I guess I need to smell that diesel exhaust

[GTXRAS]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I'll double check it again now that a few people have said that the seats do fold flat. It was -10 when we were looking at one and the salesman said they wouldn't but.....he could have been wrong.

Dave,

I think you are waaaayyyy to far north.

On the outside top corner of the seat back is a lever to lay the back down. Under the seat bottom in the outside trim is another lever that will allow the whole seat to move forward and down As long there is nothing under the seat, it will lay flat.

Rick

[Dave&Ginny]

I drove all the trucks last night and I think I'm going to end up with a 2016 Ram 2500 limited 4x4 crew cab. The mega cab seats fold down but not out of the way.

The Ford F-250 can only be flat towed with a manual transfer case, which is floor mounted and those are usually only found in less equipped trucks. The F150 can be flat towed but you must start the engine every 250-300 miles and let it run for 5-10 minutes or the transmission will melt into a solid block of aluminum.

I liked driving the F150 and I'm familiar with that motor because it's the same as what we have in the Wife's car but the all aluminum body stopped me in my tracks. My son is in the auto body business and after talking with him, I'm staying away from the Ford

[homeguy]

Dave, we have the Longhorn and I think the Limited is similar. Love the package. You won't be sorry. Welcome to the winning team! I was always a GM person until I owned my first Dodge truck. I have owned 4 since and LOVE them.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by homeguy

Dave, we have the Longhorn and I think the Limited is similar. Love the package. You won't be sorry. Welcome to the winning team! I was always a GM person until I owned my first Dodge truck. I have owned 4 since and LOVE them.

The "rambox" is something I'm looking forward to.

Like I had said before the chevy hasn't let me down yet but when I bought it I had another company car for sales so I really thought the Chevy was only going to be an expensive toad. About a year ago I gave up the other car and let a employee drive it leaving me with the truck. The truck is nice but not nice enough for some of the comforts I'm used to like the leather seats, keyless, sunroof and easy exit. In considering another truck it has to be easy to hook up to the MH.

The Ram seems to fit all of these parameters. If I can find a 2016 with the discounts I'll buy one. If I have to get a 2017, I'll wait until they discount them.

[atom ant]

Well I'll totally disagree with you on your F-150 Ford fears - both with the transmission and the aluminum. I think you are getting bad information, perhaps chatter about prior to 2012 when guys would just put the transmission in Neutral. The 2012 and up F150 transfer case goes into neutral electronically, the transmission doesn't even turn, so no reason to have to start it.....

But regardless, it sounds like you made your mind up a while ago. Dodge makes a nice truck, congratulations! I would consider one myself.! I actually don't like the looks of the new F-150 at all.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Well I'll totally disagree with you on your F-150 Ford fears - both with the transmission and the aluminum. I think you are getting bad information, perhaps chatter about prior to 2012 when guys would just put the transmission in Neutral. The 2012 and up F150 transfer case goes into neutral electronically, the transmission doesn't even turn, so no reason to have to start it.....

But regardless, it sounds like you made your mind up a while ago. Dodge makes a nice truck, congratulations! I would consider one myself.! I actually don't like the looks of the new F-150 at all.

Brad you're right the F150 does electronically go into neutral, its the F250 that requires the manual shift lever. But the dealership was pretty clear that I had to start the engine and let it run every 300 miles or the transmission would melt. I don't know why.

I was really impressed with how easy the F150 came out of neutral. But after talking with my son I'm worried about the aluminum and the amount of damage even after a small bump. The insurance has to be sky high on these trucks.

The f150 I drove also had the trailer assist parking. Not impressed with that either. The knob on the dash steers the truck while backing up with a trailer for those that don't know how to back up. Sounded like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If someone needs this system they shouldn't be pulling a trailer. I predict this will discontinued like the rear steering axles on the chevys. Just more stuff to go wrong.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

Brad you're right the F150 does electronically go into neutral, its the F250 that requires the manual shift lever. But the dealership was pretty clear that I had to start the engine and let it run every 300 miles or the transmission would melt. I don't know why.

I was really impressed with how easy the F150 came out of neutral. But after talking with my son I'm worried about the aluminum and the amount of damage even after a small bump. The insurance has to be sky high on these trucks.

The f150 I drove also had the trailer assist parking. Not impressed with that either. The knob on the dash steers the truck while backing up with a trailer for those that don't know how to back up. Sounded like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If someone needs this system they shouldn't be pulling a trailer. I predict this will discontinued like the rear steering axles on the chevys. Just more stuff to go wrong.

Dave, I think the Dealer is confusing it with the other Fords like the Explorer and Edge, and counterpart Lincolns. We looked at the Lincoln MKT and that one had to get started to circulate fluids to cool down, and you had to run it with the key on to keep the electric fans running to cool the transmission cooler. I walked away from that idea.

I didn't try the trailer parking thing, but I do like the birds eye view camera system they are using. I think all manufacturers are - even on some new MHs. It is pretty cool!

Did you look at the Dodge 1500 4x4? I'm curious if they can be flat towed. After a few days of shopping, I don't think I can stomach that grillwork on the new F150

[travlingman]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

Brad you're right the F150 does electronically go into neutral, its the F250 that requires the manual shift lever. But the dealership was pretty clear that I had to start the engine and let it run every 300 miles or the transmission would melt. I don't know why.

I was really impressed with how easy the F150 came out of neutral. But after talking with my son I'm worried about the aluminum and the amount of damage even after a small bump. The insurance has to be sky high on these trucks.

The f150 I drove also had the trailer assist parking. Not impressed with that either. The knob on the dash steers the truck while backing up with a trailer for those that don't know how to back up. Sounded like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If someone needs this system they shouldn't be pulling a trailer. I predict this will discontinued like the rear steering axles on the chevys. Just more stuff to go wrong.

Actually the insurance will probably be higher on the Ram as it came in last(actually failed) in the safety test which has a lot to do with the insurance rate. F-150 only truck to earn top rating in IIHS safety test You night also want to do some more research on the damage to the aluminum body as owners forums are not reflecting that.

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Did you look at the Dodge 1500 4x4? I'm curious if they can be flat towed. After a few days of shopping, I don't think I can stomach that grillwork on the new F150

HOLY COW BATMAN! A Ford negative???

[homeguy]

Did you look at the Dodge 1500 4x4? I'm curious if they can be flat towed. After a few days of shopping, I don't think I can stomach that grillwork on the new F150[/QUOTE]

We have the camera in the high tail light as well as the tailgate. Love it for hooking up and playing.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

HOLY COW BATMAN! A Ford negative???

Well sure. I never said I was a "die hard Ford fan", you did. I'm just a "anti-government motors corporation" fan. There were several series of Ford I didn't like the looks of and I actually love the looks of all the new GM trucks and SUVs. I just won't ever buy one.

[travelin' texans]

I totally agree, the new F150s have the ugliest grill I've ever seen, can't believe there are so many on the road. They are also so square/blocked looking, like they were built from Legos. Just my .02 cent, don't want anyone else to have to avoid me in a campground.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Dave, I think the Dealer is confusing it with the other Fords like the Explorer and Edge, and counterpart Lincolns. We looked at the Lincoln MKT and that one had to get started to circulate fluids to cool down, and you had to run it with the key on to keep the electric fans running to cool the transmission cooler. I walked away from that idea.

I didn't try the trailer parking thing, but I do like the birds eye view camera system they are using. I think all manufacturers are - even on some new MHs. It is pretty cool!

Did you look at the Dodge 1500 4x4? I'm curious if they can be flat towed. After a few days of shopping, I don't think I can stomach that grillwork on the new F150

The salesman this past summer sold me 2 cars and he knew this wasn't good news to me. He said that he had asked the transmission tech who said "they can be towed flat .....however...he strongly recommended every 300 miles to start the engine and let it idle for 5-10 minute." If I did this and there was still a problem that Ford would cover it. They have had a few come back locked up and melted.

Like I had said before I liked the way that the F150 drove and the way that it went into and out of neutral. But the aluminum body panels is a "no go" for me. I guess it's my ego but when a large truck hits a small car in a 15 mph crash and the truck gets towed while the small car drives away....nope

My son said he can take a door or fender panel off the Ford and rip it like paper. One guy had the whole top of his fender ripped off because the antenna got caught in a car wash brush. Ford is a good company and I've bought my share of them (including my wife's navigator) but I'm going to wait a few years before buying into the aluminum body panels.

As for the Ram, yes it's just a push of a button to put them in neutral. I should buy the Ram 1500 but I just thought the the transmission knob on the dash was a bit odd. I like the 2500 but right now I can only find Mega cabs and I really don't need the extra 12 inches in length while using the truck as a sales car. If I can't find a Ram Limited the way I want it I'll wait until later in the year when they start discounting the 2017s.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by travlingman

Actually the insurance will probably be higher on the Ram as it came in last(actually failed) in the safety test which has a lot to do with the insurance rate. F-150 only truck to earn top rating in IIHS safety test You night also want to do some more research on the damage to the aluminum body as owners forums are not reflecting that.

On the internet there's a lot of talk about the cost of insuring the new fords because of the amount of damage in even the smallest wrecks and the cost of all the body panels. Right now they can only replace the panels and not repair them. I didn't fully understand it but Ford wants the body shops to dedicate a special area to work on the panels because any metal dust on the raw aluminum will cause corrosion. Since the shops don't want to invest the cash in the work areas they have to just replace the panels.

[Blenhardt]

[QUOTE=Dave&Ginny;72402]
I was really impressed with how easy the F150 came out of neutral. But after talking with my son I'm worried about the aluminum and the amount of damage even after a small bump. The insurance has to be sky high on these trucks.

/QUOTE]

Dave, I know your are locked in on the Ram but I just bought a new 2017 F350 dually to pull my RW. The insurance went up $95/yr. That is because it is valued higher than my "old" 2011 F350. Aluminium is raising rates little or not at all.

I have done body work as a side line for several years. Damaged fenders were almost always replaced as it was more cost effective than repairing them.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

The salesman this past summer sold me 2 cars and he knew this wasn't good news to me. He said that he had asked the transmission tech who said "they can be towed flat .....however...he strongly recommended every 300 miles to start the engine and let it idle for 5-10 minute." If I did this and there was still a problem that Ford would cover it. They have had a few come back locked up and melted.

Well several things your salesman says doesn't pass the ho-ho test. On the 2012 - 2017 F150 4X4, the transmission is completely disabled in flat tow, so nothing would cause it harm. The transfer case is the only interface with the road at that point. Perhaps they were 2WD, which is a different animal as they require a driveshaft disconnect. Without it, they would impact the transmission.

As far as Ford covering it, the flat tow instructions in the owner manual doesn't say anything about starting it periodically, so I'm not sure how they could make that a condition of warranty.

But oh ya, that was a salesman talking.

I'll have to check out the Dodge for grins.

[spindrift]

Dave, if I was in your shoes I'd be boxing up the 2017 Raptor. Tell me with a straight face you don't want one.

[johnboytoo]

Step son has the raptor - TOTALLY limited use, but TOTALLY a great vehicle

70 mph over RR tracks and you don't even feel them !!!

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by spindrift

Dave, if I was in your shoes I'd be boxing up the 2017 Raptor. Tell me with a straight face you don't want one.

Actually yes! They do look nice

[Dave&Ginny]

Well I made the change....

I've been scratching my head and talking to dealers. Tonight I drove home a 2016 Ram 2500 Limited w/rambox. I hope it's a good truck but knowing some of the electrical issue Dodge can have, for the first time bought an extended warranty. I ended up getting $13,500 off the MSRP

Now I have to get the equipment on order to pull it behind the MH.