Hey, I'm looking to buy my first FWD oil burner in the 99-03 range and wanted to ask what to look or lookout for in the used truck market? The auto trans is my main consern, Which one is most reliable? What gears should I look for? 3/4 or 1 ton?

The use of the truck will be :

1] 50 mi comute to work daily

2] Pull my est 9000lb boat twice a year

3] Pull 6 ton trailer and mud truck

4] Move 12 ton trailer and backhoe localy once in a while

I just started looking , so nows the time to ask. THANKS

 

Check my sig line. I commute and pull a 12-14k load when going to the track or vacationing, depending on what I have in the trailer. We traveled 2700+ miles from CA to GA and it was flawless. I wouldn't have anything else. Are the trailers bumper pulls or gooseneck?

 

All the trailers are bumpull, I have buddies w/2.5 and 5t dueces pull the hoe becauce its 15300+ trailer and dodge 1500 gasser dose nice job for the boat and mud truck. The hoe usualy only moves a couple miles but may be to much for the suspention. I still want a decent ride empty. I used a friends f350 to bring the boat from nc to nj and while it did a great job loaded it rode like a dump truck empty. Ideal truck would be extended cab w/6' bed .

 

The only item on your list that would scare me is the 12-ton trailer/backhoe. I don't think that one could be safely towed with any Ram.

For the 99-03 model years the best auto tranny was in the late 2003's which had the 48RE. Anything built after January of '03 will probably have this transmission. Prior to that was the 47RE, which was a good tranny but not as stout as the 48RE.

I'd get the 4.10 gears with anti-spin for the kind of towing you describe. The 3.73's would give better mileage for the commuting, but for heavy towing the 4.10's are better. I'd definitely look for a 1-ton 3500 truck for the higher weight ratings.