New Truck

[lgjohnson]

Well, I've not been too active on here for awhile since I parked my '03 and started driving a Tacoma for work.
With rising fuel prices and the fear of injector failure prompted me to start using the Toyota.
The little truck did a hard 80K miles in the oil & gas business, but I really longed for another Cummins-powered truck.
I was almost convinced to go with a new Ford, but my blood still has Cummins in it.
Yesterday, I found what I was looking for: a white 2012 3500 Mega Cab, Laramie package, 4WD, SWR.
I just couldn't pass it up and so I traded off the Tacoma and bought it.
So far, I'm very pleased and impressed with this rig.
The A/C and NAV are identical to my SRT-8 Challenger so no big surprises there.
However, the ride is so quiet and smooth compared to my other truck.
Looking to put some AMP Research boards on it as well as some other goodies.
Here's a pic outside my RV in south Texas.
#ad

 

[Cummins12V98]

Good for you!

The 4th gens are really great trucks.

Had mine for a year now and just can't get the smile off my face!

 

[orhusky]

Congrats! We love our new truck also!!!!

 

[jgillott]

Very nice.

 

[EGroeneveld]

Love the truck and the choice!



So you were scared of some ''possible'' repairs bill, bought a Toyota truck then bought a new Ram?? Wouldn't the buying and trading in, etc... off set any possible repair bills?



Reminds me of my office manager, who when its time for tires they trade in for a new car/suv/truck to ''avoid'' the big expense.....

 

[rscurtis]

I've avoided a lot of "big expenses" by driving an almost 10 year old truck and a 30 year old car.

 

[lgjohnson]

Love the truck and the choice!



So you were scared of some ''possible'' repairs bill, bought a Toyota truck then bought a new Ram?? Wouldn't the buying and trading in, etc... off set any possible repair bills?



Reminds me of my office manager, who when its time for tires they trade in for a new car/suv/truck to ''avoid'' the big expense.....

LOL... well, let me explain a little bit. I work in the oil & gas business which takes me on pipeline construction and into some pretty remote areas down here. The off-road terrain here is tough as nails on a truck... any truck. My '03 is a good truck and served me well for a while. However, being 2WD limited me on the overall off-road portion of my work. I didn't want to get stuck out in the middle of south Texas with an injector problem... or literally stuck in the sand/mud miles from no where. I bought the 4WD Tacoma strictly for this type of work. Light, maneuverable, etc. and it did the job for sure. At 80K miles, it was still running without any issues and cab was still tight, but I needed the reliability. Sure, it may have went another 80K with no problems and they're known to do it but I didn't want to chance it. In the meantime, I'm not doing as much pipeline work but more on the facilities side of the business. The new Ram lends itself to this quite readily to this effort. I almost practically live in my truck for the most part so I wanted something with more room, comfort, 4WD and with the ability to pull my RV in a moment's notice in the event of a hurricane coming in here... . something the Tacoma couldn't do and would require a trip home (5 hours one way) to get the '03 to pull it.

BTW, the '03 is still on the original batteries and cranks up once/week when my wife runs it to town. I got 110,00 miles out of the original tires on that truck. Over the years, the "Dodge stuff" has kinda fell off it and had to be glued back on, but overall, the Cummins and drive-train still work as good as the day it was bought. I use my trucks but I also take care of them as well. Not yet sure what I'm going to do with the '03. Probably keep it for awhile, fix the cracked dash and the A/C doors that no longer work (that should have been a recall IMHO). I like the idea of having a truck around that can burn red diesel in an emergency. After Hurricane Rita, that was all you could get for weeks. The EPA gave the affected area a waiver on it till things got back to normal. From '07 up, none of those trucks can burn it.

Anyway, I really LOVE this new one. BTW, it's a beast!! I do believe it would give my SRT-8 a run for it's money on the bottom end... . LOL.

 

[Wingate]

Congrats... very nice truck... I am in the same situation. . At the current time, I do believe that I will buy a 13 or 14 model... but ive about decided to jsut keep the 06 model as well.

 

[zb39]

Very nice... ... ... ... ... enjoy

 

[BGlidewell]

some one stole 2' of bed and 2 wheels off your new truck!

 

[WStephens]

I traded my 05 2500 for a 12 3500 dually and just got back from an almost 5K mile round trip to Wyoming and back. I am very impressed the my new truck and the fuel mileage keeps getting better. It started the trip getting 11 miles/gallon pulling a Toyota Land Cruiser on a trailer to as much as 17 miles/gallon on the return trip empty.

 

[JGilbert]

Well, I've not been too active on here for awhile since I parked my '03 and started driving a Tacoma for work.
With rising fuel prices and the fear of injector failure prompted me to start using the Toyota.
The little truck did a hard 80K miles in the oil & gas business, but I really longed for another Cummins-powered truck.
I was almost convinced to go with a new Ford, but my blood still has Cummins in it.
Yesterday, I found what I was looking for: a white 2012 3500 Mega Cab, Laramie package, 4WD, SWR.
I just couldn't pass it up and so I traded off the Tacoma and bought it.
So far, I'm very pleased and impressed with this rig.
The A/C and NAV are identical to my SRT-8 Challenger so no big surprises there.
However, the ride is so quiet and smooth compared to my other truck.
Looking to put some AMP Research boards on it as well as some other goodies.
Here's a pic outside my RV in south Texas.
#ad

It looks beautiful, but what did you do with the 2 missing wheels on the back? If it had 4 back there instead of 2, it would be my twin. I'll bet you will LOVE your truck, I know we love ours!

Joe

 

[lgjohnson]

some one stole 2' of bed and 2 wheels off your new truck!

LOL... . yeah, I think the guys at the factory stole them and then forgot to adjust the valves.
This truck is pretty nice. I enjoy the ride but I really haven't put that many miles on it yet. But man, the fuel mileage absolutely sucks. I've had it a week now with almost 700 miles. So far, I've managed to barely eek out about 12 mpg according to the computer. I certainly didn't expect it to be up there where my old 2WD '03 was (20-22 mpg), but I'd have thought it would have done better than 12 even brand new. I know it should get better with more miles, but if it doesn't, I'm going to have to something different as I travel over 100+ miles/day. I've also noticed that there's a hard tick/knocking noise coming from the engine... no, it's not the light tick of just being a diesel either, it's pretty hard and loud... . almost like the valves are out of adjustment. Where my RV is parked, a couple of guys I work with each have a new 2012 dually truck. I mentioned the noise to them so last Thursday evening, we put all three trucks side by side and started them one at a time. Neither of those two trucks have that noise in them like mine. They're actually quite a bit quieter than mine. Mine is almost as noisy as my 5. 9 '03 truck. Those guys are also getting about 16-17 mpg but they've got over 10K on them too. We're working 6/10s right now, so getting it back to the dealer is not an option for a little while. I suspect that something isn't right with the engine which very disappointing because I primarily bought the truck for the Cummin's reliability and towing ability. I'll eventually get it to the dealer and we'll see what they have to say.

 

[BGlidewell]

I would never go by the MPG reported by the computer, its ALWAYS at least 2 MPG optimistic. So my guess is you're actual mileage is 10 MPG.

WRT the knock, I guess you have checked the dip stick?

 

[lgjohnson]

I would never go by the MPG reported by the computer, its ALWAYS at least 2 MPG optimistic. So my guess is you're actual mileage is 10 MPG.



WRT the knock, I guess you have checked the dip stick?

Oooh yeah. First thing I did before driving it off the lot was check the oil level and have checked it a couple of times since, including again this morning. It hasn't changed... . full.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I would never go by the MPG reported by the computer, its ALWAYS at least 2 MPG optimistic. So my guess is you're actual mileage is 10 MPG.

WRT the knock, I guess you have checked the dip stick?

Mine is actually close. Anywhere from one to 3 tenths high. I fill up to top and hand calculate.

 

[lgjohnson]

Today it got worse. Talk about loud. Sounds like one of those old Ford 7 liters when I crank it now.

Calling the dealer first thing Monday AM. $50K+ truck and I'm almost afraid to drive it. My wife may bring the old '03 over Monday in case they need to keep it a while.

At this point, I'm pretty much beside myself. Man, I wish I had kept that Tacoma just a little longer, waited for the '13s or went with one of the new Fords.

 

[BGlidewell]

Sorry you're having trouble. No codes I guess? No CEL?

 

[lgjohnson]

Sorry you're having trouble. No codes I guess? No CEL?

Nope... not that I'm aware of. It will be going in to the dealer next week.
Also, I noticed that the oil in it, even though showing full, is black as night with only 700 miles.
Not sure if this is normal or not. Regardless, it's going in next week.