How to tell a 4th gen, a Classic and a 5th gen Ram 1500 apart
From 2019 to 2024 Ram sold two different trucks as the "Ram 1500": the old fourth-generation DS body, renamed the Ram 1500 Classic, and the new fifth-generation DT body. A 2009 to 2018 truck is always a DS. From 2019 you have to look. The fastest checks are the grille (crosshair with a Ram's head badge on the DS and Classic; a wider grille spelling out RAM on most DT trims), the wheel lugs (five on a DS, six on a DT) and the tailgate badge. The VIN settles it: the seventh character reads differently for the two bodies on Ram's VINs, and a free decoder will name the model.
Why were there two Ram 1500s at once?
Because when the new DT launched for 2019, Ram kept the previous truck in production as a lower-priced model and called it the Ram 1500 Classic. Stellantis's Canadian 2019 Classic fact sheet lists it with the 3.6 Pentastar, the 5.7 HEMI and a late 3.0 EcoDiesel in Regular, Quad and Crew Cab bodies, alongside the all-new 2019 Ram 1500. On 9 August 2024 Stellantis announced that Classic production at Warren "will come to an end later this year". So a 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 or 2024 Ram 1500 is one of two trucks, and a part for one will not fit the other.
Sources: Stellantis Media Canada, 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Fact Sheet; Stellantis Media, statement on the end of Classic production, 9 August 2024. Checked 9 September 2026.What are the visual tells?
| Look at | DS (2009 to 2018) and Classic (2019 to 2024) | DT (2019 to 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Wheel lugs | Five | Six |
| Grille | Tall crosshair (or billet / mesh on some trims) with a Ram's head badge in the centre; from 2013, "approximately one inch taller" than before | Wider, lower grille; most trims spell out RAM across the grille, with the Ram's head on some |
| Headlights | Quad or projector halogen, squarer housings (2013 on) | Slimmer housings, halogen or full LED, hooked daytime running light on LEDs |
| Tailgate | Single drop-down gate with the Ram's head badge | Gate with RAM lettering; may be the 60/40 split multifunction gate |
| Badge | Many Classics wear a "Classic" badge on the front door or fender; not all do | No Classic badge |
| Cab size | Narrower cab; Regular Cab available | Wider cab; no Regular Cab |
| Dash | 8.4-inch landscape screen at most, rotary shifter | 8.4-inch or 12-inch portrait screen, rotary shifter, wider console |
| Door handles | Pull-up style | Grab style |
What does the VIN say?
The tenth character of any VIN is the model year, so a K is 2019, L is 2020, M is 2021, N is 2022, P is 2023 and R is 2024, the six years in which both bodies were sold. For those years the VIN alone tells you the year but not, by inspection, the body, unless you know Ram's own codes for the seventh and eighth positions. The reliable way is to run the VIN through NHTSA's free vPIC decoder, which returns the make, model, model year, plant and engine from the manufacturer's own filings; a Classic decodes with its model name and plant (Warren), a DT with Sterling Heights. The VIN guide walks through it.
Source: NHTSA, vPIC VIN Decoder. Checked 9 September 2026.What if I only have a photo of the truck?
Send it. A side view shows the cab and the door handles; a front view shows the grille; a rear view shows the tailgate. Any one of them is usually enough for us to say which body, and the wheels confirm it. If the truck has aftermarket wheels, the lug count still tells the truth.
Why does it matter this much?
Because a "2021 Ram 1500 driver headlight" is one of two parts, and the wrong one does not fit, cannot be made to fit and is a wasted trip. Every inquiry we take begins with which body, and the interchange guide lists what does and does not cross once you know.
Sources
- Stellantis Media Canada, 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Fact Sheet. media.stellantisnorthamerica.com. Checked 9 September 2026.
- Stellantis Media, Statement in Response to End of Production of Ram 1500 Classic, 9 August 2024. media.stellantisnorthamerica.com. Checked 9 September 2026.
- Stellantis Media, 2013 Ram 1500 press kit, 23 August 2012. media.stellantisnorthamerica.com. Checked 9 September 2026.
- NHTSA, vPIC VIN Decoder. vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov. Checked 9 September 2026.