Northern MI Cucklyfe: Floating Garage Edition

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Now, for some of the head scratchers:

Features it has...
Power rear window
Heated side mirrors
Auto down and up front windows

Features it doesn't have...
Rear defroster
Steering wheel radio controls
Bed lights (but it has the switch)

Odd choices for what to include and exclude, nothing by any means deal breakers, but I was particularly surprised by the lack of steering wheel radio controls.

[wap]

@wap...


The poverty radio has next to no functionality, but it has a HARD BUTTON for the compass, which makes the entire screen a compass.

[wap]

Now, for some of the head scratchers:

Features it has...
Power rear window
Heated side mirrors
Auto down and up front windows

Features it doesn't have...
Rear defroster
Steering wheel radio controls
Bed lights (but it has the switch)

Odd choices for what to include and exclude, nothing by any means deal breakers, but I was particularly surprised by the lack of steering wheel radio controls.

No rear defroster seems , too, especially since it has side mirror heat.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Now, for some of the head scratchers:

Features it has...
Power rear window
Heated side mirrors
Auto down and up front windows

Features it doesn't have...
Rear defroster
Steering wheel radio controls
Bed lights (but it has the switch)

Odd choices for what to include and exclude, nothing by any means deal breakers, but I was particularly surprised by the lack of steering wheel radio controls.

No rear defroster seems , too, especially since it has side mirror heat.

Exactly! And the fancy power rear window, all the cost for that but skip the defroster?!

I don't think I've ever had a vehicle without a rear defroster. It's a weird clear view out the rear view mirror

[CaleDeRoo]

Now, for some of the head scratchers:

Features it has...
Power rear window
Heated side mirrors
Auto down and up front windows

Features it doesn't have...
Rear defroster
Steering wheel radio controls
Bed lights (but it has the switch)

Odd choices for what to include and exclude, nothing by any means deal breakers, but I was particularly surprised by the lack of steering wheel radio controls.

I'm surprised the wheel doesn't have the typical FCA controls on the back of the wheel.

Sounds like something you loaded into the truck is going to hit the rear window, cracking it, and causing it to be replaced with one equipped with the defroster.


I feel like the will also eat the steering wheel soon.

[wap]

No rear defroster seems , too, especially since it has side mirror heat.

Exactly! And the fancy power rear window, all the cost for that but skip the defroster?!

I don't think I've ever had a vehicle without a rear defroster. It's a weird clear view out the rear view mirror

Even my fucking 1970 Beetle had a rear window defroster! FIFTY ONE YEARS AGO!! It's unconscionable that a modern vehicle doesn't come with one standard. You'd think they'd be mandatory.

[wap]

@wap...


The poverty radio has next to no functionality, but it has a HARD BUTTON for the compass, which makes the entire screen a compass.

be yo.

[wap]

Now, for some of the head scratchers:

Features it has...
Power rear window
Heated side mirrors
Auto down and up front windows

Features it doesn't have...
Rear defroster
Steering wheel radio controls
Bed lights (but it has the switch)

Odd choices for what to include and exclude, nothing by any means deal breakers, but I was particularly surprised by the lack of steering wheel radio controls.

I'm surprised the wheel doesn't have the typical FCA controls on the back of the wheel.

Sounds like something you loaded into the truck is going to hit the rear window, cracking it, and causing it to be replaced with one equipped with the defroster.


I feel like the will also eat the steering wheel soon.

[Desertbreh]

@wap...


The poverty radio has next to no functionality, but it has a HARD BUTTON for the compass, which makes the entire screen a compass.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I'm surprised the wheel doesn't have the typical FCA controls on the back of the wheel.

Sounds like something you loaded into the truck is going to hit the rear window, cracking it, and causing it to be replaced with one equipped with the defroster.


I feel like the will also eat the steering wheel soon.

I wish, but the company does the repairs and knows how the truck was built. Plus, it has none of the wiring and switches, it would probably be a tough one to add.

I guess this sort of thing is less critical on a because of the bed keeping stuff off the back window, but I sure have used defrosters in my past trucks. Hell, my 92 K1500 had a defroster. Such an odd corner to cut.

[CaleDeRoo]

I wish, but the company does the repairs and knows how the truck was built. Plus, it has none of the wiring and switches, it would probably be a tough one to add.

I guess this sort of thing is less critical on a because of the bed keeping stuff off the back window, but I sure have used defrosters in my past trucks. Hell, my 92 K1500 had a defroster. Such an odd corner to cut.

I'm surprised it's not wired up for it honestly.

So I'm wondering if the heated mirrors are included because of their location on the truck. Much closer to control units and the fuse box etc so it would cost less to include those vs a rear defroster.

[Desertbreh]

I wish, but the company does the repairs and knows how the truck was built. Plus, it has none of the wiring and switches, it would probably be a tough one to add.

I guess this sort of thing is less critical on a because of the bed keeping stuff off the back window, but I sure have used defrosters in my past trucks. Hell, my 92 K1500 had a defroster. Such an odd corner to cut.

When you add a monster compass, something's got to give.

[wap]

I wish, but the company does the repairs and knows how the truck was built. Plus, it has none of the wiring and switches, it would probably be a tough one to add.

I guess this sort of thing is less critical on a because of the bed keeping stuff off the back window, but I sure have used defrosters in my past trucks. Hell, my 92 K1500 had a defroster. Such an odd corner to cut.

When you add a monster compass, something's got to give.

[max225]

I wish, but the company does the repairs and knows how the truck was built. Plus, it has none of the wiring and switches, it would probably be a tough one to add.

I guess this sort of thing is less critical on a because of the bed keeping stuff off the back window, but I sure have used defrosters in my past trucks. Hell, my 92 K1500 had a defroster. Such an odd corner to cut.

When you add a monster compass, something's got to give.

My taco doesn’t have a defroster either. But it does have a compass .

[razr390]

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When you add a monster compass, something's got to give.

My taco doesn’t have a defroster either. But it does have a compass .

Maybe they had some focus group that was asked if they ever used their rear window defroster and 90% of them didn’t even know they had it/what the button meant.


“Wait so that’s NOT bacon on a plate?”

[max225]

My taco doesn’t have a defroster either. But it does have a compass .

Maybe they had some focus group that was asked if they ever used their rear window defroster and 90% of them didn’t even know they had it/what the button meant.


“Wait so that’s NOT bacon on a plate?”

I have never needed a defroster for windshield or for rear window in my 20 years in California. And that’s the #1 taco market so it makes sense I suppose. I was a bit surprised tho.

The rear window opens inside. So I suppose we got that

[CaleDeRoo]

Rear defroster is basically a requirement 7mo a year here. Unless you want to run the A/C compressor constantly.

[wap]

Rear defroster is basically a requirement 7mo a year here. Unless you want to run the A/C compressor constantly.

Same.

[D Griff]

Exactly! And the fancy power rear window, all the cost for that but skip the defroster?!

I don't think I've ever had a vehicle without a rear defroster. It's a weird clear view out the rear view mirror

Even my fucking 1970 Beetle had a rear window defroster! FIFTY ONE YEARS AGO!! It's unconscionable that a modern vehicle doesn't come with one standard. You'd think they'd be mandatory.

I always thought they were less common in pickemups because the rear glass is so much closer to the front vents

I've had several poverty vehicles sans rear defroster, '97 Civic everything and both the Jeep and Miata had vinyl rear windows.

[D Griff]

I actually like the Chris. It looks like a RAM from 1993 but new. I kind of miss the large 4X4 lettering, steel wheels with tall tires, and simple/functional looks.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Rear defroster is basically a requirement 7mo a year here. Unless you want to run the A/C compressor constantly.

If you're somewhere it snows/is cold regularly, it's rough. BUT, we'll see if it makes a difference on a

[Apex]

I rarely have a need for rear-defrost on my trucks. I’m usually clicking it off when I remote start.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

A CT update...

Drove 4 hours in it yesterday ~250 miles. It was BY FAR the most comfortable highway experience I've ever had. The lack of noise is astonishing, the seat is like sitting in a La Z Boy, and the ride/handling is effortless. I couldn't believe the time we made and how ready/fresh I felt arriving home. It's so drastically better than the JT, that I'm going to stop talking about it. It's a completely unfair comparison. In the quest for a couch highway cruiser, it's mission accomplished.

We took a load of stuff from my dad's garage that we've been using as a storage unit after we ran out of time moving with the JT, and with the bed completely full, it was like there was nothing back there. And it easily took 2x what the JT could...with the tailgate down on the JT and the tailgate up on the CT. The front bench seat was nice to let the ride in the middle, and we filled the back seat up with stuff we didn't want exposed to the elements. As a tool, this thing is phenomenal.

About half way through the drive, commented that it felt like there was great visibility...and I realized at that point the difference between a Ram and GM truck. The cowl/hood is noticeably lower in the Ram than the GM trucks. Over the summer I drove a friend's Silverado LT, and I HATED how piss poor the visibility was. It felt like sitting in a hole, like a Camaro, which made the large truck feel even larger and more difficult to park. Whether real or not, the Ram gives the impression that the hood is lower and less massive, which over time makes the truck shrink around you...my GMT400 did this. I can see the corners of the hood, which is impossible in a GM truck and REALLY makes it feel more maneuverable. If I drove the Ram and Silverado back to back, I'd vastly prefer the Ram, it's no surprise now why the Ram is on sales pace with the Silverado...it's the better truck no doubt. The incredible thing is the Ram is massive...must be the offroad group lift, but we passed 2500 trucks that we were eye level with and we looked down on Ford and GM trucks with regular suspension. Very commanding truck, but still doesn't feel as massive as the GM did now that I'm used to it.

The other area the Ram excels is interior DESIGN. I spent a lot of time looking around the interior during the drive, and it became apparent that the interior isn't actually much nicer than a GM, it just looks nicer. I'll take some pics to back it up, but just like a GM truck, everything you see is hard plastic. There's no soft touch anything anywhere...including the door panels. The arm "rest" is hard plastic. The dash is hard plastic. The steering wheel is rubber. But it doesn't LOOK like hard plastic. It has nice grain, nice design features, overall it appears to be high quality, but once you touch it, you realize it's not. Even the gayge cluster has a nice pleasing design to it. The warning lights have little molded sections where the live, the gauges look nice, and the tiny screen has way more functionality than it should. Where GM just does flat surfaces that makes it look cheap, the Ram adds design elements that make it look better. These design elements are part of the mold and cost very little extra to make, but result in a work truck feeling nicer than a Silverado LT (technically a step up).

Finally, the engine.

I wish I could report a bunch of regret and here, but I just can't. Somehow the V6 exhaust is tuned to give a lower growl than the JT, and it legit sounds like it's bigger than it is. It's a ridiculously pleasing engine note for what it is, this surprised me a lot. It's still slow off the line, taking off from a light or something, but once moving...there's zero to complain about. Even with a full bed, it was surprisingly adequate. On the highway, it doesn't go into 8th gear much...it results in the engine turning 1,700rpm at 80! The V6 doesn't like lugging down that far, but when it does, the mileage seems to be We left with 90 miles on the truck, so a brand new powertrain, I had cruise set at 80 the entire time and it got an indicated 17mpg. We had a headwind, and the drive upstate is almost always 2mpg worse than the drive down for...reasons so I'm optimistic for FE as the engine breaks in. Even more amazing because the truck is so high. The JT couldn't crack 15 doing 75, so like I said above the comparison is just and I'm going to stop that now.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I rarely have a need for rear-defrost on my trucks. I’m usually clicking it off when I remote start.

Mine melted whatever light snow would stick to the rear window, but it was never NEEDED for defrost purposes, agreed.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Oh, and got home to a foot of snow on the ground...


If I owned this thing, I'd paint the steel wheels satin gray/almost black and I think this thing would look