Funny guy GreenZ. Yeah you better have a spare in the glovebox.

 

Wow, thanks everyone. I like indoor toilets and refridgerated beer too. But I think that since I'm getting the manual transmission, I'll get the manual 4WD shifter as well. Now if I could only get a fancy interior with manual windows....

One follow up question:

I don't like the "suede inserts" in the Laramie seats. If one orders the SLT with leather, heated seats, tow package, etc etc. do you lose or give up any "must haves" that you can only get on the Laramie J package?

Thanks again and if anybody wants to buy a house, mine is for sale.

 

When I ordered my truck heated seats were not avaible with the SLT with leather. I don't miss heated seats, but I am kinda disapointed with the leather in these trucks, if I had to do it all again I would have just gotten cloth seats and added Katzkin leather seats. http://www.katzkin.com or http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...d.php?t=120763

Carl

 

dont like the electric shifters. The older chevys had a really stupid setup. They had an eletric elemnt that needed to heat up to engage the 4wd. Problem with that was in very cold weather or too much snow and there ya go, no 4wd. New ones probably arent that bad but KISS. Also as someone said, it will cost more to fix. Id rather be stuck with electric windows out rather than my 4wd. Course the whole engine is now electrically controlled. id like to wrap everything up in a faraday cage just in case of an EMP...

In the end simple and cheap and reliable.

 

Yeah...I agree on the seat heaters, gotta have those. I don't think they are available in the SLT pkg with Leather either; best to double check with the dealer.

The only other thing you would be giving up in the SLT is the security pkg, light pkg, billet grille & silver accents + silver dash bezel (you can add in the first two though & you could order a Laramie dash bezel later). I went with the "J" pkg because I optioned the DK slate int and wanted the heaters, + suede inserts, and silver accents to break up the otherwise vastly black interior.

For the SLT pkg, I like the taupe interior...nice contrast. You can always get after market seat heaters...if needed.

 

Electric and vacuum shift mechanism fail more than that "funny stick thingie I hang my hat on". Pure fact, based on personal experience, on everything from a 70s Toyota land cruiser wagon, a jeep or two, to a few phorrds.

When your up to the doors in slush, snow or mud, it is no time to depend on a mousetrap game to give 4wd. It may be okay for mini-vans, soccer moms, and phoo phoo SUVs, but not on a truck.

A girl was driving my 69 PowerWagon and slid off the road on snow and ice. She didn't know you had to lock the hubs. A couple of marines happened by and the young devildogs had a hard time figuring out the old flip levers. Then did not know you had to do both wheels!!

But you know, my dad said the same thing about power windows and door lock. But you won't need a tow/tug if you window won't roll down.

edit: On my girlfriends ML430 the switch/ **** is okay

 

No electronics on the 4WD engage for me. Electric and water dont mix. Just me.

 

I use my 4 x 4 Hi and LO LS several times a day.

Never had a problem with the electronic mechanism. Crossing those running mountain washes without having to slow or stop while shifting into 4 x 4 on the fly is the only way to go.

For me, the old days of manual transfer cases are gone forever!

 

Electric Shift On The Fly - The only way to go. It let's you keep your hands and focus on the road more (I had a manual shift on my '96 and had to fight it into and out of 4 WD many times so don't tell me how yours is smooth as butter either, not gonna buy it).

And I don't trust all those mechanical linkages, there just waiting to fail. (I know of at least one).

 

Dodge is playing it smart with the electric switch on the top trim level. I am the type of person that loves to bask in the glow of gas lamps, prefer my music to the warm sound of a nice old vacuum tube amp, and like to "row the boat" in my truck.

In reality only a small fraction of todays vehicles see any real hard core off road activity. Of the few that do, very few of them are Laramies, King Ranches, etc., etc. People like creature comforts and people who are willing to pay the extra $$ for top trim level vehicles rightfully expect a lot of creature comforts. In reality, an electric 4x4 switch is appropriate given the driving habits and expectations of the vast majority of buyers, especially Laramie drivers.

There are a lot of things that are of marginal value to a hard core 4x4 vehicle, electric switched 4x4 systems, cv joints, open differentials,........power steering and brakes, it goes on. You can talk about the complexities of shift linkages, but I would rather be faced with jury-rigging a mechanical linkange than an electrical problem if I am a long way from civilization.

.......but its been a long time since I found myself a long way from civilization. Much too long.

 

Just an opinion guys but we really need to think this through - There are electronic sensors (which control how the engine runs) and electric switches ALL over these new rigs. I thought about making a list of all the things, that I could think of, that are electronically controlled, then I decided against it becasue it would take too long .

If someone is really concerned about components being controlled by electronics, he would be better off staying with a 97 or older 12V. Then you would really have a "manual" rig.

 

get what you want use it till it breaks then fix it

 

I had the same thing happen with my Ferd, but only when I got into it with wet/snow covered boots.

I have the electronic shift in my 05 truck now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

I'm a very long way from civilization on a remote conservation ranch bordering the national forest and mountain national wilderness area.

Nearest "town" is 80 miles away and nearest dealer is 140 miles away. Heck my mailbox is four miles away. Only way is 4 x 4 in and 4 x 4 out over very rugged desert mountain country.

I agree with Berak. The electronic transfer case switch gear (and the 48R) saves me a lot of time and aggravation with and without a 16 K gooseneck in tow. Believe me, I've put the 4 x 4 and the truck through it's paces and so far they have never let me down in 50K miles. Fumbling around with a manual transfer case with a loaded gooseneck in the rain crossing a running wash off road is not my idea of "easy".

That being said, I do service the transmission and transfer case every 25 K. That's my two centavos.