I asked this question a while back and received no responses. I was wondering if Dodge will ever offer again a cab chassis? Preferrable a cab chassis in the same size area as a Ford f-550. I will be getting a new truck this spring to replace my 94" Dodge 3500 cab chassis 4x4. Seems the only choice I have is Ford if they dont make one.

Thanks
Rob

 

I believe that Dodge does make heavier trucks, but they're not brought into the US for some reason. Somewhere there were photos posted a couple of years ago... GEN II trucks, but big one's.

 

Is this a class of truck that would be like a Freightliner Business class M2?

 

Dodge will again be offering a cab and chassis for the American market in the very near future. There seems to be some confusion about what they are going to offer. But it sounds like they are going to make the long awaited 4500 and 5500 Rams. There is DEFINITELY going to be cab and chassis models for the 2006 model year. They are going to build them at Saltillo and this was confirmed at their website press release. Sounds as if they are going to be diesel only, but here is where it gets foggy they have been rumored to be using a Detroit Diesel in these models although this is not confirmed. I too am waiting on a cab and chassis myself. I hope this helps

 

I may be wrong but I have seen some trucks running around here with boxes on them and I have seen a few chassie cabs on lots. I know GMC/Chevy are also options if you don't want to go with Frd.

 

Thanks for the info. Anyone have a site where there are some shots of them.

 

Anyone hear any updates on the Cab chassis?

Thanks,
Rob

 

I have heard that they could not fit the "mega cab" and an 8 foot bed on the current chassis; however, DC is designing a new longer chassis for the 2006 Ram so it can be a "mega cab" and an 8 foot bed. My guess that newer, longer, and stronger frame will also be the quead cab 4500 and 5500 truck.

Procrastinator

 

The mega-cab will only come with a short bed in '06. The chassis cab's are (I believe) an '07 launch and I also think that they will have the same length chassis as the current production trucks.

The problem lies in the overall length of the frame. (8' bed w/ the mega-cab) The dip coating tanks, currently in existance, are not long enough to coat the entire frame.

I'll confirm today and post what I find out.

 

Cool, Let us know if you hear anything. I will be getting new truck soon and would love to get a 5500 over a Ford F-550.

Thanks,
Rob

 

A chassis cab model is available in Mexico. Go to www.dodge.com.mx (the Dodge Mexico web site) for pictures. This truck is called a Ram 4500. You will notice that DaimlerChrysler does not put a diesel engine in the Mexican trucks. The Gen II truck Nord talked about, the Ram 6500 and 7500 was discontinued after the 1998 model year. It was made in Mexico and only for sale south of the border.For those that see a box on the back of a Gen III, those are trucks were ordered with a pickup box delete option. You basically take the pickup box off or order a truck with it the box off and bolt on another style of "box." The type of metal used in the frame and how it is made forbids drilling holes in the frame rail because it will lessen the strength of the frame. You won't see a third generation dump truck or wrecker on the road right now. We'll wait and see what happens in 2006.

 

Here you go: http://dodgeram.org/ki4cy/ram_picts/Mexram.htm

 

I hope my truck will make it until the cab and chassis models come out. I have a 2003 model with 193,000+ miles on it, with most of them pulling a big G/N trailer. I don't believe the 3500 is really made to take the abuse my line of work gives it. The list of problems I've had is starting to get pretty long, and will get longer in the near future.

Here is my list and the approx. mileage they occured at.

Power steering pump leak, less than 1000 miles (more on this later)
Replaced limited slip gears, under warranty 35,000 miles
Rear U joints on drive shaft, around 100k
Fan clutch, around 100k
Fuel pump, (main pressure pump) 149k
Power steering pump, 160k This has been a problem since the truck was new, every few thousand miles the cap would blow off and I would lose fluid. It started getting worse so on a long run so I zip tied the cap on, the result was the reservoir was blown off the pump. Didn't do that again, still had the problem so I started drilling a hole in the side of the cap and tieing it to my battery cable to not lose it. It finally got so bad this past week that the DOT shut me down because of an oil leak. No one at my dealer had ever heard of this problem, Dodge tech assistance was called in and they said to change the rack and pinion gear, the most expensive part of the system. I was able to run for about 1000 miles before it blew again. Back to the dealer and changed the hydro-boost. It hasn't blown yet, but I have a long run scheduled for tomorrow. Maybe it is fixed, we will see this week.

Things that need to be fixed:
Both upper ball joints
fan clutch, can make it until summer on this one
ring and pinion gear, going to have to do something pretty quick, howls like a hound dog

I love this truck, the engine and transmission are more than enough for what I do, but the rest of the truck doesn't seem to be able to handle the constant pounding it takes. I have looked at the chev 4500 but I just am not a believer in a V-8 diesel. Some people have good luck with them, but unless this truck just falls apart, I'm going to try to hold out for the Ram 4500 or 5500.