Ok, so after my poor baby Dakota became deceased, I have been trying to determine what Dodge truck to get. It must be a 1500 (personal preference) and be "good" despite "good" being such a relative term. I have narrowed it down to 2 options.
2005 SLT Quad Cab Fully Loaded w/ bed cap
2013 Tradesman Regular Cab, Long Bed

So far all of my comparing has lead me to lean toward the '05 since it is in mint condition, fully loaded and has A LOT more aftermarket support than the '13. I am also leaning toward the '05 since it is HEMI, Tow Package, and cheap relative to a new 1500.

The Tradesman will basically be option-less except for cloth seat over vinyl since that is basically what I can afford.

This is where you fine folks come in to play. I need to know what you guys/gals think I should get. If you could please support with "generic" price difference in insurance of used vs new vehicles and any first-hand information regarding problems for the '05 model year.

Now in addition to that, would someone be able to further define the "Tow Package" option for me. I understand it to be Class 4 hitch, 3.92:1 gearing and Trailer pin connections.


By the way, I posted in this forum section since it seemed more appropriate considering as how most of my questions revolve around the '05 1500.

Thanks
- Dutch

 

Trailer tow comes standard on the Tradesman models. Class IV hitch with wiring. Standard gears are 3.55 with the 3.92 being a $50 option. Trailer tow mirrors are also optional.

 

Have you thought about a Cummins Diesel? You can find one used for around the same as a new 2013 Trademan... just a thought...

 

Get the 05 TJ!

 

I have to go with the 05 as well. But I prefer QCs to RC and I personally don't like LBs either. Tradesman also come with Hemis as standard since that was it's main selling point. I say go for the 05 though, how many miles on it?

 

05 was imo the best 3rd gen year for buying a used truck for many reasons, if you've found a good one, go for it. But in addition I also find the QC much more useful than the RC, so that influences my decision a bit.

 

Alright... so far the consensus is to go with the '05. I myself am leaning heavily toward that option.
The money is mostly coming from my parents since I don't have enough money to really buy anything decent. They want to get the '13 Ram, since in their mind it will have less issues during a college commute. To quote my old man on that "when you are missing exams and classes due to a truck that broke down, you will be regretting ever purchasing a used vehicle" and to top that off, "I don't think you should be 'buying' into someone else's problems."

From my research, a Tradesman has the 4.7L, crank windows, manual door locks, vinyl seats and living up in the northeast... 4-wheel drive.

The '05 I am looking at has 75,000 miles and is $17,000. The '13 is 0 miles (I hope) but a little less than $28,000.
I have looked at Cummins-powered Rams and determined that with the way fuel prices are now, I would be better off waiting for a more stable/more permanent job to bother with a Diesel.

I am still looking for the '05 Tow Package description, so if anyone can help me out with that, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

As long as you find an 05 that's well taken care of by a private owner or tuned up by a dealer you won't have many, if any, issues with it. To be honest if you're parents think a RCLB is a better vehicle for college then a QCSB their crazy. I have a QCSB and it's perfect. I've seen people on campus with RCLB and the ratio is about 45 QCSBs to 1 RCLB. Being in college I'm glad I have a QC. Means more money for gas when I take friends places.

 

I agree the qc would win me over every day of the week vs a reg cab. I had a reg cab for 3 years and every day i wished I would have bought a qc (got my mega cab truck today though).

Long bed trucks can be nice and useful if you haul anything at all if you dont haul anything then theres not much point. My buddy has a 99 reg cab chevy long bed and we used it to move vs my 03 dodge sb and my boxes fit perfect in back of my truck while there was enough extra space in his long bed to allow my stuff to slide when we stacked to capacity.

 

Man, I wish my parents would buy me a '13 1500. As for the tow package vs no tow package, the big thing to look for is a transmission cooler, if you plan on doing any sizeable towing. A hitch, wiring, and brake controller should be no more than $400 and 3 hours install time . . . not much when you are talking about an investment like a new (or newish) truck.

FYI, my old 89 served me well for 35,000 miles of college and work commuting before fuel prices made me buy a ranger too. And I only ever had to work on it in a parking lot once, but that's my fault, since i tore a wheel bearing seal and then drove through mud. And yes, having a regular cab and being a college student sucks sometimes.