Thinking of going from 03 DRW to new 3500 srw sb

[dward]

I currently have a pristine 03 4x4 QC DRW with 85k mi and a ton of mods.
Upgraded trans, ATS exhaust man and intake, Bobs silicone hoses, new radiator, Mag trans/diff pan, Smarty, FASS system, steering stabilizer, Buckstop bumper, Isspro gauges, setup for Lance camper inc tiedowns, on-board compressor and air bags, reese V hitch, Linex and 60 gal replacement fuel tank. Just fixed the hvac blend doors.
I love the setup and the truck is awesome but I just sold my ranch and moved back to the beach so I don't have the luxury of storing the stable of vehicles. I also have a 21' toyhauler which I will probably use more.
The 10' lance is great for travelling but its still a pretty good sized rig and driving the dually is a bit cumbersome as a daily driver.
I'm thinking of a SB and would probably get the 3500 so I could still put a smaller 8' Lance to make a better/smaller travelling rig. This would also be better to tow the TH as getting around while camping would be easier.
In the future i would like to upgrade to a 32-35' 5th wheel TH.
My buddy wants to buy the whole rig and I'm thinking around $25k for the truck. Am I in the ballpark for price? I know the $15k in mods don't add much for resale.
I know the new truck is more of a want, but darn, they are NICE. I would get 4x4 with the Aisin.
I don't need the top of the line and like cloth interior. Any idea what kind of price I could get on a 13?
I checked with Dave Smith last summer but curious if there are some good discounts on 13s?
So, what do you all think? I know the 03 is one of the best, but I need to downsize from 4 to 2 vehicles and plan to get the SB and keep my 02 VW TDI.
Thanks

 

[dloughrey]

I went from a 05 drw to a 14 3500 srw and love the new truck. I have a bigfoot slide in camper and a 32' fifth wheel. I always thought that a drw would provide better stability and found that it was just a pain to maneuver around and the mileage was not good. You will not regret the srw.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I have both a 04 and a 13 DRW trucks. Both are nice but the 13 tops the scale on how well it handles the load,drives,sounds,and does all that quietly. I understand you may have some issues with availability of the Aisin trans in SRW truck? If you need to talk to someone that is great to work with at Dave Smith, give Christene Neff a try. She knows her stuff.

 

[RVTRKN]

I would think that 25K is a good price, if he's not able to pay cash and needs a loan to buy it, then you'll know if its worth it. The bank won't loan the money to buy it, if its not. I told my brother I would sell him my 04.5 (look at sig) at a thousand dollars below Bluebook, which listed it at $19K, but he needed a loan to pay off his 03 Dodge 2500 4X4 gasser. The Credit Union gave him a loan of $26K to buy my truck.

WOW, what a deal. :{

 

[Dieselnerd]

I went the other way, from an '05 3500 SRW to a 2014 3500 DRW. The '14 almost rides like a car and I'm very pleased with it. My wife always disliked dually's but she really likes this one.

I know the new SRW's have a higher load rating so you may be OK with your towing and hauling but the Aisin's are getting scarce on SRW's. My '05 was at the very upper limit towing my 36 foot 5th wheel or carrying my Lance 850 so I went with the DRW for more peace of mind.

I traded my stock '05 in at the dealer but they sold it in a few days for $27K. I know that's what they got because the guy they sold it to called me after he bought it and told me what he paid. I sold him my spare '05 parts and filters. $25K for yours with all the extras sounds reasonable.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I'm going to SRW for my next new truck also since it's rated to pull our 36' 5ver. If not rated, I'd go DRW again.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

You should be able to get $22-25K, but you may have to wait a while for the right buyer, like I did on my early 2004. Mine had more stuff but more miles on it, too.
Banks loan money based on loan value, and that is only part of what a modified truck may be worth. Loan value doesn't take into account many of the enhancements.
A new SRW 3500 may be a great choice for you. The new short bed is 12" shorter han your present 2003; the long bed is 10" longer, because the crew cab is that much longer (back seat room) than the quad cab.
I too like the cloth interior and found a Big Horn (an overlay option on the SLT) back in July with the options I wanted. You can probably save $8-10K from list on a leftover 2013. I can help search for one with what you want and what you need if you aren't familiar with the ramtrucks website.

I hope everyone with a new one can come to May Madness next year. We will have strong participation from Cummins and from Ram. You can get your questions answered, warranty issues discussed with the top warranty guys, etc. We plan to have a photo taken off a 2013-4 Roundup of all the new ones in attendance.

 

[RVTRKN]

Reduced to step children.

Hey Joe, what about our older 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen step children?

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The older Rams don't help me leverage participation from Ram and Cummins. Everyone is welcome, even with "off-brand" diesels. The MM group is up to ten new Rams iirc, so far, and that was significant to them. You need to get over your worries about the 3.42 ratio, and buy a new one, lol. There are more pinion teeth to keep them, and the diff as a whole, cooler. Drag racers learned 50 years ago that high nmerical ratio diffs got hotter...
Bring your older stepchildren to MM and I dare you to test drive a new 2013-4 and tell me you don't want it!

 

[RVTRKN]

I'm going to try and make it with a buddy that has a late 2nd gen (2001, I think), but me and the wife has a 25th anniversary trip with the 5ver at the end of May. I'll try to make the weekend part of it.