Hey guys, first off, I hope I'm in the right section of the forum.

Secondly, I've never owned a truck in my life, but I love the look of the newer style Dodge rams. Recently I was in a pretty bad motorcycle wreck, and got rattled pretty bad. Long story short, I want a larger truck to keep things safe for the time being. I have been a fan of the dodge stylings for a while now, and have narrowed down that the 2006 ram 1500 might be the truck for me. But I have a few questions for you guys.

My main concern, that list about common breakages, failures, and weak links seems pretty intimidating. How common are most of those problems? I realize thats a broad list for quite a few years, so I'm guessing my truck wont have every single problem on that list? Also, I don't expect to be doing much towing, or heavy hauling. To give you a background, I'm 19, working at Lowe's hardware, and just looking for a truck to back and forth to work, and maybe play in the mud on the weekends. I'm not looking for a work truck to tow big trailers or anything large. Maybe put a motorcycle in the bed, or help a friend move at the most.

My end goal for this truck is to have either a leveling kit, or 3 inches of lift on the truck, with approx. 35-37 inch tires. I know thats a good way to kill gas milage, increase roll-over potential, ruin the truck, etc, but to each his own I guess. Do this truck sit well with lift kits? I know thats a really awkward question, and probably hard to answer, but I guess I'm asking, is putting a lift kit under this truck going to cause more headache than enjoyment?

I'm looking for a 4 door model, since I have a big family, and will need to transport brothers and sisters. Is there anything that specifically applies to the quad cabs, such as problems, or things to watch out for? They still sit on the 1500 frame, if I understand correctly?

Sorry for the long winded post, but I was trying to keep all my noob questions contained to one post. Also, if there is anything that's already been written up pertaining to what I've asked, if you could link me to it, I am more than glad to read!

Thanks in advance for helping me out!

 

The problems aren't that bad truthfully. You may have an issue here and there but that is the same with any brand you get. As far as weak links, that really is depending on how the truck is used and what it is put through. I have an 07 1500 and haven't had any isues over and above what would be expected on any brand vehicle. True, the front end components look a little weak and small for a full size truck, but if used how intended shouldn't be an issue. I've turned 35's for 50,000 miles as my daily driver and used it on the beach as my off-roading and haven't had any isues yet.
Some will say the front end is too weak, but they may be using it above and beyond what it was designed for. It is after all, only a 1/2 ton. I had a couple of late 70's ford 1/2 tons, which are about as bullet proof as a 1/2 ton can get and they had plenty of front end issues. I went with tires too big for those front ent ends and I kept breaking things because of them. 1/2 ton trucks, no matter when built, just weren't designed for 38+" tires.
At least with my Ram, I can actually stop. The brakes on those old trucks barely stopped the vehicle with stock tires
In that regards, if you are looking to just level it and put no more then 35" tires on you're rig with some light off roading a 1500 would be fine. However, if you feel you will go more extreme and would really like 37" + tires and a larger lift then ,look for a 2500 as they are a heavier duty truck. Easier and cheaper to lift, even bigger brakes, and beefier axles. For the uses that you described though, a 1500 would be plenty good and hold up well, with the exception of 37's.

 

Also it will haul all the toys a 19 year old has and even more toy that others have. It has much more utility, with a tough stature. It stands better than a car in most real world scenarios, except MPG and acceleration. Moving to truck is great fun.

Good luck and be safe

 

What list of breakages, failures and weak links?

My '04 will be eight years old next month (bought it new in April '04) and I've had it in for a busted stock shock before it was a year old - PERIOD!
I had my 2nd Gen Ram ('98 5.9 RC 4x4) for 4 years and 68,000 miles and when I traded it in it had never seen the dealer for any warranty repairs.
The truck I had prior to my '98 Ram was a '97 Furd F150 4x4, bought new that had a piston crack (major engine failure) with only 14k miles on it.

The only VERY common issue I know of is with trucks equipped with the factory LSD - now that particular item is a failure waiting to happen.

Yeah, front end components wear a bit prematurely, but so do the other IFS trucks on the market. Which BTW, if you plan on ANYTHING over 35" tires, then you're looking at the wrong trucks, NO IFS (CV half-shaft) truck is gonna handle tires over 35" and I don't care who makes it. You need to be looking at a SFA (solid front axle) truck, be it Furd, Cheby or Ram if you want to go that high and that big.

 

Thanks for pointing that out. Are there any aftermarket upgrades for either the front end suspension or the LSD? Will a front end leveling kit or small kit kit cause the problems to develop quicker?

Also, I'm fairly competent with engines. Is there any obnoxious qualities on either the V8 model or the V6 model? Meaning anything that's odd compared to most internal combustion engines.

 

I have had my '06 for about a year and a half now. The first thing I did to it was to level it with a 2" leveling kit and I have had no isssues so far. (knock on wood) When I was tossing the idea of a level around I read alot of posts here and the majority of people were saying to go with the 2" instead of the 2 1/2" due to the fact of the added stress on the IFS. Plus alot of the people that had gotten the 2 1/2" were actually taking them off and going with the 2". I agree with hammer, I have really had no problems so far with the exception of the common maintenance issues.

 

I'll start with the leveling kit. Yes, because a level kit is a "poor man's lift" it has drawbacks. I'm going to omit the '02-'05 torsion bar front end IFS because you say you are looking at an '06 (which is the first year of 1500 coil-over IFS for Rams.

Level kits have no provision to keep components at stock angles like a well-made full suspension lift does. That said, stress is added proportionately, so the higher the level, the worse the risk for failure. The stock CV axles are rated for -/+ 20* of stock angle. 2" is considered the maximum safe amount for a level kit - people do have more, but the risk of failure increases.

Suspension kits vary in quality and functionality. As a rule, the more stock suspension components the kit replaces with beefier ones, the better the kit is. Keep in mind that with an IFS truck there is no solid axle to build off of, so the kit must have some kind of support system. Inexpensive kits have a single cross-member, better kits have dual cross-members and the best kits have a full sub-frame and usually replace a good many front end components.

As far as engine choices, I'd just flat out not even consider the 3.7 V6 on a full size truck unless I was looking RCSB 4x2 AND never planned on mods or larger tires.
The 4.7 is a solid engine - it's only two real flaws are it's prone to failures from engine sludge - which is easily avoidable with a good oil change routine. The other flaw is potentially a major one - it's aluminum heads DO NOT rebound well from an overheat. It doesn't take a major overheat to warp aluminum heads and many guys who suffer an overheat suffer a torn head gasket at best and destroyed heads at worst. Again - the likelihood of overheating can be held to a minimum with good coolant system maintenance.
The Hemi - and again we'll go with '06+ which coincides with the introduction of MDS which shuts down 4 cylinders when conditions dictate. The Hemi has proven to be the most bullet-proof of the engine choices for 3rd Gen Rams. It also offers a solid 100 HP and 100 TQ advantage over the 4.7 (although in '08 the 4.7 was re-vamped and closed this gap some).

Personally, I'd look at the Hemi and the biggest reason is that for all it's extra power it gets about the same fuel economy as the 4.7 (and some say better in the larger QC 4x4 trucks). Since to me, the ONLY advantage of a smaller engine is fuel economy - in this case there is none, so unless you're just blown away by the purchase price of a 4.7, there is no reason to look that way over a Hemi.

Hope this helps some...

 

Yes, this is an excellent write up. Now a few more questions. Instead of a leveling kit, should I spill the extra beans and get a full blown suspension kit to save me headache later on?

Secondly, I haven't done an exceeding Amount of research on pricing, other than Kelly blue book. I know KBB can be a, little off compared to real world prices sometimes. I'd there

 

Yes, this is an excellent write up. Now a few more questions. Instead of a leveling kit, should I spill the extra beans and get a full blown suspension kit to save me headache later on?

Secondly, I haven't done an exceeding Amount of research on pricing, other than Kelly blue book. I know KBB can be a, little off compared to real world prices sometimes. Is there a real big price difference between the hemi vs the 4.7? I mean having the hemi badge is neat, but I don't need the power.

 

Check inside the door seams for rust, commom issue on my 06 2500. Pretty much all the brands have thier issues as your looking at 6 year+ old
truck