I have an 05 1500QC 4X4 5.7L. with 93,000 miles. I first leased it and am now buying it with about 4 years left to pay. Big $$$$ negative equity when I bought it. I have taken great care of the truck maintenance wise. Unexpected repairs have been new exhaust manifold, fuel pump, front shocks and ball joints. I drive about 13,000 a year now with a 15 minute drive to work each day and have been towing a camper with a bed load of firewood about 2000 miles a year. I just bought a new camper that is bigger and heavier but within the range of a NEW 1500 without the firewood. My father-in-law has a similar trailer and truck but with out the 20" tires or three kids and all their crap and does fine.

If I keep this truck I need to rebuild my rear end, replace the sagging rear springs (with heavy duty) and replace one rear brake caliper. My other option is to buy a 2012 2500 with the Hemi and the Outdoorsman package and a 4.10 rear end.

I was hoping to keep the 05 for 20 years. I just think I use it for more than it was built for.

What are your thoughts?

 

with the 2012, they are nice trucks, but 30k, vs fixing and upgrading your 05 would cost roughly 2-5k if you did it yourself. I would keep it. Plus the market for those trucks hasnt taken off yet, so good luck trying to get upgraded parts for cheap.

 

Do the necessary repairs, add airbags and keep on with your 05

 

The cost of a new one is not all that important. With the 8000 dollars I plan to put down, I could buy a 1500 For 50 dollars more a month than I'm paying now in and only extend my payments 3 years. The 2500 would be 100 more a month than that.


The 05 has rust bubbles on the rear fenders. I know it's not a major deal, but it is disappointing to me.

 

if your good at some body work, then sand the paint down, use rust convertor, and paint it back up. Not really hard.

 

The Outdoorsman is a nice package, I have the TRX4 which was re-named in 11'. I do not know weight of the camper you tow. A 1500 is a half ton so you need to keep that in mind. If your springs are sagging I would guess you are overloaded. Maybe a used 3/4 may suit your needs. In my area there is a 11' Outdoorsman leftover, the sticker is around $40,000 and the dealership has it marked down to $30,000 give or take. That is a good deal.

 

I'll be the little red devil on your shoulder.... GET THE 2012 2500! You know you want it...

 

Wow! so you have an '05 and still have 4 years to pay and if you get a new truck you'll be extended for an additional 3 years and be paying for the new truck until 2019+?. Is the 8 grand the trade in value of your truck or cash you have outside the deal? The gen 4 hemi is a great engine, so going for a new truck is definitely a good thing. The money commitment though would scare me. If you have the $8k in cash, fix your truck up and pay off the loan ASAP and get some breathing room. You can beef up the suspension and put in a better towing ratio for your '05 for a couple of grand. Sounds like you really want a new truck though.

 

The max trailer weight is 7600 #'s, max tongue weight is 1250#. Unloaded I am at about 5000 and 740. I do not know the weight of the wood I load up.

Yes I leased the truck with a trade in of another lease that was not up. I moved to an area that the car would not get me to in bad weather and our pregnancy turned into twins. I bought out the lease after 4 years of the 5 year lease.

If I trade I will loose 3k on the trade. I will have 8k +/- 2k for fixing or replacing. I am just concerned the 1500 will not hold up.

I already have the 3.92. with the 4X4 I can only go up to 4.10. Not much difference for the cost. I do have the 20" wheels, unfortunately.

 

my honest opinion if your going to upgrade would be go with a cummins