Dodge Ram 1500

[TuxedoPk]

I was all settled on upping my budget to 15k to buy a Ford truck prior to AOTH when this fell in my lap today. I was down at the marina and mentioned that I was shopping for a tow vehicle and they said a woman was just in trying to sell her deceased husband's boat and truck.

The truck is a 2002 Quad Cab Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4x4 w/4.7 magnum v8 engine, auto trans/air/am-fm-no cd/17" wheels, cloth seats 33,000 miles

She said the original window sticker was $37k, sale price $17k... maybe $16k if I push a little bit.

NADA shows this as $19,575 trade in, $22,625 retail.

Most important question- is the 4.6 engine going to be too small to pull the 24' Doral.

Otherwise, how does the price sound to what you've seen others actually selling at.

[Ranman]

Not to insult anyone, but $37K MSRP seems high for a Ram with a 4.7 and cloth seats. Heck, I'd be surprised if you could buy ANY 2002 RAM (gas) for $37K. That was the sticker on my last F-150 SuperCrew Lariat. I can tell you I bought the most expensive one on the lot at the time.

Regardless, of the MSRP, $17K doesn't sound too bad a deal. My old F-150 with 28K Miles sold for $23,000 a few weeks ago. :) :)

Just be sure to do your homework.

[TuxedoPk]

You are probably right- she most likely misread $27k as $37k.

Your old F150 was exactly what I would like, just a few years older. I'll take a look at the Ram tomorrow and unless I get it for a really great price I'm going to stick to my original plan for a Ford F150.

Q- Will the 4.6 eliminate my ability to tow the Doral?

[boxy]

Tx, I have a 98 quad cab 4x4 SLT with a 5.9 L, my wife drives a 02 Durango with the 4.7 L. The 4.7 L is putting out only a few HP's less than my 5.9 L. The 4.7 seems to be a great motor, lots of power, but it is pretty tough on fuel. I have not towed with it, but I can't see there being a problem towing your Doral with the 4.7 L.

[springs]

I drive a 98' 4x4 QuadCab w/ a 5.2 the earlier equilevent to the 4.7 and I have no problem pulling my 25' Grady full of fuel. I don't think you have any problems towing.

[Mac]

A couple things make that truck undesireable in my mind. It was the first year of that body style and independent front suspension, the 1500s from '02 on have known front brake problems. The 4.7 is the least desireable engine as they came out with the Hemi shortly there after, the 4.7 gets bad gas mileage and works real hard in a full size truck. You would be better to find a '03 2500 with the 5.7L Hemi, the standard engine. The solid front end on the 2500s is way stronger and simpler than the independent on the 1500. The brakes are also a huge improvment on the 2500. Right now Dodge has pretty aggressive rebates and 0% for 48 months, many of the dealers are selling the trucks for $500 under invoice. Unless you are paying cash it may be cheaper for you and you will have a great warrantee to get a new one.

[need for speed]

I drive a 03 Ram quad cab 4.7 no problems. It does not work hard at all...... It pulls my 22 with no problem at all I have towed a lot with it and she pulls just fine for a 1500...From what I hear the hemi is the one that really sucks down the gas.....Just my 2 cents..

[TuxedoPk]

Driving home from looking at the damage a backhoe/loader did to my house today I stumbled across a truck that I think I'm going to purchase tomorrow.

2001 Silver Quad Cab Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie 4x4 Automatic
17,000 miles on 5.9 engine
Excellent condition inside/out
Has heavy duty towing package
8' Bed with Liner

Price $16,500 Private Seller

I took it for a test drive and it felt comfortable and solid.

This is a no brainer vs. the 1500 and I haven't been able to find a Ford with low miles for anywhere in the ballpark.

Any final comments or suggestions I should know about before plunking down the cash tomorrow?

The only think I've heard about this model/year is some problems with the trans. Anyone have any issues with this?

Thanks again for everyone who has helped me to buy my first tow vehicle- your feedback has been very enlightening.

[Mac]

Seems like a good deal, if you have kids you may want to consider getting the new body style as the rear opening doors are a huge advantage for getting them in and out. I found an add for the local dealer, I cannot read the fine print but it could be worth checking out, same dealer had an add for Infinitys my father in law who lives in NJ also used it for leverage with the local dealer.

[kjly63]

T-Park,
I bought a 2003 1500 quad cab with the hemi. Sticker price was 36K, I paid $28,300.
Great truck. I have a 20' Cig and a 24 ft pontoon boat. I pulled the pontoon boat to Lake George last year and didn't feel as if I was towing anything. And beleive me, pulling a pontoon boat is usually like towing a parachute.
Did have to replace the front rotors at 7000 mi. Since then, no problems at 20k mi.
Best thing about the truck is you can seat 6 adults fairly comfortable.
good luck,
Kenny

[TuxedoPk]

Mac- I don't have kids. The only time I think I'll be putting passengers in the back seat is taking my 3 nephews (7-12) for a 30 minute ride to the marina and back. I wish it was a 2002 with the new style but I've gone from O-Sh@t I need a tow vehicle now that I've got a boat, to trying to buy a $10k truck just for towing and keeping my car, to accepting the boards comments about buying a real truck and upping my budget another 6k. I've searched the net pretty hard for a better bargain with no luck, but if you have that dealer's name or number I'll call them this morning before I do anything else.

Kenny- Thanks for the feedback. I'd certainly have loved to get a new Ford Lariat or Dodge Hemi but I have to keep reminding myself what I'll be using it for... and the $12,000 savings can fund another Donzi purchase. (Please tell me I didn't say that!)

If anyone thinks I'm making a mistake going with this considering the budget and intended use, please let me know early in the day or call me on my cell (201) 669-7175. Not withstanding learning anything new or a bad inspection I'll be driving it home later in the day.

Rich

[Mac]

The dealer in Danvers number is 877-904-0800. That truck you found sounds good, the only other thing is being a long bed quad cab it will make it have a large turning radius and it will be real long when you have park it somewhere.

[Walt. H.]

T.Park/Rich,

I have a 2001 1500 Ram 4X4 off road package quad cab short bed spt. trk.with the 360 cu.in/5.9 engine & 4:10 posi rear. "WOW thats a mouth full to say. It tow's good too, I replaced the front brakes and tires @ 44,600 miles original rotors still like new and the rear drum brakes still have more the half the life left in them. I've had the truck since new current odometer reading 56,300 and paid for, the only down side is it sucks on fuel mileage. 12.5 to maybe 13.2 if I drive it easy with no high speed passing of other vehicles but thats partly due to the 4:10 gearing and big tires. Under 11 mpg when towing my 18.

You get alot of bang for the buck when buying new or used but resale value is bad compared to Ford & GM!

Due to the high cost of fuel i'm mowing the lawn instead of the waves, :angryfire

Walt :wavey:

[JimG]

Tux, that's a good choice. The heavy duty truck (3/4 or 1 ton) is DEFINITELY the way to go. Good luck!

JimG

[Mac]

If you end up getting the 2500 either a new one or the one you mentioned, you can put H2 wheels and tires on it, they are dirt cheap take offs from the local Hummer dealer. They require slight modification to fit.

[TuxedoPk]

Well, it's now 2pm and I've got the truck at the local Dodge dealership getting inspected, having the oil changed, and the tires rotated.

Unless they find something wrong, I'll be handing over the cash and getting my keys in 2 hours - Just in time to miss making it to the Dept. of Motor vehicles to have it titled and registered in my name.

[JimG]

If you end up getting the 2500 either a new one or the one you mentioned, you can put H2 wheels and tires on it, they are dirt cheap take offs from the local Hummer dealer. They require slight modification to fit.

Mac, are those tires E-Rated?

[Mac]

No they are not, they are D. The truck came with E being a 3500. The only option is going to 19.5" wheels and load range F or G tire if you want to go bigger and stay at or above the load range it came with. The truck has a GVW of 9900 lbs. It wieghs 7200 empty. The BFG 315/70/17s are rated for 3195 lbs each at 50 PSI so they should be ok. I was on the fence for a long time as Alcoa kept saying they were coming out with an aluminum 19.5" wheel but it has been delayed another 6 months, the 19.5" wheels and tires were going to cost me about $2800, I got these for $400, so if they come out with them in the future I will not fell bad ditching the H2 setup. The truck looked pitifull with the 265/70/17s it came with.