After talking to our local dealer then making a call to Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg, ID we laid down our deposit with Dave Smith Motors and told them to prep our new 2007 Dodge Ram. Dave Smith Motors just happens to be the largest Dodge dealer in the world. That is a big statement for the little town of Kellogg, Idaho. Our sales rep, Doug Apperson, was telling us that the average buyer lives 460 miles away. They sell ALOT of Dodge vehicles.

Since the Dodge Ram 3500 already had the tow package we only needed the accessories department at Dave Smith Motors to add an electronic brake controller for us. That would allow us to pickup our new truck on the way to an event. We would drive to Kellogg with our GMC 2500 HD and 22 foot enclosed TPD trailer. Unhook the trailer. Hook it up to the new Dodge Ram 3500 and we would be on our way. Virtually all of the first 2500 miles would be with trailer in tow.

Since we had just unhooked from the 2002 Duramax I immediately noticed improved power and towing ability from the Cummins engine. And it should only get better as it gets broke in. The Cummins seemed to get up to freeway speed much faster than I was used to and then seemed to cruise along easier than the Duramax. Nice!

Now how about the ride? We all know that Chevy is king when we are talking highway ride. I was concerned that the Dodge was going to be too harsh and would override the other benefits. Well I was pleasantly surprised. The Dodge Ram 3500 had a nice highway ride. Yes it felt slightly harsher than our GMC 2500 HD but not so much as to be any kind of a serious issue.

From the Passenger Seat by Pattie Waters

From a passenger’s standpoint with the # 1 goal being comfort on long trips, the Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab exceeded all our expectations at first glance.  We were “wow-ed” with the back seat especially.  21” of leg room is unheard of in a pickup.  There is even decent foot room underneath the front seat.  While the cab is essentially the same width as the GMC Crew Cab, it seems much wider. 

The rear bench seat is long enough for a 5’7” body to stretch totally out, with a pillow propped up only a little. The only drawback – incredibly uncomfortable seatbelt receivers jabbing you in the ribs.  Yeah, I know all passengers need to sit up and be properly belted, but let’s just say you pulled over and wanted to sleep somewhere for the night during the trip…  Take several pillows to lay across the seats.

Another feature that appealed to us for 20+ hour road trips where our passenger has to arrive refreshed and ready to race, was reclining rear seats.  No other pick up has that feature.  Reality – they don’t really recline very much, and not at all if you have anything behind the seat.  Don’t throw away your neck pillow yet.

Initial thumbs up to:

• Looks – especially from the front.  It growls sitting still.  Or whatever macho noise a “ram” makes.
• Gotta love the electric blue color
• Handles perfectly placed for hauling your ass up and in
• Spacious leg room, front and rear
• Substantial head room
• Nearly fully-reclining front seats
• Heat/AC vents in the rear
• Clothing hangers are in the rear of the cab behind the seats, not blocking the door opening
• Doors open really wide.  Load BIG items inside easily.
• Short nose of the hood means what you see is where you can park
• Small turning radius for a full-size pickup
• Flip up side view mirrors are very cool and provide substantial view of your trailer 
• Fuel efficiency.  Latest trip without trailer we posted nearly 22 mpg on the trip computer, though manual calculation said more like 19.  With box trailer and full load in bed we posted 14 mpg.
• Huge fuel tank – you can roll nearly 600 miles between fills.
• Miles to Empty message seems fairly accurate

Thumbs down to:

• Flat, hard, uncomfortable seats; both front and rear.  No “bucket” to them at all.
• You can’t put anything under the rear seats if you intend to fold them down to access rear storage.  It’s one or the other.

Other items we consider just minor inconveniences at this point:

• No arm rests in front seats.  Using console, one person has to move their arm off if the other needs to access the console.  *Why can’t any pick up do a split console?  Or just give us arm rests as part of the seat.
• Cup holders are just a fraction too small.
• Vents in the rear are right at the floor so if you set anything on the floor in the center, it blocks them 
• Wish side mirrors would flip up or extend electrically for towing, so you don’t have to hang out the window getting cold or wet.
• Bed is couple inches shorter than standard box, so ATV doesn’t quite fit with tailgate up.
• Huge fuel tank.  At current prices it’s nearly $100 to fill if you’re empty.
• Large fuel tank lets you go so long without filling, you need to make extra stops for bathroom breaks or meals.  If that’s our only complaint 50,000 miles from now, we can live with it.

Things we’ll be watching:

• Transmission seems to slip/hesitate in reverse. Driver error, not getting it in all the way, or a problem?