Well for several years now (yes, litterally over seven years) I have been researching trucks that would be capable of pulling the a 5th wheel we plan on buying in the future. I have hashed out the numbers on how much weight they can tow and more importantly, what their payload capacities are. I knew I wanted a Ram but lately I decided to give other brands a fair shake. After test driving some trucks I came back to Ram which has the best mix of comfort and towing/payload capacity.

This pas Fall we attended a rally for Lance Owners of America and my poor Ram 1500 barely made it up the hills to Shingletown where the rally was held. Several of the women my wife was talking to told her that I needed a new truck not only for comfortably towing the trailer but for safety as well. Well, that was the final push we needed to upgrade my truck. Since we didn’t want to go through this again we went for a Ram 3500 1ton truck. We wanted a short bed because this would be my daily driver for the next 3 years. We wanted a single rear wheel axle truck as well so Cristy could drive it and not worry about the extra width. Truth be told I didn’t want to worry about it either. We also knew we would buy a used truck because we couldn’t justify paying the prices they were asking for a new truck.

We shopped around for a bit and some of the trucks I had my eye on either sold quickly or were still too expensive. I saw a good used truck at Antioch Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram and sent an email asking about it. I received back the same reply I had on many other occasions; it had been sold already. The salesman then emailed me and asked what I was looking for specifically in a new truck. I replied that I couldn’t afford a new truck and was looking for used.  He then sent me a couple of new options; late 2023 models as the 2024 models were already out. The kicker was the price was LOWER than the used models I had been looking at.

We made arrangements to drive out there on Saturday to take a look at the two trucks. When we got there he told us that one had “just sold yesterday” and there was someone coming out in a day or two to look at the other one and would I be interested in taking a look at some 2024 models? I will spare you, gentle reader, my reaction. Suffice it to say my words were unkind. About midway through my tirade (yes I kept going) the salesman backpedaled big time and said, “Well, you’re here on the lot now, if you like it and want to buy it we’ll sell it to you.” He still had to endure the last half of above-mentioned tirade.

He stomped off and found the keys and by the time he returned he acted like we were old friends. We took a test drive and decided that this just might be the truck we were looking for. It ticked all the boxes I had for wants on the truck:

• Dual climate control (so we don’t fight over the temperature)
• 8 inch display screen rather than the 12 monster some of the cars have.
• Manual air controls (as well as software controls on the screen)
• Cummins High Output turbo diesel
• 4 Wheel Drive
• Short bed
• Cargo and bumper cameras

So we pulled the trigger and bought the truck when we were only intending a test drive. But it was the right truck at a lower price than the used trucks we were looking at thanks to all the year end incentives the dealership was being offered. And we had an original factory warranty which we would not get with a used truck.

So what is it?

2023 Ram Big Horn 3500

For tech spec geeks here are the goods:

Engine: HIGH-OUTPUT 6.7L CUMMINS TURBO DIESEL I6 ENGINE
Transmission: Aisin AS69RC Heavy Duty
Axel Ratio: 3.73
Horsepower: 420 hp
Torque: 1075 lb-ft
MAX PAYLOAD LB: 3,824
MAX TOWING LB: 24,378

And the original window sticker.

We have already customized the truck with a few minor modifications.

• Roll n Lock bed cover
• Weather Tek bed mat
• Wheel to wheel running boards

So far we’re really enjoying the truck. It’s a great commute vehicle that is a pleasure to drive. I love the throaty growl of the Cummins engine. And the one trip we did take towing our travel trailer was amazingly relaxing. I left the truck on cruise control all the way up into the foothills and it never downshifted once. This will be a great hauler for our “someday” 5th wheel trailer.