years old and even the best eventually starts having trouble. The good news is if it goes bad it is very cheap to buy a used one and throw it in and keep going because the JY is plum full of good trans because trucks rusted out around them or the engine got overheated and died or pillaged for a retrofit.



All that being said I would run one in a heartbeat if that is all I was towing. Those 1/2 tons in good condition can easily do that when the trailer is loaded correctly.



I love the 6.4 in the 3/4 ton even more if you can pick up one of them with the 6 speed (almost identical trans to the 545RFE in the earlier ones but beefed up like the diesel version).

Any 2500 with a diesel

This ^^^^ , but be prepared to pay. If you go diesel try to get something pre DEF system , that will save money and headaches.

If you can find an ‘06 and can afford it, buy it, you won’t regret it.

Until an injector takes a dump and destroys a cylinder. That repair alone can cost as much as a nice used hemi truck.

I have an 04.5 H.O. 3500 CTD. Driving around town all day in the city with my 28' enclosed trailer loaded moving 5 different cars in one day it was still getting 17.9 MPG pulling everything with 217,000 on it so far trouble free other than routine maintenance.

As a dealer tech….. avoid the puke-o-diesel. All comes down to your needs. Short trips? Mild terrain? Only occasional towing?

I had myself convinced after our 01 diesel that a 2500 6.4 Hemi would be perfect for us…… and then we bought a 17 3500 crew long bed Aisin equipped diesel. It just turned 30k miles….. avg 5k miles a year. What a waste…. what a complete joy to tow with!

thanks for the advise. gives me a starting point for sure.

Still selling my 2015 Cummins Ram ST automatic regular cab with 343K miles, use it daily with no issues than the trans needing adjusting. The DEF pump quit working 35K miles ago, hasn't affected the performance. PM me if you are interested.