Our Last New Truck

[Hatchdog]

Awesome looking truck, great color both inside and outside. Sure like the steps on the outside of the bed corners. My F250 has the tailgate step and grab bar which I really appreciate. I call it my “old man step”. Sure gonna shine after the ceramic treatment.

[JEBar]

My F250 has the tailgate step and grab bar which I really appreciate. I call it my “old man step”.

I anticipated our truck having that grab bar but it didn't .... apparently they don't factory install them in trucks that come prepped for 5er/gooseneck hitches .... with two replacement knees I need all the help I can get .... the dealership is checking to see if they can install one

[The Wiz]

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[daytime dave]

Jim, I have the same step and grab bar on my Ford tail gate. It's really nice to use.

[dave77]

I keep a small stool in my Ranger's bed. I'm not sure I could get into the bed without it.

[Mags]

I climb into the bed from the side. Stepping up on the tire and then over into the bed.

[JEBar]

I climb into the bed from the side. Stepping up on the tire and then over into the bed.

I can only wish that was possible .... after having both knees replaced, that isn't an option

[JEBar]

today is Sept 7th and we are in Myrtle Beach, SC .... got a call a little while ago that the fellow doing the ceramic coating has finished it .... we hope to get home around noon tomorrow and drive over to his place to pick it up shortly thereafter

[BrokenolMarine]

Can't wait to see the truck glow, I have my sunglasses ready.

[JEBar]

Can't wait to see the truck glow, I have my sunglasses ready.

apparently rain set in yesterday afternoon and he isn't completely finished with it ..... so, don't know when it will be ready .... below is a picture of Maureen's Blazer that we had ceramic coated back in Oct 2023 .... the picture below was taken a few weeks ago after a day of rain .... it hadn't been washed in at least 4 months .... its the same GM Radiant Red color as our new truck

[JEBar]

she's home .... the pictures below show her from various angles and with Maureen's Blazer .... she really shines

[daytime dave]

Wow!!

[JEBar]

I've been wondering about mileage .... with this officially being a work truck, they don't don't say .... this morning we took it on a little over 100 drive which brought the truck's mileage to 250 ... we drove on a mix of two lane county roads and on I-40 as well .... the dealership told me to keep it under 2,000 RPM's for the first 500 miles and I did so .... I learned several things .... first, she cruises effortlessly 80 MPH at 1700 RPM'S .... a few other observations:

1. she has a 10 speed tranny but I have no way of knowing what gear she was in while doing 35 to 45 MPH got 14 to 14.5 MPG

2. while doing 70 to 75 MPH she got 15 to 15.5 MPG

3. MPG's really fell once the speed got to the upper 70s her MPG's dropped rapidly

4. no sign of any engine/tranny stress at any speed up to 80 (didn't go any faster so as to keep the engine under 2,000 RPM's)


we don't plan to tow our camper until late in October .... my hope is she will get around 10 MPG while towing it

[BrokenolMarine]

The paint looks great with the new coating. I like the color. Good choice.
When we bought the Titan, they had two Pro4xs in stock, white and black. Never liked white cars. The old white faded too bad. We bought the black one.

[JEBar]

When we bought the Titan, they had two Pro4xs in stock, white and black.

for me a shiny black vehicle has always been beautiful .... back in the late 90's we had shiny black Silverado that was mighty pretty .... from it I quickly learned that I'm simply not inclined to put in the work to keep one looking as it should .... that's the only black vehicle we've ever owned

[BrokenolMarine]

Yup, they are a lot of work, but worth it to me.

[JEBar]

Yup, they are a lot of work, but worth it to me.

our youngest son has a black 2025 1500 Silverado and loves it .... he keeps it shinning

[JEBar]

as noted, I had a 1978 Jeep J10 pickup with a 360 cc engine mated to a 4 speed floor shift that I literally kept for 24 years .... during that time we rebuilt the motor twice .... she would get about 10 mpg .... I need to get some miles on our new truck prior to towing our 5er, so tonight after eating I took her out on a 35 mile drive .... most of it was over a narrow, rolling 55 mph state road with some 70 mph driving on I-40 thrown in .... per calculations by the trucks odometer system she got 15.3 mpg .... I'm happy with that .... within the next week or so we intend to install a bed cover, it will be interesting to see if it has any impact on the truck's gas mileage

[JEBar]

well, the time has come .... drove our new 2500 to Raleigh-Apex Hitch --- https://rahitch.com/ --- to have a Pace Edwards Electric Retractable Roll-Up Tonneau Bed Cover and a B & W 5th wheel hitch installed .... ours will be installed today .... the same bed cover will be installed in our daughter's 2500 tomorrow

[JEBar]

the installation of both the bed cover and 5er hitch is complete and looks very good .... sorry, I can't post pictures because I've misplaced the gizmo used to take pictures from my camera and transfer them to a computer .... when I find it or get another one, I'll try to get several pictures posted