In the Apr. '08 Issue, one vehicle caught my eye over all others. No, it wasn't the latest carlike truck out of Detroit. No, it wasn't the latest project the staff had been working on. It wasn't even one of the oftentimes very impressive rides of Readers' Rides. The one truck that stood out above all others was a mid-'90s Dodge Ram stepside stuck in a mudhole in the Whoops! section. I know that Dodge hasn't built a stepside pickup in over 20 years. I am curious as to what's the deal with this truck. Was it some kind of Dodge Ram prototype that never was? (I doubt that!) Or was it some very creative bodywork? Or do I need to have my eyes checked? Do you have any input on this?
Kurt Alexander
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Feature editor Ali Mansour (new guy, Dodge guy, and in-charge-of-Readers'-Rides guy) responds: I can't find anything to show that Dodge ever made a late-model stepside, but if I had to make an educated guess on what is going on here, I would say that if you look at the picture closely you will find that the trim lines don't appear to match the cab exactly and the flare looks as though it came directly off the same series, but a dualie. I would imagine that there could have been a limited version made, but I doubt it. I would say this is most likely some custom configuration. Though don't count the factory out as it made a handful of oddball limited models from '94-'02. Good catch!
I was just reading your article "1-Ton Diesel Tow Test," (May '08). I found it funny that you would compare a Ford King Ranch ($3,600 upgrade) to the other two, and not add the tow mirrors to the Chevy ($55 upgrade). Also in the downhill grade on the Chevy, is it that difficult to touch your brake long enough for it to shift down and hold gear in tow haul mode? I love the mag, it is a good read. I just think if you are giving out an opinion on "apples to apples, and maker's tow packages," shouldn't it be apples to apples?
Chad
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Freelancer Drew Hardin replies: In an ideal world we could specify exactly what equipment we want whenever we borrow a vehicle from a manufacturer and get the truck delivered that way. But that never happens. So we've learned to pick our battles in terms of vehicle equipment. Our minimal parameters for this test were diesel-powered 4x4s with four-door cabs, dual rear wheels, and tow packages. Beyond that, we had to accept whatever trim level and optional equipment was on the vehicle (in the case of the spendy King Ranch package) or wasn't (in the case of the Chevy's tow mirrors). We were lucky to get the Chevy at all, actually. Chevrolet at first told us it had no diesel dualie 4x4, but then later found one in Texas. With a choice of no Chevy at all or a Chevy with tiny mirrors, we took the truck.
I really enjoy and subscribe to your fine publication. I sell Dodge trucks at Shelbyville Chrysler here in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and have been competing in truck pulls with my '95 Dodge Cummins truck for eight years now. That said, I was very interested in the "1-Ton Diesel Tow Test article. However, as careful as you were to be fair about all three trucks, I was truly dismayed when I read that the Ford you tested had more than 21,000 miles on the clock (and I have to assume that the others were either brand new or had relatively few miles on them). If the Dodge Cummins truck you had tested had 21,000 plus miles on it-i.e., was "broken in"-it would have had significantly higher fuel economy as well as horsepower and torque. This is a very basic and true fact relative to diesel engines that I feel greatly skewed your test results. I keep up with diesel trucks and speak with hundreds of diesel truck owners about fuel economy. The Ford 6.4 (all things being equal) tends to get much poorer (3-4 mpg) fuel economy than both the Duramax and the Cummins. What do you think?
George Peterson
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Drew Hardin replies: Plain and simple: We're at the mercy of the OEs in terms of what we're given to test. All we can do is report the various factors along with our results. The second we start assuming things that we don't experience-better fuel economy for trucks with more miles on the clock, better dyno numbers if we had some sort of magic transmission tool, quicker acceleration if only the gear ratio were lower-we might as well write the test from our desks without ever driving the trucks. There are magazines out there that already do that. We don't.