idratherplaytennis
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Hey everyone. The time was mostly right finally to trade in my 2011 1-ton Duramax Silverado. Had a lot of great years with it but my driving style of needing to do frequent short trips began to take it's toll with all of the emissions add-ons that California has basically imposed on their diesel buyers. Turns out they force you to do a lot of highway mileage to keep them going as they should which is difficult when 90% of the time you're surrounded by freeways with some of the worst traffic there is anywhere. Decided on Dodge for a few reasons; my uncle has been eyeing them and test driving the half ton's for a few years now and then planning for his retirement truck and camper and has had very good experiences, my extended family has had several Dodges in the past with good luck and they've had a pretty good streak the last two years with motortrend. Soooo I took a test drive Sunday to see how well it would work out for me, and I was plenty satisfied except for the sideways tow mirrors (in their normal position) but I knew that going in and it's been great so far, albeit more thirsty than the 1-ton was. It's going to be used mostly as a daily driver to and from multiple rental properties doing maintenance/construction work, along with starting to get back out to moderate off-roading and camping.
Full swap details:
-1-ton Duramax to 3/4 ton 6.4 Hemi Power Wagon
-Crew cab long bed to Crew cab standard bed (as much as I really loved the full use of the 8' bed, around here that extra 20" often makes the difference for parking and turn radius)
-Premium Bose to Premium Harmon Kardon (so far I love it. Not an audiophile but I have really good hearing that picks up on stuff most people don't... I've heard old valve stems on tires leaking from 20-30 feet away on multiple occasions with other sounds going on)
-Leather 5 seat to 6 seat, split benches in the rear (I did like how the Chevy seats folded, but at the same time, the fold out to completely flatten the back is nice with the RAM. My mom much prefers the seat/ride quality in the back of the cab to my parent's new Denali)
-Decently tall without steps to several inches taller with Mopar Rock Rails with Step Pad (somewhat difficult to deal with being that the rail only goes under half my foot and is tucked up high and away. Much better than getting into the Chevy, however, where the seat suffered from sliding in over the edge without a step rail)
-Standard warranty to a 7-year 100,000 mile warranty (covering all the mechanical AND electronics which is a huge thing for me now, considering how many technological gizmos are running in these now days)
All in all, it was mostly like for like with 10 years of advancements, with the main differences being the engine type, the shorter bed and a lack of moon roof which the Silverado had that I rarely used. Some of the advancements I like. Other things, I'm getting used to like the mirror layout difference. The rear deployable bed step is awesome for helping to get up into the truck bed over nothing but the bumper previously, and that it is lower than the built-in step Chevy has been using. I really wanted the 6 seats since people like to get cozy with their parking where I live and sliding out to the other side without needing to crawl over a massive center console is helpful. I eventually intend to upgrade the tires to at least 35's because at times the 32-33's whatever size the Wrangler's are that this came stock with just seem wimpy, but also considering some suspension upgrades if I get more serious about off-roading (I was watching some videos showcasing the ride quality benefits of Carli suspension upfits from CJC Off Road's youtube channel).
The Chevy served me well for 10 years but as I mentioned, it started needing repair work, mostly on the emissions side thanks to my short trips. Hoping to be as well served by the RAM. Glad to be here, hope to learn a lot.
Full swap details:
-1-ton Duramax to 3/4 ton 6.4 Hemi Power Wagon
-Crew cab long bed to Crew cab standard bed (as much as I really loved the full use of the 8' bed, around here that extra 20" often makes the difference for parking and turn radius)
-Premium Bose to Premium Harmon Kardon (so far I love it. Not an audiophile but I have really good hearing that picks up on stuff most people don't... I've heard old valve stems on tires leaking from 20-30 feet away on multiple occasions with other sounds going on)
-Leather 5 seat to 6 seat, split benches in the rear (I did like how the Chevy seats folded, but at the same time, the fold out to completely flatten the back is nice with the RAM. My mom much prefers the seat/ride quality in the back of the cab to my parent's new Denali)
-Decently tall without steps to several inches taller with Mopar Rock Rails with Step Pad (somewhat difficult to deal with being that the rail only goes under half my foot and is tucked up high and away. Much better than getting into the Chevy, however, where the seat suffered from sliding in over the edge without a step rail)
-Standard warranty to a 7-year 100,000 mile warranty (covering all the mechanical AND electronics which is a huge thing for me now, considering how many technological gizmos are running in these now days)
All in all, it was mostly like for like with 10 years of advancements, with the main differences being the engine type, the shorter bed and a lack of moon roof which the Silverado had that I rarely used. Some of the advancements I like. Other things, I'm getting used to like the mirror layout difference. The rear deployable bed step is awesome for helping to get up into the truck bed over nothing but the bumper previously, and that it is lower than the built-in step Chevy has been using. I really wanted the 6 seats since people like to get cozy with their parking where I live and sliding out to the other side without needing to crawl over a massive center console is helpful. I eventually intend to upgrade the tires to at least 35's because at times the 32-33's whatever size the Wrangler's are that this came stock with just seem wimpy, but also considering some suspension upgrades if I get more serious about off-roading (I was watching some videos showcasing the ride quality benefits of Carli suspension upfits from CJC Off Road's youtube channel).
The Chevy served me well for 10 years but as I mentioned, it started needing repair work, mostly on the emissions side thanks to my short trips. Hoping to be as well served by the RAM. Glad to be here, hope to learn a lot.
