The scope of the issue in this thread isn't even as large as that Silver.

This thread is specifically about PROBLEMS with these trucks. I just find it silly that people come in here knowing well in advance that all they are going to see are people venting about their trucks, and then get butthurt when someone says something they don't like.

 

amen to that

my truck runs like a champ & i run the hell out of it

but i've heard thats actually better for it, to drive hard than to just baby it along, and its a good test on a diesel (wish i had one) if your taking it for a test drive, to make a few WOT runs, less soot usually means it's been driven hard (good) unless it's modded, then that soot is just gallons of half burnt diesel....which is fun

 

I just read through these pages and couldn't believe the way some are making these trucks sound. Sure SOME will have a bunch of issues, but they will happen over time and generally be an easy fix.
I think your best bet for a reliable truck (Ram) is to find as low mileage as you can, and one that at least "Looks" taken care of. Your much more likely to have better luck with a low mileage, well taken care of truck than anything else. I personally bought my 2001 Ram Sport 1500 5.9 4x4 with 40k miles on it. The only problem it had was it would ping at higher RPM's. I never really found out what the problem was because I didn't bury the throttle all the time. I traded her in with 77k miles and she still never had a single issue. My truck was stock, I did every oil change at 3000 miles, I did work it by hauling wood and towing my boat, but I also was fairly smart about things as well.

Example- in the mornings, especially cold ones, start the truck, put the ebrake on, and shift into Neutral. These trannies don't circulate fluid while in park so if you put it in neutral the tranny will be warmed up as well and ready to go.

I never had a cracked dash, 4x4 issues, tranny issue, rear end problem,etc.

I currently own a 2003 Dakota Quad Cab with 80k miles that I use to Plow with a 7.6' Fisher Minute mount and this truck gets worked the hardest but I'm looking for a 99-02 Ram 2500 to get back into as my plowing/property management business is starting to take off.

Don't get scared away, because even the "almighty" Toyota's were recalled and crushed because their frames rusted out and snapped in half (oh yeah, the 2000-2004's are having the frames replaced).

 

Lets not forget that the newest trucks here are approximatly 8 years old, You would be pretty hard pressed to find any thing that old that does not have its problems. My Ram has 250,000 miles on it and I would still line it up next any thing else out there.
Dodge decided to build a truck again when they introduced the Gen 2. Also keep in mind that unless you have money or knowledge then you have no business with any older truck 2 or 4 wheel drive.

 

You tell 'em "EStech2"...right fu*k'in on! * (mechanic-28-years/bodyman/14-year old Dodge Ram Sport owner/44-years fk'in crazy!!)

 

people who come to internet forums devoted to specific vehicles have an issue that they are looking to fix. so most people on here have had a broken truck a time or two and that is what you see being discussed around these parts.

a lot of the trucks on here have between 100k and 250k miles on average and are 8 to 15 years old, so they're going to have worn out parts that need replacing.

as said already, all of the other brands have their own sets of commonly broken parts and parts that wear out over time (and many miles). what has been listed here is what normally breaks or wears out... eventually.

 

Long story short, Why reinvent the wheel? This Forum has saved me a lot of time and money, not to mention I enjoy the camaraderie, my only gripe is the lack of hot chicks!

 

Well yeah,...but we have the next best thing right here on DF....visit us over on, "The Golden Poon" thread!

 

Nope only ones from one of the 3 American car companies and Dodge has been the worst of my experience with those. Had a old Ram 50 which was also the same as the Mitsubishi Mighty Max and it was great. So got this Ram and like I said it's always been a money pit. Also have had a Chevy car that's not been great but it's also not been anywhere near as bad as this truck.


Now I've also had Honda's one with a lot more miles than this truck and a lot older and I've not had near the problems with any of them.

I also have had motorcycles and for the most part I've had good luck with them. Only had one dirt bike I had to do a lot to. Really to be honest the Dodge and the Chevy are the only two vehicles I've really had all that bad of luck with and the Chevy hasn't been near as bad as the Dodge.

 

I halfway agree with this. I say halfway because I'm a member on several other forums for other makes of vehicles. In general people do come on forums to complain and ask for help fixing the issues. However, on some others like the Honda forum I visit which seems to be a lot more active than this site seems to have a lot less posts about problems than this one. I can't say for 100% as I haven't compared the number of posts about problems and am not going to but I don't see thread after thread of problems with the same things over and over. If I do it's like I said one or two things that are complained about not a huge list.

I also often see threads about how Honda has released a fix for the problem. Not threads saying that Dodge wont admit they have problems or design a death flash to cover up the problem.