Advise wanted on a Dodge Cummins

[Little Red]

I am looking at possibly buying a Dodge Cummins diesel truck and would like some advice.

It would most likely be a 1996 – 2001 2500 (or 3500) quad cab 4wd diesel truck.

I want to keep the price below $12000, use it for overland travel, camping and towing.

Here are some questions:

1- I would like to be able to tow a 10.000 pound trailer should I get a 2500 or 3500 truck?

2- Eventually I want to buy a camper for it to slide in the bed, should I get the long bed or short bed pickup? I think I want a short bed so I will still be able to turn around on smaller forest service roads etc. Any good camper options for a short bed?

3- What should I look for when buying a used truck? Any common problems on these that I should be aware of?

4- What kind of MPG can I expect from a 2500 Cummins diesel?

And of course feel free to give me any other advice that you think will be useful or post some pictures of your truck. I have seen some very nice dodge trucks here on the forum!

Thanks…

 

[Metcalf]

1- I would like to be able to tow a 10.000 pound trailer should I get a 2500 or 3500 truck?

There isn't a lot of difference between the two, don't worry about it that much.

2- Eventually I want to buy a camper for it to slide in the bed, should I get the long bed or short bed pickup? I think I want a short bed so I will still be able to turn around on smaller forest service roads etc. Any good camper options for a short bed?

I'm guessing you HAVE to have the extra-cab? My personal choice is a regular cab long box. I think this is the shortest wheelbase available.

3- What should I look for when buying a used truck? Any common problems on these that I should be aware of?

There are a few people on here that have had some issues with the 24V trucks. I'm not too familiar with them. I prefer the older mechanical engines. I do have a soft spot for the 03-04 trucks also.

4- What kind of MPG can I expect from a 2500 Cummins diesel?

I drive like an old man with my old beater, huge tires, tall gearing, etc. I just did a 1700 mile trip over the 4th. I AVERAGED just over 20mpg.

 

[Little Red]

I'm guessing you HAVE to have the extra-cab? My personal choice is a regular cab long box. I think this is the shortest wheelbase available.

I should have been more specific, I do want it to be a quad cab so I have some storage inside.

 

[BCHauler]

I don't know about the Dodge per se, but I haul an older (70's?) 8' truck camper with my shortbed f250 with a 6.75' bed. That length works just fine on my shortbed. If the dodge shortbed is in the 6.5-7' range, an 8' camper is fine. I think I could do an 8.5' with mine and the camper would only come to the end of the tailgate. Anything longer though and you'll want the longbed I think.

 

[Spencinator]

First off, Ive had a 1998.5 standard cab long bed cummins for 4 years now and love it. Now to the questions..

1- I would like to be able to tow a 10.000 pound trailer should I get a 2500 or 3500 truck?

2500 will tow it fine, no worry there.

2- Eventually I want to buy a camper for it to slide in the bed, should I get the long bed or short bed pickup? I think I want a short bed so I will still be able to turn around on smaller forest service roads etc. Any good camper options for a short bed?

I regret not getting a extended cab long bed ever since I started camping with my truck. If you cant turn a ext. cab around on a trail chances are you cant turn a standard cab around so basically it wont matter much, its a big truck so clear a path haha.

3- What should I look for when buying a used truck? Any common problems on these that I should be aware of?

98.5-00 I believe have hub mounted front rotors, '01 and up the rotor is held on with set screws. Makes brake jobs around 3 hours longer on earlier models. 01.5 and up have rear disc brakes which is nice. The stock automatics will not tow a trailer reliably for long, they are weak. So if you have to have a automatic its usually $3-$4k to build your transmission to handle it. If not, please get a manual, you will thank yourself everytime you drive it. My truck is auto and I will be buying a manual later on. The stock fuel system will have to be taken care of right away if the truck still has it. Install the dealer retrofit kit, or go with airdog, FASS etc... If these trucks are lifted or have bigger tires installed the steering begins to get loose. There are ways to fix it, but it is a common problem on dodge trucks. Always ALWAYS do your regular maintenance. My schedule is delo 400 every 5K miles, fuel filter twice a year, trans (auto) every 2 years, axles every 2 years, coolant every 2 years, and air filter when needed. You take care of the truck and the truck will take care of you. They really are great trucks and I wouldnt go with any other diesel. Visit www.cumminsforum.com for more information.

4- What kind of MPG can I expect from a 2500 Cummins diesel?

My truck with 5 inch lift and 35's (stock gearing) got 17 city and 20 hwy average. I drove from Portland to Seattle and got 25. I have since lowered it 2 inches and now Im at 18 city and 21-22 hwy. With a manual trans, stock tires, and no lift you should have no problem getting 20 city and 25 hwy.

Heres my opinion of what you should do, and most likely what I will do. Find a '98.5-'02 ext. cab long bed manual that has little done to it. Fix the fuel system if it hasnt had it done. Do all the maintenance to get a fresh start. Put a edge ez chip(my truck has this chip) or if you like really good power install a edge juice with attitude monitor(aftermarket clutch will be needed). Put some nice slightly oversize road/off-road tires on. Get yourself a intake kit and 4in exhaust(this will optimize fuel mileage). Now you have the perfect/reliable truck to go have some fun in. Also its a good idea to have gauges to monitor your truck, theres a reason why semi-trucks have a lot of gauges. I have voltage, boost, and exhaust temp in my truck. I will soon be adding a fuel pressure gauge. If your lift pump(fuel pump) fails the truck will still run because the injection pump will pull fuel from the tank but not for very long. An injection pump is $1200-$1500 so you dont want that going out on ya. Thats why I mentioned the fuel system fix. The stock lift pumps are known to fail. Good luck with finding a truck and post some pics when you get it! :ylsmoke:

 

[ExpoMike]

Do you want a quad cab or club cab? Difference is the quad has the rear half doors. If that is what you want, you are limited to '98+ as '97 and earlier do not have the rear doors. '97 was the last year (well some early '98's) for the 12v Cummins. Minimal computer controls, which many people like better. I went this route because a mechanical issue can a lot of times be worked around where a computer issue might put you dead in the water. Also the 12v engines have the P7100 injector pump which is one of the best ones they put on the Cummins.

Agree on the trans statements. At 10K towing, you will be rebuilding/beefing up an auto trans. For offroad though, I like autos as I can easily two foot them.

As for bed length, are you going solo or traveling with companion(s)? With a camper, the extra length when more than one person is inside is much nicer. If I was by myself, I might have gone with a short bed but with a wife and dog, no way. Already cramped enough.

Well, I have oversize tires and have not recalibrated the speedo so my numbers are off but here is what I have seen. Basically unloaded (cruising at 70), freeway, I got 19-20 mpg. Loaded with FWC camper, I am seeing 16 freeway, 14-15 mixed (freeway, mountain, offroad). My speedo is off 6% so the numbers would be a little higher.

Here is what I ended up with,

One this note, a tale of two Rams. My buddy has a '98 and I have the '97. Basically the same otherwise. It happened that on the same weekend (different locations) we both experienced a fuel shut off valve failure. Being that mine is mechanical, I was able to tie up the linkage and drive the 100+ mile trip home. His being computer controlled with no linkage, had his towed home. My failure was actually the 70 amp relay so a twenty dollar part and I was going again. I believe his was the screw in solenoid.

 

[bftank]

the mechanical 12v is the better motor in my opinion, less stuff to go wrong, built tougher. 12v weakness, killer dowel pin. can increase power with screwdriver and wrenches. the 12v is throttled by cable making it easier to put a hand throttle on the stick for those tight scenarios, 12v seem to on average get better mileage than 24v

the 24v has a reputation for destroying $1500 vp injection pumps, cracked 53 blocks, modifying means putting in a better lift pump and programmer about $12-1500, vp pumps don't like biodiesel, 24v is drive by wire, mileage seems to be based on the health of your injection pump more so than your foot.

the quad cab was built from 1998 on. 98 12 valves are rare but they exist.

the 99+ had rear disc brakes and dana 80

stick shift will last longer than an auto but has problems with 5th staying together if pulling a heavy load in 5th, not designed to tow in 5th

the auto is expensive to rebuild correctly requires regular band adjustments to last a decent amount of time.

all years have unit bearings and central axle disconnect which can be upgraded to hubs and conventional axle for mucho mula.

both have plenty of torque and will put a smile on your face.

i prefer longbed over short for capacity. and extended cabs for legroom. but i understand the desire for turning radius.

i would suggest getting a excab longbed with 4.10 gears and 5 speed manual in a 12v variety. leveling kit and 37's. if the unit bearings crap out swap in a ford kingpin dana 60. cheaper than replacing unit bearings.

my 2 cents

 

[Little Red]

Thanks for all the replies.

When I am ready to purchase one I think I will try to find an early 1998 2500 quad cab 12v Cummins long bed.

That way I will still have the nice half doors for easy access to storage and at the same time have the less electronically complicated engine. I also think that the long bed is probably the better way to go for me as there are a lot more camper options available for the long bed (8f). And thus more room inside the camper too.

Thanks for all the good advice so far and feel free to add to this tread if you have any more advice as far as what I should be aware of when buying a used Cummins Dodge. Or post up some pictures of your dodge truck.

 

[poriggity]

I will warn you, if you are looking for an early 98 quad cab with a 12v, be prepared to pay a premium. They are few and far between, and to find one in good shape, you will pay a premium for it, because generally the owners know what they are worth. That being said, if you're willing to pay the premium, you will have your hands on a great truck!
Scott

 

[ExpoMike]

Agreed. That's kind of the holy grail of the 2nd Gen Ram's.

 

[poriggity]

Personally, If I was looking for a truck like that, Id easily settle for a 97 club cab without the opening rear door.. but then again, I don't have kids.. yet..

 

[blue dog]

dodge cummins

I have owned, 2nd gen 12 valve, 2 2nd gen 24 valve trucks and one 3rd gen, all were good trucks, but the truck that i have kept is my 2000 2500. It is an odd unit, quad cab, short bed, 6 speed nv 5600 with a dana 80 rear. Have never seen an other truck of this year in that configuration. I have 500 hp at the rear wheel, with 35" tires it could get 22 mpg on the highway if kept about 72 mph.

Like others have said, the 12 valve is a great truck, all mechanical, they lack power unless you are willing to play with them, what ever you get, manual trans is much more reliable and a fass or equivalent pump is a must in 2nd gen 24 valve trucks. Get some gauges, egt, trns, fuel pressure and turbo pressure and all is good.

What ever you get, you are making a good choice, i have taken these trucks all over, including to the arctic ocean and pre ran the baja 1000, gone to main for lobster and to florida to see the keys, never had a single issue.
Good luck in your choice.

 

[ExpoMike]

Personally, If I was looking for a truck like that, Id easily settle for a 97 club cab without the opening rear door.. but then again, I don't have kids.. yet..

Hence... why we bought ours.

 

[Regcabguy]

If you want a 2nd gen that'll survive a panic stop loaded,hold out for a 2001.5+. The auto's are indeed weak with power adders. I spent $4,000 beefing up my auto on the 98.5 and another $1200 on an exhaust brake and Smart Controller.

Personally,I'd find a private party 3rd gen. I've owned them both.

 

[Outback]

Check out the AT Flip Pac. I love mine!