ok looking for a truck.. this will be my first truck. i REALLY want a 09 ram but its out of my price range for what im looking for. i can swing 20k (5k down) so 15k from the bank..

so im looking at a Dakota (4 door crew cab)..id like a v8 with a manuel tranny but im not to picky

When i looked at a chevy i wanted the z71 for that more "beefed up" look..from my research the TRX is dodges z71 pretty much

any rust issues?

any known issues i need to be looking for?

whats the biggest tires i can get on the stock rims that doesnt stick outside the fenders (state law)

is there a good place for a cb radio?

anything else i should be asking?

and id love to have a 7in touch screen replace the radio.. is this possible? iv been looking for pictures to see if it looks good and cant find any..


this will be my daily driver and i will probably put well over 200k on it so reliability is a must here..i drive 30min one way to work so MPG isnt a huge concern

 

The joys of owning a Dakota far outweigh the (many) issues that can befall our beloved trucks....do some searching on here for front end issues (struts, tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc), thats where the bulk of the problems are due to crappy factory struts....and welcome to the forum. Getting a 6 speed V8 is going to be tough, they are rare.

 

First of all welcome to the forum. If you are looking for a Dakota I would look for an 08 or newer with the new 4.7L V8. I drive an 05 and didn't have any issues until I hit the 100,00 mark. My Alternator, battery, A/C compressor all died after the 100k mark, lol. Other than that, I love my truck.

 

i found my cb on kijiji and it fits nicely under the dash, 265/75r16 is a pretty common size for a beefed up tire on the daks, i think altair has a double din hmmmm, the front stock suspension is pretty week. rancho makes an upgrade no real lift available 2" level kit is about all and 3"body lift, and after market support is pretty weak but there is options. thats all i can think of im sure some one else will add good choice on the v8 though 305hp (08+) and is supposedly rated better on mpg than the v6

 

not getting a 6 speed isnt a deal killer.. i just like them...maybe ill get lucky haha

 

in 08-09 did the TRX off road come with leather seats? not a deal killer either but i was wanting leather seats

im on dodges site and trying ro learn the difference between the big horn, TRX, and laramie

 

Laramie's been around since the 3rd gen was introduced in 05. It is basically the top of the line trim package, leather, etc. I'm not sure when the TRX and Big Horn came about, I'm thinking the "4th" gen, 08's and on...

 

what i was trying to figure out is the difference between the models.. like you said the Laramie has the upgraded trim leather etc, im leaning towards this

the TRX is off road?

BigHorn/Loanstar?? as far as i can tell it has a different badge? lol

I also see the SLT.. no clue on that one either..
im doing research so dont think im not looking around

sorry for being a moron.. i just know all the chevy stuff.. first time iv really looked into a dodge

 

lol...i know your looking in the right places, Dodge's website is not much help, I know, I looked there too. There is an ST which I believe is the base model, then the SLT, which is middle of the road and then the top of the line Laramie. Big Horn/Lonestar are just extra option packages that you can get with the 3 models, i.e. you could have a Bighorn SLT o a Lonestar Laramie (I think....lol). Honestly, I did most of my research on Carmax, just searched for Dakotas all over the country and started with that. I had no idea about Dodges being a former Chevy/Nissan man myself. I just looked and looked and started seeing things I liked and would want in my truck, the Laramie had everything I wanted.

 

No front end issues?? Thats promising man!