SEMA: 2010 HD Dodge First-hand look and feel.
 

I went to SEMA last week and got to see the new 2010's in person. I personally like the differentiated front end from the 1500's, and they look extremely sharp in person vs. photos.

Here's what I have noticed with both a Crew Cab and a Megacab 6.7L Ram:

The crew cab definitely has a little more room than the current Quad Cabs, but it isnt substantial. Dodge already made a valiant effort of stretching the QuadCabs to accomodate "four real doors" so the fact only a couple of inches have been gained isnt surprising. Aside from the obvious bigger rear door, what you will notice when looking inside the back door is the leg room. Its got more room for sure, but I think the biggest help is the rear seats have been reclined a few degrees for those who dont have such upright postures (such as myself- Im a sloucher). That is a big difference from the QC's- the seats are pretty upright in the current QC's, but Ive had no problems being in the back of my own truck for a hundred+ miles, and my friends have never complained about being back there (and theyre all over 6' tall like myself).

Both Models I got to sit in had some cool stuff: how about an integrated brake controller in the dash for one? Just like the Fords, Dodge is now doing it. Also, both models had a 12V/120V inverter directly in the dash. So you can now plug in your laptops and Xbox's or if youre brave- a small microwave. Good luck with that!

They also have a new instrument cluster that shows all your important info between the tach and speedo ( similiar to what GM has done over the years). They have done away with overhead consoles, all your compass/temps/trip's are in the central information display.

It seems you can also control gear selection with an up/down arrow on the gear selector, but I dont recall seeing an Engine or Exhaust Brake in either of them. Both models also feature two glove boxes, one on top of the other- decent room in each as well. No rear floor coolers like the 1500's have, or atleast on these two models.

Dodge has also done away with the grill attached to the hood- meaning the grill will stay put, and hood pops up. Saddened me, but not a big deal.

The MegaCab was nice, still ample room with the same setup the current ones have. I will need to get one of these for the growing family in the next couple years. Seats recline a buttload, still have uber amounts of storage behind and inderneath the seats.

One thing that some of you might like or dislike, however, is the use of plastic body panels. The rear panels behind the rear door that make the MegaCab so "mega" are now plastic. Weight savings? Maybe. But do you think the torque of the Cummins cant handle an extra 50lbs of steel?

Both Models had new 6 spoke wheels and I am NOT a fan.

Also....... it appears Dodge has gotten off their lazy arses and has taken notice of their deficient sector shafts on the steering boxes. Take a gander under the front and youll see a huge sector shaft nut on top of a bigger shaft. Rumour has it that the recent 09 HD's had this same steering box. So its likely they can be swapped into the place of the older dinky box.


Thats all I can think of now, ill report back when I think of more. I didnt take too many pics, I was too busy playing with buttons and the like. So the 'net will have to support yer habit.

Cheers.

Thanks for the informative post - sort of. Darn it - now you have me wanting to take a closer look at 'em when they show up at the dealer... I'd just gotten done swearing off looking at them and was being happy with keeping mine and just driving it until the wheels fall off. Thanks for the writeup - I think :-)

Got any pics of the Megacab that was at SEMA?

Scott

http://sites.google.com/site/parts4speed/IMG_3721.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/parts4speed/IMG_3724.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/parts4speed/IMG_3725.jpg

I wish I had more photos, but I had to wait forever to get these shots without people in them. After sitting in a '10 I'm not sure I like the reduced view with the front raised 3". 2010 Mega cabs have a damper in place of one of the body mounts... works well according to reviews. There was a blue crew cab there too... wife says we have to have the Mega!

Thanks for the pics. I've been wanting to see what a 2010 Mega SRW looks like. Now I have been able to do so thanks to you.

Scott

I was at the show as well. I took a bunch of pics of the white mega, the blue quad cab with the lift, and the regular cab gas 2500 they had out back. I'll try to get them posted up here.

My initial impressions:
I didn't mind the 6 spoke wheels, at least they are something different. I was hoping they would've gone to a factory 18" and some 275/70/18 tires, but the tiny 265/70/17 tires are still there [dummy]

I sat in the regular cab gas truck, I thought the seats were much more comfortable than the ones in my 06.

The three little indentations on each side of the hood seem kind of lame.

I'm seriously thinking of getting one in the spring. My kids have outgrown the quad cab.

Six-spokes do look kind of awkward to me. I used to work with an industrial designer who claimed that design elements in odd-numbers are much more pleasing to the human eye. He even used wheels as an example.

Hurry up already!!! [dummy][coffee]

I have seen many picks of the 2010's and they are nice looking. The changes to the body have been small from 03 on really. The inside looks nice and updated but it just seems there is more to go wrong. Like the in dash trailer brake controaler. If it fails now what, if mine fails I just replace it. If the cab is quieter then that is a plus. It's what is under the hood that is making me hold off for a while, all that smog stuff. If I didn't have my 03 this is the one I would be getting.

I think the in dash brake controller shouldn't be of much concern. My 96 has one that was used when put on the truck when I got the truck and is still working. That's over 13 yrs of service. My guess would be that if the in dash one quits it would be replaceable just like the radio, ac/heat controls or light switches. Now the bad part to that is it will most likely be a dealer item thus more costly but should last.
Now the whole exhaust filter B/S does concern me.
Can that thing be removed and can these engines be chipped or tuned?