I want to buy a newer 1 ton dodge diesel. I have heard the 3rd gen standard trans duallies are the best truck overall. I have owned a 92 12 valve, and my dad had a 99 24 valve.They were good trucks too. Should I take the chance on newer?

 

i took the plunge first truck was a 89 3/4 ton farm truck abused the hell out of it 2nd was a o1 3/4 ton few aftermarket toys on it. one i got 2weeks ago is a 04.5 4x4 love the looks but hate the fuel mileage but its lifted 3.5inches and 35inch tires but go for it.

 

well, im biased, but imo the 05 is the best! mine has been incredable, 78000 and not one problem. and i have a 40 ft toyhauler that i have towed several times and this truck just gets better and better. my mileage is very good also. probably not quite as good as an 03/04 but is still awesome.when i had only 30000 on my truck, we drove from here in portland to shasta lake and all the way back to medford OR on a single tank. 650+miles on 32 gallons. but now with the smarty jr.......well

 

Of course the old 12 valve is the winner hands down.

I'm pretty partial to the 05 myself.

 

Love my '03!!!! Hauled EXTREMELY HEAVY for 2 1/2 yrs but now it's used as a daily driver and besides u-joints (15 of 'em) the only problem I've had engine wise was a LP and CP3 replacement. 300k miles with factory injectors and still gets 20 mpg empty on the highway!!! Wouldn't trade it for anything .

 

I like my "Late" 05 as well it has metal inter-cooler ends, the G-56 trans and still has fuses for most of the circuits. Most importantly no DPF filter and EGR!

 

my vote is for the late in the year 2005 as well. Had mind since new been a great truck

 

I say 04 305/555 engine with nv5600

 

Gee, everybody says the truck they have is the best.... Isn't that usually how it is?

A better question is what changes have been made during which years and what should I know about the different years...

I have an '06 and I can tell you the seat fabric sucks. A light rain sprinkle will stain the seats. The bumpers started rusting as I drove it out of the showroom. Even the bolts INSIDE the truck holding the seats down rusted. The parking brake cables froze up, and I use them regularly. The U-joints are too weak. The '06 tachs fail and read 200 rpm's at idle and 3800 under acceleration.

Earlier models have the plastic intercooler ends that have trouble.

My truck has been pretty good, even the trans lasted 128,000 miles and was used fairly hard. My death wobble was cured with urethane bushings in the track bar and a steering stabilizer. I haven't had ball joint problems, or electrical problems besides the tach.

 

My 96 was great, my 06 even better . The 06 definitely pulls harder (seat of the pants dyno). Both trucks completely stock.

 

I knew going in that the gen 3 wouldn't be as bulletproof as my 97 but I'm still so happy with it, I can't foresee EVER getting rid of it. The 97 had a couple of weak point to fix (5th gear and kdp) and so does every other year. The 6 spd 4.10 is the towing beast it was tauted to be. I swear the engine is still breaking in. I keep getting better mpg. Craig

 

we run a fleet of dodges from 1998's to 2009's the 98.5 to 02 are the worst ones the 03 to 04.5 best for not having to mod. the 04.5 to the 6.7's have in-cylinder egr that you have to change cam, nozzles exhaust and get a smarty jr to get rid of most of it. doing this gives 40% increase in mpg and lowers egt by 300*. the 6.7's require egr delete, turbo back exhaust crank case vent relocation kit, smarty jr, 50 hp nozzles and a few small things to get mpg up and egt down 06 up requires a flywheel, clutch change. in my opinion the 06 is the best of the best followed by a 98 12 valve and then a 03

 

lets try this again we have from 1989 to 2009's the cr's require a 2 micron fuel filter and a bypass oil filter or run a lf9028 main filter. the 03-04.4 is exempt from the bypass filter

 

I have a 04 2500 4x4 with factory lift and mud claws on it. It gets around 22 mpg even with the big tires and have never done anything but change the oil in 3 years and it has 190,000 miles on it. I Also have a 07 3500 dually 4x4 and i love love it. It has 89,000 miles on it and i average 23.2 mpg in it. I did have to replacde the carrier bearing in it at 86,000 miles because it was howlin a bit. I dont think ive owned a better vehicle than the dodge 5.9 HO trucks. The are power houses for sure.

 

Carl48, if I can get a 40% increase in mileage that will take me from 20mpg to 28mpg.

Somehow I don't think I will get 28mpg. But getting rid of the in cylinder EGR is probably worth it....