New Truck Considerations

[RammerJam]

Ltngdrver also has to use his back seat for a rack many times when he's on the road. A non-Mega Cab Ram would be a little squished for him. The Ford is MUCH bigger inside than a Ram. Especially in the back seat. I swear there's more room in the back seat of a Ford than there is in the front. It's cavernous.

The Ford also has an aluminum body. I believe Ltng is going through some rust around his wheel wells right now.. Not sure that really matters a lot, though. I haven't really checked but the eyeball test has me thinking the Ford is a bigger vehicle overall.

I'm not really brand-loyal anymore. I respect Ford, but I don't really 'like' them. I like the Ram cloth interior more (a lot more) but I would love to have the Ford interior room. generic motors isn't even in the picture, IMO.

It's a tough decision. Love my Ram but Ford is number 1 on the Planet for a reason, I guess. or not

 

[Cummins12V98]

@Cummins12V98 what are your IS’s rated at?

8k but MorRyde checked them out and said I was well within their dimensions on the rubber sheer springs. I was thinking about going 9k when back there but they said I was good to go.

8k IS system puts the standard 8k rated systems to shame. Am I "technically" overloaded, yes.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

The pic above is loaded properly and will stand a better chance of a successful tow VS the other pic.

My truck is SAE rated to carry 9,750# on the rear four tires. Not sure your point??? It also sets perfectly level and maybe a touch high in the rear. It also handles the load extremely well in severe side winds.

Pics don't lie. Nor do scale tickets.

View attachment 126043 View attachment 126044

Guess I'm not understanding this.
You say your drive axle tires are rated to 9750, but the scale ticket says you have 9860 on them, so it's overloaded.
And, I don't understand the hand written notations, weight on 4 rv tires? And + mc axle?
Is that trailer not a triple axle?

 

[Cummins12V98]

"Ford is number 1 on the Planet for a reason, I guess"

So is McDonalds.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Guess I'm not understanding this.
You say your drive axle tires are rated to 9750, but the scale ticket says you have 9860 on them, so it's overloaded.
And, I don't understand the hand written notations, weight on 4 rv tires? And + mc axle?
Is that trailer not a triple axle?

RV is a tandem axle unit.

I was double towing a MotorCycle trailer. Yes I was overloaded by 110#, OMG. May have had too much bang bang in the tool box at the time.

 

[RammerJam]

"Ford is number 1 on the Planet for a reason, I guess"

So is McDonalds.

So..... 'People are stoopid'

got it

 

[RammerJam]

RV is a tandem axle unit.

I was double towing a MotorCycle trailer. Yes I was overloaded by 110#, OMG. May have had too much bang bang in the tool box at the time.

I know people do it all the time but I was under the impression that tandem trailer towing required a special license

 

[AH64ID]

8k but MorRyde checked them out and said I was well within their dimensions on the rubber sheer springs. I was thinking about going 9k when back there but they said I was good to go.

8k IS system puts the standard 8k rated systems to shame. Am I "technically" overloaded, yes.

I hope you see the irony in saying weight tickets don’t lie on proper loading when 3/5 of your axles are overloaded.

Not going to lie, I’ve overloaded my SRW rear axles numerous times. It was easy on the 05 with 19.5’s, but never above the DRW rating. On my 18 I’ll run up to 100% of tire capacity, which is over the door sticker, but my frame/suspension are identical to a DRW so tires/wheels are my limiting factor.. that’s not the case on a DRW.

In all actuality my 18 SRW rear auto-level is beefier than your 15 DRW since they added a full length leaf, but both are more capable than rated for. Point it’s unlike GVWR, I don’t think the DRW RAWR is arbitrary or just picked to meet a need.. I think it’s a honest limit and would attempt to stay within it.

You are a prime example of why Ram should sell a 16K GVWR 4500 with 19.5’s, a bed, and a HO. Heck they probably wouldn’t have to change much to do it either. The “rival” to the F-450 pickup, but in a Class IV vs Class III.

I also firmly believe that vehicle classes are outdated. IMO Class III should go to 15K or 16K and Class IIb to 12K.

 

[AH64ID]

I know people do it all the time but I was under the impression that tandem trailer towing required a special license

Not that I am aware of, at least not here in Idaho. I just bought a trailer to tow behind my 5th wheel.

Not all states allow it either. I’m not supposed to double tow into Oregon or Washington.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

I know people do it all the time but I was under the impression that tandem trailer towing required a special license

No special license for non-commercial.
Average Joe Blow can get away with almost anything.

 

[RammerJam]

Not that I am aware of, at least not here in Idaho. I just bought a trailer to tow behind my 5th wheel.

Not all states allow it either. I’m not supposed to double tow into Oregon or Washington.

Here's where I got confused -- It is illegal in my State but evidently not in yours --

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/...you-in-many-directions-if-you-double-tow.html

 

[AH64ID]

Here's where I got confused -- It is illegal in my State but evidently not in yours --

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/...you-in-many-directions-if-you-double-tow.html

Some states also require a 2nd trailer to be behind a 5th wheel and some don’t.

To date the only double towing I’ve done is behind a travel trailer.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

Did some more build and price research.
If I drop the need for leather ventilated seats and heated wheel on either truck spec, the price disparity between Ford and RAM basically disappears, within a few hundred dollars of each other, about 2400 less than the original F250 price, quite a bit less than the original RAM price.
But, Ford doesn't offer a black cloth interior, just gray(BLECH!!!) or tan(MEH...).
I think the leather upgrade plus the ventilated seats and heated wheel is worth the extra money at least in the case of the Ford.

 

[AH64ID]

I realize it’s easy to spend other people money, but don’t pass on the heated/vented seats....especially with the miles you rack up.

The seats in my Laramie (18) are much more comfortable than my dads Big Horn (17). I’ve done 12 hour days in both.

I’m not saying the cloth seats are bad, just saying the leather seats are better.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

I realize it’s easy to spend other people money, but don’t pass on the heated/vented seats....especially with the miles you rack up.

The seats in my Laramie (18) are much more comfortable than my dads Big Horn (17). I’ve done 12 hour days in both.

I’m not saying the cloth seats are bad, just saying the leather seats are better.

Oh, I've spent thousands of hours in the cloth seats in my current truck, so my butt and back know them very well. The newer seats look different but I don't know if they are any more or less comfortable, and I've never had anything with the leather seats, but figure the ventilated seats would be cooler in summer, and the only way to get the ventilated seats is to go with the leather.

 

[Tuesdak]

Oh, I've spent thousands of hours in the cloth seats in my current truck, so my butt and back know them very well. The newer seats look different but I don't know if they are any more or less comfortable, and I've never had anything with the leather seats, but figure the ventilated seats would be cooler in summer, and the only way to get the ventilated seats is to go with the leather.

Sit in them.

They finally figured out the dammed 'head restraint' on the seat to be comfortable instead of painfully pushing your head down and bending your back in ways it wasn't meant to stay. At least in the 2020 Longhorn I sat in. I recall the '20 Tradesman I drove to double check the ride improvement with the air suspension still had "poor" seat design. The Tradesman was more comfortable than one would expect, but, there is some room for improvement with padding on the door arm rests. Longhorn suggested only for more leather areas in the seat construction than the Laramie alone.

 

[Cummins12V98]

So..... 'People are stoopid'

got it

Hey who wouldn't want a "PowerStroke" ???

 

[Cummins12V98]

I know people do it all the time but I was under the impression that tandem trailer towing required a special license

CA requires an endorsement but they recognize SD. I think there are around 38 states that allow it.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

Sit in them.

They finally figured out the dammed 'head restraint' on the seat to be comfortable instead of painfully pushing your head down and bending your back in ways it wasn't meant to stay. At least in the 2020 Longhorn I sat in. I recall the '20 Tradesman I drove to double check the ride improvement with the air suspension still had "poor" seat design. The Tradesman was more comfortable than one would expect, but, there is some room for improvement with padding on the door arm rests. Longhorn suggested only for more leather areas in the seat construction than the Laramie alone.

Head restraints never an issue for me, so don't know about that.
And, of course, just sitting in the seats for a short time may not tell the tale about how they'll be for the long haul.
Need them to loan me a truck for a couple of weeks to haul some trailers long distance to try it out!

 

[Cummins12V98]

I realize it’s easy to spend other people money, but don’t pass on the heated/vented seats....especially with the miles you rack up.

The seats in my Laramie (18) are much more comfortable than my dads Big Horn (17). I’ve done 12 hour days in both.

I’m not saying the cloth seats are bad, just saying the leather seats are better.

I thought I wanted a Laramie with leather. Sadly I sat in my Dad's LongHorn.......no comparison.