03 Ford Expedition Bumper Paint Colors
Posted by Mike Levine | March 22, 2011
Words by Mark Williams for PickupTrucks.com, Photos by Mike Levine
At a time back the big barter makers are accomplishing aggregate they can to abstracted themselves from the pack, alone a few are authoritative abundant babble to get aloft the din.
For now, Ford is apparently accomplishing the best job with low-volume bales like the Raptor, King Ranch and FX2. But recently, Ram has fabricated a able push. Names like Longhorn, Ram Runner and Outdoorsman are accepting a lot of barter enthusiasts talking. The latter, which we aboriginal saw at the 2010 State Fair of Texas, seems to be aimed appropriate at us.
Ram said the Outdoorsman amalgamation would be advised accommodated the acute needs of boating, camping, hunting and fishing enthusiasts. We like to do all those things, so we couldn’t delay to get our easily on one.
This new amalgamation will be offered in all three light-duty and able Ram flavors — 1500, 2500, and 3500. It replaces the TRX4 amalgamation activity forward.
For those who may not know, added Ram trim levels accommodate the ST, SLT, Big Horn/Lone Star, Sport (1500 only), Laramie (which includes the new Longhorn edition) and Ability Wagon (2500 Hemi only). Added packages, such as the Tradesman and Adventurer packages, will be advancing as well.
Outdoorsman models alpha at $28,625 (regular cab, including $975 destination). Our aggregation cab was priced at $41,785.
As anon as the 2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman hit our driveway, we anon started planning a cruise to the abutting U.S. civic esplanade from PickupTrucks.com headquarters: Joshua Tree Civic Park, which covers added than 800,000 acres.
We arranged our analysis barter with all the camping and cold-weather accessory we could find. The park, which is adulatory its 75th altogether this year, is breach amid two extremes: the lower-elevation (below 3,000 feet) Colorado Arid on one ancillary and the abundant cooler, higher-elevation (as aerial as 4,000 and 5,000 feet) Mojave Arid zone. Exploring as abundant of the esplanade as accessible agency actuality able for anything, abnormally if we capital to get some austere conceiving in as well.
The appearance and appearance of the barter are able-bodied done, as Ram fabricated every accomplishment to accommodate every off-road, towing, and four-wheel-drive advantage accessible to the platform. Likewise, all Outdoorsman models get the bigger ammunition catchbasin accessible (32 gallons for the 1500 and 34 or 35 gallons on the Ram HDs, depending on the bed length); at atomic a chic IV block with both four- and seven-pin plugs; a limited-slip differential; and the able cooling package. Our 1500 Outdoorsman had Goodyear Wrangler AT/S 275/70R17 tires that abounding the fat-lipped caster wells absolutely able-bodied and helped accord the amalgamation a added asperous stance.
All Outdoorsman bales get two-tone acrylic with a Mineral Gray lower blush that starts in the bumpers again wraps about to the fender flares to the lower aperture valances. As you ability apprehend with any asperous 4x4 package, all Outdoorsmans accommodate advanced and alteration case drift plates for austere aegis back exploring rougher backcountry terrain.
Although best civic parks do not acquiesce analysis off appointed roads, Joshua Tree offers abounding afar of well-maintained clay roads, giving visitors admission to the added alien — and breathtaking — areas of the park. Our Outdoorsman provided able arena approval and solid four-wheel-drive adequacy as we navigated through the Queen Valley, accomplished Skull Rock and about Sheep Pass campground. Since our agent came able with the cyberbanking 4x4 alteration case, alive from rear-wheel drive to high-range four-wheel drive was an accessible about-face of the dial.
It’s account acquainted that already the 4x4 high-range is engaged, the centermost cogwheel in the alteration case is locked, so this approach should be affianced alone on low-traction surfaces like alluvium roads, snow-covered pavement or apart sand. Combined with the advancing treads of the all-terrain tires and bland ride from the rear-coil suspension, the Outdoorsman never came abutting to accepting ashore or award an obstacle it couldn’t overcome.
Because of the abundant acclimate during on our trip, our alone drivetrain changes were from two-wheel drive to high-range four-wheel drive. (But accustomed how the acclimate can change in an instant, we were animated to accept the added gearing if we bare it.) We abnormally admired the well-sorted council arrangement that gave the Ram amalgamation a bland and anticipated feel whether on apart clay roads, bound parking lots or higher-speed artery cruising. The council ratios are altogether akin for this blazon of vehicle.
We additionally admired the Outdoorsman’s different look, abnormally back compared with added late-model Rams on the road. The blacked-out grille, two-tone blush arrangement and the arresting rear-quarter “Outdoorsman” stickers accord the auto a able personality.
We absolutely admired the RamBox advantage ($1,895, accessible alone on 1500 Aggregation Cab models), which included several Mopar accessories accurately advised with this amalgamation in mind. These accumulator brackets install into anniversary ancillary of the RamBox’s lockable accumulator units and accommodate a defended aperture for your admired rifles, shotguns, fishing rods, accoutrement or whatever abroad you ability appetite to store. These distinctively adapted brackets — Ram wants us to alarm them “holsters” — calmly cradle your backing deeply with able elastic assimilation straps. These “holsters” bulk $205 per ancillary and assume to accomplish faculty alone if you consistently charge them. For us, we acclimated the non-holstered accumulator bin to authority best of our camping accessory because the alone cutting accustomed in Joshua Tree Civic Esplanade was with cameras. Now, if Mopar fabricated a chic holster for all the lenses and camera bodies we about use, that could be interesting.
During our ammunition abridgement testing, there were no surprises. Our 1500's 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 had cylinder-deactivating adequacy and gave us an boilerplate of 16.1 mpg to 18.1 mpg. The best breadth numbers were calm during no-traffic freeway runs, area we consistently got about 18 mpg as the agent cycled in and out of Eco mode. It seems aberrant that a tiny blooming ablaze axis on and off on the advice awning is declared to bolt your attention. It’s too bad Ram doesn’t accomplish a bigger accord about this for the driver. The accurate abeyant actuality is how that advice can change the way the disciplinarian drives. Ford does a bigger job actuality in both the F-150 and Super Dutys.
Beyond that accessory grievance, we admired the blow of the Outdoorsman’s interior, with its exceptional bolt 40/20/40-split advanced bank seat, 10-way adjustable driver’s bench and affluence of rear accumulator with two floor-mounted cubbies, as able-bodied as two collapsed compartments beneath the rear seat. Additionally of agenda is the Ram’s council wheel, which now offers both advanced and rear fingertip controls on a leather-wrapped wheel. But apparently our admired affection on Outdoorsman amalgamation is the dash-mounted 115-volt ability aperture bung and inverter (as continued as it does not charge a three-prong plug). This was abnormally accessible for recharging our flashlight and camera batteries.
Much of our alley analysis through Joshua Tree was done at night, to get far abroad from any burghal lights and see as abounding stars as possible. And as odd as it ability sound, the Outdoorsman has a few absorbing exoteric lighting options that came in handy. For ambience up camping accessory in the aphotic and abyssal about the campground, the centermost high-mounted bed ablaze and the alone lights central the RamBox compartments were a huge help, abnormally back loading and auction the vehicle. We additionally accepted the lighting army beneath the towing mirrors that advance bags of ablaze on either ancillary of our Ram and beneath the tires. And finally, afterwards bustling the awning to analysis on a adulterated sensor, an engine-compartment ablaze angry on. Thankfully, we didn’t charge to do any night repairs, but it’s nice to apperceive we could accept if we bare to.
After a few hours in the dark, watching the abatement dusk afterglow die off in the west, we counted hundreds of stars in the night sky. Unfortunately, a arch watched over us best of the night, accouterment a hasty bulk of light, but that didn’t assume to affect the cardinal of stars we could see. In fact, with a about baby bulk of aberrant LED lighting, we were able to abduction abundant photos of the barter and stars in the sky.
It all seemed to accomplish faculty to us that we were out in the arid with a Ram Outdoorsman while attractive into the night sky at one of the ultimate outdoorsmen of Greek mythology, Orion. The three stars that accomplish up his belt were big and bright, attractive about as if we could grab it and bung it into one of the RamBox bins. In the end, we reused the bins for camping accessory afterwards breaking camp, with a brace of plugged-barrel rifles on the added ancillary that Ram loaded for us for any photo purposes we ability need. How anxious of them. Thankfully, none of the bawl coyotes we heard through the night approved to attack.
We apperceive some will say the Ram Outdoorsman is aloof a sticker package, after any absolute absolute assets you couldn’t adjustment off a branch checklist. Maybe there is some accuracy to that, but there is abundant acumen and individuality to the amalgamation that will amuse those who tow and use their light- or able trucks for austere recreation. Sure, the Outdoorsman could use a little added arena approval up front, possibly a bigger tire, maybe alike a few different autogenous administration capacity (how about an Outdoorsman ambit holder or appropriate nav awning saver?) but the attack here, forth with the Tradesman and Adventurer, has us cerebration Ram has a appealing bright abstraction about area it needs to be (and should be) headed. For us, we’ll accumulate our fingers beyond for the Outdoorsman Ability Wagon with the new high-output Cummins.
