What we dislike about our 2024 Ram 3500

With six months of everyday life under our belts with our 2024 Ram 3500, we figured we had enough experience to give y’all the inside scoop on what we love about the truck and what we think could be better. Since we already covered the good stuff, it’s time to dive into the negative side of things.

Thankfully, most of our complaints are minor annoyances. In fact, we feel compelled to tell you that this is our favorite vehicle to date, and we’ve had a lot. So, keep that in mind as you read through the list of things we wish were different about our 2024 Ram 3500.

Things to know:

After six months of ownership, we have a pretty good picture of the pros and cons of our 2024 Ram 3500. Here, we’ll cover what we think could be better–from minor annoyances to complete head-scratchers.

Get it together, Ram!

While we’re mostly joking, there are a few things about our Ram 3500 Big Horn with the high-output Cummins and long bed that could be better. We tend to be pretty positive people, so consider this an educational exercise more than us moaning the blues.

The long bed is long (who knew?)

We think of the 8’ bed on our Ram as a double-edged sword. We love the look and functionality of the long bed, but it sure is a pain in the rear to park.

She may be long, but she sure is pretty.

Of course, we knew that the turning radius and sheer size of the truck would be frustrating at times, so this didn’t catch us off guard. Still, it’s worth mentioning because Rams have notoriously poor turning, and we’re now experiencing it first-hand.

The bigger the screen, the harder they fall

If we had a biscuit for every time someone mentioned the “Tesla screen” in our truck, we could open a diner. Seriously, it’s always one of the first things people notice when they see the truck.

Why did Ram choose a vertical orientation where half of the screen is sometimes useless? We may never know.

While the large screen looks nice and gives the big old Ram a more modern appearance, we would prefer a smaller, more traditional screen for a number of reasons.

• We prefer buttons and knobs (Ram did a good job of giving essentials like climate control buttons, but still).

• It is a touch laggy at times.

• The vertical orientation is silly when most vehicle screens are horizontal.

• Vital things like Android Auto and vehicle cameras are only available on half the screen. Talk about a wasted opportunity.

Halogen headlights

Call us crazy, but halogen headlights on a truck that cost this much is pretty unacceptable in 2024. It’s not that the headlights on the Ram are atrocious, they’re simply not as bright or as clean as modern LED headlights.

Past a certain price point–say, $27–LED headlights should be standard on a new vehicle. Our Ram is no exception, and it’s simply absurd that a manufacturer would upcharge several thousand dollars for such a staple.

Modern diesel problems

As our first diesel vehicle, the Ram 3500 is an absolute beast and a joy to drive. Despite loving nearly everything about the truck–especially the powertrain–we were hesitant to take the leap into the world of diesels.

Why? Because of all the regulations and complex emission systems that come with it.

The dreaded DEF fill.

You’ll find horror stories galore about emission systems killing trucks, shortening their lifespans, choking their efficiency, and otherwise ruining what could be a great vehicle. Honestly, we were (and remain) a bit shaken by these anecdotes.

We’re hoping to avoid any modern diesel problems, and in the long term, we hope to see some change in how regulations are created and enforced. Fingers crossed.

Interior annoyances

The rest of our list features some truly minor annoyances and one that is not-so-minor. Given that the interior is where we spend most of our time on the road (you know, when driving), even little things can be frustrating.

Let’s start with the relatively small complaint we have about the interior of our Ram.

• The back floor has a massive hump in the middle. This prevents you from fully utilizing it, and other manufacturers (like Ford) have much better solutions.

• The subwoofer steals a lot of valuable storage space. We didn’t want the premium audio package, but here we are–wishing we could reclaim that valuable underseat storage!

• The steering wheel only adjusts up and down–no telescoping. This makes it difficult to get into a comfortable driving position.

The interior of the Ram Big Horn is nicely appointed, but it does have some serious downfalls.

Like we said–not too bad, just slightly annoying. There is one interior feature that deserves more attention, however–the center console.

We loved the center console in the Ford Super Duty. It had ample storage, a simple design, and a clever feature that allowed you to expand the cup holder capacity from two to four. We had only praise for it.

The Ram console, on the other hand, tries to be too clever. Rather than your traditional box with a lid and separate exterior storage and cup holder area, Ram thought it was a good idea to implement a sliding tray that covers a cavernous void.

Does this give you loads of storage space? Yes, it does. Is it unintuitive, overly complex, and squeaky as all get out? You bet!

Give us a traditional center console design or a bench seat, and our biggest gripe about the Ram 3500 interior disappears. It’s really that bad.

We hope we didn’t come across as negative Nellies in this blog because we really, truly love our Ram. If you would like to see a more in-depth look at what we like and dislike about the truck, we encourage you to check out the video below and subscribe to our YouTube channel. It would be much appreciated!

In the meantime, you can follow our impending adventures by following us on Instagram and checking in on this blog every Wednesday. We would love to connect with and learn from you as we embrace life as full-time RVers.

Until next time,
- Riley + Hanna