What Dodge pickup should I buy?

D

DesertJK

Adventurer
I have came to my senses and decided to leave the engine in my JKU Rubicon alone. If I do anything else beside the intake, muffler and superchips I already have, it will be a Ripp kit.

But for the price of the Ripp kit, I can buy a lot of other things, and for the price of a Hemi or Diesel conversion, I can get a nice truck and have all the weekends I would spend fixing my Jeep to do other stuff.

Here is what I want to use the truck for:

Towing my toyhauler expo trailer as seen here

http://dbandkjp.smugmug.com/FourWheels/Our-camper/12679480_W3DvLr#!i=934663576&k=SntDb&lb=1&s=A

The trailer weighs 1900 empty and has a GVW of 6000. I load it to about 3500 max with the Jeep and do ok, not great, but ok. With about 5000 pounds gross, my 4.7 V8 Chevy van pulled in easy.

I want to be able to ocasionally pull a 30' aircraft trailer. Lots of wind resistance, but airplanes are light and the whol combo couldn't weigh more than 8000 or so.

I will drive down gravel roads and on some easy two track roads to do stuff like cut fire wood. I do not need to go wheeling, I have a Jeep for that.

It wont get any city driving. If I do drive it to a city, it will be to pick something up and go back to the country. So it is mostly getting 2 lane highway and country road use. There will be snow, so 4x4 is necessary.

My choices seem to be:

Dodge Dakota with a 4.7 V8. Would do fine for the little trailer and other use, but may limit what I can use it for.

Dodge 1500. I like the size, and a 5.7 V8 seems to fit the power I need.

Dodge 2500. If I went this route, should I just go big and get a Cummins? What about the older 5.9?

Please discuss.

D.
 
Buliwyf

Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
The Dakota and 1500 are terrible to drive with the kind of weights you mentioned behind them. Those trucks are for people that don't tow, or tow something tiny. Not a whole Jeep or airplane.

Get the 2500. The diesel isn't a must have at all, at the weights you mentioned. Unless you do a ton of highway towing.

I'd also look at Ford F250/350's.
 
redthies

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
I feel your pain on towing with the JK. We tow a 3500lb toy hauler pop-upwith our '11 JKUR. You should buy my 99 Dodge! It would do everything you need, and it is a steal of a deal! Dodge dealership mechanic owned since day 1, is a full load except leather, has brand new Toyo ATs. It needs nothing, aside from someone else's name on the title. I am just a wee bit north of Bellingham. I could meet you half way...

Let me know if you want to see pics.
 
D

DesertJK

Adventurer
redthies said:
I feel your pain on towing with the JK. We tow a 3500lb toy hauler pop-upwith our '11 JKUR. You should buy my 99 Dodge! It would do everything you need, and it is a steal of a deal! Dodge dealership mechanic owned since day 1, is a full load except leather, has brand new Toyo ATs. It needs nothing, aside from someone else's name on the title. I am just a wee bit north of Bellingham. I could meet you half way...

Let me know if you want to see pics.
Click to expand...

Ok, post a couple pics and what you want for it. I am not really ready to buy right now, but if it is the right truck I may become motivated.
 
D

DesertJK

Adventurer
Buliwyf said:
The Dakota and 1500 are terrible to drive with the kind of weights you mentioned behind them. Those trucks are for people that don't tow, or tow something tiny. Not a whole Jeep or airplane.

Get the 2500. The diesel isn't a must have at all, at the weights you mentioned. Unless you do a ton of highway towing.

I'd also look at Ford F250/350's.
Click to expand...

I do not plan on towing the Jeep. I have towed the airplane trailer with a street oriented Dodge 1500 with a 5.7 several times on the highway and country roads. I was actually really good. I want a short wheel base, short as possible truck too because I want to put a snow plow on it and need to be able to turn in tight places.
 
Fireman78

Fireman78

Expedition Leader
-XJ- said:
not sure on how deep your wallet is.. so with that said, 05 - Present POWER WAGON?
Click to expand...

X2. Power Wagons are sweet. MPG not so great, but they can tow 10K. I wouldn't use one for continual towing duty or long distances, but for a great, tough all around truck that can do pretty much anything.. Power Wagons are the real deal.
 
D

DesertJK

Adventurer
Never really had much love for Fords, but my only experince has been an F450 with a V10 and a 5.4 liter that shot a spark plug out of it. I have always liked Dodge trucks and it seems like there are more Dodges on the road around here than others. I won't buy a Chevy or GMC, everyone I have driven has been to total POS.

Why no love for the Dakota or 1500? Everyone says to stay away from them but offers no hard facts.

I love the Power Wagons, I would buy one in a second if I could afford it. I suppose if I sold my 2008 JKU Rubicon I could get any truck I wanted, but I like the Jeep and there isn't anything better for the types of trails around here. A full size truck is just too big for our woods.
 
crismateski

crismateski

American Adventurist
I am on my second dodge truck, the first was a 2004 Hemi 2500 2wd. I bought it new, put 185,000 miles on it, and the only maintenance I did was oil changes (castrol synthetic every 12000 miles) and a brake pads, 2 front 1 rear. It was still running perfect. The second one is what I have now, it is the 2006 Hemi Powerwagon, I got it last march, and have put 26k miles on it (just broke 100k this weekend) and it has no issues. I have a 5000 pound boat (with trailer) and neither truck even notices it.

Now the bad, the Hemi is a gas hog, the 04 would do about 12 around town and 15-16 on the highway, the wagon is 10 around town and 12.5 highway. If the diesel was an option in the power wagon i would have gotten it, but only if it was the 5.9 cummins (pre 2007.5 model year) the 5.9 is just an all around awesome engine.
 
Last edited:
colodak

colodak

Adventurer
Well, personally, if your going the Dakota route, I would try to find Quadcab with a 5.9 engine. Mileage will suck, but you'll have more power on tap. As for towing, well, there is an elderly couple in my area who tow a 28" 5th wheel travel trailer with a quadcab Dakota. It's a 2000 model, I seen cruising down the interstate many times. My 2000 Quadcab (124K miles) is rated to 6,200 lbs towing properly equipped. One area where you will have a problem is that lack of aftermarket love and support for the Dakota. The front end sadly won't handle to weight of a plow. The reason so many people will knock a Dakota is lack of aftermarket support. BUt, by comparison, a quadcab Dakota vs. Frontier vs. Colorado vs. Tacoma, until about '07 the Dakota was the largest interior wise, since then, they are tied with the Tacoma but still larger than the other two. Co-worker just bought a '08 Frontier 4-dr, doesn't have the space of the Dakota and entry/exit is tighter.

Towing with the 1500, again, properly equipped they can handle 6,000 lbs to 7,000 lbs easily. BUt a comparison, best friend has a 2000 1500, 318 v8 and 5 spd and tow package. The weak link is the 318 and the manual, he is only rated to 5,600 lbs. He recently upgraded to a NV4500 trans and some other engine mods, he tows a 5,000 lbs travel trailer and feels more confident now with these upgrades.

If you got the diesel route, find one that is pre-DPF emissions, hence a 5.9.
 
lllateralus

lllateralus

Observer
colodak said:
.......................there is an elderly couple in my area who tow a 28" 5th wheel travel trailer with a quadcab Dakota. It's a 2000 model, I seen cruising down the interstate many times.
Click to expand...


Are you serious? A 28 foot 5TH WHEEL with a Dakota? Driven by an elderly couple? That is a bad accident waiting to happen.
 
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