2019 Trailer Option

[19llhpb]

I was 5 weeks into my order when I found out about this issue when adding the trailer group. I canceled and reordered on 5/10/18 with just the brake controller so I could have the 360 & folding mirrors. It was painful to start over but at these prices for a loaded limited, I want to get it right. I also had to educate my dealer on this mess because they had no clue. I want to thank this website for all this info.

Where to start, what a mess with the tow, regular mirror surround view situation. I don’t want to be negative but why the heck is this not mentioned on the build website when you ‘add’ the tow mirrors and why aren’t the dealers notified of this? Why is it not mentioned at the dealership on their build spread sheet? It is not mentioned in the sales booklet either. Do the sales people have training on a new product before they sale it? I would say no, but they should. Spoke with my salesman this morning on this. My Longhorn is now in paint status but may cancel. I am VERY FRUSTRATED. Thought I was getting the surround view. Should for $65k, irregardless of the mirrors. Went to see about a re-order and the dealers computer is now showing I can only get the 6’4” bed with the 27 package which is the e-torque hemi and not the regular hemi in the 25 package. It is not even showing the 25 at the moment! . I just personally prefer the non e-torque hemi. May be a glitch or may be able to change if you get further into the build now. Not going to downplay my dealer or mention names but was amazed this morning when my salesman asked me “What is the e-torque?” Wow! Also, the surround view is available on the smaller screen, but not sure on the rebel. I test drove a Laramie when I originally ordered the Longhorn and it had the regular screen with surround view. Also the tow and regular mirrors are both heated. Saw this today while looking at two trucks in the showroom, each with the different mirrors. Not sure what to do, ruined my weekend! Thanks for all the info guys, wish I would have joined and studied this entire forum BEFORE I oredered. Should be required, all customers read these forums before ordering so you know what is ‘really’ going on!

 

[19llhpb]

Where to start, what a mess with the tow, regular mirror surround view situation. I don’t want to be negative but why the heck is this not mentioned on the build website when you ‘add’ the tow mirrors and why aren’t the dealers notified of this? Why is it not mentioned at the dealership on their build spread sheet? It is not mentioned in the sales booklet either. Do the sales people have training on a new product before they sale it? I would say no, but they should. Spoke with my salesman this morning on this. My Longhorn is now in paint status but may cancel. I am VERY FRUSTRATED. Thought I was getting the surround view. Should for $65k, irregardless of the mirrors. Went to see about a re-order and the dealers computer is now showing I can only get the 6’4” bed with the 27 package which is the e-torque hemi and not the regular hemi in the 25 package. It is not even showing the 25 at the moment! . I just personally prefer the non e-torque hemi. May be a glitch or may be able to change if you get further into the build now. Not going to downplay my dealer or mention names but was amazed this morning when my salesman asked me “What is the e-torque?” Wow! Also, the surround view is available on the smaller screen, but not sure on the rebel. I test drove a Laramie when I originally ordered the Longhorn and it had the regular screen with surround view. Also the tow and regular mirrors are both heated. Saw this today while looking at two trucks in the showroom, each with the different mirrors. Not sure what to do, ruined my weekend! Thanks for all the info guys, wish I would have joined and studied this entire forum BEFORE I oredered. Should be required, all customers read these forums before ordering so you know what is ‘really’ going on!

Sorry guys, to add to my previous tow mirror surround view ‘complaint’. This IS mentioned in the ram build site, however, you must click on the details section of the advanced safety group, which we all have done, then click on the small black I-con next to surround view and there it is mentioned. Man I feel like such a dumb***! Just wish this would have popped up while selecting the option as others do when there is another required change or delete!

 

[Deleted member 85]

It is very unfortunate that FCA failed to send communication regarding the tow mirrors kicking the 360 Camera. A sales rep not knowing what E-Torque is is fairly indicative of an ignorant dealer, however. My sales guys were trained on the DT in-house before we got our first one.

Until this forum mentioned the Tow Mirror fiasco, I also did not know about this. Since its original finding, our internal build site now has a pop-up that tells you that "360 CAMERA NOT AVAILABLE WITH TRAILER TOW MIRRORS". Someone in FCA is trying to make it right now.

As for E-Torque for @19llhpb - I hope you can still get one without E-Torque. My gut was telling me that the E-Torque was going to be standard on the top trim trucks eventually, similar to how the ZF8 Speed Automatic became standard on SLT+ Hemi trucks on the 4th Gens.

 

[alwi228]

Where to start, what a mess with the tow, regular mirror surround view situation. I don’t want to be negative but why the heck is this not mentioned on the build website when you ‘add’ the tow mirrors and why aren’t the dealers notified of this? Why is it not mentioned at the dealership on their build spread sheet? It is not mentioned in the sales booklet either. Do the sales people have training on a new product before they sale it? I would say no, but they should. Spoke with my salesman this morning on this. My Longhorn is now in paint status but may cancel. I am VERY FRUSTRATED. Thought I was getting the surround view. Should for $65k, irregardless of the mirrors. Went to see about a re-order and the dealers computer is now showing I can only get the 6’4” bed with the 27 package which is the e-torque hemi and not the regular hemi in the 25 package. It is not even showing the 25 at the moment! . I just personally prefer the non e-torque hemi. May be a glitch or may be able to change if you get further into the build now. Not going to downplay my dealer or mention names but was amazed this morning when my salesman asked me “What is the e-torque?” Wow! Also, the surround view is available on the smaller screen, but not sure on the rebel. I test drove a Laramie when I originally ordered the Longhorn and it had the regular screen with surround view. Also the tow and regular mirrors are both heated. Saw this today while looking at two trucks in the showroom, each with the different mirrors. Not sure what to do, ruined my weekend! Thanks for all the info guys, wish I would have joined and studied this entire forum BEFORE I oredered. Should be required, all customers read these forums before ordering so you know what is ‘really’ going on!

I strongly agree with this FCA oversight. The tow mirrors cost more, and you lose folding and 360 camera....thats pretty damn significant. I had a lot of "are you serious" moments in my head while the first limiteds landed on the lots and salespeople were trying to sell them to me. I guess I have to appreciate it's a very tough job with an incredible turnover, like the food industry I suppose. It's not worth it to train. Make them do the cold calling and then the manager closes the deal. Whatever, but I would love to find a dealer who treated their salespeople with respect and customers. I had asked one salesmen to call me with a price of the one on their lot, never got a call so the next week I called and he said he left the company. So then I called a manager, told him to call me with price of truck, he never called. I wasn't going to call a third time to beg to by this 60k truck, BigM in Nicholasville....(if thats a forum no-no, I'll delete it immediately.) Please ignore this post and return to the actual topic

 

[19llhpb]

I strongly agree with this FCA oversight. The tow mirrors cost more, and you lose folding and 360 camera....thats pretty damn significant. I had a lot of "are you serious" moments in my head while the first limiteds landed on the lots and salespeople were trying to sell them to me. I guess I have to appreciate it's a very tough job with an incredible turnover, like the food industry I suppose. It's not worth it to train. Make them do the cold calling and then the manager closes the deal. Whatever, but I would love to find a dealer who treated their salespeople with respect and customers. I had asked one salesmen to call me with a price of the one on their lot, never got a call so the next week I called and he said he left the company. So then I called a manager, told him to call me with price of truck, he never called. I wasn't going to call a third time to beg to by this 60k truck, BigM in Nicholasville....(if thats a forum no-no, I'll delete it immediately.) Please ignore this post and return to the actual topic

Agreed, I probably wouldn’t make a very good salesman either and it would be tough to train people in a job with a high turnover rate. No disrespect to anyone. The problem today is these are $60k plus vehicles and we’re buying them from people with less knowledge overall than anyone on this forum. I’m not buying a bicycle or piece of furniture here! Sorry Jared, you may remove my negativity if needed, just frustrated. Just don’t kick me out, I need all your guys input and knowledge!

 

[Deleted member 85]

Agreed, I probably wouldn’t make a very good salesman either and it would be tough to train people in a job with a high turnover rate. No disrespect to anyone. The problem today is these are $60k plus vehicles and we’re buying them from people with less knowledge overall than anyone on this forum. I’m not buying a bicycle or piece of furniture here! Sorry Jared, you may remove my negativity if needed, just frustrated. Just don’t kick me out, I need all your guys input and knowledge!

Don't apologize.

Most of the car industry is a joke. The dealers that aren't are happy that these numptys still exist- they make our job easier.

The only tough part is that often a client that had a horrendous experience elsewhere will have an unnecessarily large guard up when we attempt to work with them.

 

[19llhpb]

It is very unfortunate that FCA failed to send communication regarding the tow mirrors kicking the 360 Camera. A sales rep not knowing what E-Torque is is fairly indicative of an ignorant dealer, however. My sales guys were trained on the DT in-house before we got our first one.

Until this forum mentioned the Tow Mirror fiasco, I also did not know about this. Since its original finding, our internal build site now has a pop-up that tells you that "360 CAMERA NOT AVAILABLE WITH TRAILER TOW MIRRORS". Someone in FCA is trying to make it right now.

As for E-Torque for @19llhpb - I hope you can still get one without E-Torque. My gut was telling me that the E-Torque was going to be standard on the top trim trucks eventually, similar to how the ZF8 Speed Automatic became standard on SLT+ Hemi trucks on the 4th Gens.

Thanks for the info. Did not know about the e-torque being standard eventually either, it may have started today! I am normally a very thorough, research kind of guy on anything I do, especially when spending $65k on a new ‘not proven yet’ designed vehicle. I just feel so foolish I did not catch this issue myself. Not to repeat myself but why didn’t I join this forum before I ordered? I didn’t find it till after the fact.

 

[Jared B]

Sorry Jared, you may remove my negativity if needed, just frustrated. Just don’t kick me out, I need all your guys input and knowledge!

Nothing to apologize for, you're absolutely right and I'd be frustrated as well if I was in your shoes. I created this website originally due to the amount of misinformation going around about these trucks. If this site helps people out then I've accomplished my goal.

As for dealers I've worked with some real stinkers, lucky for me @BobbiBigWheels is local to me.

 

[19llhpb]

It is very unfortunate that FCA failed to send communication regarding the tow mirrors kicking the 360 Camera. A sales rep not knowing what E-Torque is is fairly indicative of an ignorant dealer, however. My sales guys were trained on the DT in-house before we got our first one.

Until this forum mentioned the Tow Mirror fiasco, I also did not know about this. Since its original finding, our internal build site now has a pop-up that tells you that "360 CAMERA NOT AVAILABLE WITH TRAILER TOW MIRRORS". Someone in FCA is trying to make it right now.

As for E-Torque for @19llhpb - I hope you can still get one without E-Torque. My gut was telling me that the E-Torque was going to be standard on the top trim trucks eventually, similar to how the ZF8 Speed Automatic became standard on SLT+ Hemi trucks on the 4th Gens.

Sorry guys, to add to my previous tow mirror surround view ‘complaint’. This IS mentioned in the ram build site, however, you must click on the details section of the advanced safety group, which we all have done, then click on the small black I-con next to surround view and there it is mentioned. Man I feel like such a dumb***! Just wish this would have popped up while selecting the option as others do when there is another required change or delete!

I do not believe this icon showed regarding this situation in the ram build site when I first built the truck in April. I surely would have noticed, maybe lol, at least this will help future ram buyers!

 

[YardSale]

THANK THE GOOD LORD for you guys and this forum........I wouldn't have known about this without y'all! Just emailed my salesman telling him to do whatever he needs to remove the Tow Package and add just the brake controller. Truck is still in D status so maybe there's hope he can amend the original order. If not I'll be back to square one as far as the wait is concerned. Either way that 360 view and power folding mirrors are a "must have" for me.

 

[jscoc]

THANK THE GOOD LORD for you guys and this forum........I wouldn't have known about this without y'all! Just emailed my salesman telling him to do whatever he needs to remove the Tow Package and add just the brake controller. Truck is still in D status so maybe there's hope he can amend the original order. If not I'll be back to square one as far as the wait is concerned. Either way that 360 view and power folding mirrors are a "must have" for me.

Please post update from your dealer, I would like to know his response I stopped in to my dealer and asked him to change it. Sales manager had to email there DM, it's been a week and so far no answer. I'm in D status as well.

 

[YardSale]

Will Do!

 

[Marusho]

I am also a victim, and my truck has not even been scheduled to be built after 109 days. However, there is no way I would trust the system enough to try modifying the order. I assume I'd lose months in line and might end up having to pay the August price instead of the May price. I don't tow anything and only ordered the tow package because I'm old and my son, who does tow, will inherit the truck (or get it when I can no longer drive). If I had known I'd be deprived of this "PARTY PIECE" (Surround View) no way I'd have gotten this option. I have to drive on a narrow dirt mountain road that's barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass. I was counting on being able to view the ditch or drop-off on the passenger side while I try to squeeze past the oncoming dump truck or terrified visitor in the minivan. This would have been possible at the 1mph this maneuver requires.

Ram could have easily avoided a lot of disappointment and bad feeling if they had DONE THE LOGICAL THING. You and I would simply have contacted the sales persons and ask them to reach out to their customers to see whether they still wanted the tow package. It's not like they didn't have weeks or months to make the changes to the orders. Instead we ASSUME that at some point we will receive the $395 compensation, as outlined in more detail on the other Ram forum. Apparently very few people are happy with that. For one thing, you still get to pay the sales tax on the full price. Better to have issued a voucher for $395 to be used at closing (or refused if you are one of the buyers who will probably join forces to force Ram to replace the lesser tow mirrors with the camera-equipped mirrors.)

I did review what is written about the various cameras and proximity sensors in the truck and the good news is that apparently the ONLY thing the mirror cameras are used for is the Surround View (not parking assist, lane sense, blind spot monitoring, etc.). However, not having them means that any tweaks and new capabilities that a later uConnect update might add, will be missing. I can think of plenty of uses for these cameras.

And while I'm on about bad corporate decisions, I wish the uConnect designers had not removed the ability for the owner to "cast" his own camera image or other content on the screen. (I'm not talking about the few apps that one can get with CarPlay or Android Auto).

Even with the loss of the Surround View and the Bed Extender and the Bed Step, and the realization that the Air Suspension has less capability if you order the Off Road Package (nobody saw that one coming) -- the truck still has enough features to prevent me from cancelling the order. I hope there are no more "gotchas", at least until I get to touch it.