6 month to go till pay off and that thought easily out-weighs the idea of all the new stuff they have. Once I get a new trans (next month,) I think I will be floating in the clouds. Plus, after 48k miles, I still get giddy when I go to drive it. Cant beat that.

 

Totally with you fellow Pennsylvanian bud. I love my 06 to death. just turned 80000 miles and she runs like new. Never had any problems with her and she will be paid off in under 2 years then i'm running it till the wheels fall off. Can't imagine not having a truck payment lol. But This truck has been great and couldn't pass up when they had the employee pricing plus last year for the 5.9 and no emissions. Love my girl

 

I'm with you guys....I love the third gens! I would not have a 4th gen just because of the emissions. Sure you can take them off now and the truck is great afterward but it won't be long until the communists remove that option nation wide.

 

I'll keep mine for the 1,000,000 miles and then pass it to my sons. HA!

 

I bought the truck new in Sept. '03. It just turned over 60,000 miles. It's paid off. Just got a new set of 285/70-17 terra grapplers and they are sweet. I've wanted one since my brother bought a '96 12v. The Smarty has been fantastic! Love the truck and will be driving it for a long time.

 

Love mine.. its been paid for going on a year.. Has 37-38K on it.
Like others, I would LOVe to have a true crew cab, but I don't NEED a crew cab...
Absolutely hate the idea of taking a mileage penalty to get a new truck and the hassles of the smog equipment.
Paid for is SO nice, its allowed me to buy a new tractor......

 

My 2003 has been paid off for two years and has 125000 on her. I just put a Carli starter kit on it and new hubs. I don't even have it the way I want it yet and the only thing about the newer trucks I like is the Mega cab and some parts of the interior. Hardly justifies a $700+/month car payment. At this rate, I don't even know if I'll want to to trade it in to get a 5th gen.

 

My 06 is paid for and runs great,had it since new,no intention of getting a new one.I dont like the looks of the new ones anyway,except for the larger rear seat.I like how mine sounds and feels like a truck.Used 2nd and 3rd gen. trucks around where I live are hard to find.A dealer called me and said he would give me top dollar for mine ,the 5.9 is very desirable used.

 

Youp I do. She gave me the OK to trade in the '03 and buy a new CTD two years ago. She said this time, get an auto so she will be more comfortable to drive it in case I'm incapacitated or something. So far, she has racked up almost 2.6 miles on the truck (that is almost 4.2 Kilometers for you way northerners). She is very capable, but feels better as a passenger.

List of major work on the '03;

• Walbro pump (pre-empted)
• Clutch at ~187k miles
• All U-Joints in the 183-5k mile range
• Brakes
• new warranteed injector at 97.5k miles
• Adjusted valves at ~100k miles
• Couple of dash lights
• Ummmmm...... parking brake rubber pedal
• Recirc door (once, still doing without)
• oh, and after not washing the truck while on Vacation this summer, where I drove up to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and through Alaska and back, about 9700 miles or so hauling the Fox, washing the truck and Fox was a very multi-day, major work challenge.

This truck has a story behind every nick, scratch and dent. My tailgate looks like it is spotted white on green and if you look close enough you can tell the tires kicked up rocks on the hundreds of miles of dirt roads and those rocks bounced off the front lower portion of my Fox and into the tailgate. Yeah, those spots are light grey undercoat. AKA Character.

There are several places on the truck where it looks like someone scrubbed a dirty spot with a pot scrubber from the kitchen. My neighbor kid, trying to earn swim team money, washing the first vehicle he ever washed.... yeah, a pot scrubber. Neighbor offered a paint job... lol, nah, it added character.

And then there is the extremely small mark by the front fender's "C" marker where a lady decided she wanted my lane on the freeway. What she ended up with was a broken mirror and a tire tat on her door. More character.

I noticed a couple weeks ago, a small dent in the lower front portion of my driver's door. I think it was from a guy in a big cheby with a once pipe who thought he was going to push his way into my lane on the freeway on the way home. I knew he came close, but I didn't know he hit. LOL, more character.

Oh, then there is that spot on the dash. . . awwww, never mind about that.

Yeah, I love my first wife. Even though I turned over 200k miles on the way back from Alaska in August, I'm keeping the truck (and the first wife). I may pass the truck on when the time comes, but I don't think it will be soon. Way too much fun and character. It's a truck!

 

05 Reg cab dually is paid for & has 92,000 km on it (57,000 mi). I bought this one in APril of 07 with 51,000 km on it ((32,000 mi). A recent hail storm dictates some paint & dent work & since the adjuster deemed the hood unrepairable I paid the differecne to upgrade to an SRT10 hood when it gets fixed. This one will be around as long as I am drag racing & have a trailer to pull. I drive it about 10,000 km (6200 mi) per year & would be hard pressed to replace this truck. I run a Smarty prgrammer on it & it has quad gauges & air bags & the tires only have 15,000 mi on them so it will be around for a long time.

04.5 quad cab is also paid for & has 101,000 km on it (62,500 mi). This one takes me to work in the oil patch. My limited company owns this one but I am the only one who ever drives it. Bought it in Feb 08 & plan to sell it early in 2013. If I keep it longer than that its resdual value is too low & I end up paying a lot of extra taxes on my income. If I can find a low mi 2007 5.9 truck I will jump into that otherwise I will skip the 07.5-09 trucks & move into the best 2010-2011 truck I can find in the fall of 2012. Fuel economy from this truck is about the same as the dually but I can cruise about 7mph faster in this one since the 33s knock the rpm down

 

I'm in for life and about $50 thousand so far counting the cost of the truck, bought 2 years ago for $29,000, w/ 20,000 miles. I wanted a nice 4WD and had an image in my mind of what I thought looked good and with minimal research that is what I bought and **** was I lucky I found this truck. What I found out is the cost of the truck is just a starting point. I had no idea I would get in this deep. I have learned much from the guys here and am thankful for this forum. I have been adding supporting mods for engine work when motor warranty is up, fluidamper and BD intercooler this past weeekend. Trans. next and then injectors, studs, for sure Twins, and maybe a cam, and springs/pushrods. Where do you stop? There should be warnings on TV about this addiction like there are for Meth and Crack. If I finish this I will have more invested in this truck than I paid for my house, somehow this doesn't seem sensible.

 

I love mine too. The best parts of my day during the week are when I get to drive to work and when I drive home. Unfortunately it's costing me around $300 a month in fuel just to get to and from work. After all the work I have done AGAIN I'm not sure how much longer I can afford to keep it...

 

Just paid off my 05. With over 150,xxx the truck has only let me down twice. Once for a turbo explosion due to my ignorance and the other due to a tranny cooler line that let loose and drained all the radiator fluid. When the engine finnaly goes, you can bet I'll be looking for another 5.9 to put back in

 

I do form unhealthly relationships with my stuff. I love my truck. I'm keeping it. I bought it in Feb 09 w/32k miles for $26 OTD. I've got 45k on it now. I do have another couple years before I pay it off, unless of course I run into a good lump sum and can pay the sucker off all at once.

I wanted a Cummins for a while. The first inkling was when Dad bought his '99 about 10yrs ago. Then setting it in stone was when I had to sell my much-loved-paid-off-old-truck to move to Japan for Uncle Sam in '06. I haven't let hubby off the hook for that one and the Dodge was the approved peace offering

Mods and maintenance/repairs are expensive for this truck. Though I'd be doing mods and repairs no matter what truck I'm driving. I am self employed and work from home so my fuel bill is pretty reserved. The only time I fuel up more than once in a month is when I take an out of town trip. The truck does get better mileage both city and highway than any other vehicle I've owned. And it does a lot more work for less effort.

I take care of my things. We work hard to afford them. I want them to last and look good doing it.

 

I also am with you guys, awsome truck, when I built it on the puter in nov. 05 I told my wife this is the last truck I will ever need or want, and 2 months shy of 5 years and 4 months from pay off she does everything I ask and is still a kick in the EDIT to drive. 51000 miles just got back from talladega and in two weeks going to minn. 2200 miles round trip for the 3rd time towing 3 slant gooseneck horse trailer would not trade for anything else.