Bought a New Ram - No Thinking Required

[ElPaso Pilot]

Does this include your truck Ted?

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2017/09/2013-2017-ram-heavy-duty-pickups-chassis-cabs-recall-alert.html

And I thought the comments here could be immature.

Looks like someone might need a good Ban Hammer over there.

Posted by: Uglyfords | Sep 19, 2017 1:34:09 PM
The bearing must have been designed by a Ford engineer.


Posted by: Uglyfords | Sep 19, 2017 1:34:09 PM

@johnny doe,

We know it's you, the foolish spelling and wording, you can't cover up stupid.

Cummins makes the WP.

Posted by: Frank | Sep 19, 2017 1:41:27 PM
The bearing must have been designed by a GM engineer. FORD Bearings are engineered by engineers.

Posted by: GM Blows Chunks | Sep 19, 2017 2:11:06 PM
Frank, your the stupid one.

Posted by: Uglyfords | Sep 19, 2017 2:35:11 PM
Frank, your the stupid one.


Posted by: Uglyfords | Sep 19, 2017 2:35:11 PM

It's you're. Who is stupid now.

Posted by: Frank | Sep 19, 2017 3:09:42 PM
Haha didn't know Ram was using Ford's junk water pumps on their trucks these days.

https://youtu.be/ZXmbltLogms

Posted by: HD Ramking | Sep 19, 2017 3:51:13 PM
Junk just like GARBAGE MOTORS COMPANY AKA (GMC). HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. SOMEONE SAID THEY WHERE COMING FROM GARBAGE MOTORS COMPANY.
​

 

[CC268]

Personally I love a good heated truck brand battle

 

[MIFlyer]

Have you figured which one will be the critical engine?

To avoid favoritism I'll flip a coin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Ted]

Personally I love a good heated truck brand battle

It's pretty amazing to me how people will get over their trucks. It's worse than any high wing vs. low wing debate, or really any debate in aviation.

Back when I had my first truck (6.5 turbo diesel) there was a GM diesel truck forum forum I participated in that I liked. One guy defected and bought a Ram (they had an "other trucks" forum), but stuck around. Oh man was he ever given hell about it. And I got it just as bad when I got mine. Come to think of it, though, I don't think I ever found a Cummins forum - the truck just worked so I didn't need any help or support... unlike my GMs or my Fords.

Oh right, I'm not supposed to start a truck battle.

 

[Bill]

I've bought Fords because the FiL retired from Ford, and I can buy on the A plan. Any of the big three trucks should be fine.

 

[Ted]

I've bought Fords because the FiL retired from Ford, and I can buy on the A plan. Any of the big three trucks should be fine.

Agreed. I think any of them are good quality wise and it just depends on what you want and which you prefer. I would've looked at the Chevys or Fords if they offered a manual transmission, but probably still would've landed on the Ram due to the Cummins preference.

Interesting video that shows how much has changed in trucks:

Fairly accurate, I think. And even if you look at my '97 C2500 6.5 vs. my new Ram, most of the same differences exist. Other than my '97 C2500 was rust-free still, or at least no significant rust.

 

[MIFlyer]

Agreed. I think any of them are good quality wise and it just depends on what you want and which you prefer. I would've looked at the Chevys or Fords if they offered a manual transmission, but probably still would've landed on the Ram due to the Cummins preference.

Interesting video that shows how much has changed in trucks:

Fairly accurate, I think. And even if you look at my '97 C2500 6.5 vs. my new Ram, most of the same differences exist. Other than my '97 C2500 was rust-free still, or at least no significant rust.

damn you. watching that video makes me want both an old and new truck. Part of buying an airplane for me is making a deal with myself that i'll drive the 2007 Tahoe another 10 years (150K miles)

 

[Ted]

damn you. watching that video makes me want both an old and new truck. Part of buying an airplane for me is making a deal with myself that i'll drive the 2007 Tahoe another 10 years (150K miles)

Old trucks are cheap. Want to buy my F-350? That gets you a new AND an old truck at once! And I'll give you a deal!

I've wanted to get another new truck for probably the past 7-10 years. I couldn't justify it at all, though. It was just the right combination of circumstances that made it practical and logical now. When taken care of, those various 1/2-ton GMs seem to be good for 300k miles so assuming you're at 150k now and want to get it to 300k, that's not out of line. I'd expect to redo the front suspension soon if you haven't already.

 

[MIFlyer]

Old trucks are cheap. Want to buy my F-350? That gets you a new AND an old truck at once! And I'll give you a deal!

I've wanted to get another new truck for probably the past 7-10 years. I couldn't justify it at all, though. It was just the right combination of circumstances that made it practical and logical now. When taken care of, those various 1/2-ton GMs seem to be good for 300k miles so assuming you're at 150k now and want to get it to 300k, that's not out of line. I'd expect to redo the front suspension soon if you haven't already.

Yes, that's the plan. the niggling issues are getting a bit more frequent, but I just went through and did all the shocks and all the fluids. The tranny is tight and the suspension is too.

I figure I have three little things per year to fix (switches, sensor, etc). Knock on wood, so far, nothing major has had to be done. The biggest thing was the shocks (they're autoride, so a couple hundred each corner for the part). It still drives really well, is nice inside and out (though it accumulates scratches and door dings each year). I'm replacing bulbs with LED as they go out and run full synthetic in all the places.

I have to replace the front door hinges, the ME who designed them should be shot. They're basically designed to fail and to switch the pin, i'll have to grind it off, without horking up the paint too much.

I'm thinking though that i'm in the phase of ownership where I have 3 little htings per year, at $50-100 each to fix on the car and maybe one $500 thing, and can probably milk that along for awhile. I'm at 160K now, so I might be optimistic to get 10 more years out, but 7 should be easy (would put me at 270K), by then, I expect it to be pretty tired. Now, it still drags the 6,000 lb airstream along, but i wouldn't want to tow anything heavier out west here.

On the truck front, the Tahoe clears the roof by 1.5" in the garage, so no can do on a truck

 

[Ted]

Yes, that's the plan. the niggling issues are getting a bit more frequent, but I just went through and did all the shocks and all the fluids. The tranny is tight and the suspension is too.

I figure I have three little things per year to fix (switches, sensor, etc). Knock on wood, so far, nothing major has had to be done. The biggest thing was the shocks (they're autoride, so a couple hundred each corner for the part). It still drives really well, is nice inside and out (though it accumulates scratches and door dings each year). I'm replacing bulbs with LED as they go out and run full synthetic in all the places.

I have to replace the front door hinges, the ME who designed them should be shot. They're basically designed to fail and to switch the pin, i'll have to grind it off, without horking up the paint too much.

I'm thinking though that i'm in the phase of ownership where I have 3 little htings per year, at $50-100 each to fix on the car and maybe one $500 thing, and can probably milk that along for awhile. I'm at 160K now, so I might be optimistic to get 10 more years out, but 7 should be easy (would put me at 270K), by then, I expect it to be pretty tired. Now, it still drags the 6,000 lb airstream along, but i wouldn't want to tow anything heavier out west here.

On the truck front, the Tahoe clears the roof by 1.5" in the garage, so no can do on a truck

We had 178k or so on the 2003 Avalanche when we sold it around Christmas last year (in fact it was on Christmas Eve as I recall - a woman bought it for her son). It needed a new front end at 142k (as is common on those things) and was in a similar point of needing a couple of niggling things per year, but had overall just been a dead reliable truck that required very little. I had a suspicion that the transmission was going to go out after towing our boat with it, and the push button 4x4 had been making occasional complaints over the past few years, either thinking it was in neutral when it wasn't or displayed a "SERVICE 4WD" notice now and then. It had also started to consume some coolant at a very slow rate (no leaks), which I feared probably meant head gaskets. My wife loved the truck and had bought it almost new, but didn't drive it anymore. It didn't fit our truck needs and then add in those issues, and it was time to move on.

 

[denverpilot]

... and the push button 4x4 had been making occasional complaints over the past few years, either thinking it was in neutral when it wasn't or displayed a "SERVICE 4WD" notice now and then.

That one is the rotary encoder on the transfer case or the dash switch. $100 for the encoder or $20 on Amazon for the switch. I replaced the switch first because I didn't feel like troubleshooting and it was the cheapest of the two.

 

[MIFlyer]

That one is the rotary encoder on the transfer case or the dash switch. $100 for the encoder or $20 on Amazon for the switch. I replaced the switch first because I didn't feel like troubleshooting and it was the cheapest of the two.

that's my approach with cheap, easy to change parts. If the part is <$20 and under 15 minutes to change, i just change it. 75% of time, that solves it. if I have to, i go further down the chain after that of actually trying diagnoses. forums will also give you insight into the most likely part to go bad, so you can also start with that

 

[denverpilot]

By the way when I read "a good heated brand" I chuckled. Some truck company probably will come out with a heated badge/emblem option. LOL.

 

[denverpilot]

So Ford "accidentally" leaked the owner's manual for the 2018 Diesel F-150 on their website.

Interesting specs. Looks like about 12,000 lbs max towing in the 2WD extended cab version, there will be no standard cab diesel and only crew cabs with the 5.5' bed in the 4WD.

Two gear ratios, 3.55 being the lowest, no 3.73 or 4.10.

No payload number can be deduced from the manual, but it looks to beat the Ram 1/2 EcoDiesel by fairly large numbers.

Oh and the engine is using the goofy European name for it... DuraTorque. LOL. Sounds like an alkaline battery had sex with a wrench.

Also unlikely it has an exhaust brake, and no model of the Ford 1/2 ton diesel will have an 8' bed option at all (bad move there).

Also no model will have the larger fuel tank. 26 gallons max. 5.6 gallon DEF tank.

 

[ETres]

I don't know what I'm doing in this thread, but here goes... I just gave my 2011 4x4 Tundra to my son and traded in his 2010 Silverado on a 2018 Honda Ridgeline truck for me. Well, I call it a "truck."

 

[Ted]

@denverpilot I agree that the no 8' bed is a bad move, but it seems that not many people are buying them even in 3/4 and 1-ton. It was very hard to find a long bed on the lot, and all of them were Tradesman editions. I think they realized that most people who buy F-150s aren't doing any serious hauling, and so they're happy with the short bed and easier maneuvering that goes with it. Me, give me a crew cab long bed pickup or give me death.

That might be a big extreme. But that's what I want.

 

[TCABM]

So Ford "accidentally" leaked the owner's manual for the 2018 Diesel F-150 on their website.

Interesting specs.... only crew cabs with the 5.5' bed in the 4WD....no 3.73 or 4.10....No payload number...Also unlikely it has an exhaust brake...Also no model will have the larger fuel tank. 26 gallons max. 5.6 gallon DEF tank.

Was hoping for so much more.

 

[SoonerAviator]

So Ford "accidentally" leaked the owner's manual for the 2018 Diesel F-150 on their website.

Interesting specs. Looks like about 12,000 lbs max towing in the 2WD extended cab version, there will be no standard cab diesel and only crew cabs with the 5.5' bed in the 4WD.

Two gear ratios, 3.55 being the lowest, no 3.73 or 4.10.

No payload number can be deduced from the manual, but it looks to beat the Ram 1/2 EcoDiesel by fairly large numbers.

Oh and the engine is using the goofy European name for it... DuraTorque. LOL. Sounds like an alkaline battery had sex with a wrench.

Also unlikely it has an exhaust brake, and no model of the Ford 1/2 ton diesel will have an 8' bed option at all (bad move there).

Also no model will have the larger fuel tank. 26 gallons max. 5.6 gallon DEF tank.

I have a feeling that even if the 2018 doesn't offer the 6.5' bed, I bet they have one for 2019. I doubt the sales of of regular cab trucks are justified anymore, sales numbers are just too low to bother with it. I hardly see anything that isn't a crew cab, even for work trucks, and extended cab trucks are fairly few and far between as well. I can't imagine the 1/2 would have (or really need) an exhaust brake, so no real loss there for the 1/2 ton market. With 26 gallons of diesel, that ought to get you 500-600 miles to a tank which won't likely draw any complaints. The larger tank used to only be available on 6.5'/8' bed options anyway, so it makes sense that 26 gallons is the only option for now.

 

[Ted]

I don't know what I'm doing in this thread, but here goes... I just gave my 2011 4x4 Tundra to my son and traded in his 2010 Silverado on a 2018 Honda Ridgeline truck for me. Well, I call it a "truck."

It plays one on TV.

 

[Ted]

By the time I get home from work today I'll have 1700 miles on the new truck, about 1,000 of which were the drive home. So now I've had a couple weeks to use it as the daily driver, and it's started getting a bit colder.

Observations:

1) I drive a minimum of 40 miles a day (20 miles each way to work), but with dropping my son off at school and sometimes picking him up, it's typically 55-70, sometimes up to 100 if I have to run around town. I wouldn't want to drive this if I had much shorter than a 20 mile normal commute. It takes close to 10 miles for the oil to get up to temperature with the big sump. I knew this going in, so it works well for me.

2) This thing has no smoke. None. The exhaust practically smells like roses. The emissions equipment works very well on this, and the calibration is very lean. We'll see how it works long term. Of course, you could chip it to make it smoke, but the Cummins guys did a good job. My 2004 would smoke under some conditions.

3) The truck is calibrated to run LOP most of the time as I understand it (best economy mixture instead of best power). Between that and the more restrictive exhaust, it doesn't have as good of throttle response as my 2004 did (or even my F-350). The 6.7 helps to offset this some vs. the 5.9, but you really need it to get into the boost (24 psi max) to get noticeable power, and that takes a little bit with the exhaust and the LOP ops. It may also be calibrated to bring the boost in slowly to be nice to the transmission, I don't know, but I think it could be a lot quicker.

The one thing I really wish they did differently was the exhaust brake. I'm making friends with it, but I would be a lot happier if there was an easily accessible switch on the shifter to get between on, off, and auto modes. I also wish (maybe the dealer can do this for me) that it would default to a mode besides "off". Supposedly on the chassis cab models it defaults to "on". I think I'd like it to default to "auto."

 

[asechrest]

Nice truck.

I'm a first time truck owner as of last weekend. Wrecked my Corolla, unfortunately. I'm a Toyota guy so I went with a 2016 Tacoma, V6 double cab. I'm a first time homeowner so the utility of a pickup has been intriguing me since purchase last year. What sealed the deal was renting a pickup after I totaled my car...As hurricane Irma was approaching...As I'm needing to load up plywood and sandbags and supplies.

 

[Ted]

Nice truck.

I'm a first time truck owner as of last weekend. Wrecked my Corolla, unfortunately. I'm a Toyota guy so I went with a 2016 Tacoma, V6 double cab. I'm a first time homeowner so the utility of a pickup has been intriguing me since purchase last year. What sealed the deal was renting a pickup after I totaled my car...As hurricane Irma was approaching...As I'm needing to load up plywood and sandbags and supplies.

I haven't followed your jet ski thread, but the Tacoma will also tow the jetski better than the Corolla.

Enjoy the Tacoma! I'm a big pickup guy (obviously), but I've known a lot of people with Tacomas and they've all liked them. Having a pickup for household chores is very nice indeed. I have some friends who go with a small utility trailer, which is another option, but I like being able to throw whatever I want in the bed.

 

[Skip Miller]

I'm a big pickup guy (obviously), but I've known a lot of people with Tacomas and they've all liked them. Having a pickup for household chores is very nice indeed. I have some friends who go with a small utility trailer, which is another option, but I like being able to throw whatever I want in the bed.

Back in 1977, I was given a 1967 Chevy C-10 as payment in full for a debt of about $500. The truck had been parked in a field for about 5 years. I went to the truck, replaced the primary rubber hoses, started the engine, stopped it once the oil was warm and changed the oil and filter. Then drove that sucker about 800 miles to bring it home. No major problems enroute.

Two wheel drive (that's what the "C" meant in the "C-10" model name). Small engine (the old reliable 250 ci straight 6) clapped out so it burned about a quart every 150 miles (trailing the usual blue haze behind), three on the tree, fleetside body (a full 8' bed). Coil spring rear suspension. And rust and dry rot as apparently factory options.

This was never intended to be a restoration project. The wooden bed (wasn't a liner - below the wood was air and asphalt) was dry-rotted enough so that there was a lot of asphalt visible. I removed all the wood bed and inserted a marine grade plywood replacement. (That's how I know the bed size: one sheet of plywood; job done.) Took some hardware cloth and fixed it to the body at both l and r corners of the cab. Some Bondo and then the exhaust fumes stayed outside.

Anyhow this truck soon became the neighborhood truck. I had 10 neighbors and they all borrowed it frequently. My Mom and Dad were building a house up in Maine, and I was able to buy all the kitchen appliances cheaper than they could, so I managed to get the big ones in the truck and they drove it up to Maine. While up there all the members of the Orr's - Bailey Island Yacht Club found numerous jobs for it too! Number 10 (with a nod to Bo Derek), as everyone called it, never quit. Even so the annual mileage we put on the truck was under 1,000 miles.

I had few rules for the truck: Bring it back tank full, and when loading, throw underhand (miss the glass). The truck was a beater but it could absorb tremendous amounts of abuse because it was made out of thick steel. None of this aluminum bed stuff. I was run off the road once by some kids coming the other way on my side of a rural dirt road blind corner. I swerved off the road, missed the kids but BAM! and Number 10 shuddered to a stop. The bumper had run into a rather large rock. It moved the rock about a foot, and collapsed the bumper about 1/4". That is a Strong Bumper.

Thanks, Ted, for bringing back a lot of good memories. My only advice to you and those acquiring trucks, is to decide on your loaner policy before you bring the truck home. Their obvious utility will encourage your neighbors to want to borrow it. Not saying you should or should not loan it out, just be ready when you get asked.

-Skip

 

[Ted]

Thanks, Ted, for bringing back a lot of good memories. My only advice to you and those acquiring trucks, is to decide on your loaner policy before you bring the truck home. Their obvious utility will encourage your neighbors to want to borrow it. Not saying you should or should not loan it out, just be ready when you get asked.

Easy policy - only gets loaned out with my wife or me driving it. Therefore one of us participates in the rest of the activities it was borrowed for.

And you're welcome. Out of all the vehicles I've had, with the exception of my first car ('82 Jaguar XJ-S V12), the trucks have all the best memories associated with them. Great trips, great camaraderie.

 

[denverpilot]

I have a feeling that even if the 2018 doesn't offer the 6.5' bed, I bet they have one for 2019.

...

I can't imagine the 1/2 would have (or really need) an exhaust brake, so no real loss there for the 1/2 ton market.

There is a 6.5 option but it’s the 2WD only. Ford figures if you’ll pop for 4WD you want a crew cab and a short bed. I’m sure their sales numbers back that up, but it’s disappointing.

If the maximum towing really does come out to 12,000... I wouldn’t pull that in the mountains without an exhaust brake. So it’s a show stopper for me. I wouldn’t pull 10,000 without at least the new smart grade shifting available on some of these trucks.

Frankly I want it to hold 60 on our steepest grades on I-70 without more than a light brake application from time to time if even that, at whatever it’s max towing weight is. I’ll put it in a tow-haul mode if the electronics designer likes, but the era of having to manually downshift is technologically over with. There’s multiple trucks now that’ll hold that on a grade without anything but a light single brake application or nothing at all if they’re in towing mode.

Reason I want this? I can hold nearly that well with a “dumb” exhaust brake on the 16 year old Dodge Cummins already. Anything newer has to be smarter than the Dodge. That’s just me, but it’s one of my pet peeves.

The one thing I really wish they did differently was the exhaust brake. I'm making friends with it, but I would be a lot happier if there was an easily accessible switch on the shifter to get between on, off, and auto modes. I also wish (maybe the dealer can do this for me) that it would default to a mode besides "off". Supposedly on the chassis cab models it defaults to "on". I think I'd like it to default to "auto."

They need to fix that. The setting should be at least “sticky” as most software folks would call keeping the last mode set until its changed again. Switching off at each ignition cycle would be incredibly annoying to me if I were on a long road trip with a big trailer. Software either needs to be smart enough to go into Auto whenever the factory trailer brake controller sees a trailer attached, or it needs to stay away from “my” settings.

I'm a Toyota guy so I went with a 2016 Tacoma, V6 double cab.

For a daily driver pickup I LOVE the Taco. Problem is, the taco’s front seats have never loved me. My legs go numb or my back hurts after a long drive in a Taco. Tundra may be better but I’ve never had a reason to test that. Same thing happens to me in the Subaru seats. I blame it on tiny Japanese people but really I know they build them here and they know the size of Americans. Heh. Don’t know what it is, but I can’t do 500 miles in a Taco without needing to lie flat on the floor and stretch my back or massage my numb butt and thighs.

Anyhow this truck soon became the neighborhood truck.

Back when I was younger and had the only pickup trucks amongst lots of friends who were doing the standard young person thing and moving all the time... I got that bumper sticker that says, “Yes, this is my truck. No, I won’t help you move.” LOL.

 

[denverpilot]

By the way. Just to make @jesse happy...

I had my first long-ish drive in Karen’s truck today by myself so I um... got into it a bit more than usual when she’s on board... and also ummm kinda turned the stereo up really loud... and um... took some corners too fast...

Shhhh. She doesn’t know. I was delivering her truck to her after it was left home for [undisclosed reasons] and she had the Subie. I was taking it to her work to swap vehicles with her since I had 180 mile round trip to do to go run an errand.

Ummm. That truck is a lot more fun than when she’s driving it. Just sayin’. Haha. The Triton (with all the recent work we had done to it) and that trans really want to be romped on. Hahahaha.

Oh. And since it’s the Lincoln version it has that subwoofer that completely takes up all the space under the back seat of the crew cab. Holy hell. That thing doubles as a back massager when the correct music at the correct level is played through it.

Now I want to “borrow” her Ford more often. Hahahaha. She probably won’t like the extra wear on the tires though. Hahaha.

 

[Clark1961]

By the way. Just to make @jesse happy...

I had my first long-ish drive in Karen’s truck today by myself so I um... got into it a bit more than usual when she’s on board... and also ummm kinda turned the stereo up really loud... and um... took some corners too fast...

Shhhh. She doesn’t know. I was delivering her truck to her after it was left home for [undisclosed reasons] and she had the Subie. I was taking it to her work to swap vehicles with her since I had 180 mile round trip to do to go run an errand.

Ummm. That truck is a lot more fun than when she’s driving it. Just sayin’. Haha. The Triton (with all the recent work we had done to it) and that trans really want to be romped on. Hahahaha.

Oh. And since it’s the Lincoln version it has that subwoofer that completely takes up all the space under the back seat of the crew cab. Holy hell. That thing doubles as a back massager when the correct music at the correct level is played through it.

Now I want to “borrow” her Ford more often. Hahahaha. She probably won’t like the extra wear on the tires though. Hahaha.

You should log some time in the Camaro and no you can't.

 

[denverpilot]

You should log some time in the Camaro and no you can't.

Hahaha. Nice.

And yeah, I know I’d have a ball in something like that but the poor folks who own them out here end up driving 5 MPH down our main entrance road on bad washboard days with their hazards going and almost in the ditch. Trucks just pass them and the nicer ones of us try not to throw too many rocks into their paint.

There’s one maniac girl who has a SmartCar out here. Watching her take the washboards in that thing doing 25 and not even slowing down is like watching a tiny little hovercraft. LOL. We didn’t used to know who owns it, but we finally met her at the country store and it turns out it’s someone we knew anyway. She’s crazy. But man seeing that SmartCar drifting corners with washboards is freaking hilarious.

She said last winter when it got muddy she was plowing mud with it for miles. She DGAF at all about it. Hahahaha. Just thrashes it.

 

[Kritchlow]

Nice truck.

I'm a first time truck owner as of last weekend. Wrecked my Corolla, unfortunately. I'm a Toyota guy so I went with a 2016 Tacoma, V6 double cab. I'm a first time homeowner so the utility of a pickup has been intriguing me since purchase last year. What sealed the deal was renting a pickup after I totaled my car...As hurricane Irma was approaching...As I'm needing to load up plywood and sandbags and supplies.

I'm not a truck guy so I'm likely way off base here.... but it looks like the truck may have a hard time pulling that bed if you put a piece of plywood in there.

 

[Clark1961]

Hahaha. Nice.

And yeah, I know I’d have a ball in something like that but the poor folks who own them out here end up driving 5 MPH down our main entrance road on bad washboard days with their hazards going and almost in the ditch. Trucks just pass them and the nicer ones of us try not to throw too many rocks into their paint.

There’s one maniac girl who has a SmartCar out here. Watching her take the washboards in that thing doing 25 and not even slowing down is like watching a tiny little hovercraft. LOL. We didn’t used to know who owns it, but we finally met her at the country store and it turns out it’s someone we knew anyway. She’s crazy. But man seeing that SmartCar drifting corners with washboards is freaking hilarious.

She said last winter when it got muddy she was plowing mud with it for miles. She DGAF at all about it. Hahahaha. Just thrashes it.

Yup, the Camaro doesn't do adverse roads. Dry pavement is it's playground. The only time I've gotten it to break lose is on wet pavement. Part of that is my aversion to an insurance claim another part of that is the response time of the variable displacement engine and economy programmed tranny. Oh well, it's fun in constant speed corners and merging with freeway traffic.

 

[denverpilot]

Yup, the Camaro doesn't do adverse roads. Dry pavement is it's playground. The only time I've gotten it to break lose is on wet pavement. Part of that is my aversion to an insurance claim another part of that is the response time of the variable displacement engine and economy programmed tranny. Oh well, it's fun in constant speed corners and merging with freeway traffic.

Sometime I’ll have to bum a ride. Unlike most pilots I can enjoy a right seat ride without getting all grumpy that I’m not in control of jack sheeeeet. Hahaha. And you can then play however you like. Haha.

I drive nice when Karen is in the cars. She reaches for the Oh **** handle too much and hurts my feelings if I don’t. Hahahaha.

 

[denverpilot]

I'm not a truck guy...

We need to fix that. You’re generally a really nice guy other than that huge fault of liking all that Elon Musk silliness.

(I’m just kidding of course. Electrics done right are torquey insane acceleration monsters. And I’d be happy to drive *someone else’s* for the price tag. Hehehehe.)

 

[Kritchlow]

We need to fix that. You’re generally a really nice guy other than that huge fault of liking all that Elon Musk silliness.

(I’m just kidding of course. Electrics done right are torquey insane acceleration monsters. And I’d be happy to drive *someone else’s* for the price tag. Hehehehe.)

Lol!!! I had a loaner Silverado last week and absolutely LOVED driving a truck. Now, I can't say which brand I like better, but I loved the feeling of a rugged truck. Loved it.
That said, I have no excuse to buy a truck. I wish I did. I haul nothing. I tow nothing. I just can't justify it. I have a cheapy deepy car as a daily driver, but my Vette is my prize.

 

[denverpilot]

Lol!!! I had a loaner Silverado last week and absolutely LOVED driving a truck. Now, I can't say which brand I like better, but I loved the feeling of a rugged truck. Loved it.
That said, I have no excuse to buy a truck. I wish I did. I haul nothing. I tow nothing. I just can't justify it. I have a cheapy deepy car as a daily driver, but my Vette is my prize.

I completely understand. We’ve already joked that “someday” we will move back to “civilization” (not unlike @Everskyward but it’ll be a long while!) and then its trade the trucks for cars that perform.

Dad had the bottom bumper sticker up in his garage. He gave the top sign to Karen.

He kept his sports car in our city detached garage for years after he moved out of the city to keep it nice. He’d stop by whenever and we’d see his beater car parked ext to the driveway and know he was out tooling around in the roadster. He told us to go drive it whenever we liked and we did from time to time.

The signs go nicely together now in the garage.

 

[asechrest]

I haven't followed your jet ski thread, but the Tacoma will also tow the jetski better than the Corolla.

Enjoy the Tacoma! I'm a big pickup guy (obviously), but I've known a lot of people with Tacomas and they've all liked them. Having a pickup for household chores is very nice indeed. I have some friends who go with a small utility trailer, which is another option, but I like being able to throw whatever I want in the bed.

I thought about a small utility trailer. Problem with that is where to put it when you're not pulling it. Harbor Freight has a fold up version for not-too-much money, but with tiny wheels with a 55 MPH limit. Certainly could retrofit. But I live on a standard urban-sized lot, garage space is limited, and I seem to regularly acquire projects, so storing even a fold up isn't the best for me.

For a daily driver pickup I LOVE the Taco. Problem is, the taco’s front seats have never loved me. My legs go numb or my back hurts after a long drive in a Taco. Tundra may be better but I’ve never had a reason to test that. Same thing happens to me in the Subaru seats. I blame it on tiny Japanese people but really I know they build them here and they know the size of Americans. Heh. Don’t know what it is, but I can’t do 500 miles in a Taco without needing to lie flat on the floor and stretch my back or massage my numb butt and thighs.

I have a 25 minute morning commute, and so far so good. I did read the reviews that the seats were not the most comfortable, so we'll see once I get a long trip under my belt.

Lol!!! I had a loaner Silverado last week and absolutely LOVED driving a truck. Now, I can't say which brand I like better, but I loved the feeling of a rugged truck. Loved it.
That said, I have no excuse to buy a truck. I wish I did. I haul nothing. I tow nothing. I just can't justify it. I have a cheapy deepy car as a daily driver, but my Vette is my prize.

I've got a little track-day motorcycle, and a jet ski, and I enjoy home projects, so it seemed to make a lot of sense to me. It's a pain in the ass having Home Depot cut down my plywood for me. And with a cat 4 hurricane approaching, they'll laugh in your face if you even ask, and rightly so given the 20-people long line of folks waiting for plywood.

--

The truck came with a nice Leer 700 fiberglass bed top. Looks like roughly $1,400 new and installed. Looks fancy. But I've decided I'll sell it in favor of a roll-up soft cover, which will allow me to easily access the full length of my bed. Any time I want to haul the motorcycle or something higher than the the bed rails, I'd have to get this thing off and store it in the garage.

Any suggestions on the best soft bed cover? I kinda' like the Truxedo Lo Pro so far.

 

[denverpilot]

Any suggestions on the best soft bed cover? I kinda' like the Truxedo Lo Pro so far.

Every roll up soft cover I ever had ended up ****ing me off and in the dumpster eventually.

Line-X the bed and call it good if it's a hauler. Unless you need to keep stuff dry, then keep the Leer.

And no, a roll up soft cover will not keep anything dry no matter how nice a "system" it has for installation. They all leak.

Dry: Hard cover.
Don't care: Open bed with Line-X.

And you'll thank me on the Line-X too. Had multiple plastic bed liners over the years. They all suck.

 

[jesse]

So Ford "accidentally" leaked the owner's manual for the 2018 Diesel F-150 on their website.

Interesting specs. Looks like about 12,000 lbs max towing in the 2WD extended cab version, there will be no standard cab diesel and only crew cabs with the 5.5' bed in the 4WD.

Two gear ratios, 3.55 being the lowest, no 3.73 or 4.10.

No payload number can be deduced from the manual, but it looks to beat the Ram 1/2 EcoDiesel by fairly large numbers.

Oh and the engine is using the goofy European name for it... DuraTorque. LOL. Sounds like an alkaline battery had sex with a wrench.

Also unlikely it has an exhaust brake, and no model of the Ford 1/2 ton diesel will have an 8' bed option at all (bad move there).

Also no model will have the larger fuel tank. 26 gallons max. 5.6 gallon DEF tank.

Looks like the guy who sold me my truck is safe. He assured me that the ‘18 EcoDiesel would have lower tow numbers than the 3.5 Ecoboost.

I think my 36 gallon ecoboost is a better setup.

 

[denverpilot]

Looks like the guy who sold me my truck is safe. He assured me that the ‘18 EcoDiesel would have lower tow numbers than the 3.5 Ecoboost.

It's true. The EB version in 2018 looks to have a max tow in a 2WD configuration of over 13,000. I'm not sure if that's pure awesome or complete insanity in a half ton truck. LOL.

The turbos are going to help up here at altitude.

These guys did this video a while back, before the leaks, but I can't wait to see their Ike Gauntlet video with the same two trucks. I suspect the EB is going to walk away with a win over the normally aspirated Coyote up there at Silverthorne, easily.

You didn't get the 10 speed auto in yours in the 2017 though, did you? If that trans holds up over time, it's looking to be a great addition to all of Ford's lineup.

 

[jesse]

It's true. The EB version in 2018 looks to have a max tow in a 2WD configuration of over 13,000. I'm not sure if that's pure awesome or complete insanity in a half ton truck. LOL.

The turbos are going to help up here at altitude.

These guys did this video a while back, before the leaks, but I can't wait to see their Ike Gauntlet video with the same two trucks. I suspect the EB is going to walk away with a win over the normally aspirated Coyote up there at Silverthorne, easily.

You didn't get the 10 speed auto in yours in the 2017 though, did you? If that trans holds up over time, it's looking to be a great addition to all of Ford's lineup.

I have the 10 speed auto and the Gen 2 3.5 ecoboost. Both were new for ‘17. All ‘17 Ecoboost 3.5 came with 10 speed. Other engines all had the 6 speed.

 

[denverpilot]

I have the 10 speed auto and the Gen 2 3.5 ecoboost. Both were new for ‘17. All ‘17 Ecoboost 3.5 came with 10 speed. Other engines all had the 6 speed.

Ahh cool. You got the new good stuff then. Looks like Ford liked that 10 speed enough to put in on everything in 2018. Everything I've seen so far on that trans has been positive.

At the end of the day needing ten gears to squeak out 1 more MPG is ridiculous, but if the things hold up for a decade without internal problems or the computer gear crapping out, great. New tech done well is always welcome. And if they program that trans to do proper hill speed holding when towing, that's pure awesomeness. If they don't, shame on them... it's the right tech for that job.

It's interesting how a UI developer now has the power to screw up the experience available with this new gear. If Dodge won't fix Ted's Auto/On/Off thing they've essentially turned a $6000 variable vane turbo into something that will annoy the owner more than please them. Same thing if that 10 speed isn't programmed to handle towing duties properly.

The gear can do it, can the engineers pay enough attention to program the UI to be more helpful than in the way...