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Truck newbie, still searching

TSL

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Hi everyone,
I'm new to pickup trucks, coming from a 2007 Subaru outback XT ( awesome car to drive, but it's cost me plenty, but that's a whole other thread !)
Why do I think I need a truck ? I live in the country, have a few lambs each year, haul in hay for them. Go out to the forest ( I live in Oregon ) to cut firewood, sometimes on sketchy enough logging roads. Had a hair-raising incident one time with the wife's 2015 Highlander and my 5x8 utility trailer : too much wood on the trailer for the steep downhill out of the woods. Trailer was pushing the car, steep drop-off on one side. Made it out, but lesson learned and only half-filled the trailer from them on !
Also we go camping often with the usual assortment of gear. A good camping trip for me means leaving the pavement far behind. Not overlanding per se but logging / forest service roads. We think we'd like to get into a travel trailer at some point. The kinds we've thought looked a good fit have UVW's in the 3,500 lb range ( eg NoBo 16.6 )
We've done test drives in F150 ( 3.5 EB ), RAM 1500, GMC Sierra. Hated the GMC, felt like a big awkward bus ! F150 was very nice, but everyone in the family really liked the RAM. Ride quality was unbelievable. We drove a 5.7 Hemi / eTorque.
Not sure whether we need the 5.7 or whether the 3.6 V6 would do just fine. It would be my daily driver. Since I work from home I don't cover much more than 7k miles per year. Used to be more like 13k when working from the office.
Very interested in the Ecodiesel, for the fuel economy and the fun diesels are to drive, but from reading on this forum it may not be a good fit. Surprised how much "care and attention" the diesels seem to need. I guess it's all because of the emissions systems ? I grew up in Ireland, diesel cars are ubiquitous and bullet proof. They run for ever and take whatever abuse you throw at them. Never heard stories of engines failing at a few 10's of k miles, fuel pumps disintegrating etc. They just ran and you changed the oil whenever you thought of it and they kept on going ! ( Of course taking a little better care of them than that would be better ! )
Very drawn to the BackCountry package on the Big Horn trim, but disappointed that LED lights are not an option in 2022 and looks like we're stuck with the 6 seater option, can't get the decent center console.
Thoughts from the community on what might be a good fit from the above are welcomed. My apologies if I shouldn't be introducing myself here before I've actually gone out and bought or ordered a Ram truck !
 

jmt8706

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Welcome! Feel free to stick around with us whether you have your truck or not. Lots of good info here.
 

AngelPhoenix

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Good to have you here, no truck required (just eyes for one haha).

I only have personal experience with the 5.7 (eTorque) but I can tell you that it is an absolute joy to drive every day!

The consensus that I've seen on the Ecodiesel is that it's pretty niche, but awesome for people who do a lot of highway driving with long trips, and put lots of miles on, while also towing heavy decently often. With your mileage needs, it may be sort of "overkill", but at the same time, sounds like it would fit your use cases well.

The V6 will obviously do better on the fuel economy (if you don't drive it particularly hard) but isn't the best for hauling heavy, or towing much. It can do it, but you will feel it struggling in most situations. And obviously it's not nearly as fun to drive.

If you can't get exactly what you want off a Bighorn, a lightly trimmed Rebel may work well for you, if it's within your budget. In any case, let us know what you decide on! :)
 

Fatherof3

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Welcome to the forum . I think I would opt for the 3.6 L V6 as it does get better fuel economy than the Hemi .
 

gbcvtrsc

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I’m about one month in to owning our 2021 Bighorn with the 5.7 Hemi eTorque and it’s an amazing truck. Wife really likes driving it too.

Before buying the Ram I drove a Silverado and an F150. The Chevy was nice, the Ford was “meh” and the Ram stole the show.

Edit to add that we went with the Hemi and 3.92 rear end for the towing power.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

TSL

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So I went in to the dealership and drove an EcoDiesel today. Of course they gave me a Limited trim with all the bells and whistles. Anyway, it certainly drove very nice, refined and smooth, although a lot different feel to the Hemi. I drove after dark so didn't really get to play with it a whole lot. What was nice was to experience the LED lights - just fantastic lights, very impressed.
What was less impressive was the sale guy's knowledge, seemed new and just didn't have answers for my questions. He's the second sales guy I've talked to at this same dealership and a lot of my questions resulted in "I'm not sure, I'll need to check on that" kind of answers. Maybe I need to try a different dealership !
It does seem that currently I can't get LED lights on the BigHorn trim which is frustrating, and I can't get bucket seats / center console with the BackCountry package on the Big Horn . I really don't want the bench seat. It seems the bucket seats / center console option has "temporarily gone away" but they don't know for how long. I guess it's the ever-present parts shortage everyone is dealing with. I may have to be patient to get what I want I think. Or see if I could step up to a Rebel as some-one mentioned above !
 

NRitland2

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Welcome to the forum…
There is always the Laramie Southwest edition. I believe you will get the LEDs
 

TSL

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Just coming back to this thread to provide an update : I finished up settling on a Rebel ! And not exactly "lightly trimmed" as some-one suggested above, but not completely fully loaded either.
I went for Level 2, Comfort and Convenience, Advanced Safety + BSM, 33 gal tank, Elec shift on demand transfer case.
Turns out that as of now, LED headlights are BACK for the BigHorn, so I almost went back to that, but by then I'd read and reviewed more on the Surround View Camera and decided I really wanted that, I think it will help me get used to a larger vehicle.
I must say this is a fantastic forum, so much useful information readily shared here.
I've ordered with Mark Dodge, so I'm doing two new-to-me things : (1) ordering a vehicle rather than buying off the lot and (2) buying out of state ( far out of state, I'm in Oregon ! ) However, even with shipping, I'm still saving a lot, and depending when it comes in, I will look into flying down and driving it back. If it's getting into spring or early summer that would be attractive, but if it comes in earlier than that, I may or may not want to test out the truck's winter weather handling on it's maiden voyage !
For now it's a matter of hurry up and wait I guess.
I just put down the deposit today, so I don't have a VIN yet.
 

Nsleone

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Just coming back to this thread to provide an update : I finished up settling on a Rebel ! And not exactly "lightly trimmed" as some-one suggested above, but not completely fully loaded either.
I went for Level 2, Comfort and Convenience, Advanced Safety + BSM, 33 gal tank, Elec shift on demand transfer case.
Turns out that as of now, LED headlights are BACK for the BigHorn, so I almost went back to that, but by then I'd read and reviewed more on the Surround View Camera and decided I really wanted that, I think it will help me get used to a larger vehicle.
I must say this is a fantastic forum, so much useful information readily shared here.
I've ordered with Mark Dodge, so I'm doing two new-to-me things : (1) ordering a vehicle rather than buying off the lot and (2) buying out of state ( far out of state, I'm in Oregon ! ) However, even with shipping, I'm still saving a lot, and depending when it comes in, I will look into flying down and driving it back. If it's getting into spring or early summer that would be attractive, but if it comes in earlier than that, I may or may not want to test out the truck's winter weather handling on it's maiden voyage !
For now it's a matter of hurry up and wait I guess.
I just put down the deposit today, so I don't have a VIN yet.
Congrats! Sounds like you’re getting an awesome truck! Which motor did you end up going with?
 

TSL

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Congrats! Sounds like you’re getting an awesome truck! Which motor did you end up going with?
Settled on the 5.7 Hemi ETorque in the end. Found it hard to justify the extra cost of the diesel, especially since I wanted to get Level 2 package and the Adv Safety group. It all adds up quickly ! Did some rough math and guessed I'd need to drive for north of 60k miles to recoup ( in mpg savings ) the extra cost of the diesel motor. Hoping I haven't added too many options such that I crater the payload too much. However, if we ever get around to a travel trailer ( after recovering from this expense ! ), it'll probably be in the 5,000 lb range so I think I'll be OK.
 

HemiDude

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Congrats! Can't wait to see pics when it arrives
 

Nsleone

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Settled on the 5.7 Hemi ETorque in the end. Found it hard to justify the extra cost of the diesel, especially since I wanted to get Level 2 package and the Adv Safety group. It all adds up quickly ! Did some rough math and guessed I'd need to drive for north of 60k miles to recoup ( in mpg savings ) the extra cost of the diesel motor. Hoping I haven't added too many options such that I crater the payload too much. However, if we ever get around to a travel trailer ( after recovering from this expense ! ), it'll probably be in the 5,000 lb range so I think I'll be OK.
Oh I see your signature now, I’m blind haha! I’ve had the 5.7 etorque for over 36,000 miles and I love it! I’m not a fan of stop start systems but the way the etorque literally snaps the motor back on is amazing.
Your payload should actually be pretty good, you didn’t get any of the really heavy stuff ( pano sunroof, MFT, Ram boxes, etc. ) except etorque which is around 80 pounds more and 33 gal tank so you’ll probably have a pretty good payload, maybe in the 1500-1600, range that’s my guess.
 

Luigi_dfw

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I too love my eTorque. Very happy that I went with it over the traditional alternator.

I found this video to be very helpful in explaining the eTorque system -
 

NRitland2

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Settled on the 5.7 Hemi ETorque in the end. Found it hard to justify the extra cost of the diesel, especially since I wanted to get Level 2 package and the Adv Safety group. It all adds up quickly ! Did some rough math and guessed I'd need to drive for north of 60k miles to recoup ( in mpg savings ) the extra cost of the diesel motor. Hoping I haven't added too many options such that I crater the payload too much. However, if we ever get around to a travel trailer ( after recovering from this expense ! ), it'll probably be in the 5,000 lb range so I think I'll be OK.
Regarding the travel trailer. Watch the hitch weight… As long as you stay within that range and with a good set up these trucks tow like a dream.

Go to as many RV conventions you can and get in as many travel trailers as possible. Conventions are much better than showing up on the lot as there is less pressure and you can better and more conveniently walk through units and get a good idea of what you want

Congrats on the new truck and the build
 

TSL

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Circling back to this thread, thought I would "close the loop" and post a pic of the new rig.
While I had posted earlier that I settled on the Hemi Etorque, I actually finished up changing my mind. The truck arrived with some paint scratch / damage and I was able to re-order and roll over my deposit. When I re-ordered I changed to the Ecodiesel. To be honest, I second-guessed myself immediately after ordering the hemi, and the more I read on this forum about real-world mpg's with the Rebel trim, the more I said "forget it, I don't want that" !
So Ecodiesel it is, and arrived in my driveway yesterday, shipped from Mark Dodge.
Very impressed with it so far, it is very quiet and refined.
Greatly appreciated this forum and all I learned on it. I'll be sticking around to continue to learn about the trucks
Now I need to get it off-road and post some pics on the Rebel pics thread here !
 

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Nsleone

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Circling back to this thread, thought I would "close the loop" and post a pic of the new rig.
While I had posted earlier that I settled on the Hemi Etorque, I actually finished up changing my mind. The truck arrived with some paint scratch / damage and I was able to re-order and roll over my deposit. When I re-ordered I changed to the Ecodiesel. To be honest, I second-guessed myself immediately after ordering the hemi, and the more I read on this forum about real-world mpg's with the Rebel trim, the more I said "forget it, I don't want that" !
So Ecodiesel it is, and arrived in my driveway yesterday, shipped from Mark Dodge.
Very impressed with it so far, it is very quiet and refined.
Greatly appreciated this forum and all I learned on it. I'll be sticking around to continue to learn about the trucks
Now I need to get it off-road and post some pics on the Rebel pics thread here !
Congrats on the new truck! I think you made the right choice given how much gas prices are up!
Do you still plan on getting a camper for it and the one question every one loves to ask… what’s your payload!?
 

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