New Truck Shopping Questions

I have been looking to pick up a new truck since my current one is 15 years old now, and no joke, falling apart. I've posted in here a few times about it, but my ADHD makes me forget about things all the time. Things in my life have changed and the need for a new truck has arrived. Here's what I've got for questions;

What are some things to look out for with the 2023, 2024, and 2025 models of Ram 3500s? The picture below shows 2 different types of transmissions, and I don't know enough about cars, let alone diesels, to know what I'm looking at. My family has a Gooseneck Horse Trailer, 5 or 6 slant stall. I have access to a Gooseneck Flatbed Trailer that everyone takes turns pulling to do an alfalfa/hay run. That's not the exact trailer, but it gives you a close enough idea.



Is there a specific paint color I should avoid? I'm driving down dirt roads constantly for work (Still work for Amazon but I work in construction zones now building new data centers). I'm one of those guys that will show up at 3AM to pull your ass out of a snow bank, no questions asked. I might be slightly grouchy, but I'll still show up. Bottom line, I help anyone who asks for it within reason, and if I have the time to help them. I'm looking to pick up a truck this summer/fall but I'm doing my research now, that way if I find a steal of a deal, I'm informed about it and don't end up where I am now with my 2009 Ram. I bought my 09 Ram 1500 for $21,000 + $5,000 Extended Warranty. The EW covered a Fuel pump for $1,000, and that's it. I've replaced the engine in my truck, rear control arms, and I've got a list of things to get repaired on it. I've spent well over $20,000 on fixing it and I've owned it for 5 years now.

I can't speak to anything except the color question. Try to avoid black if possible. It's a beautiful color and the trucks look great, but you'll never be able to keep it clean if you use your truck as a workhorse. Then again, if you aren't bothered by dust and dirt, black may be a decent option. White looks sharp, but as the Mrs. says, they all look like fleet trucks.
Happy hunting and keep us posted.

If you want to look the cleanest between washes I recommend silver. It hides a lot of dust/dirt and looks cleaner than it really is. My last truck (2019 5th gen Ram 1500) was billet silver and always looked good to a point (a romp in the mud can't be masked by any color). I wouldn't realize how dirty is was until I washed it.

The Aisin transmission is the heavier duty of the two transmissions as it is part of the High Output version of the Cummins. The "regular" Cummins has 370 Hp and 850 lb-ft of torque where the "High-Output" Cummins has 420 Hp and 1075 lb-ft of torque. The regular version is a $10K option and the high output version is another nearly $3K on top of that.

I agree with what has already been said. Silver is a great looking color and hides the dirt as good as any. I have the granite crystal metallic on my 2019 night edition and it is pretty dark in color. It is the best looking color when clean IMO. It also still looks pretty good when dirty...it hides the dirt really well also which shocks me as close to black as it is. If you are going to be towing a loaded gooseneck, I would go 3500 instead of 2500 just for the extra payload. I always had cummins until my current truck with the 6.4 hemi. I love the Cummins and miss it everytime I tow something, but the hemi works great for me since I don't tow often and my commute to work is only 1 mile.

BinaryData said:

My family has a Gooseneck Horse Trailer, 5 or 6 slant stall. I have access to a Gooseneck Flatbed Trailer that everyone takes turns pulling to do an alfalfa/hay run.

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If the trailer(s) you'll be pulling will be about 18,000 lbs or more that's in 3500 dually area. As for the transmission the Aisin is usually preferred by people who haul heavy, which is available on the HO Cummins trucks.
Depending on how soon you need a new truck, there's a good probably that there will be an 8 speed transmission for Cummins trucks for the 2025 model year.

KKBB said:

I agree with what has already been said. Silver is a great looking color and hides the dirt as good as any. I have the granite crystal metallic on my 2019 night edition and it is pretty dark in color. It is the best looking color when clean IMO. It also still looks pretty good when dirty...it hides the dirt really well also which shocks me as close to black as it is. If you are going to be towing a loaded gooseneck, I would go 3500 instead of 2500 just for the extra payload. I always had cummins until my current truck with the 6.4 hemi. I love the Cummins and miss it everytime I tow something, but the hemi works great for me since I don't tow often and my commute to work is only 1 mile.

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I currently have the Dodge Blue, and I love it, but damn does it stick out like a sore thumb when dirty. I'm currently driving ~110 miles a day (round trip), I'm planning to pick up a motorcycle to ride in the spring/summer/fall to not put as many miles on the truck.

crash68 said:

If the trailer(s) you'll be pulling will be about 18,000 lbs or more that's in 3500 dually area. As for the transmission the Aisin is usually preferred by people who haul heavy, which is available on the HO Cummins trucks.
Depending on how soon you need a new truck, there's a good probably that there will be an 8 speed transmission for Cummins trucks for the 2025 model year.

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Hmm... Oops.. I think we've hauled more than 18,000lbs on a non-dually. Probably should figure out the maximum we can pull. https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/commercial-driver-licenses-cdl/do-i-need-cdl - As long as I stay within the non-CDL required weight range, I'm good. We usually get small 2 string bales, and small 3 wire bales, based off this chart; https://hayforks.com/how-much-does-a-bale-of-hay-weigh/ It's usually 100 to 120 of the 3 wire bales, and 30 to 50 of the 2 wire bales.

The way I see buying a new truck is, the more I wait, the more I can save, the nicer truck I can buy. I priced out a 2024 Ram 3500 on Dodge's website with all the bells and whistles, I was sitting around $100,000 for it. I don't need something that fancy, just something that'll get the job done, last me a long time, and be comfortable to ride in. I'm 6'5", 330lbs.

Thank you all for responses and feedback on colors and transmission. I'll wait for 2025 as long as my current dumpster fire doesn't worsen. I'll make a post about it and get feedback on what I should fix/shouldn't fix to prolong it a bit longer.