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The first year of this new decade sees fresh Heavy Duty trucks from each of the Big Three. And while this means little to the broader spectrum of the automotive market, these HD offerings are much more than fashion accessories to the buyers who work and play with them. New engines, cabs, electronics and, of course, increased capability can be found in each. For an industry like forestry, this is going to be an interesting truck buying year.
Dodge
As part of the Detroit Heavy Duty pickup truck trilogy, Dodge is first out of the blocks with a new HD truck for the new decade. It's also the first all-new product from the newly restructured Chrysler and (as if that weren't pressure enough) it is the first new truck to wear the "Ram" badge - as Dodge becomes a car-only company and the Ram name becomes a brand used exclusively for trucks. Of course, so far all this is just more ink on brochures, which means nothing if the product is weak.
Having recently driven this HD iron I can happily say, "it's not." Plus, with a decent field of options offered across the HD line, Dodge is a real contender - even starting its price walk at $700 less than last year's base MSRP.
Among the new options added to 20 10 build sheets is a crew cab (replacing the smallish Quad Cab) - which Dodge simply calls "Crew." The unique Mega Cab is still available along with a regular cab, making for three Dodge cab offerings that can be matched to either a 6'4" or 8-foot cargo box. As for trim - there are four distinct levels - ST, SLT, SXT and Laramie.
This year Dodge has joined GM and Ford in offering an integrated trailer brake controller, and one with a nifty feature. The gain settings and actual braking action appear in the centre screen (between the speed and rpm gauges) as numbers and a bar graph.
In terms of capability the 2010 HD Ram can tow up to 8,391 kg (18,500 lb) and carry 2,318 kg (5,1 10 lb) of payload. On all 3500 models with dual rear wheels GCWR is increased to 11,521 kg (25,400 lb) with the 6.7L...