I wish it wasn't raining when I got it. I was seriously torn when driving the 130 miles home from the dealership. I wanted to hit the trails so bad to test out the 4X4, 4Lo, Hill Descent, and axle lock, but I decided on keeping it relatively mud free.... For now!
Initial inspection:
-No major body/panel/bumper alignment or paint issues. Everything, including the RamBoxes, were good to go. (More on the RamBoxes in a bit.
-Add me to the "Where the crap are my bed extender knobs?!?" list. Dealer has them on order, no hassle or resistance, just like most of you. Also like all of you, no bedstep was on the truck, and the reaction from the dealer was the same as all of yours. No big deal. But, at least my divider was present
.
-Interior fit and finish is spectacular! No busted seams, misaligned trim, cuts/tears/discolorations. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about the red interior being "too much". But, its really subdued, actually, and not obnoxious at all. Really happy about that!
-RamBoxes: Alignment is equal to or better than the ones that were on my old truck. In the picture, you can see that it looks misaligned towards the rear of the truck. The picture makes it look way worse than it is. I can say truthfully that this will not bother me. But, just to be sure, I put my cell phone on video record mode, put it inside, and closed the door tight. Then I ran my Streamlight flashlight around the seams. Foe those of you that aren't familiar with that type of flashlight, lets just say they are stupid bright. Anyway, no light showed up in the video, so that convinced me that they are closed tightly. Also verified that the RamBox light itself shuts off when closed... It does.
Some observations from the drive:
- QUIET! Seriously, this thing is silent! I'm not sure if its because I'm used to having a diesel under the hood, or if the noise canceling/insulation is that good. Regardless, I like it!
- No Clunk! I tried like hell to make this thing clunk like some of your trucks do. So far, so good. Hopefully it doesn't ever develop.
- The Alpine is SWEET! No rattles at all, with deep, deep bass. Far superior to my old system.
-Start/Stop/E-Torque: seamless. It took me all of 2 stoplights to get used to used to the engine shutting off. Really just reminded me of driving a golf cart, but WAY more fun! The E-Torque didn't bother me at all. Again, I'm coming from a 2500 Diesel, so the regenerative breaking is somewhat like using an engine brake (which I did all the time), so no real learning curve there.
Things I don't like:
-Engine Block Heater plug. Its located on the far left side of the engine compartment, just behind the air cleaner. Its only about 8 inches long, and just barely makes it out the side of the hood. Not really sure who designed that, but it sucks. I'm going to have to figure out some way to extend it, and get it routed to a decent spot in the front of the truck. Believe it or not, the forecast is calling for snow here later this week, so looks like I'm going to need to get this figured out fast. Winter's Comin'!
- Burning Paint/Electrical Smell. Its faint, but its definitely there. Hopfully this is something that will "cook off" on its own as it breaks in.
-Payload. 1309lbs!!!! Are you serious?!?!?! Somehow I think there is an engineered safety factor at play here. Lord I hope that's what it is! I knew it would be low, but not that low! Cant really do much about it, though.
Things not tested (yet):
-Lights. When I go to work at 4am tomorrow, Ill get to see how these LED's really are. If the deer are like they were this morning, I hope to God that the lighting system is better than my old trucks stock system!
-4X4, 4Lo, Lock, Hill Descent. Ill get to this when it dries out a bit. This gumbo-mud is horrible here. Its like epoxy peanut butter. This will have to wait.
Overall, Im very, VERY happy with this truck. Gonna be my rig of choice for a long time to come!
Initial inspection:
-No major body/panel/bumper alignment or paint issues. Everything, including the RamBoxes, were good to go. (More on the RamBoxes in a bit.
-Add me to the "Where the crap are my bed extender knobs?!?" list. Dealer has them on order, no hassle or resistance, just like most of you. Also like all of you, no bedstep was on the truck, and the reaction from the dealer was the same as all of yours. No big deal. But, at least my divider was present
.-Interior fit and finish is spectacular! No busted seams, misaligned trim, cuts/tears/discolorations. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about the red interior being "too much". But, its really subdued, actually, and not obnoxious at all. Really happy about that!
-RamBoxes: Alignment is equal to or better than the ones that were on my old truck. In the picture, you can see that it looks misaligned towards the rear of the truck. The picture makes it look way worse than it is. I can say truthfully that this will not bother me. But, just to be sure, I put my cell phone on video record mode, put it inside, and closed the door tight. Then I ran my Streamlight flashlight around the seams. Foe those of you that aren't familiar with that type of flashlight, lets just say they are stupid bright. Anyway, no light showed up in the video, so that convinced me that they are closed tightly. Also verified that the RamBox light itself shuts off when closed... It does.
Some observations from the drive:
- QUIET! Seriously, this thing is silent! I'm not sure if its because I'm used to having a diesel under the hood, or if the noise canceling/insulation is that good. Regardless, I like it!
- No Clunk! I tried like hell to make this thing clunk like some of your trucks do. So far, so good. Hopefully it doesn't ever develop.
- The Alpine is SWEET! No rattles at all, with deep, deep bass. Far superior to my old system.
-Start/Stop/E-Torque: seamless. It took me all of 2 stoplights to get used to used to the engine shutting off. Really just reminded me of driving a golf cart, but WAY more fun! The E-Torque didn't bother me at all. Again, I'm coming from a 2500 Diesel, so the regenerative breaking is somewhat like using an engine brake (which I did all the time), so no real learning curve there.
Things I don't like:
-Engine Block Heater plug. Its located on the far left side of the engine compartment, just behind the air cleaner. Its only about 8 inches long, and just barely makes it out the side of the hood. Not really sure who designed that, but it sucks. I'm going to have to figure out some way to extend it, and get it routed to a decent spot in the front of the truck. Believe it or not, the forecast is calling for snow here later this week, so looks like I'm going to need to get this figured out fast. Winter's Comin'!
- Burning Paint/Electrical Smell. Its faint, but its definitely there. Hopfully this is something that will "cook off" on its own as it breaks in.
-Payload. 1309lbs!!!! Are you serious?!?!?! Somehow I think there is an engineered safety factor at play here. Lord I hope that's what it is! I knew it would be low, but not that low! Cant really do much about it, though.
Things not tested (yet):
-Lights. When I go to work at 4am tomorrow, Ill get to see how these LED's really are. If the deer are like they were this morning, I hope to God that the lighting system is better than my old trucks stock system!
-4X4, 4Lo, Lock, Hill Descent. Ill get to this when it dries out a bit. This gumbo-mud is horrible here. Its like epoxy peanut butter. This will have to wait.
Overall, Im very, VERY happy with this truck. Gonna be my rig of choice for a long time to come!
Last edited:
