Why does Dodge have such a bad rep?

[NStates]

Why Does Dodge Have Such A Bad Rap?

It is quite interesting to see how many magazines (Trailer Life as an example) shows its prejudice towards Ford. You will see a big Ford Diesel pulling a 7,000 lb fifth wheel. They will state how much "get-up-and go" it has and the good fuel mileage. Never seem to connect to a heavy load. You will also see many Ford products in their pictures and they are heavy advertisers. Have driven four RAM Diesels for heavy hauling and they can not be beat. Will stack the dodge up against any Ford or Chevy. Engine, interior, exterior etc.



Norm



2008 Dodge RAM 3500 Laramie Quad Cab 4X2



6. 7 Liter Cummins (R) Turbo Diesel Engine, 6 -Speed Automatic 68RFE Transmission, 3. 73 Anti-Spin Differential, Brilliant White, ISSPRO Gauges, Transfer Flow Fuel Tank, PullRite #20,500 Super 5th Hitch, Line-X, XTRA Bed liner , Hayes Genesis brake controller, PML Deep Transmission Pan, Custom Graphics, Pull a Mobile Suites Fifth Wheel.

 

[SShafranko]

I currently have 90,856 miles on my truck, beating the sh@# out of it probably half of its life. I changed one seized u joint do to a burnout before a tirechange. Have not even changed my belt yet!!!!! I may consider a ford if they install a straight six cat motor, chevy is very very ugly. I LOVE MY DODGE.

 

[Grizzly]

It is quite interesting to see how many magazines (Trailer Life as an example) shows its prejudice towards Ford. You will see a big Ford Diesel pulling a 7,000 lb fifth wheel. They will state how much "get-up-and go" it has and the good fuel mileage. Never seem to connect to a heavy load. You will also see many Ford products in their pictures and they are heavy advertisers. Have driven four RAM Diesels for heavy hauling and they can not be beat. Will stack the dodge up against any Ford or Chevy. Engine, interior, exterior etc.

Norm







That's because Ford spends a lot of money advertising on their magazines. It's the old don't bite the hand that feeds you trick.

 

[AABEN]

I have drivin dodges 1961 to 2008 had a ford in 77 460eng truck was junk. Got rid of it at 32000 miles the dodge eng out lasted the fords

 

[brods]

... . Why then does every review I read from JD Power, Consumer Reports and all of the internet based ones knock Dodge so bad. ...

Probably because most of those guys writing the articles do not view the truck as a tool. They place more value on luxury car like amenities and fancy eye candy over rugged simplicity. How many "work truck" comparisons do you read about? Always loaded out grocery getters :-laf

 

[AMink]

My 97's interior was perfect when I sold it in 2006, except on the side of the driver's seat where I dragged my fat butt in and out. No dash cracks (in the Nevada desert sun), no squeaks, no rattles. My wife has an 02 Expedition. Overall it's OK, but it is loud with squeaks and rattles that I can't find. I liked the seat better in the 97 than the 06. It seems like the seat in the 06 is not flat; my right cheek seems lower than my left!:-laf Best seat I ever had was an 87 Dodge D50 bench seat. No adjustments at all, but it was perfect!



I think part of the issue with the magazines, especially Consumer Reports, is that they compare trucks to cars. I saw one recently that stated the unloaded 3500 rides a little rough! Mine doesn't, but I didn't just get out of a Mercedes 600 to compare it to, either!

 

[Grizzly]

I had a Furd F250 for many years before I purchased my first Dodge/Cummins. The Furd had a lot of engine problems and the was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. My next truck, a 95 Dodge with a Cummins and a 5 speed transmission was hands down the best vehicle I have ever owned. Many of you have complained about the seats. My 95, a Laramie, had cloth seats and were the best seats I ever had. That truck was never in the shop once, except for recalls. So far my 05 Dodge is every bit as good as the 95. Both came out of Mexico.

 

[azpete]

The seats in my 01 are very comfortable compared to the newer trucks. I have not had any of the problems with the front end. On long trips with the camper I can almost fall asleep because of the nice ride.



A couple of years ago I bought a full set of break pads from reading on here about how may people were having to replace after 20 to 30,000 miles. They are still in the box and 90,000 on the originals.



Love my truck, gets better mileage than my Jeep but has to sit at home because of the price of diesel.

 

[AClayton]

Probably because most of those guys writing the articles do not view the truck as a tool. They place more value on luxury car like amenities and fancy eye candy over rugged simplicity. How many "work truck" comparisons do you read about? Always loaded out grocery getters :-laf

I totally agree with this!!If you buy a vehicle to work with,you certainly don't care if it has 15cd disc changer or heated leather seats or carpet like in your living room.

 

[AllianceDiesel]

The funniest one was car and driver did a truck test and picked the chevy, first off inside the cover was a two page chevy add, and why the heck would I trucks CAR and driver, maybe they should stick to the cars.



There was a chevy guy that posted that article all over work but when you look at any diesel magazine they almost always pick the dodge

 

[Loren]

Probably because most of those guys writing the articles do not view the truck as a tool. They place more value on luxury car like amenities and fancy eye candy over rugged simplicity.

This hits the nail on the head. They do not view the truck as a tool. AMink's comment about how Consumer Reports compares trucks to cars says the same thing in a different way.



If you are looking at a truck as an oversized SUV, then you will go for things like quietness, smooth ride, 15 CD changer, etc. If you want the truck to pull 10,000 pounds while carrying another 1500 pounds in the bed, then you will accept a truck that's a little noisier, rougher, and that has only a 6 CD changer.



J. D. Power, et al, need to interview people who actually use their trucks as trucks.



Loren

 

[AKaiser]

Then the allison, which you couldn't give me, puked at 35k miles on one truck and at 87k on the other.

Well, stock trannys are one thing (cheap OEM parts and all) but if it's a built transmission, the Ally is the way to go (Ally vs 47/48RE). I've read on more than one occassion on various diesel boards that Dave Goerend himself says so. JM2C

 

[amsoilman]

This will date me, but here is my list of Dodge Trucks

1st 1941 Dodge bought 2nd hand

2nd 1968 Dodge bought new

3rd 1985 Dodge bought 2nd hand

4th 1988 Dodge bought new

5th 1991/12 Dodge bought new(first CTD)

6th 1994 Dodge CTD bought new

7th 2003 Dodge CTD bought new (current truck)



ALL of these trucks have served me well!



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Grizzly]

This will date me, but here is my list of Dodge Trucks

1st 1941 Dodge bought 2nd hand

2nd 1968 Dodge bought new

3rd 1985 Dodge bought 2nd hand

4th 1988 Dodge bought new

5th 1991/12 Dodge bought new(first CTD)

6th 1994 Dodge CTD bought new

7th 2003 Dodge CTD bought new (current truck)

ALL of these trucks have served me well!

Wayne

amsoilman

Very impressive record of Dodge trucks Wayne. Which one was your favorite? Have you had a Furd or Chevy truck?

 

[amsoilman]

Very impressive record of Dodge trucks Wayne. Which one was your favorite? Have you had a Furd or Chevy truck?

Thanks for asking! My favorite is the current 2003. However, with that said, it is only 5 years old, and has but a few miles(73,000 plus)compared to the others that had welll over 100 K!

Yes, I did own one Ford and one Chev. Both of which were gas powered.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[BHolm]

Well, stock trannys are one thing (cheap OEM parts and all) but if it's a built transmission, the Ally is the way to go (Ally vs 47/48RE). I've read on more than one occassion on various diesel boards that Dave Goerend himself says so. JM2C

Well... . those stock transmission's were in stock trucks too. I haven't had those problems with the 48re in stock trucks that were worked a whole lot harder than the chevy's ever were.

 

[AHarris]

That's because the Aisin essentially IS an Allison. #@$%! Dirty bast@rds stole the designs and got away with it. You ask how I know this? I go to Church with one of the leads on the design team. Aisin was working with Allison on the LCT-1000 project, building the Torque Converter for them, IIRC.

They took the mediocre GM Allison design and improved it! It's called reverse engineering! Do you think the jet engine was an American invention?

Like I said before, maintenance and driving it properly are #1... but in my opinion Dodge trucks are the overall best in terms of serviceability, and value for the hard earned dollar!

Besides, every swingin' d*** has a Chevy or Ford... what's wrong with being unique once in a while?

I've driven the better part of 750K miles in my life... in Chevys, Dodges, and Fords. My gut always tells me to buy a Dodge. I'm a big believer in gut feelings and my gut always tells me to go get more for my money and get another Dodge (or Chrysler product based on the outstanding reliability of my 2003 Jeep GC and the 4 other Chrysler products I've owned which all put the Fords and Chevys to shame in terms of reliability and ease of repair).

I think Consumer Reports is full of s***!#@$%!

 

[PKnight]

I don't buy a truck often but when I do I want the best for my money. That is why I buy Dodge. My 97 CTC 2500 4x4 is a good example of value. In 140,000 miles with considerable towing, I replaced the alternator at 127,000, the starter contacts at 130,000, the ball joints and brakes at 138,000. That's it! Still have the original batteries, the interior is perfect, seats and all, the paint is great and no squeaks or rattles. The auto transmission works perfect and I average 19 MPG in local driving and up to 22 MPG on the road (empty).

I had an uncle who drove Dodges many years ago. When his drinking buddy bought a Ford dealership he switched brands. He had nothing but trouble with the Fords. He was telling me one time about all the trouble he was having with his one year old Ford and I said, why don't you go back to Dodge. He said--Aw, they don't hold up. In later years he did go back to Dodge. Most Ford and GM guys simply won't tell the truth about their trucks. I've been told that Dodge has ball joint problems. When I replaced my ball joints the instructions in the box were for Ford. So, why does these very same ball joints hold up in a Ford and not in a Dodge? It's called BIAS. My next truck, when I need a new one will also be a Dodge.

 

[SShafranko]

The only complaint i have i forgot to mention is that the bed is too easy to ding up. Sheetmetal is very thin and dont ever strap anything to the top rails of the bed. You will be left with a washboard.

 

[Slingblade]

Yup. That is my only real complaint about my '04. My air compressor tipped over in the back one day and put a hole in the bed. It's more of a dent that tore open. My cheap harbor freight air compressor only suffered a broken air filter housing. It's plastic so it's understandable.



When I am told that Dodges being made poorly I come back with the fact that the engine trans and axles arent made by Dodge. The axles are the same or very close to the Chevys, New Venture made a great 6 speed and the Cummins speaks for itself. That really is all that makes a truck aside from the frame.