We have been hemming and hawing about getting a truck to replace the Jeep. There have been and we anticipate times we would rather carry stuff in a truck bed rather than inside the SUV. Things like our scooter or an inflatable boat and outboard motor. So we have been doing a lot of research on trucks. We have been, as I have mentioned, very pleased with our latest Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 2012. The fit and finish, the air suspension, and the gas mileage have been fantastic, so it was with a bit of trepidation that we considering the change. Most all of the pickups in the trim levels we desire come with V8 engines except for the EcoBoost engine in the Ford which is a 6 cylinder. The mileage of all of them is about the same, but all 3 companies have been working hard to achieve better mileage and they have made a lot of headway.
We looked at all three, but the Dodge Ram got the tip of our hat. It has an air suspension like the Jeep, gas mileage only a few mpg's worse than the 6 in the Jeep, fit and finish and the interior is awesome, and it has the RamBox system which is storage compartments along the side of the bed. They are lockable, waterproof, lighted, and provide a surprising amount of protected storage. The crew cab in all of the trucks is actually bigger inside than the Jeep and the back seat area is huge! So we got a 2014 Dodge Ram 4X4 in a Limited trim package. We had quite an experience buying it and actually ended up getting it in Greenville, SC! We bought it at Big O Dodge and had an excellent experience, totally painless, at a fantastic price. We then drove it down to Atlanta for a quick visit to get my permanent crown, and then back up to Louisville. It has a Hemi in it with lots of snot, but like I said we were a little worried about the MPG, but we have averaged 20.5 mpg so far, and that makes us happy, happy.
I have ordered a few accessories for it, a bed step to allow you to just step up into the bed and a folding tonneau cover to protect the bed, but easily rolled up to get out of the way when you need to put something tall in the back, and it also should increase the gas mileage a bit.
The Ram is towable four down just like the Jeep, so we have to get a baseplate, a unit that mounts to the truck to enable our tow bar to connect to it, a wiring kit so we have lights while towing, and a braking system so the truck has brakes while being towed by the motorhome. I have always bought the baseplate and installed them myself, and the brand of tow bar we have been using for over 18 years is Blue Ox So I go on their website to check on a baseplate and find out there is no listing yet for a 2014 Dodge Ram Limited! Uh oh, so I give them a call and they tell me they will check and call me back, hmmmm. In a little while they call and say they have not developed a baseplate for our very new vehicle yet, and as my heart sinks, they say they would like to offer us to be a part of their fitment program. What's that? Well, we would like to be able to use your truck to develop a baseplate and instructions that we will be able to offer for sale. We would install a FREE baseplate on your vehicle for FREE, give you a brand new tow bar for FREE, install a wiring kit for $50, including the kit itself, would you be interested? HELL YES we would!! Just to put this in perspective, the tow bar is about $600, the baseplate usually is about $400, and the wiring kit is about $60, all without any installation costs. The only catch is we have to get the truck to their factory in Pender, NE. So we have an appointment on Dec 16th and plan to drive from Kelly's in Texas up to have it all done. Then we have another appointment to have an M&G braking system installed on our way out of Texas later in the month. We chose the M&G because it is a seamless system in that their is no indication when driving the truck that there is any braking system installed, it uses the truck's vacuum system utilizing power brakes, and has a breakaway feature as well, one air line and one cable is used between the motorhome and the truck.
I'll get a few pictures up when we get it all done. Counting down to Thanksgiving now, and with the cold weather descending upon us we are getting anxious to get to balmy Florida!
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