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I know we've talked about the truck plant retooling costs/timing thing already but the new HDs still feel like a mid-model refresh to me.
Yeah, they changed a lot of stuff, "new from the ground up . . ." but stuff from the A-pillars back really carry over. There's new tech, clearly, and the cabin isolation is supposed to be a whopping 10 dB better than the last generation.
But it just doesn't feel *finished*. Like:
- The floor's still not flat in the back row
- The mega cab's rear seats have only 6 degrees more recline than the 2019 Ram 1500 rear seats
- The price is (almost certainly but not confirmed in writing yet) up
None of this is surprising but the entire package isn't compelling enough to drive a trade in of my 2014 1500.
It is a sorta refresh, the complete new model is suppose to be 2022 IIRC
I really don't get too caught on looks. My main preference is less chrome but whatever. What I can tell you will a total game changer is the 8spd with the 6.4 Hemi. I tow heavy (11K 5th wheel in the mountains out west) with my 2014 and the tranny SUCKS! The gear spacing and shifting behavior is just awful. I have to think an 8spd will completely unleash the beast. When I can get in the power band and get the RPMs up I can easily accelerate between 60-70 up a 6% grade, even at some altitude. The problem is getting it all moving up to that speed. The 1-2 gap is ridiculous and I look for the 8spd to totally take care of that. God, this is going to be awful reading everyday about how great these things tow. And I just got mine paid off and was enjoying no truck payment. Arrrrrrrgh
mtofell, Is there no way of adjusting the shift points on our trucks via tuner/programer? In t/h mine holds 1st forever, then 2,3,4 shift to soon. horrible
There probably is but I've never gone that route due to warranty. Also, the shift pattern annoyance can be eliminated by just manually shifting which I do 95% of the time while towing. The gear ratios are by far my main complaint. Specifically, the 1-2 gap. There's just kind of a no-zone of about 35-45 mph while towing heavy up a steep hill. It's worst on a winding mountain road. The truck will literally just slam itself back and forth between 1st and 2nd constantly. Basically, you just have to lock it into first and putt along at 30 until you can maintain enough speed to hold 2nd. Gearing would probably make it a lot better. Honestly, none of this matters when I'm daily driving which is (unfortunately) what I'm doing 95% of the time. If I were out with the RV more I'd definitely do some re-gearing... or, maybe get a new truck