Pulled the Trigger on New Ram 3500!

[blofgren]

Hello all. We have been looking at trucks for a while now. We were looking mostly at used trucks to reduce our cost, but saw a lot of used and abused junk and anything that wasn't was very expensive to the tune of $50k plus.

We were actually on the verge of keeping our truck for another year or two when we stopped by a local Ram dealer to see what they had. They had several new left over 2013 models but the one that stole our heart was a 2013 Ram 3500 Megacab dually Laramie 4x4 in an awesome new color called Maximum Steel (almost looks black from a distance but is a very dark metallic slate color). It has the 6.7 Cummins, G56 6 speed manual transmission, 3.73 diffs, heated and cooled leather seats, navigation, both backup camera and box view camera for hitching fifth wheel, Alcoa aluminum wheels, power sunroof, and fifth wheel prep kit, along with a zillion other features that the Laramie comes with. We were absolutely amazed with the quietness of the Cummins, the comfort and ergonomics of the interior, the fit and finish of the interior, and the stunning looks inside and out. The 2013 also comes very much upgraded from the 2012 with 14k GVW, massive towing capacity and addition of DEF. As much as the manual transmission has reduced power output compared to the automatics, it still has massive low end torque, shifts great, and I love manual transmissions! The smart exhaust brake works amazingly well too.

We doubted that we would be able to get into this truck, but they surprised me with what I think is a good deal; they discounted the truck $16k, gave me $16k trade for my 03 F-350 and threw in the chrome step bars, all weather floor mats, picture frame hitch adapter and 20k lbs gliding fifth wheel hitch. They are also providing a spray in bedliner at their cost. In addition the truck was eligible for a very good low interest rate.

So we made the deal and should be picking the truck up in a week or so! We are so excited and can't wait to tow with it. I also went through quite the learning curve with the fifth wheel package in this truck; my existing hitch would not work with it and it seems that ones that will are quite rare yet. I would have loved to go with the new B&W but wanted to have the flexibility of a slider given that the truck is a short box. The dealer said they will likely have to obtain the glider rails from another dealer because they are currently on backorder from Ram.

In closing I would strongly encourage anyone looking for a new truck to look at the Ram. The new ones are vastly improved over the previous generations and are now absolutely top notch! And this is coming from a guy who had 3 Fords in a row.

[blofgren]

gtsum wrote:
Congrats on the new truck! I ordered a 3500 Laramie Megacab in Max Steel about 6 weeks ago (love that color!). What hitch did you end up with? I ordered the factory prep package and really hoped B&W would come out with a slider to fit the pucks, but that isnt happening yet. I didnt think there was a sliding hitch to fit the pucks (without the picture frame adapter)? I am a bit concerned with using the picture frame adapter, thereby raising the hitch a few inches when they already sit up a good bit....part of me says to get the B&W non slider that fits the puck system and just watch it....my luck though I would either not be able to maneuver much at all (especially into my driveway), or I would forget about and crunch the rigs together (not good at all obviously)

PS - did your Ram dealer order the hitch for you (is it mopar branded) or you got it from Curt?

Hi, I swore that I would not get a dark color truck again (my Ford was dark blue) but this color looks too sharp to pass on!

My truck does have the factory prep package and the dealer provided the Ram (Mopar) branded 20k slider fifth wheel hitch and picture frame adapter as part of the deal. I really wanted the B&W as well, but I believe the only hitch they currently offer for the Ram prep package is a non slider and I'm with you; I was nervous about that and wanted to have the ability to slide the hitch in case I get into a tight situation. I saw a guy with a Ford short box take his back window out in an RV park a couple of years ago so it doesn't take much of a slip for bad things to happen!

The Mopar hitch is very heavy duty, very easy to use (the slider is the best I've seen) and appears to be well made (I think they are made by Curt according to reading I have done), but it does sit a bit high on the picture frame adapter. The bigger issue for me is that the truck itself is higher than my last one, but I think it may be OK. I will have to see how my trailer tows before deciding if I need to do anything further about the height.

[gtsum]

Congrats on the new truck! I ordered a 3500 Laramie Megacab in Max Steel about 6 weeks ago (love that color!). What hitch did you end up with? I ordered the factory prep package and really hoped B&W would come out with a slider to fit the pucks, but that isnt happening yet. I didnt think there was a sliding hitch to fit the pucks (without the picture frame adapter)? I am a bit concerned with using the picture frame adapter, thereby raising the hitch a few inches when they already sit up a good bit....part of me says to get the B&W non slider that fits the puck system and just watch it....my luck though I would either not be able to maneuver much at all (especially into my driveway), or I would forget about and crunch the rigs together (not good at all obviously)

PS - did your Ram dealer order the hitch for you (is it mopar branded) or you got it from Curt?

[blofgren]

Well the truck was finally ready last Friday so the deal is done! We officially love this truck; it is so smooth, quiet and powerful. The interior comfort is awesome and the options are really easy to use, including the Uconnect system.

I had the Ram 20k sliding fifth wheel hitch included as part of the deal and it is a heavy duty unit! I believe this is actually manufactured by Curt from what I have read. I have hitched up my trailer and all seems fine, but I am a bit nervous with the jaw set up on this hitch because my last hitch was a Hijacker with a sliding bar which was much more simple.

A couple of issues I have include my trailer is sitting a little nose high while hitched to this truck (the hitch is a good 6" higher than the one in my Ford was even in the lowest position). I have the pin box in the highest position and the adjustable trailer suspension is on the highest setting as well so I have done all I can without further modifications. The rear of the truck goes down about 4" when lowering the pin weight on the hitch but it is still a bit high. Has anyone ever put smaller blocks in the rear suspension of the truck to cure this issue? I am a bit concerned the truck may squat afterwards, though.

One thing that the Ford definitely had over the Ram is the towing mirrors. On the Ford, I simply pulled the mirrors outward to tow and there was no adjustment of the glass required. I find with this Ram that the mirror adjustment is completely different (even for the convex portions) when they are flipped up to tow. Now I understand why so many people drive around with the mirrors in the flipped up position!

Overall, though the truck is awesome and we can't wait to tow with it. I am just waiting for my new mud flaps to come in, will pick up my Retrax tonneau cover on Thursday and install and it will be completely ready.

[talonhead]

Check out the Duraflap DR10L 10 SS for the rear.
MikeH

[blofgren]

So in my quest in looking for accessories I asked the parts guy at the dealership if he could get me a price on a Retrax tonneau cover. He said no problem and got back to me with a price that is $200 less than I could get one for at any local accessory place! What a great dealer!

So now we are still waiting for the hitch head and I am going to go shopping for mud flaps today. Things are looking up!

[blofgren]

talonhead wrote:
I just ordered a 3500 4wd Mega Dually, CTD/Aisin Longhorn Limited (28M) in True Blue Pearl from a dealer in SC. Local dealer couldn't/wouldn't meet the out the door price of the SC dealer by over $2.5K. (MSRP is just their #, 71,145, got almost $13K off of that +TT&L) In addition to above; 5th wheel/GN prep, HD Snow Plow prep, Cold Weather Grp, CHMSL camera, rear window defroster, I-P mounted switches, CD player and 3.73's. I fell in love with the Mega when I rode in a buddies from work. Last fall, my wife and I got to have a Limited CC, LB, DRW, CTD for an entire afternoon to drive. We took it on back roads, freeway and surface streets, and enjoyed it the whole time. We researched and shopped for 6 months. I ordered it last week and already have a full VIN and VOTS has emailed me saying it's in 'Production'.
Remember when you/your kid kept asking "Are we there yet?" "Is it done yet", well I'm asking "Is it BUILT yet?!
MikeH

Congratulations; that sounds like a sweet truck! I likely would have chosen the Aisin on a factory order too, but they just made me too good of a deal on this one on the lot. I certainly don't envy you on the wait, though. Waiting for mine to get prepped at the dealer is bad enough!

Boy, the US prices are much better than Canadian. I actually looked into buying one in the US, but the warranty is voided as soon as it is registered in Canada so I thought that may be too much of a gamble. Although I suppose $10k price difference could pay for a lot of repairs if necessary.

[talonhead]

I just ordered a 3500 4wd Mega Dually, CTD/Aisin Longhorn Limited (28M) in True Blue Pearl from a dealer in SC. Local dealer couldn't/wouldn't meet the out the door price of the SC dealer by over $2.5K. (MSRP is just their #, 71,145, got almost $13K off of that +TT&L) In addition to above; 5th wheel/GN prep, HD Snow Plow prep, Cold Weather Grp, CHMSL camera, rear window defroster, I-P mounted switches, CD player and 3.73's. I fell in love with the Mega when I rode in a buddies from work. Last fall, my wife and I got to have a Limited CC, LB, DRW, CTD for an entire afternoon to drive. We took it on back roads, freeway and surface streets, and enjoyed it the whole time. We researched and shopped for 6 months. I ordered it last week and already have a full VIN and VOTS has emailed me saying it's in 'Production'.
Remember when you/your kid kept asking "Are we there yet?" "Is it done yet", well I'm asking "Is it BUILT yet?!
MikeH

[blofgren]

campigloo wrote:
I got out of a 2000 7.3 and thought that truck pulled good. Just wait til ya get into this one. One thing you might want to check. My 2012 Laramie had what looks like the same mirrors yours has. They didn't flip up for towing. The dealer wanted $1000.00 PLUS labor to replace them. I found the tow mirrors on the net for $500.00 and installed them myself. It took about an hour and a half.

Anybody need a deal on some mirrors?!!

Thank you for the tip on the mirrors; I did flip one up when I drove the truck the first time and they are indeed the trailer tow mirrors.

I certainly believe you in regards to the towing performance. This beast has so much low end torque that I have no doubt it will be a towing monster. I will really have to get used to shifting at much lower RPM's because I had to rev the Ford 6.0L quite high before shifting to keep it in it's power band.

The wait is starting to kill me! How do you guys that order them survive that length of wait?????? LOL, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve!

[We_ll_See]

Congrats on the deal and the truck. I'm guessing you were able to pick this up because it was a manual trans. I like manual trans too except when it rains or snows...

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Congrats on the new truck and Thank You!

Don

[ib516]

blofgren wrote:
Thanks again for all of the info and comments.

Dealer called today and they have received the slider rails and are just waiting for the hitch head, which they said they may have by the weekend. The spray in liner was done today so I may just get it this weekend! Can't wait!

In regards to the hitch, yes I would love to have the B&W (I see it's on backorder too) but I do want to have a slider hitch to be able to slide back in the event that I run into a tight situation.

Now I just need to source out a retractable tonneau cover (am thinking of going with a Retrax) and some good mudflaps with stainless trim. I will install these myself and then she's good to go!

http://www.partsengine.ca/ or

http://www.autoeq.ca/

for the accessories.

You're welcome! 🙂

(no affiliation, just lots of Googling to find good prices)

[blofgren]

Thanks again for all of the info and comments.

Dealer called today and they have received the slider rails and are just waiting for the hitch head, which they said they may have by the weekend. The spray in liner was done today so I may just get it this weekend! Can't wait!

In regards to the hitch, yes I would love to have the B&W (I see it's on backorder too) but I do want to have a slider hitch to be able to slide back in the event that I run into a tight situation.

Now I just need to source out a retractable tonneau cover (am thinking of going with a Retrax) and some good mudflaps with stainless trim. I will install these myself and then she's good to go!

[cummins2014]

ib516 wrote:

blofgren wrote:
I think the dealer has the picture frame adapter in stock but it is the hitch that is the problem right now. I would like a slider just in case I ever find myself in a tight situation, but I may end up having to sacrifice that. Hopefully I will know more by the end of the week.

This is a good place for info on the RAM hitches with the factory prep group.

http://www.ramgunner.com/ram5thwheel.htm

RedTrailers.com has the picture frame Reese # 30154 for 326.54 ,and free shipping, have had mine for about week ,pretty slick way to stay with a conventional hitch, and it's removable for a clean bed. My dealer wanted around 500.00 for the Mopar, looked like the reese, and they also had the Reese ,and wanted 425.00 for it.

Only problem with the picture frame it adds two inches, and with the height of these new Rams, I can't get as level as I would like, I have a little adjustment on the my hitch, lowered it as low as I can, but it is still a little high. Will have to do.

[IllinoisCheeseh]

45Ricochet wrote:
Here's another one that don't need the picture frame adapter.

B&W

on edit I hadn't opened your link IB. Think that guy posted on this forum a couple weeks back.

I agree, that's a great hitch, got one on order for my 3500. But OP has a mega cab, which equals short box, so he's probably going to need a slider. As far as I know, no sliders out there yet for Ram factory 5th wheel prep. Gonna need the picture frame, then pick the slider hitch of your choice.