Fancy new trucks !

[fishinwrench]

A guy pulled in today with a 2018 Dodge.  Beautiful brand new truck and loaded, I think, with every option available.   Well things are kinda tight around here, boats everywhere, fresh gravel, and he was having a heck of a time getting his boat backed into where I told him to park it.  

So I go out to see if he wanted me to back it in there.  Please, he says.   So I hop in this truck, full of confidence...I mean, I can stick a trailer anywhere, right?    Well it was the worst experience I've ever had!  Things are beeping, lights on the dash are flashing, the steering wheel is resisting what I'm trying to do, the side mirrors are flapping around on their own like rudders on a possessed airplane.....WHAT IN THE SAMHELL ??..

I turned the knob on the dash to PARK, hopped out and said, "Is there a way to over-ride all this automatic nonsense?" And he says, if there is I haven't figured it out yet.   So with me not wanting to mess up his brand new truck I just unhooked it in the middle of the driveway, hitched up the ol'fishwagon to it and stuck it right in there.   

So, you guys with new trucks....How do you operate these SOB's ?  I wouldn't have that crap if I was a multimillionaire.  Good grief! 

Automotive technology has lapped itself, and is now stupider than it has ever been.

 

[Gavin]

Never buy new, but there is a learning curve for all the gizmo's on newer trucks. Turn off the back assist/warning when parking a camper, dropping a boat or hitching  Kills all the beeps & buzzers mostly.  Do like the back up cam with Zoom function . EZ to hitch any  OYO.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

My brother got a new Ford and it has these little sticky sensors you stick on the trailer so it knows where it is and can help you back.    He tried it once and said it was a pain in the but. He said if you had never backed a trailer it would probably help but if you know how it totally throws you off

[snagged in outlet 3]

Ram owner. I love my heated steering wheel and ventilated seat!     Not on the same day obviously. Rear view camera rocks  

Like Gavin said he could turn off any driver assisted options. 

[176champion]

My newest truck is a 2002 Ford Ranger supercab 4x4 with 269,000 miles on it, my tow vehicle is a 1997 Ford supercab 4x4 with 202,000 miles on it even has a bent frame...lol. No way im paying 50,000 bucks for a new truck and i hate vehicle payments.

[moguy1973]

My' '15 F150 Lariat has a lot of those bells and whistles.  Doesn't have the Pro Trailer assist though and I'm probably glad I don't have it.  It does have blind spot and back up sensor warnings though and yeah, they do go off when I'm trying to back up the boat.  It's pretty easy to turn them off with a press of a button on the steering wheel on my truck though.  The backup camera works wonders lining up the ball under the trailer tongue though.  It has a black line in the middle of the screen that turns as I turn the wheel so I can line up the ball pretty much perfectly every time by myself.  Even has a little LED light on the tailgate that is on when I back up so I can see back there in the dark.  Mine even tracks the miles I've towed my boat, and I can set up other trailers to pick too so I know how many miles I'm putting on the tires of each.  The thing I do wish mine had that the new ones do is blind spot monitoring when the trailer is hooked up.  When the trailer is plugged in it turns off the blind spot sensors where the new ones allow you to put in the size of your trailer and lets you know if anyone is back there next to your trailer that you can't see before you switch lanes and run them off the road.

[MOPanfisher]

Dang, I am happy when mine starts.

[Gavin]

Have not figured out all the gizmo's on my 2015 F-250.....More tech on board than the F-18's I used to fix. Was in Avionics...Heck your phone has 20x the computing power.

 

[Seth]

The backup camera is the only modern feature I wish I had on truck. As long as it has starts, had working 4wd and lets me play music from my phone, I am happy.

[fishinwrench]

Backup camera's work great if you are hooking up on flat ground, but they aren't all that helpful when hooking up on a hillside (like I am always having to do).   I had a guy give me one and it really didn't save me any steps.

If it's on flat ground you can just get real close and pull/push the boat trailer the rest of the way.