125,000 mile roport on 2004

[Posm]

Just went over 125K and thought I would do a little report on what I have been experiencing.



Likes:

Very quiet. I put 200K+ on my 2000 and sold it to a friend. I rode in it recently and can not believe how noisy that thing was.



Rides good. This 3500 SRW rides better than my 2000 2500



Adequate interior room compared to 2000 quad I do not know if I will go Mega next time or not.



Windshield. My 2000 would crack/chip every time I hit some road debris. i only have on small chip after 125k. Windshield angle I guess??



Mileage I have the worst MPG set-up short of an auto dually. I have 4X4, with 4. 10 and I still get 18 or 19 at 60MPH and 17 or 18 at 70MPH



Brakes: I have the originals on and they show a lot of pad left.



Best mods: Line X, Amp research power steps, B and W turnover ball. and Truxedo bed cover.



Dislikes:

17" tires little or no selection of E tires



Ball joints Needed ball joints at 80K. 2000 had little wear at 200K



17" tires available tires have either poor wet tractoin or poor wear .



Bed height I wish it were as short as the Chevy 4X4. Those that wanted to could always put a lift on, but we can not really lower the truck for trailer towing and maintain load capacity.



17" tires very expensive compared to 16" tires



Rear drive line. I replaced the rear drive shaft because it was quicker and cheaper to replace than to replace u-joints (frozen rear joint) and companion seal (front yoke)which was leaking.



17" tires Just for emphesis. I know we need them to get the good brakes.

 

[klenger]

Good report. I agree with your points. Of course, I only have 20k on mine, so I can't verify the wear items, but don't want to go back to my 01. 5.



Actually, you can lower the back end about 1-1/2" at the tailgate by restacking the rear axle spacers. See info here: http://www.klenger.net/dodge/lowering-rear-end/slide01.html

 

[GaryCarter]

Dead on in my experience. Had the 2k model before, too.

17" wheels don't bother me so much. So far the BFG RT's are wearing about as good as any similar tire I've used, and the wet traction's pretty good. What tires have you used?



Gary

 

[Posm]

I had the sock BFG tires and they went about 60K. After 40K they had very poor wet traction. I then switched to the 287/65/17D BFG TA KO tires. They had good wet traction and good resistance to hydroplaning, but they were bouncing very badly by 30K and worn out by 35K. I can not stand to pay $800. 00, twice a year for tires.

Normal people (15K/year) will not have to worry about these problems. By the time you have worn out a set of tires, there will be several good choices on the market. My tire of preference on the 2000 was the Michelin LTX M/S. Not an aggressive tire but good wear and good wet traction. Do not confuse this with the very poor Michelin A/S that comes OEM.

 

[Grizzly]

That was a good report and very encouraging as to what to expect for my 05, thanks.

 

[thealaskan]

Good report. So the only major expense items were ball joints and tires? Amazing on the brake pads... ... ... .



My 05 Quad Cab Dually now has a whopping 7800 miles. All stock except for cosmetics, so far so good, zero problems to report.



We are leaving Anchorage, Alaska in a couple days and driving with only a bed load to pick up the new 5th wheel in Indiana. Its a beast at 39' and 12K dry, so that should be interesting.



Anyone pulling big 5th wheels stock?

 

[jwduke]

Thanks for the report, great results! I know what I have to look forward to.

 

[Posm]

I updated post to reflect rear driveline replacement.

 

[Hercules130]

did you order a new driveshaft from dodge? how much was it

 

[Posm]

I ordered it from Tenafly Dodge in NJ. They have poor customer service. Will not answer e-mails, pick up the phone, or return messages, but they have the lowest prices I have found. They offer a 35 or 40 discount while most others have a 20 or 25 % online discount. I do not remember the price, but think it was under $250. 00 delivered. It was a later rendition than the one I had on my truck as evidenced by the part number suffix. I believe it had an "h" suffix while the one on my tuck had an "f".