Thinking about getting a 3rd gen

Ya.. I got my 04 in 2010.. but alas my now 6' tall 13year old son is much more comfortable in the back of the CC than the old truck.. his knees were in the seat at 9yrs old.. much more room in the new trucks.. I keep nostalgically looking for a 06 Mega for the foot space but my gooseneck trailers and 5er then are an issue and.............. well we just talked about all that.

 

I didn't realize the 3rd gens were so unreliable. See thousands of them on the road still, dime a dozen. My '93 has given me very few real problems, just little BS things, and they've all been dirt cheap to fix. Well, looks like I'll just stick with my current truck. Only reason I really wanted a newer truck was because it'd ride better and be easier to lift. I personally think the interior is plenty comfortable in my first gen. The bench seat is plenty comfy, and I like the look of the dash far better than any of the newer trucks, even the brand new ones. And I can wear my hat in it. These modern seats don't allow that. Guess I'll just do the FFS 3rd gen front suspension swap so my coffee doesn't end up on the headliner any more (no exaggeration) lol. Thanks for all the info folks.

 

JM2C,.. If I had a 12V.. Id keep it,

 

Perhaps a well equipped Tradesman then. I have the Uconnect 3 radio with the 5" screen and dealer installed subwolfer. One of the best OEM radio's I have owned to date. Also have a tilt steering wheel. Yes I miss the tilt on the seat and a temp gauge I don't have to dig for, however, the cost for a higher trim was beyond my budget. I was tired of someone else's serious problems with used and more importantly risk: insurance wouldn't exactly cover my dropping half the value of a used truck say on an engine.

An observation. The aftermarket gauge readout tells me more and more accurate. Battery voltage for example. Dash will say as an example 13V as a digital number. Is this a Float 13.3V or a charging 13.9V? 12V is that a 12.2V won't even crank or a full charge 12.6V? A needle on a vague line is a decoration. Oil pressure is a made up LIE... (So is ECT a LIE say on 2005+ GM diesels. "Low oil pressure stop engine!" alarms be also "buffered" aka delayed on GM...) RAM did set a trend of giving us a DEF gauge where other OEM's omitted it.

Truck payment to the bank and then here we go on a second bigger payment made to the parts store. I am almost a "stranger" now to the local parts store were I was known to buy more parts than several local shops combined keeping some of my older vehicles running.

My first new Tradesman payment was less than I spent at the parts store the month before.

Not that I have a problem with higher trim levels and if you can afford it Go For It!

It's more to the point @bcbender is making: New > Used any trim level. Esp. for the insane prices and miles on used. When the "used" higher trim touches the cost of NEW Tradesman...

 

Well, I found a good deal on an '84 square body short bed Scottsdale 4x4 with a 350. Looks to be in great shape. Probably get that instead if it's still available this weekend. Much better aftermarket support, already a 4x4, cheap to lift, and old enough to not have any real problems (aside from rust, which this one has very little of). Just leave my D250 alone and keep it as my daily driver. Maybe put it back to stock suspension so it's not quite so bone jarring.

 

I still have my 2003 DRW 4x4 auto, its reliable, my daily driver kinda. Work from home so no daily commute! Mostly a tow rig, I hope it out lasts me I don't want to deal with the modern emission systems.

 

OTOH, my '04 has been the best truck I've ever owned, and I've owned a few. Bought it new, just turned over 200k and have had no problems with it at all. It's been my daily driver for my small home improvement business over 20 yrs now and has never let me down. It's stock, besides the few improvements in my signature....definitely a keeper. And it looks every bit as good as the one in the classifieds right now, inside and out....and it has an 8' bed!

 

Could write almost the same. Highest reliability and low operational cost. Just doesn’t look as good.

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I haven't sold my 04 for all the reasons stated above, even after buying a 22 to haul the new trailer.

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