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Tradesman vs Big Horn

23 debate.
My Tradesman as built: acoustic glass, 7" evic.

I want cloth and color matched bumpers go Bighorn
I want vinyl or cloth and black bumpers go Tradesman

I want chrome, do whatever you want, just don't come crying to me later wishing they sold a chrome Ranch Hand/ AEV/ Westin/Rampage/ Steelcraft/ etc bumper because the black clashes with your chrome grille :)
 
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WXman said:
So I looked at two trucks today that are priced within $3k of each other. One was a 2020 Tradesman that has a lot of options, the other is a 2022 Bighorn with ZERO additional options. Both are within 15,000 miles other each other on the odometer and both have a good amount of factory powertrain warranty left.

What surprised me is that the only issue with the Tradesman is the door panels. Like some others said in this thread the door panels are TERRIBLE. Other than that the Tradesman is the nicer truck. Sliding rear glass, power inverter, in-bed lighting, spray in bedliner, etc. The Carfax shows zero accidents and a few service records. It does however show FOUR outstanding recalls one of them being the fuel pump issue.

The Bighorn being a 2022 shifted more crisp and seemed to drive a little better. Could that just be due to newer software? I did love the Bighorn door panels but otherwise I'm really liking that Tradesman truck. I think a guy could easily swap a Bighorn door panel onto the doors and solve that issue.

Anything I need to watch out for on a 2020 Cummins with 68RFE and 77k on the clock? If I buy it I will try to get the dealership (they are a dedicated Ram dealer) perform all of the recalls they can before I take delivery.

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Given how close they are in price I might learn towards the big horn (though I'm not a fan of white trucks) because it is 2 years newer. While you could swap the door panels on the tradesman I would look into that as I have found they are not cheap so keep that in mind. What options does the tradesman have that the big horn does not?

.
 
As @gimmie11s stated, the upgraded door panels are nice. Iirc, you can order the upgraded door panels, not sure how but I’ve seen a few tradesman with them (rare but I’ve seen them).

Also, if it matters, you cannot get the 60/40 rear bench with the flip down arm rest in a Tradesman. If that’s something you want (and front seats with map pocket storage on the back) you’ll want a Bighorn. My kiddos miss the rear arm rest, been looking for a rear bench to swap (no luck so far……..)

Oh ya, one last thing, audio controls on the back of the steering wheel, no bueno on a Tradsman. You’d think with at least the 8.4 you’d get those but NO! Might seem petty but after having them for the last 10 years on previous Rams, it is the one feature I miss the most (besides keyless enter & go). I’m in the process of adding this to my truck but it ain’t exactly cheap for what it is and it’s plug and play.
 
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Grateful Dad said:
As @gimmie11s stated, the upgraded door panels are nice. Iirc, you can order the upgraded door panels, not sure how but I’ve seen a few tradesman with them (rare but I’ve seen them).

Also, if it matters, you cannot get the 60/40 rear bench with the flip down arm rest in a Tradesman. If that’s something you want (and front seats with map pocket storage on the back) you’ll want a Bighorn. My kiddos miss the rear arm rest, been looking for a rear bench to swap (no luck so far……..)

Oh ya, one last thing, audio controls on the back of the steering wheel, no bueno on a Tradsman. You’d think with at least the 8.4 you’d get those but NO! Might seem petty but after having them for the last 10 years on previous Rams, it is the one feature I miss the most (besides keyless enter & go). I’m in the process of adding this to my truck but it ain’t exactly cheap for what it is and it’s plug and play.
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It's interesting... my 2016 2500 was a tradesman with the **** all plastic door panels. Hated them. However like you, ive seen a few 19+ tradesman's with the upgraded door panels. If that is an option on the tradesman package, absolutely must get them! I don't think they were an option on the 4th gens, just 4.5+.
 
MtnRider said:
Given how close they are in price I might learn towards the big horn (though I'm not a fan of white trucks) because it is 2 years newer. While you could swap the door panels on the tradesman I would look into that as I have found they are not cheap so keep that in mind. What options does the tradesman have that the big horn does not?

.
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Sliding rear glass, power inverter, in-bed lighting, spray in bedliner, etc. on the Tradesman

Nicer door trim, carpet, step rails on the Bighorn

I think the Tradesman Level II package is more useful than the Bighorn base level, so I'm working with the dealer to try and get the Tradesman. The fact that it's actually $4k less money helps a lot.
 
I like MtnRider's post. The Tradesman has a certain connotation as a work truck. A little stripped down looking.
I went with the Bighorn for this reason. Better resale and a few more features, but I can't tell you what they are without looking it up.
 
WXman said:
Sliding rear glass, power inverter, in-bed lighting, spray in bedliner, etc. on the Tradesman

Nicer door trim, carpet, step rails on the Bighorn

I think the Tradesman Level II package is more useful than the Bighorn base level, so I'm working with the dealer to try and get the Tradesman. The fact that it's actually $4k less money helps a lot.
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Sliding windows and inverter would be a little more difficult to add but the bed lighting and liner are easy and would be cheaper or about the same $ you would spend adding door panels on the tradesman. Just food for thought if the tradesman doesn't work out.

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ppine said:
The Tradesman has a certain connotation as a work truck. A little stripped down looking.
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Some of the baddest rigs on this site are Tradesman, see elephantrider, ramblinchet, rockcrawlerdude, etc.
Knowing where you want to end up looks and capability wise before you buy a truck can save you a lot of waste and cost. Everyone upgrades and adds-on even if they say they bought the perfect truck off the lot at the time.
Some choices you make early on limit you or cost you exponentially later. You rarely really see the big brand outfitters use anything beyond a bighorn as a starting point because its just wasteful.
As far as: connotation as a work truck, lol
 
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Well the Tradesman is off the list. As soon as I got back to the dealership after my test drive last night and left apparently another young guy stopped by and bought it on site. Sigh...

The Bighorn is being shopped heavily too but as of right this second it's still available so I'm working with them on it.

From what I was told, there's a nationwide stop-sale on new Cummins trucks so the used ones are selling as fast as dealers can get them.
 
I just bought my New ,2022 Ram Bighorn ,crew cab,4x4, Cummins on Jan.27, 2023, the recall stop order was for the Trans. dipstick replacement,, mine was done and ready to go, I wanted the Big Horn pkg.,I like it
 
Grateful Dad said:
As @gimmie11s stated, the upgraded door panels are nice. Iirc, you can order the upgraded door panels, not sure how but I’ve seen a few tradesman with them (rare but I’ve seen them).

Also, if it matters, you cannot get the 60/40 rear bench with the flip down arm rest in a Tradesman. If that’s something you want (and front seats with map pocket storage on the back) you’ll want a Bighorn. My kiddos miss the rear arm rest, been looking for a rear bench to swap (no luck so far……..)

Oh ya, one last thing, audio controls on the back of the steering wheel, no bueno on a Tradsman. You’d think with at least the 8.4 you’d get those but NO! Might seem petty but after having them for the last 10 years on previous Rams, it is the one feature I miss the most (besides keyless enter & go). I’m in the process of adding this to my truck but it ain’t exactly cheap for what it is and it’s plug and play.
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I have audio controls on the wheel in my Tradesman
 
253 said:
I just bought my New ,2022 Ram Bighorn ,crew cab,4x4, Cummins on Jan.27, 2023, the recall stop order was for the Trans. dipstick replacement,, mine was done and ready to go, I wanted the Big Horn pkg.,I like it
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There is a new stop sale for the grid heater relay. You will probably be getting a recall notice for your truck about it. My 2022 should be at the dealer by this weekend but i cant pick it up until they get a recall fix installed.
 
You are correct, just talked to my dealer, mine is listed on recall for grid heater relay ,but no parts are available yet, and they don't know when the new
part will be available, I haven't received any letter of recall from the factory yet
 
jenninr said:
Do you also have the safety group? It's my understanding that is the only way to get the steering wheel audio controls in a Tradesman
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Grateful Dad said:
Cool score, what package did you get? I’ve seen tow safety group with surround view camera and BSM & trailer tag but no luck on the audio controls.
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Yep, I have safety group + towing tech - probably in one of them. Being able to get adaptive cruise + surround camera and other tech on the base model was a huge selling point for me on the RAM vs competitors.
 
Christofo said:
I was just about to pull the trigger on a loaded up Tradesman (Safety group, towing tech, level 2 equipment group, etc). I keep wondering if the jump up to a Big Horn is worth the extra money?

On the Big Horn, I noticed it lists "acoustic glass" - does this make a large difference in cabin noise? The Alpine 9-speaker system is available on the Big Horn, is it leagues better than the Tradesman 6 speaker system?

I'm planning to order my truck, there are no Tradesmans on the lots around me to check out in person.

What else will I be missing out on with the Tradesman? Thanks in advance!

EDIT - this is the truck I planned to order:
View attachment 19204
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You may often find that the next trim up has many of the things you want as part of the trim level and less or not more with a few more things that are nice...
 
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