[rynosback]

Let me start the story off by saying that I will be full timing on the road this Spring.
I was ready to pull the trigger on a 2015 CC 8' box DRW TD Aisin 3.73 Laramie. But now I'm thinking of going with a regular cab 8' box DRW TD Aisin 3.73 Tradesman or SLT. And getting a run around car that gets 40 mpg. Not to mention that the cost of maintenance will be a ton cheaper. I'm still going to option some things on it as I do not want a base stripped down truck. My question is, how it the seating comfort and position from the Tradesman to an SLT?

Thanks for your incite and advice.

 

[dhaile]

Its fine for two people but the seat for the third (middle) person is horrible. It sits straight up and the person is in the way of the driver and passenger. Also you will be hard pressed to save any money buying a second vehicle. The cost of insurance and whatever the cost of the second vehicle is would hardly offset the savings in fuel. Get the bigger truck and drive it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[20136.7]

Get the loaded truck and enjoy driving the heck out of it everyday:thumb:


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[jack0351]

Definately get the CC. Trim level I can see going down in order to save money, but there are WAY too many perks to having something larger than a regular cab. I LOVE having extra space in the cab.

 

[camperman]

My truck is a SLT, crew cab. I am one of those, "must have an 8' bed" Having 4 doors for people to get in and out of, is just plain better than peanut butter. My Ford was a super cab, and the 1/2 doors it had was a pain. I went with the SLT, because it had most of what I wanted, and I did have a few add on items at time of order. I never was one for all the " Bells & whistles". More to go wrong at some point in time. Just my thought thou. Get the crew cab. You and another couple go somewhere, the back seat rides fine. At least that what I'm told. My seat is behind the steering wheel. Best wishes with your decision.

 

[jack0351]

Hey Ryno-
What are you going to be full-timing in?

 

[2014ram]

It's nice to have the extra space in the cab so you can keep extra stuff with you especially if you're on the road alot. My last truck was an access cab and just for me. I always have warm clothes in winter months and then a road side assistance kit, water, tools and anything else I might need. I have the 2500 cc/lb tradesman and love it. The front bench for a 3rd person isn't that great but is handy. I got the 5.0 radio too. Only thing it didn't have was the power sliding rear window. The new lower end trucks are way better than 5 years ago loaded in my opinion.

 

[6401nohl]

I have a Tradesman and I'm not sure I noticed much, if any, difference to the SLT comfort wise in the seats :confused013:. Maybe the difference between cloth covered and/or vinyl - and in that case I would say yes, I preferred the cloth. But not enough to pay for them since I was putting on seat covers anyway. Also mine does not have electric adjustable seats/positions. So maybe that's a plus as well to be able to adjust them more. But that just wasn't an issue and/or important to me. If I remember correctly, it seemed like darn near impossible to just get a single type option upgrade added. It had to come with a different package and/or way more other things that I did not need or want. And the price was significantly more than what I wanted to pay. :confused013:

I'd say my '14 Tradesman is equipped nicely as compared to the older year "stripped down" bare bones work truck models. Had all the convenience features I wanted and a good price. Biggest difference on mine is vinyl flooring in my Tradesman. But I was putting full floor mats in anyway, so it seemed like the carpet option was a worthless option. My Tradesman is as nice, if not nicer, than my '05 SLT.

 

[13-3500]

The seat between the SLT and Tradesmans are the same cloth seats maybe little more padding in the SLT. My Old 13 SLT had the 8.4 and the better EVIC/Gauges and I miss that the most over the tradesman I have now. If money is not an issue get the laramie and get heated seats and Steering Wheel. Also you can get a loaded up SLT with most of the Goodies. And do NOT get the 3.0 radio it sucks. Also go CC and forget the second car

 

[rskeans]

IMHO, The CC would be the most important thing trumping other choices like Tradesman, SLT, Laraime, etc. From experience, you'll use the back seat for jackets, coats, cameras, guests, quick access tool boxes, snacks, Trailer Life campgrounds book, maps, etc. The list is long. You'll be kicking yourself if you forego the CC.

 

[rskeans]

Hey Ryno-
What are you going to be full-timing in?

He's been looking at Mobile Suites.

 

[07-6.7L]

If you are on the road alot definitely re-think the regular cab. Even if you are by yourself all the time, having heater/cooled weather tight storage is the best thing ever. I used to be a regular cab guy...until I had my first quad cab... Now its Crew Cabs or nothing!

As for trim, when I was at Dodge pricing a new truck, to get one with the options I wanted in a Tradesman I would be spending more than an SLT that came with those options so move up to an SLT and few a thousand or two more I could have a really luxurious truck but by that point I was only a thousand or two away from a Laramie.... best bet is to figure out your "I can't live without..." options and then go to the dealer and see what packages get you closest to that at the best price.

As others have said if you are full timing it in the truck and would only be using the second vehicle a day or two a week its probably not worth the insurance and cost of said vehicle when you could put that money into a loaded up truck that you are going to be "living out of" anyways. Good luck!

 

[TriBeard]

The biggest things that kept me away from tradesmen were the worse gauge cluster and the lower end radio. The vinyl floors/seats were also a turn off for me, but that could be individual preference. I really do like the bucket seats over the bench, mostly for the console, but again, personal preference.

I would go for a well optioned, crew cab truck over a stripped down model and a second car. Once you drive the truck, you're probably not gonna want to drive the other car much anyway, and it really wouldn't make that much difference in money savings either.

 

[MBevans]

There are a lot of Tradesman trucks out there that are well optioned. Mine came with upgraded radio 5.0/chrome package and a few other bits.

I wanted the bench seat, as I was sick and tired of the buckets in my old F350 CC LWB. And did not want a center console.

While part of me wanted a lot of bells and whistles on my next truck, this Tradesman works well for me, and the base interior is very bit as nice as my old F350 XLT.

Ram builds some killer interiors on the upgraded versions, I guess its all up to what you wanna spend.

Yet I got a late summer build 2014 2500 CC LWB 4x4 for the same price as a Chev 1/2 ton, gotta love it!

 

[5.9fan]

IMO, the Tradesman is a great setup, especially since you can get some of the "creature comforts" without a lot of unnecessary bling. Mine was ordered with the chrome appearance package with 18 inch wheels so thats chrome clad steelies (good looking and rugged) with chrome grille and bumpers. It's also equipped with the 5.0 radio which i like, the upfitter switches which are great, and it can be had with manual 4x4, which is a must for me. I also have cloth seats and full carpet.

It's a rugged, working truck without that stripped fleet truck feel.

You will never regret going for a crew cab. Even it sits empty 80% of the time, the other 20 will pay for itself the first time you need it. the same can be said for the long bed.

 

[e-rok]

My tradesman doesnt feel stripped down at all to me. I mean, it has power doors/windows, heated mirrors, chrome package, carpet etc. Anything fancier and id be worried about getting it dirty inside or dog hair etc.

 

[MBevans]

I never knew that the tradesman ever came with anything but the durable cloth seats, as mine has cloth, nice black carpeting, 18" chromes. The heated mirrors work great on mine. The snow plow package most likely I'll never use, but it's there.

I really liked the leather seats in the upgraded versions, and the fancy dash is cool, but the standard dash has most everything that the upgraded models have.

I know RAM made a lot of "really" stripped Tradesman trucks, glad mine is not one of them. I did see one earlier this summer in PA. and it was $1k less than what I paid for mine, but what a difference 6 months and many rebates makes!

 

[coder]

Get the SLT with the upgraded cloth seats and the optional forged 18" wheels it's a well equipped truck at a good price.

 

[13-3500]

If you are going to full time it this spring then get a Class A DP and be happy and buy a small car for a toad. I would not trade my Class A for anything except maybe a bigger one.

 

[NC Ram 3500]

Im happy with my lowely Tradesman. Has the options and features I wanted. Crew cab, cloth bucket seats and full carpet, just the way I wanted it.