Yet another truck has rusted out on me, this time 11 years. Bed walls are bulging due to delamination behind spray-on liner, and eye bolts are just falling out. But outer body still looks presentable... maybe it won't totally kill me on trade-in. Truck has 52k miles.
I've been a "Ram guy" the last 20 years, for one reason: Ram offered manual transmission with a V8 and extended cab, while no other brand did. Now that's gone away, so I have less reason to stay with Ram, although I will admit they've been the most reliable trucks I've ever owned... rust aside. I've also grown to like the feel and controls of them, in fact we have three Dodge's in the garage right now.
The requirements:
1. Must be 4wd. My primary use of this vehicle is "bad weather days", when I don't want to drive my sports car or sedan in snow and salt. I also take it off-road several times per year, mostly when pulling a trailer.
2. Must have integrated trailer brake system, and will favor highest tow rating. I use this truck for pulling a 7k# trailer loaded with logs or tractor over hilly terrain and offroad.
3. Would favor lower roof height, as I also take this vehicle into old parking garages in Philly, where roof clearance is a constant issue. This is the sole reason I've been buying 1/2 ton trucks, despite 3/4 ton being more suitable for my trailer's ~1000# tongue weight.
4. I will always choose highest horsepower and highest rear gear ratio available. This is another area where Ram seems to outperform everyone else.
5. Yes, I would consider an EV, if it actually looks and feels like a real pickup truck. When I see numbers like 1000 hp posted, I don't understand how you can't be interested in driving that. I am a founding member of the HA = "Horsepower Anonymous" support group. But I ain't paying $100k for a pickup truck, so that may be off the table, anyway.
6. Not interested in diesel. Slow, and unnecessarily expensive, when I never get more than 70k miles out of a truck before it's rusted thru.
I don't have a specific budget. But I don't like throwing away money on anything, so it's going to be a matter of seeing where the market is, and then choosing "good value" for my dollar.
If there's any truck of any series or brand available with a manual transmission, I'm probably buying that. If there's one thing I hate more than any other mechanical device on earth, it is the automatic transmission. But it needs to be 4wd extended cab, and capable of pulling my trailer at highway speed, so not a wimpy v6 configuration.
Thoughts? Recommendations?
