hdas
Active member
Thanks!.
Turns out I need a real truck. Kindly help me choose one!
- Thread starter hdas
- Start date
hdas
Active member
Some updates:
- The wife is feeling strongly about being on the road in mid April.
- The wife is feeling strongly about wanting a black car not the "old man" metallic gray. I don't care either way, I'm happy to make her happy with the color of the rig.
- She found a car 2hours away, it's priced within our range, with a nice discount. But it's a Laramie, and the MSRP is a lot higher. It lacks some of the features I want.
- The missing features that are difficult to do afterwards are: Clearance Lights, 115Volt Aux Power Outlet, Dash Pass Thru Wire Circuits and I need to check on the dual alternators.
phsycle
Adventurer
I’m not sure exactly where you’re heading to or what kind of terrain you’ll be traversing. But instead of trying to hit the jackpot of a build in one swoop, just try the thing out bone stock for a bit. Maybe a shell, some cheap Home Depot bins, and 33-35” A/T tires. You may be surprised.
Before this “overlanding” craze and Instagram, we just threw our crap in the back and headed out. My old 99 Tacoma, I had some aforementioned bins full of food, a 5 gal water jug, and a tarp to throw over the bed to camp under.
I’m not saying some upgrades aren’t needed. But maybe not ALL of them. And the only way to find out what would be of benefit is to just get out and see. Best of luck.
Before this “overlanding” craze and Instagram, we just threw our crap in the back and headed out. My old 99 Tacoma, I had some aforementioned bins full of food, a 5 gal water jug, and a tarp to throw over the bed to camp under.
I’m not saying some upgrades aren’t needed. But maybe not ALL of them. And the only way to find out what would be of benefit is to just get out and see. Best of luck.
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
Some sound advise there. Plus without the wait time you could head out now and get some time in outdoors.
Then if you decide you need some mods you could do it over winter.
hdas
Active member
Perhaps its a matter of preferences and context. I have a toddler and time is precious. Of course there will be tinkering and optimization with experience. But I'm trying to nail the fundamental things right, the things that are a PITA to change down the road. So the pillars of this build are:
1. A capable vehicle
2. An AluCab system (Alu-Cabin or Khaya) due to the functionality, weight and more importantly, the ability to have 2 separate sleeping environments.
Now onto the vehicle itself, there are things that need to be right from the get go:
1. Color and appearance.
2. Engine and Transmission
3. Safety items and interior design.
I've done a fair amount of camping and car trips and it's the mess and the disorganized nature of the venture what prompted us to think about a serious rig. So what you are describing is just a subjective personal preference, which is perfectly fine and i appreciate the feedback.
Say I run and I get a car tomorrow. Where I'm I going to sleep with my baby that needs a 2h nap and 12-13h of quality sleep at night?
UglyViking
Well-known member
I bought my truck pre-covid, and it was a leftover. I ended up paying 60k out the door for a 72k msrp truck. While not the best discount, with the difference in airfare and fuel to get home, plus the time, it was a good deal. Even with current market conditions being a bit more than pre-covid, I don't think I'd accept a discount of less than 8%, considering certain dealers are offering 12-15% but may require a trip.
Black trucks look amazing when clean, but they only stay clean about 20 minutes in my experience. If you don't care, or it's worth the wifes approval then rock on.
Laramie does have some nicer interior features (nicer dash for example), but if I were to start over, I think I would have opted for a lower trim and just added the few upgrades I wanted. You can add a lot of stuff after the fact if you're willing to put in a bit of elbow grease and time/money.
I don't know that I'd do clearance lights after the fact personally. Some folks have great luck, but man it makes me nervous. That said, I too had to have them so if it's what you can get, live it up.
I can't imagine the power outlet is that tricky, but may want to look on one of the ram specific forums to ask and see. The dash pass through being the aux? Plenty of folks have added that no prob. The aux fuse box is actually pre-installed, so you're ahead there. I would think adding a second alt should be pretty easy. There is a dual alt option from the factory obviously, so it should be as simple as finding the numbers for the alternator, mounting bracket, longer belt, and some large gauge wiring. I'd expect that all to be under 600-700 bucks.
A lot of guys are gonna tell you to just get out and rough it, especially old timers or guys that felt like they have earned the right to poop on the whole "overlanding" scene. I'll be the first to admit there are a lot of mall crawlers and all that, but some guys just enjoy it. How many guys soup up their cars and absolutely never hit the track? How many guys have crazy bass boats that are unnecessary? I could go on but at the end of the day, it's your money and if you've got the means go for it. It may be unnecessary expense in certain cases, but if you want it or it adds value to your life do it up. Hobbies rarely make financial sense, this one being no different.
phsycle
Adventurer
Plenty (most?) on here are parents. When we had our first, we just stacked stuff in the Landcruiser. Pack n play, REI tent, some sort of air mattress, then headed out. All good and fun memories. Don’t overcomplicate things in your head before getting some real world experience of just being out there. Do an overnighter close by and see how it goes. Who cares if you don’t have the latest bjorn baby cradle or an overland tactical diaper changing station? You’ll make it work.
hdas
Active member
A deal is on the table for a 13.63% off MSRP. However, two caveats:
1. The dealer has a ton of bad reviews. It seems like a place to avoid.
2. The dealer said that there were "add ons" that weren't in the website price: tinting mask, appearance protection, dent protection. It all adds $2300. All this seems like a shady tactic. The 13.63% discount is inclusive of this BS.
3. They are unable, for some mysterious reason, to add the current RAM $2500 rebate.
Wondering if these red flags are sufficient to walk away from a potentially decent deal?
Haven't submitted my counter, but I'm inclined to round it to 75k
H
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Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the truck stock to expedite the timeline and adding your camper to the stock truck.
Just a thought. Then send it to AEV over winter?
Buddha.
Finally in expo white.
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
What is appearance protection & dent protection? If it's some form of insurance can you tell them you don't want it?
phsycle
Adventurer
I’ve had dealers pull that same thing. Dealer installed accessories at inflated prices. I’ve been able to have the reduce the cost of the add ons by a substantial amount (~80%). I agreed only because I was going to add something similar anyway.
But those are horrendous ratings. I’d go back in with even a lower offer to compensate for other shady things they might pull. Back before the pandemic, 25% off MSRP was easy (for Ram). I’d shoot for something in the high teens, at least. They know the slow sales is coming up. So you’ve got the upper hand.
hdas
Active member
this is exactly it!!!
hdas
Active member
some BS about a protection film and some paint coat.
COAKXterra
Active member
For what it’s worth (ymmv), we bought our power wagon while my wife was pregnant and got an AT habitat installed right after she was born, along the same lines of wanting something for our family to get out and go easily and have plenty of space for our daughter and us to sleep and be protected in inclement weather.
What we found out within a year was that the habitat, while awesome for me or just my wife and I, it wasn’t what we’d hoped for with the toddler. So a year after getting the habitat, we sold it. We’ve returned to ground tenting (big Agnes base camp 6) with plenty of room for the pack n play, mattress for us, and room for the 130lb dog. Sure, we have to set up a tent. But in retrospect, I wish we would have waited on a camper till we’d figured out what worked or didn’t work for us a little more and then applied it to a camper choice.
I appreciate the “easy method to get out and go” so we still have a shelving unit I built in the back to keep things organized and stored, all protected under an ARE canopy that we got as part of the habitat sale.
All that to say I agree with the comments above about getting the truck and easing into it all vs going full bore right off the bat. We certainly did two steps forward and one back, and it wasn’t exactly a fun experience for us or our bank accounts to do so.
But opinions are that. Opinions. Excited to see where you go with this on the long run.
Also, I’d stay as far away from a dealer with an F rating as I could. But that’s just me.
What we found out within a year was that the habitat, while awesome for me or just my wife and I, it wasn’t what we’d hoped for with the toddler. So a year after getting the habitat, we sold it. We’ve returned to ground tenting (big Agnes base camp 6) with plenty of room for the pack n play, mattress for us, and room for the 130lb dog. Sure, we have to set up a tent. But in retrospect, I wish we would have waited on a camper till we’d figured out what worked or didn’t work for us a little more and then applied it to a camper choice.
I appreciate the “easy method to get out and go” so we still have a shelving unit I built in the back to keep things organized and stored, all protected under an ARE canopy that we got as part of the habitat sale.
All that to say I agree with the comments above about getting the truck and easing into it all vs going full bore right off the bat. We certainly did two steps forward and one back, and it wasn’t exactly a fun experience for us or our bank accounts to do so.
But opinions are that. Opinions. Excited to see where you go with this on the long run.
Also, I’d stay as far away from a dealer with an F rating as I could. But that’s just me.