All this Truck Talk got me on a Kick.....

[SHTF]

Now I am Looking at 2011 Ram 1500 SLT 5.7L V8 Hemi 60k miles Ive been talking about buying a truck for a while because the 4runner doesn't pull our popup up the Colorado Mountains very well. And my 4runner is sitting at 185k miles she's tired. I plan to keep the 4runner though for spare truck incase wife has issues in a snow storm and needs to get to work. Obviously if I get this beast I won't need anything else. This has a pretty good lift kit on it. Thats the only concern I have. I love it but Ive heard horror stories.

 

[Warren1726]

That's a sweet truck. I'd get it looked at by a mechanic you trust and have someone inspect the lift work.

 

[flyinsquirel]

^^^^^ ditto

Unless they have already been replaced, I'd expect it to need ball joints and tie rods due to the lift and oversize tires. Also, if the previous owner did not correct the speedo to acommodate for the oversize tires, it likely has more than 60k on it. Probably not a big deal just an FYI.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

It's a nice looking truck, just beware most (and I realize this is a bad stereotype but I'll go ahead with it anyway) of the time I see the people that drive lifted trucks like this and how they drive them it would cause me to never buy one used for 2 reasons:

1) often it's an early 20's male with no family and probably renting an apartment that buys something like this because they finally have a little cash in their pocket, they beat the tar out of it not expecting to have any real responsibilities anytime soon and taking out that young testosterone on a vehicle makes more sense than doing it in a bar.
2) a VERY good friend of mine who's full time career is in the off-road industry has repeadetly said greater than a 2" lift on modern vehicles opens up a can of worms in terms of changing the dynamics of the chassis and drive train. Honestly I don't know why this is, I don't lift my vehicles (for work or personal) but I do take his advice on a subject I know nothing about.

From what I know the 5.7 is a good motor and dodge seems to have straightened out it's tranny problems from the late 90's/early 2000's. Just the fact that it's seen all these "upgrades" would make me nervous vs. doing them myself.

 

[SHTF]

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback. That was what I was nervous about with the lift Ball Joints. Also the Ujoints I hear it can be a bad thing for them also. I do have other options like a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 BigHorn with 80k miles not lifted. And a 2011 Ram Sport again no lift. So I have an appointment for for Friday to go in and do some more test driving to see which one I like the best. I do want a bit of a lift but this one is about 6 inches. It drives wonderfully and no sway at all but Im very nervous putting this much coin into a truck that will give me issues down the road.

 

[colersu22]

If your concerned with the lift try and find a stock truck. The stock truck will be less up front and less in the long run since it wont have the added stress on the drivetrain. If you buy a stock truck and want a little lift you could always do a leveling kit via pucks or the bilistien adjustable struts then a little bigger tires.

I went with the bilistien adjustable struts since mine where leaking and needed to be replaced and I went with the next size metric tires. the bilistiens are a lot stiffer when on logging roads but it is nice and smooth on pavement compared to stock. I put the struts at 2.25" to level the front and think it makes the truck look better.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

If your concerned with the lift try and find a stock truck. The stock truck will be less up front and less in the long run since it wont have the added stress on the drivetrain. If you buy a stock truck and want a little lift you could always do a leveling kit via pucks or the bilistien adjustable struts then a little bigger tires.

I went with the bilistien adjustable struts since mine where leaking and needed to be replaced and I went with the next size metric tires. the bilistiens are a lot stiffer when on logging roads but it is nice and smooth on pavement compared to stock. I put the struts at 2.25" to level the front and think it makes the truck look better.

X's 2 on the billstiens.... I put in the 5100's on my shop truck (2008 nissan titan pro4x with a 7' bed) and set them on the middle setting. It leveled it off to 1.5" (I think) and made the ride 10x's better. That truck is a flat out animal in terms of maint and drive, would never hesitate to buy one if I was looking for a 1/2'r (not sure if you're sold on dodges?)

 

[danarnold]

One of my brother-in-law's and a couple of my nephews have lifted dodge's, more maintenance for sure, when towing with the oversized tires they also feel underpowered because of the gear ratio change,
We have three Dodge pick ups in the family, I love to have one lifted with cool wheels and tires but just won't do it because of the above factors

 

[SHTF]

Ive been researching all kinds of trucks. Not particularly sold on Dodges. but I do like that Hemi Motor a lot. Guess it would just depend on what it has to offer. I like the GMC Trucks a lot also.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

On the dodge front of that year I can point out one consideration for up here in the mountains (where engine power is reduced due to air pressure), esp when looking at anything with oversized tires. They are a 5 speed transmission with 4th and 5th being overdrive (there isn't much difference between 4th and 5th gear) that has a large band between 2nd and 3rd which can leave you exposed depending on your axle gearing and tires. I have a 2007 2500 but this is applicable to all of them with the 5 speed transmission. The stock tires are usually around 27-28". I have the ~31-32" size that comes on the power wagon model on my truck, with the 3.73 axle gearing in mine (the power wagons have 4.54 or 4.56 I forget) its very difficult to climb mountain passes in 3rd gear because the engine is too bogged down unless I'm moving 70mph or so (which all goes out the window if someone gets in front of me... or the conditions don't allow it), it'll cruise up 40mph in second gear just fine for reference but trying to go 55-60mph is a pain in the rear because the engine spools up big time in 2nd gear to go that fast yet 3rd gear can't hold it.

4.10/4.11 gears would be a good compromise to still maintain low RPMs at fast highway speeds but the power wagon gearing would definitely make climbing 10K+ passes easier.

Long story short: Bigger tires + altitude + wide transmission bands = likely slow going on mountain passes with stock axle ratios. Might not have crossed your mind when talking about improved towing performance.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Ive been researching all kinds of trucks. Not particularly sold on Dodges. but I do like that Hemi Motor a lot. Guess it would just depend on what it has to offer. I like the GMC Trucks a lot also.

The new GM/Chev 4wd system sucks if you ask me.... I have two 15' GM Duramax's but I believe they use the same toggle and electronic 4wd as the 1/2 tons. I've had both of them get "stuck" in 4wd and had to take them both in (covered under warranty but a huge pain). The door panels have fallen apart on them and the moldning underneath is a joke, may as well be a 2wd.

The ford ecoboosts are everybit as impressive (torque-wise) as what they've been marketed as. I would never get an aluminum truck though, steel only. Once you start adding meaty tires or pulling the advertised gas mileage drops like a rock. They have less clearance than the other trucks it would seem which is also part of the reason why they're getting the economy they are. If I was buying a tar-baby that left the city once a year for a hunt, I'd probably get one of these (not sure what you're situation is). I don't have one but know alot of guys that do....

If I was buying a domestic 1/2 ton right now I'd get a dodge. Just my $.02. If I was buying any 1/2 ton right now It would be this order though Nissan Titan, Toyota Tundra, Dodge, Ford, GM..... Nissan infront of Toyota simply becuase they seem to run 5-10% cheaper than the toyo's... They have a true rear locking differential and the real 7' bed is refreshing (lets face it, a 5.5' box is great for hauling a fitness center bag but serves no real purpose).

 

[colersu22]

The only complaint I have about my dodge is the stupid MDS system that kicks it to a 4cyl when your not on the throttle. I'm to the point I want a tuner just to turn that crap off.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

If newerish was on the docket I'd look around for a few year old F150 with the coyote engine I think, those are pretty powerful and decent mileage without the complexity of the ecoboost.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

The only complaint I have about my dodge is the stupid MDS system that kicks it to a 4cyl when your not on the throttle. I'm to the point I want a tuner just to turn that crap off.

Does tow/haul mode shut that off? I don't have MDS on mine so I'm not sure.

 

[jmsdad]

On the dodge front of that year I can point out one consideration for up here in the mountains (where engine power is reduced due to air pressure), esp when looking at anything with oversized tires. They are a 5 speed transmission with 4th and 5th being overdrive (there isn't much difference between 4th and 5th gear) that has a large band between 2nd and 3rd which can leave you exposed depending on your axle gearing and tires. I have a 2007 2500 but this is applicable to all of them with the 5 speed transmission. The stock tires are usually around 27-28". I have the ~31-32" size that comes on the power wagon model on my truck, with the 3.73 axle gearing in mine (the power wagons have 4.54 or 4.56 I forget) its very difficult to climb mountain passes in 3rd gear because the engine is too bogged down unless I'm moving 70mph or so (which all goes out the window if someone gets in front of me... or the conditions don't allow it), it'll cruise up 40mph in second gear just fine for reference but trying to go 55-60mph is a pain in the rear because the engine spools up big time in 2nd gear to go that fast yet 3rd gear can't hold it.

4.10/4.11 gears would be a good compromise to still maintain low RPMs at fast highway speeds but the power wagon gearing would definitely make climbing 10K+ passes easier.

Long story short: Bigger tires + altitude + wide transmission bands = likely slow going on mountain passes with stock axle ratios. Might not have crossed your mind when talking about improved towing performance.

Friend of mine has a 1500Hemi dodge. ^^^ That explains it...Hunting with him a week ago, if I lead, he would fall behind. If he led, we both were going slower than usual uphill...I'm driving a 20yr old vehicle (96 toyota 4Runner--3.4LV6 5speed manual transmission)

 

[Bar]

The only style vehicle that should be lifted.

 

[bikerdavet]

Looking forward to riding in your new truck!

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Friend of mine has a 1500Hemi dodge. ^^^ That explains it...Hunting with him a week ago, if I lead, he would fall behind. If he led, we both were going slower than usual uphill...I'm driving a 20yr old vehicle (96 toyota 4Runner--3.4LV6 5speed manual transmission)

Yeah its just a wide gap if you leave behind the stock tire sizes but keep the factory axle ratio, esp. at altitude. The manual transmission version has better ratios to cover the spectrum. The never models have more transmission gears and while I haven't looked up the ratios I suspect they "closed the gap". More gears with more overlap will allow better flexibility to let the engine hit various rpm bands.

On my truck I forget off the top of my head but its something like 60mph is 2200rpm in 3rd or 4000rpm in 2nd. With my truck 2200rpm isn't into the power band enough to climb well, really needs to be north of 2500rpm to develop the power climb steeper grades.

 

[SHTF]

You guys have given me some great advice and alot to think about. Towing is definitely one of my things I want to be able to do. Getting up the Mountains with a trailer is a big part of why Im after a truck. Also I want this to be a daily driver. That will be reliable and get me where I want to go. Going to start looking at the Titan's They are a nice truck. Anyone got any feedback on the Nissan Titans?

 

[Hambone]

don't do it. go buy a stock 4x4. run when you see a lifted truck for sale. I'm with backcountry_hunter