New OR Used Truck 4 Me?

[FASTERTHANU]

Gentelmen, I HUMBLY request your advice... I have recently purchased a new LQ 4 horse trailer which requires I upgrade out of my beloved truck (see signature).



Things to consider:



The new trailer weighs about 16,000 lbs with all the horses in it.



I live in the most mountainous state in the country (Nevada).



I refuse to run any transmission other than a manual with an exhaust brake.



I've tried for months to find a low miles '04 Laramie DRW (white) with no success and figure they are either rare as hen's teeth or the guys that own them will never part with such a fine specimen. My reasoning for this particular vintage is that they came exclusively (i believe) with the NV 5600 6 speed which has a better O. D. ratio and is bulletproof by most standards. The other reason being no kittys/emmision controls.



My questions are;



1. Is the ger #@$%! trag transmission holding up under SEVERE duty use?



2. Should I wait and see if '07 4500 has something better in it?



3. Does anyone know what they will have in '07?



4. Is the '04 the holy grail I am making it out to be?



5. Is there a code in the vin# that designates H. O. in 04's or an easy way to get a prospective seller to identify one as such.



6. Can the new trucks be made to run in 2 low?



While my truck seems more than cabable of both hauling and stopping this rig, my main reason for upgrading is both the DRW as a safety issue and the increased GCVWR of the newer trucks. I have read horror stories of liability issues when operating over the GCVWR and getting in an accident.



I value your input on this matter as a lot of you folks spend way more time than I have reasearching these vehicles. It is inconceivable to think of getting Duracrap or PowerJoke so I am at Daimler's mercy. My families well being is at stake here and anyone that has an opinion will be heard.



Just as a side note to the many polls on this website. At 176,000 miles I am still on original clutch, 5th gear, and lift pump (with perfect pressure). It has been 100,000 miles since I did my last brake job and there is still a good 1/8th" to the wear indicator which is a testimony to the benefits of an exhaust brake. The truck will be for sale soon if anyone is interested.



Lastly I will gladly pay a finders fee if someone knows where an '04 white dually Laramie H. O. with 6 speed is for sale. I will Oo. for joy!



Thanks to all who reply!

 

[Grizzly]

Do a search on autotrader.com US wide or hold out for the 07 with a 6. 7 Cummins, 4500 and 5500.

 

[FASTERTHANU]

I check autotrader bi-weekly... . doesn't change much. Also Search Dodges used inventory on their site and Cars.com. Sounds like you don't like the Gertrag trans?

 

[JCleary]

I see them pop up on www.craigslist.org periodically.



BTW, the new G56 is not a Getrag. It's manufactured by Mercedes.

 

[boone59]

1st half of 05 has the nv5600

 

[JayWm]

My answers are in red in your quote

Gentelmen, I HUMBLY request your advice... I have recently purchased a new LQ 4 horse trailer which requires I upgrade out of my beloved truck (see signature).



Things to consider:



The new trailer weighs about 16,000 lbs with all the horses in it.



I live in the most mountainous state in the country (Nevada).



I refuse to run any transmission other than a manual with an exhaust brake.



I've tried for months to find a low miles '04 Laramie DRW (white) with no success and figure they are either rare as hen's teeth or the guys that own them will never part with such a fine specimen. My reasoning for this particular vintage is that they came exclusively (i believe) with the NV 5600 6 speed which has a better O. D. ratio and is bulletproof by most standards. True, but for pure towing the ratios in the G56 w/ the 3. 73's work really well for heavy trailers. A taller OD or ring and pinion would be nice while empty. The other reason being no kittys/emmision controls. They can be removed



My questions are;



1. Is the ger #@$%! trag transmission holding up under SEVERE duty use?

I have a G56 and have 16,000 miles on it, 90% while towing a 10,000 trailer. Made a trip to Kansas and back in Sept and drove 75-80mph the whole way and not an issue one

2. Should I wait and see if '07 4500 has something better in it?

dunno for sure, do a search as there is a lot of speculation on what 07 brings us

3. Does anyone know what they will have in '07?

same as above, but user Jelag states he has written proof of a 4500 coming soon.

4. Is the '04 the holy grail I am making it out to be?

not sure, a lot of guys w/ 03 305/555 motors would never part with one of those

5. Is there a code in the vin# that designates H. O. in 04's or an easy way to get a prospective seller to identify one as such.

I believe by 04 all motors were the same, until the 04. 5 came out

6. Can the new trucks be made to run in 2 low?

I think someone came up with a kit to disengage the front diff, try a search though

I am of the belief that the emissions reg's will drive the cost of the trucks even higher. And that most likely they will be even less efficient than the current trucks. This is becoming the case in class 8 trucks for 07. I have seen references to costs being 10-15,000 grands higher for the motors on class 8's and that they are less fuel efficient and have expensive emissions equipment that requires maintenance. Now if the rumors about the 07 dodge/cummins are true it could be a helluva truck. As for my 05, I am very happy with it, I would like a taller 6th or taller ring/pinion, but I'm not towing as heavy as you. If I was going heavy I would not want to change anything. Wouldn't mind a few more mpg's but then who wouldn't?

Hope this helps. It's tough, I debated my purchase for 9 months before ordering.



Jay

 

[CATCRACKER]

yesterday i bought an 03 QC 4x4 3. 37's dually 6speed leather heated seats etc 70K miles on the clock with ranchands all the way around with a afe ez(only on 3 months) gauges. $40K truck 3 years old save I saved over $17K. that should tell you my opinion of what i would do. plus the 03's and 04's get very good mpg's. getting 19+ going 70 on the interstate. anyway as you can tell i am very happy good luck look at KKB site also.

 

[JayWm]

yesterday i bought an 03 QC 4x4 3. 37's dually 6speed leather heated seats etc 70K miles on the clock with ranchands all the way around with a afe ez(only on 3 months) gauges. $40K truck 3 years old save I saved over $17K. that should tell you my opinion of what i would do. plus the 03's and 04's get very good mpg's. getting 19+ going 70 on the interstate. anyway as you can tell i am very happy good luck look at KKB site also.

I think we should ban you just for scoring such a nice truck

Congrats on the new ride. Oo. Oo. Oo. You're gonna send the previous owner a generous christmas card every, right???? :-laf :-laf

 

[FASTERTHANU]

thx Jay for all the answers. I understand your comment on the gear ratio vs o/d issue when it comes to weight. I've always felt that out in the flat I could use more o/d if I had it but I don't know how the 5 spd w/ 3. 43's stacks up against the 6 speed in that regard.

What do you rpm in 6th @ 65 mph?



What changed in 04. 5?



I get about 14 mpg towing a little better unloaded... Will I see about the same out of the new trucks?



Thx again

 

[BHolm]

I seriously doubt you will be able to get 14 mpg hauling that kind of wieght. I suspect it will be 10-12 mpg and that is if you are gentle, and I assume you are when hauling horses I was getting 13-14 just pulling an open car trailer (loaded) at 65-75 mph.



You can check the power rating of any of the engines just by looking at the valve cover sticker, it is listed there. I would keep searching for that '03, or early '04 truck, the 305/555 engine is a high water mark IMO.

 

[FASTERTHANU]

I got 14 mpg hand calculated with an open car trailer and a chevy truck on it @ 60-65 mph over a 400 mile trip. Got the same mileage hand calculated from Texas to Nevada when I picked up our old horse trailer which was 5000 lbs empty... We NEVER tow the horses that fast, normally about 55-60 however got basically the same mileage with our old trailer and the horses which was lighter than the new one at about 11,000 lbs. I don't obsess over the mileage thing as I used to drive Big Block gas trucks and anything is better than that! Stop and fill 'er up what other choices do you have?

 

[FASTERTHANU]

bHolm... . thx for the reply... . I kinda feel the same way but am ready for new as ours still books high and is in GREAT shape but is getting enough miles on it that for safety reasons I would like to move on... Again thax for confirming what I already thought. One more question (or two) was there an issue with intercoolers on 04's and why is the 305 preferred?

 

[DavidBurt]

FASTERTHANU I turn 1950 rpm in sixth at 65 (nv5600 and 3. 73's) hope that will help

Dave

 

[JayWm]

thx Jay for all the answers. I understand your comment on the gear ratio vs o/d issue when it comes to weight. I've always felt that out in the flat I could use more o/d if I had it but I don't know how the 5 spd w/ 3. 43's stacks up against the 6 speed in that regard.

What do you rpm in 6th @ 65 mph? rpm's @ 65mph is 2000rpm, someone around here came up with a gear chart showing rpm vs speed w/ new transmission



What changed in 04. 5?

04. 5 got the 325/600 motor which among other things it gained a cat and lost mpg, bigger turbo, 4" exhaust



I get about 14 mpg towing a little better unloaded... Will I see about the same out of the new trucks?

depends on what you tow and how fast you tow it. If and that's a BIG if I keep down to 65 mph I get 13-14mpg, and it goes down as speed goes up. Running 75+mph will push it down to 10mpg. I tow a 20 ft box that has horrible aerodynamics, thus I punch a large hole in the air. As big as your new trailer is I think you gonna be somewhere between 10-13mpg depending on how fast you go. Driving empty @ 75-80 mph gets me 14-16mpg. You see a theme with me yet?



Thx again

I guess in short what I'm saying is that I am happy with my 05, it gets the job done and then some. But if you find the right 03, I'd go for it in a heartbeat if I were you. You can change the exhaust to 4" easy enough. You can change the turbo, you can add power boxes. And yes, its generally agreed the 03 gets much better mileage. If you have the back issues of TDR, read #47,48,49. There was a great set of articles on making power in a 3rd gen, and they used the 305/555 motor. It was a good read.



Good luck,

Jay

 

[RankRam]

FASTERTHANU I just sent you a PM.