[iowaniceguy]

Hello, my name is Jaden and I'm a truck research addict. LOL

Grew up in Iowa on a farm. I lean towards the Dodge/RAM brands as I've grown up around them and have had overall good experiences. My father has an 01 and 06 2500 Cummins, my brother has a 07 Ram 1500 Hemi.

My first truck was a 2001 Dakota 4.7L with a 5speed. Great truck with IMO great power to weight for offroading, which for me is driving in farm fields. I upgraded tires to 33" Cooper Discoverer STMaxx. I now have a 2004 Ram Hemi and I love it, but hate the gas mileage. I'll soon be upgrading to 33" Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires over the stock Goodyears.

Anyway, I use my truck as a daily driver. In spring and fall I find myself in corn fields occasionally, so ground clearance and protection is important. Corn stalks can do more damage than people think. I do not do long haul towing but will do some heavy (approaching 10k) towing when I have to.

I'm considering an Ecodiesel (I'm on that forum as well), Rebel, or Outdoorsman model as my next truck, and am waiting for the right one.

Excited to see how people get along with their Rebels and what modifications they do. I'm not crazy about the "mustache" grille, but other than that I like the truck.

 

[El Chorizo]

Hello Jaden, welcome to the site. I'm also not sold on the grill but I'm waiting to see it in person before making judgement on it. Glad to have you aboard... how did you hear about the site?

 

[iowaniceguy]

Someone posted a link on the Ecodiesel forum. I'm following their experiences closely as I want to be a knowledgeable potential owner some day. I usually pic up vehicles used with around 80k miles, so I need to know the important maintenance areas.

I think there will be some potential in the aftermarket arena to find a different grille. But it will be interesting to see one in person. Also, different color options may make a difference.

 

[El Chorizo]

Makes sense, sounds like you do your research! Good job! I'm too much of an impulse buyer.

 

[iowaniceguy]

Ha I hear you. I try not to be too impulsive.

Will you be ordering one soon?

 

[El Chorizo]

No, probably not too soon. I'm really interested in comparing it to the Ford Raptor so kind of want to wait until that comes out and I can see the pricing on that. I know they aren't direct competitors but..... just having a hard time not thinking about the Raptor.

 

[cereal killer]

Jaden welcome and thanks for stopping in! I remember you from the EcoDiesel site! Great to have you here!! The White Rebel with some black powder coated wheels would look sick. Heck even the stock wheels are awesome.

At any rate thanks for the intro! See you on the forums!

 

[iowaniceguy]

Yeah...for me the Raptor has more offroad capability than I need and not enough all around truck capability. Don't get me wrong they are sweet sweet trucks. Also not sure about the ecoboost getting put in them. I know they are screaming engines but I don't think they are for me. I like big V8's or diesel.

 

[El Chorizo]

Yeah...for me the Raptor has more offroad capability than I need and not enough all around truck capability. Don't get me wrong they are sweet sweet trucks. Also not sure about the ecoboost getting put in them. I know they are screaming engines but I don't think they are for me. I like big V8's or diesel.

Definitely like the sound of a nice V8 or the torque of a Diesel... but the Ecoboost has been pretty capable so far and I think in the Raptor they are going to tweak it so it has some really nice power. I don't mind the fuel economy of a Turbo V6 at all!

 

[iowaniceguy]

Here's what my research has shown. I'm a big believer in Fuelly, as it's people's actual hand calc info. I think the V6 fuel economy doesn't translate from EPA tests to the real world. If I was buying Ford, I would get the 5.0. The ecoboost definitely has the power/speed, but its not so "eco"

Year 2013 2014 2015 Average
Ford 3.5 EB 15.4 16.2 16.4 16
Ford 5.0L 15.6 16.2 16.2 16
Ram 5.7L 15.5 15.9 15.7 15.7
Ram 3.0 ED NA 22.5 22.3 22.4

 

[El Chorizo]

Yah, that chart doesn't make it look good. I know Dascrow gets better gas mileage than that in his Ecoboost.

 

[Chris]

During a recent car show that I entered I found most off the street people consider the Rebel to be the dodge answer to the Raptor. The car show participants thought totally different, that, the Raptor was a purpose built off road vehicle and the Rebel, being a well rounded truck with some innovations and a lot of aftermarket products already incorporated into the design. I myself believe my Rebel is perfect for me, and have added a few features that I like.