Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Finally, got delivery of my new CTD 3500! Picked the truck up in Springfield, Missouri, had my new LiteCraft Pop-Up camper installed in Denver, and drove the rig back home to San Diego. It's the first CTD I have owned, and what a pleasure it is to drive. My uncle has been trying to get me to buy one for years, and my only regret is waiting this long. I previously owned a '96 Ram 360 and a couple of Little Red Trucks.
I bought the truck in Missouri (my uncle knew the dealer) and saved about $3000 over California prices. Unfortunately, I had to order it with California emmissions. Got about 17 MPG (computed) empty on the way to Denver. After installing the 1800-lb camper, got about 15 MPG, which I consider great compared to my old gas-guzzler. And the CTD climbed the Rocky Mountains better than my old 360 used to climb the foothills of California.
I was a little concerned about putting an 8. 5' camper on a short bed, but I go places that cannot accomodate the longer wheebase of the long bed (and I needed the Quad Cab). Well, the rig handles great! Very little sway, the front end does not seem too light, and the CTD hardly seems to notice the added 1800 lbs. We hit some pretty heavy headwinds and cross-winds in the mountains, and the rig still handled very well (the low profile of the pop-up helped, I am sure). I thought I might need to add some air springs, but it rides so well without them, I have decided against that.
Every CTD owner I have talked to, and of course everyone on this forum, can't say enough about the 3rd Generation Ram with the CTD. And now I understand why!
I bought the truck in Missouri (my uncle knew the dealer) and saved about $3000 over California prices. Unfortunately, I had to order it with California emmissions. Got about 17 MPG (computed) empty on the way to Denver. After installing the 1800-lb camper, got about 15 MPG, which I consider great compared to my old gas-guzzler. And the CTD climbed the Rocky Mountains better than my old 360 used to climb the foothills of California.
I was a little concerned about putting an 8. 5' camper on a short bed, but I go places that cannot accomodate the longer wheebase of the long bed (and I needed the Quad Cab). Well, the rig handles great! Very little sway, the front end does not seem too light, and the CTD hardly seems to notice the added 1800 lbs. We hit some pretty heavy headwinds and cross-winds in the mountains, and the rig still handled very well (the low profile of the pop-up helped, I am sure). I thought I might need to add some air springs, but it rides so well without them, I have decided against that.
Every CTD owner I have talked to, and of course everyone on this forum, can't say enough about the 3rd Generation Ram with the CTD. And now I understand why!
