Didn't know buying a truck was so hard

[daugen]

now picture the refrigerator you've got in the bed strapped down moving it for your neighbor.

Do you really want to get to 60 in 3.2 seconds? Someone I'm sure can calculate the g force for that but
it would surely test the strength of your tie down straps. Not sure I want the truck in front of me
fully loaded trying out his Ludicrous Mode on me either. Or Plaid. Or whatever they call it to accelerate the vehicle
at very high g's going forward. I don't think the fridge is going to make it...

of course driven sensibly, which a certain percentage of vehicles never are, for most of us who don't travel
regularly, plugging in makes sense. My stepbrother has solar panels on his farm that convert to charge his plug in Toyota.
Forget the cost efficiency, I think it's a very cool capability from a self reliance standpoint. Harnessing the sun.

the big manufacturers are going nuts with forward looking statements touting an all electric future for us.
We shall see.
Hybrid I can see, maybe with a 600 mile range. Full plug in still for regional use in my opinion until we get a national
electrical recharging system where no one will worry about running out with a plug in car.
Pretty soon I expect the restaurants will start advertising free charging over lunch.

Telling the truth does not seem to be the number one work ethic rule in auto sales.
Save the BS young man and please tell me you know which rear end ratios go with which engines.
Just a little basic competence please.

 

[LouNY]

Lou, how was that VM Italian diesel? My close friend has a Jeep Liberty with one at 145k miles.
His Liberty is slow, as expected, how was your truck? Were you lusting after 800 foot pounds of torque?....

One more truck Lou. One more truck and then you'll be plugging in. With neck snapping power it appears
if the first electric trucks specs are to be believed.

Overall I've been quite pleased with the little VM diesel, a lot of horror stories out about it but I've had no issues with the engine,
did lose the timing tone wheel which they hid between the flywheel (flexplate) and transmission, dumb location.
I end up with an overall average of around 22 mpg, my previous truck was a Dakota with the 4.7 V8 which did 16 mpg.
I will admit to doing a lot of idleing summer and winter for the heat and AC.
It isn't a speed demon of a motor but it pulls great, it pulls like an old big block the torque peak is at 1600 rpm and she just drives nice.
480 ft.lbs. of torque and 260 Hp it's not a race truck but drives nice.
I have enjoyed the engine and when I look at the Chevy I'm looking at their 3.0 diesel also which is an inline 6.
The diesel option in the Chevy is several thousand dollars less then the RAM.
RAM charges about $2000 for the V8 over the V6 gas and about $3000 more then the V8 for the diesel.
It looks like Chevy has only a $1000 premium for the diesel 3.0, it will be interesting how the numbers all work out.
I did drive the RAM E-torque Hemi and it was nice it's hard to pay $3000 more for the eco-diesel.
I have not driven the Chevy 3.0 yet and the prices are very close for both trucks,I do like the RAM interior better.

I'm not to sure about these plug in electrics, especially for the rural areas. I do wish they would do more with the hybrids.
Especially I'd like to see a "plug in" with a generator system that could maintain the battery while driving.
I don't believe that the rural grid system is capable of handling the increased loading that would occur if every one was plugging in.

As far as one more truck if I buy the 8 year extended warranty I'd be 78 when the truck would go out of warranty,
I have a feeling that my warranty isn't much more then that, if that long :drink:

 

[Hay Dude]

now picture the refrigerator you've got in the bed strapped down moving it for your neighbor.

Do you really want to get to 60 in 3.2 seconds? Someone I'm sure can calculate the g force for that but
it would surely test the strength of your tie down straps. Not sure I want the truck in front of me
fully loaded trying out his Ludicrous Mode on me either. Or Plaid. Or whatever they call it to accelerate the vehicle
at very high g's going forward. I don't think the fridge is going to make it...

of course driven sensibly, which a certain percentage of vehicles never are, for most of us who don't travel
regularly, plugging in makes sense. My stepbrother has solar panels on his farm that convert to charge his plug in Toyota.
Forget the cost efficiency, I think it's a very cool capability from a self reliance standpoint. Harnessing the sun.

the big manufacturers are going nuts with forward looking statements touting an all electric future for us.
We shall see.
Hybrid I can see, maybe with a 600 mile range. Full plug in still for regional use in my opinion until we get a national
electrical recharging system where no one will worry about running out with a plug in car.
Pretty soon I expect the restaurants will start advertising free charging over lunch.

Telling the truth does not seem to be the number one work ethic rule in auto sales.
Save the BS young man and please tell me you know which rear end ratios go with which engines.
Just a little basic competence please.

We already have a unique location in my hometown area that has a “ free “ charging stations. You can park, take a walk and enjoy the scenery, restaurants, entertainment while your car charges a few hours. I dont know exactly how much total battery charge this “ free “ charge would give you, but the annual membership to this place is maybe $100/year. If one were a health nut and liked to take walks or enjoy the scenery, for the $100/yr membership might be a bargain. Trouble is, theres only 2 charging stations. My guess is there will be fights for them in the coming months.

 

[Blue Mule]

I had two of those Jeep Liberty CRDs that were sold here in the U.S. for two model years. The last one I had was traded in with a little over 100,000 miles on it. The only problems I had were a blown CAC hose and a thermostat that failed. About $600 in parts total. It would average 23 MPG stock. After I had Green Diesel Engineering write me a tune, they'd go to averaging 26 MPG stock and had lots more power and overall drivability.

The thing that a lot of guys don't understand is that the current Ram/Jeep pickup trucks with the EcoDiesel engine are making 260 horsepower and 480/442 lbs/ft of torque respectively. This exceeds the power level of the Ford Powerstroke and Dodge Cummins engines that were sold up until the mid 2000s. And, if you look at a 2021 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel compared to a 2021 Ram 2500 Cummins, the difference in payload rating is as little as 17%. And, payload directly controls how much you can legally tow. So the point being that the terms "1/2 ton" and "3/4 ton" and "1 ton" don't really mean anything these days. A Ram 1500 diesel will do the same work today that a Ram 2500 diesel would have done 15 years ago....and get better MPG doing it.

Electric vehicles are a terrible idea. Manufacturing batteries is one of the most environmentally "dirty" activities mankind has ever undertaken. And it takes electricity to charge those batteries which largely comes from fossil fuels. Solar and wind have been proven unreliable means of generating enough electricity. And solar panels filling up landfills in the future is a problem that governments are already trying to figure out. You also need extensive charging station infrastructure to make it feasible, which we don't have and can't have without spending billions of dollars. It's all just a terrible idea, which is why ICE technology has survived for over 100 years and is still going strong.

 

[Hay Dude]

I had two of those Jeep Liberty CRDs that were sold here in the U.S. for two model years. The last one I had was traded in with a little over 100,000 miles on it. The only problems I had were a blown CAC hose and a thermostat that failed. About $600 in parts total. It would average 23 MPG stock. After I had Green Diesel Engineering write me a tune, they'd go to averaging 26 MPG stock and had lots more power and overall drivability.

The thing that a lot of guys don't understand is that the current Ram/Jeep pickup trucks with the EcoDiesel engine are making 260 horsepower and 480/442 lbs/ft of torque respectively. This exceeds the power level of the Ford Powerstroke and Dodge Cummins engines that were sold up until the mid 2000s. And, if you look at a 2021 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel compared to a 2021 Ram 2500 Cummins, the difference in payload rating is as little as 17%. And, payload directly controls how much you can legally tow. So the point being that the terms "1/2 ton" and "3/4 ton" and "1 ton" don't really mean anything these days. A Ram 1500 diesel will do the same work today that a Ram 2500 diesel would have done 15 years ago....and get better MPG doing it.

Electric vehicles are a terrible idea. Manufacturing batteries is one of the most environmentally "dirty" activities mankind has ever undertaken. And it takes electricity to charge those batteries which largely comes from fossil fuels. Solar and wind have been proven unreliable means of generating enough electricity. And solar panels filling up landfills in the future is a problem that governments are already trying to figure out. You also need extensive charging station infrastructure to make it feasible, which we don't have and can't have without spending billions of dollars. It's all just a terrible idea, which is why ICE technology has survived for over 100 years and is still going strong.

You had me in the beginning, but the 5.9 or 6.7 Cummins diesel will last 3-5 times as long as the 3L doing that kind of towing work. I would have little faith in the 3L running at max capacity long-term compared to a 5.9L or a 6.7L Cummins. The larger displacement and rotating mass of the Cummins diesels have more torque at lower RPM, too. Also, the duty cycle of a 5.9/6.7 is much greater. Heck, those are medium duty truck engines found in tandem axle dump trucks!
Im not in any way putting down the 3L. Heck my wife and I are considering a Jeep Gladiator diesel (same diesel), but its no 5.9/6.7 Cummins.
It might do the same work once in a while, but no way frequently.

 

[dnw64]

Dodge Ram which used to be FCA is now Stellantis, a new conglomerate merging FCA with Peugeot and Opel.

Very interesting in general, and in particular as I thought I kept a pretty close eye on the automotive industry, and on RAM in particular.

Unfortunately the frequency of repair for large trucks is poor.

What is your definition of "large trucks"?

My brother is an OTR driver for a higher end company and they typically trade in their trucks at (I think it's) 250k. They have a strict regimen for maintenance, as well as maximum engine RPM and top speed. This makes them very resealable to the used market. In addition to near zero maintenance issues, he gets fuel mileage* roughly equal to our 14,500# GVWR box truck, empty, at +/-65 MPH...

*in the range of 8-9 MPG

 

[not2old]

Yeah I figure this is my last diesel truck, too. I bet electric trucks will be a big hit. Wonder where all the power plants to charge them will be built?

I'm concerned about that too. I heat my all electric house with geo-thermal and it's already getting expensive while only a few vehicles are using electricity. How are they planning to charge for road tax?

 

[daugen]

Very interesting in general, and in particular as I thought I kept a pretty close eye on the automotive industry, and on RAM in particular.



What is your definition of "large trucks"?

not that big, you are right. 1500-3500 range let's say. American pick up trucks never do well
for frequency of repair. But even my friend with his reliable Ridgeline was shocked to find out he was almost on the hook
for new fuel injectors at 40K miles. Known problem apparently. Honda replaced them under warranty as emission control item.