Last night I did some very preliminary truck shopping and wanted to share my experience.

I had a Silverado LT V8 that I bought brand new in 2014. I loved that truck. It was great! But unfortunately I had to sell it when we bought our new house. We kept our old house and the lender needed to see less debt to income even with a pre-arranged rental agreement to cover our old mortgage. That was 4 years ago and I have been looking at getting a new truck ever since.

Recently I was promoted and have some extra income. And I am not at the ready to buy stage but I wanted to see if any crazy deals are out there and look at some of the newer models that I am unfamiliar with. I found out dealer inventory is low and no crazy deals were to be had, but they at least had enough that I could test drive and get a feel for what I wanted.

First test drive was in a Ram 1500 BigHorn crew cab std bed V8 hemi. Very long truck. I didn't love it for this reason and would likely just go with a quad cab or a crew cab with the short bed. But outside of that, what a well put together truck. The interior was incredible. It's road characteristics were incredible. The view over the huge hood was a little worse than I would want, kind of like a newer Tacoma but not THAT bad, but I was very impressed overall! The dealer wasn't too pushy - they gave me a decent price on what they had in stock, a little speech about why it would make sense to buy from them, and on my way I went.

The Chevy dealer had much more inventory, but most of it was either super low end work trucks or super top end LTZs. They had a few in the midrange and the first one I drove was a leftover 2019 LT with the turbo 4 cyl. The last 2019 they had in stock, and I can see why. When I got in, instantly I realized the interior was a huge downgrade from what I had in my 2014. I also realized that the steering wheel and shift lever felt like they came off a 5 year old kids toy. I don't even know if cheap is the right word for this feeling because it was 10x worse than you can imagine. I also hated the gutless 4 cyl turbo, and it floated and smashed down the road like a weird mix between a Lincoln Towncar and a dump truck. I hated it.

I wanted to give Chevy a second chance, so my next drive was in a 2020 LT V8. That solved the powertrain issues, but I was surprised to hear Chevy is only putting their new 10 speed in the offroad TrailBoss LT model. Makes no sense. Their 8 speeds have had a lot of issues so this was a huge turn off for me. I figured all the LT's at least would have the new 10 speed, right? Nope. The interior was just as terrible as the 2019 LT I drove prior. I cannot for the life of me understand how Chevy could go backwards like this. They are always criticized for their crappy interiors, sometimes unfairly IMO, so you would think with a newer truck they would go the extra mile to compete with the other manufacturers. Especially on a $40k truck. Heck, the LT TrailBoss is a $45k truck! With that shit interior! Unbelievable, and disappointing to say the least.

With that said, my plan is to wait a few months for things to settle then go serious Ram shopping. I'll update this post when that happens.

I have an older Dodge Ram (‘95, 2500) and it is a great truck. Very comfortable inside, full bed, capable of carrying 3k lbs.(don’t know why they call it 3/4 ton?) and, as 2WD, it has gotten 25mpg on the highway. Cummins runs like a champ.

I have had Ford trucks and Chevy trucks. Loved none. Love my Dodge.

T-minus 5,4,3,2 posts until Buy a Toyota posts start......

I agree the Ram is nice.

A few weeks ago I test drove a Ram Limited, it is quite the truck, my concerns with it, and most new trucks is the massive amount of electronics on board from digital touch screens to electronic lift height systems...

It would be difficult to own one over the warranty for fear of the cost of replacing say the center screen, without which the truck won't run...

The last work truck we purchased was a Ram 4500. First Dodge product we have ever owned. The only minor issue we have had is front tire wear that requires regular rotations. Outside of that we are just over 100,000 miles with noting else needed. Not even brakes.

I'm driving a 2020 Silverado LT rental while my Tundra is in the shop and I don't know if I could be less impressed.My Tundra interior is nothing to write home about it but the LT is junk in comparison. This one has the 8 cyl so it moves fine but the engine shutoff at lights is the stupidest thing in the world, I disable it after I stop at a light and remember too. The wiper switch is small and hard to activate. It feels like it's the end of the stalk but it's not, it's just a little dial about a half inch in from the end. My Tundra got whacked and has 15k in damage so when I get it back I'll probably sell it and get, yes, another gas hog Tundra. I like the reliability and pretty much everything but the gas mileage.

I traded a 2014 Ford F150 4x4 SuperCrew Platinum in on a 2020 RAM 1500 Limited 4x4 Crewcab. The RAM is a much better truck all the way around.

I had some issues with the Ford the last one being an A/C issue that was going to cost $2400 to fix.

A trip to the RAM dealership sold me on the RAM and I'm very happy with my purchase. It is a solid and good looking truck. I much prefer the 5.7L engine in the RAM to the 3.5L Ecoboost I had in the Ford.

I have a 2003 Durango R/T since new. It is not a RAM, but it is a Dodge and all I have done with it is just regular proper maintenance and replacement of parts that have gone bad. Replacement parts are inexpensive. Great SUV in my experience and opinion, that I plan on keeping till I can no longer keep it. God Bless

If there is one in stock you like now, I wouldn't wait

I will agree that the new Chevy trucks dont do anything for me. Their exterior with the grill and the split lights and the crazy swoosh body wrinkle just don't seem like Chevy which I would describe as classically good looking "boxy".

Have a friend at work who has a Z71 tahoe with a cracked plastic dash, huge crack running from glass to the front panel above air bag on passenger side. I understand this was not uncommon.

I grew up coveting the old Chevy Silverados of the 80's and 90's. In 2011 I bought an F150 to protest Chevy taking the bail out money. Had Nissan's before and wanted a full size. Have been very happy with it, its not perfect but very good so far.

I want Chevy to be a good truck but they keep messing them up.

The new Dodge trucks look great!
I will investigate when I am ready for a new full size V8. No ecoboost for me.

HK Ag

I hear ya on the new Chevy trucks. Always been GMC fan, currently drive a '13 GMC (so I'm familiar with the interior & truck you had). Love the interior of the '13 (and styling). Can't stand the looks and interior of the new ones, and the prices make me cringe.

Even though I've always been a GM/GMC truck owner, when it is time to upgrade, will seriously consider the new Ram. Good luck when it comes time to buy it!

My daily driver is a 2014 Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab - but have a burn for the new Ram 1500. I test drove one a few weeks ago, and they've taken an great truck and made it even better. The interior of the new Ram is nicer than my 2020 X3 BMW.

The new RAM is nice and, I think very nice looking. IMO Dodge has the best looking truck on the market right now. The dash and features have a clever, generally intuitive interface. The dash and interior struck me immediately as more evolved and mature. Cool little features, nice materials and execution. Quiet, great ride. Just freaking nice. I haven't been impressed with a truck for a long time. And I wanted to be for decades. Especially with a domestic.

The problem (not just with FCA) is that after the bailouts, they were forced to scramble for new parts suppliers. Their former suppliers mostly bankrupted by their defaults and interruption of business. Some of the components provided by new suppliers have sucked and experience higher failure rates. So there are quite a few items out there that are very tough to get. Like months all the way to indeterminate time frames.
This produces some pretty P.O.'d new vehicle customers. Getting FCA people to talk about (or even acknowledge this issue) is next to impossible. There really is no telling how long it will take to achieve a pre bailout equalibrium. Likely a decade or more. They ignore this like they might a bat sh*t crazy uncle living in the attic. Even at the dealer level too for the most part. But not all. They are mostly apoplectic about fading the heat this creates with customers, and FCA refers all complaints back to the dealer network. It's not happening to everyone, but yeah. It's like a pain lotto. Imagine your new truck, down for months waiting for an alternator? Driving a rental while making payments. Sheesh.

Ford, being the only one not to take the bailout, kept their original suppliers and have none of these new concerns. Pretty much just the old ones.

So I love those trucks, but take on a big payment and insurance for one? Nope. I know you pay your money and take your chances. But this feels like one shade better odds than a fairgrounds midway game to me.

Your experience may vary, but I personally won't take the chance.

Good looking truck.

2020 Ram 1500: Car and Driver's 10Best
The Ram 1500 is changing the shape of American luxury.

https://www.caranddriver.com/f...0best-2020-ram-1500/

I'll be in the market to replace my 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee this fall and I'm almost 100% that the replacement will be a Ram 1500 limited. It's a really impressive truck with etch ride quality of a car based SUV, good mileage for what it is and a best in class interior. I'm very impressed with it.

I feel the same way,I have always liked Chevy but the one we have now will be our last. I prefer the new Ford to the Dodge in ¾ ton diesels, but in ½ tons the Dodge wins. I still have a sour taste with Chevy because of the buy out a few years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
T-minus 5,4,3,2 posts until Buy a Toyota posts start......

I'm that guy when it comes to SUVs these days.

I don't claim to know much about pickups, so I gauge them by a very simple metric - given a choice, what do the drug smugglers on the Mexican border steal to run a load across the river and evade capture on dark and quiet nights?

Dodge Ram, every single time.

2011 RAM Bighorn owner. No complaints at all. Drives nice and goes like a raped ape when you give it some gas. I would prefer a crew cab for the extra space but the quad cab works.

Had a 2019 RAM SSV for a squad before I retired. Apart from the turning circle of the Queen Mary, no complaints there either.

If I was buying a new truck, RAM would be my first and probably only stop.

I traded my 2016 Chevy Colorado in on a Subaru in March after getting fed up with the electrical problems. That will be the last Chevy I ever own.

One of the guys I manage has a new Ram truck and its a nice ride, I'm very impressed with the interior and infotainment system. I have never owned a Chrysler product but the Ram truck has made me rethink that.

quote:

given a choice, what do the drug smugglers on the Mexican border steal to run a load across the river and evade capture on dark and quiet nights?

I thought they used Chicken Lickn product trucks and shit green Pontiac Aztec's....

My uncle has a 2018 Ram I've been in a few times, nice ride. What I don't like is the bed length on the crew cabs that are in the dealer lots. Ram has 3 bed lengths. The 8', 6'4" and 5'7". Every 1500 Crew Cab I've seen has the 5'7" bed. I asked a dealer about this and they told me if you want the 6'4" bed you need to special order it. They only order trucks for the lot that have the 5'7" bed. I guess most buyers think the 6'4" bed is too long with a Crew Cab.