Enthusiast III
Up until recently, I had a 2016 RAM 2500 Cummins Diesel. It was a nice truck and had a ton of room, and my ultimate goal was to build it up similar to the "Sledge" build that the guys at Diesel Power Products had done with one of theirs. Such a beautiful truck.
BUT... I started having problems with it. The transmission valve-body had to be replaced before we even hit 30,000 miles. All along I'd been having "dead pedal" issues where the throttle would go unresponsive while trying to merge into traffic or change lanes during my daily commute. Nothing's worse than expecting your vehicle to GO and having it ignore your command for 2-3 seconds while traffic bears down on you.
The final nail in the RAM's coffin was the recent recall for safety concerns over the cruise control. Once that recall came out, we started shopping around.
My first choice was a Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad. I knew better than to do another TRD Pro (I had a Tundra previously) because I would likely end up wanting to swap suspension anyway. Unfortunately, the Tacoma didn't have enough rear knee-room to accommodate our son's rear facing car seat, so that truck was struck from the list.
Somewhere during the research phase, the new Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 started popping up in search results as a viable alternative to the TRD Pro Tacoma. Several reviewers strongly suggested a person give the new ZR2 a look if they were thinking about a Tacoma, particularly if rear knee-room was a concern. Ding ding!
To make a long story short, we got out of the RAM what we needed to and picked up this gasoline-powered ZR2 for significantly less than I'd anticipated we could. My monthly payment dropped by nearly $200!
I don't anticipate adding a roof-top tent, favoring instead a tow-behind tear drop camper of some sort. I do expect I will use the forthcoming BDS Suspension Lift to raise it up a few inches so that I can retain the excellent Multimatic shocks but gain some more ground clearance and run 35" tires.
Overall, I am thrilled to death with it. It has the best features that I missed from my 2011 Ford Raptor and my 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited. We're anxious to get it out west and stomp around Colorado and Utah.
Current Additions:
Future Possibilities:
BUT... I started having problems with it. The transmission valve-body had to be replaced before we even hit 30,000 miles. All along I'd been having "dead pedal" issues where the throttle would go unresponsive while trying to merge into traffic or change lanes during my daily commute. Nothing's worse than expecting your vehicle to GO and having it ignore your command for 2-3 seconds while traffic bears down on you.
The final nail in the RAM's coffin was the recent recall for safety concerns over the cruise control. Once that recall came out, we started shopping around.
My first choice was a Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad. I knew better than to do another TRD Pro (I had a Tundra previously) because I would likely end up wanting to swap suspension anyway. Unfortunately, the Tacoma didn't have enough rear knee-room to accommodate our son's rear facing car seat, so that truck was struck from the list.
Somewhere during the research phase, the new Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 started popping up in search results as a viable alternative to the TRD Pro Tacoma. Several reviewers strongly suggested a person give the new ZR2 a look if they were thinking about a Tacoma, particularly if rear knee-room was a concern. Ding ding!
To make a long story short, we got out of the RAM what we needed to and picked up this gasoline-powered ZR2 for significantly less than I'd anticipated we could. My monthly payment dropped by nearly $200!
I don't anticipate adding a roof-top tent, favoring instead a tow-behind tear drop camper of some sort. I do expect I will use the forthcoming BDS Suspension Lift to raise it up a few inches so that I can retain the excellent Multimatic shocks but gain some more ground clearance and run 35" tires.
Overall, I am thrilled to death with it. It has the best features that I missed from my 2011 Ford Raptor and my 2012 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited. We're anxious to get it out west and stomp around Colorado and Utah.
Current Additions:
- GatorTrax hard retractable tonneau cover
- Relocated bed-mount spare to beneath bed (for now)
Future Possibilities:
- BDS suspension lift
- 35-inch tires
- CBI Off Road Fab front bumper with winch
- CBI Off Road Fab rear bumper with tire gate
