I just purchased an '06 4x4 5.9L Diesel 24v 1-ton dually Dodge Larmie...
I have about 1700 miles on it. I checked the oil level and noticed that it was black.

Is this normal? Does Dodge use a special type of break-in oil? What makes the engine oil so dark after so few miles?

What is a good engine oil brand and weight to use in a vehicle that is primarily used for hauling? I hear that synthetic oils should be avoided until at least 20k miles...What is a good / proven oil filter?

 

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase.

This one has been beat to death, so do a search:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/forums/search.php

I only use fleeguard filters, except I'm trying out a amsoil airfilter at the moment.

Black is diesel soot...it gets in there. I'd let the factory fill go for a few thousand personally. There are additives in there to aide in breakin. I also think that synthetic is way overkill. I use Rotella-T, and only because it smells so good.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find a lot of opinions on the subject. After you're done here, check out BITOG
Quite possibly the best oil site out there.