Dodge likely to discontinue 250, and 3500 series trucks

Hot off the press and verified by me through dealer sources that 09 2500 and 3500 models are on hold until January and likely will never be built with GM merger resulting in shutting those model lines down for good. 1500 may get axed as well as to date only about 8000 have been built. Dodge has no long term contract with Cummin's as it has been year to year since 06 so there is no problems with shutting those models down. I also found that current owner of Chrysler has milked all the money possible out of it and cut dealer resources and support. No new models have been developed that were not started before new owner acquired Chrysler. I have long said that Chrysler's days were numbered after buyout.  

it's a shame. Oh! it'll be ok Obama's going to fix eveything.  

No GM is fixing it. There is no market anymore for that many trucks and GM which is going to own Chrysler does not want two truck lines. I have long felt since Chrysler was taken private that its days were numbered.  

That sucks because dodge is a better more durable truck. I like the straight axle up front. Chevy doesn't do it and if they did they would have a serious truck. IFS is nice but not in heavy truck world. To much maintenance on front ends in 4wd world in the field. I know I'm gonna make somebody mad but I don't care. I loose money when my truck is down.I know what happens in the field in ice and snow/mud world. My truck sees 5 months of locked in hubs a year. 6.0 diesel ford was terrible on my toy time. Now their gonna try and reinvent the wheel again probably. I hope it doesn't happen.  

yeah... in wyoming there's only three seasons 4 months of summer (sometimes) 6 months of winter, and two months of hunting... IFS just doesn't hold up real well in those conditions...  

I have found IFS to be quite durable if you keep it greased and close to stock. It is lifts and big tires that wreck them. I have been plowing snow with a GM IFS truck for 9 years and like me tell you that plowing is tuffer on a truck than off roading because of pushing and carrying the heavy weight up front. I have had other problems but none with IFS, front drive axle or steering.  

yeah but the thing is some of us like bigger tires and are a bit aggressive at driving, yeah not the smartest thing but something solid axles will endure much better than an aluminum case ifs differential or halfshafts or a arms and such  
Solid axle chevys can't be beat!
My dream truck: 73-91 chevy 3500 crew cab srw with dana 60/14bolt, 6 inc long travel lift with KING shocks, 37 inc tires and a 24v cummins diesel, nv5600 and np205

Nothing wrong with aluminum Tcases. I have had no issues with mine and I never had any problems with the aluminum Qtrac in my 79 after over 20 years of towing and plowing with it. What wrecks them is many who lift them up and put big tires on them and DO NOT reagear axles and try to make up for it by running Tcase in low range a lot. A chain driven case will last a very long time even with big tires IF you properly regear and change lube in them regulalry and many do neither. In solid vs straight axle, there is pluses and minus to both and I for one was very apprehensive about my first IFS truck to plow snow with  but it has been okay in that regard and actually far better than a solid axle plow truck in handling with and without plow and smoothness of power in turns because of CV's in front drive axle. I am sold on this for plowing. Now, if they made a solid axle with CV joints in them that would merit a serious look and one thing I will not miss about a Dodge truck is that bastard front hub design and lack of disconnecting hubs for 2wd usage. Dodge could have spent another 50 or 100 bucks and done the front axle proper but they did not.  

I'm talking in stock form. Never ran a lifted chevy. Run lots of dirt roads and county roads. It holds pretty good for about 35,000 miles then you start to spend money and tire wear on 1 ton dually stuff. 10,000lb or better on weight service truck. Lots of time on dirt stuff and washboard roads. The trucks run ok duramax and 8.1 just front end work. I think the 8.1 is better than the duramas for reliability. Never had a problem at all with the 8.1. Duramax has issues in cold sometimes when bitter cold and running #1. O yeah the frame clearance sucks on chevy trucks. Been stuck on the frame several times. But in general their a good truck just wish they had a straight axle up front.  

Dmax adds a lot of weight to front end of truck as all diesels do. CTD is the worst here with newest one weighing about 1300 lbs or about twice that of a gas motor. I have seen a lot of GM IFS go a few 100 K miles when left stock ans 2500 and 3500 have a stronger IFS and ball joints than 1500's do. I have no tire wear issues on mine even after 9 years of abuse. You do want to grease front end at least every oil change or more often under severe duty and you want to use moly based grease not GM spec'ed multipurpose lithium. Moly grease does far better in extreme duty and is tuffer to wash out too. Ford has long spec'ed moly based grease for chassis while GM has not for simplicity (moly grease is not good in bearings) and planned obsolescence. I have no desire to see GM return to solid axle up front but I do wish they would remember what a truck is supposed to be rather than their latest abomination which is a joke. Those bigger massive looking bumpers that are chrome plated plastic, silly looking hood and grill, moving ABS controller from protected position under the hood to under chassis in road spray, salt, snow, mud and stones and general style of truck as it looks cheaply built (which it is)  

On the ball joints we usually get around 60,000 at most on a chevy one ton service truck. Thats with monthly maintenance or around 5000 miles with rotate. Dodges and fords are around the same on ball joints also. usually need around 45,000 and stretch it out as long as possible. All these trucks are around 10,500 to 12,000lbs. A new duramax head is around 3200.00 bucks a new 6.0 ford engine is around 15,000.00 turn key in wyoming. Forgot what a chevy dually rearend costs and its expensive around 8,000.00 installed if I remember,OEM stuff. New dodge cummins is around 13,000.00 installed, failed injector broke crank. 15,000 miles on truck and still arguing over warranty. Chevy dually 2008 one deer factory bumper 13,000.00 to repair truck. Ranch hand bumper around 1000.00 They said we didn't need good bumpers. I've killed 2 deer this fall. These new trucks are expensive. I do believe the dodge is the best of the bunch so far on costs. More info than you need but some days I run 150 miles of dirt road and no pavement and not a town in site. I do this every week and you will find weak spots in vehicles on these old roads. I live in a different world than most of ya'll out east. Some of my Montana runs are even worse. I like a straight axle for reliability.  

I have lived in Montana and traveled the west a lot and know the roads out there well. My guess is that you con not use moly grease and do not grease often either. BTW when I used to travel a lot in extreme cold out there when it was 30 to 40 below and colder it was in a front wheel drive car as I left 4x4 home for long trips. Many times we would make 200 mile round trip day trips to shop in bigger cities and 400 mile round trip over nighters to shop in Billings and it would be 30 to 40 below when we started out and might get up to 15 below or a bit warmer. Roads were always ice covered and rough above 5000 feet (were we were most of the time because I lived at 7000 feet and would climb above 9000 feet too at times in that cold) I remember one day trip I took that was 250 miles and never saw pavement, only rough frozen rutted roads with ruff ice several inches thick on them and snow blowing across them but road was too slick and it was too cold for it to stick. I had a bra on front of car and most of air flow under hood blocked off in extreme cold and it would warm up and run and drive like it was spring time and get decent MPG even at 40 below. My 4x4's got terrible MPG in that kind of cold if with grill blocked off and SYN oil in axles. Always felt like it was dragging a anchor. BTW I drove that car for over 12 years and put well over 200K miles on it too and never wore out ball joints, steering or half shafts either. It was a 4 cyl too.  

I've never had a truck make it over 70,000miles on ball joints on a service truck. Some times they don't make 20,000 and ford wouldn't warranty said it was factory set and good to go. The key word is service truck and heavy. My regular trucks do ok but not a service truck, meaning with a tool bed and crane on tool bed. Not a daily driver. I've already driven 190 miles today but was mostly on higway today. You have to travel 250 to 400 miles round trip to any decent city up here. My nearest decent size city if gillette wyoming and its 115miles one way and thats one of my normal rounds every week at least once a week. I don't consider a lightweight car in the same situation with heavy 1 ton trucks. I was in southern montana today on my round checking on compressors. I own a buick lesabre and we have around 250,000 on it and the question is when is it gonna die. The best car I've ever owned and still get 22 to 24 mpg. We have replaced ball joints and axles already and struts.  

Ill have to agree w/you on the lesabre car being the best...I owned a 97 w/the 3800 v6 and never had a problem w/it. probably the most comfortable car ive owned w/the pillow back seats and a suspension that rivalled that of caddies or euros maybe even better and still got 28mpg. if it wearnt for the fact that granparents were trying to get in my car Id still own it cause you know just about all jerry atricks drive comfortable buicks!.  

The word is you pay a price for a heavy diesel motor in a LD truck (and make no mistake, even a 1 ton P/U is considered LD in real truck world) There was a time when there was a argument for diesel service trucks but today fuel cost more and engine 6 to 8 grand more and it will never save money. Then there is higher maintainence cost for oil burner and more chassis repair caused by extra weight in chassis. My son works in a quick lube place and see gob of fleet truck in for regular service and some seeing 3000 miles in two weeks. He has seen many old GM trucks with over 300K miles and gas motors and some one with 350 with over 500K running strong. He talks to them to see how they have been and many still running OEM front ends. They do get service every 3K with oil change and greased chassis. BTW he has seen no high mileage Dodge or Ford fleet trucks with over 200K.