IMO, if your not planing to keep the truck 10+yrs, get the dodge, Also consider, you mentioned a small lift and aggressive tires, that setup is more suitable for a FX4 than a base model.
Although I only have owed fords and NEVER would switch over, all the brands have come a long way in Technology. My FX4 rides better than most cars i bet and in no way feels like your driving an 8000lb vehicle.

On the flipside, you cant expect to get a top notch truck for 25k either.

 

Why would that be more suitable to an FX4 than an STX?

FX4's are spendy, about $10k more. And aside from bucket seats and a console I really don't see what else extra they bring to the table. Isn't the mechanicals exactly the same, especially as you can get the locker on an STX now?

Plus they do not come in a regular cab short bed configuration.

 

^ mechanics, yeah. The FX4's interior is way more plush with lots of soft touch materials which would make you like it over the ram, also comes with skid plates and a really cool sticker that I peeled off the day I brought it home. You've already mentioned it's not gonna happen (FX4) within your price range. I think it's worth 10k over a STX, but I worked that into the budget.

 

FX4 is the OFF Road pkg, better suspension components, skid plates as just mentioned. Its looking more and more you should buy the dodge, your only buying the low end no frills work truck from Ford were as you get more truck from Dodge for the money. I can't believe how expensive they gotten (MSRP on my truck was 44+)
For the record, the truck is worth every penny!

 

After owning both, I will stick with the Ford. You thought the interior of the Dodge felt cheaper --- I felt the opposite. The plastic on the Dodge just seemed and felt cheaper in everyday driving. The dependability of the Fords, so far, has been much better than that of the Dodge. They're both good trucks though.
BTW, someone mentioned earlier the Dodge's are made in Mexico. Some are made in Mexico, some are made in St. Louis. Don't remember what the split was.

 

0% of Ram trucks are made in St. Louis. The Fenton assembly plant was sold and torn down several years ago.

Linky

 

+1

St Louis closed. However many of the Ram 1500s are made at Warren Michigan. However, I think (not sure) the Michigan trucks are mainly crew and quad cabs. Also Chevy Silverado 1500 crew cabs were exclusively made in Silao Mexico a couple of years back. Now many of them are being built in Flint Michigan. Good to see some of this assembly come back to the US. I believe any Mexican built vehicle's vin will begin with a "3," Canadian with a "2," and US with a "1," so it's fairly easy to figure out where they're built.

 

Owning my fourth F-150, the build quality alone is better than the competition. My STX has held up VERY well after 102K miles in less than 4 years. My truck was well-optioned (for an STX), but I've added many creature comforts for a little amount of money, and couldn't be happier. Would I like a Hemi in my truck instead of my little 2v 4.6? Yes. Would I trade the STX for a RAM? Nope.

My father owned a 2000 Ram that rode like a log wagon, and had transmission work done once, and needed again when he sold it in '07, for an F-150. He has been happier with this truck ('07 XLT SuperCab) than any other he has ever owned.

Better payload
Better ride
Better build quality

Just a few reason I would choose a '12 STX over a '12 RAM.

 

Kytann,

This is a Ford forum so most folks here are going to recommend a Ford and bad mouth anything else. If you go to a Dodge forum, I think you can predict what you'll find there. So if you're looking for truly objective advice, this probably isn't the place to find it.

If you want my 2 cents having owned 9 Ford trucks over the years and driving Dodge and GM 4x4 trucks at one of my part time jobs, let me offer these thoughts.

- First, nobody makes the perfect truck for everybody. That's because everybody is different and places different values on different variables. What one person thinks is a cheap interior may look great to somebody else for instance. Some folks think they absolutley have to get a locking rear end while others like the brain dead simple operation of an LS rear. Some folks wouldn't know if their truck had a rear end.

- Second, nobody really makes a truly junk truck anymore. They're all actually pretty good. And everybody makes a clunker once in a while too. (Don't get me started about what a pile of crap my 2005 F-150 was.) If you want fairly objective quality numbers, check JD Power. And make sure you check both initital quality as well as that for older trucks.

- Finally, it's really going to come down to your own personal decision here. If you really like the XXXX truck, buy it!

 

FX4 Only available in a SCrew or SCab configuration.

I'd rather have the softer suspension.
Skid plates are easy to add afterwards

I would like your soft touch dash though. My $24k VW GTI has a much higher quality feel to the interior.

 

Maybe you dont need a truck after all then. An SUV will suit you fine

 

I've been going through this for a while now, only I want a optioned out RCSB. We are gonna spend the extra for a sport and get factory nav, back up camera, remote start, center console... I'm waiting for the 2013 hemi 8 speed. If I could buy a RCSB fx4, I'd be driving it already.

BTW, we own a 24K new GTI also!! Well, 24K after discount, we wanted the DSG trans.

 

All Ram regular cabs are built in Mexico

 

Thanks. I've gotten a lot of objective opinions over on the Dodge forum, a lot like yours. Personal experience and people who looked at all of the options, then went with one, and explaining why they went with one. Also explaining what they thought the Ford did better. That's mainly what I am looking for. What do you guys love about your truck, what disappointed you.

What I really want is a combination of the two truck. Hemi motor and Ram interior in an F150.

As far as interior quality goes, it seems like on the cheaper trucks, the XL's and STX's that Ford really cheaped out on the interior plastics. And the higher end models are much nicer inside. There is less of a difference between low end and high end in the Dodge.

Probably gonna go with the Ram. It seems like it does more of what I want. Thanks for your objectivity, it's been surprisingly scarce on this forum.

 

RCSB's are hard to find aren't they?

Seems like Dodge dealers have alot more stock of RCSB trucks than do anyone else.
As far as the more luxurious extras, my plan is to add those aftermarket. I was even thinking of buying the Sport dash through the dealer and swapping it out at some point. Dashboards really are not difficult to swap out.

Sadly I am trading the GTI for the Truck. Can't have two car payments, and depreciation on two cars would be way more than the gas mileage savings of commuting with the GTI and using the truck for just truck purposes.

Something to check out, that I noticed yesterday test driving them. Lower back support. It seems like the Express without the lumbar support was more comfortable for my lower back. There was cushion all of the way down. Whereas the power lumber in the fancier truck ( I don't remember if it was a sport or not, just the power seat) felt like a big hole where the lumbar was until you turned it on, then it was just an uncomfortable bar.

Speaking of Seat comfort, the F150's seats are superior, more comfortable in this way.