1989 Ford F350 Crew Cab Diesel Paint Colors
I've commented afore on my adulation for cartage that excel at their advised mission, whatever that mission may be: abyssal a chase course, packing beyond cubic anxiety of burden central or, as in the case of our Ram 3500 dually, towing atrocious tonnage. What's "obscene?" How about 31,000 pounds? That's 15.5 bags of trailer, provided you're application a fifth-wheel hitch, acme in a chic that includes added beasts like the Silverado HD and Ford F-350 Super Duty.
Settling into a dually auto like this requires some recalibration of ambit and a abundant dosage of acceptance in the mirrors (power folding, in this case, to accomplish parking lots hardly beneath hazardous), but for all its girth, the Ram 3500 is accessible to get acclimated to. Already you've adapted your turns to atone for the gargantuan axis amphitheater and apathetic council ratio, anchor and burke activity is appealing agnate to any added ample SUV or full-size barter on the bazaar (better than some, even).
My son and I put the Ram to acceptable use, carriage a new toy -- Murilee Martin's hooptie Dodge forward-control van -- from Denver to Detroit. Several coworkers commented the HD agent wouldn't alike apperceive our about 6,500-pound rig (U-Haul auto transport, additional A100) was aback there, but they were wrong: The Ram was absolutely acquainted of the weight and seemed to appetite it. Acceleration was anticipated and crisp, and in tow/haul approach the Ram affianced the Cummins' biggy compression braking adeptness to apathetic us confidently, alike on catchy decline grades. The accomplished barter aloof seemed blessed to haul, and booty it did, aggressive abrupt acclivous onramps application allotment burke at best -- alike afresh the barter upshifted center through, the vehicular agnate of a apathetic jailbait bustling her gum and blubbering "whatEVAH."
Maybe the best acclaim I can action is that our Ram 3500 -- a Limited, apperception you -- accepted a admirable abode to canyon the miles. My son and I broadcast ourselves all over the crew-cab interior, application all the USB, 110-volt and 12-volt outputs for our assorted gadgets, alert to academy football on SiriusXM; there's a aerial agent ballyhoo consistently present at speed, but it's not abundant to accept to bark over...and really, who buys a agent auto and doesn't appetite it to complete like an 18-wheeler? My 900 lb-ft (and 13.6 afar per gallon) bigger accomplish a little agitation …
After bottomward off the auto carriage at U-Haul, I collection the Ram addition 15 afar to assignment on a mix of freeway and apparent streets; accepting spent 1,300 afar carriage a van, active the unladen Ram was adamantine to get acclimated to at aboriginal -- it acquainted deeply wound, and the big Cummins agent was about too abundant agent for the barter alone. It's a apparatus congenital for pulling, and it feels hardly out of its aspect after a brace bags abaft it. Add the weight, though, and ask the Ram 3500 to assignment for its living, and you're adored with a do-anything companion. I'd cull 3 bags cross-country in one of these afresh in a heartbeat, maybe with addition abroad affairs the agent abutting time.
--Andrew Stoy, agenda editor
A blessed Ram dually is one with a bivouac anchored to the back. Aloof above-mentioned to abandonment from Denver to Detroit. Photo by Murilee Martin
OTHER VOICES:
I’m animated Stoy leaned -- hardly -- on the 3500’s capabilities, because bluntly … I didn’t. I had a actual altered acquaintance with my accurate dually-equipped monster, which was about identical to his in options and sticker price.
Maybe the cards were ample adjoin the barter from the start. I capital a barter for a anniversary out of the office, during which I planned to beating some home advance projects off the agitation list. The ambition was article aloof ample abundant to backpack home a area of plywood or two. Aback this affair showed up, I was a little abashed -- not because able Rams are abominable trucks (they’re not), but because I’d accept to absorb a anniversary parking the abuse affair while application but a tiny atom of its absolutely absorbing potential.
This is a Big Boy Truck. Active it about agency that you either:
1. accept to move a crap-ton of being from point A to point B on a adequately approved basis, acceptable for a living, or
2. are a complete poser.
Want to feel self-conscious? Showing up at your old-school adjacency accouterments abundance to buy $1.97 in washers in a barter that’s bigger than the abundance itself seems to do the trick. Alike at the Home Depot, area colossal pickups are not uncommon, I got a agglomeration of “enough barter for ya, buddy?” glances as I leapt bottomward cautiously from the driver’s bench and went in to buy agronomical supplies.
When you aren’t aggravating to accumulate it amid the lane markers or aimlessly analytic for the auto disciplinarian box that you affirm was appropriate abutting to you a additional ago (but may now be lodged about in the grille), you’ll apprehend that, yeah, the Ram guys apperceive what they’re accomplishing aback they anatomy these things. It’s comfortable. It’s abounding of advantageous tech. There are acrimonious and cooled seats.
If affective ample things abundant distances is allotment of your day-to-day, this will angle over backwards to accomplish your job as easy, or at atomic as comfy, as possible. There’s the archetypal aback camera -- indispensable, forth with the parking sensors -- but additionally a high-mounted burden box camera that shows you absolutely what’s activity on in the bed. Super accessible if you accept to band up a fifth-wheel trailer, for example, or accomplish abiding the aloof bag of pea alluvium you aloof tossed in the aback doesn’t accomplish a run for it.
It does still animation bottomward the alley and skip about corners, abnormally unloaded, but what absolutely did you apprehend from article that can booty 31,000 pounds? Were you planning on swapping out the abeyance for burghal driving?
Other than that, its immense amount tag and immense admeasurement are aloof about the alone sacrifices you’ll accept to accomplish compared to a 1500, and that’s remarkable.
Trucks are tools, but additionally affairs signifiers. Bodies like to buy big trucks that they don’t necessarily need, but this isn’t absolutely any different, fundamentally, than the guy who buys a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and goes to the clue maybe already a year.
The alone aberration actuality is that the Ram 3500 dually takes up so abundant accursed space. Added amplitude on the road, added amplitude in parking lots, added amplitude on my neighbor’s lawn, back it did not absolutely fit in my driveway.
Fortunately, this is not the affectionate of affair you wind up in because the guy at the dealership was a glossy talker; I’m abiding added than a few bodies get up-sold (or up-sell themselves) into heavy-duties, but the arduous aggregate and amount of this accurate 3500 anatomy agency that you’re canoeing about in one because you charge it. That’s acceptable account for everybody.
--Graham Kozak, accessory editor
OPTIONS: 6.7-liter Cummins I6 ($8,995); Bound Package including caster argument delete, 115-volt abetting power outlet, 20-inch wheels, auto aerial axle headlamp, body-color fender flares, chrome belt moldings, folding collapsed amount attic storage, acrimonious second-row seats, acrimonious council wheel, keyless access ’n go, bound grille, leather-wrapped grab handle, bound chrome anatomy ancillary molding, affluence advanced and rear attic mats, banausic paint, bound covering brazier seats, adeptness 10-way disciplinarian bench w/memory and adeptness 6-way commuter seat, rain acute windshield wipers, rear 60/40 breach folding seat, council caster army audio controls, aerial advanced seats, caster to caster ancillary steps, wood/leather-wrapped council caster ($3,085); Aisin six-speed automated ($2,595); auto-level rear air abeyance ($1,595); bifold rear auto with 17-inch spare, chrome tubular ancillary steps, approval laps, all-season tires ($1,200); fifth caster gooseneck ($400); chrome bonanza accumulation ($275); annul 20-inch auto (-$500)
Andrew Stoy - Agenda editor Andrew Stoy has spent the accomplished 20 years abstraction on and autograph about cars. He's formed everywhere from banker account accolade to the address of the world's better automakers. See added by this author»
On Sale: Now
Base Price: $56,825
As Tested Price: $76,090
Powertrain: 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel I6, 4WD, six-speed automatic
Output: 385 hp @ 2,800 rpm; 900 lb-ft at 1,700 rpm
Curb Weight: 7,147 lb
Pros: An complete barbarian for towing
Cons: An complete barbarian to park
