I ended up getting a lucky break and found an '05 4x4 hemi quad cab with 100k even for less than 10k. I chose it for the lowest miles and a newer year, though it also has some bubbling over the rear wheels. I will miss the transfer case lever, as this '05 has ****-wheel-drive.

Great truck though, and it's beyond any concerns of early hemi valve spring issues. That was another buying point, and thanks to the people in this forum, I made a more informed buying choice--THANKS!!!!

 

The ****-o-matic doesn't carry a risk of the shift linkage falling onto the road while you drive either. Neither system has reliability issues so enjoy the ****.

Now back to my guaranteed-to-fail valve springs! (and 76k on the odometer )

 

If I was to pick my single favorite year it would be the '05. No MDS, torsion front and a more tunable PCM than the '04...

 

Great--that's all I need to worry about now is having to get a tuner. I've never owned a vehicle I could tune before....

Speaking of computer, the trip computer claimed I got 17.9MPG on my 200 mile commute home (all freeway). I didn't refill the tank yet, so I can't verify, but that's DARN GOOD if it's anywhere near accurate. Either way, I'm glad you guys talked me in to the Hemi, and I'm glad I had a smart phone. I found this truck while we were commuting to go look at and buy an '03. The '05 was nice enough I didn't even bother to look at the '03.

 

If you're happy with 18mpg, great. I've always gotten better than that, unless you were doing over 65mph the majority of the time, or towing...

Good luck with the tuner. I assume they work for 99% of people who buy them. I bought my truck stock off of a dealer lot and nobody ever touched the computer. But I bought a superchips a couple of years ago and could never get it to accept the stock settings in my truck. The tuner kept saying my settings were not stock and it won't load a new tune until it successfully recognizes and saves your current settings as stock. Worked with tech support for weeks and nobody could figure it out. So, I just sold it.

 

Huh--so I should actually be getting better than 17.9mpg? That would sure be fantastic. I was used to 13mpg on a good day with my '98 5.9L magnum (owned and sold the '98 a few years ago). I won't be looking forward to doing plugs on the hemi though--it doesn't look fun. But doing a cap/rotor/wires on the 5.9L was not fun either, if I am remembering it right. Pretty much couldn't see the cap/rotor at all and had to do it all by feel. Hopefully the coil packs on these hemi's are reliable. I didn't see any posts/issues about them during my brief research on a 3rd Gen. Ram. I have a realative with a F#rd and they seem to be losing coil packs and plugs all the time.

Getting back to fuel economy, I was indeed doing 70mph and it was fairly windy. For such a large truck to even get 17.9mpg is rather surprising (and I don't have MDS).

 

I don't have MDS either, obviously, and glad I don't. I hear you on the hemi vs. the magnum. I went from a 2000 Off-Road Laramie with the 5.9 to my hemi and anything over 13 or 14 mpg was a welcomed improvement. If you were doing 70 against the wind and got 18mpg on average, probably not bad at all. Give me a 55mph flat road where I can set the cruise at about 61 or 62, and I've seen mine darn close to 20mpg. Give that a shot and see where you come out. I suspect you are in the ballpark.

The plugs are not the most fun thing to replace on the hemi. First of all, there are 16 of them, not 8, and you do need a combination of u-joints on your socket wrench to get at some of them. But, doing it yourself might be more fun than you'll experience when you ask for a quote to have someone else do it. Fortunately, the hemi prefers basic plugs over the fancy, more expensive, precious metal and/or split tipped ones. So, the parts aren't that expensive to buy. With the right tools, some patience, and a 6-pack, it's not an impossible job. I just took them one at a time so as not to get the wires mixed up (did that once on my old jeep and it was a mess). I did the ones that were easy to get at first to get a feel for it. I've only done mine once, even though I'm at 90k miles now. I should be getting ready for my third plug change. But, I was ignorant until I joined this forum. Until this truck, I was used to driving something a couple of years and trading it for something else. I was also used to vehicles that would go longer before needing plugs. And, due to that, I have never been much in the habit of reading maintenance schedules and keeping up with what needs to be done. By the time any of my other vehicles needed that kind of work, I was rid of them. Found this forum and realized, at about 65k miles, that I should have changed my plugs twice by then, and hadn't even done it once. Fortunately, truck was still running great, mpg's were still right on, and the plugs didn't show any ill effects when I took them out.

I haven't needed new coils yet and don't recall seeing complaints about them here on this board.

 

I just got a 06 4x4 shorted Reg cab with 70k miles for 12k. It's a 4.7 and mint. Carmax has a 02 4x4 same as mine with standard trans for $11500 in Knoxville tn.