New to Ram and truck life!

[tom318]

Ill be joining the ram 1500 squad shortly and this will be my first truck. Very excited! I don't own it yet but will placing an order for a 2021 Laramie Ecodiesel within a week or so. Truck is spec'ed out and dealer is chosen but still have a little more research to do before pulling the trigger. This forum has already been a huge help! Look forward to learning more and offering up my insights throughout my ownership!

 

[PorBoy]

Good luck with your order and a soon to be welcome to yaaaa.

 

[Richard320]

Be sure to get the bed utility group so you have plenty of tiedowns. Because once you're a part of truck life, lots of friends need furniture moved, Christmas trees hauled home, and like that.

 

[tom318]

Agree! That's part of the order. Here is my build, any insight would be appreciated since its not ordered yet......but soon, very soon!
My build:
2021 Laramie 4x4 long bed (id take short bed if it had everything else)
Ecodiesel
3.92 gears
Patriot Blue
Sport appearance (+ sport hood delete)
Bed utility
off road group
Laramie Level 2
multi-function gate
33 gallon tank
Panoramic roof
trailer brake controller

 

[Richard320]

Agree! That's part of the order. Here is my build, any insight would be appreciated since its not ordered yet......but soon, very soon!
My build:
2021 Laramie 4x4 long bed (id take short bed if it had everything else)
Ecodiesel
3.92 gears
Patriot Blue
Sport appearance (+ sport hood delete)
Bed utility
off road group
Laramie Level 2
multi-function gate
33 gallon tank
Panoramic roof
trailer brake controller

Do you really like the roof open? My wife's last three cars came stock with moonroofs. I doubt we had them open more than a handful of times on each car. And you're replacing a thin layer of steel with a big piece of glass and some rails and a motor. That's an extra 50 lbs at least and it comes off your cargo capacity.

 

[PorBoy]

For my wife and myself with all of our vehicles that had sunroofs, we only opened them at the time of purchase and before the selling of them. I know folks really like them so I’ll leave it at that ha ha.

 

[tom318]

Do you really like the roof open? My wife's last three cars came stock with moonroofs. I doubt we had them open more than a handful of times on each car. And you're replacing a thin layer of steel with a big piece of glass and some rails and a motor. That's an extra 50 lbs at least and it comes off your cargo capacity.

I agree its maybe not the most necessary thing but since having one in my car now its almost always open. Since my cheap wagon has it, i feel like a 60k truck should as well. If i didnt have it in my current car, i would have skipped it for sure. Its great on a wagon when you have bikes or kayaks on the roof, you can always check on your gear. that being said, i doubt ill have any kind of roof rack on the truck but since i'm about to pay $1400 for it, you better bet that thing will be open all the time.

 

[STR]

Since I’ve been driving I was only without a truck for about a 6 months, and it sucked! You never realize how much you need a truck until you don’t have one, especially if you own a home. Welcome aboard

 

[tom318]

Since I’ve been driving I was only without a truck for about a 6 months, and it sucked! You never realize how much you need a truck until you don’t have one, especially if you own home. Welcome aboard

Ya, I have done alright and only needed to haul around fishing poles and mountain bikes so i have been fine. But you are 100% correct, i now have had a home for 5yrs and i cant tell you home many times i'm arranging times to barrow my buddies truck. I also have 2 kids(1 and 3yr old) and atvs.....so a truck it is. I'm excited! Once its in the driveway i can start the hunt for a travel trailer and plan some trips!

 

[Paultg]

Very similar build to mine except for the drivetrain.
My only opinion is I thought the cost up-charge to go to the LV2 equip group (over Lv1) was a lot for:
1. Heated rear seats (I don’t need)
2. Navigation (I’ll use Apple car play)
3. Upgraded stereo speakers folks seem to change anyway
4. Underseat storage (I can add aftermarket)

For these reasons I stuck with Lv1 equip group.

 

[Stevenc150]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the future purchase. So many options, I'll just state my personal must-haves. Especially when u spend what we do on these beasts!
- extended warranty (depends on # gadgets u get)
- 33 gal. Tank
- 4x4
- Pano roof (polarizing topic...but I love mine)
- AdaptiveCruiseControl (it has absolutely spoiled me)
- Hellwig sway bar (make it ur 1st purchase haha)
- Short bed (had both & LB just too d@mn long 4me)
- in the end tho...you do you man

Oh! And welcome to the Patriot Blue club

 

[tom318]

You guys all have good points. I personally didn’t really want the long bed but a lot of my travels will now include 2 Honda trx90’s or 1 Honda foreman. It would be nice to get those in the bed and be able to close he gate. Looking to get a small travel trailer in the near future so I could see wanting to bring the small atvs and tow and figured it would just be easier. Both will fit in my garage, long bed just barely but even with the short bed it doesn’t really leave enough room to walk behind.
I also feel That the level 2 group is steep. I need to get at least the 4C uconnect system because I’d like the option for the WiFi hot spot for trips. Otherwise the Apple car play will do the rest. The Laramie comes with the alpine system which may be good enough. Maybe I’ll find a dealer with both and give them a try. Based on my wife’s BMW, the difference from their standard audio to the Harmon kardon was massive and became a must. Personally, once I get the truck, I just don’t want to mess with anything. Tint the Windows. That’s about it.

 

[Paultg]

To be honest I didn’t pay much attention to the stereo options. I didn’t even drive a Laramie. So if the stereo is important to you then makes sense. It’s just seems to me that $4k MSRP add is a lot for that stuff. And I will pretty much never has folks in the rear seats.

Hopefully the base stereo in the Laramie doesn’t suck!
Like you, I’m not really looking to take my new truck apart.

FYI: I think the WiFi hotspot stuff is a service (like cell phone) that you eventually need to subscribe and pay for. It’s frustrating considering what these trucks cost, and I’d really like to start my truck via my cell phone. But I’m done paying for all these money grab subscriptions.

 

[tom318]

To be honest I didn’t pay much attention to the stereo options. I didn’t even drive a Laramie. So if the stereo is important to you then makes sense. It’s just seems to me that $4k MSRP add is a lot for that stuff. And I will pretty much never has folks in the rear seats.

Hopefully the base stereo in the Laramie doesn’t suck!
Like you, I’m not really looking to take my new truck apart.

FYI: I think the WiFi hotspot stuff is a service (like cell phone) that you eventually need to subscribe and pay for. It’s frustrating considering what these trucks cost, and I’d really like to start my truck via my cell phone. But I’m done paying for all these money grab subscriptions.

I’m going to go find a level 1 and level 2 Laramie this weekend and try them out. At the end after I select the 4C system and rear storage with the level 1 package, I save $1880 which is a good amount. (After looking at the 2021 build sheet I have, looks like the price dropped on the level 2 package to $3995, so about $1200 over the LV2 all said and done) Looking at reviews on the HK system, it doesn’t sound like a clear winner over the alpine so I may take that route. I could care less about having heated rear seats. Rear will be filled with car seats for as long as I can see anyway.

Would be nice if the WiFi was always there but the subscription options aren’t to bad for what I intend. You can pay by the day or week so for long trips with 2 little kids, it’s great for some iPads.

 

[Paultg]

I didn’t realize you could pay for a day or for a short period of time. That’s pretty cool. Let us know what you think about the diff stereos. Nice to hear the Level 1 and Level 2 pricing might be closer in 2021 models. For 2020 it’s quite a jump.

I’ve read a lot folks prefer the Du-Ha underseat storage over factory.
check it out and search on here. This is the website https://www.du-ha.com/
I’m going to wait until I have my truck and decide if the seats just stay up all the time or if I need one of these storage compartments.

 

[Neurobit]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations!!

Pls add your truck's vitals to your signature when you have a moment.
This makes it easier for other folks to help in case you have questions or concerns about your vehicle.

 

[J-Cooz]

The long bed is only 9" longer. My 2019 was a long bed and my 2020 EcoDiesel is a short bed and I prefer it. The long bed was a pain in the *** to park and there's a noticeable difference in turning radius etc.

The only thing I would comment is that's going to be a heavy truck with low payload. Make sure it will work for your family and what you plan. The MFT is heavy, so is the off road group, and the long bed.
You'll probably have around 1050lbs of payload.

 

[tom318]

The long bed is only 9" longer. My 2019 was a long bed and my 2020 EcoDiesel is a short bed and I prefer it. The long bed was a pain in the *** to park and there's a noticeable difference in turning radius etc.

The only thing I would comment is that's going to be a heavy truck with low payload. Make sure it will work for your family and what you plan. The MFT is heavy, so is the off road group, and the long bed.
You'll probably have around 1050lbs of payload.

A 1050lb payload would be an embarrassment, my VW golf wagon has a 1000lb payload. Now you have me a bit concerned, that wouldn't cut it for what i'm looking for. Since i'm a newbie, how does one calculate final payload per config? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm assuming that's on the final sticker printed in the door? Also, now that you mention this, that 1750lb they list for long bed crew cab payload on the Ecodiesel may not apply to my configuration?

 

[J-Cooz]

A 1050lb payload would be an embarrassment, my VW golf wagon has a 1000lb payload. Now you have me a bit concerned, that wouldn't cut it for what i'm looking for. Since i'm a newbie, how does one calculate final payload per config? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm assuming that's on the final sticker printed in the door? Also, now that you mention this, that 1750lb they list for long bed crew cab payload on the Ecodiesel may not apply to my configuration?

You won't even be close to that.

My 2019 was a limited long bed Hemi with etorque, 33 gallon tank, sunroof, skid plates. Had 1190lb payload

My 2020 limited EcoDiesel with short bed, 33 gallon, sunroof has 1308lbs.

There is a long thread in the towing section where people are posting their payload stickers. You can read through that and get an idea of what your truck will be.

I'd take a look and see if you really need the long bed and off road group. Those are both pretty heavy. The 33 gallon tank is a must, and with the EcoDiesel you get unreal range.

 

[tom318]

You won't even be close to that.

My 2019 was a limited long bed Hemi with etorque, 33 gallon tank, sunroof, skid plates. Had 1190lb payload

My 2020 limited EcoDiesel with short bed, 33 gallon, sunroof has 1308lbs.

There is a long thread in the towing section where people are posting their payload stickers. You can read through that and get an idea of what your truck will be.

This makes total sense......completely overlooked it. Goal is a good trip vehicle for a family of 4 (small kids and my wife and are small, we are under 400 lbs all 4 combined) ~max 700lbs of additional gear and possibly pull a 4-5k lbs travel trailer. That's the absolute max i see my truck doing. Id need 1500-1600 lb payload.