Dan's 2023 2500 Tradesman UNLimited

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

PSA:
I probably have 125 miles on the truck, noticed this. Worth a check on yours and maybe a zip tie. This is passenger side front wheel well. Rubbed against plastic liner.

 

[kevin588127]

I agree with almost all of your points and ordered my 22 BH pretty close to your options selections. The 22 trim levels were kind of goofy but 23 is even worse. I had planned on a tradesman, as that is what my previous 1500 was. I loved the basic, no fuss, easy to maintain interior. The problem for me was that the rear floor buckets weren't available and no front underseat storage. I mean, why would you want those things in a work truck ? The other issue was the forced chrome. I would have liked the black grill and bumper but, just about any option forces the chrome on a tradesman. When it was all said and done, the big horn turned out to be about 2k more than a tradesman optioned as I wanted it and I got paint matched stuff instead of chrome. So far, my only regret is getting granite crystal instead of billet silver and not spending 1k more to get the NE.

 

[44Dan44]

I agree with almost all of your points and ordered my 22 BH pretty close to your options selections. The 22 trim levels were kind of goofy but 23 is even worse. I had planned on a tradesman, as that is what my previous 1500 was. I loved the basic, no fuss, easy to maintain interior. The problem for me was that the rear floor buckets weren't available and no front underseat storage. I mean, why would you want those things in a work truck ? The other issue was the forced chrome. I would have liked the black grill and bumper but, just about any option forces the chrome on a tradesman. When it was all said and done, the big horn turned out to be about 2k more than a tradesman optioned as I wanted it and I got paint matched stuff instead of chrome. So far, my only regret is getting granite crystal instead of billet silver and not spending 1k more to get the NE.

Yep, the most ridiculous one is the running boards IMO, black ones not offered only chrome.

 

[44Dan44]

Ok, these are dumb, I hate them now. After multiple hunts of dropped/flicked plastic retainers all around the shop I'm leaving them out and just trusting the double sided tape. Push them in just slightly off to try to align the holes in the visors with holes in the metal clips and they engage and you have to try to pull the head back out to try again. Since Mopar provided no extras, I'm over it. If I was able to conduct a scientific experiment across all Ram trucks with shattered rear windows with in-channel visors I'd bet its the metal clip piece coming in contact with the edge of the tempered glass.

 

[44Dan44]

Wanted to get these on pre window tint. Mopar brand. Once you rightly give up on those metal clips easy install.

 

[44Dan44]

Very pleased with the tint 'tone'. I think that focusing on the tint percentage number is just half the battle (if you are like me and just want them to match the factory rear). There is a very good 12 minute video I'll link discussing the various brands and colors or tones available that make it more difficult than "Please just tint the fronts to match the rears Mr Tint Guy". Browns, Grays, Greens, Blacks, etc in conjunction with the percentage of light blocking to come up with the right recipe for your needs. Add a level of difficulty if you want to also darken the rears more, (not me).

For the record, my Mr Tint Guy, (XLNT Tint MidAtlantic) metered the rear windows and came out with a 21 measurement. We compared all the offerings and came up with this film. I think it's perfect. I'm under 6000 Kelvin Daylight tubes in my shop here, will probably add some actual sun light photos later without the reflections from my walls and windows distorting it a bit.
3M Color Stable CS 20

 

[44Dan44]

Forget to add before-tint reference pics.

 

[44Dan44]

I need to find my upfitter wires at the rear of the truck so since they aren't immediately noticeable let's drop the spare and take some photos along the way.

 

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

Glad I went ahead and lowered the spare, from previous reading of the many upfitter threads I envisioned the upfitter wires above the spare tire to be located on the drivers side very near the frame rail. If you want to try to snag them without lowering the spare reach up right where you would insert the spare tire lowering tool, just a bit of masking tape that tears easily to pull the wires clear. I placed some high density foam where the tire touches metal when its in it full up position as I could already see wear marks and indentations on the tire itself. Not the worse idea to familiarize myself with the jack and all of that BEFORE I need it on the side of the road in the rain lol.
I ziptied the upfitter wires near the 7 pin trailer connector so I don't have to fish for them again when I start my electric stuff.

 

[44Dan44]

Few pics from when tire was out of the way.

 

[44Dan44]

As mentioned earlier I failed to order with tow hooks. I ordered the correct lower grille and tow hook mounting nuts and bolts from Bam and the tow hooks themselves as-new takeoffs from eBay.
Thanks to @ranchhopper for the idea, I decided to use the existing grille and just trim out the space necessary to fit the tow hooks through. I DO like the look better this way than the correct lower grille with the cut outs. I have other plans for the lower grille area later so if I mess that up, I have the full replacement on hand.

 

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

If you are following along, you might find these next sets of photos repetitious but they are drivers side documenting for the record.

 

[44Dan44]

 

[44Dan44]

 

[flan]

Don’t take this the wrong way, but your thread (with the current speed of the site) is very difficult to follow. Maybe keep doing what you’re doing or maybe adjust the picture amount, I’m not sure what the purpose of 98% of your pics have been about anyhow?