Need a new truck

[Poor Man Campin']

To all who posted on this thread; I absolutely appreciated the discussion. I've been 'secretly shopping' for awhile. Then my wife said "I think we can make it work if you find one."

With the kids getting bigger, my '04 Dodge QC was getting cramped. We really need more room in the cab. Absolutely nothing wrong with the truck; at 94,800 miles it still ran and looked good and did what I wanted it to do. We too are also planning a trip west in 2-3 years and wanted to start getting set up for it.

I'll save the long version for the campfire, but I've know what I wanted for awhile, and after some research found a 2018 Ram 2500 Mega-cab with the 6.4 Hemi and 3:73's. Didn't really intend to buy new, but it worked out that way.

Concerning the Cap discussion, we like a cap for travelling, but that is just our preference and what works for us. I have an A.R.E. Z-Series ordered for the new truck, virtually identical to what was on my old one.

Looking forward to Buttonwood and a review, inspection and analysis with those in attendance. I'll try to come prepared with some numbers for discussion just to make sure I was thinking correctly about my needs and expectations.

For comparison, below is a picture of our old outfit, and a peek at what the new one may look like in June at the M&G. See you at Buttonwood!

[JohnB]

Hi Brad,

Nice looking ride!! She sure looks pur'ty

Thanks for sharing

John

[vcrt]

Ditto on that truck Brad, and towing should be a breeze!
See you guys at Buttonwood.
Rich

[Sunline Fan]

Looks great Brad!

[Poor Man Campin']

Thanks! I'm enjoying it so far; Kids are appreciating the extra room!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[vcrt]

Last week, we camped at Ricketts Glen state park. Loved it, very nice sites, 21 waterfalls, nice wooded hiking trails, but if you decide to go, you need to know there are no electric sites. We have no generator, but our frugality makes it work. 40 gallon fresh water tank lasted all week (nice bathroom/shower house BTW) and we percolated coffee and didn't really miss the microwave. Oh, and with nights in the 50's, we didn't need the AC!

The reason for this update is the uphill towing experience. The last few miles getting to the cg is an 18% uphill drive for two mile on PA 487 and the new truck was a good improvement over our 2002 Silverado.

I do want to ask the dealer service dept. about one issue I have. Sometimes, when approaching a steep uphill grade, I press on the gas expecting some power and nothing much happens. I press down more, then some more, almost to the floor and it stays in gear (3rd) and won't rev higher, so I downshift to 2nd and then it moves. I'm not sure if the truck is designed to just move along in third that way or I should be getting a downshift automatically or there should be more response from the engine.

Anyway, that was the only problem towing and it seemed to happen only when at lower speeds.

On the way, I put the bikes, a little bit of firewood, a few extra gallons of water (things I would have put in the back of the truck before inside the rear main entry door to the camper) and weighed it and here's what I got;

Front TV axle- 3560#
Rear TV axle- 3260 (kayaks in truck bed)
Trailer axles- 5440
Total TV and trailer- 12260

I noticed on the way that I was getting a little sway (something I never had with either truck) so on the return trip, I moved the bikes to the back seat area of the truck and the sway was gone.

Rich

[Sunline Fan]

Glad to hear the truck is working out well, Rich!

I do have a little bit of experience towing with a friend's 5.3 Yukon, and I too noticed how it was kinda slow to downshift. Shifts were seamless and smooth when they happened, but it seemed like any more gear changes after one were slow to react.