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Comments
Chad
Mailman
Truck has been wonderful. Only 15-17 MPG, but that's life. Had 11 GMC/Chevys, this is as good or better. This transmission has me paranoid though.
Been in snow, ice, water everywhere and it's been wonderful. Another of my friends just bought one off the lot today; that's what I did. No way I could wait for this thing, saw the one that had everything except steering wheel radio controls and bought it in Jan. Dealer knocked off about $2,500 and not another one in sight.
Be careful out there!
Be careful out there
A_J and themacguy thanks for the information on touch-up paint. Themacguy--you don't write tech manuals for dummies like me do you? You might think about it. Thanks again.
I prefer the Arma, but items left in the bed will slide around a little,with the Rhino you will have to pick up and move thing's around in the bed! I would suggest to anyone thinking of getting any spray-on to check them out in person. I have friends that prefer the Rhino and some that prefer Arma. If you are going to do any hauling in the bed I believe that the spray-on with a life time warranty is the way to go!
Hope this will help! Keep-on Truckin
I also have noticed 3 paint imperfections that would otherwise go unnoticed without close inspection.
Hopefully, it's not too late (over a month & 2000 miles) to have the dealer fix.
From all that I've read, it sounds as though both the spray-on liner (Rhino or other) and the Fold-a-Cover are the way to go. I've always had Duraliners in the past, so the spray liners are entirely new to me.
Does anyone here have that combo? If so, what's your experience been?
It sounds to me as though the liner should be sprayed on OVER the rail before the Fold-a-Cover rails are installed. Is that the case?
Also, I visited the Fold-a-Cover website listed in an earlier post, and it doesn't appear that they list a part number for the "dinky" QC bed. I e-mailed them, but received no response. Can anyone enlighten me?
I got some indication that the Fold-A-Cover is currently shipping for the Quad, but I can't remember exactly how I came by that info.
Boy is it super. Probably paid too much, $500 or so, but it's a beauty. Has a flattened step as the bottom bar, in case you want to jump on the hood for some reason. Also has the brush bars for the lights. Mounts easily with correctly drilled holes and attratches to the truck with no movement when you shake it real hard.
My Smittybuilt steps are rubbing and making all kinds of creaking noises on rough ground, turning into driveways, etc. Godfather Customs called them and they have to remount them so the step mount can't touch the frame; the mount must be centered on the body doughnut, or whatever you call it. The four mounting places are where the body is bolted to the frame. We'll see on Monday.
As far as highway speed while pulling this setup...I cant even tell its behind me (I couldnt say that about the nissan i had before this)...No problems pulling hills in 5th gear (Which i assume is about the same ratio as the auto Overdrive)....The only thing a 3.92 will do for you and me, who spend most of our time on the highway, is hurt gas mileage..
In my opinion, Youve already done the wise thing by getting the LSD...Take the $40 bucks or so and put it toward a "truck goodie" or something.
Chad
(geecap) - The 3.55lsd is a great rear end. Don't think twice about it.
TOWING - I towed 2,200 lbs of rock in a 1,000 lbs trailer yesterday. I finally needed 1st gear. I haven't tried my 1,800 lbs pop-up camper yet, but it should pull really easy.
Crash Magnets - It must be the color your trucks that attract crashes. I went with the conservative Driftwood color and I've only had one close call.
If the rails install with double-sided tape, it would seem that the proper sequence would be:
1. Install the Fold-a-Cover rails, test-fit the cover, check necessary clearances.
2. Remove the cover, mask the rails, then have the spray liner done.
Thanks again for the info... NOW, if I can get the straight scoop on availability of the Fold-a-Cover for the Quad, it sounds like I may have a plan!
After one particularly annerving experience with a tailgater who pulled just close enough to me at a light to crease the rear bumper in 2 spots, and another $350 for a new rear bumper on my Ram, I'd had enough. The Ram has a 2-inch receiver hitch. I went out and spent $30 for the LONGEST hitch bar I could find (prodes about 8 inches past the bumper... Got some scrap steel tubing and angle steel support material... Welded up a homemade "nerf bar" that works beautifuly! Just "threatening enough" so that would-be tailgaters seem to hang back.
Then there's the "touch parking" problem. I walked out of the market about a month ago and watched in horror as a woman in an SUV nosed very slowly into the nose of my truck... Once she felt her front bumper touch mine, she was satisfied that she'd done an adequate job of parking her vehicle.
The rear "nerf bar" will be transplanted to the Dakota. But front protection is still an issue. I found a Westin "Safari Bar" in JC Whitney's catalog for $140. It's a bolt on (no drilling) that attaches to the undercarriage rather than the bumper. This seems advantageous to me, since there's no contact between the bar and bumper... Rather pay $140 for a replacement bar than $500-plus for a new color-keyed bumper.
Has anyone fitted this particular bar to their Quad? If so, was it a fairly easy install?
BOY am I stupid, but you probably already know that. I was going to a small country airport yesterday afternoon. The hand drawn map my friend gave me showed a 45 degree turn to the right just before you get there. Come to find out it's a 90 degree turn. Like a jerk, I decided to turn right too close to the turn. Luckily, noone was behind me, but the poor slob at the stop sign must have thought he was going to die when I jammed on the brakes too hard and the screaching and sliding towards him probably made his heart explode. It all worked out, but was I ****ed at myself for being that stupid. No anti skid, which may or may not have helped, and brain out of gear.
Haven't done anything that stupid in years. In retrospect, it should probably have slid at least 180 degrees, but only went about 75 or so, and part of that because I turned the wheel before the sliding started,I almost felt in control!!
Be careful out there, and that means all of us.
Chad
Thanks for the tip on the Grizzly bars up front! I'll check it out before ordering! There are any number of front "nerfs" out there that mount to the frame but contact the bumper (Hence, when that lady in the SUV kisses your nerf in the parking lot, it creases the bumper). I'm interested in the nerf bar more as a "sacrificial" component in function.
Glad to hear you're rigging up that rear hitch extension!... But had to laugh when you described its encounters with your shins!!! How many times have I walked around the back of the truck to load something and banged my shins against it? Siffice to say that we buy bandages in bulk at Best Buy!!!
Ahh well... What we do for "protection," huh!!!
Glad to hear you survived your big adventure yesterday. Next time you are on the highway, make note of how many RPM's you turn at 70 mph. I'm interested to see how your automatic / 3.55 combination compares to my 5 speed / 3.92. At 70 I'm turning 2300 rpm as best I can tell. The tach isn't broken up into 100 rpm increments.....its more like each line represents 125 rpm. Made me dizzy and I had to pull my shoes off to figure it out!
Bring me up to speed un your brush guard choice....I'm looking for that too.
Talk to you later,
Rick
all is well with my 4x2,4.7,slt......just waiting for dodge to ship a gas tank fuel sensor unit so i can now tell how much gas i've got left on board.
Where is the Owners Discussion area for us ????
About the Black though...I know lots of people with black rhinos some as old as 4-5years and if they are faded i cant tell...I will get a black rhino sprayed in next month...
The last thing ive heaerd about ARMA is that it is sprayed in SUPER-HOT as compared to the room-temp spray of the RHINO..Just curious on how spraying this molten-lava into the bed and heating up the body panels would affect the paint if any...This cant be good for a factory fresh coat of paint... Then again, im no expert...Any Thoughts???
CHAD
Now I am also looking for some front-end protection--both for the pavement parking lot and a some mild off-road adventures. Westin seems to make a good product so I am considering their push bar with the optional headlight protectors. But I am also considering something I could mount a winch on down the road. Hey after the new wears off the truck is going off road. Anyway I love to hear from you all that have found a good product or have had good experiences with a particularly brand in the past. I think all of us (or at least a lot of us) on this forum tend to research purchases to the max. Hey ain't that what Edmunds is all about. Thanks in advance to any feedback.
Allen-
Mine is Black, but I have a Gaylord fiberglass tonneau cover, so it's not in the sun that often.
Hope this helps!
Keep-on Truckin
At least ours will be an owner's group instead of an owner's 'gripe' like some of the others.
By the way, on the rear nerf bar thing, I noticed back in Dec. or Jan. a set of rear oblong 'loop' looking dealies - one for each side of the rear end - at a site that I believe, was the WAAG outfit... they were a new idea that 'won' a show of some sort late last year. I'll look it up and post the address as soon as I get some time. Though I don't believe they were for a Dakota then, they might be by now.
Thanks
Jeff
jtjohn1 - I assume that you have the skid plates which is why the oil filter is a little awkward. I have access to either a pit or a lift (depending on which friend owes me) so I don't have much trouble, but someone suggested using a plastic bag over the filter to catch any seepage - sounds like it should work.
I had an accident Friday night!!!
Stuck in traffic in the left of two lanes - guy in front of me in an early 90s Safari decides that he wants to move to the right hand lane so he pulls part way across. Traffic isn't moving so he can't go anywhere.
Police car comes down the middle of the two lanes to get to an accident ahead (the cause of the delay) - Safari friend is blocking the road. He decides that he has to reverse back so that he can move to the side of the road.
So with me sitting waiting with no where to go, and the police car on my right side we both watch as the Safari reverses straight back into me!! He thought my horn was the police car wanting to get by (!).
Anyway I get out, he gets out, the policeman gets out. I'm ticked, policeman's ticked - Safari man thinks it's my fault.
Anyway my nice stainless steel grille guard is untouched, his rear doors are, how can I put it, redesigned. Policeman and I left him too it.
It occurred to me that it has been a while since I posted the details about my truck, so, if anyone is interested:
2000 Patriot Blue club cab, SLT+, 4.7, 5 spd, 3.92, Stainless steel grille guard, bug deflector, stainless steel nerf bars, door sill protectors, drop in under rail bedliner, A.R.E. LSII tonneau, with 15,000km (9,000 miles).
Well, maybe it's different in Canada.
You can understand my disppointment that my grille guard was just high enough to clear his bumper :-(
Anyone know where I can get a red bubble light to go with that siren like horn - after all this is Canada the police either drive tricked out trucks or wear red coats and ride horses - it is the only way to cover the frozen wastes - right?
Bookitty
I can't get over the fact that installing the Fold A Cover involves drilling and is permanent, therefore, I'm probably going to go with the Extang Black Max soft tonneau. I hope I don't regret my decision!! Good luck.
1. It seems that most everybody orders the SLT package which has all of the chrome. Is it more expensive than the Sport Pkg?
2. Many of the people out there have the 4X4 also. I am looking for comments on the 4X2.
3. I've also noticed the gas mileage figures that many people have posted and from what I've gathered, the reason for the mediocre mileage is that this truck is so much fun to drive with your foot all the way to the floor. I can't wait to get one sometime this year.
Bookitty
FYI update - on my third tank of gas - 4.7 with auto trans 4x2 so far averaging 16.5 mpg in city driving.
This truck is replacing an 86 Bronco (good truck), which we have simply outgrown. I hope the new engine/trans combo proves reliable. I'd have gone with the MTX, but the wife doesn't want to shift anymore. I don't blame her, though, one less thing to worry about when hauling kids around.
A note to others: It may vary by area, but around here, the order cutoff for a 2000 is this week. The dealer told me that the plant is closing for two weeks (or something) on 6/23. I guess that means mine will be in transit by then!
Bookitty: I'm in the local area surrounding Reedman's, but would never buy there. It's a neat place to browse and test drive, but it's too "busy" to get any personal attention. I've never had a good experience there.
500 Miles on my QC Sport 4.7L and I love it. Thanks to all of you who helped convince me to go with the 4.7 rather then the 3.9. This is one very cool truck. For those of you still unfortunate enough to be waiting its well worth it. Mileage after a tank and a half has been running at 17mpg according to the computer with a 50/50 combination of City and Highway.
Anyway, if that is correct then you can certainly expect to see cutoff soon for 2000 orders, with the quads likely having the earliest date. One of the things that happens during the 2 week shutdown is that all of the tweaks are made to the production lines for the 2001 model so that it is 'impossible' to build a 2000 once the factory reopens.
Bookitty
The reason I didnt get the SLT option package is I love the look of a monochromatic truck. I fell in love with the look of a chromeless truck when the 1993 lightning came out (with the exception of wheels). As far as 4x4 or 4x2 thats as much personal choice as necesity. I used to think 4x4 was a must for a truck but after owning a couple and in my case hardly ever finding myself needing it I have since owned only 4x2's. If you are worried about getting stuck in the mud, snow, etc.. it may be worth it but if you dont find yourself in those situations it really isnt worth the exrta cost. For what it is worth my friends and I used to fool around on sugar sand raods and open sand areas and I used to have the fastest truck on the sandy dirt roads in my 4x2 lightning. It had limited slip in the rear and that was enough. I know, off-roading in a lightning!?!?!?!?!? I was young.
I went there a few years back with the wife to test drive a Stratus or something. They unfortunately forgot about us and left us standing there for about half an hour. We ended up just walking out.
hillfla thank for the idea about the college grad rebate, my wife just got her masters. $400 would be a great graduation present for me.