I purchased my truck in Marck and left on vacation the 1st of April. As of today, it has 10,600 miles on it and I have some thoughts.
For those who don't know, I have a Tradesman CCSB with no carpet, vinyl seats, PW, TT mirrors, LSD, brake controller, 392, chrome package. It's a loaded "base" truck! Even though the term "loaded doesn't fit this truck in today's world, I remember when a vinyl interior and a chrome strip outside made a truck "custom!" My how times change!
In general:
The truck is very quiet and is a joy to drive. It tracks straight and true. It has a stiff ride, but that's the way a HD truck should ride.
The radio is good enough for me but I suspect it would not suit an audiophile very well.
The seats are extremely comfortable and fit me well. We drove over 1100 miles 2 days ago and neither my wife nor I had any complaints.
It gets excellent gas mileage....15.5 average on Fuelly over the first 10,000 miles. About 1.5 mpg better than my last 2500 with a 392 ans 3.73s.
I do not tow with it yet, but suspect it would tow 12,000# easily.
I had a rattle in the dash when it was new, but that is gone now......must be the new self healing dash! LOL!
The factory tires are good on road, but suck off road. That issue will be fixed shortly
The engine seems sweet....smoothand powerfull.
The transmission seems to be a real improvement over the old 6 speed......except for......
Lightly loaded, on a mild uphill, the transmission hunts for thr correct gear. It constantly shifts up and down. When it starts that, I usually force it into a lower gear while going up hill. I will probably talk to the dealership to see if there might be a software update to help with this issue. My guess is tne issue would go away with a heavier load on the truck.
Overall, it's as good as any truck I've ever owned....and better than most. I have ZERO regrets about buying this truck, and would do it again knowing what I know today. I hope those of you who have one and those waiting for your own new one have as good of an experience as mine has been!
For those who don't know, I have a Tradesman CCSB with no carpet, vinyl seats, PW, TT mirrors, LSD, brake controller, 392, chrome package. It's a loaded "base" truck! Even though the term "loaded doesn't fit this truck in today's world, I remember when a vinyl interior and a chrome strip outside made a truck "custom!" My how times change!
In general:
The truck is very quiet and is a joy to drive. It tracks straight and true. It has a stiff ride, but that's the way a HD truck should ride.
The radio is good enough for me but I suspect it would not suit an audiophile very well.
The seats are extremely comfortable and fit me well. We drove over 1100 miles 2 days ago and neither my wife nor I had any complaints.
It gets excellent gas mileage....15.5 average on Fuelly over the first 10,000 miles. About 1.5 mpg better than my last 2500 with a 392 ans 3.73s.
I do not tow with it yet, but suspect it would tow 12,000# easily.
I had a rattle in the dash when it was new, but that is gone now......must be the new self healing dash! LOL!
The factory tires are good on road, but suck off road. That issue will be fixed shortly
The engine seems sweet....smoothand powerfull.
The transmission seems to be a real improvement over the old 6 speed......except for......
Lightly loaded, on a mild uphill, the transmission hunts for thr correct gear. It constantly shifts up and down. When it starts that, I usually force it into a lower gear while going up hill. I will probably talk to the dealership to see if there might be a software update to help with this issue. My guess is tne issue would go away with a heavier load on the truck.
Overall, it's as good as any truck I've ever owned....and better than most. I have ZERO regrets about buying this truck, and would do it again knowing what I know today. I hope those of you who have one and those waiting for your own new one have as good of an experience as mine has been!
