I purchased my 2019 Limited black on black w/tow package in Nov 2018 as I was coming back from overseas. Thankfully, a life long family friend of my parents who owns the dealership gave me a screaming deal so I wired the cash sight unseen.
Now with 28,6XX miles on the truck - I thought I would share with you all some insights into the truck that I hope prospective buyers will find useful - if not, let this thread die and maybe it will serve someone well at some point!
MISTAKES I MADE:
-DO NOT GET THE TOW PACKAGE. The mirrors are awful. Switching to the better looking, more functional mirrors requires $1200 on an already $65k truck. Adding a brake controller is easier, cheaper, and less invasive than doing the mirrors.
-23 Gallon Tank will result in major headaches on road trips, and especially when towing. Do not settle for the 23 gallon tank. Get the 33 mile tank. I was getting 300ish miles per tank when I was doing primarily city driving. My AVG MPG over the life of the truck is 13.1.
-Replace the Stock Bridgestone tires ASAP if your truck is still equipped with them. I blew out 3, yes you read that right, 3 in the first 5600 miles of driving.
-I put 305/60/R20 K02s onto the stock Limited wheels and NEVER was able to get rid of a shimmy in the truck after 20k miles of driving. It turned out to be 2 slightly bent wheels that were deemed manufacturer defect - neither of which were identified by the dealers after 5 trips. It was identified by an independent shop who road force balanced the wheels for me. That was $150 out of my pocket to identify an issue a dealership should 100% be able to identify.
-NEVER, EVER, EVER trust a dealership. I have 2 other cars. A BMW M5, and a Volkswagen Golf R - both go to the dealership for work and I have NEVER had worse experiences with dealerships than I did with Dodge. I move frequently for work. I have used 4 different dealers. Every. Single. One. Was. Horrible.
THE GOOD:
-The interior is nicer than any truck on the market, hands down.
-The Air Suspension is an absolute treat when towing. I've towed up to 9k lbs with the truck and it was fantastic. Towed from Austin, TX to South Carolina through the Smokey Mountains with the 9k lb trailer and never skipped a beat.
-The 3.92 rear end makes this thing a deceptively quick vehicle from 0-30 - absolutely need to rotate tires every 5k miles to keep even wear.
-The lights. The headlights are wild how much light they output. I don't know that I've been in a vehicle with better headlights.
-I did the Level kit - both links and daystar spacers, and it made the truck look the way it should from the factory, while still maintaining factory ride quality. Highly, highly recommend. I installed myself and it was really simple.
-Hellwig Sway bar will transform the way the truck drives. Do it. Took me 15 mins to install.
-Pedal Commander is also a must. Some of the worst throttle input/lag I've experienced in a stock vehicle without it.
MAINTENANCE:
-7 total trips to the dealer. Total time lost at the dealer: about 14 days without my truck, possibly more.
-Most serious issue: Truck would not fuel up as the emergency valve in the filler neck was faulty - took the dealer a full week to diagnose, fix, and give me the truck back - only to give it back to me with 9 miles on the tank and the nearest gas station was 21 miles. So I had to wait for their parts runner to bring me a gas can. By the time I realized it, I was too far away. My fault for not checking the fuel as I got in - I figured that they would have fueled the truck up with a little more gas than that to check their work and make sure it was filling properly - guess not.
-Annoyances: Rattles. I had to turn the sub down all the way as the truck rattled like a can of marbles in the rear, both the rear window surround, and something in the backseat area.
-Oil Changes are a NIGHTMARE on this truck. Good lord.
Would I get another Dodge Truck? No.
Did I enjoy the truck when it wasn't shimmying? Absolutely.
Will I miss the utility of having a truck? Everyone has told me, you don't realize how useful a truck is until its gone. Time will tell, but I have a feeling it will be missed for the functionality of loading the bed up with stuff for friends/family.
I thoroughly enjoyed this forum - there is a wealth of knowledge here that is fantastic. I fully intend on staying here and checking out the adventures of members and their trucks.
-Ben
Now with 28,6XX miles on the truck - I thought I would share with you all some insights into the truck that I hope prospective buyers will find useful - if not, let this thread die and maybe it will serve someone well at some point!
MISTAKES I MADE:
-DO NOT GET THE TOW PACKAGE. The mirrors are awful. Switching to the better looking, more functional mirrors requires $1200 on an already $65k truck. Adding a brake controller is easier, cheaper, and less invasive than doing the mirrors.
-23 Gallon Tank will result in major headaches on road trips, and especially when towing. Do not settle for the 23 gallon tank. Get the 33 mile tank. I was getting 300ish miles per tank when I was doing primarily city driving. My AVG MPG over the life of the truck is 13.1.
-Replace the Stock Bridgestone tires ASAP if your truck is still equipped with them. I blew out 3, yes you read that right, 3 in the first 5600 miles of driving.
-I put 305/60/R20 K02s onto the stock Limited wheels and NEVER was able to get rid of a shimmy in the truck after 20k miles of driving. It turned out to be 2 slightly bent wheels that were deemed manufacturer defect - neither of which were identified by the dealers after 5 trips. It was identified by an independent shop who road force balanced the wheels for me. That was $150 out of my pocket to identify an issue a dealership should 100% be able to identify.
-NEVER, EVER, EVER trust a dealership. I have 2 other cars. A BMW M5, and a Volkswagen Golf R - both go to the dealership for work and I have NEVER had worse experiences with dealerships than I did with Dodge. I move frequently for work. I have used 4 different dealers. Every. Single. One. Was. Horrible.
THE GOOD:
-The interior is nicer than any truck on the market, hands down.
-The Air Suspension is an absolute treat when towing. I've towed up to 9k lbs with the truck and it was fantastic. Towed from Austin, TX to South Carolina through the Smokey Mountains with the 9k lb trailer and never skipped a beat.
-The 3.92 rear end makes this thing a deceptively quick vehicle from 0-30 - absolutely need to rotate tires every 5k miles to keep even wear.
-The lights. The headlights are wild how much light they output. I don't know that I've been in a vehicle with better headlights.
-I did the Level kit - both links and daystar spacers, and it made the truck look the way it should from the factory, while still maintaining factory ride quality. Highly, highly recommend. I installed myself and it was really simple.
-Hellwig Sway bar will transform the way the truck drives. Do it. Took me 15 mins to install.
-Pedal Commander is also a must. Some of the worst throttle input/lag I've experienced in a stock vehicle without it.
MAINTENANCE:
-7 total trips to the dealer. Total time lost at the dealer: about 14 days without my truck, possibly more.
-Most serious issue: Truck would not fuel up as the emergency valve in the filler neck was faulty - took the dealer a full week to diagnose, fix, and give me the truck back - only to give it back to me with 9 miles on the tank and the nearest gas station was 21 miles. So I had to wait for their parts runner to bring me a gas can. By the time I realized it, I was too far away. My fault for not checking the fuel as I got in - I figured that they would have fueled the truck up with a little more gas than that to check their work and make sure it was filling properly - guess not.
-Annoyances: Rattles. I had to turn the sub down all the way as the truck rattled like a can of marbles in the rear, both the rear window surround, and something in the backseat area.
-Oil Changes are a NIGHTMARE on this truck. Good lord.
Would I get another Dodge Truck? No.
Did I enjoy the truck when it wasn't shimmying? Absolutely.
Will I miss the utility of having a truck? Everyone has told me, you don't realize how useful a truck is until its gone. Time will tell, but I have a feeling it will be missed for the functionality of loading the bed up with stuff for friends/family.
I thoroughly enjoyed this forum - there is a wealth of knowledge here that is fantastic. I fully intend on staying here and checking out the adventures of members and their trucks.
-Ben
