Well it took me 20 years but I finally got the best upgrade ever in my life - a new 2009 Dodge Ram 2500 QC 4x4 with a CUMMINS!
First some background - I've worked at Cummins for 20 years now and because of a combination of needs vs wants, have never owned a Dodge/Cummins truck. Imagine spending 20 years working in a candy store and being diabetic! See it every day; touch em, smell it, but you can't have one. We are campers and last year bought our first travel trailer....a Jayco 23B Hybrid. Been towing it around with my 2WD GMC Sierra 1500 which was "ok", but was not cutting it.
Act 1 - While camping in KY one weekend we went to a local horse track to watch some races (Keeneland), and had to park in an open field. After some rain showers the field turned into a mud hole and (surprise) that old 2WD GMC just got buried. Needed help getting a truck out! The wife remarked that our next truck had to have 4WD....I never argue with her when shes right.
Act 2 - On a return trip from camping I came up "sick", and had to hand over the wheel to her for the drive home. She hates freeways; construction zones; and towing. Bingo - a trifecta on I-75 between Lexington and Cincy..... In a tough spot she was stuck behind a Motorhome going up a hill and was frustrated because she could not see. So I said to just pass it! That truck could not pass the MH going uphill and she had it screaming. I calmly noted that this would never happen with a diesel engine....
WHAM - "We're getting a new Dodge with a Cummins!".she says..."you've worked there 20 yrs and its about time we supported the company..." .."I'm not driving like this ever again!" So after $6k in rebates and another $6k in supplier discounts; we traded in the GMC and now have our own Dodge / Cummins.
I could just wet myself every morning when I see it in the garage!!! Boy did I ever marry the smartest woman on the planet....I'm truly a lucky man.
