Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Now that we are coming up on 3 years since the 3rd Gens have been on the road people are getting close to that 300,000 mile mark. I'm curious as to how they are holding up compared to Ford and Chevy. For the purposes of comparison let's leave the engines out of the equation (there has to be some level of fairness) and stick with the truck itself.
My 2003 has held up incredibly well considering what my opinion of new vehicles was back then. I have yet to see the plastic degrade and crack, and while I do have a few road dents in the body I am impressed at how well it has held up. The seats are also holding up, as is the vinyl that covers the console. I'm going to get 60,000 miles from my original tires, so regardless of what you think of the Michelin AS series I think it speaks well for the way the truck is balanced. The lexan headlights have also held up well. No visible scratches or gouges. Even what I consider the primary weakness of the truck--the paint, has not turned out to be as bad as I thought it would be. I have one or two paint chips from rock haulers shedding debris, and numerous paint scratches on all inside walls of the bed. I also have rock chips on the painted underside of the the truck.
On the other hand, the Fords I see from the same year (silver diesel plate intead of black) have major dents, and for some reason Ford owners seem to trash out their fiberglass dually fenders a lot more than Dodge owners. My truck is used more for hauling/towing on highways and roads, so it may be due to the way the trucks are used, and you people who use your trucks at job sites might see it diffently. I don't see enough Chevy diesels out there to form an opinion. For some reason the Chevy guys in Texas seem to buy heavy duty gassers. Any other opinions on how Dodge HDs compare to the competition?
My 2003 has held up incredibly well considering what my opinion of new vehicles was back then. I have yet to see the plastic degrade and crack, and while I do have a few road dents in the body I am impressed at how well it has held up. The seats are also holding up, as is the vinyl that covers the console. I'm going to get 60,000 miles from my original tires, so regardless of what you think of the Michelin AS series I think it speaks well for the way the truck is balanced. The lexan headlights have also held up well. No visible scratches or gouges. Even what I consider the primary weakness of the truck--the paint, has not turned out to be as bad as I thought it would be. I have one or two paint chips from rock haulers shedding debris, and numerous paint scratches on all inside walls of the bed. I also have rock chips on the painted underside of the the truck.
On the other hand, the Fords I see from the same year (silver diesel plate intead of black) have major dents, and for some reason Ford owners seem to trash out their fiberglass dually fenders a lot more than Dodge owners. My truck is used more for hauling/towing on highways and roads, so it may be due to the way the trucks are used, and you people who use your trucks at job sites might see it diffently. I don't see enough Chevy diesels out there to form an opinion. For some reason the Chevy guys in Texas seem to buy heavy duty gassers. Any other opinions on how Dodge HDs compare to the competition?
Last edited:
