Hello ecomodders. I'm starting this thread preemptively. I had to bite the bullet and get a truck, and I've located an immaculate 2004 dodge ram 1500 that fits my price range. I don't own it yet, but I will this week. I need to carry a payload of 1500 pounds, including four adults and all the gear of a touring funk band. I have been driving a corolla since 2006 which has done me well, but I have to make sacrifices in what I can bring for a show, due to it's capacity. Also, loading and unloading quickly, i have beat the hell out of the interior.
Now I'm faced with at least 30 out of town shows in the next year, and the occasional rental when I need something bigger won't work.
This truck will be driven %90 for this purpose, and then occasionally around the city. I'm keeping the Corolla for my regular driving - as I'm a Realtor in my day job, I can't use a truck for my daily needs - it's just too expensive on gas.
Here's a picture of the truck I'm getting (not the actual one, but the exact same model:
I've done very well with my Corolla just using the driving tricks learned on this forum. My best tank of gas yielded just about 800km (mostly highway).
My first step with the truck will be to take it out and learn how to drive it. I'm not used to the power, and it will have a 5.7 hemi (just rear wheel drive though). The gas pedal is extremely reactive to the slightest touch, so I will have to get used to that first.
I will be driving somewhere in the realm of 20000km in the first year and a half, so a few extra MPG will make a huge difference.
My first thoughts for aero stuff were the simple basics:
1 Front air dam
2 Grill blocking (I'm in Canada and it's almost winter, so I can block a lot).
3 Bed cap - (very important, needs to be secure and watertight - it's carrying instruments, amps, and a PA system - so I don't have much room to mess around with building one) - if someone can recomend the most aerodynamic production model available to me, I would appreciate it.
4 Rear wheel skirts
5 Wheel covers - I still havent seen a method on this forum that is reliable without drilling through the rims. The truck comes with chrome rims, and I need to maintain resale value - so there will be no drilling here.
6 Belly pan (i'm not familiar with the underside of the truck yet to know what needs to be covered, and how to attach it.
EPA is 19 for highway driving (which is all I care about). My first goal is 27mpg