If you were to start all over with a brand new truck, which would you choose?
- Thread starter legendaryandrew
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I can fit my bike (the pedaling kind) with the back seats folded up. Love the flat floors.
Ha! that is awesome
(as you said before) you're probably right in saying a F150 would be perfect for me...if I wasn't so hung up on manual transmissions...really the only reason I am clinging on to a Tacoma.
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p nut
butter
As someone that would have chosen an auto anyway, it is still a shame that they got rid of the manual option. But I see this being the way of the future--so get your manual truck while you can!
I've had my share of aluminum corrosion on mountain bikes of the past. I've seen some components simply just "melt away".
_
I don't think aluminum is fool-proof, but the upkeep is definitely easier.
_
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
There's got to be something about it. Our semi truck bodies last forever and they're AL.
Billybob's ancient H1 Hummer, looks perfect with it's 3 dozen coats of paint. I can't imagine a rustier place than I 271 in Ohio. Massive snowfall on that stupid stretch of road, tons of salt. Yuppies have to get to work in their Prius. Keeps me employed though, the salt dusts up, sticks to every power line and power pole, then add a little rain, poof, power's out all over the place.
Moved out to the country. Every hill billy garage has an old semi truck cab from the 50's behind it. Just the cab, rest of the truck is scrap. Like they're ever going to drop it on a frame and use it again? They're everywhere. Who wants a large truck with a tiny cab anyways? Is this some kind of rat rod thing?
Billybob's ancient H1 Hummer, looks perfect with it's 3 dozen coats of paint. I can't imagine a rustier place than I 271 in Ohio. Massive snowfall on that stupid stretch of road, tons of salt. Yuppies have to get to work in their Prius. Keeps me employed though, the salt dusts up, sticks to every power line and power pole, then add a little rain, poof, power's out all over the place.
Moved out to the country. Every hill billy garage has an old semi truck cab from the 50's behind it. Just the cab, rest of the truck is scrap. Like they're ever going to drop it on a frame and use it again? They're everywhere. Who wants a large truck with a tiny cab anyways? Is this some kind of rat rod thing?
Yes, that is a bottom bracket. And, living in Western NY State, i would NEVER purposely buy a vehicle BECAUSE it was aluminum. I have seen aluminum corrode so bad in the salt, thats it's not funny. They are really cheating the public by saying it does not rust. Technically they are correct, but it is VERY misleading because it DOES corrode & in my book, it is the same thing. I have aluminum under the hood in the engine compartment that looked like absolute crap after 1 winter in Buffalo. My truck has zero rust on the body because i sprayed the entire undercarriage with Fluid Film. Great stuff but you can't spray everything with it.
Good choice on the PW. It is not only the best off-road truck, it is the best "Jack-of-all Trades" truck as well. It can be modified fairly easily, to do exactly what you want. It can be a go-fast truck, a work truck, a towing truck, an overland truck, a rock crawler, a hunting/fishing truck, farm truck & still take the whole family out to dinner. I know that any truck can do most of those things with money, it's just that the PW can do most of that with little to no mods. Mine does all of it except the go-fast part.
PW owners rejoice !!!!! Gas has not been this cheap since I was kid. Enjoy it while we can !!! LOL
Good choice on the PW. It is not only the best off-road truck, it is the best "Jack-of-all Trades" truck as well. It can be modified fairly easily, to do exactly what you want. It can be a go-fast truck, a work truck, a towing truck, an overland truck, a rock crawler, a hunting/fishing truck, farm truck & still take the whole family out to dinner. I know that any truck can do most of those things with money, it's just that the PW can do most of that with little to no mods. Mine does all of it except the go-fast part.
PW owners rejoice !!!!! Gas has not been this cheap since I was kid. Enjoy it while we can !!! LOL
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badm0t0rfinger
Raptor Apologist.
To the situation posted by the OP, I'd would get the Raptor, but I'm biased. I think I would also wait a year to allow all the teething issues to be worked out. I think the Power Wagon may be heartier than the Raptor, but if I was going that direction [bigger truck, solid axles] I probably would get a "stripper" model 2500 or F250. You could also get a 2500 and throw the AEV stuff on it. There is all sorts of things you could do.
Personally, if I could start from ground zero I would probably keep my truck or get a new F150 with the 2.7 or the 3.5, 4x4, locking rear axle, single cab long bed, add a bed cap and build a bed and storage area in there and a rack on top of roof for a few surf boards and a kayak. I would get a mid travel suspension kit from ICON or something similar, and if I could I'd throw on 35s but more than likely 33s. I really only need the truck to be able to reach remote beaches and be able to live off the grind for a few weeks. I could also get a similar with an F250, I would opt for the diesel because I really do like the diesel, and get a small lift and some 35s. These builds are with the assumption its just me or just my wife and I. If it was more people I would probably move to a supercrew, which opens up the Ram 2500 with the cummins as well.
Personally, if I could start from ground zero I would probably keep my truck or get a new F150 with the 2.7 or the 3.5, 4x4, locking rear axle, single cab long bed, add a bed cap and build a bed and storage area in there and a rack on top of roof for a few surf boards and a kayak. I would get a mid travel suspension kit from ICON or something similar, and if I could I'd throw on 35s but more than likely 33s. I really only need the truck to be able to reach remote beaches and be able to live off the grind for a few weeks. I could also get a similar with an F250, I would opt for the diesel because I really do like the diesel, and get a small lift and some 35s. These builds are with the assumption its just me or just my wife and I. If it was more people I would probably move to a supercrew, which opens up the Ram 2500 with the cummins as well.
p nut
butter
As I said before, nothing's foolproof. The bottom bracket pictured above has been severely neglected. Ridden in the wet, put away wet. Not very smart. Any product shown that much negligence will most likely all fail.
_
But with very basic maintenance, such as just spraying down the truck regularly, aluminum will last longer than steel. That said, with proper care, steel will last a long time, too.
I just bought a 2016 Tradesman PW, so I may be a little biased, but here are some thoughts:
If you want a trail rig, get a Wrangler. That's what its made for.
If you want to haul A** through the desert, get a Raptor. That's what its made for.
If you are considering a Ram 2500 in gas, (or another 3/4 ton truck) you will get a less expensive truck, but give up the PW additions. The PW package is $7,950 which is a lot but I would believe you would spend most of this to add the pieces on included on the PW and not have any warranty (Don't know how much that matter to you). Although you may be able to build a comparable off road truck for the money, I don't believe you would get it back in resale. I think most people who would be a buyer for this truck would prefer a PW. Usually, 3/4 ton truck resale value for gas trucks is not fantastic as most people would prefer the CTD. You may be able to build a better off road vehicle for the money, but I feel you may do this at the expense of the all round performance of the truck. I think the PW resale will be ok because its a niche vehicle its capabilities are known.
I read a thread at the Ram forums (I think) by a guy who was fording 14 inches of water in his CTD and hydrolocked his engine. Ram was denying his warranty. The PW is supposed to be able to ford 30 inches of water. I give this as an example of a great truck that was used outside of what it was designed for. The Ram engineers won't put the CTD in the PW because they said it too heavy and the intercooler is in the way of the winch. So they design the CTD to be a tow truck, which is what its great at. I'm not touching the gas vs diesel debate, but in an extra hostile environment like off roading, I believe that simpler is better, and NA gas engines are just simpler that new diesels.
I am not an engineer, but I believe that Ram's engineers have created a great heavy duty package that is balanced and can do well in all environments.
I feel the limitation of the PW is in its reduced payload cap. If you need a slide in camper, probably need to go a different route. If that's not in your plans, heres my sales pitch of why you should buy a PW:
Built on HD chasis. (internet rumored to not be the same as Ram 2500, but reinforced in some areas)
Now using 11.5 inch instead of 10.5 inch ring gears in the diffs. Axles are rumored to be dana 60 in strength.
Lever shifted transfer case that is internet rumored to be stronger that Ram 2500
Articulink front suspension (gives an extra 7 inches of articulation over std Ram 2500) with factory lift and bilstin shocks.
6.4 gas engine now has more Hp and torque while increasing MPG due to 4.10 gears instead of 4.56 used with the 5.7 hemi (still not great!)
Of course the lockers, sway bar disconnect, winch and skid plates.
Simply put, if you need the swiss army knife of trucks this is probably as close as you can get. If you need a vehicle that is stronger in one particular area, I think you will have to buy a different vehicle and then modify it to make it be able to do what you need it to and live with the shortcomings in other areas. I believe there are no real shortcoming in this vehicle, just areas where it isn't as good as some other vehicles which are more specialized.
Earlier in this thread someone question the durability of Dodge. I am still driving my 2006 Ram 1500 and it has been a great vehicle for me with 147K miles on it. I believe that all mfgs make some lemons, and that most vehicles made today are good solid vehicles. But once again, are they being used in the way they were designed to be used? If not, it could be that there were shortcuts taken to keep the price down.
Also, I don't believe most people maintain their vehicles the degree that members of this forum do and I feel this plays a huge role in the longevity of the vehicle.
If you want a trail rig, get a Wrangler. That's what its made for.
If you want to haul A** through the desert, get a Raptor. That's what its made for.
If you are considering a Ram 2500 in gas, (or another 3/4 ton truck) you will get a less expensive truck, but give up the PW additions. The PW package is $7,950 which is a lot but I would believe you would spend most of this to add the pieces on included on the PW and not have any warranty (Don't know how much that matter to you). Although you may be able to build a comparable off road truck for the money, I don't believe you would get it back in resale. I think most people who would be a buyer for this truck would prefer a PW. Usually, 3/4 ton truck resale value for gas trucks is not fantastic as most people would prefer the CTD. You may be able to build a better off road vehicle for the money, but I feel you may do this at the expense of the all round performance of the truck. I think the PW resale will be ok because its a niche vehicle its capabilities are known.
I read a thread at the Ram forums (I think) by a guy who was fording 14 inches of water in his CTD and hydrolocked his engine. Ram was denying his warranty. The PW is supposed to be able to ford 30 inches of water. I give this as an example of a great truck that was used outside of what it was designed for. The Ram engineers won't put the CTD in the PW because they said it too heavy and the intercooler is in the way of the winch. So they design the CTD to be a tow truck, which is what its great at. I'm not touching the gas vs diesel debate, but in an extra hostile environment like off roading, I believe that simpler is better, and NA gas engines are just simpler that new diesels.
I am not an engineer, but I believe that Ram's engineers have created a great heavy duty package that is balanced and can do well in all environments.
I feel the limitation of the PW is in its reduced payload cap. If you need a slide in camper, probably need to go a different route. If that's not in your plans, heres my sales pitch of why you should buy a PW:
Built on HD chasis. (internet rumored to not be the same as Ram 2500, but reinforced in some areas)
Now using 11.5 inch instead of 10.5 inch ring gears in the diffs. Axles are rumored to be dana 60 in strength.
Lever shifted transfer case that is internet rumored to be stronger that Ram 2500
Articulink front suspension (gives an extra 7 inches of articulation over std Ram 2500) with factory lift and bilstin shocks.
6.4 gas engine now has more Hp and torque while increasing MPG due to 4.10 gears instead of 4.56 used with the 5.7 hemi (still not great!)
Of course the lockers, sway bar disconnect, winch and skid plates.
Simply put, if you need the swiss army knife of trucks this is probably as close as you can get. If you need a vehicle that is stronger in one particular area, I think you will have to buy a different vehicle and then modify it to make it be able to do what you need it to and live with the shortcomings in other areas. I believe there are no real shortcoming in this vehicle, just areas where it isn't as good as some other vehicles which are more specialized.
Earlier in this thread someone question the durability of Dodge. I am still driving my 2006 Ram 1500 and it has been a great vehicle for me with 147K miles on it. I believe that all mfgs make some lemons, and that most vehicles made today are good solid vehicles. But once again, are they being used in the way they were designed to be used? If not, it could be that there were shortcuts taken to keep the price down.
Also, I don't believe most people maintain their vehicles the degree that members of this forum do and I feel this plays a huge role in the longevity of the vehicle.
p nut
butter
Well, not having to spend 10hrs under the truck on a Sat so you can actually get out to those activities has its value, too, right?