I may leave the Chevrolet line .....

[68C15]

[QUOTE=Benelli;4287242] I wish Chevrolet would actually make a pick up for outdoorsman. QUOTE]

they did. there is a picture of one in your avatar. all you need now is some fabricating tools and some imagination. and best of all, it costs MUCH less than a new truck.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Dont start your working life out by adding $40K of debt to whatever other bills you will have already. Find you a good dependable USED truck and it will serve you just as well as that new Dodge. BTW, there isnt a thing on that truck that makes it made for the "Outdoorsman" other than a sticker on the side.

[crazy-101]

Dodges are not the greatest trucks and the bodies don't last as long as the marketing ploys make it seem. I have a '95 K1500 Chevy and my friend has a '99 Dodge 1500 "sport". He got his 3 months before me and we both put them through hell and back, i replaced one tranny in mine and his has been in and out of the shop a lot of things. Dodge hasn't changed much since then only good thing they did was put a Cummins in there trucks, besides that they don't last very long.

Plus you getting out of college in two years, you may not want to add a truck payment to your student loans/college payments because you will be so far in debt you will be in a world of hurt. I am also a college student and get out in two years, just bought my first truck in June and had to pay cash because i could not afford the payments on top of my student loans.

[irishman999]

Originally Posted by bigcow94

my boss' neighbor just bought a '10 dodge ram half ton with the stow away boxes in the bed. they're nice but he's also retired and just keeps ratchet straps and what not in them. when i bought my '03 f250 back in 05 i was a slave to my truck payments. if i were you, like boatpuller said look into a 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup. and don't buy a new truck buy one that's 3-4 years old. they're still new enough and you don't have to pay the crazy sticker price. i dont' know about you guys but around here a new diesel 3/4 or 1 ton is fetching around 45-55k! all brands have they're own flaws just what you're willing to deal with. unless you wanna put a cummins into a superduty

Don't forget to install an Allison transmission from a chevy as well. Consumers can figure out which parts they like and build their own rigs, but the big car companys can't.

[bigcow94]

Yes irishman, then you would complete the trifecta and have an almost bulletproof rig
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[67ChevyRedneck]

$16/hr is barey 2K per month depending on what you'll pay for taxes.

$5-600/mo payment + $100-150 insurance + 200-300+??? for gas = WAYYYYYYY too much money.

I graduated college in 04 and wanted a new truck too until I did the math. I waited a year and saved up and around May 05 I bought my Z71 when it was 5 years old with 65K for 16K. I put 6K down and the payment was only $200/mo and I paid it off in 2 years. I still have it w/ 130K on it now. I was also making a bit more than $16/hour too...

[irishman999]

I just had to add this, I just saw a super macho Dodge truck commercial where some dude pulled a tree down. Their expensive commercial failed on on me.

First thing is the tacky closeup handshake with gloves on, your not supposed to shake hands with gloves on. Second thing is the rusty chain in the bed compartment, that is impractical and stupid since the chain will trash all the paint trying to store it in that compartment enough times. Work truck? No.
Their marketing of this truck is a little to much.

[Benelli]

Yeah, I have to say I fell for there marketing gig. It's a good thing I wasn't at a dealership.

[irishman999]

Originally Posted by Benelli

Yeah, I have to say I fell for there marketing gig. It's a good thing I wasn't at a dealership.

Maybe if they include the vehicle in a popular video game like the new jeep I would fall for it. At least the jeep has a straight front axle and actual off road capabilities.

[heeroyue2002]

i make the $16 an hr you talk about but after taxes its not much.
he can easily afford the new truck as long as he's living with his parents or in a place with free living expenses.

my cousin loves dodges.His 96 is a champ although its lost alot of body parts. his newer dodge truck 05 or higher has had the rear differential changed twice and the front axle fixed as well. he only uses them to commute to workaround fresno.

[irishman999]

My 2000 Dakota was a total piece of crap. Mild off roading would screw up the front end throwing off the alignment and burning up my tires. The transmission never shifted right, The defective ball joints in the front end got replaced by a dealer but worked loose and almost came un-done. Heater quit working, interior parts fell apart, the rear differential was going out when it finally got repo'd but the one thing that pissed me off the most was It was a 5.9 and had absolutely no power. I had no issues with the motor it was just a horribly underpowered engine that burned a ton of gas and gave me no enjoyment. There is my dodge experience.

I need to add, The front brakes were horrible, they always gave me trouble and the truck always felt like you were driving in sand. When I planned on keeping the truck I looked into a lift kit, there was one available and a big part of that was due to the poor front brake design that kept after market company's from designing a kit to lift an already crappy vehicle.

Day to day use was just fine (besides gas mileage). Anytime you need a truck that performs that truck fell way short.

[vectorit]

Too add to my comment...

My friends Dodge trucks were Cummins diesel trucks, and they pulled like no ones business. But, like I said earlier they fell all apart around the drive train.

The last time I heard from my bud with the 4x4 Cummins.

Was he had the truck serviced at a Jiffy boob before a long haul across hot dessert, from Southern Utah through Vegas down to AZ to pick up a load of steel.

Drove to AZ in August heat, then picked up the load of steal in AZ. Drove all the way back to his home town city limits in Utah where the truck stopped, and would not go any further no matter what he did.
Had the truck towed to the dealer, and they found out that the Jiffy boob didn't put any lube in the transmission. The trans had gotten so hot, that it was all seized up.

I don't care who's brand name is on that transmission, that alone has got to say something for how tough it is.

EDIT: I forgot to add, that the transmission I speak about above was a manual transmission.

[irishman999]

Thats incredible. You wouldn't think it would go a few miles without fluid.

[Gobbles]

I am not a Dodge fan nor will I ever be, but I have to admit I am a Hemi and Cummins fan. Both those motors are wicked. I considered a Ram 1500 for a short time before I had my '70 chev because I like those motors so much.

Just a note, remember to buy a car for the car, not for accessories, regardless of brand, it is easy to get caught up in some neat features.

[Walts_restoration]

5 speed? if its an auto i highly doubt she went anywhere, maybe if it was slowly leaking out, but maybe transfercase?


My brothers 02 f250 with a 7.3 that was way warmed over was one nice rig, i loved it. He sold it for 12500, id look into a good used truck before i ever bought a new truck. Granted, id rather buy a wrecked cummins and swap into a 73-87 crew with either a chevy nv4500 or an alison any day.

[RuralRoute C-30]

Just sold the last Dodge Ram I plan on owning.

Had a 95,96, 01 and finally an 05. Every single one of them had rust in the inside door corners in less than 50k miles and just out of the warranty for rust repair.

The 95 had brake problems in less than 2k miles.

The 96, a good truck but rusted. The 01, rust and problems with the rear seal in the rear end. Same problem with the 05 only worse with power steering leaks plus the rear seal and rust inside both doors.

Now this is not bashing the Ram. Other makes and models can have problems too. But since the topic is on these trucks, my opinion only, I have retired from being a Dodge Ram fan even though I really like the styling and the interior comfort.

Actually I'm at the point were I to be inclined on spending a lot of money on any truck today it would be on an older one for a lot less money and fix it up a piece at a time as my C-30. I enjoy tinkering with it.

Out of curiosity I recently priced a new 1-ton and am not even close to one-third the cost of a new one fixing up what I got. Plus a new one hasn't the style of old iron and I wouldn't be able to work on one if it was given to me! At least the old ones come with just one big book.

Good Luck in whatever you do decide. It will be you making the payments.

Mark

[screwballl]

Everyone has their preferences on vehicles. Most of us here are GM fans in one way or another. I myself have the 04 Dodge Durango which has never failed us. I have had GMs and Chryslers through the years, and the Frods (and Nissans) were the only ones to ever give us any major problems.

Like I said earlier here:

Stick with used or well kept classic trucks if you need one. At least with classic trucks you know whats in there, you know if something breaks parts should be easy enough to find and you don't need to pay a shop $100 per hour for 3 hours to replace some $20 sensor that requires half the engine to be disassembled.