Funny how a thread on the only truck inventory at a dealer being a top of the line factory Hot Rod truck degrades to a bunch of my way or the highway chest thumping arguments!
I had a ‘95 Ram 1500 day cab 6’ bed 4x4 for a long time and it mostly served me well. Shortly after buying it, I was in a meeting room at work and a toxic coworker, whose last name was Bell so we all called him Tinkerbell behind his back, made a comment to someone else in the room that 4WD was the biggest waste of money in the world.
I’m sure it was a passive aggressive cut at me from that insecure loser, since I’d just got a nice truck. So I ignored it rather than take the bait.
But I thought about it later, and he was right, 99% of the time, the other 1% of the time 4WD is priceless. I had a 30 mile drive to work, and getting there or home on some days when we had big snowstorms would have been impossible. I also had a car, but it was rwd. It was not any good for driving in bad snow.
I had issues with the day cab. Not enough room for bags or luggage or much in the way of groceries behind the seat. Stuff I didn’t want to put in the bed even though I had a tonneau cover, so it had to go on the passenger seat or floor. I often wished I had the extended cab on my 1500. I had thoughts of towing a car trailer but the short WB and 1/2 ton rating made it sketchy for that.
Now I’m getting another truck. 3/4 ton this time for towing. 4WD for me due to the weather here, and an experience being with a friend with a 4x2 towing a car trailer, spinning tires on the hill we were parking the rig on at a car show and almost getting stuck. Not to mention resale value as 4WD is pretty much an expectation now on trucks whether people really need it or not! For some reason extended cabs were discontinued a while back, day cab didn’t work out all the time for me with my last truck, so crew cab it is, even if no one ever sits in back. I would have got extended cab if still offered. I need the secure climate controlled inside storage space.
I’m also getting Ram boxes, not available with 8’ beds. I sometimes carry boom sticks to the range, and concerned about transporting them legally when I don’t have a trunk to put them in. The Ram box seems perfect for that, they lock for security and might save me a visit to the lockup! They will also be good for tools and other odds and ends I won’t have to listen to sliding around in the bed.
So I’ve done my homework and considered my needs based on previous experience. I don’t need another “tinkerbell” telling me something is wrong with my choice if it doesn’t meet their standards. Your results may vary!