UKC Forums (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/index.php)
- UKC Coonhounds (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=4)
-- OT: Opinions (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=394486)

OT: Opinions

I'm looking at a 2003 Dodge Ram with a 5.7L HEMI. Just wanting some expert opinions, power, fuel economy and so on and so on. I hear so many mixed experiences, just wanted to know what others have to say as I had a Ford F150 prior to now.

__________________
Brandon Gudgeon
Benton, WI
(608)-606-2608



NiteCh 'PR' Beast Mode Tramp
- 1st Runner Up Jr Young Guns 2014 National BBOA Days - 300+
- 9th place (Friday night) 2014 National BBOA Days - 250+
- 1st place opens 2014 WI State BBOA Championship - 837.5+
- UKC 2nd - 100+
- UKC 1st - 225+
- 2015 Zone 3 BBOA Championship King of Hunt
- 2015 Iowa State BBCHA King of Hunt (1st place NtCh)
- 2016 Zone 3 BBOA Championship 1st place NtCh (Fri Night)



R.I.P.

Ch NiteCh 'PR' Gabby's Tree Poundin Bocephus

opion

you better keep your ford i have a 05 ford f159 with the 5.4 dont get the best milage but better than the doge hemis from what i have heard jmo

the hemi's run like a scolded ape second only to a toyota tundra. but they are pretty hard on the gas pump also

Hemi is hard on gas. Dodge used to have trouble with their trannies holding up and resale for dodge is low. Personally i would stick with the Ford my friend.

Dodge are ok. the older models transmissions suck but the 45rfe behind the hemi good and hold up. i am a ford fan and think you should stick with the ford.

you need to be sure it dont have a 518 trans and make sure the engine dipstick is clean if the dipstick itself is dark stay away from it. if the dipstick is a little golden its ok. if maintence on a dodge aint done right they dont last.

__________________
GrNtCh.Ch.Pr'Top-Notch Southern Black Bo
matt jones
334-559-5039

I had a 2003 quad cab with the hemi, that thing was a great truck, tons of power, sounded good with the stock exhaust, only thing I didn't like was it got 9 miles to the gallon. They are really nice trucks though

as a mechanic Ill tell you to stick with ford my friend the dodge has multiple problems including the starter and transmission plus if you think your ford is hard on gas wait till you get in that dodge! IMO beween the 2 youll spend more time in the shop with the dodge. and thats just what ive seen

I had a '01 Dodge Ram 1500....Best I could do is 13 mi per gallon. replaced the tranny at 110,000 miles sold it with 135,000. I now own a '05 Ford F150 with more room inside and get 18 miles per gallon.... have 65,000 on it. I think the new 2011 Fords are the sharpest looking truck on the road!!!! Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Toy's are all gunna have enough power to get ya to the woods or speeding tickets.(JMO)............Jon

__________________
Walz' Coontree Blueticks (262) 424-6813
Home of:
GRNITECH CH PR' Walz' Coontree Joker (NITECH PR' Walz' Coontree Mindy X GRNITECH PR' Mad Dog Anti-Up Joker)
High Scoring Bluetick male at the 2014 World Hunt
King of hunt @ 2015 Bluetick Reunion

GRNITECH 'PR' Walz' Queen of Coontree Music (GRNITECH PR' Nashoba Valley Piazon X GRNITECH CH PR' B&D"s Blue Queen)
2015 Wisconsin State Champion
2015 Badger State Champion
2016 Wisconsin State Champion

GRNITECH 'PR' Walz' Coontree Twilite Mercy (GRNITECH GRCH 'PR' Blue Creek Gauge x GRNITECH 'PR' B&D's Blue Queen)

GRNITECH GRCH 'PR' Walz Coontree Rebecca (GRNITECH 'PR' Walz Coontree Joker x GRNITECH 'PR' Walz Coontree Queen)

GONE BUT WILL NEVER FORGET:
GRCH NITECH 'PR' Walz' Coontree Melody

I slid off the road while coonhunting and ended up totaling my Ford out. Last couple years I was only getting about 14-16mpg with it. The Dodge I'm considering is a friend's that has been well maintained and my friend says he'll avg about 13, but if he babies it on the hwy has gotten just shy of 17. I was reading numbers on the internet all the way from 5mpg-25mpg. I feel like anything above 15 is great for a truck.

__________________
Brandon Gudgeon
Benton, WI
(608)-606-2608



NiteCh 'PR' Beast Mode Tramp
- 1st Runner Up Jr Young Guns 2014 National BBOA Days - 300+
- 9th place (Friday night) 2014 National BBOA Days - 250+
- 1st place opens 2014 WI State BBOA Championship - 837.5+
- UKC 2nd - 100+
- UKC 1st - 225+
- 2015 Zone 3 BBOA Championship King of Hunt
- 2015 Iowa State BBCHA King of Hunt (1st place NtCh)
- 2016 Zone 3 BBOA Championship 1st place NtCh (Fri Night)



R.I.P.

Ch NiteCh 'PR' Gabby's Tree Poundin Bocephus

I've been a Chevy guy all my life. My neighbor used to work for Dodge, so in 07 I bought a new RAM with the 4.7liter magnum. At first it was a nice truck...although even with an aftermarket cold air intake I never got over 15.5 mpg.

Here's the bad part, within the first year it needed new tie rod ends and new front struts. They were covered under warranty, and I also bought the $1800 full coverage extended warranty when I bought the truck. Well, the second year comes (neighbor had long been layed off) and I need tie rods again, and something with the throttle body. Next was sway bar links. Year 3 the truck is out of warranty but the extended warranty should cover everything right? Oh, at this point I was on the 3rd set of 20'" tires (that truck ATE tires like candy). So year three I need struts again. I make an appointment and take it in, they charge me $60 to tell me I needed struts even though I told them that when I took it in. Only this time they're not called Struts anymore, they're shocks. If they were struts they'd be covered under the warranty, I retreived the old receipt that cleary shows they installed STRUTS a little over a year earlier but that didn't make a difference. I went up the chain with Chrysler and got nowhere. I needed a state inspection and didn't have any more time to fight about the Struts vs. Shocks so I demanded and got back the remainder payout of my useless warranty I bought and put that toward new front STRUTS so I could get it inspected. During all this the passenger automatic door lock burned outbut that was the least of my problems. At this point I was soured on Dodge forever. A few days after the inspection I was leaving work, got in that giant piece of garbage and the truck wouldnt hardly move while in drive. I put it to the floor to go 10 miles per hour...and heard a good deal of whining and screaming coming from the transmission.

I limp that lemon home...3 year old truck with 60 something thousand miles on it. The next morning I limp it to the Chevy dealer...and planned on getting a good screwing and a new truck. Well I was shocked with was appologies and "welcome back to Chevy" from the whole staff there. I told them the entire story and they said you're not alone...we take a lot of sorry dodges in on trade! So, even with the failing tranny they give me $4000 over what I owe and in turn I bought a 2010 Silverado extended cab with all the bells and whistles, and the 5.2 liter engine. The engine shuts down 4 cylinders when not needed. That motor is a beast!...very fast, and I get up to 21 miles per gallon! Nicest truck I ever owned, even nicer than the old silverado I traded toward that dodge.

So my message is...DONT BUY A DODGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go back to Ford, or look at Chevy...or anything NOT made by Chrysler.

Dodge.................

I like a Dodge..........I have had really good results with the 3 that I have owned, hardly any problems at all, they were a little hard on gas, but other than that they have been VERY dependable............the ONLY other truck I would want would be a Toyota.......................................Give the Dodge a try, it may just surprize you............Good luck,......Tim

__________________
Hoosier-State Kennels
=========================
Proud Member of Team Slugger
=====================

Hey Brandon,
Find yourself a 90-93 Dodge D250, 4x4 ram diesel. They're out there. Dodges best truck all the way around. 20 mpg whether you're hauling or empty.
They have the Cummins B Series engine. The Cummins comes with a heavier-duty version of the A727 automatic or a 5 speed manual transmission and was available on 250 and 350 pickups. This diesel engine option was drastically different from Ford and GM diesel engines optioned at the time. The Cummins featured direct injection, where the Ford and GM diesels featured Indirect injection; this also meant the Cummins didn't have to rely on Glowplugs. The Cummins was a Straight-six engine where the GM and Ford Diesel engines were a V8 engine. Many owners considered these unique properties an advantage to the Cummins B Series engine.
You can find them from $2500.00-$5000.00
When my 97 ram dies. One of these will be sitting in my yard.

Good luck,
Scott

__________________
Red Ryder coonhounds.
Home of the
Xtreme Hyde Dawg

Home of,
PR Nitech Leinie Red Ryder
PR Jan Da Red Ryder Butcher ( JJ )

TOYOTA

GET YOU A YOTA AND BE RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND THE BIG 3 WHEN THEY ARE DEAD IN THE DITCH. <v>

__________________
Blue Dog 1

Re: TOYOTA

quote:

---

Originally posted by jodaviess1
GET YOU A YOTA AND BE RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND THE BIG 3 WHEN THEY ARE DEAD IN THE DITCH. <v>

---

__________________
Brandon Gudgeon
Benton, WI
(608)-606-2608



NiteCh 'PR' Beast Mode Tramp
- 1st Runner Up Jr Young Guns 2014 National BBOA Days - 300+
- 9th place (Friday night) 2014 National BBOA Days - 250+
- 1st place opens 2014 WI State BBOA Championship - 837.5+
- UKC 2nd - 100+
- UKC 1st - 225+
- 2015 Zone 3 BBOA Championship King of Hunt
- 2015 Iowa State BBCHA King of Hunt (1st place NtCh)
- 2016 Zone 3 BBOA Championship 1st place NtCh (Fri Night)



R.I.P.

Ch NiteCh 'PR' Gabby's Tree Poundin Bocephus

TOYOTA

I DRIVE A 1990 T100 CLUB CAB WITH 236,000 ON IT. COOPER SST ON ER TO GET AROUND. LOVE THEM YOTA'S NEW AND OLD. <v>

__________________
Blue Dog 1

Re: TOYOTA

quote:

---

Originally posted by jodaviess1
GET YOU A YOTA AND BE RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND THE BIG 3 WHEN THEY ARE DEAD IN THE DITCH. <v>

---

Chevy

You know my thoughts. You can find a mid-late 90's 4x4 extended cab for less than your insurance gave you. Get better mileage, and have more power than the Dorf you totaled
I'm runnin mine down the road with 304, 000 miles on my 95, with an engine I built 2 winters ago. Gets me between 17 and 20 mpg. 14 mpg pullin the old 1845C down the highway at road speed on a 24' all steel trailer...

The original motor ran like a champ, but leaked oil out the rear main seal like no other.....

toyota

I need a new truck too.but I can't see spending tens of thousands on a used truck.Ben driving my 95 Tacoma for fifteen years.Some days I just want something new but then I think of those payments.My yota paid for its self years ago and never let me down.300,000 miles,it's a hunting truck that I drive every day.I wouldn't think twice about busting a trail through a woods cutting wood or hunting.Just that alone is worth not getting rid of it.Over the years I pulled more than a few Dodge and Chevys out of the mud,it's like they sink.If the day comes it will be another Toyota!! JMO

We have a 2000 Dodge Dakota Sport. We have replaced wheel bearings 3 times, too many sets of tires to count and when something goes wrong it is ALWAYS the expensive part that is needed to repair it. We service the tranny every 30,000 miles faithfully and so far (knock on wood) the tranny is good. Now the one catalitic converter is bad and that piece alone is $1100, it ain't getting fixed! Oh it has plenty of power, but it LOVES it's gas and passes everything BUT a gas station! The front and rear bumper are rusted through, the power steering pump went out, then the vacume hose went bad to the power steering pump and that part was $350 and now it makes a horrid noise when you start it up and it's cold out. It is helpless in the snow unless it is in 4X4, even for just an inch of snow, no weight in the rear end, slips and slides everywhere. The only reason we got a Dodge was because of the price, it was cheap, we got what we paid for. Next truck WILL be a Chevy or GMC!!!!

__________________
American Leopard Hound
FNL Hanselman's Blu Pixie Dust

I had a 98 Dakota sport, fun little truck, about 16-17mpg, it had the 5.2L and it wouldn't go anywhere in snow or wet grass. Lol. I have driven a couple rams, but not familiar at all with the hemi's reviews. Seems to be either ya love it or ya hate it.

__________________
Brandon Gudgeon
Benton, WI
(608)-606-2608



NiteCh 'PR' Beast Mode Tramp
- 1st Runner Up Jr Young Guns 2014 National BBOA Days - 300+
- 9th place (Friday night) 2014 National BBOA Days - 250+
- 1st place opens 2014 WI State BBOA Championship - 837.5+
- UKC 2nd - 100+
- UKC 1st - 225+
- 2015 Zone 3 BBOA Championship King of Hunt
- 2015 Iowa State BBCHA King of Hunt (1st place NtCh)
- 2016 Zone 3 BBOA Championship 1st place NtCh (Fri Night)



R.I.P.

Ch NiteCh 'PR' Gabby's Tree Poundin Bocephus

Re: OT: Opinions

quote:

---

Originally posted by gudgeonwalker
I'm looking at a 2003 Dodge Ram with a 5.7L HEMI. Just wanting some expert opinions, power, fuel economy and so on and so on. I hear so many mixed experiences, just wanted to know what others have to say as I had a Ford F150 prior to now.

---

__________________
UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL
Grady Jarvis
808 N. Main St.
Tonkawa Okla. 74653
580-628-0507
CH 'PR' Grady's Dark Woods Waylon -Bluetic

NITECH 'PR' Grady's Insane Tinker Bell (Tink) - Treeing walker --Okla. State Hunt open redg. winner

'PR' Grady's Barley - Treeing Walker

you will be going from the penthouse of trucks, to the outhouse.

__________________
Robert " Rock" Johnson

Johnson Creek Kennels
home of:
UKC Grand Nite Champion "PR" Yadkin River Addkis. Deceased 12/11/2016 RIP

2009/2010/2011/2012 AKC GA. State Leader and Supreme Grand Nite Champion Yadkin River Addkis

2010 ACHA Georgia State Champion Grand Nite Champion Yadkin River Addkis

PKC Champion Yadkin River Addkis

Bright Eye Lights


Treeing Walkers

912-663-5287 cell (perfered)