Selling my 2025 TRD Pro for a 2027 Ram RHO?

[axxman]

Not going to disparage your choice, if you like the Dodge Ram great. But what I would advise to think about is that the Ram and the 4Runner are two very different vehicles, one is a Full size pickup the other a mid size SUV, so comparing the two without assessing what your requirements are first would be pointless, that path would lead you back to changing cars again after you figure out the Ram wasn't what you wanted either. Now that is as far as I will go, you have to decide what you want. One last thing, again, buy what you want, going on an internet forum talking to anonymous men for car buying advice would be.......I think you get my point. Best of luck with your decision.

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[josiahg52]

I'm wondering if the ARB roof rack that came standard on the TH is the source of the noise. That was my suspicion while I was driving. I don't really have a need for it, so I might replace it.

It is a source of noise, in my opinion.

 

[Joey_Midnight]

You are hand calculating that mileage right? not going with the one in your display...right?

Correct i verify with pump and mileage calculations. Thats not every trip but depends if im patient when driving or not

 

[zgreen]

I feel like I have a unique perspective here, so I'll post my thoughts.

BACKGROUND:

I own a house in Michigan (about to go on the market) and a house in coastal California. I also own a 2025 RAM 1500 Limited with the twin turbo V6 high-output Hurricane engine, and a 2025 4Runner Trailhunter. I spend the vast majority of my time in CA where the RAM lives, and I bought the 4Runner specifically to live at my Michigan house so that I have a vehicle to drive when I'm there.

As I mentioned, I'm selling my MI house, so I am *currently* roadtripping my 4Runner back to CA. I am literally in a hotel room in Reno, NV as I write this, and did an absolutely brutal 1400 mile trip from Lincoln, Nebraska to Reno in it yesterday (did it straight through, stopping only for gas and to pee... I didn't even eat).

Two weeks ago, I did a road trip from the SF Bay Area up to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in the RAM. My wife and I spilt the trip up into two days on the ride up, and did the entire trip back in one 13 hour jaunt on the way back down.

My two cents: I would take the RAM every single time.


MY REASONING:

The RAM's engine is sublime. If you've ever driven through northern California/eastern Oregon on US97, you know that vast stretches of the highway are two-lane roads (one lane in each direction) split up by stretches with passing lanes about a mile long so that faster traffic can pass slower traffic. The RAM can go from 60 to 90+mph in seconds. It is absolutely unreal how fast that giant truck is.

Similarly, traveling on I-80 West, drivers will get trapped by trucks attempting to pass each other. I'm sure most people can relate to this experience: one truck decides to pass another, with one truck doing 65 mph, and the passing truck doing 66 mph. A frustrating experience to say the least, as it takes several miles/minutes for one truck to pass the other. When they finally leapfrog, the backed up traffic gets a chance to pass the offending trucks before the whole process starts all over again with different trucks. Rinse and repeat for hundreds or thousands of miles. Having just done this in the 4Runner, I can tell you that the 4Runner is a bit lacking in power. It is at least capable enough to do some passing, but it's like swimming in molasses compared to the RAM. This should be an unsurprising conclusion, as the RAM has around 540 HP compared to the 320 (or so) HP of the 4Runner. Still, it's not even close from a driver's perspective: the RAM crushes the 4Runner in this regard.

The RAM doesn't get great gas mileage, which is somewhere around 15mpg in the city, but increases to maybe 18mpg on the highway. The 4Runner is the only car/truck I've ever owned that gets WORSE gas mileage on the highway. I started the trip at 18.3 mpg (mostly city driving with some highway), and am currently sitting at 16.9 mpg after yesterday's marathon. Couple that with the 4Runner's much smaller gas tank capacity, and the RAM wins here too.

This is all fine and good, but these vehicles were built for different purposes. I picked the Limited trim for the RAM after owning a 2018 RAM 1500 Rebel, which is kind of their "off road" trim. Great truck. I noticed, howeer, that I did exactly zero off-roading in that truck (there aren't a ton of options in the SF Bay Area), but I did in fact use the bed of the truck quite often. So, for me, the truck part of the vehicle made sense, but the off-road part did not. Hence, the Limited trim. However, the Limited is still quite capable: it has the adjustable air shocks that can lift the entire vehicle two inches (at low speeds) specifically for off-road use. Do I want to bang up my leather-bound truck off-roading? Probably not. Could I? Yes I could.

The 4Runner is almost purpose built for off-roading, and it seems that's where it really excels. I mentioned that I was up in CDA a couple weeks ago, and I'm likely going to sell my house in MI to buy a house up there. The 4Runner will have a new home. In the CDA area, access to off-roading is a feature, and up there, you will see TONS of 4Runners (I made a game of pointing out every single 4Runner to my wife... she didn't care for that game very much LOL). Again, the use case of the 4Runner makes sense up in CDA, as even if you're not "off roading," you have to deal with all kinds of different terrain at any given time. The 4Runner makes perfect sense up there.

Road noise is also an issue in the 4Runner in comparison to the RAM. The RAM is like wearing noise cancelling headphones compared to the 4Runner. Granted, I drive really fast, so maybe that's not an issue for most.

The 4Runner is also easier to park around town. The RAM is a giant pig in comparison. I know how to parallel park, so that's not an issue for me, but my wife? Not so much. She hates having to park it, even in parking lots.

Finally, as one might expect, the ride in the RAM is much smoother in all situations. It eats road bumps and jostles like they're not even there. The 4Runner isn't terrible, but in comparison, it's not even close.


CONCLUSION:

Congrats if you're made it this far.

The 4Runner is a great vehicle, and I'll even give it the edge in looks and styling (again, only comparing the two). It's a capable vehicle in many ways, but it really depends on your use case. If you are constantly in the back country, camping out near crappy roads, doing OHV trails, etc., the 4Runner is a no brainer. If you mainly use your vehicle in urban/suburban/exurban areas, and only occasionally want to be out on trails, the RAM is the way to go.

Hi Lil Stinker. Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been out and about all day. Thank you for your thoughtful post and real world insight! It's much appreciated for sure. I agree with every single point you made. As I have said multiple times in my replies on this thread, as well as in pretty much every post I've made here in the last 1.5+ years, I really do love the 4Runner Pro. It is a sexy vehicle, is comfortable and I enjoy driving it. And as someone else said, it's an Apples to Oranges comparison, but the RAM is a different beast. The engine, the luxury, the ride, the quietness of the cabin, etc. Yes, the list is $20k more than the Pro, but I can get the best deal you can get out there and it would make the additional cost much more palatable.

For my use case in NW Montana, a pick up would suit me better, I like the luxury and the cabin and the power is just fun. Thank you again for the time you put into your response. Enjoy your rides and drive safe!

 

[zgreen]

1 i wouldnt buy a stellantis product and 2 my trd off road got 28mpg on stock falken tires and 24mpg on 285s . Not sure why youre getting 16 mpg. A ram is jsut a different category of vehicle with a different purpose, they dont really cross over for comparison. I dont like oversized vehicles personally and dont have much use for pickups out side of an occasional refrigerator i have to carry otherwise its wasted space.

Hey Joey. Thanks for your post. I am not getting 16 mpg on my Pro. This summer I am averaging 21.5 right now, so not bad. The RHO should get 16 or so on the HWY and hopefully for my use case up her. Well, as you don't like oversized vehicles personally, don't have much use for pickups out side of an occasional refrigerator you have to carry and otherwise its wasted space, it's a good thing you have your 4Runner! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have mine. Thanks again for the post.

 

[zgreen]

You havent found them because they dont exist. A few early electrical gremlins and that is it. Lots of us Toyota fanboys are stuck in the past.

Hey HVLA. Yeah, the sky really isn't falling on the RHO, just like it wasn't with the couple of people with transmission issues with the 6th gen, just like the 5th gen people hating on the 6th gen. I do really love all of the opinions though. It's good to see where people stand and what means what to them. Thanks again! Have a good one.

 

[zgreen]

Stellantis makes absolute garbage. sure it might drive like a silent comfy lazyboy and have mad power, but ridiculous stuff starts to fall apart soon and often...over 35000 miles is always an adventure with dumb stuff failing.
Oh yeah then there is the stigma of driving a RAM in the first place. if you don't know, don't look it up.

Thanks AI Chatbot. Just kidding. I'm pretty sure you're not AI... That's what's great about opinions, everyone has one! Appreciate you leaving your thoughts. As for the last comment, nothing to worry about there. Have a good one!

 

[zgreen]

I've heard the same, but that hasn't been my experience so far. I've had all kinds of weird problems with all different makes and models over the years (I once bought a Lincoln MKC for my wife that literally had a bad wiring harness delivered from the factory). But yes, it's my understanding that Stellantis has been lacking in quality in recent years. I'm still digging my truck though.

Right there with ya! If you really look at the percentages of issues, Toyota is right there with the rest of them.

 

[zgreen]

I think a lot of this really comes down to intended use. I don't doubt at all that the Ram is the better vehicle for a long interstate trip. A full-size 1500 with a longer wheelbase, more power and a suspension designed very differently from the TRD Pro is naturally going to have advantages in ride, high-speed passing and general highway comfort. I-80 is also a good example of where having a lot of reserve power matters, especially when you're repeatedly getting around governed trucks and traffic on grades. @Lil Stinker description of I-80 gives me flashbacks. I've done that Reno/Tahoe section in a 1977 Malibu, 1985 Dodge Colt E, several Aerostars, a 1986 Caravan, 1996 Tahoe, 2003 Neon SXT, 1977 Power Wagon, and others and what he describes is accurate.

But that doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the TRD Pro. It's a different vehicle built around different priorities. If you bought the Pro expecting to spend a lot of time off-road and discovered that you really don't, maybe the more important question is whether your actual use now fits the Ram better or are you romanticizing Ram ownership? And if most of the use is highway and normal road driving, it's also worth asking whether you need an RHO specifically, or whether a more road-oriented 1500 would actually suit you even better.

I also wouldn't generalize one person's experience with a particular 4Runner trim to every 4Runner. I have a Trailhunter incidentally, not a TRD Pro, and I've been quite happy with how mine rides and with its noise level, but it has a different OME suspension and a different overall mission. I haven't driven it everywhere on every road, but where I have in the short ownership, I'm very pleased with the ride and noise and I expected worse by others' descriptions. I don't doubt 16 mpg in a 4Runner through the I-80 stretch as its hard on every vehicles' efficiency, let alone a more off-road oriented one. Likewise, somebody else's Pro may ride differently enough that their complaint is completely legitimate. The fact that I'm satisfied with mine doesn't make somebody else's experience wrong.

Same thing with Ram ownership. I've already mentioned that my own Ram experience hasn't been great from a service/support standpoint. I still like the truck itself. My frustration is much more about problems not being successfully resolved after multiple attempts. That doesn't mean every Ram will have problems or every dealer will handle them badly. Ideally you never need to find out how good the service organization is, but if something does go wrong, how the manufacturer and dealer respond becomes a major part of the ownership experience.

So I don't really think there's a universally right answer here. If the things you value now are highway ride, space, effortless passing power and long-distance comfort, the RHO may make you much happier than the Pro. If any off-road capability is still the priority, I'd think much harder about giving up the Toyota or consider even another trim. The important question isn't really which one everyone else thinks is better; it's whether what you actually do with the vehicle today matches what you're buying.

Thanks again Josiah. A very thoughtful response and appreciate the time. I think some people here think I am saying I hate the Pro and Toyota, which isn't the case at all. If fact, it's the exact opposite. I love the Pro and my local Toyota dealership has been the best experience I've ever had at one. It just comes down to use case and personal preference. Hopefully others on here can understand that. If not, all good... Thanks again and have a great night!

 

[zgreen]

Not going to disparage your choice, if you like the Dodge Ram great. But what I would advise to think about is that the Ram and the 4Runner are two very different vehicles, one is a Full size pickup the other a mid size SUV, so comparing the two without assessing what your requirements are first would be pointless, that path would lead you back to changing cars again after you figure out the Ram wasn't what you wanted either. Now that is as far as I will go, you have to decide what you want. One last thing, again, buy what you want, going on an internet forum talking to anonymous men for car buying advice would be.......I think you get my point. Best of luck with your decision.

Thanks Axxman! Yup, I know... It was a bit of experiment and I truly wanted to see all of the responses. It's been really great. And yes, they are two completely different vehicles and it comes down to personal preference and use. I love the Pro, I just think the RHO will fit my use better. Thanks again and appreciate the post.

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