Dodge Ram SRT10 Questions

[Carlwalski]

Does anyone here own or use to own one of these machines? I'm half-pie considering selling my Ford TS50 (Aussie Ford) for a 2004 (maybe 5) SRT10 Ram. It would be a straight swap, no money lost. I have always loved Rams and well, this would hold parts in the tray, looks grunty, goes hard and is a Mopar. Just curious to hear what you guys know or think of them because you would have seen or know more. I would love a black one.

I know they were built from 2004 to 2006 and that roughly 3400 were built. They didn't sell too well because no one wanted big gas guzzling trucks, which these are (12mpg on the highway, 9 in the city). Any year to avoid or are they all the same? Also, one thing that is keeping me from not selling my Ford is will retail sale, the TS50 being 1 of 72 is a sought after down under V8. Do you guys think the resale on these would be any good, say in 5-10 years time with good mileage? I know I can pick a 2004 model up with around 30K miles for around $20-$24K. A manual would be my only choice which as far as my research has confirmed is a single cab only option, quad cabs had autos, single is the only one I'd go, quads are too big IMO, especially for a daily driver.

Input is appreciated. 

[71bigblock]

I know Daytona got one a little while ago Carl, maybe shoot him a PM.   

[Carlwalski]

Doing some searches, Cannibal also got one, a Night Runner edition too.



Thanks.

[Street_Challenged73]

Carl, after talking with a couple owners about them, they seem to be a nicely rounded truck.  While they can get to be "gas hogs" for daily commuting, they're powerful and can haul plenty of parts.

[HemiDog]

I bought a regular cab 2006 Nightrunner back toward the end of January.  Been using as my daily driver as well.  It has right at 10,000 miles on it with no problems.  It is in my top three favorite cars I have owned, with my 2001 Corvette Z06 and 2003 H2 the only cars beating it.   My gas milage in the heat has been right at 14 mpg with fairly easy driving and the occasional display of power.    The truck has a very stiff ride, but to get the handling in a 5000 lbs truck, it is expected.  The quads are only available with automatics and have been told that the ECM tunes really wake the quad cabs up.  Mine is a manual transmission and if I was to complain about the truck, the complaint is that is has a weak clutch.  It really needs to be upgraded.
If I was to guess at the resale, I would guess that in 5 to 10 years they will hover right in the $20k to $25k range. 

[6packCuda]

IMO these trucks are dirt cheap right now and would be a great investment. I think their value will go up greatly in the future.

[Hopalong]

I can vouch for Cannibals truck, very nice!  It put down 430 + horse power at the wheels on the dyno.  Fun to drive too!

[DAYTONA]

...I bought an '05 SRT10 when they did the big rebates last year....MSRP $48K, paid $32K....it is one helluva truck...a friend just sold an '04 with 5K miles for $21K....another friend just unloaded their '04 for $22K with under 1K miles.....another '04 is still for sale locally for $23K, it also has about 6K miles

...I have less than 4K miles on mine, it loves premium fuel (9.6mpg avg)....I use it to haul crap around all the time, just like a real truck but more fun ...very unhandy to haul big stuff with the wing in the way .....

...I doubt they will ever be worth a great deal in the future, trucks don't seem to appreciate like cars do...I figure if I just use mine up as a regular truck, I can still buy another one in 10-20 years, like new, for $25K tops

[Carlwalski]

Thank you very much everyone. Certainly tempting especially as these big yank tank trucks are very rare down here. Although, a few more seem to be popping up but to give you an idea of how rare they are I probably see ANY style of Dodge ram, new or old once or twice every 6-8 weeks.

Will be bad on the gas but ah, gas has never worried me. You don't look at muscle cars, trucks or V8s if gas prices twist your knickers so it's fine by me, 3mpg is something I'd avoid. 9-14mpg, ain't too bad.


HemiDog  Sounds nice mate. Mine would have to have 3 pedals and single cab )(which is the only way they came out). What do you mean by "weak clutch" I'm guessing light feel? easy to push down? Some people have different meanings so am not sure. Can you please go into a little more detail, thanks.

[HemiDog]

By weak clutch, I mean its performance doesn't match well with the power of the motor.  It just doesn't feel like it grabs with a lot of force and is easy to smoke the clutch.    I am not the only one to complain.  Check out www.vtcoa.com for some good info on trucks in general. 

[Carlwalski]

Thanks Dog, so, have you upgraded yours yet? What is everyone using? Also, have you thought about a short shifter? I'd probably look at it myself but the handle would be lower down, wouldn't it? Reaching down to shift would almost be worse than a stock shifter IMO. Just curious and researching something I wish (perhaps) to buy.

[72hemi]

A friend of mine has one of the commemorative edition SRT-10 rams. I drove it and really liked the truck. It had plenty of power and was fun to drive. THe only complaint I have is I did not like how long the throw of the shifter is. Also personal opinion I like the body style better of the earlier years. The '06 body style is less desirable to me, but that is just me. I say ditch the Ford and get the Ram.

[DAYTONA]

Thanks Dog, so, have you upgraded yours yet? What is everyone using? Also, have you thought about a short shifter? I'd probably look at it myself but the handle would be lower down, wouldn't it? Reaching down to shift would almost be worse than a stock shifter IMO. Just curious and researching something I wish (perhaps) to buy.

...my biggest complaint with the SRT10 has always been the brakes, they will put your nose in the windshield till you get used to them....VERY TOUCHY....it's the first truck I have ever owned, and I will probably never buy another one....just not a truck kinda guy I guess...

...my wife has a Jeep SRT8, now that is a really fun vehicle to drive (also has SRT touchy brakes and twitchy steering), but it drives like a square Viper....

[72hemi]

That Jeep is BadA$$. I would love to have one of those. 0-60 in under 5 seconds, and a quarter mile in the mid 13's, and really nice styling in my opinion.

[Carlwalski]

Thanks guys for your help and input. Dad's 300C SRT8 is an awesome car, just had a cold air intake box upgraded which gives it an aggressive growl under load but cruising is still as quiet as silk. Mum & Dad did look at one of those SRT8s but I told them it wasn't worth it, great performance and style but for what they needed it for, occasional fishing (4x4) trips it would be hopeless. Big body kit etc etc, more a showman's 4x4 than a usable one.

Still very tempted to get an SRT10, look pure baddass. I'd probably upgrade the clutch and that would be it. But, first I'd see how I felt about it and how I liked it. I prefer the 1st year production trucks (04) which is good as they also seem to be the cheapest of them, of course, being an older model. Brakes sound OK but I have never been a fan of "touchy" brakes, makes them a prick to drive until you get use to it.


Thanks guys.