Can you imagine the turning radius on that bad boy?!?!



I may end up with a roof line something like that - and I hate that - but the problem is with the roof mounted A/C and the In Motion Satellite systems. If you go for the max head in the stacker garage - you end up with nowhere to mount that stuff. I'm not the first guy to have to deal with that - so we'll see what they (Renegade) comes up with.

Another little item that came up yesterday - Renegade won't build a trailer over 44' with a gooseneck style hitch - which - of course is what the truck is built with. I wanted a flat bed in the truck as occasionally I might take something to the dump or pick up a motor etc... But the truck dealer said I can just ADD a fifth wheel that takes a king pin... if that's what we need to do. Two picks for comparison. The fifth wheel can take 32,000 pounds...



My truck as it was built.... there would only be a big azz BALL in the bed which is quickly removable....





http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...me/Image11.jpg





I DID NOT want this big ol' thing in the bed.... but may end up with it depending on the size of the trailer... I'm kinda hoping to keep the trailer at 44'... but I'm an open mind on that depending on how it all lays out.






http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ome/file-2.jpg

When the wheelbase is measured in yards the turning radius can't be good. :D

A little lapse in attention might result in a high-center too.

Just a little tidbit update....

One of my best friends was my insurance agent - he has been for years... but he retired in June. I have another buddy that I've been waiting to switch to - he also handled Safeco etc. So since I was adding a new car (bought Sunday) and I'm going to pick up the truck this Thursday - I figured it was a good point to make the call.

There's a few cars involved - and the house - and an umbrella policy etc. Super easy I'm thinking... Make a call - get 'er all switched out. Fax over the deck sheets on the two new 'autos' and they'd just be added to the policies already in place.

BUT -- there's "the rig".... He calls and says he can't find anyone to "take it". Really?? WTF? With all the insurance I'm carrying with Safeco?

Well -- seems it's not "commercial" -- it's not an RV -- It's a big truck but not used as a big truck -- it's expensive -- and blah blah blah. So I asked about boosting the deductible... I don't care if it's 10 grand - WTF - make it 20 grand! And the POS won't be worth HALF the minute I take title and drive off - so lower the "cost".... BINGO! Progressive took it -- 5K deductible - and at a third off the MSRP for the value. I can live with that. The premium? $5600 a year payable in full up front. He had the company on one phone - and calling me on the other - I gave him the Visa number for payment and we be done! :thumbsup:

Thus a learning curve (sometimes I'm naive). I figured (wrongly) that the rig would have the same 30 day "automatic" coverage that a new car gets on your auto policy... <buzzer sound!> And I was really thinking that I wouldn't make the call to do the switch until AFTER this road trip! Wow would that have been a mistake! I'd have been out there tripping around with no coverage at all!

I'm flying an old buddy down - he makes me look like a spring chicken - and hasn't ever been around much - so this will be fun. He's a hot rodder... and we'll make all kinds of tracks truckin' around doing various car "things"... on a winding, multi state, road home.

Picked the truck up 10/11/12 -- funny date huh?


It's perfect! Drives like a high end car - and is every bit as quiet. The all air ride suspension was a good choice - made even more apparent when running "bob tail". So far only one thing super annoying is that they didn't key match all the storage doors - so with that many doors - on two sides of the truck - you can imagine what it takes to find the key that will lock/unlock one! WTF! It takes 5 minutes of sorting thru keys. I will fix that once I'm home.

The big DD13 has NO SMELL even at idle. 12.8 ltrs of diesel and it's quiet and doesn't stink or smoke that is pretty impressive. I have three choices on the transmission - D - N - R. Push one... and off you go. Nothing else to do. It's so easy even I can do it.

I'm able to drive it with ease - in city traffic or on the freeway... you just drive it like it's a car. After the first 10 miles you get over the intimidating size... and it is BIG. :cheers:

congrats Greg, can't wait to check it out. :thumbsup:

Maybe you can get an invite to Optima. Haha

Enjoyed the 'first drive' report.:cool:

Next are the vids, right? :unibrow:

Yesterday I spent the day getting a few small items sorted out -- like -- the stereo that would download Sirius satellite but would not make any sounds. Worked fine on FM and the NAV voice etc - but zippola on Satellite. SO out it came - no direct replacement - so a new bigger version and different brand went in. MO BETTA!

While there -- the dealer had a Sportchassis (a brand) in with a Cummins ISC 350hp 1000 ft tq motored version so I tried to take a couple pics showing the difference. My truck is 6" longer wheelbase - and a completely different hood.

Not sure these pics give the right feel of the size difference - but in person it's an OMG!



SMALLER motor -- Cummins



http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ome/file-3.jpg






12.8L - DD13 in my truck





http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ome/file-6.jpg

Hard to tell........similar to you standing next to Rodger? :D

YES -- Great analogy!

Pictures just can't capture the difference but your description is spot on.