CanesFan95
Active Member
F150? Tacoma? Frontier? Or something else? Is there any one in particular that works best for installing NMOs on the roof and has space or after-market consoles for mounting radios?
Starting at post # 7 is my personal truck. I set it up the same way that we did our public safety Ram pickups, without a siren or lights. Post 7 also has the links to the mount and the console.
https://forums.radioreference.com/r...82-13-ram-1500-few-questions.html#post2488198
None, leave your radios at home, why drill holes in a $45,000+ vehicle?
Many of us don't have the option to not have radios installed.
I bought my Ram based on the ones that we used at work. I've done countless installs on a lot of different manufacturers and I can tell you that the Ram stood out as the best built. This is especially evident when we would remove the equipment from the vehicles after three years on the road. The Rams still "felt" new. The worst were the Fords. They just felt like they were about to rattle apart when pulling them into the bay. Chevy came in second. Take a look at a brand new Chevy. Better yet, run your hand down the frame of the brand new truck. They coat them with grease to mask squeaks and other problems. Once that grease wears off, they sound like crap rolling down the road.
As far as drilling holes? I drilled into mine as soon as I could. Drilling holes is much less damaging than using mag-mounts.
None,leave your radios at home,why drill holes in a $45,000+ vehicle?Trucks are not cheap nowadays....
The Dodge Rams just roam the country towing and hauling with no problems whatsoever. The first job one of his newer trucks did was driving and hauling an 8k lb trailer from Los Angeles to Victoria Island, BC, then east across Canada to north of Quebec then down and across the US back to Los Angeles with no troubles at all.
prcguy
This is turning into an interesting thread. I'm in the market for a new 3/4 or 1 ton Diesel pickup in the next few months and looking at the big 3. I've owned GM's and Ford's all my life and been happy with all of them. Always had an aversion to Dodge's due to the clapped out government vehicles were always Dodges, and while there were OK, they were beat pretty hard.
And I agree, if you are serious about radio, then you drill the hole. Anything else is a compromise.
It really just depends. In my experience, Dodge and GM have been manufacturing much more reliable (with a lower overall cost of ownership) pickups over the last decade and a half or so.
I've had nothing but reliability issues with F-series pickups. Between 2008 and 2014 I had either owned or been issued 9 of them. Only one made it past 100,000 miles. The EOD4's lasted me on average 80,000 miles, the ZF-5's constantly were loosing throwout bearings, and the M5R2's would spit a slave cylinder out every 20,000 miles. Some of my 5.4's were rock solid though lasting an excess of 12,000 hours. To this day, the transmission behind the 6.7 doesn't sit right with me and I've never ran into a situation with Ford techs where they actually knew what they were doing (it was all guess and replace).
I do like the Dodge trucks. Last I checked the 6.7 still had a manual option. I was raised on the 5.9 Cummins block, I've driven some of the famed million mile Dodges. I've never had any sort of transmission issue with a Dodge transmission (other than replacing clutches on the manuals). I do not like the 6.7 B series block and wish the 5.9 was still an option but the 5.9's had their issues (for example, 06/07 had LB7 style injector issues and it would strike right around 150,000 miles if it was going to happen and would typically be in number 6).
GM has really been my go to over the last decade. The Atlas 4.2L I6 impressed the hell out of me in the Trailvoy platform (the 4L60E they were paired with did not). The LBZ Duramax really got me into the 6.6 as a viable diesel option. The 5.3 and 6.0 are fairly bulletproof V8's (though the nearly 400 hp 5.7 Hemi definitely deserves an honorable mention) as long as you stay away from the first model year or two of major changes (like body styles) and are generally 250,000 mile engines though I have seen several of each go well beyond the 300,000 mile marker without issue. I can't speak for the 2014 and newer GM's but since 2003-ish all GM trucks have come from the factory with dual battery trays (even the half-tons which were never offered in a dual battery option).
All trucks have their weak points. I do believe the Titan XD with the Cummins is a quality contender for the half-ton/heavy-half guys. The Tundra's of course are good trucks as well. Here lately, Ford seems to be on a major V6 binge (which doesn't sit right with me so I avoid them) versus the tried and tested V8 designs used by GM and Mopar.
Personally, I prefer the GMT900 platform with the OE split bench. I've got a 2013 Sierra as my daily driver, just changed the plugs and wires on it and it runs like a champ. Only had $600 of un-warrantied work on it and it's getting ready for a new battery (and it will be upgraded to dual batteries). Panavise InDash mounts have the most options for the little accessory mounting but as stated there is the Jotto underdash console which looks OE if you have a slate interior. GM has control cable tracks under their bulkheads (I know the Tacomas do as well). It's really just a matter of opinion. Currently mine has an XTL5000 and PM400 in it but it started with dual PM400's then went to an Astro Spectra, the Astro Spectra Plus before going to an XTL. The antenna on the roof is a Panorama Sharkee with tri-band whip and it performs beautifully. For low clearance applications I'd certainly consider nitol whips such as the Sti-Co Flexi's.