Trouble deciding between Express and Big Horn, would love opinionsopinions.

[JaviJ01]

I'm currently in the market for my first truck. My wife an do recently bought our house in San Diego and find ourselves needing a truck for light duty yard work. We won't be doing any offroading or desert trips, but do plan on going camping much more often now that we have some free time. I have a few questions and hoping you guys might be able to give us some insight. We plan on this buying our last vehicle purchase for the next 10+ years so I want to make sure we get it right.

We dont plan on doing any towing or heavy hauling, just our kayak and camping gear really. I know the tow package offers the tow mirrors and other stuff but how much can you safely tow without the package?

The price difference between the Express and Big Horn seem to be anywhere from $2-$6k. People who have the extra options, what are some things you absolutely are happy you got?

I love the idea of the bucket seats/center console, 8" radio, foldup back seats with the foldout table for our dogs, the remote start sounds awesome but we're in San Diego so not like we have snow, heat seats (in sd), and all the extras from the big horn package. I don't NEED any of it but spending $28k on an express compared to $34k on a big horn sounds nice too.

 

[Jared4.7]

Get an Express and add the few options you want yourself (8.4an radio, fold flat floor). No point in paying for options you don't want or need. Tow rating will depend on engine, crew/quad/regular cab and gearing.

-JT

 

[DannyMK2]

if the options you want are the things like the radio, center console, seats, etc, your better off buying it new that way.

 

[linkbeat]

Chrome bumper/grill = Big Horn
Body Colored bumper/grill = Express

Other little things might include leather wrapped steering wheel, nicer gauge cluster, etc. but chrome was a huge turnoff for me.

 

[1500ram12]

Think about resale/trade in value. Big horn will be worth more than the express when you decide to get something different in a few years.

But if a express fits your budget than don't over extend yourself to gain a few grand in resale value later on.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Ricks Ram]

I recomend the Bighorn. You will get a lot more for your money in my opinion. If you start looking at the closley you will notice the Bighorn has alot more standard features that we don't even notice at first. Underhood light.illuminated visors,steering wheel audio controls,upper glovebox,bright trim on dash,power drivers seat,leather steering wheel,chrome/painted door handles......I could go on and on. Not to mention the door panels on the Express are horrible ....I bought the Express because I didn't want to go over a certain price. I didnt even look at the Bighorn because I didnt want to be tempted but I wish I would have. I got a great deal on my truck but I gave up alot. I have upgraded it to what I want now but would have been much better off buying it with the options I wanted......you will never regret buying a truck with everything you want if you can afford it,but you will regret buying it without.....

 

[clh1220]

What he said ^^^^^^^ and I looked at a express first because I liked the outside. As soon as I got in it I knew I would be going backwards. No power seat ,glove box and al the interior options. I have bucket seats and all options except for the speakers. The express seemed more like a fancy work truck, compared to the silverado I had. You can't add all those options to a express.

 

[R/T_Fire]

From my experience in buying just a few new vehicles in my day, get all the options you want when you buy it... Its worth it more in the long run $$$ wise.
And easier cause most are not going to put every option on at one time its usually over years cause they cant afford $500 here $400 there.
If you plan to customize anything you buy whether its full loaded or base model then you already know the costs and time impacts.
Look at all the options you want and the cost to convert the base model to it and that is your cost CASH to do it. Then look at the price of the model with those and look at the monthly payments and which leaves you more expendible cash in your budget.

But all in all what fits your budget and what fits your comfort zone of what you would really like to buy. My recommendation is get the BigHorn.

 

[ExpressRules]

I love my express with the Black Express option (black wheels, projector headlights, Led tails, back up camera and a few other small things). The 5" display is fine for me because it is plenty big to perform and see all the functions and I use my Tom Tom for GPS functions. I prefer cloth seats over leather. The only down side I see with buying now is that they stopped the projector head and LED tails in the 2015 model year.

Resale value doesn't really matter when you think about it. You may get more on resale with an upgraded model but you also paid more, so to me it is a wash. Since you are planning to keep it for 10 Years it is even more of a mote point.

Buy what you and your family like, but think before overextending yourself on some options that are eye candy now but you may find 2 of 3 years from now you rarely use.

 

[Zepin]

There were 2 factors in my buying a Big Horn over the Express. I really wanted the sliding rear window and the R/T style wheels. I could only get that on the BH so that was the way i went. After i got into it and really saw the items that i considered minor differences (upper glove box, flat floor and other trim bits) it stood out to me how much of an upgrade it really was, yet, at the end of the day, don't over extend yourself.

 

[Road King]

Among what's already been said above, I can add:

Being born and raised in Utah, I had the same initial thought as you regarding remote start: who the heck needs to pre-warm a truck in SoCal?

Then we had +100 temps for the past two months, and I realized... Pre-cooling is about the most awesome thing in the world.

Get it.

It's so worth it.

 

[jackblackjeet]

I have the express and have been slowly adding options since I bought it (RA4, autodim mirror, backup camera, steering wheel audio controls). If I could do it again, I would have bought the Sport (express looks + the features), but if you don't care about the body color bumpers than Big Horn is where I would be.

DIY and modding are fun and addicting, but I can definitely see the appeal of getting what you want up front.

 

[Ricks Ram]

I have the express and have been slowly adding options since I bought it (RA4, autodim mirror, backup camera, steering wheel audio controls). If I could do it again, I would have bought the Sport (express looks + the features), but if you don't care about the body color bumpers than Big Horn is where I would be.

DIY and modding are fun and addicting, but I can definitely see the appeal of getting what you want up front.

I have done the same thing. Contrary to was was stated by another poster in this thread you can upgrade the Express to pretty much everything a Bighorn has thanks to alot of people on this forum who figured it out. . I have the RA4,premium cluster,power leather seats,leather steering wheel with audio controls.homelink,power sliding rear window (going in this weekend)seats,door panels, ect.....I have everything I want now and I got alot of stuff prety cheap through wrecking yards and eBay but it still cost me more in the long run. One thing nice was I enjoyed making my truck the way I wanted it. But I will never buy a truck again that doesn't have everything I want.

 

[GreenClassic]

I got a Big Horn and I love all the options I got. Mine is basically a Laramie with cloth seats (I didn't want leather). I would not want to add options one-by-one on a brand new vehicle. It's easy enough to find and buy what you want and be done with it.

 

[Graygoose]

Just bought a 2015 Ram CC Bighorn, got price down to same as Express or Tradesman.

The power fold mirrors, front and rear park sensors, the rear power window, the 8.4 screen, the better door panels and seats, console, etc all looked better than the Tradesman or Express. I had a 2011 Express, great truck, but not near as loaded as the Bighorn. For me, the front sensors were awesome, so I knew where I stand pulling into the garage. The huge backup camera in the 8.4 is amazing, blows away my wife's Enclave.
I looked at both, and also considered resale. Even if it was a couple grand more, the extra features to me are worth it.

 

[jag1886]

I like the Express because it has less gadgets to break down. I is still a very comfortable truck IMHO.

 

[Ricks Ram]

I like the Express because it has less gadgets to break down. I is still a very comfortable truck IMHO.

I will defenetly give you that. The factory cloth seats are very comfortable. I will also say the the base climate control system on the Express is much easier to use and has the ability to fine tune the settings much better than the 8.4 bezel single zone climate control.

 

[arod412]

Had the same debate in 2012...express or big horn...I'm glad I got the big horn. When you price put the addins that you are missing, it cost alot more to get it installed.

If you can afford it, get the big horn.

**Sent from the *********

 

[clh1220]

I have done the same thing. Contrary to was was stated by another poster in this thread you can upgrade the Express to pretty much everything a Bighorn has thanks to alot of people on this forum who figured it out. . I have the RA4,premium cluster,power leather seats,leather steering wheel with audio controls.homelink,power sliding rear window (going in this weekend)seats,door panels, ect.....I have everything I want now and I got alot of stuff prety cheap through wrecking yards and eBay but it still cost me more in the long run. One thing nice was I enjoyed making my truck the way I wanted it. But I will never buy a truck again that doesn't have everything I want.

I just don't see that it is feasible to try to add everything to a express. You can add options, but you can't add all of the big horns options to a express and really come out ahead. Plus somethings you have to have the dealer activate them. Which would be a pain in the ass.

 

[Rzrman328]

I chose my express because I just really don't use a lot of features while I'm driving.

Windows go down, radio goes up and drive.

My 300 srt had every bell n whistle and I forgot I had most of them to be honest. Just Nvr used'em.