We're not talking about opinions. Whether or not one likes the styling is subjective, whether or not the seat feels soft against your *** is subjective. Market and consumer data is neither subjective nor semantic; it's rock-solid fact. For example, it's a fact that Chrysler trucks have an extremely high rate of dash board structural failures between 1994 and 2002. That's not my opinion, that's a real life trend. Plastic spot "welds" securing interior trim, open cell foam seat cushions, headlamp switches that carry the entire lighting load: these things aren't what I think, they're what we both know to be true.

My opinion is that I like Dodge trucks better than Ford trucks. IFS Dana 50 front ends, leaky International 7.3 HPOPs, overpriced injectors and shitty E40D transmissions are all deal-breakers for me, and that's subjective. The fact that Ford produced a higher quality (minus the drivetrain) product from '95-on, which sales and service numbers prove to be true, is not a debatable point.

 

Rather than respond to being called stupid- by saying you're to stupid to pay attention to why I said it- let me instead see if I can clarify again, more simply, why I would rather have a Cummins in a '98 Dodge than a Cummins in any Ford made from 1996-2014 (every generation of which we own multiple examples of) since I've spent so much time in them and would rather be in a '98 Ram:

THEY LOOK LIKE ***
THEY HANDLE LIKE ****
THEY RIDE LIKE A FLOOR JACK
THEY TURN LIKE A SCHOOL BUS
AFTER AN HOUR IN ANY OF THEM I NEED A CHIROPRACTOR

I have none of these issues with my Dodge. And since I practically live in my truck, this is important. They aren't whims, they're things I can't live with for 10+ hours a day. Oh! And my Ram also gets by far the best mileage, has the most power, and has (fact) the best engine. Bonus.

 

I've agreed with the last point all along. My point was that the '94+ F series trucks are built with superior materials and hold up longer than the flimsy Dodge trucks of the same era. Again, sales and service records prove this (Ford more than doubled Chrysler's truck sales all through the 90s and Consumer Reports compiled data showing that the Ram yielded the most issues of any passenger truck. Interestingly, according to consumerreports.org, under Fiat, the 2500 and 3500 diesel Rams are among the most problematic and unreliable trucks on the market; this is in a field of every model motor vehicle sold in the United States, not just trucks. The first generation Cummins Dodges rank among the top 21 vehicles sold in the U.S. since the invention of the automobile). You love your second gen, I get it. There's a word for that: "masochism".

 

Seroiusly , He's just being a diva ... you'r just beating your head on the pervibial wall .. .... EVERYONE has an oppinion ... some should shut the F@#K up and leave it alone, but cant seem to not act like a teenager with a Big *** ego ...

In all seroiusness, I have an 87 F250 and it beats me up after about 300 mile's .. and its the smoothest riding 4x4 i have ever owned, My dodge , rides like a caddy ( not that i have had one ... just rod in a few ) ...

And the Cummins... well It does speak for its self ... Yes the metal is some times crap , and yeah the paint it usually crap too .. but hell , wit a good paint job you can make a YUGO look good .. LOL ... ( ok , maybe not a yugo but you know where I was going with it ) ...

This subject is dead ....

 

No, I'm absolutely a diva too, and he makes valid points. I'm not sure he and I are in the same argument, or at least not the same context. I understand some of the quality issues, there are certainly plenty of things that Chrysler did badly. There are also plenty of things they did right, that everyone else did wrong. And those are the things that keep me from spending any more time in anything else than I absolutely have to. I guess it's a matter of priorities. So I had to add relays to the headlights, upgrade the track bar links and stabilize the box. That stuff was all cheap. So I had to build the transmission. As far as I know, no other truck comes with a tranny that could hold up to what I put this one through either so I'd be building it anyway. So the dash cracked. Oh yeah, the dash did crack. But about 100K ago I got one from a junkyard for $75 that still looks perfect- but full disclosure, I can't say it's original. It was cracked when I got it though, so who knows how it happened since this one is holding up fine? Someday the headliner will start to come down, and I'll pay our upholstery guy a hundred bucks to make it new again. So the metal sucks. Well... yeah, the metal does suck. Bad. Once it starts to go, the headache never ends. Nothing's perfect. This is just the closest truck I've found to it (for me), and as I said, we have about a hundred and almost none of them are Dodges. If there was another truck I could drive 1200+ miles a week and not want to shoot myself in the head after, I'd know. And I drove it for two years before I bought it, so it isn't "awesome because I own it". I own it because I got stuck in it against my will to plow snow, and fell in love with it even though I hated Dodges and thought the new "big rig" styling was silly when it came out. But it turned on a dime, went through the turns flat yet didn't send me off the roof over bumps. Seat was comfortable but still supportive. And I don't mind looking at the interior all day, which is good, because it have to. I ended up loving it enough to want full control over it's future, not to mention being sure that it wouldn't get taken away from me and me get stuck in something else.

I spend enough hours of my life in my truck (more than anyone I've ever met) to know what I want from it. I have access to enough other trucks to know if any of them are acceptable to me. They aren't. Masochism would be finding the one I was least comfortable with in every way, and using that. Since that's the opposite of what I've done, I fail to see how my statement that I would rather drive a 98 12V Ram than any other truck with a 12V is stupid or short sighted. I get it all the time at work, and it pisses me off: "When are you going to put that Cummins in a Ford and have a good truck?" Right before I get so frustrated with what I'm driving that I drive it off a cliff, that's when.

 

You know where the second gen has the first gen beat? Diesel Bombers forum boards. I wish these kinds of conversations could happen in first gen threads. Instead we're stuck with "**PLEASE HELP!! (Insert super common issue here) and I can't be bothered to use the search function!"

At least this section has active members with some brains.

 

Well Go back there OR stop acting like a jerk here .. Were good with out all the DRAMA

 

Nobody pulled your chain, you salty little ****. When I want to teach somebody proper spelling or grammar, I'll address you directly. In the meantime, learn the difference between "drama" (what are you, a teenage girl?) and a debate. This whole thread you've done nothing but chime in from the peanut gallery and have said nothing of value. At least the other guy actually made some points.

 

I think everyone made some points here, but this is probably the most relevant one now. Beauty (and quite a few other things too) are in the eye of the beholder.

 

Well, I've had my share of issues with my '94... Cosmetically, I'll say yes, like anything built after about 1984, the interior is crap, all clip together stuff that never holds, especially on rough dirt roads..., yes, the headliner comes unglued, and the drivers seat was squashed at 200,000 miles... The paint flaked off in a bad way on the hood and roof especially, but the primer seemed to be darned good, as it never rusted. The cab mounts on these trucks are well known for collapsing, mine haven't yet, but the cab has NO rust on it either. Front ends are too weak to hold the diesel, the stock clutch will not handle more than stock power... 5th gear in the manual transmission has issues of all kinds... retaining nut backs off, synchro snap ring pops off if you shift it hard, and I've busted the input shaft with a basically stock engine too. I don't know what it is about them, but they seem to always wear the front tires funny, I find the brakes could be better (am going to try Hawk pads, and maybe upgrade to hydroboost if I'm still not happy). Front and rear bumpers are flimsy, though they're bulletproof compared to what's on new Chevs! While we're on the subject of the front end, I think the unitized bearing/hub is the stupidest thing ever, especially at the price of the damned things!


All that being said, I still do like my truck.. styling is good, engine, despite a few problems, is the best towing powerplant in a light truck bar none, fuel mileage is acceptable, I don't have any issues with the handling. My friend has 600,000 miles on his and it's been a bush truck all it's life. 2nd engine, 5th tranny, 2nd tcase, 2nd rearend.

One thing to look out for on these trucks is frame cracks around the back of the cab, as well as around the steering box mounts.. there is a steering box stabilizer bracket (aftermarket) that helps prevent the flex, and helps the life of the box too