Ok heres the story. I am in the market for a truck. I have been a Ford truck guy for years have a 1993 7.3L w/ 270K on her, sold my 2003 Excursion w/ the 7.3L, and in 2003 bought a F250 w/ the 6.0L new (great truck...I must have got a good one).

The thinking was the Supercab F250 was just too small inside so it got sold for the Excursion thinking I have the "Black Beauty"..(see 1993 above ) I can use it when I need a truck. Problem was I realized I needed a truck a lot. So the Ex got sold and here I am .....Originally looking for a lower mileage 7.3...Well I am not having much luck so I am looking at other options.

I guess only having owned Ford trucks I feel a little clueless really about the Dodges. I drove one the other day and thought the motor was very good...Tranny seemed ok too. The back seat is smaller than the other makes and the bed was shorter too.

Maybe the smaller size makes them more efficient? less weight? Havent checked specs other than HP/TQ.

At anyrate I guess I am looking for feedback. What to look for what to look out for? Example Fords trannies in certain 2001 MY were prone to failure..Mecahnical Diode.

I would need at least a 2003+ as I need a backseat and the pre 2003's are too small in back.

Sorry about my first post novel but anything you guys can tell me would be great.

Is a Big Horn 4.10 gears only?

I am fine w/3.73 CC SB 4x4 (I think)

Oh and seriously what should I expect to pay for a truck under 50K miles?? The dealers are ALL over the place.

Thanks all
CR

 

Get a manvan there big in back

 

Ok thanks for your valuable input.

FWIW I have considered a van as it would be the perfect race hauler.

Only problem is I can only haul 2 people Max and 2 bikes. No 4x4 unless I did a quadvan or Quigly at $12K. The Ex hauled 6+ and a trailer w/ 6 bikes and brought the cost down a whole bunch for traveling.

If you have any thing to say that would be of any value I am listening....
Other wise I'll just get this out of the way right now in post #2. Beat it.

 

Megacabs will give you the most room in cab and you could get a 2006 or early 2007 with the 5.9L.... this will also give you the shortest bed... so if you need a long bed, then you need to look at QuadCabs. Big Horn package has nothing to do with the gears - so you could find a Big Horn with either 3.73 or 4.10... Big Horn package consists of rear sliding window, fog lights, leather wrapped stearing wheel, sirius radio for a year( or at least sirius ready), I belive the wheels and tow package are also part of that group... maybe more.. but most is cosmetic... Pricing is all over the map depending on the area you are in...

 

uhm. a manvan is our derogetory term for megacab rams.
NOT an actual van

 

JD meant no harm.. the Manvan comment was referring to a MegaCab - that is what they are known as on the site...

 

Thanks for this info thats exactly what i am trying to figure out. Appreciate it.

 

Hahahaha.....Well if that shows you any indication of my lack of Dodge knowledge.

JD - Didnt mean to snap at ya just thought you were giving me an earful being a Ford guy on a Dodge forum. Saw manvan and thought, I already had one of those didnt he read my post?

 

Anything I need to watch out for in the 2003-2005 years?

Any signs the truck has been making over stock horsepower?

Fords I can pull the PCM and check the contacts.

Thanks,

 

Any time.. more people should chime in with info on these years as well.

Anyone is welcome on this site - even if they do drive an F word.... haha

Thats what makes this site different, if people start attacking others - threads get locked and lost... no worries, good people here


First, there are some signs that could tip you off... if the truck has lots of mods, like exhaust, gauges, air intake... it could have very likely had a programmer or module of some kind, but that doesnt necessarliy mean run away... just be causious (man that isnt spelled right)....

 

i have 2 2004s and the only problem i have are the lift pumps i cannot be more than happy with my pickups they have done more than i have asked and got me out off trouble faster than i got into it.

 

I would suggest spending some time with the search function on this site and search for topics on 2003 - 2005 yeasr... you could find enough info to read for days... I know some 2003's had the 47RE transmission, which some say isnt as good as the 48RE which they started using....

 

Hey thanks a ton guys. I dont know why but it never dawned on me to use the search feature. I will start doing that.

At anyrate thanks again. I am sure if I find a Dodge I will be here so I hope I didnt get off on the wrong foot here.

 

Wrong foot, I doubt it , and don't worry about not using the search feature, there a enough people here that have been here a long time that forget to use that little function that no one is going to hold it against you

happy hunting, let us know what you decide ... the one thing I know about the '05s in particular is that some have plastic intercooler ends that tend to "pop" under boost ... it was fixed shortly thereafter, but there are still some out there that way.

 

Not at all, it's a common mistake to forget the search function, no harm. Sometimes it actually gets confusing, or hard to find what you are looking for, if you run into that - feel free to post threads asking questions.