The mileage difference on the 08 stickers is 17hwy for a 4x4 and 18hwy for a 2wd.

I personally have a 2wd and I made it through the recent snow/ice storm that crippled Kentucky with no problems. The LSD in the rear did great and I never got stuck once.
I traded in a 4x4 and went to 2wd and have no regrets. A 4x4 would be nice to use once in 3 to 5 years here, but not worth the extra expense and decrease in mileage for me.

 

I'm gonna go do burnouts now.

However that LSD didn't do me any good when I got stuck in the sand at the beach. It's a terrible feeling when you get stuck and everyone is looking at you, then a 4 cyl jeep wrangler pulls you out.

However #2, I have Goodyear Wrangler SR-A tires which would get a lawnmower stuck in dry grass.

 

wow i didn't expect so many replies so soon lol....ummm not sure about price range....mom has alot of medical bills and stuff so our income is used up pretty quick....so i'm pretty much depending on whatever money i get from grandparents/other family members for graduation...im thinking somewhere between $3,000-$5,000 max...so obviously we're gonna have to make payments on whatever i get..and after i get a job i'll be helping with car payments/insurance...but i'd really like a truck...

 

Don't expect to get a good ram for that kind of money. If the vehicle is that cheap it will likely be much older, parts will be going bad soon and more often and you'll end up paying a lot on repairs. If you want something decent your best bet is to get a loan through a bank and use that $3-5k as a good down payment. Look at it this way, for every $1k you finance your monthly payment will go up roughly $20. I bought my 2006 ram for $14k.

It all depends on your financial situation though. If you have to pay for college and stuff then it might be hard for you to afford the monthly payments along with insurance and gas.

 

in that case you might still be able to pick up a good second gen dakota for a good price thats in good condition.

 

Look on craigslist and autotrader.com and avoid the dealers for the most part. You could probably get an 03 4.7 regular cab 2wd for under $5000 if you look. I got my 04 Hemi quad cab 4x4 for 8,500 off craigslist so I'm sure you'll find something.

 

After driving pickup trucks for many years, I've finally purchased my first 4X4 and I don't regret it at all. However the "poor mans 4X4" being a LSD equipped truck is a reasonable alternative, for a lot of applications. I like the Daks in general but wanted more interior room and a 6' bed, so a Dak wasn't really an option, still a good choice if you can make it work. If I were in your situation I 'd consider a regular cab, short bed 4X2, with the 4.7, manual transmission and LSD in a 2nd generation 1500 in order to keep my costs down and still stay in a full sized truck. Shop around this is a good time to acquire a good truck for reasonable money.

 

Why don't you get a job first and then think about a truck...instead of possibly putting your mom in a worse financial position then she is already in. If you realllly wanted a nice truck you would've been working a long time ago...whether it's shoveling ****, wiping old peoples corn holes or flipping burgers. Get a beater from your grad money and skip the payments BS.

/rant

 

^ nuff said...

 

On the other hand, a job may not be an option until transportation is available, so using the graduation money for a vehicle maybe the route to go.