Thinking about a TH for full-time
As crazy as it seems, the wife and I are tired of the "rat race". We live in a 2800sf house and only use a couple of rooms. Our eldest son is away in the Navy and our youngest will graduate this year....
Forum Discussion
Truck shopping the last two days has not been fun. I decided to go into this without any brand bias. I've done a ton of research, but still wanted to sit myself in each of the vehicles. It is strange living in Dallas, TX and not being able to find a large variety. I thought a good 4x4 diesel DRW would be pretty common around these parts. They aren't.
Chevy/GMC: Already knowing these had the lowest tow rating, I still wanted to give one a chance. I only found one locally and in my second least favorite color (white). I'll just say that there is no way I'd pay anywhere near the asking price for this vehicle. I'm not really going to even go into detail, as this was a no-go from the first test drive.
RAM: I currently own a Lone Star 1500, so this would be a natural transition. I went to the closest dealer and had a look at a couple. The Tradesman version was just too stripped and utilitarian for me to live with for the next decade. The Laramie was nice, but also priced around $70k. It just didn't seem worth it for what I like in a truck. There wasn't a single Lone Star/Bighorn version anywhere nearby with the AISIN transmission. I decided to try out the expensive Laramie and the sales kid (who couldn't be bothered with putting his candy bar away) said they would have to run a credit check before I could even test-drive the truck. I explained I had my credit pre-approved through Texan's Credit Union, and he still said no. I had bought two previous new vehicles from this dealership. They'll never see me again.
Ford: This was a pleasant surprise. I had actually never driven a Ford truck in my entire life. This thing had all the bells and whistles. It drove quite well and was pleasurable enough I could live with it as a daily driver. The $70k sticker gave me quite a bit of shock though. However, it is still on my short list. I may look for a version with a few less options, but I'm also going to have to live with this truck for the next decade.
At the end of two days, I found a truck I didn't like, a truck I didn't get to test, and a truck that was a bit above my planned budget. Not sure where I'm going to go from here, but I still have a few months before I NEED to make a decision.
Chevy/GMC: Already knowing these had the lowest tow rating, I still wanted to give one a chance. I only found one locally and in my second least favorite color (white). I'll just say that there is no way I'd pay anywhere near the asking price for this vehicle. I'm not really going to even go into detail, as this was a no-go from the first test drive.
RAM: I currently own a Lone Star 1500, so this would be a natural transition. I went to the closest dealer and had a look at a couple. The Tradesman version was just too stripped and utilitarian for me to live with for the next decade. The Laramie was nice, but also priced around $70k. It just didn't seem worth it for what I like in a truck. There wasn't a single Lone Star/Bighorn version anywhere nearby with the AISIN transmission. I decided to try out the expensive Laramie and the sales kid (who couldn't be bothered with putting his candy bar away) said they would have to run a credit check before I could even test-drive the truck. I explained I had my credit pre-approved through Texan's Credit Union, and he still said no. I had bought two previous new vehicles from this dealership. They'll never see me again.
Ford: This was a pleasant surprise. I had actually never driven a Ford truck in my entire life. This thing had all the bells and whistles. It drove quite well and was pleasurable enough I could live with it as a daily driver. The $70k sticker gave me quite a bit of shock though. However, it is still on my short list. I may look for a version with a few less options, but I'm also going to have to live with this truck for the next decade.
At the end of two days, I found a truck I didn't like, a truck I didn't get to test, and a truck that was a bit above my planned budget. Not sure where I'm going to go from here, but I still have a few months before I NEED to make a decision.
