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.
2013 Ram 3500 Megacab DRW Laramie 4x4, 6.7L Cummins, G56, 3.73, Maximum Steel, black lthr, B&W RVK3670 hitch, Retrax, Linex, and a bunch of options incl. cargo camera
2008 Corsair Excella Platinum 34.5 CKTS fifth wheel with winter package & disc brakes
