New Truck - One Man's Opinion

[SkunkedAgain]

I finally pulled the trigger and got a new truck. The old 2003 had been over 200,000 miles for a while, the head gasket was leaking oil badly, it needed new tires, and I'm sure there were some more issues on the horizon.

I opened my mind and test drove most of the major brands. The Honda dealership near me didn't have any Ridgelines in stock and frankly I never made it over to the Nissan dealership. However, having own four Fords I truly did go into it looking for the best option. The short is that I couldn't detect much of a difference between any of the trucks out there. The F150s, Tundras, Chevy 1500s, and Sierras all had basically the same features. Each dealer would tell me how cool the "easy down" tailgates were, and scratch their heads when I asked them to differentiate themselves from the other brands. Some of these sales people really shouldn't have been trying to sell trucks, as they probably only knew that they were bigger than a car. On top of that, all of the prices in March balanced out around $35k for the base models (SR5, 1500, SLT, XLT, etc.) before adding in extras.

Anyway, I ended up getting a Ram 1500 in the end. There wasn't much different about the Ram, but the competition wasn't offering anything to distinguish itself. I liked the new 8-speed transmission, the locking tailgate, and the built-in coolers in the cabin. Straight pipes are a nice touch and it does have a nice stock growl. The mpg's might be a hair below the others, but that's not why I own a truck. I was darn close to getting one of the 2014 Ecoboosts, but the Ram and its final price came out the winner.

So that's my opinion. One week in and I'm not regretting my purchase. Thanks to everyone on this forum who has opined over the past few years. I've kept up on all of those posts and opinions.

[BoxMN]

Cool, have fun with it! Keep posting how you are liking over time, would be cool to see the pros and cons over the honey moon and beyond.

I ave always been a GM guy but like the Fords and Dodges at least from appearance, as well as Chevys. They are all nice nowadays, that is for sure!

[bobberineyes]

Atta boy skunked, been tossing the idea of something new myself. Your 03 and my 02 are dinosaurs compared something new. As far as interior options and electronics go, was there any likes or dislikes between makes?

[ESSGuy]

Congrats on your new truck, keep us all posted as your miles rack up, likes and dislikes. I will be ready at the end of this year. My dad has 1500 miles on his 15 Silverado with 6.2l and 8spd tranny. I've driven it Twice and it is very nice, the motor is incredible, averaging 14.6 mpg around town. I will definitely be looking at the Rams. Look like one nice truck.

[SkunkedAgain]

Even though I didn't really want (to pay for) all the new electronics and deal with them eventually dying, I am liking all of the fancy stuff. The heated steering wheel is pretty nice, and setting it and the seats to come on with remote start is great in the winter.

Two demerits so far are the climate controls and gas gauge. For the climate, most can still be controlled with dials and buttons. However, you can only change from floor only, mix, defrost, etc. using the on-screen buttons. If and when that thing dies in 10 years, I'd like the option of not replacing it all and just using the manual controls. Small rant. My truck also came with the optional 32 gallon tank. From reading online, it seems that Ram just leaves the same sensor/gauge in there so the estimated miles-to-empty and the dashboard gauge both show empty when there is still 7-8 gallons left in reserve. You can get used to it but it would be nice to have an accurate gauge.

I'm still loving the truck overall. Definitely still honeymoon as I'm finding reasons to go for drives. I added the weathertech no-drill mudflaps this weekend and replacement floor mats. This weekend I'll tap into the trailer lights to add some LEDs under the bed rails so I can see under my tonneau at night when loading/unloading gear at the lake or while camping.

The computer says I'm getting about 16.5 mpg of mostly city driving, but I don't drive fast so it might be a little higher than normal.