I got this flier in the mail from Steven's Creek dodge that I had a 1:40,000 chance of winning a new 2002 Ram 1500. I figured, why not?
I didn't win it.
But the salesperson left me alone with a silver SLT 1500 4x4, with the 4.7L.
Aside from knowing that's it's underpowered (engine isn't enough for a grand cherokee, IMHO), I was VERY impressed.
Ok, I'll ignore IFS for now, it's ok for the masses, if we need a solid axle, we probably need the 2500 anyway. And the Hemi will be in the 2500... 345hp... drool..
Anyway, back to the 2002 1500s.
Get the power seats option, and you get very cool react-seat storage. The rear bench is split 40/60 driver/passenger. You can flip up the bottom of the seat (towards the back), and it and the seat-back fold backwards flat against the back of the cab. Then you can extend a HD cargo floor rated at 600lbs, or lift the cargo floor to reveal a 12"x12"x8" (VERY roughly) space for storage. I didn't check the passenger side, though, sorry.
The seats are pretty comfy, better than mine (2000 Ram, nice cloth). Armrest is bigger, has more storage, has partitions that fold-up out of the floor of the storage area, a removable coin-dispenser, and a 20A rated power outlet (12V lighter-style).
Lift the center seat in the front and another storage bin is there. UPSIDE: this bin is enclosed, but only a thin sheet of plastic between it and the space above the "hump" by the floor shifters. Easy to add the "remote" Cobra CB here, or make other modifications for things like amplifiers. You could run wires under the carpet from the dash back to this space, as the carpeted floor of the cab is exposed. DOWNSIDE: It's not sealed to the floor, little things will work their way out. But it makes running wires easier.
The dash is interesting. Same as the 2003 2500/3500, from the pics of them.
The white gauges are a personal preference, the dash is kinda barren looking at times in the center. Flat is the word I'd use to describe it (much like the nose of the truck). HOWEVER, this thing was made for aftermarket switches. You could remove the ashtray and put in a BIG panel of switches, or use any of the 3-4 smaller (2"x2") little flat spacer panels
that abound as switch-mounting locations. Several are screaming to be replaced by billet aluminum, LEDs, and switches. LOTS of flexibility here, unless the internal structure of the dash makes that unfeasible.
Under hood:
Where'd the engine go? Looks like the base of the windshield is now between the first and second V of cylinders, instead of the 3rd and 4th... Spark-plug changing on the 4.7 will be a complete nightmare. I couldn't even find them, gave up after a few minutes.
The under hood layout is nothing if creative. Some good, some odd, some probably downright bad.
Good:
- BIG battery
- You can change the air filter without removing the air box!!! it's over on the passenger-side, equivalent to where the stock V8 intakes connect to the fender.
- Funky radiator and A/C heat exchanger placement. The radiator is offset to the passenger side, and at a slight angle. Obviously it uses an electric fan. NEXT to it on the driver's side is the A/Cs radiator, so now the engine's radiator gets unrestricted airflow into it, instead of 2nd or 3rd-hand air (like mine with the A/C, then the tranny, then the engine radiator).
Odd:
- Coolant reservoir is above the radiator, uses orange coolant. Hides access to a lot of the engine.
- More wires/hoses than my 5.9L.
- Battery is easy to get to, but seems to be blocking access as well.
- Air filter is easy to get to, but blocking large empty area underneath it.
Bad:
- Hard to reach the filler caps for everything. They are all clearly marked with bright yellow, but I had a hard time reaching them on a stock 4x4, and I'm almost 6' tall. My 5'6" GF wouldn't be able to check oil or transmission fluid without a step-ladder.
- Seems like a lot of wasted space. The 2nd-gen trucks (as I guess I'll call the 94-01s) made pretty good use of the under hood area, aside from the nightmare of brake-lines around the ABS valves.
- Firewall is 12-18" back from the base of the windshield. Stuff is crammed back into these dark corners... Expect lots of scrapes/scratches/busted knuckles when working on these.
Ok, enough under hood talk.
The bed is nice. The tie-downs are well-located, and are styled after the cleats on boats. Very nice. Well placed, about 3" above the bottom of the bed, on the sides, in the lower corners.
The tailgate clicks shut quietly and solidly, doesn't sound hollow like mine.
The Silver paint is VERY nice...
: Tempting to get that instead of black on the 2500.... Hmmm...
It's a NICE truck, but a lower-case letter truck. I'm very interested in the 2500, though.
Also, the sales guy said not to take any 2500s off their lot, if you know what you want. Order it through their fleet department instead, that way you can be sure it has all the right options... Interesting, no?
I didn't win it.
But the salesperson left me alone with a silver SLT 1500 4x4, with the 4.7L.
Aside from knowing that's it's underpowered (engine isn't enough for a grand cherokee, IMHO), I was VERY impressed.
Ok, I'll ignore IFS for now, it's ok for the masses, if we need a solid axle, we probably need the 2500 anyway. And the Hemi will be in the 2500... 345hp... drool..
Anyway, back to the 2002 1500s.
Get the power seats option, and you get very cool react-seat storage. The rear bench is split 40/60 driver/passenger. You can flip up the bottom of the seat (towards the back), and it and the seat-back fold backwards flat against the back of the cab. Then you can extend a HD cargo floor rated at 600lbs, or lift the cargo floor to reveal a 12"x12"x8" (VERY roughly) space for storage. I didn't check the passenger side, though, sorry.
The seats are pretty comfy, better than mine (2000 Ram, nice cloth). Armrest is bigger, has more storage, has partitions that fold-up out of the floor of the storage area, a removable coin-dispenser, and a 20A rated power outlet (12V lighter-style).
Lift the center seat in the front and another storage bin is there. UPSIDE: this bin is enclosed, but only a thin sheet of plastic between it and the space above the "hump" by the floor shifters. Easy to add the "remote" Cobra CB here, or make other modifications for things like amplifiers. You could run wires under the carpet from the dash back to this space, as the carpeted floor of the cab is exposed. DOWNSIDE: It's not sealed to the floor, little things will work their way out. But it makes running wires easier.
The dash is interesting. Same as the 2003 2500/3500, from the pics of them.
The white gauges are a personal preference, the dash is kinda barren looking at times in the center. Flat is the word I'd use to describe it (much like the nose of the truck). HOWEVER, this thing was made for aftermarket switches. You could remove the ashtray and put in a BIG panel of switches, or use any of the 3-4 smaller (2"x2") little flat spacer panels
that abound as switch-mounting locations. Several are screaming to be replaced by billet aluminum, LEDs, and switches. LOTS of flexibility here, unless the internal structure of the dash makes that unfeasible.
Under hood:
Where'd the engine go? Looks like the base of the windshield is now between the first and second V of cylinders, instead of the 3rd and 4th... Spark-plug changing on the 4.7 will be a complete nightmare. I couldn't even find them, gave up after a few minutes.
The under hood layout is nothing if creative. Some good, some odd, some probably downright bad.
Good:
- BIG battery
- You can change the air filter without removing the air box!!! it's over on the passenger-side, equivalent to where the stock V8 intakes connect to the fender.
- Funky radiator and A/C heat exchanger placement. The radiator is offset to the passenger side, and at a slight angle. Obviously it uses an electric fan. NEXT to it on the driver's side is the A/Cs radiator, so now the engine's radiator gets unrestricted airflow into it, instead of 2nd or 3rd-hand air (like mine with the A/C, then the tranny, then the engine radiator).
Odd:
- Coolant reservoir is above the radiator, uses orange coolant. Hides access to a lot of the engine.
- More wires/hoses than my 5.9L.
- Battery is easy to get to, but seems to be blocking access as well.
- Air filter is easy to get to, but blocking large empty area underneath it.
Bad:
- Hard to reach the filler caps for everything. They are all clearly marked with bright yellow, but I had a hard time reaching them on a stock 4x4, and I'm almost 6' tall. My 5'6" GF wouldn't be able to check oil or transmission fluid without a step-ladder.
- Seems like a lot of wasted space. The 2nd-gen trucks (as I guess I'll call the 94-01s) made pretty good use of the under hood area, aside from the nightmare of brake-lines around the ABS valves.
- Firewall is 12-18" back from the base of the windshield. Stuff is crammed back into these dark corners... Expect lots of scrapes/scratches/busted knuckles when working on these.
Ok, enough under hood talk.
The bed is nice. The tie-downs are well-located, and are styled after the cleats on boats. Very nice. Well placed, about 3" above the bottom of the bed, on the sides, in the lower corners.
The tailgate clicks shut quietly and solidly, doesn't sound hollow like mine.
The Silver paint is VERY nice...
: Tempting to get that instead of black on the 2500.... Hmmm...It's a NICE truck, but a lower-case letter truck. I'm very interested in the 2500, though.
Also, the sales guy said not to take any 2500s off their lot, if you know what you want. Order it through their fleet department instead, that way you can be sure it has all the right options... Interesting, no?
