New Road Manners
After the tech presentation it was time for driving. Almost all models were on hand for sampling, from the $33,995 Regular Cab 2500 4x2 ST, to the $57,795 (and up) Mega Cab 3500 4x4 SLT.
My driving partner and I decided we might as well stick to the bigger is better theme, so selected a metallic blue 3500 Dually 4x4 MegaCab Laramie (which is essentially an SLT “with cheese”).
It’s a big step into that huge cab, but once in, you’re not wanting for comfort in any way. Like the rest of the truck, the seats are in XL sizing. On the road, you dwarf “regular” sized pickups, and every time you look in the side views, you get to see those beautifully sculpted rear fenders.
Since the powertrain is not changed appreciably, we concentrated on the enhancements to ride and handling. Engineers noted that current customers of all pickup trucks now demand increased ride quality, and have often complained about the lack of it, particularly in trucks with two rows of seating.
Like trees and skyscrapers, truck frames need to bend a bit to be strong. Chrysler engineers determined that pickup frames tend to bend right where the back of a 2-row cab attaches to the frame. This bounces the cab around, especially when the typical cab-to-frame mount is usually just a rubber puck.
To address this, Chrysler developed a fluid-filled “hydromount,” which acts more like a shock absorber than a mount.
It works as advertised, and gave the big rig very civil road manners.
New Tow Manners
Our drive took us to Chrysler’s Chelsea Proving Grounds. Ready for our abuse was a 3500 Dually with the Cummins diesel and a 4:10 rear axle, hooked up to trailer (via a frame-mounted goose neck hitch) with 16,500 pounds of tractor on board. The truck/trailer combination was pegged abound 24,000 pounds, the effective towing limit of said truck.
After the tech presentation it was time for driving. Almost all models were on hand for sampling, from the $33,995 Regular Cab 2500 4x2 ST, to the $57,795 (and up) Mega Cab 3500 4x4 SLT.
 |
| It works as advertised, and gave the big rig very civil road manners. |
My driving partner and I decided we might as well stick to the bigger is better theme, so selected a metallic blue 3500 Dually 4x4 MegaCab Laramie (which is essentially an SLT “with cheese”).
It’s a big step into that huge cab, but once in, you’re not wanting for comfort in any way. Like the rest of the truck, the seats are in XL sizing. On the road, you dwarf “regular” sized pickups, and every time you look in the side views, you get to see those beautifully sculpted rear fenders.
Since the powertrain is not changed appreciably, we concentrated on the enhancements to ride and handling. Engineers noted that current customers of all pickup trucks now demand increased ride quality, and have often complained about the lack of it, particularly in trucks with two rows of seating.
Like trees and skyscrapers, truck frames need to bend a bit to be strong. Chrysler engineers determined that pickup frames tend to bend right where the back of a 2-row cab attaches to the frame. This bounces the cab around, especially when the typical cab-to-frame mount is usually just a rubber puck.
To address this, Chrysler developed a fluid-filled “hydromount,” which acts more like a shock absorber than a mount.
It works as advertised, and gave the big rig very civil road manners.
New Tow Manners
Our drive took us to Chrysler’s Chelsea Proving Grounds. Ready for our abuse was a 3500 Dually with the Cummins diesel and a 4:10 rear axle, hooked up to trailer (via a frame-mounted goose neck hitch) with 16,500 pounds of tractor on board. The truck/trailer combination was pegged abound 24,000 pounds, the effective towing limit of said truck.
 |
| Ready for our abuse was a 3500 Dually with the Cummins diesel and a 4:10 rear axle, hooked up to trailer with 16,500 pounds of tractor on board. |