roadhunter
Elite Member
So since you are a self proclaimed "vehicle" expert what is it specifically that makes the steel on Ford trucks rust less then the steel on other branded trucks?
Dodge Cummins Engine Concern
- Thread starter Furu
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aczlan
Good Morning
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- Kubota L3830GST, B7500HST, BX2660. Formerly: Case 480F LL, David Brown 880UE
Better paint and/or paint application procedures. Thats why my brothers 1993 Volvo 940 with over 200k miles (formerly mine) has almost no rust (just a little surface rust where the paint got dinged) while my wife's former 2002 Dodge Caravan with 130k miles (sold last month) had no rocker panels left.
Aaron Z
Egon
Epic Contributor
roadhunter
Elite Member
+1. ^^^^
MossRoad
Super Moderator
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- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
You know, I hate to admit it, as much as I dislike Chrysler products, but it seems you do see more old beat up Dodge trucks than anything else.... I wonder if it actually means Dodges run longer despite the rust, OR.... it means that you notice ugly trucks more than nice ones, and, in fact, there are a ton of old Fords and Chevys out there, but they are just clean and don't draw attention to themselves like the rusty old Dodges? There's gotta be numbers out there somewhere....
deerefan
Veteran Member
In my neck of the woods, I see a lot of the 89-96 Chevy 1/2 tons still on the road, a good bit more than Ford or Dodge. As for the Cummins, in my area, they are becoming more prevalent. A lot of the ag guys are dumping there powerstrokes and duramaxes for the cummins mainly for durability and cheaper to fix. My bestfriend is a cattle farmer, owns 2 1 ton drw 4wd Dodges. Both have been flawless, one truck is at 300k miles.
Capricious
Platinum Member
I have a 2002 Ranger that i bought new. No rust anywhere on the body. However, last year i was crawling around underneath it, checking the air in the spare, when I noticed that the spring shackles and hangers looked awfully rusty. The edges of the steel resembled delaminating plywood, the scale was so heavy. I took a welder chipping hammer and started knocking the scale of them, and when i was finished the parts had big holes in them (where there was supposed to be solid steel) and were "paper thin," to quote someone else who looked at them. A bit scarey, since these pieces were all very close to failing.
They appeared to have some sort of plastic coating (powder coat??) and the plastic separated from the steel but did not flake off like paint would have, instead holding moisture and road salt between the plastic and the steel. A check on the internet revealed that this is a very common problem, as is heavy frame rust on Rangers. Fortunately, my frame is OK.
As far as this whole Ford/Dodge/Chevy thing goes, I think it is the luck of the draw; you might get a good one, and you might get a piece of s___. I will buy whatever offers what appears to be the best deal for the money. However, I will not be the manufacturers' guinea pig, which means I will not be the first to have an aluminum-bodied truck, nor an 8+ speed auto trans, nor a "better than sliced bread" new engine, and so forth.
And anything I buy will not have packages labeled "appearance," "convenience", or "popular."
So, my next might be a Ford, or a Dodge (sorry, but they will always be Dodge and not Ram), Chevy, or maybe Toyota or Nissan.
Or maybe Kia, if they want to jump in the game.
They appeared to have some sort of plastic coating (powder coat??) and the plastic separated from the steel but did not flake off like paint would have, instead holding moisture and road salt between the plastic and the steel. A check on the internet revealed that this is a very common problem, as is heavy frame rust on Rangers. Fortunately, my frame is OK.
As far as this whole Ford/Dodge/Chevy thing goes, I think it is the luck of the draw; you might get a good one, and you might get a piece of s___. I will buy whatever offers what appears to be the best deal for the money. However, I will not be the manufacturers' guinea pig, which means I will not be the first to have an aluminum-bodied truck, nor an 8+ speed auto trans, nor a "better than sliced bread" new engine, and so forth.
And anything I buy will not have packages labeled "appearance," "convenience", or "popular."
So, my next might be a Ford, or a Dodge (sorry, but they will always be Dodge and not Ram), Chevy, or maybe Toyota or Nissan.
Or maybe Kia, if they want to jump in the game.
Egon
Epic Contributor
Moss, you would have liked my 1966 Chrysler 300!
Capricious
Platinum Member
The only thing I cannot understand about old Chyslers is, how did they make the starter motors so loud? Even after they were no longer enerergized, you could hear the starters winding down.
I had one of these starters on my 1977 Duster.
I had one of these starters on my 1977 Duster.
gilbertmsg
Gold Member
You have to keep your vehicles clean to keep the rust off them. If you wash often, you rarely see rust. Just like brushing your teeth.
Eddie
Eddie
Capricious
Platinum Member
debo1683
Silver Member
My 06 Tundra is in at the dealer getting the frame sprayed right now ... it wasn't THAT bad when I was underneath it last night... I rarely clean my truck and live in Ohio. It gets hand washed and waxed about once a year. It is my daily driver and has 121,000 miles. The only body rust I have noticed is underneath the plastic bed liner by the bed bolts ...
To stay on thread topic ... I would buy that Dodge in a second ...
Capricious
Platinum Member
"... it wasn't THAT bad when I was underneath it last night...."
Too bad. If it was really bad, you would get a new frame instead of spray.
Interesting to note that Toyota deems holes ("perforations") of up to 10 mm as "OK."
I like Toyotas; wife and I currently own (2)., and we just sold a third that we owned for 17.5 years. But they really screwed up with Tacoma & Tundra frames, which, I might add, were apparently made in the USA by Dana.
I would probably buy the Dodge as well, and I would even buy a Tundra, but you can betcha I would really research the history of problems with any model used vehicle I might consider.
Would be nice to live in a southern state where salt is used only on grits.
Too bad. If it was really bad, you would get a new frame instead of spray.
Interesting to note that Toyota deems holes ("perforations") of up to 10 mm as "OK."
I like Toyotas; wife and I currently own (2)., and we just sold a third that we owned for 17.5 years. But they really screwed up with Tacoma & Tundra frames, which, I might add, were apparently made in the USA by Dana.
I would probably buy the Dodge as well, and I would even buy a Tundra, but you can betcha I would really research the history of problems with any model used vehicle I might consider.
Would be nice to live in a southern state where salt is used only on grits.
debo1683
Silver Member
The frame replacement scares me a little bit. I have heard of folks having electrical gremlins show up after the replacement. Then it is no longer a recall claim, they have to pay out of pocket to have it fixed! I still don't understand why they bought back all the Tacoma's, and are going through all the trouble to replace frames on the Tundras. Some of the trucks they are replacing frames on are 14 years old ...
I like Toyotas, too. My wife has a Honda CR-V, and it has been nothing but reliable, but it just doesn't drive as nice.
PapaPerk
Veteran Member
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My 2004.5 4x4 3500 Dodge will get 22 - 23 mpg on highway at 64 mph. I've gone over 600 miles on tank of fuel.
roadhunter
Elite Member
Colorado does not use salt on roads and I dont think the greenies even know what grits are.
LD1
Epic Contributor
IS that using the trip computer or hand figured? And what configuration is yours? Std cab-long bed? Quad? etc.
Mine is a 05 quad cab long bed 4x4. the heaviest possible config. (with me and a few tools, its 8k) Took a road trip right after I got it. ALL freeway and cruise set at 69-70mph. Trip computer showed a tad over 21. But by had was ~18.5.
With short trips, stop and go, all towing the trailer (total weight ~11.5k and 8 tires), My computer shows ~11.5-12, by had it is 10. I am sure if I wasnt using a 24k trailer to tow my 5k tractor, it would be better though.
To the OP, if the price is right, I'd jump on it too. IF it is priced fairly, not necessarily a good deal, but just average market value, Id hold out for what you really want. But as others said, as long as it was driven once in awhile to get oil pumping around, you will have no issues with drivetrain. ITs when they set for LONG times that the oil film dissipates and you start getting surface rust inside the engine, rear, trans, etc.
roadhunter
Elite Member
Actually my 07 mega with some toolboxes weighs in over 9k pounds and still gets 17-21 MPG but i live in the country and dont' so much city driving at all and most of the speed limits are 65 around here so I dont' drive that fast. Wyoming has 80 MPH speed limits and my mileage drops like a rock going over 80. I could see an 04 regular cab 2wd getting well over 20 mpg on the highway.
LD1
Epic Contributor
Is that 07 the 6.7l diesel? with more emissions?
In 2005, the heaviest config was DRW long bed Quad with diesel. Cant speak to the 07's or what they weigh
In 2005, the heaviest config was DRW long bed Quad with diesel. Cant speak to the 07's or what they weigh
