Quad Cab pickups?

[bytehoven]

The concensus seemed to identify the following happening to the vehicle...

- gas milage dropped (could have just been dirty air filter)
- increased noise in cabin
- road handling worsened including more noise from the vehicle
- had trouble pulling loads that a previous truck with the same general engine had no trouble (maybe related to fuel economy issue above)

In general, they felt the extra $$$ for the Toyota name did not translate as with other Toyota products.

I should probably visit a few more review sites just to make sure my current finding wasn't a biased effort.

I'm gonna drive a new '06, an '04 with 65K and an '05 with 20K. That should give me a good idea of how the vehicle changes over time.

EDIT: One thing I did notice about the '04 for sale in my neighborhood, there was a good bit of rust in the bed areas where the bedliner opens for the hook loops. I also noticed alot of rust around the disk brake components and rotors, where I have very little on my '99 Durango. This could be because the truck has been sitting for awhile, since the owner is now commuting with another vehicle.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

The concensus seemed to identify the following happening to the vehicle...

- gas milage dropped (could have just been dirty air filter)
- increased noise in cabin
- road handling worsened including more noise from the vehicle
- had trouble pulling loads that a previous truck with the same general engine had no trouble (maybe related to fuel economy issue above)

In general, they felt the extra $$$ for the Toyota name did not translate as with other Toyota products.

I should probably visit a few more review sites just to make sure my current finding wasn't a biased effort.

I'm gonna drive a new '06, an '04 with 65K and an '05 with 20K. That should give me a good idea of how the vehicle changes over time.

EDIT: One thing I did notice about the '04 for sale in my neighborhood, there was a good bit of rust in the bed areas where the bedliner opens for the hook loops. I also noticed alot of rust around the disk brake components and rotors, where I have very little on my '99 Durango. This could be because the truck has been sitting for awhile, since the owner is now commuting with another vehicle.

I haven't had any of those problems, knock on wood. Mine is a 03 TRD with 50k mi. Just put new tires on it, rides like a dream.

Happy hunting!

 

[bytehoven]

Having gone trough some tires on various trucks, I know they can make a great deal of noise, and get louder as they wear.

For instance. I put a set of Michelin LTX AT 32" tires on my D when I bought it. There is a tire dealer right next the Durango factory in Newark, DE which gave me full credit for the OEM Goodyear tires. Sweet Deal.

Anyway, the ATs could really whine, but they are great off-road.

Last spring I switched to the LTX MS tire, same tire dealer and a great price . Talk about a night and day difference. The D now handles and sounds more like a quite passenger car.

So, perhaps the Tundra complaints where the fault of the tires.

 

[treeslayer666]

Dodge 3500 cummins H/O diesel quad cab

Funny, I bought my dodge new in March 04. Not one problem. Has not been in the shop other than oil changes and brake pads at around 50k. It's got around 68k miles now and is used for pulling my stump grinder, estimate runner, and plows in the winter.(so far not this winter thank god).
This is my second Dodge diesel and they seem to treat me right.
The new fords are nice but the interior is sh*ty compared to the Dodge.
And if you don't plug in the powerstroke in the winter it aint starting in the A.M. Dodge does not have a block heater. Cummins starts no prob.
This morning it was 3 degrees and it fired right up. One of my guys called me this morning he plugged in his 04 powerstroke last night but forgot to turn the power switch on. Took him an hour to get it running.

 

[PA Plumber]

I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra 4 door. 28,000 miles. Purchases Nov. of 2003. My truck has sat outside everyday of its life. No rust that you mentioned. I do have a spray on rhino liner in the bed.

Lots of times I have loaded 2/3 of a cord of red oak in the bed and it will haul it. Is it heavy? You bet, but the truck will handle it. I just am a lot more cautious with that kind of load.

I have used my truck to pull large logs and disk my food plot. I have had chevys and Fords. A few weeks ago I added an extra leaf spring and it handles a tow better than any truck I have had.

A friend just bought a dodge with the hemi 5 speed. 21 mpg. Wow, very impressive. My truck gets about 15 to 17.5 mpg.

 

[Rooshooter]

I'd guess its for spotting 'roos at night.

Yep, A real problem of a night, you have to be able to see them, hence also 2 150w aircraft landing lights on the bullbar. One stretch of road abt 40 miles i can see up to 400 - 500 'roos feeding on the roadside after dark.
Rooshooter ...... (+)

 

[dhoganjr]

Dodge's for me

I love my '04.5 Ram 3500 Quad Cab 4x4 single rear wheel with the Cummins 600. For a 7000lb truck, hits 60 off the line in a hair over 10 seconds. Could have done with a 2500, but the 3500 only cost me $200 more new.

Currently have 47,000 miles on it, not a single problem so far. I pull my 7x14 cargo trailer with my 18ft 60in wide jet boat attached to it, and you can barely tell they are there. The cargo trailer has electric brakes on both axles so it stops about as well as being unloaded.

I build the Rams at Fenton, Mo (near St. Louis). Engine block heaters are standard equipment for all Canadian trucks, optional for all trucks sold in the states. The Cummins has a heated grid that allows it to start down to -20 degrees F.

If I keep close to the speed limit I can get around 23 MPG, but around 70-80ish its between 19-20 MPG.

Oh, btw all Cummins after '04.5 have a block heater, they just don't have the cord to make it work. You can buy one from the dealer for, I think around $30. There is a cap over where it plugs in right above and a little forward of the oil filter. Gets heat in the cab alot quicker on cold mornings.

The Mega Cabs are great too, the most leg room in the class. The rear seats even recline. They are the same length as a quad cab long bed. I just don't like the turning radius.

As for as racing the Toyota, lets both hook up to a 15,000lb trailer, then anytime :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[OTG BOSTON]

dhogan,

Have you noticed a difference in quality since the dalmer(sp) merger?

My 95 dakota had a lot of the same parts as my grandmothers K car.

 

[dhoganjr]

DaimlerChrysler merger

Have you noticed a difference in quality since the dalmer(sp) merger?

I believe the quality has improved significantly. I started in '95 before the merger. Merger formed DaimlerChrysler in 98-99, can't remember now exactly which year.

In the last several years more Mercedes engineering and parts have been integrated into the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge line-up. The Chrysler group division still has its headquarters in Detroit, seperate from the Mercedes-Benz division and so on. But the car platforms are starting to share drivetrains and parts, mostly noted in the Chrysler 300's, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger and the soon to be Dodge Challenger.

As for the Truck division, I can really only speak for the Rams, but have a couple of friends who have bought Dakotas and they love them. I ordered my first Ram in '01 right after the body style change. It was an '02 Ram 1500 regular cab short bed 4X4 with the 5.9L 360 and 3.92 gears with anti-spin, I put a K&N filter kit on it and a 40 series Flowmaster with dual 4" tips. It was super-fast, sounded awesome and loved the gas around 11MPG, 1-2 more if you kept your foot out of it, 8-9 pulling the boat. Only problem I ever had with it was the cluster went bad at 3000 miles, was a vendor issue, most had been contained in the plant and changed out, I guess a few slipped by. When you build and ship around 800 trucks a day, it happens occasionally, but usually is contained in Cassens (our transport company) before they get shipped. I traded it in for the '04.5 in June of '04. Had it a little over 2.5years and it had 40,000 miles at trade-in.

We have had big quality gains year over year since the merger, so the trend is going in the right direction.

Hope this helps and hope I answered your question.

 

[bytehoven]

I had a full day.

I test drove a few Tundras, a couple of F250s and a half dozen Ram 2500s.

Of the lot, I like the Ram 2500 trucks the best, preferrring the 5.7 Hemi to the Cummins Diesel. Although the Cummins was real nice, I'm hooked on the feel and sound of the big V8. :hmm3grin2orange: I also drove a 1500 just to make sure I really wanted the larger RAM.

My dealer where I bought my '99D, had (12) '06 2500s on the lot, so I had a pretty good selection. I settled on a Silver 4x4 Quad Cab SLT Short Bed and started talking $$$.

The truck list for $36,885. My sales guy came to me with a price of $32,000.

I said I would have to do some research and come back to them with an offer.

The GM came over and asked if I was prepared to buy the truck if he offered a great deal and I said yes. He came back a few minutes later and offered the truck for $27,941. WOW! $9k off the sticker. This was his cost, (-) the dealer holdback, (-) the current total cash incentive from Dodge. He said I would never be able to get a lower price unless Dodge offered more cash to dealers.

I honored my commitment to buy a great deal and will pick up the truck on Saturday. :hmm3grin2orange:

There were a few used '04 - '05 & '06 2500s with 20K-50K miles, but none were below $20K and most were beat up pretty good. So it' seemed to make the most sense buying a new '06 with a discount almost equal to the immediate depreciation I'll get driving it off the lot.

Now I'll polish up my '99 Durango and see what I can fetch in the local paper.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[dhoganjr]

Congrats

Congratulations, I think you'll enjoy it. The 2500 Hemi's have a throatier exhaust sound than the 1500's because of EPA restrictions. The 1500's have an extra baffle after the muffler to cut down sound.

We are also coming out with a 6.7L Cummins to replace the 5.9L. It will be a '07.5 Ram 2500/3500. It will have a six speed manual or six speed automatic with a toggle switch on the shift lever to let you manually shift gears to keep you in the rpm range you want, especially for towing and down hill grades, etc. It will also have the first factory optional exhaust brake.

Again due to EPA restrictions, with the new '07 emissions taking effect, the extra emission control devices cut down on available HP and Torque. The 6.7L is supposed to have around 350hp and 650ft/lbs of torque.

Sorry, I'll quit rambling now, enjoy your truck. Let us know how you like it when you get it.

 

[bytehoven]

The diesel sound, feel and shifting is definitely an acquired taste. The 5 speed automatic with the shifting options you mentioned would very interesting.

I have very few diesel stations close to me. I think the closest station is about 10 minutes away.

I had thought about having diesel delivered to the house a couple hundered gallons at a time. But I never looked into if I could buy automotive grade diesel the way one can easily buy home heating fuel. Maybe I'm a chowder head and they're the same thing. :biggrinbounce2:

The dealer mentioned the new model year Cummins engine going up in price, but he didn't mention why. Something probably worth waiting on for diesel lovers.

I wonder though... how are Cummins drive tranes out of the gate as far as new technology?

BTW: What are your thoughts on an extended warranty? Based on my Durango experience, I had all of my problems show up in the 3 year/36000 period, or in my 6 & 7th year. As a result, I'm inclined to pass on the warranty unless they gave it to me real cheap.

 

[dhoganjr]

Emissions and extended warranties

I have very few diesel stations close to me. I think the closest station is about 10 minutes away.

I can average over 600 miles on a tank of fuel with my quad cab shortbed, it has a 34 gallon tank, so you can pass a few stations. I really love that now, alot less fill-ups. My 360 regular cab shortbed had a 26 gallon tank, about 230 miles max.

The dealer mentioned the new model year Cummins engine going up in price, but he didn't mention why. Something probably worth waiting on for diesel lovers.

All has to do with meeting the new '07 diesel emission requirements, all the diesel manufacturers are scrambling to try and meet them. They are having to add egr systems and extra emission systems, all at sacrificing power. That is why they are increasing engine sizes, to compensate for the power losses. Kind of like what happened to the gas engines of the late 70's, early 80's. So they are passing on some of the extra cost to the consumer.

I wonder though... how are Cummins drive tranes out of the gate as far as new technology?

I know the transmission is a new model, manufactured by Aisen and the rest of the drivetrain is Dodge. Cummins stays up with their technology pretty well and they have reps in our plant, they deal with any issues that arise with the engine itself, we are not allowed to touch them. That is in their contract with us.

BTW: What are your thoughts on an extended warranty? Based on my Durango experience, I had all of my problems show up in the 3 year/36000 period, or in my 6 & 7th year. As a result, I'm inclined to pass on the warranty unless they gave it to me real cheap.

I would pass on the extended warranty unless they offer a great deal. You can wait till the factory warranty is about to end and see how things go, you can always add one later, if you start having problems. I bought one on a Neon, and ended up selling the car before the factory warranty was up. The buyer didn't want to pay any extra for the warranty. I sold the extended warranty back to the company that sold it and they charged me for the miles already on it even though it had never been used due to the factory warranty. Was close to a $1000 I lost on it, haven't bought one since. I do most of my repair work anyway, so not really worth it to me.

Just my $.02 worth

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Thanks

I believe the quality has improved significantly. I started in '95 before the merger. Merger formed DaimlerChrysler in 98-99, can't remember now exactly which year.

In the last several years more Mercedes engineering and parts have been integrated into the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge line-up. The Chrysler group division still has its headquarters in Detroit, seperate from the Mercedes-Benz division and so on. But the car platforms are starting to share drivetrains and parts, mostly noted in the Chrysler 300's, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger and the soon to be Dodge Challenger.

As for the Truck division, I can really only speak for the Rams, but have a couple of friends who have bought Dakotas and they love them. I ordered my first Ram in '01 right after the body style change. It was an '02 Ram 1500 regular cab short bed 4X4 with the 5.9L 360 and 3.92 gears with anti-spin, I put a K&N filter kit on it and a 40 series Flowmaster with dual 4" tips. It was super-fast, sounded awesome and loved the gas around 11MPG, 1-2 more if you kept your foot out of it, 8-9 pulling the boat. Only problem I ever had with it was the cluster went bad at 3000 miles, was a vendor issue, most had been contained in the plant and changed out, I guess a few slipped by. When you build and ship around 800 trucks a day, it happens occasionally, but usually is contained in Cassens (our transport company) before they get shipped. I traded it in for the '04.5 in June of '04. Had it a little over 2.5years and it had 40,000 miles at trade-in.

We have had big quality gains year over year since the merger, so the trend is going in the right direction.

Hope this helps and hope I answered your question.

I like the looks of the newer dodge trucks. I'll give them a closer look next time I'm in the market!

 

[treeslayer666]

dodge 3500 cummins 600 miles a tank?

dhoganjr, You are getting 600 miles to the tank. What am I doing wrong? I'm lucky to get 350!!! I do a lot of city driving & estimate running. What are you running for tires? Let me know what you think, maybe there is a problem.

 

[CUCV]

A friend of mine has a powerwagon, all I can say is that it changed my opinion on Dodge. It can't replace my Duramax but if I didn't need the towing and load capacity and neglecting fuel cost I would be interested in a power wagon. My friends gets 14mpg very consistantly. Not bad considering the engine and gearing.

 

[bytehoven]

The Power Wagon is very nice, but they really hit ya for some extra $$$.

There was (1) '06 Power Wagon in my area, it listed for almost $43K, and the dealer was not willing to budge. Even if he had been willing to meet the discount of my dealer, the PW would have been almost $6k more. Granted the larger tires, 4.56 gears, front & rear remote lockers, front sway bar disconnect are tasty upgrades.

 

[dhoganjr]

Treeslayer

You are getting 600 miles to the tank. What am I doing wrong? I'm lucky to get 350!!! I do a lot of city driving & estimate running. What are you running for tires Let me know what you think, maybe there is a problem.

What year is your truck? Mine is an '04.5 Cummins 600 with automatic trans. A buddy had the same year in a 2500. He was getting less fuel economy and went to the dealer and told them and they ended up re-flashing the NGC(computer). He gained about 5 MPG. After he told me I took mine in to the same dealer and told them I was getting poor fuel economy. They re-flashed mine and I gained 2-3 MPG. Something about the '04.5 models not using one of the banks in the NGC, the new programming corrected it. Something you might check out.

The tires are the stock BFG 265/70R17's. Only thing I have done to it is put on a TrueFlow cold air kit. I live in a rural area 75 miles from work. Don't do much city driving. City driving alone will cut down on it alot. Everytime you stop, you have 7000lbs of weight to get moving again. You get the best fuel economy below 1900 RPM's. Really cuts down on economy if your heavy on the accelerator leaving stop signs and lights. This all makes a major difference in a tank of fuel.

Most of my driving is unloaded, not many stops, not alot of shifting all the time. It drops when I'm pulling my cargo trailer by about 5-6 MPG depending on how I'm driving.

Hope this helps!!!

 

[bytehoven]

OK...

1st major truck mod will happen Monday when I put a set of 305/65R17 BFG T/A KOs on the Ram. :hmm3grin2orange: Well, maybe that's only a mini mod, but it will certainly help off road, as well as provide better on road manners than the Rugged Trail tires.

The tire dealer next to the Dodge factory here, is cutting me a trade in deal like he did with my '99 Durango.

I did call a few other tire stores, and almost all of them were willing to take my new tires on trade. The final net cost was different from dealer to dealer, but it's something to consider if the stock rubber needs a tweak.

Now all I need is a couple of skid plates and I'll be ready for some familiar trails.

:biggrinbounce2:

 

[dhoganjr]

Update on Thread #32

Slipped up on Thread #32. Originally said new 6.7L Cummins would have a new 5-speed auto. It will have a 6-speed automatic. Edited previous thread to show the correct info.

Also you can't really tell it's a diesel when it's running. As quiet, if not quieter than a gas engine. And they eliminated the high-pitched chirp when you shut the engine off.