16+ more years

[tonyjsan]

2002 Dodge RAM 2500HD, 5speed (about 250,000+ miles), The truck is pushing 16+ years, is it realistic to expect another 16+ years out of a 2002?

 

The truck has not been abused during it's life, modified for better mpg and towing performance of a 5th wheel RV, nothing crazy.

 

New trucks are expensive, on the other hand I want something I don't have to work on once retired in the near future.

 

I would have to spend $$ on needed restorative type work etc., but after work done no monthly payments lol. 

 

Wondering if anyone else has been or is at this crossroad, and would be willing  share thoughts pro/cons as one considers keeping the 2002 or get new truck.

 

Thanks in advance. Hope this correct place to post this type question.

Edited October 4, 2018 by tonyjsan

[Dieselfuture]

Oh boy here we go  

[Mopar1973Man]

356k miles and 16 years as well. Just done a head gasket and I know for sure there is at least another 16 years left in this truck. Cylinders are still got crosshatch marks, piston were clean, etc. I'm going past 500k miles for sure.

 

238k miles to the moon. So I've visited the moon now I'm heading back to earth. I might want to visit the moon again.

[JAG1]

Watch out for Dieselfuture he likes wrenchin' so much... fixes his truck even when nothin' wrong Actually he knows way more about making it reliable than anything.

 

My last Cummins 12 valve lasted about 450k miles and drove it for 20.5 years as a work truck. Never anything major till it needed a turbo and Trans rebuild near the last mos I had it. It was a good truck and would have kept it longer if I knew more about taking care of it during those years

Edited October 4, 2018 by JAG1

[dripley]

Well I think @Dieselfuture hit this nail on the head. This thread will go all over the place.

 

Mine just turned 17 years this month. Bought it new in October of 01. 453k and no payments since mid 07. Am I still happy with it, yes. Would I like it to be a bit modern, maybe. Paint job for looks, yes.  Am I going to keep driving it, absolutely. Do I want to keep working on it, as long as I am able. But once retired I feel I can still put it in good dependable shape for it to last. Only time will tell that one but I do believe it will last as long as me or my ability to push the clutch in.

 

Plus knowing @Mopar1973Man that might give an excuse to drive to Idaho.

who knows I might just stop and pick up @JAG1 and @Dieselfuture along the way and make a party of it.

[Dieselfuture]

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

Watch out for Dieselfuture he likes wrenchin' so much... fixes his truck even when nothin' wrong Actually he knows way more about making it reliable than anything.

You hit that one on the head, I just changed perfectly good ball joints  when I was doing wheel bearings. Uppers were still solid and lowers just a bit of play up and down, but what do you know new joints also have a little play not as much but still do, so yeah they could of lasted a while yet. But on good note my ABS light is staying off 

Intentions are definitely for longetivity, I just can't seem to stay clean long enough 

 

I bought mine used, that's all I could afford and now I'm happy I didn't spend more on 3rd gen, I'm skipping that one all together and will keep mine as long as I can. Now 4th sounds good until you start considering what else comes with it.

If I'm ever reach to where I can trade a truck whenever I fill like and still do things to it while I own it then I'll probably get something new, just can't seem to see it in my near future 

At the same time I don't need anything else and pretty happy with what I have. Plenty for people that put 1000000 miles and more on these trucks, so I'm not too worried 

 

[dripley]

9 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

I bought mine used, that's all I could afford and now I'm happy I didn't spend more on 3rd gen, I'm skipping that one all together and will keep mine as long as I can

I bought mine new because the 96 V10 blew up. I still remember choking on the $34k I paid for it. It just aint no fun buying and new truck with your trade in hanging on wrecker. Cant imagine doing that again even if I drove the 02 in for a trade in.

[Mopar1973Man]

Like myself, my previous truck was a 1972 Dodge Power Wagon which I managed to break the front axle 3 different times with oversized tires. Find that part was difficult to get a hold of I finally broke down and bought a new truck. I purchased my truck on October 26, 2002 which just happened to be my 32nd birthday. So the truck and I celebrate our birthdays together. 

 

Yeah, I've managed to do some wear and tear, or go for broke. Thing is I continue to learn more and more about these truck the more mine breaks down or wears things out. Ok so the head gasket gave up and was leaking coolant. I learned that the cylinders are in excellent condition and the pistons are too. The head ended up getting a full rebuild. If you going to pull the head for a gasket you might as well have the valves and everything else done too. 

 

Basically, if you just take care of the problems early and quickly then typically you can minimize your damage. 

[Me78569]

Buy a new one lololol   

 

 

 

 stupid truck payment

[dripley]

2 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

Buy a new one lololol   

 

 

 

 stupid truck payment

When I first saw your post I missed the second statement. I dont miss the second part at all.

[Dieselfuture]

19 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

Buy a new one lololol   

 

 

 

 stupid truck payment

Plenty of second gens out there if you get tired of payments, plus you know everything about them.... some day I might know what if feels like to drive a 4th gen when new trucks will be levitating over pot holes and rough terrain I see it coming in next 20 years. So far no one reinvented the wheel yet same 4 wheels on the ground for over 100 years, but that will take fun out of going down minimum maintenance roads and just everything else, like Google maps with satellite view, before we went on an adventure and now you can see that you'll end up in someone's back yard before you get there, 

1 hour ago, dripley said:

I bought mine new because the 96 V10 blew up. I still remember choking on the $34k I paid for it. It just aint no fun buying and new truck with your trade in hanging on wrecker. Cant imagine doing that again even if I drove the 02 in for a trade in.

Should have told then with little elbow grease it will be a classic in few years. And for the 02, I'm pretty sure someone is getting buried in it....

[dripley]

8 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Should have told then with little elbow grease it will be a classic in few years. And for the 02, I'm pretty sure someone is getting buried in it..

My boy is going to have a hard time with that. It will be running good when that day comes. I going to make sure f that  just out of spite. He will have a big decision on that day. Of course my vote want count for squat then. It is going to be a hard day for him. I know it was when I buried Pop, my dad. 

[Dieselfuture]

1 minute ago, dripley said:

My boy is going to have a hard time with that. It will be running good when that day comes. I going to make sure f that  just out of spite. He will have a big decision on that day. Of course my vote want count for squat then. It is going to be a hard day for him. I know it was when I buried Pop, my dad. 

Sorry I didn't mean to bring this in a sad way, I was just kidding as usual because I remember you saying something about it in past. 

[01cummins4ever]

I too made my last truck payment in 2007, havnt missed that at all, I’ve even had the blessing of the “missis” to buy a new one, no thanks, I know the 4th gens are nice but what are the repairs going to be like 10 years from now. It would be like starting all over with the 2nd gen.

 

With that said, after retirement if we were to go cross country or even full time RV ing., It would be hard to trust the 2nd gen even with all the repairs and maintenance done, and being a somewhat solid truck it’s still going to continue to break no matter what you do to it. And when Im 70 years old ( if I make it that far ) the last thing I want to be is under my truck along the road somewhere making repairs. or waiting on a tow truck or repair shop somewhere.

 

So maybe in a situation like that it might be better to suck up the new truck payment and keep buying new every few years.  after all a happy wife is a happy life    

[Dieselfuture]

2 minutes ago, 01cummins4ever said:

after all a happy wife is a happy life    

I keep telling myself that, almost starting to believe it. 

[dripley]

36 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Sorry I didn't mean to bring this in a sad way, I was just kidding as usual because I remember you saying something about it in past. 

Its all good. I keep remebering the days his dad and mine for that matter were dumb as rocks and we were so much smarter. So I can see my son now scratchin his head wondering whether to bury it or not. When pop died me and my brother were to carry his cremanes out to the courtyard of the church. I fumbled the container a little and

pop started laughing at me just like he was sitting in the church. Heard that laugh all

the way out the door. I like think I can leave him with one last memory as good as that is for me. But I do plan on making him wait a good while for it.

[Mopar1973Man]

12 hours ago, 01cummins4ever said:

With that said, after retirement if we were to go cross country or even full time RV ing., It would be hard to trust the 2nd gen even with all the repairs and maintenance done, and being a somewhat solid truck it’s still going to continue to break no matter what you do to it. And when Im 70 years old ( if I make it that far ) the last thing I want to be is under my truck along the road somewhere making repairs. or waiting on a tow truck or repair shop somewhere.

 

Hold on a second... Let say the distance across the US is 3,500 miles (a bit more than actual).

 

I'm driving 250 miles every TTS (Tues, Thurs, Sat). That's 750 miles in a week excluding any side or personal travel. So say 1,000 a week. If there are 52 weeks in a year then I'm doing roughly 52,000 miles per year. This is just to keep MoparMom alive with dialysis. If I can do this kind of travel to keep MoparMom alive I'm sure your truck could do recreational towing and travel the states way easier. 

 

This is my typical travel home to DaVita then I go over to my RV in Parma, The go back to pick up MoparMom and then head home. There might be side trips to shopping and such too. 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Mopar1973Man

[Leaky88]

New to Diesels compared to other's on this forum.

I'm 18 months from retirement from this job at least.

 

800+ employees where I work. 

The oldest vehicle, a 96 Ford Ranger (Daily Driver), sitting in Parking Lot belongs to me.

 

This past Tuesday was Name your Car Day.

I named mine "Paid For".

 

Daughter and SIL bought a new vehicle 3 weeks ago.  I got stuck in the dealership

watching this wonderful, life-changing experience.  Afterward, they insisted on me

joining the family at restaurant for diner.  (I was so sick at my stomach from watching the transaction, and new debt they took on, I could not eat. True story.)

 

If I get an urge to have a "new vehicle" smell, I go and rent one.

 

MHO

 

Thanks.

 

Leaky

 

[01cummins4ever]

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Hold on a second... Let say the distance across the US is 3,500 miles (a bit more than actual).

 

I'm driving 250 miles every TTS (Tues, Thurs, Sat). That's 750 miles in a week excluding any side or personal travel. So say 1,000 a week. If there are 52 weeks in a year then I'm doing roughly 52,000 miles per year. This is just to keep MoparMom alive with dialysis. If I can do this kind of travel to keep MoparMom alive I'm sure your truck could do recreational towing and travel the states way easier. 

 

This is my typical travel home to DaVita then I go over to my RV in Parma, The go back to pick up MoparMom and then head home. There might be side trips to shopping and such too. 

 

You are not pulling a 10,000 to 15000 lb trailer on a daily basis and being 2000 miles away from home puts things in a little different perspective . Just saying that the comfort and peace of mind from a new truck might be worth the cost considering the possibility of differential and transmission failures along with other expensive parts along the way.

 

I still hook up my 01 and do 1000 mile round trips through the mountains without to much worry but that’s just occasionally....well.  um. after what happened to the RV yesterday I don’t know  when that will happen again. I know I wont be taking it hunting next week, more on that in a different post 

[Tractorman]

23 hours ago, tonyjsan said:

Wondering if anyone else has been or is at this crossroad, and would be willing  share thoughts pro/cons as one considers keeping the 2002 or get new truck.

 

I also have a 2002 truck, but with a six speed transmission.  I just crossed over the 300,000 mile mark last month and I intend to drive the truck at least to the 500,000 mile mark and then re-evaluate the truck condition.  More than likely I will keep driving the truck past the 500,000 mile mark.

 

Utilizing the extensive knowledge and personal experiences from participants of this website, I think you can drive a very reliable second generation truck for reasonable maintenance and repair costs for many years after 250,000 miles.

 

Even at 300,000 miles my truck performs far better than it did the day I drove it off the lot.  Maybe with high miles there is more risk for a breakdown, but it will likely be a breakdown where I can control costs because I know what I am capable of repairing.  For me, I am comfortable with that.

 

- John