firewood guy
ArboristSite Operative
I have a 07 3500 4x4 w/ the limited slip diffs and stock hwy michellin hwy tread tires, and have no problems w/ a 12k loaded traier on very bad road conditions.. IE lots of clay, lots of inclines / downgrades. I have had lots o trucks, but the the DANA axles that the Dodge uses are bullet-proof. My friends w/ Chevys are getting stuck all the the time on the same roads w/ there indebentant front axle system. My Ford friends are doing just fine... By the way, I own all of them, and I would reccomend the Dodge over the rest in MHOP. PS.. I have a 5500 Chev w/ a Duramax / Allison that is the biggest turd that I ever bought (2005).... I love the old Ford 7.3 Internationals though!!I have a late '05 Dodge 2500 4wd with the Cummins and six speed manual. I love the engine, but will never buy another Chrysler product. They switched transmissions during the '05 model year and went to a Mercedes tranny. There is nothing wrong with the transmission, but they didn't specify a proper final drive ratio. As a consequence, the engine spun much fast than previous model years for the same speed down the road. It was very uncomfortable at highway speeds.
The expensive fix was taller tires. Considering that the original equipment so-called off road tires were useless anywhere but on pavement, it wasn't all wasted money, but it shouldn't have been necessary. I hear they fixed the final drive ratio in the '07 models, but that didn't do me or any other late '05 manual tranny buyers any good. We got royally screwed.
My model year does not have locking hubs. They are fixed, and there is/was no factory option. The front axle turns all the time. This is a major PITA. Not only is it a serious waste of fuel, but it essentially precludes the use of four wheel low to prevent having to slip the clutch during tight backing maneuvers with a trailer on dry pacement or hard ground. To make things worse, idle speed in reverse is actually faster than in first gear. It is much too fast for safe backing in close quarters.
Dodges come with a useless limited slip differential. It does not use clutches like most units. As a consequence, there is no limited slip function unless the vehicle is already moving too fast to be useful. Starting from a stop on a muddy woods road is just the same as a regular open differential. There is no limited slip function even when creeping. About the only thing it is good for is on snowy road, once you are already moving. Then it actually functions.
I get 17 MPG running light on our back roads. Towing, I get 12 to 13. I am no kid, and I baby my truck. Fixes are very expensive on these things, as others have mentioned. Fuel mileage is very emission control specific on these engines. What Joe-Bob gets in his 15 year old Ram has no relevance to what you can expect from a new truck.
If you run in really cold weather, you will need to add an anti-gelling additive to the tank. The rest of the diesel fuel "conditioners" are expensive snake oil. I never use any. The sole exception would be a biocide, if the truck was going to sit for a long time (months) without being used.
There are a bunch of other things, like how almost every one of them develops a pull to the right after a couple of thousand miles, how they gave a manual transmission four wheel drive vehicle a foot operated emergency brake (beyond stupid, except for people with three feet). Try feathering a foot operated emergency brake when you are stopped on a slippery slop and trying to start back up again. Did I mention the limited slip differential doesn't work in that scenario?
Never again.
Diesel is the way to go if you have to pull the freight!!!!!