4500 & 5500 Ram???

[blacksheep4x4]

I thought Dodge was suppose to unveil there 4500 and 5500 series trucks today? Anybody heard anything yet. Can't find any thing on their website except the new 3500 cab and chasis.

 

[Spooled-up]

I was wondering the same thing, but apparently they only unveiled the 3500 cab and chassis today. There was supposed to be something on the TDR home page.



From this thread:

Steve announced in the towing/hauling forum that he is writing an article after talking with the DC and Cummins engineers. Look on the front page later today for more details.

 

[FASTERTHANU]

I called my friend who is a salesman at Carson Dodge and asked him the same question. I've been waiting for the 4500 and it's March 1 release for 3 months. He said the release date has been moved back to a September :{ I finally found a low mile '05 DRW Laramie NV 5600 and am going to get it and step up in a couple years after they work out the bugs. Call me impatient but I have a 17,000 pound trailer I've been towing with a SRW truck and have about 13 rodeos to haul my kids and horses to.

 

[Tilesetter Too]

posted this in general category too...



OOOHHH Yea!, now ford & GM will control only 85% of the market instead of 90%. WTF, Are they blind or what. Ford controls the vast majority of 450/550 sales. That segment is RIPE for the pickin for dodge with all the problems with the 6. 0, but D. C is going to drag ***** again and miss out. By the time they actually release a 4500/5500 to compete, ford will have their new 6. 4 on the market and the 6. 0 haters will have to give it a shot cause ford just wouldn't put out another junk engine and bam D. C. misses all the sales of those people standing on the fence looking for someplace to go.

Now, for amusement sake, lets say the 6. 4 turns out to be a good engine, now you've got even more diehard fordies that wont give dodge a shot that are currently just begging somebody to give them an option in the 45/55 catagory. These could be easy converts who for the most part wouldn't go back to ford if their dodges proved reliable just because of all the problems they had with ford, but just give ford a chance to come up with a reliable engine and dodge will have a much harder time grabbing sales in that segment.

I discount the chevy somewhat because lots of people, myself included, just don't want to drive a truck that feakin' big full time in town, day to day. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to drive just cause, but practicality rears its ugly head for in town use. That is my big like for the ford, upgraded internals, but exterior still looks like a pickup. If the 6. 0 didn't scare the bejesus out of me, I'd jump ship right now into the ford 450 because THATS THE ONLY THING OUT THERE!!!! AND THE ONLY THING IN AN INCREASED GVW for a pickup.

I really really want to stay dodge, cause I really like my dodge, but I need the next step up and so far only ford fits the bill. I guess I can give a 450 gasser a shot for a couple of years and to see how the 6. 4 fairs.

 

[blacksheep4x4]

I called my friend who is a salesman at Carson Dodge and asked him the same question. I've been waiting for the 4500 and it's March 1 release for 3 months. He said the release date has been moved back to a September :{ I finally found a low mile '05 DRW Laramie NV 5600 and am going to get it and step up in a couple years after they work out the bugs. Call me impatient but I have a 17,000 pound trailer I've been towing with a SRW truck and have about 13 rodeos to haul my kids and horses to.

I knew it was to good to be true. Them guys at chrysler are bunch of knuckle dragging fools. They need to get thier truck out on the market it sure would make alot of people happy.

 

[rbattelle]

Let's face it: Dodge will not introduce a 4500/5500 chassis. Probably not ever. There's been rumor upon rumor for many years, and nothing has ever materialized except vague promises of such a machine "in a few months". The 3500 cab/chassis is the closest Dodge will ever come to it.



-Ryan

 

[amsoilman]

Ya know, Dodge is the ONLY one of the BIG US Manufactures that are making MONEY! They MUST be doing something right! I'm speaking Ford, Dodge, and GM.







Wayne

 

[JCleary]

I guess I can give a 450 gasser a shot for a couple of years and to see how the 6. 4 fairs.

Not a bad idea. It will take at least 75k-100k miles for the diesel option to pay for itself anyway, longer if the 6. 4 has problems like the 6. 0. I know my driver's been stranded a couple of times by our 6. 0 POS.



I was so hoping to purchase a 4500 with a Cummins. Oh well, we'll keep running the 6. 0 until the warranty is close to gone.

 

[Tilesetter Too]

Well, I'm at 75K right now in 2. 4 yrs. Almost all of that is hauling a trailer. I avg. 10mpg now, figure 7 for the gasser, with current pricing of fuel, at 75K, I'm an extra $5700 in fuel costs. Change it to 6mpg and I'm at $10K over. Those numbers suck, at 7 I break even, at 6 I lose, but how do i tell what i'll get with gasser, where's my magic genie????

 

[Donn]

Yea, The right they are doing is being owned by a freaking german car company. I'll just wait for the japanese to kick our **** in trucks like they have already done in cars, If our american manufactures keep doing what they have been, it will not be too long

 

[DKarvwnaris]

Yea, The right they are doing is being owned by a freaking german car company. I'll just wait for the japanese to kick our **** in trucks like they have already done in cars, If our american manufactures keep doing what they have been, it will not be too long

Toyota is more of an american product now than any of the "big three" have been in years. At least Toyota, as well as Honda has provided americans with jobs by moving their plants into the USA. Seems funny we all have some kind of "pride" in buying trucks like Ford, Dodge, and GM when each of these are being produced in MEXICO or CANADA!!!!!!

Given the choice, I would rather buy a made in the USA vehicle, but the reality is, we have complacently surrendered that option years ago. I am not sure what my next vehicle will be, but I doubt it will be determined by where or who is producing it. This really infuriates me that its like this. I want to see this country at the top of the world, both economically, militarily, politically, and pride, (I guess I've got a decades left before I pass on for sure, so who knows... . )

 

[Holysmokes]

At least Toyota, as well as Honda has provided americans with jobs by moving their plants into the USA. Seems funny we all have some kind of "pride" in buying trucks like Ford, Dodge, and GM when each of these are being produced in MEXICO or CANADA!!!!!!

:-laf Lets take a $30,000 car with a HONDA. Now lets say the workers are on overtime and are at doubletime to make that car. Car now costs a whopping 8K to build. Wanna guess where that other $22,000 goes? Back over seas!

 

[bighammer]

Let's try to get this back on the topic of 45/5500's.

 

[Grizzly]

Tuesday Feb. 28 LA Times Highway section tells all about the Japanese building full size pickups to compete with Dodge, Ford and GM. This is really going to hurt.

NOT SO FAST. Toyota is wimping out again. They just announced that there so called full size will a Trundra with an available bigger gas engine , 5. 7L.

 

[Tilesetter Too]

I'm gettin the itch to build my own 4500. I'd get a f450 4x4 frame and axles set up, and old 47-54 Chevy COE, or same year dodge, crew cab it, air bag/ 4link it and drop a either 98 12v or 2003-5 HPCR. I could build the interior my way and paint it with a paint that doesnt rub off with a little spit and your finger. SWEET RIDE!

I figure I could do it for 20-25K, 1/2 the cost of a new one and talk about getting noticed!

The only problem is that freakin time thing, take at least 1-2 years to get it done. Stinkin lack of time anyhow... .

Shawn

 

[FATCAT]

I'm gettin the itch to build my own 4500. I'd get a f450 4x4 frame and axles set up, and old 47-54 Chevy COE, or same year dodge, crew cab it, air bag/ 4link it and drop a either 98 12v or 2003-5 HPCR. I could build the interior my way and paint it with a paint that doesnt rub off with a little spit and your finger. SWEET RIDE!

I figure I could do it for 20-25K, 1/2 the cost of a new one and talk about getting noticed!

The only problem is that freakin time thing, take at least 1-2 years to get it done. Stinkin lack of time anyhow... .

Shawn

Go big ... this truck would be nice in 4X4.

 

[DKarvwnaris]

:-laf Lets take a $30,000 car with a HONDA. Now lets say the workers are on overtime and are at doubletime to make that car. Car now costs a whopping 8K to build. Wanna guess where that other $22,000 goes? Back over seas!

Where do you think Daimler Chrsyler's profits are going? Its a world market, doesn't mean we have to have world employment.





What good is the idea of buying GM, Ford, Dodge if they continually send things out of CONUS for manufacturing. At least Toyota has put somethign back into the US market employment wise. GM is looking to further cut their domestic employment to "save their domestic market", they just don't get it. This can't do anything but further upset their loyal customers who rant and rave about US cars yada yada.

In the end, this thread is about one thing, the empty promises the internet and Daimler's marketing strategists have been so good at; NO 4500, no 5500 series trucks yet again.

Their chassis cabs are still under sized brake wise for their weight loads in the 3500 series, can't see how they're going to fix that still. Now they want to put a bigger engine in the truck? Great Engineering.

 

[Tilesetter Too]

Fatcat, that thing is great, but a hair big to be parking in a customers driveway :-laf . Thats why I like the f450 size, still pickup-ish. I'll probably just buy a new 06 quad dodge and live with it, but I've got a couple of big checks coming, maybe I should call my local rod shop and see how fast they could build me one .

shawn