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Old 07-18-2018, 10:28 AM   #21
BuilderBob
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Just picked up are 2018 Dodge 3500 Laramie Last week we ordered to replace are 2008 Dodge It has a lot of stuff in that the DW likes and it has the puck sys. for the fifth wheel.
Makes it nice to have a flat box when the hitch is out.
 
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Old 07-18-2018, 01:33 PM   #22
bethandkevin
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Just for your consideration: My brother bought a new 2015 3500HD D/A in 2014 preparing for a planned trip to Alaska. About 38,000 on it now. Took off on his 3 month group caravan trip and.....it let him down. In Montana. 65 miles from anything. Hauling his 12,000lb SOB. Bought Good Sam Roadside for the trip. Good Sam could not find a provider to tow him. He made other arrangements that cost him $750.00 out of pocket to tow truck and trailer separately. Dealer said they could not duplicate the concern on the truck, charged him $70.00 and sent him on his way. No trouble since.
I guess what I'm getting at is you can prepare yourself for everything you can possibly think up, but just when you think you're ready....well, s**t happens!


Good Sam reimbursed him.
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Old 07-18-2018, 01:36 PM   #23
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Ifyou have a 'spare' $60-80,000 or more bucks just laying around, stuffef under the mattress, by all means, visit one of the Big Three and drive out with the new and improved version of what you have. But if your truck does what needs to be done, why. just to have a truck that may shine a little better, may have a few more horsepower and pound feet of torque but that;s relative if what you have will do it almost as well ---- and it still runs good and has been paid for for years. Then if you feel that you need to dump a 10-12 buck ug of DEF in its separate tank every couple thousand towing miles - by all means, that new truck id just waiting. Of course, there are those persnickety electronics gadgets that help support that DEF and emissions controls which also a 'selling point' - not!!.


Virtually any current '90s up diesel in any of the big three pickups is good for 300-400,000 miles or more with reasonable maintenance. The body might rot off and the suspension may give up --- but that engine will still be running as evidenced by the '90s and early two thousands Dodges (not the Rams) especially in the rust belt where I live
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Old 07-18-2018, 02:00 PM   #24
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I think ole Dave got it about right. I’m keeping my old 08 F250. With 600 HP it WILL pull my camper, looks like new and runs better than the new ones the only thing it’s a little noisy. Oh well!
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Old 07-18-2018, 08:37 PM   #25
Hblick48
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05 Ford F-250 with trouble prone 6.0 engine. PO took great care of it, kept log book. It now has 140,000 miles, took it on an 8,500 mile trip past year and planning longer one later this year. Lots of preventive maintenance and change fluids and filters regularly. Just had oil analysis done, no issues! Just had to replace both batteries last week while on a trip. $210 at Costco. Still much less than a new truck payment.
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Old 07-22-2018, 01:46 PM   #26
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Duramax

I have a 2007 Classic (which means it is a 2006) 3/4 ton Duramax in every day use for my shop manager and it still does just fine with more than 300k on it. It no longer pulls an RV but still runs 50 plus miles each day. We have no fear of it.We have had to make some repairs but then so have we on my 2015 1 ton Duramax - fuel leak in the injector lines covered by warranty and replacement of the DEF tank which was NOT covered by warranty at 80,000 miles and cost me $1,500. I'm of the opinion that occasional repairs are much cheaper than years of payments AND repair expenses.

BTW, I had to have a one ton to handle my 3825RL account my 3/4 was just too light to handle the weight of the trailer. It was so overloaded that driving it was unsafe.

Maintenance is the key issue to many longevity requirements but sometimes things are going to break in spite of the best maintenance. I will delete the DEF system at the next expense. I would have deleted it instead of replacing the DEF tank if the pickup had been out of warranty.
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Old 07-22-2018, 02:18 PM   #27
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If you can wait a couple of years the new trucks will be capable of backing and parking the 5'er for you. Yes, it is good to know how to do this yourself and yes one should think twice before relying solely on technology. With that said, I will be purchasing a new RAM 3500 as soon as the backing technology is proven reliable.
Find me one that can back a 5er and I'm in (unless it is Ram).
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Old 07-22-2018, 02:26 PM   #28
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I bought a new 2006 Dodge Mega Cab 3500 Heavy Duty 4x4 with the 5.9 cummins motor. I have 169,000 miles on it & I wouldn't hesitate to take it cross country. And I live in So.Cal. In fact we're heading to Indiana for the MOC Rally via Montana & Canada in a few weeks.
It's hauled an 06 - 41' Holiday Rambler 3 axle toy hauler, 2011 30' Cougar & now a new 35' High Country. Only issue I've had is with the torque converter & I had to replace 2 injectors. But now I put a new fuel filter on every other oil change & diesel additive. I change oil at 5000 miles. I also go to those self serve car washes & clean my truck.
As long as you maintain your truck shocks air filter etc. It should last to 250,000 miles at least. I met a guy a couple weeks ago rving in Paso Robles,Ca. & he had 325,000 miles on his Dodge truck! My Dodge truck has only been used to tow my 5th wheel. when I come back home from where ever I'm going. I clay bar & wax my truck & put back in garage.
My dad used to tell me when I was a kid. Take pride in your ride son & it'll take care of you...
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Old 07-22-2018, 02:44 PM   #29
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Great read on the longevity of the diesel and what to change or replace. With 100 +K mileage do you have to replace the timing belt or do they use chain or gears? Just curious.
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Old 07-22-2018, 02:53 PM   #30
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I have maintained the truck well.

I have taken two long distance trips in this truck (Louisiana to Colorado) and the trailer did fine both times.

Waynemoore. My truck is paid off now but I am considering buying a new truck in 3 to 4 years. It would be nice to go that long without a note. I know buying a new truck won’t gurantee I won’t have a breakdown but I assume it would lessen the odds. I plan on pulling a 5th wheel for another 10 years or so. Buying a new truck now would give me a little more peace of mind. I just wanted to see about the xoeriences if others who have made long distance trips with trucks that have 150K to 175K miles.
I have a F250 super duty with 158,000 that pulls my fifth wheel. I'm hoping to get 200,000 plus of happy pulling. Any truck can have a problem but fluid maintenance is the key.
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Old 07-22-2018, 03:05 PM   #31
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Great read on the longevity of the diesel and what to change or replace. With 100 +K mileage do you have to replace the timing belt or do they use chain or gears? Just curious.
As far as I know they all use steel gears.
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Old 07-22-2018, 05:07 PM   #32
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Duramax going strong

My 06 Duramax has 136 ,000 just got back from a 7,000 circle the U.S. trip. Ran like a charm. I run synthetic oil and pay attention to the Allison transmission. I have replaced glow plugs lately. The wheels will fall off before the Duramax quits
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Old 07-23-2018, 02:50 AM   #33
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Change the oil regularly and you should get 300,000
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Old 07-23-2018, 08:27 AM   #34
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Change the oil regularly and you should get 300,000
I just learned something about oil that made me say, do what. I didn’t believe it until I checked, oil lubricants better after you have run it for a while. That doesn’t sound reasonable but I think it’s true. If you are like me and don’t believe that check and see what you can find.
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:22 AM   #35
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I admit that I grew up during a time when 100K on the odometer meant you had a old vehicle. That is what is clouding my judgement.

I drive a 2008 Chevy 2500 with a Duramax Diesel. The truck has 134K miles on it. I will finally be retiring in May, 2019. I have a half dozen bucket list trips in mind that are several weeks long and several thousand miles in length.

I know that nobody can speak to my truck in particular but I would appreciate hearing thoughts of long distance travel in today’s trucks that have over 100K miles. Is this risky?
MY 2001 Chev 2500 dmax has 262000 miles I wont hesitate to head south this winter like every other year clean oil clean water clean air and not heavy on the pedal keep the EGT down
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:32 AM   #36
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MY 2001 Chev 2500 dmax has 262000 miles I wont hesitate to head south this winter like every other year clean oil clean water clean air and not heavy on the pedal keep the EGT down
PS I put a Pac-Brake on it best thing ever
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Old 07-23-2018, 09:39 AM   #37
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I was thinking of putting that on my truck.
Any Problems?
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Old 07-23-2018, 10:01 AM   #38
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MY 2001 Chev 2500 dmax has 262000 miles I wont hesitate to head south this winter like every other year clean oil clean water clean air and not heavy on the pedal keep the EGT down
[QUOTEQUOTE]

none at all They are built near where I live you can email me at garth.jones41@gmail.com Garth
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Old 07-23-2018, 01:46 PM   #39
DebNJim B
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I agree with most comments that you have a hundred K or so left in her. Having said that, a friend of mine that ran 50 or so trucks as an excavating contractor once told me old trucks cost the same to run as new ones. I had an 88 Chevy gasser that I ran for 250K and kept meticulous records on and also excellent maintenance. I wouldn't have hesitated to take off to California with it with no worries, but the last 50K cost me almost exactly what the first 50K did, payments included. Since then I have traded when I approach 100K. I like riding in new trucks more than old ones.
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Old 07-23-2018, 02:08 PM   #40
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There are many ways of approaching a purchase/no purchase decision. Usually, driving any vehicle can be reduced to so many cents per mile. My experience is similar to DebNJim B, used trucks can be just as expensive to own as new ones. I traded my 05 Cummins on a new Ford in the fall of 16, since it was still holding quite a lot of value at 100,000 miles, and the end of year deal was one I could live with. Any time new trucks are mentioned, the $60,000 to $80,000 figures always come out. Certainly, those are MSRP figures that you can find on the stickers, but it isn't hard to find a new diesel truck in the low 40's. You're going to find an identical drive train in all of them by the same maker.
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