I am new to the forum here. Been doing a lot of reading but not much posting. I am currently looking at a 2005 2500 2wd Cummins auto with 67000 miles on it. Its a 4 door shortbed plain jane truck. It has cruise,ac and a radio. Thats it for options. Hand crank windows,manual locks, steel wheels. The cab and interior of the truck is like brand new. Bed is beat with scratches and holes from gooseneck and 5th wheel. One owner old guy who used it to pull the camper. Truck is clean underneath and doesnt appear to have seen many winters or was well taken care of.

Runs very well and transmission shifts good and solid. Was wondering what issues these 2005's come up with and what to expect at this trucks mileage.

My uses will be mostly daily driving/family truckster. There will be the occasional heavy pull but that will only be a few times a year. I am interested in longevity and mpg and not interested in hipo upgrades.

We're currently at a 18000$ price and still talking about it.

Wondering what prices are around the country on a truck like this and of course as I said earlier problems and such that come up with the 2005 truck.

I have many Dodge trucks and cars and have diesel experience with an old Chevy 6.2 and a John Deere tractor so I understand all the diesel stuff associated with owning one.

Thanks

47Dodge

 

I bought an 07 same luxuries with 19k on the Odo in near perfect condition for 19k a few years back. I would say get it down to 16 or 15k.

 

I gave $25k for nearly the same truck, except possibly equipped better, 4 years ago. It had 21k miles. Some say the 05 is the best truck. Seat upholstry, lift pump in tank, 48RE transmission are amoung some of the better improvements. Some say the 06 upholstry is very easy to stain.

I've had good luck with mine. 21 mph highway non towing, 17 for local driving. Very strong truck with no mods being required.

 

i have a 2005 stl model, it has elect windows and nice seats, carpet.
old man had it, he died, truck had
42K.
the only low mileage dodge diesel trucks that i found, someone had died and family members were selling grandpa's truck.

i have been very pleased with my truck, it now has 63K miles.
have the coolant changed, all fluids including trans oil and you should be good to go, mine is a 2x4.

drives good, rides good, michelin tires

only draw back is the headlights, oe headlights are very poor, i installed better brighter bulbs and that made a world of difference.

you should get a fair deal as most buyers want a 4x4, but for me its just more crap turning to use fuel and wear out at around 100-125K. Our
2x4 should still be trucking on.

note to file: if auto trans, a 2005 model does not have overdrive lock out, only tow/haul so trans still shifts to overdrive, this has never been a problem for me, but others do not like this feature on this year model.

later models have the 6 speed auto with overdrive lock out,
study up on this feature and be sure its not a problem for you.
my truck would pull the world if you could make the hookup. great truck and mama smiles a little when i pull out and that old diesel comes up to power. she knows it can pull her camper with no problem.

only difference in these models between a 2500 and 3500 is the 3500 gets one more rear leaf spring.

so your frame motor trans etc, is the same as 3500.

mine has the 3.73 ratio differential, if it has the 4.10 ratio that will hurt your fuel mileage.

be sure it does not have an aftermarket air filter, you want the std 4" thick OE type filter not one of those oil soaked filters. The big guy (cummins) likes clean air and clean fuel, I use baldwin fuel and oil filters. check them out: specs.

good luck with the truck,

 

Thanks for the replies. We came to a deal today. I told them I wanted to go drive for an hour or 2 and they said take it home and come back tomorrow. Drove it a bunch tonight and overall like the truck. The seats are a little hard compared to my old 95 Ram Laramie SLT but its something I can deal with I think. I have been around a few 12valves years ago but never had drove the 24. Man what a machine.........tork out the wazzoo. Its the 48RE TOW/HAUL tranny. 3.73. As of right now I will not be pulling anything with it. Use it for travel and daily/family truckster stuff. In time I want to get a trailer heavy enough to haul my old antique Dodge truck to shows which will probably be in the 10-12k range. I am looking for MPG and Longevity.

So unless I have a major change of heart tonight as I sleep on it or the #'s change tomorrow when its time to sign on the dotted line it will be mine.

47

 

I just got back into diesels after being without one since 2010

I paid $22K for my similarly equiped 06, but with 4x4 and a long box, 58K miles on the clock. It needed ball joints. I am happy, much better mileage and torque than the 2010 Hemi 2500.

You will be happy

 

What do we all think real world mpg will be on this 2wd? I am guessing 21-22 on highway and am curious as to the intown mileage?!?!


47

 

47,
i hate to mention the mileage i get on my 05 model, but i am very pleased with the mileage.

but then again, i am retired and i drive most of the time at 62 mph or less, even on the interstate. (yes i am that old (##$%^) that has traffiic backed-up. let no one tell they drive 85+ and get good mpg!!!!

use good quality fuel, i only buy from the local BP station because that is where the local ambulance supervisor said his drivers had never complained about the trucks running bad after a fillup.

I use baldwin fuel filters and give the tank a dose of diesel clean or stanadyne fuel additive,

use only the std 4" thick air filters, do not use those turbo burning oil type air filters. unless you want your turbo smoked.

 

I will mention the mileage I get. Not sure about the '05 models, but my '06 in town gets 15mpg and on the hwy anywhere between 18 to 20. Every time I change my oil which is every 7,000 miles, I add some "Diesel Kleen plus cetane boost". I'm very lucky that I never have to drive in traffic to and from work!

 

Well I got the truck. They let me take it home last night to drive and check out. Spent a lot of time with it yesterday afternoon and nite. Got down to 35 last night so wanted to see what a cold start would do. It had been on the lot since July and not much interest in it. Had not been driven much at all and the batteries were a tad weak but after running it for 100+ miles and so forth they seem to be back to where they should be.

 

 

New truck meeting my old truck!

 

Nice looking truck. I'm betting you love it. The 05 is a great year. But I'm very biased.

 

You might want to look into getting a plug for your engine block heater to help w/ the cold starts if it get real cold in your area. What kind of Dodge is that in the background?

 

Its got a cord tucked up under for the block heater. I Didnt think it had one til I got to looking.

Thats a 1947 Dodge WF-32 ton and a half. I also have a 95 Ram 1500 and a 1974 D200 440 truck as well as 2 old Dodge Chargers. Eventually I want a trailer heavy enough to haul that 47 and friendly enough to allow the old Chargers to roll up on so I can get them to long distance shows.


47