2008 Dodge Ram 4500 & 5500 Chassis Cab Introduction

Here we are at yet another Dodge Ram diesel introduction. This time at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show.

As I usually do at these events, I video taped the press conference. TDR members can view the video at the link at the bottom of this page. We also tried for the first time to conduct some video interviews which unforetunately due to background noise and our lack of equipment the audio did not come out well at all. We will do better next time I've also included the complete complete press kit as given to us by Dodge. I spent about 30 minutes talking with Scott Kunselman, Chief Engineer for the Dodge Ram and Joe Veltri, Director of body on frame marketing to get information for you on the new trucks.

Interviews

First, let's start with the interviews and then I'll give you my personal observations. I've attempted to transcribe the audio that we had as best I could.

Steve St.Laurent: We're here with Scott Kunselman, Chief Engineer for Dodge Truck Products. Scott, we have some questions for you on these new trucks as well as a few on your existing product. First of all we attended the 3500 Chassis Cab intro last year. It was hinted at that time that it was your entry into this market and that you wanted to test the waters and that there were bigger things to come which we didn't write about because we were asked not to.

Scott Kunselman: Yes, we certainly knew then.

SS: How is the 3500 Chassis Cab going?

SK: The 3500 is going great. It's had a great reception. I think a lot of people realize that we've had a lot of demand in the market for the chassis cab starting with the 3500 Chassis Cab and now the 4500 and 5500. So far, great feedback and our sales have been strong.

SK: Right now as you see we've focused quite heavily on the commercial side of the business.

SS: Have you worked with any aftermarket service body manufacturers as of yet to produce bodies?

SK: Yes, actually from the beginning of this we were in contact with upfitters to make sure that we met their needs. We setup an advisory board with the NTEA so we had contact with some of the primary upfitters.

SS: In the preview photos I only see the quad cab and regular cab trucks. Will the Mega Cab be available as well? This would be a big item with the RV towing market as well as construction crews, the rodeo market, etc.

SK: At this time we're focused on the standard cab and quad cab. If you look at the history of this segment the standard cabs were really everything for years and quad cabs are just now coming around. At this time we have no plans to offer the Mega Cab although we will continue to monitor it and there will have to be a big enough demand.

SS: Are all of the interior options that are available in the 2500 & 3500 series trucks available in the 4500/5500. If not, what are the choices?

SK: Pretty much the same as the 2500 & 3500. The same 3 basic trim levels - the ST, SLT, and the Laramie. We expect a different mix obviously with the ST probably being the more popular package for the commercial customers. But, fundamentally the same 3 interiors with the same array of options with the exception of the sun roof and the DVD player which are not available in the Chassis Cab trucks. Everything else that is available in the 2500 & 3500 is available in these.

SS: Have any changes been made to the engine and transmission package since the introduction of the 6.7l in the 3500 Chassis Cab to now?

SK: Actually, this is the same exact powertrain from an engine and transmission perspective. The powertrain in the 4500 and 5500 is identical to that in the 3500 Chassis Cab. We're very happy with the performance of the drivetrain package.

SS: How about the 6.7l that is in the 2500/3500 series - what are the differences?

SK: Again, it's the same basic package. One big difference is they have to pass different emissions standards. The chassis cab trucks have to qualify on a dyno. On the 2500/3500 there is a big concern with power in a marketing perspective. On the Chassis Cab cost of ownership is a much bigger concern. As well, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) is a bigger concern on the 2500/3500.

SS: How about the rest of the drivetrain? Transfer case, differentials, etc?

SK: On the 4500 & 5500 the differentials are new for the higher weight ratings. The transfer cases are the same NV271 & NV273 offered in the 2500/3500.

SS: How about rated towing capacity?

SK: The GCVWR is the same on the 3500 Chassis Cab as well as the 4500 & 5500 at 26,000 lbs.

SS: For the rest of our readers, on a side note we haven't gotten much information as of yet on the 68RFE automatic transmission. Have these started shipping yet and is this a completely new design or is it an upgrade of the existing 48re design?

SK: We just started production of the 68RFE at the beginning of the year. We just started shipping trucks this week so you should start seeing them at dealers very soon. The 68RFE is very exciting for us as it is a fully electronic transmission unlike the 48re which only had electronic controls on the overdrive unit. It has much improved shifting over the 48re.

SS: Is the 68RFE compatible with exhaust brakes?

SK: In fact, both the Chassis Cab and the 2500/3500 series now come standard with an exhaust brake across the entire line.

SS: Thank you for your time.



Steve St.Laurent: Now we're talking with Joe Veltri, Director of body on frame marketing. We have a few questions for you on these new products. We attended the 3500 Chassis Cab introduction at the NTEA show last fall. It was hinted that you guys were testing the waters in the commercial market for bigger things to come. How is the 3500 Chassis Cab going?

Joe Veltri: Well Steve, the commercial market is a very good opportunity for us to promote our product. We have a long history with our Ram heavy duty pickup truck that we can draw upon. The commercial segment is the next logical place for us to expand our presence. And also, with Daimler Chrysler we are the worlds biggest producer of commercial vehicles. So it was a very supportive relationship from the parent company and they were very supportive of this proposition. As you mentioned we introduced the 3500 Chassis cab last year and the reception has been extremely strong so far. We have over 14,000 orders in the system right now. Once the decision was made to go that far it wasn't too much of a stretch to reach into class 4 & 5. We wanted to be leaders in this segment. Like with heavy duty pickup trucks to build great credible products that will give us our fair share of the volume in this segment. So we are expanding into the class 4 & 5 market. So far it's going very well.

SS: Many of our readers have been anticipating the introduction of a 4500 & 5500 truck for years for the large camper market. We've had many that have jumped ship to the Ford F450/550 and Freightliner FL series to be able to legally tow their campers. What are your plans for this market?

JV: Well, we are providing the basics. The 4500 Chassis Cab is capable. We have been working with upfitters to give them the specs of the truck for that segment. We are not offering a pickup truck but we feel the basic structure is there.

SS: What is the warranty on these trucks?

JV: The Cummins engine will carry the same warranty as on the pickup truck which is 5 years/100,000 miles. The rest of the vehicle will carry the standard Dodge 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

SS: How about the servicing of these trucks?

JV: Steve, servicing is going to be very important. For the 4500 & 5500 trucks we have been in contact with our dealers for the last two years letting them know we are coming to the market so that they could get their service facilities redefined so that they can handle these longer vehicles. With heavier lifts because obviously when a guy comes in for service he may not unload the vehicle. So they have done modifications to their dealerships such as increasing lift capability, modifying ceiling heights in their service bays, hiring new service personel for servicing these types of vehicles. So we have made sure that we have laid the ground work so that we are sure that our Dodge dealers can service the customer. We also have our business link opportunity. Our business link is a special set of dealers who have qualified for this. We provide our commercial customers the benefits of having priority next bay service and free loaner vehicles.

SS: So the business link dealers will have 4500 & 5500 trucks available as loaner vehicles?

JV: They will have a select number of vehicles available as loaners.

SS: Any other preparations at the dealer level for the commercial customer?

JV: We have done a number of things. The commercial customer has to be treated completely seperate from the retail customer. So we have gone out of our way to make sure that the dealer sales people are trained not only to manage the needs of the customer from a vehicle specification stand point but also from a vehicle financing stand point as a commercial customers financing needs can be very different. We've also made sure that they are trained in how to properly job rate a vehicle for a customer. Say a customer comes in that happens to be a plumbing business or a carpentry business they have to make sure that the truck is job rated for their specific needs. As already mentioned we've taken care of the service capability and also the after sales care for these people have vehicle turn over needs.

SS: How about sales, will all dealers be able to sell these trucks?

JV: The 3500 Chassis cab can be bought at all Dodge dealers. Currently the thinking on the 4500/5500 is that they will only be available through our business link dealers. There are currently about 400 business link dealers across the United States.

SS: Any estimates on when these trucks will be hitting the streets?

JV: You'll see them at dealerships in the latter part of 2007.

SS: How about pricing?

JV: We haven't released pricing information yet but I can tell you that as the newcomers to the segment we will be very competitively priced.

SS: Thank you for your time.

Engine

There isn't much news to report on the engine package as nothing has changed sinced the introduction of the 3500 Chassis Cab. What is new is that there was recently an announcement at the Washington Auto Show that the 6.7L Cummins diesel is already compliant with the 2010 emissions level in the 2500 & 3500 Ram trucks. I found out at this show that the Chassis Cab trucks have different emissions standards and the current package is compliant with the 2007 standards. Also new information is that exhaust brakes now come standard on all 6.7L diesel engines in the Dodge application.

In discussing the differences between the 2500/3500 series and the Chassis Cab series of trucks it was repeatedly brought up that they are shooting for different goals with the drivetrain packages of the two series of trucks. The competitiveness of the 2500/3500 market currently dictates that they need to have good horsepower numbers to compete. In the Chassis Cab market they feel that peak power isn't as big of a concern as cost of ownership therefore they have the engine detuned to produce better fuel economy numbers. Pure speculation on my part is that they may be looking at better longevity out of the engine and drivetrain at the lower rating as well. They are also very attentive to the levels of NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) in the 2500/3500 series trucks and feel that is less of a concern in the commercial market.

Dodge is rating the 6.7L in the Chassis Cab segment at 305 hp/610 lb ft. Looking at the competition Ford has the 6.4L Powerstroke rated at 350 hp/650 lb ft, and Chevy has the Duramax 6600 at 330 hp/620 lb ft. Dodge is estimating the service life of the 6.7L at 350,000 miles. I have been unable to find what Ford and Chevy are estimating.

Drivetrain

Dodge has released all new front and rear axles for the 4500/5500 trucks. The front axle is rated at 7,000 lbs on both the 4500 and 5500, is made by Magna and has a 275mm ring gear. Manual locking hubs for the front axle are not available. The rear axle is rated at 12,000 lbs on the 4500 and 13,500 on the 3500, is a Dana S110 and has a 300mm ring gear. Ford in comparison rates the F450 at 6,000 lbs for the front and 9,500 for the rear on the F450 and 7,000 lbs for the front and 13,660 for the rear on the F550. Chevy rates the C4500 at up to 7,000 lbs for the front and up to 13,500 lbs for the rear and the C5500 at up to 8,000 lbs for the front and up to 13,500 lbs for the rear.

Available gearing on the 4500 is 4.10's for the manual and 4.44's for the automatic. For the 5500 it's 4.44's for the manual and 4.88's for the auto. Ford offers 3.73, 4.10, 4.30, and 4.88. I could not find any information on Chevy's options.

Dodge is touting in class largest brake rotors (390 mm), largest caliper pistons (66 mm), and best-in-class first-gear launch for optimum acceleration on take-off.

Chassis

As with the 3500 Chassis Cab Dodge has designed the frame with flat "clean" frame rails with industry-standard 34 inch frame rail spacing providing versatility for upfit applications. Dodge is relying on the upfit industry to provide service bodies for these trucks - there is no factory bed option for the back. Ford has just introduced the F450 pickup in this class and outside of that everyone else does the same.

GVWR on the 4500 is 14,000 lbs and on the 5500 is 19,500 lbs. Ford rates the F450 at 14,500 lbs and the 550 at 17,950 lbs. Chevy rates the C4500 at up to 17,500 lbs and the C5500 at up to 28,500 lbs. GCVWR's are at 26,000 lbs for all of the Dodge Chassis Cab trucks. Ford on the other hand rates the F450 at 30,000 lbs and the F550 at 33,000 lbs. Chevy rates the C4500 at 26,000 lbs GCVWR the same as Dodge and I was unable to find numbers for the C5500. Obviously by looking at the specs Ford has a huge advantage in the large towing market here.

Dodge has 6 different wheelbase lengths and 4 different cab to axle lengths available. Ford has 7 different wheelbase lengths and 4 cab to axle lenghts. Dodge is offering the standard cab and quad cab in the Chassis Cab trucks and there is no current plan to offer the Mega Cab. Ford offers the Regular Cab, Super Cab, and Crew Cab. Chevy offers the Regular Cab and Crew Cab.

Interior

All of the interior trim levels that are available in the 2500/3500 are also available in the Chassis Cab trucks - ST/SLT/Laramie. The only options not available in the Chassis Cab is the sunroof and the DVD player.

My Thoughts

In looking over the specifications as well as talking with the DC folks it was apparent that Dodge is focusing on the commercial market with these trucks. Not much consideration has been made towards the private owner look for a truck to tow his or her large trailer. Ford has far more options available with their offerings in this segment including axle ratios, cab sizes, interiors, and a factory pickup bed on the F450. Ford also has a significant lead in the towing market with up to 7,000 lbs more towing capacity. Chevy's offerings are in my opinion in a different class with their body being much larger and more medium duty like whereas Ford and Dodge is using the regular light duty bodies - although the ratings are in the same league.

I believe what will make or break these new trucks will be how well Dodge does with their dealer network. Ford and Chevy both have in place a significant infrastructure to deal with these class 4 and 5 trucks. Dodge is looking for their existing dealership network to step up to the plate and take care of these new customers. Hopefully they do that job well.

Submitted by: Steve St.Laurent, TDR Webmaster