Have had my '04 Dak for about 5.5yrs now, only has 115K on it, no big issues and not tired of it or anything, still think these are some of the best looking trucks ever made, but the family has grown since I bought it and the kids are getting bigger and the back seat seems to be getting smaller.

Was considering stepping up to a Ram, but not a huge fan of full size pickups, they just seem like a pain, both to get stuff in and out of the bed and also parking/driving in an urban/suburban area like I live in. Don't really want to drive around in a huge tank all over everywhere I go. I'm actually surprised by how many I see these days.....none of which are used for any kind of work.

Don't want to get it for a bit more room/comfort in the back seat and then find that it's a pain to park or drive around in and have a chore every time I want to lift something in/out of the bed.

Wondering if anyone else here ever went up to a Ram, hated it and moved back to a Dak. Or any other midsize/full size combo regardless of make.....but this is a Dak forum so.....

Thanks for any insight or any efforts to talk me out of making a mistake.

 

Not me. I never once wanted/needed/desired a full size pickup.

Moved to general discussions.

 

I'm on my second Dakota in 25 years. The first was a 90 that I bought new and kept until I got the current one, the '01 also bought new. The total miles on both vehicles is around 150K in all that time. I've drooled over the new Ram for quite a while, but last weekend my wife and I took a 400 mile round trip from Long Island to the Berkshires and when all was said and done the Dakota fits our bill better than any full sized truck ever could. Besides the monetary difference even with looking at Toyota Tacomas I can't push myself into changing my Dakota. I own it, it runs great, and after a repaint in the spring it'll look like new too.

 

they look bigger but drive so much better.

power, fuel mileage, ride are so much better in a new ram than an old dakota. the only thing worse is the $ of a new one. cost of 20" tires yuck.

 

Now see that is one of the reasons I am asking about a Ram. I looked into some of the newer midsize offerings, Colorado and Tacoma, while they are a bit bigger than my Dak, it's not a whole lot but the price tag is.

They are pretty evenly priced with a full size and I can't see paying the same price for a smaller truck that gets basically the same mileage as a full size....so I came back around to a Ram, but then the whole wheel base/parking/width thing came into my mind.

I have no use for a full size towing or hauling wise, the bed size on my Dak is fine for what I need, that back seat is where I need it and doesn't look like any midsize has the room.

 

Okay, first ...what Dakota are you driving... quad cab or other? For me, the QC is pretty decent space.

Secondly, when you say "Ram"... are you talking about older Dodge Ram, or newer Ram brand exclusively? A lot of the older ones have the same size engines as the Dakotas, with more heft to lug around. Personally, I love the QC with 4.7L. Fits me just fine. I do like the RAMs but I'd wait for major redesign of the body style. They seem to be very ubiquitous nowadays.

 

Bought our Quad cab Dakota new back in 2004. At the time, it had the best back seat room of any comparably sized trucks. Was going to trade it in last year on a new Ram, but the newer full sized trucks are just HUGE! The bed height is so tall that you can't even reach over the side to get anything out of the bed anymore. Decided that our Dakota quad cab is just the right size for us. Hope they start building Dakotas again, rumor mill says they will, especially since the Ford Ranger is being made again.

On the way to Alaska

 

Welcome to the forum Johnhag. I agree, the new Rams are huge! I parked beside one the other day and swore it was a 2500 or 3500.