Here I am

Added another truck to my fleet

Attention: TDR Forum Junkies
To the point: Click this link and check out the Front Page News story(ies) where we are tracking the introduction of the 2025 Ram HD trucks.

Thanks, TDR Staff

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna’ let it shine!”

Did You Know Ram had a Diesel Engine 11 Years Prior to Cummins (89)?

Hey Justin, Do you have the trans numbers displayed on the dash? You can see what gear it is in while driving.

Yes, you can display them on the right side of the display. When in drive, one tap of the +/_ on the shifter turns them on. They come on automatically in manual mode.
 
A little more feedback for you. I used it yesterday with a snatch strap to recover the neighbors tractor that he had run too far down over a muddy hillside when he was mowing. Factory Michelin tires are a joke and combined with the light weight of the truck made it more of a struggle than it probably should have been. But, it pulled it out. I love the e-locker on the rear axle. Pull the switch and it's locked solid.

Not that I use it for that kind of work every day, but it would need a good set of all terrain tires and a few thousand pounds more weight to be a good everyday farm truck.
 
It's starting to sound like the ol Cummins has gone from primary stable mate to being put out to pasture .
 
It's starting to sound like the ol Cummins has gone from primary stable mate to being put out to pasture .


No, I hauled a large storage shed Thursday evening with the '07 and it was still on the trailer so it wasn't an option. I wouldn't have even thought about using the Ford if the other truck wasn't tied up.
 
OK, first feedback. I'm not sure how I feel about the auto start/stop feature this truck has. It is almost seamless, you do slightly feel it shut off and then come back on. I wonder what the effects of that fast shutdown will be on this engine long term? It can be disabled easily by pushing the dash button or by switching to tow/haul or sport mode.

jgillott, what are you doing about turbo cool down, is that something a gasser needs? I would think so, but....

We just bought a '17 Escape w/2.0 eco boost, crap! ...245 hp 275 tq..that's the oem hp of my '01 Dodge. Going from an '05 Neon with a 2.0, 132 hp 5spd...to this little sucker is an eye opener. I already like it, Lol
 
jgillott, what are you doing about turbo cool down, is that something a gasser needs? I would think so, but....

We just bought a '17 Escape w/2.0 eco boost, crap! ...245 hp 275 tq..that's the oem hp of my '01 Dodge. Going from an '05 Neon with a 2.0, 132 hp 5spd...to this little sucker is an eye opener. I already like it, Lol

My truck has that auto start/stop feature that shuts the engine off at stoplights or in traffic within a few seconds of you coming to a complete stop. It is intended to be a fuel saving feature. I'm assuming that since the ECM is programmed to shut it down that quick, Ford isn't concerned with turbo cool down. I'll personally let it idle a moment before I shut it off myself. But I'm not overly concerned about it since it starts and stops so frequently if I don't disable that feature. Does your Escape have auto stop/start?

You are going to love that 2.0l Ecoboost. The power and efficiency they deliver in that package is incredible. Ford has really hit the mark with these things.
 
There are a lot of issues with modern tech like auto start and gasoline direct injection, etc. just like your prescription meds you take yourself, the benefit is greater than the risk.
Auto start gets them CAFE dogs at bay, and gets you accelerated wear.
I read a disclaimer about accelerated component wear regarding auto start in a BMW owners manual.
 
There are a lot of issues with modern tech like auto start and gasoline direct injection, etc. just like your prescription meds you take yourself, the benefit is greater than the risk.
Auto start gets them CAFE dogs at bay, and gets you accelerated wear.
I read a disclaimer about accelerated component wear regarding auto start in a BMW owners manual.


You are absolutely correct. There are lots of discussions over on the Ford Truck forums concerning owner worries about premature engine wear, starter and alternator concerns, etc. associated with the technology. The problem is that nobody has concrete data on exactly what wear those features cause and at what point their "benefit" outweighs their negatives. Its not as if the manufacturer would be willing to share their test data on the subject or a clear way for us owners to know for sure what may or may not cause increased or premature wear years down the road.

The only thing to do is turn the key, run the blue blazes out of it, and trade it for another one before the troubles happen out of warranty. In the meantime, it is a blast to drive everyday.
 
The only thing to do is turn the key, run the blue blazes out of it, and trade it for another one before the troubles happen out of warranty. In the meantime, it is a blast to drive everyday.
This is normal practice today with almost all vehicles, and it’s going to ruin the secondary market. 15 years ago, buying a lease return was usually a good bet. Today? Unless I knew the vehicle being considered from birth, I wouldn’t pay total loss value.
Due to this madness, most current vehicles are not aging well. Our fleet has a solid PM program- oil drains on a old school schedule. Our popular light vehicles are 1.6 boosted escapes, hybrid Fusions, and 4 cyl Equinox. I don’t like the oil coming out of ANY of these engines. I have no sample data.
We’re using the same 0/20 &5/30 syn oil for the last 15 years.
 
This is normal practice today with almost all vehicles, and it’s going to ruin the secondary market. 15 years ago, buying a lease return was usually a good bet. Today? Unless I knew the vehicle being considered from birth, I wouldn’t pay total loss value.
Due to this madness, most current vehicles are not aging well. Our fleet has a solid PM program- oil drains on a old school schedule. Our popular light vehicles are 1.6 boosted escapes, hybrid Fusions, and 4 cyl Equinox. I don’t like the oil coming out of ANY of these engines. I have no sample data.
We’re using the same 0/20 &5/30 syn oil for the last 15 years.

I can't name you one solid used vehicle that I would trust buying at this point for your exact reasons. They are crazy expensive and even with solid maintenance, there is no telling when a major cost is coming with one of these complicated systems. Even without getting in to drivetrain reliability, the electronics alone are a scary proposition outside of a warranty. A friend of mine just replaced his broken 8.4 touch screen Nav radio in his Powerwagon out of warranty. Ready for this.....$1600 and that was with a reconditioned radio.

If I stay on schedule, my F150 will be on a dealer lot somewhere in 22 months and it will get sold for an absolutely insane amount of money. It will go quick since I keep my vehicles so clean and it is so well optioned. For the next buyer, they will be buying a truck that will probably have seen 50% of it's miles either towing or in 4 wheel drive or both. Would you buy it if you knew that? Nope, and neither would I. But, someone will and have to deal with it down the road.
 
Yes, it has the auto start/stop. I don't know how to shut it off, if it is even possible. They had to order us a operators manual, who knows when that will arrive, so we are kind of blind still.
 
Look for a button that has an "A" with a circle/arrow around it.

It will look like the far right button in this picture
20180705_084136.jpg
 
What is that?
The people over on the Ford owner's site talk about it. It is a Ford specific scan software/tool from what I can gather. Supposedly you can go in and change settings like turning off the auto start/stop, turn on the driver activated manual regeneration on the diesels, etc. I don't know much about it other than what I've read there. I just thought that maybe you had a subscription at your shop.
 
Back
Top