What are your experiences with the 2002-2005 Dodge Ram Trucks?

[Info Seeker]

Hey guys. I really like the styling of the 2002-2005 Dodge Ram Pickup Trucks. I am interested in purchasing an extended or quad cab with long bed truck or the srt sport truck. I wanted to find out what options were available throughout all of these model years; at some point Dodge had an motor called the magnum motor and now I see them with the Hemi motor. What are the differences between the two? Is it the cubic inches? Which one is better as far as horsepower, torque and gas mileage? Are these trucks notorious for breaking down? Today, I picked up the Truck trader and a couple guys are selling their Dodge trucks. The first guy is selling a 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad cab dually/long bed and it's a custom sport truck with all the tricked out stuff like custom paint, air bags and front lowered 5 inches and 9 in. on the rear, has 37,000 miles on it and asking 25,000 or best offer but the thing he doesn't say what type of motor it is whether a cummins or a gas engine like a small block eight cylinder hemi or magnum for example. The second guy is selling 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad cab with long bed it has a Hemi engine has all the electric goodies like power windows, door locks, and cd player radio for example. It has 27,000 miles and he's asking 18,900 or best offer. What do you guys think of these prices, sound good? What do you recommend I look for when shopping for a Dodge truck?

[Beaver3000]

I would go with the second guy because I don't really like lowered dually. Duallys were made to tow heavy object. Because he lowered it, you probably can't tow anything with it. What are you using the trucks for? Personally, I like the 2004 Dodge 1500 and it is cheaper. Just my two cents.

[Info Seeker]

Originally Posted by Beaver3000

I would go with the second guy because I don't really like lowered dually. Duallys were made to tow heavy object. Because he lowered it, you probably can't tow anything with it. What are you using the trucks for? Personally, I like the 2004 Dodge 1500 and it is cheaper. Just my two cents.

I am debating whether to get a sport truck like the SRT or a full size Dodge Quad Cab because it seems to be a very versatile truck where I can carry three passengers without being cramped together. The longbed offers an advantage where can lay plywood or eight foot 2x4's without having to lower down the tailgate. My primary uses for it is hauling garden equipment, construction material, hauling junk to the landfill. Maybe using the tow package to haul something. That's all I can think of right now. Oh, I was at another dodge truck forum, I finding out that the rear ends on these trucks were going out at 40k because of a defective c-clip on the axle on the LSD 9.25 rear end housings. Has anyone had this problem?