I have only owned dodge gassers, and after moving away from trucks the past couple years, I am converting back over except in the diesel category.
Ford is out of the question for me...I know too many diesel mechanics and will not go against their word.
My needs:
-budget = $15-16k
-crew cab
-good highway mpg
-fun to play with and simplest to mod

Ive basically narrowed it down to pre-2007 Dodge or Chevy. Im aware both have their pros and cons, but Im stuck in a rut just because Im a dodge guy. I hear bad things about the Dodge tranny sometimes, but how common is that? I can drive a manual well, but will only be towing a boat once or twice a year. Therefore, towing is not one of my concerns. Mainly just fun

Any input is appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 

What do they say exactly?

I would shoot for an lly or an lbz duramax if you can find one for the right price, which is the hard part. I like the commonrail 5.9s too but if you plan on modding it its going to need the trans built at some point.

 

Im a dodge guy, Just to get it outta the way I hate Chevys. Here are my reasons, hate the cold, expenive to repair, injectors fail, heads warp. Pro Nice smooth ride, Look Decent, Awesome for making a street racin truck and have an allison tranny. Will I ever own one, no... Dodges Cummins are Low Labor, fairly inexpensive to repair, great low end power, comfortable to drive, and have straight axels. Every truck is going to break and transmission issues can be avoided by Reqular Maintaince, and adjusting the bands periodically, every transmission will need to be built at a certain horsepower, but I think you need to go out and test drive some... I also like the old Fords with the 7.3L, and dislike the rest. But The mega cabs are AWESOME!!!!

 

Thanks guys. I would love to be able to get a megacab for the right price, but they are hard to find in my price range with less than 225k on them. 2006 would be year of choice if I had that luxury. I like the body style and interior of the 03-06 (once you go past 06 it seems like mpg goes down due to govt emissions crap?).
Should I avoid any truck in this year range with a certain amount of miles on it?

 

The 6.7L trucks are decent trucks, they get there MPG Back when you delete the EGR, and get rid of the mufflers, and DPF. Im not a chevy guy, but I know they are slightly cheaper (Maybe) The quad cab is no smaller than the chevy crew cab in my oppinon, but your not lookin for a towin rig. Me and all my friends own Cummins Mine a 98.5, my friends 99, and 01, a CR 03' and a 07.5 6.7L the 6.7L has all the deleates and a 5'' Turbo back exhaust and that thing hauls *** with a smarty jr, but hes gonna need to replace his injectors with something with more output. the only year I say avoid a dodge is 05' they seem to have intercooler and radiator problems... But then again chevy may be the better buy for you, Im the dodge guy informing you about dodge, now if the bowties would only chime in... But against what coal train may say Stay far far FAAARRR away from the 6 OH NO's!! they maybe great trucks after 5 grand in upgrades, but theyre a constant head ache, high labor engines, now the trucks are awesome plan to build my Fummins off one....I just dont trust 6.0, nor the 6.4's but have no imput for the 6.7L but have the same issue as the 6.4L cant work on em hardley.... thats imprtant to me since I do my own work...

 

I agree with the working on them yourselves, ford and international kind of quit giving a **** about home mechanics after the 7.3 . But if you get score a mega cab 06 so you could use efi live the would be nice, also allisons are nothing special definitely not enough reason to buy a truck IMO

 

I picked up my 04.5 for 12,000. fantastic truck...except for the blowby Make sure you check blowby if it has excessive amounts (enough to rattle the oil cap) , keep in mind you will more than likely be rebuilding it at some future time. personally i wish mine was a manual transmission, but its not.

 

My truck rattles the oil cap and its because of the engine vibration not the blow by. You check for blow by, by looking for smoke or haze...

 

Yeah i got plenty of that

 

Great replies.
I'm starting to lean toward a manual transmission since I am almost positive I will be getting a cummins. IYO, what is too much mileage on a diesel to buy for $15k? Or would you look at other things on the truck, rather than that, just because at some point it will need a rebuild?
I know how to check for blowby and most of that good stuff.

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I have found an 03 cummins 3500. Its a 6sp auto. $16k with 150k miles. Seems like a really good deal if it passes all the tests? I wasn't originally looking for a 1-ton, though. Any advantages/disadvantages of having a 1-ton rather than 3/4-ton, other than towing capacity?

Thanks again, guys.