Looking at 2005 Dodge 3500 for out Lance

[Mote]

A guy I work with has a 2005 Dodge 3500 crew dab 4x4 for sale. It's a diesel of course, automatic and 4x4. He has 180k miles on it with a transmission rebuild at 130k and the front end just rebuilt. He's offered it to me at a pretty good price.
We're wanting to take another Yellowstone trip next and possibly a Alaska trip in a few more years. I'm wondering should I look at a newer truck and would this one be a good choice. Of course a new truck would be better but I hate to spend $50k on a new truck.
Anyone else taking long road trips with an older higher mileage truck.

Edit, payload sticker on the door jam says 4616 lbs

[slickrock_steve]

I too have a 2005, 3500, but mine is single rear wheel. Wife and I took it from So. Cal., across 7 states, and four mountain ranges. The 48 RE trans was rebuilt 6 months before the trip with triple disc torque converter, modded valve body, billet in and out shafts, and extra high capacity clutches.
I have just over 220,000 , and when we went on our trip we went over 11,000 miles of the west. From Yellowstone to Badlands, most of Utah, all of Oregon, and Washington, most of both South, and North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. It also pulls a 28 ft 4 horse with living quarters trailer here in the desert south west for shows and horse camping. So, ... yeah! The 05 is a good year, and has been pulling like a champ. ( I would LOVE a PXRB exhaust brake, as I do replace pads, and rotors about every 50,000.)

[campingken]

We bought our 2003 Dodge 3500 5.9 new. Last summer (it has 170,000 miles on it) we drove it from N/W Washington to Ontario Canada and back. It currently has 185,000 miles on the odometer and we would not hesitate to take the same, or a longer, trip in it.

[Grit_dog]

^Yup, remember , most Diesel engines are great, last a long time, the internals anyway. The rest of it is just another vehicle subject to the same component life spans and repairs as any other.
A big part of judging whether a vehicle is worth keeping or selling is how knowledgeable and willing a person is to do their own work. Example. Just got a work truck back from the shop. $2700 for a new front unit bearing, serpentine belts, t case seal, tune up, service diffs/t case and an exhaust manifold stud replacement. Sounds like a lot of work and that would be like most of a weekend in the garage at home to do, but less than $500 in parts.
I consider that a $500+ 1 case of beer repair. To someone else that's 3 grand and nothing is "better" about the truck except the front wheel isn't grinding.

[Vinsil]

Grit dog wrote:
On old high mile vehciles, it's just as important to estimate how much you'll spend on repairs as the purchase price.

This. My trans started to blow through the torque converter and the ballpoints were shot, so at 97k mils the unit bearings needed attention, the tie rods were done and worn (large, heavy 19.5's) and lots of towing/hauling, it was close to 10k in repairs to get my truck back to reliable.

It was worth 30k to a dealer on trade, new truck cost me 50k. Was an easy choice for me. My new truck is more complicated. More potential for failure, however I didn't want to chase my truck with money and I have the means to buy new.

Everyone is different and my last superduty went down the road at 200k, it was a 7.3 and repairs on it didn't pencil out either.

[Grit_dog]

On old high mile vehciles, it's just as important to estimate how much you'll spend on repairs as the purchase price.

[Grit_dog]

996Pilot wrote:
Look for a add-on fuel filter/water separator. 180K miles is OK for the CTD however it may be at the end of its' injectors with the stock fuel filter. Rebuilt injectors with installation will run about $5K-6K. That's a rude awakening.

Not even close. $2500 for new injectors and feed tubes and $6-800 shop labor.

Not close to second valve adjustment. Barely past first reccomended at 150k. And unless it was worked hard or tons of hours they likely won't be too tight at 180k but it's cheap and easy to do.
Things to look out for at that mileage (beside "normal" repairs, brakes, u joints, belt drive engine accessories, etc).
Injectors
Front end
Unit bearings
Trans
Hydro boost pump
Steering box
Water pump
Lift pump?
That's about it.
Subtract what already been done and plan on most of what hasn't been.

It's a good truck but you couldn't give me a 4 speed auto in a low reving diesel. Will be fine for hauling a camper, don't like it for towing. Personal preference.

Good news is that truck isbig enough to basically throw some tie downs on and starting hauling. Maybe a little suspension help but not much.

[MrPhelps]

I'm still running our 06 3500 Dodge diesel (in signature) with the Host Yellowstone camper and at 300K miles, most with the camper loaded. The original manual transmission went out at 50K miles and was replaced under partial warranty by Dodge and there were no issues since.

I just put it in the shop this week to replace a noisy (possible failing) vacuum pump and vacuum booster.

There have been issues while traveling but I am still committed to get it as reliable as an old truck can be for extended travel. A big problem for us during this process has been lousy replacement parts that fail prematurely (ac compressors, AC condenser, clutch), then having to deal with the repair again, sometimes in precarious situations!) .

There have been no significant engine or transmission issues yet. Investment in the best parts to fix anything to keep it going is wise. It takes a lot of repairs to get to $60K.

[burningman]

Everything Msiminoff said was right except that wasn't "a few thousand dollars", all that stuff adds up to around $10,000. The Spintech hubs are outrageously expensive.
If that transmission was rebuilt the way it should be, that's a huge score. It's around $6000-ish to do a Dodge trans RIGHT. That means triple-disc torque converter, billet apply lever, better bands, billet input shaft, better valvebody that flows oil while in park (the stock one and most aftermarket ones don't!) and a host of other little internal goodies.
The one bad thing about the Common Rail Cummins ('03 and up) is as mentioned, really expensive injectors. But that's an issue with all the other brands too.

If I had it to do over, I'd look for an '06 Chevy/GMC with the Allison trans and LBZ Duramax. Actually I DO constantly look for one in 4x4 crewcab dually configuration in nice shape. Can't find. No one witb any sense will sell one. If you can find that, jump on it.

[996Pilot]

Look for a add-on fuel filter/water separator. 180K miles is OK for the CTD however it may be at the end of its' injectors with the stock fuel filter. Rebuilt injectors with installation will run about $5K-6K. That's a rude awakening.

[Mote]

Thanks for the information everyone.

He's interested in my 1996 so we make try to work out a trade.

[Mote]

352 wrote:

Mote wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
Dually, trim, price?

It is a dually, SLT trim

I'd rather not reveal the price as that may derail the conversation to much 😄

I would not pay any less than $37,500 because of the derailment issues

😄

[352]

Mote wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
Dually, trim, price?

It is a dually, SLT trim

I'd rather not reveal the price as that may derail the conversation to much 😄

I would not pay any less than $37,500 because of the derailment issues

[msiminoff]

Hi Mote,
IMO a 2005 CTD Dually sounds like it's be perfect for your needs.

As others have mentioned, the 05's have no anti-smog stuff on them except for a (high flow) catalytic converter. That Cummins 5.9L is about as reliable as they get, 180K miles is nuthin'.

Since your planning to carry a TC, I’d suggest that you add a set of Torklift Upper StableLoad's and a Roadmaster anti-sway bar and then load your camper and go for a drive and see how it handles before you consider adding air bags.

There are a few other things to be aware of on the 3rd gen’ Rams;
- A DSS Steering Stabilizer should be considered a mandatory upgrade. This dramatically improves steering and reduces the chance of death wobble.
- A track bar from Thuren or Carli will also help with handling.
- The factory ball joints are complete junk! Fortunately super-strong & rebuildable ones are available from Carli and Dynatrac.
- The front wheel unit-bearings are about as bad as the ball joints. Free spin hubs with re-greasable Timken bearings are available from Spyntec and Dynatrac
- The transmission is a potential weak link. I know that you said this one was rebuilt at 130K, but do you know what components were used? A Goerend torque converter, valve body, & billet apply lever would go a long way toward improving reliability. Billlet input and output shafts couldn’t hurt either.
-If the water pump hasn’t been recently replaced (easy job) then put in a new Cummins one now or carry a spare. Same goes for the serp’-belt.
- Replace (or carry spares) of the #5 & #6 fuel injector lines, they're prone to cracking
- Tuners are available which will help make a little more power without sacrificing reliability. I prefer the Smarty Jr.
- The stock shocks are too soft for hauling a TC. Have a look at the shocks from Bilstein and Rancho.
- If you choose to add an exhaust brake, the PRXB from Pacbrake is awesome… they make great airbags too.

So, if the truck is in good condition and the price really is as good as you’re implying, then it may be worth it to invest a few (or more) thousand dollars in upgrades and have a truck that will easily go another decade, or two, I know that I plan to keep mine for a very long time :)!

Cheers
-Mark

[path1]

I'd rather not reveal the price as that may derail the conversation to much

Prices are up their, sometimes hard to believe. Brother in law had his 97 Ford 3/4 KO'd by a drunk. Insurance pay off was $9,800. That's close to ten thousand dollars for a 10 year old truck! And close to 200,000 miles.
Engine was 7.3. The "other" great engine from that era.
Clean air, oil and fuel, you should get lots of miles.