Considering a 3/4 Ton Diesel Tow Upgrade

[speeder]

Then get a Ram Mega Cab or a Ford 6.7 and be done with it. You'll shell out some $$ but your money is safe. I'd still get a Chevy but all 3 are great once you get past the 6.4 Ford. That was the last awful diesel mill.

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by ted

Had a Ford 99 3/4 ton power stroke for a decade, it was reliable.
Trans was only a 4 speed auto, no tow mode or jake brake assist.

Switched to a 14 Ram 1 ton diesel cost new $40k.
tows a 24 foot car trailer like a sports car up and down hills.
Would cruise at 90 on the flats in the 3rd lane if safe and legal.
rated to 30k lbs towing.
Could be driven daily.

How did you get a dually 4x4 for that much!? The 3/4 ton single rear wheel I posted earlier was 39K!

[onewhippedpuppy]

I don't know about Ted's case, but there's a BIG gap between base model trucks and those that are loaded with options. A base model F250 is $10-15k cheaper than a King Ranch.

[speeder]

I don't even like the King Ranch. The Lariat is over-doing it for me. I like a nice XLT in the Ford line-up w/ cloth seats and all power accessories.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I like the King Ranch features but not the two tone interior. Backup camera and sensors are a must have in any full sized truck. The rest is take it or leave it, though A/C seats are pretty sweet.

I've noticed in my looking that there are a lot of trucks at the extremes. Plenty of F250 XL models painted in fleet white with vinyl floors, and plenty of super loaded Lariat and King Ranch. Not a lot of well equipped XLTs.

[red-beard]

Firstly, all King Ranch and Platinum pickups are Lariats. That said, I hate the color schemes of the King Ranch and the Platinum exterior panels seem pretty dumb. The salesman told me the Platinum had a softer, more supple leather. Really? On a pickup?

Anyway, the Lariats are really nice. If you are using it for more than a job, it can be nice. Of course, the truck is almost as expensive as my wife's BMW. I did find the seat chiller! Really nice on a hot day in Texas!

[ted]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

How did you get a dually 4x4 for that much!? The 3/4 ton single rear wheel I posted earlier was 39K!

It's a 2WD fabric, no nav, with $13k in drive train upgrades.
Was $48k, saved $4k factory rebate, saved $4k with Costco/AAA no hassle deal.

My buddy got the same truck with full leather and nav but with a gas Hemi for about the same.

[fastfredracing]

It seems as though you can get a better deal on the dualllys some times. Not everybody wants to deal with the extra girth, and the two extra tires.
I found that the srw trucks carried somewhat of a premium in the sector I was shopping in.

[aigel]

Cooled seats!? I tried them once - felt like I wet my pants. Seriously. Very uncomfortable. I had instant flash backs to very early youth!

I agree with OWP - there isn't much between stripped down models and the loaded versions. The loaded trucks are just gaudy with all the fake chrome slathered on and over-sized bling wheels ... horrible!

G

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by ted

It's a 2WD fabric, no nav, with $13k in drive train upgrades.
Was $48k, saved $4k factory rebate, saved $4k with Costco/AAA no hassle deal.

My buddy got the same truck with full leather and nav but with a gas Hemi for about the same.

Good price!

The 4x4, 2500, 4 door, long bed, cummins, 6 speed auto, with some sprinkled options came out to $40 basically. I guess thats a good price for a 4x4 but smaller capacity.

I don't love that the new 2500 Ram has coil rear...I like the leaf spring ride and reliability. I'm almost positive I'll be keeping the 1991.5 Cummins I have for a lot longer.

[911boost]

G, I completely agree about the cooled seats.

My Lariat is a King Ranch without the painted trim/bumpers and leather. Mine is still leather, I guess just not the fancy leather.

[aigel]

Fancy leather - haha. Cowboy up!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cowboy Cadillac!

I personally love the A/C seats, I hate that sticky feeling that you get after sitting in leather seats on a hot, humid day. You SoCal guys with your 75 degree summers wouldn't understand.

[EarlyPorsche]

Cloth bench. No sticky and your honey can scoot over.

[ckelly78z]

I sure like my Ford supercab (1.5 doors on each side)Lariat edition with the power leather heated seats. I don't know at this point if I could go back to a standard cab, or if I need something as big as a Club/Crew Cab. It is a pain in the butt loading groceries with the suicide half doors. The newer trucks have a double hinge system on the half doors that allow them to open all the way up.

[ted]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Cloth bench. No sticky and your honey can scoot over.

True with the Ram leather interior the truck is only a 5 seater.
The leather captain chairs with the permanent center console got in the way of legroom for me.
The leather seat foam was very firm, cloth seats were softer and could seat 6.
The leather looks great for sure...

Another gripe is the optional dash touch screen for all controls.
Most would rather have simple heat/air controls that don't require distracting inputs on a touch screen.

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by ted

True with the Ram leather interior the truck is only a 5 seater.
The leather captain chairs with the permanent center console got in the way of legroom for me.
The leather seat foam was very firm, cloth seats were softer and could seat 6.
The leather looks great for sure...

Another gripe is the optional dash touch screen for all controls.
Most would rather have simple heat/air controls that don't require distracting inputs on a touch screen.

Now I do like that 8" touch screen. We have it in our 2014 Ecodiesel Grand Cherokee and its actually real intuitive. But for me to get that in a 2015 Ram means some serious option packages. I like my trucks most like work trucks for the most part because I'll always have a nice daily so I don't need too many bells and whistles in the truck. Doesn't matter since the old Cummins truck is staying! No payments for me!

[vash]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The Ecodiesel Ram wins on MPG but really isn't designed for heavy towing. The Ecodiesel is actually rated under the Hemi and similar to the F150 5.0. The Ecoboost has a significantly higher tow rating.

i never realized this. 9500lbs versus 12000..that's a big difference.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Quick update, I ended up buying a 2013 F150 Supercrew 4x4 Ecoboost FX4 at auction that was delivered yesterday. It has every tow option including max tow, 3.73 gears, and the tow mirrors, so it has the maximum tow rating of close to 12,000 lbs. It also has the FX4 premium package so it's totally loaded with leather, heated/cooled seats, nav, moonroof, HIDs, etc. It may be a few weeks before I tow my boat again, but I'll post my feedback when I do. Great truck overall, though even my wife commented on it not "sounding like a truck". My answer was that I'll just go get a Raptor for another $10k, suddenly she was ok with the sound.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Here's the new one:



And the old one is on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221863024872?forcerRptr=true&item=221863024872&viewitem=