Lots of people are about to be very happy

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by jtesta1

I would like to buy a dodge but when it comes to big ticket items I buy from American companies.

And what company is all American, parts and assembly?

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

And what company is all American, parts and assembly?

The one not pronounced "fee-aht"? I might not get 100% from the ground up American, but if I can get assembled in America and an American based company, that's what I'll go with unless there is a VERY compelling reason not to. With this being said, Ram is supposed to start building it's HD trucks in Detroit instead of Mexico. It's at least a move in the right direction.

[dustman_stx]

Trying to find ratings for HD trucks regarding % made in America, but doesn't seem to be available. For the 1/2 tons, Ford is ranked 2nd most American vehicle out of everything (419 models). Ram 1500 comes in at 18 and GM/Chevy 1500 is 38. But I think the Ram 1500 is already assembled in the US while the HD Rams have not been. The Ford SD trucks are assembled in the US. So, I'd expect the current Ram HD to be much less "made in America" than the current Ford SD. With the move of the Ram HD to Detroit, it should close this gap, but I can't say for sure which would be "more American made".

http://www.american.edu/kogod/resear...ndex/index.cfm

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

They're buying an engine, just so happens to be in a Ram truck. The Cummins is a proven platform and is reliable. If you notice, most of them are very low trim levels- much easier to turn a profit with a 45K truck as opposed to a loaded up 75K truck. You can get a 3500DRW Ram 4x4 SLT for around $45K, which makes it economical. If you look into other commercial industries such as construction, oil production, forestry and so on you'll most likely see many more Ford and Chevy trucks. Seems to indicate to me that the rest of the truck is much more robust on them and they hold up better to off road type use. The Rams towing those RVs are seeing almost exclusively highway miles. I also notice that almost every commercial application that uses gas engine trucks uses Ford and GM, which seems to indicate that when you take the Cummins out of the equation, the Ram isn't very well represented. Can you imagine if Ford or GM had developed a relationship with Cummins back in the day instead of Dodge?

You also have to remember that Chevy use the Isuzu Duramax engine.

I did a little digging and discovered that Isuzu is owned by Toyota and the name came from..... Its full name being Isuzu Jidōsha Kabushiki-Kaisha, the company was named after a river that flows past a Japanese shrine. The name means “fifty bells pealing in harmony and celebrations".

[Tirebuilder]

Here's my two cents worth. My wife and I are on our third RV...all of which are travel trailers. For our first two, we towed with a GM 4x4 Heavy Duty with a 350 c.i. engine and then a Chevy Silverado 2500 with 8.1 liter gasoline engine. With the exception of taking a hit on gasoline mileage, both performed flawlessly. When I retired a couple of years ago and we bought our "retirement" RV, we needed a new tow vehicle as our Chevy was high in mileage. We had been looking around for a year or so...reading, studying, asking other campers and "listening and smelling." I know...sounds crazy. My wife is susceptible to migraines and the odor of a diesel engine exhaust is sometimes too much for her. I have to admit...they do stink. Also, diesels are loud. No, I mean LOUD. Especially in a campground. And RAM trucks are the loudest of all, in our opinion. In our many camping excursions, we got to where we would play a game while sitting outside in peaceful solitude. We would hear a very loud truck coming up the road or around the corner and we could always tell when it was a Dodge RAM. They sound like they are about to come apart. Unbelievable noise. Not saying they aren't dependable or reliable vehicles, we just can't stand the odor and the noise from them. All major makes are the same, but RAM seems to be the loudest of all. Nothing like being rattled our of your RV at sunrise by the next door neighbor firing up his RAM diesel and letting it idle for about 5 minutes while he gets ready for a day of exploring. For that reason alone, we opted to tow our "retirement" RV with a Ford F-250 Super Heavy Duty 4x4 and 6.2 liter engine. Quiet...dependable...no noxious odors....and gets the job done.

[oldsmasma]

In my small city of 50,000 we have one dealer of each type. So the choice of vehicle is made on dealer reputation and quality. That took out Chevrolet and Dodge for us.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by oldsmasma

In my small city of 50,000 we have one dealer of each type. So the choice of vehicle is made on dealer reputation and quality. That took out Chevrolet and Dodge for us.

That's sad, having to bypass a great option because the seller is a dud.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by oldsmasma

In my small city of 50,000 we have one dealer of each type. So the choice of vehicle is made on dealer reputation and quality. That took out Chevrolet and Dodge for us.

Heaven forbid you go out of town to buy

[pd2436]

Sorry, i did not mean for this to turn into one truck is better than another.

I just thought it was exciting to see so many new rv’s Heading west.

I’m a Chevy guy so would like to see more being used by transporters, but as someone mentioned, and he was right, they were base trim dodge trucks with Cummings engines. Makes sense to buy a great engine and a base truck to keep expenses down.
In my opinion, I would do the Same if I were a transporter, but since I’m not I’ll take the Chevy and comfortable and dependable ride.

[Lonewolf2528]

Well I’m one those happy campers. My new Rockwood 8299bs just arrived at the dealership in Eugene Oregon. Driving up this Sunday from Reno Nevada to pick it up.
We have family near Eugene so we will break it in for a week at a nearby rv park.

[banda]

Originally Posted by Tirebuilder

No, I mean LOUD.

If they are that loud they must be either old or modified. All the new trucks are pretty quiet.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by banda

If they are that loud they must be either old or modified. All the new trucks are pretty quiet.

Exactly. Diesels have to be pretty old to be loud and stinky. And even modified new ones are only loud and stinky if you want them to be.

Every type of engine makes some noise and smell. Even gas. Ever been behind an RVer with a gas engine going up a hill or getting up to speed? Now that is a distinct emissions smell.

If you don't like diesels (mainly because you have never owned one), fine. Just don't throw them all in one stereotypical derogatory statement.

[banda]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Every type of engine makes some noise and smell. Even gas. Ever been behind an RVer with a gas engine going up a hill or getting up to speed? Now that is a distinct emissions smell.

That's true! I hate that smell!

[tomkatb]

A month ago I tried researching truck production numbers.

Ford makes the most trucks.

Ram makes more heavy duty trucks than Chevrolet. But, Chevrolet makes more half ton trucks.

Ram makes more diesels than Chevrolet.

I could find little about Ford heavy duty trucks. Numbers.

We bought the Ram because the DW liked it best. The diesel is likely the best. The rest of the truck who knows. She wanted the Ram.

[cody1884]

Dodge is the cheaper of the big 3. Ford being the most expensive then Chevy, then Dodge

[cody1884]

I don't know about other manufacturers but Cedar Creek hauls there show models to the shows and uses the same rv's for all shows. That way they know that there will be the models they want to display