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Customizing new 2019 Ram 2500

2nd Gen to 5th Gen 2500

2nd Gen to 5th Gen 2500

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Hi All,

New to the thread and looking for some info to make my decision easier on this. I am stuck between the bighorn and a tradesman. Difference in price is roughly 6 grand for how I have them configured. They each have some pros and cons. Right now I'm driving a 98 Dodge 1500 regular cab so anything is a step up however I've been looking to get a new truck for over a year and just haven't pulled the trigger. I'm stuck with the fact that you cant get fog lights in the tradesman or cant have some other options that the big horn has like back seat in floor storage, but I cant justify an extra six grand for some front fog lights and storage. Does anyone know if this is a part the dealer can order or is available to buy elsewhere? I haven't really got a straight answer. It seems the bumper is the same if you get the chrome package it just has covers for where the lights would be. I hate to get all the junk in the level 2 bighorn package just to have some fog lights and a rear sliding window. I know packages make assembly easier and more cost effective but sometimes you want a truck to be a truck.

Thanks
 
You could do the Level 1 Big Horn, that still gets you the floor storage and flat floor fold out. I would highly recommend the LED lighting package which also gets you fog lights.
 
Well level 1 big horn doesn't come with the rear sliding window which I really want for my dog and for putting a camper shell on the back to access things. But you cant do premium lighting group (LEDs) without level 2 any way. I feel like they have to be making those lights separate for if someone had a front end collision and needed to replace them.
 
Missed the sliding window in the first post. I was thinking the premium lighting could be added with Level 1 with no other packages, I have Level 1 on my truck and premium lighting, but i also have safety group and tow tech. If you add the safety group, you get premium lighting on either Tradesman or Level 1 Big Horn. It is kind of odd you don't get the sliding window in Level 1 Big Horn, but do in Level 2 Tradesman.
You could probably add the standard fog lights and switch after the truck arrives, but I don't know if anyone has tried yet on a 2019, I have seen it done on 2018 and older quite often on another forum.
 
Are you comparing specs and pricing with actual inventory, or configurations you're building online? The online configuration is a good tool to get an idea on what is available, but may not be the reality of what dealerships are ordering based on what is popular. So you may eliminate your issue based on that alone cause the difference in the Tradesman and Big Horn level trucks near you may be more or less.
 
If you plan on ordering one, confirm with your dealer your build is actually possible. The online configuration tool and what the dealership uses to build your order aren't always in synch in terms of the pre-requisites needed.
 
Thanks for everyone's input and also [B]MEZZ2006[/B] for letting me know about the safety group. I always overlooked this but it does have the lights (even though not mentioned online), and has a few extra features that will be nice or help my insurance premium. I plan on heading to the dealership tonight to check if its possible has more options I wanted and 4g less than the bighorn. I did confirm with some similar trucks by searching dealer inventory that most of the options are available and it should all work out. This is why forums are so awesome thanks for the input!!! Now next thing is how to get my oem fender flares haha.
 
Also keep in mind that the dealers can order "quick order" and "customer preferred packages" that don't show up in the online packages list. Those often contain a mix of items that Ram thinks people tend to want. You almost need to just visit the dealer and go through the configurations with them. These packages seem to change a bit over the course of the year. The most common such package I see on the Tradesman is labeled "2ZA" and you can see what it appears to include on this window sticker:
ddd.PNG
 
Good thing with the Bighorn is the powerfolding mirris, this was a must have for parking in a garage or through garage door. I am on my third stall and would have had to manually fold a mirror in the Tradesman, which is was going to order for cost savings. After having the truck and going in and out of the garage, definitely worth have both mirrors power folding. One accident and I would have spent he extra Bighorn money at the autobody place. The Bighorn with the 8 inch screen, power folding mirrors and extra storage was a good upgrade. If the Tradesman had power fiddling mirrors I would do that, but no go. This trucks are big and push limits of garage parking entry ways.
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the info. I ordered a 2019 Tradesman Crew Cab 8 foot bed Delmonico Red Pearl-coat. I got the Level 2 Tradesman, Chrome Appearance Group, Safety Group, Off Road Package, Snow Chief, Bed Utility Package, Wheel to Wheel side steps, rear wheelhouse liners, 8 Inch U connect, and 115 V power outlet. Ordered it 8/30 and as of yesterday it was finished in Build, needed a quality check and then transit to the dealership. Thanks again!
 
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