Hey, it’s Clint and Stacy—well, mainly just Clint again. Stacy’s inside getting ready this morning as we’re planning to head to Lethbridge for the night, just for something to do. It’s the Victoria Day long weekend, and in typical Victoria Day fashion, the weather has turned south on us. It was over 20°C for several days in a row, but now it’s probably about 5°C. I’ve got my jacket on, it’s been raining, and it’s supposed to continue for the next week.
I thought I’d make a quick video about the vehicle we purchased to tow the fifth wheel that I’ve been working on. The solar setup is part of that, and I’ll be doing a little bit of work on it today for the couple of hours I have left. This is a **2024 Ram 3500 Night Edition Limited Dually Long Box**. We factory ordered it back in November, and we’ve had it for about two months now. It’s been a great truck, and since we work for Dodge, we’ve had a lot of experience with their vehicles. This is our first dually, though we’ve had Cummins diesels a few times in the past.
This particular truck was ordered brand new with the Night Edition package. The Night Edition gives you the sport hood, new starting in 2023, along with blacked-out headlights, grill, and one of my favorite features—the blacked-out wheels. I first saw these in Lethbridge when we were figuring out what we wanted, and I thought they were one of the neatest things I’d seen on a dually.
Of course, in 2023, they started using new power-adjustable and extending mirrors. A lot of people were excited about the fact that the mirrors can now travel in and out from tow mode to regular mode with the push of a button. Another cool feature is that the bottom mirror is power-adjustable, which has been the case for a couple of years, but now it’s also heated. So, on a cold morning when they’re fogged up, hitting the mirror heater will clear both the big and the bottom mirrors.
Traveling to the back, we ordered this with factory air suspension and the factory fifth-wheel tow group, which was important for us since we planned to tow a fifth wheel. The wiring is conveniently located in the bed, so you don’t have to drape it over the tailgate, and there’s also a 400-watt AC outlet back here. Not sure how much we’ll use that, but it’s nice to have. The bed comes factory-sprayed with a bedliner, and the tailgate power drops with the key fob. There’s also a camera for the fifth-wheel group, which makes hooking up a breeze.
Originally, I wanted the high-output version, but Stacy wasn’t as keen on that idea. There were a couple of reasons we decided against it. One was a recall on the Aisin transmission that could have taken a long time to resolve. We didn’t want to risk having the truck stuck at the dealership waiting for a fix. The other reason was cost. At the time, they weren’t offering the diesel upgrade rebate, and even if they had, it wouldn’t have offset the cost enough. We wanted to save a bit to get the limited interior over the Laramie we were also considering.
This truck has the standard output diesel with 4.10 gears, which pulls more than we’ll ever need. When we were trailer shopping, we considered toy haulers, which can weigh over 20,000 lbs fully loaded. This truck, with the 4.10 gears, has a towing capacity over 20,000 lbs, so there’s no need for the 30,000 lb capacity you get with the Aisin transmission.
Inside, it has power running boards, a feature now only available on Limited and Longhorn trims. We had a Longhorn before this, and while we considered a Laramie, there are little things in the Limited that I prefer. The wood trim in the doors, the dark chrome accents, and even the speaker grills are just a little more refined than what you get in the Laramie. The entire dash is leather-wrapped, which wasn’t available in our Longhorn.
The new 12-inch full-color screen is cool, especially for someone like me who’s interested in solar and other tech. I’ve set mine up to show a mini-map of our area, though Stacy prefers the regular instrument cluster. Another new feature is radar cruise control, which I didn’t think I’d use much, but I’ve found myself using it a lot since we got the truck.
The 12-inch screen looks great, but I have a love-hate relationship with it. While it looks cool, it forces you to use touchscreen buttons for almost everything. They did give us basic physical controls for temperature adjustment, but for things like heated seats or changing air flow zones, you have to use the touchscreen. It’s a bit inconvenient, especially compared to the older 8-inch screens where you could use physical buttons and keep your eyes on the road.
The truck also comes with alternate trailer height via the air suspension. This lowers the rear of the truck a bit, which should help when parking our trailer in its permanent spot, as there’s a sudden grade to navigate.
A new feature we’ve never had before is the digital rearview mirror. I think it’s pretty cool, but Stacy finds it distracting, so she usually switches it off when driving. However, I noticed the last couple of times she drove, it was still on, so maybe she’s getting used to it.
The controls for the new mirrors are here too. You can extend the mirrors partway if you don’t need them all the way out. Other little touches include leather accents on the grab handles and wood trim in the center console, which hides the cup holders and a storage area behind it. The Limited badging is everywhere, and while these touches may seem small, they make a difference when you compare it to the Laramie.
Working at a Dodge dealership means I sit in these trucks all the time, so I notice these differences more than most people probably would. We’ve only had this truck for a couple of months, and it’s been fantastic. We’ve towed the trailer with it once, and as you’d expect, the truck had no trouble at all pulling it. The trailer was empty, weighing around 12,500 lbs, which is well within the truck’s capacity.
That’s probably enough for today, but I might make more videos about the truck in the future, especially when it comes to towing. That’s it in a nutshell.
