First Time Truck Owner - Need input!

[T_A_Rogers]

Hi Everyone!

First time truck buyer here. I've driven cars all my life and I'm ready to move up in the world. I want a truck for a few reasons: towing a boat one day, cargo capacity, additional room for passengers, chick magnet in TX.

Here's what I have narrowed my options down to. Need some feedback from folks who have owned trucks for years as I haven't gotten to trial & error yet. To start off with transparency, I've found inspiration in a guy online and I want to copy his truck visually in several ways. It seems a nice mix of lifted and wide but not obnoxious or laughable as I've seen plenty of times. This is him - Instagram


2014 1500 Express or 2014 1500 Sport (Crew Cab on both)
....Reasons - Sporty look w/ full body color exterior on both
....Decision point: The Express doesn't include a center console, where the Sport does. I would almost think that a truck is better w/out a console as that allows for addional seating and the ability to lay across the front seat.

Who has been with and without a center console and how important is one in a truck? Would you rather have that seating/open cab?

Lift: Currently looking at a 6" Rough Country lift and a set of Bilstein 5100's. Price seems reasonable and this is what I've found online from research to be pretty common. I was recently advised that RC is a pretty rough ride and I should invest in a better brand for a new primary driver (this will mostly be a city truck, with occasional camping/off-roading. For this reason I'm thinking 2wd should be fine)

Should this lift setup be OK for a new truck and provide reasonable ride comfort? Any alternative recommendations that are cost effective?

Tires/Wheels:
20x12 Fuel Krank Wheels (link)
315/60/R20 Open Country M/T Tires (link)

Figured I would buy this then immediately take it to 4wheelparts locally in the north Dallas area to have the lift/suspension mods and wheels taken care of.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[HAMMER77777]

Dude, try a 2500 with a mega cab. I got one, the mega is sooooo roomy, you'll never want anything else after u try one.

 

[dallasmade19]

Hey man I've owned a truck for a few years. Both with and without a few of the options you mentioned. I personally left a truck that had a center console and got one without it. reasons being: more space, you get the convenience of more storage as well as an extra seat, bigger/more comfortable console to rest my arm on,the extra room feels better, you dont feel confined to one spot, passenger can stretch more on road trips, hidden media center,my girl can sit closer to me lol, and having the shift on the wheel just felt more like a truck to me.

you are in the same situation I was in as for as sport vs express. I went with the express. reasons for that is because number one They are almost identical trucks with the exception of the 8.0 Unconnect screen and the leather. As bad as I wanted the sport I just couldn't see anything that was worth paying 40k for you know? In the Express you still get the same engine, same floor board ice chest, same storage, you still get the color matching bumpers, color matching grille, better looking stock wheels (even though you wont keep yours), and even though I settled for the 5.0 Uconnect screen I still got a 7 inch display screen in my dash. The upgraded cloth seats aren't bad. they are different then what cars usually have. they are easier to clean and feel and look a lot better.I still have wheel to wheel steps, bluetooth, USB ports, xm satellite, nice speakers, voice connect, phone connection, mopar theft protection. only thing I dont have I sort of really wanted was the automatic start and 8.0 screen. but like i said, those extra two items wasn't worth paying another 8k for the sport. AND you can always get a sport hood. most dealers can replace the hood. my dealership had a shop down the road that sold them, I just learned to like the express hood more over time. glad i didn't pay for that at the time really.

 

[T_A_Rogers]

Dude, try a 2500 with a mega cab. I got one, the mega is sooooo roomy, you'll never want anything else after u try one.

Thanks man, but that's a bit large for a first truck I would think. Plus the price is way beyond what I can afford. I don't doubt you could fit a small army inside those tho!

Hey man I've owned a truck for a few years. Both with and without a few of the options you mentioned. I personally left a truck that had a center console and got one without it. reasons being: more space, you get the convenience of more storage as well as an extra seat, bigger/more comfortable console to rest my arm on,the extra room feels better, you dont feel confined to one spot, passenger can stretch more on road trips, hidden media center,my girl can sit closer to me lol, and having the shift on the wheel just felt more like a truck to me.

you are in the same situation I was in as for as sport vs express. I went with the express. reasons for that is because number one They are almost identical trucks with the exception of the 8.0 Unconnect screen and the leather. As bad as I wanted the sport I just couldn't see anything that was worth paying 40k for you know? In the Express you still get the same engine, same floor board ice chest, same storage, you still get the color matching bumpers, color matching grille, better looking stock wheels (even though you wont keep yours), and even though I settled for the 5.0 Uconnect screen I still got a 7 inch display screen in my dash. The upgraded cloth seats aren't bad. they are different then what cars usually have. they are easier to clean and feel and look a lot better.I still have wheel to wheel steps, bluetooth, USB ports, xm satellite, nice speakers, voice connect, phone connection, mopar theft protection. only thing I dont have I sort of really wanted was the automatic start and 8.0 screen. but like i said, those extra two items wasn't worth paying another 8k for the sport. AND you can always get a sport hood. most dealers can replace the hood. my dealership had a shop down the road that sold them, I just learned to like the express hood more over time. glad i didn't pay for that at the time really.

Awesome, glad I was on the right track. Any way to allow your lady to sit closer is always a plus in my book.

Yeah the hood wasn't a concern of mine, but I did really like the horizontal bars on the Sport grill vs the black mesh Express grill. Might try and push for a swap on that since it costs $500 to order one from parts + they gotta paint it.

Anybody have input on the suspension question I posed? Also, is there room under the truck to store a spare 35" tire should one be needed? Not sure how that's normally done.