- If you've ever been shopping for a truck
or seeing people talking about different interior swaps
chances are you've encountered different
trim or package levels.
Nowadays there's more than just a few different options
and it can get kind of wild
trying to figure out which one is right for you
Today, we're going to be diving
into the Dodge and Ram trim levels
and what you can expect from the early 2000s,
because that's kind of when trim level
started becoming relevant, to now,
when shopping for your Ram truck.
Now, before we get started, I already know
there's going to be a bunch of people mad
because their base model had a V8 from factory
and not the V6 that all the other work trucks had.
So here's my PSA just warning you all
that I can not possibly go over every single option.
Lots of vehicles can have certain accessories
or engine options, custom ordered from the factory
with with extra things that your basic
trim levels just wouldn't have.
So yeah, there's a ton of variables and I get it.
So just take it for what it's worth
as a baseline for each trim level
and know that if you're looking for one of these trucks
and find one with some other options
than what I talk about, that's fine.
It's cool, I didn't lie to you,
there's just a lot out there
and people all want specific options
and that's the beauty of being able
to customize your own vehicle.
Now let's get into it.
So starting with the third gen Rams,
I know not the most desirable body style or interiors,
but bear with me, we got to start here for history's sake.
Third gen Rams really only had a handful of trim levels,
and they're pretty easy to see the differences.
At the very bottom are your Ram STs
these, like most base models,
aren't going to be much more
than just like being a work truck.
They've got very few comforts
they're rear wheel drive only,
you're lucky if you can get a windshield
with them pretty much.
Okay, that might've been a little bit of an exaggeration,
but anyways, the basics you get
were like a vinyl bench seat, stereo,
rubber floors, surprisingly good AC, and 17 inch steelies,
not that wheels matter too much
when you're just going to go to replace them
with a set of new wheels and tires
from customoffsets.com with free mounting
and balancing and ship you door for free.
(chime)
The SXT's are the next trim level up
from an ST and get a much more normal look
as far as trucks go.
All of a sudden you've got carpet and cloth seats,
electrical upgrades like power windows,
power locks, and power mirrors.
So if you want what I consider like the standard
or typical tier, not too expensive, but not a work truck,
you've got your SLTs up next.
The SLTs had all of the same stuff
as the XSTs plus standard V8 engine options,
chrome accents, aluminum 17s instead of steelies,
heated mirrors, and an upgraded stereo.
You get things like fog lights
and steering wheel controls as well.
If that's still not enough for you,
and you just want to have the best of the best
that 2008 had to offer,
you need yourself a Laramie Dodge Ram 1500.
(ethereal music)
(metal music)
(beep)
Everything the SLT had, but wait with more,
only in crew cabs or mega cab options,
this cream of the crop trim level
had leather seats, dual climate control,
you know, to keep you happy at 68 degrees
while your wife's in the passenger seat
and needs hers at like 75 degrees,
aluminum 20s, which like were big in 2008,
like dudes are running 17 inch rockstars,
Laramie Rams are over here, cruising around on their 20s.
Hell yeah.
So if you're still with me this far,
there's one more trim to talk about in the third gen era,
it's an appearance package, so it's kind of confusing
because it's more or less just an add-on
to the SLT and Laramies but it's the good old sport package.
No, that doesn't mean it's going
to have giant racing stripes and a big spoiler,
That would be your SRT 10 Ram 1500s.
All the sport package includes is painted to match bumpers,
painted to match grills, and a lower bumper valence.
Hemi sports also had a hood scoop,
but it wasn't like real and functional
and it's still not quite as cool as the SRT 10s,
but there's another special edition option as well.
Personally, a Laramie with the sport package
would be the move for me with all of the amenities
and also having painted to match body parts.
You really can't go wrong.
Obviously a lot has happened
and technology has evolved since 2008,
when the third gens went out of style.
Fourth gens really expanded
on what the third gens introduced
and began giving everybody an option
for comforts and range from $22,000 brand new
all the way up to $46,000 in 2012 for a half ton.
Ram kept with their ST base model
for your fleet pickup workhorse with the basics.
Next up is the new Tradesman trim,
which is basically a work truck,
but just a little a bit nicer
for your independent contractors
who don't need a super nice vehicle
because it's going to be like used
and abused and worked out of,
but they still want a little bit more
than what the ST gives you.
The Express trim is next and that's more or less
the new version of the XST trim
with upgrades to the ST trim,
including 20 inch aluminum wheels and carpet.
The SLT had cloth seats, Sirius radio,
cruise controls, keyless entry,
and introduce a ton of options for ad-ons
like navigation, better seats, rear camera,
Alpine sound, system, towing upgrades, and more.
Next up is the Outdoorsmen and is a truck built for use.
32 gallon gas tank, rubber floor mats,
and like a bunch of other stuff
just to make it ready to get put to use
and use that sh.
You have your Ram Big Horn and Lone Star specials next,
which come only in crew cabs, have 20s,
and unique badging.
Next is the sport, which, similar to the third gens,
is an appearance upgrade for the SLTs.
5.7 liter Hemi and some fancy gray seats with
contrasting stitching had these things looking pretty.
Next up is, hold on,
we're almost there.
Bear with me.
The Laramie.
(heavy music)
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With a lot of the same features that the third gens had,
this is one of the nicest trim levels that Ram offered,
but with the introduction into the fourth gen body style,
a new king was to be crowned for the top
trim level among Rams.
Introducing the Laramie Limited.
(cheering)
Crew cab only and feeding off of everything
that Laramie has, but better.
The Laramie Limited included custom piping on the seats,
French stitched leather seats, a leather dash,
leather like everything really,
heated rear seats, and all of the little details
to really make you feel like you're driving
a quality truck with time and effort put into every detail.
As time goes on through the fourth gen Rams,
you see the trim level split a little bit
and become almost what the fifth gen Rams look like today.
Laramie Limited splits off
and introduces the Laramie, Laramie Longhorn,
and now the Limited.
So let's break down these 5th gens.
♪ Break it down now ♪
Now, these fifth gen trims are straight
off of Ram trucks website,
so you can't even get mad at me
about these because I'm getting the info
straight from the source.
- Wow, you can read the brochure.
- I literally called up John and Horace Dodge
and got the info straight from them,
so you can't tell me I'm wrong at this point.
We're pretty tight, but anyways,
base model fifth gen Dodges or Rams, sorry, I forget.
Ram got away from the STs
and the Tradesman became their new base model.
You got a love based model trucks in 2021
because even they come with a five inch touchscreen
and rear camera, I think
that's a legality thing now or something, I'm not sure.
But like they've also got Bluetooth
and remote keyless entry.
I'm pretty sure Bluetooth didn't even exist
when the third gen Dodges even began being produced.
So I don't know, just kind of cool,
but after that are your Big Horns,
which are going to have chrome bumpers
and Chrome grills, chrome wheels,
seats that have a mixture of cloth and vinyl
to feel a little bit more high-end
and an 8.4 inch touchscreen.
This kind of reminds me of the SLT
that you would have had in the previous generations.
The next highest trim is the Laramie.
Yup.
This is the sad story of the downfall
of the Laramie Ram interiors.
(beep)
♪ I'm selling tickets to my downfall ♪
(beep)
No longer number one, the Laramie
is just an introduction into the luxury
you can expect with a new Ram truck.
You already know you get the giant 12 inch touchscreen,
which is so f-king cool.
You've got like an iPad Pro/Tesla screen
built into your pickup truck, that's just so sick.
Full screen navigation on your 12 inches of screen,
10 speaker audio, and still,
yup, 20 inch wheels.
It's been the same since the mid 2000s
come on Ram, not cool.
The sport appearance package also makes a, well,
appearance with the Laramie trim level
with leather accented seats,
black interior accents,
plenty of paint to match body panels
like previous generations and the classic sport decal.
It's a $2,600 package if you're interested,
but hey, I don't sell Ram trucks,
I can tell you what to do.
After Laramie, it just keeps getting better.
The Ram Rebel was introduced in 2015
with a significant overhaul to the Ram face
to give people a more aggressive
option for their Ram trucks.
The fifth gen is no different.
With unique grill and performance hood,
this truck is designed for the off road.
It comes equipped with Goodyear Duratracs,
which if you didn't know are an amazing tire.
I had them on my old F150.
Like you can go through literally anything with them,
they're very nice.
Smaller touch screen on the Rebel,
but with things like an electronic locking rear dif,
you can see that this trim is meant for some off-roading
and use which prices this trim
just a few thousand over the Laramie,
even though you have less luxury features,
you have more usability features
that give you functionality
and Ram just has you paying a little bit more for that.
It is what it is.
The second to highest trim tier,
the Laramie Longhorn brings more visuals
than the Laramie had with two-tone color options
and loud chrome accents,
this truck is all about the small details and materials.
Real Barnwood, premium leather, you get the idea.
Last up quite literally saving the best for last
is the Ram 1500 Limited trim.
It has basically everything that the other trims have
for their best options,
but includes some significant differences
to make it stand out.
Ram really likes to talk about the real wood accents
and all the leather and stuff,
but I'm more focused on the all around air suspension
that these trucks have.
Having every corner of your truck on air ride
introduces so many chances to do pretty much anything
you'd want with a truck.
You can like lower it,
go for like the low street look,
max it out so it looks lifted and adjust as you need
if you're off-roading your $60,000 truck for some reason.
I just want to see people modify these
and put like a 12 inch Kelderman kit
adapted into the factory air system
or something crazy like that, that'd be nuts.
I don't know.
The Limiteds also have a 12 inch touch screen
and a 900 watt 19 speaker sound system.
Not to mention the fifth gens look pretty good.
They're probably my favorite Dodge body style
to be honest or Ram, you know what I mean.
But I digress.
Holy sh I promise I'm done.
From only a few trim levels 20 years ago to now
it's pretty cool and crazy to see Dodge/Rams progress
and transition throughout the years,
the Laramie's rise and fall
as new trim levels have been introduced,
just shows how much they've changed
and grown their trim level options
while still keeping the quality behind the trims
and keeping true to what they created way back when.
If you guys have a certain make of truck
you want to see the trim level options for next,
let us know in the comments below.
I know there's some options we missed,
like the TRX, the Power Wagon, some other stuff like that,
there are so many options out there,
so many special additions,
but you got something you want to see,
subscribe youtube.com/customoffsetsTV.
Drop comment below, that all I got for you.
Thanks. Peace.
(upbeat music)