2004 Ram maintenance

[Sagefemme]

My spouse and I are "non-handy" people when it comes to automotive issues. In June 2024 we bought our very first camping rig after being a tent/backpacking/car camping family forever. It's a 2016 FB Hawk on a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 with (currently, after driving it 2000 miles home after purchase and various 2-4 day trips in Oregon this summer) 245,000 miles. Here is what page one of the Carfax report that came with it says: Crew pickup, 5.9 L I-6 F OHV 24 V diesel RWD w/4X4.

The vehicle was owned by one person for the vast majority of its life, and he seems to have taken good care of it. There are 50 service history records on the Carfax between 0 and 230,000 miles, mostly for routine maintenance. I had no experience driving a truck this size before this purchase, but have found it an actual pleasure to drive (excluding noisiness). The biggest surprise was that it feels like......nothing is back there! No sense that I'm hauling a camper behind me.

I'd like to keep this setup for the long term; buying and selling vehicles and campers is not my idea of fun. My spouse and I are both 63. He's not retired yet (having the camper sitting in front of our house is supposed to be an incentive to him). BUT I have not yet reckoned with how to keep such a vehicle going for another 100,000 miles, or whether we should do. I understand that maintenance on such a vehicle is not cheap. But at this point I don't even have a mechanic for it! I think it's fair to say we have more money than know-how, so I'm willing to put regular cash into maintenance.

Any opinions on whether I will come to regret having an older, high mileage vehicle hauling my camper (which I love, BTW). Do I need to find a DIESEL mechanic specifically (I think the answer is yes)? It is due for oil and fuel filter change now--can any shop do that? Can I learn to do that? I'm pretty good at learning new things, working with tools, etc, as long as I have You Tube nearby.

We would like to take longer trips, 2-4 weeks, maybe off paved roads but not rock crawling, when DH retires. So far we have no extra gear but will of course obtain before any longer or off road trips (air compressor, tire fix kit, traction boards, etc,). In order to do such trips with any confidence I feel I should have meticulous preventative maintenance done on the vehicle. I understand that even so we could have a major breakdown far from civilization. For what it's worth, we do have friends we hope to adventure with who are more experienced than we are, but we'd like to be alone sometimes, too.

This is a ramble-y post and I'm not sure what I'm even asking, except for the immediate question of do I need to find a diesel mechanic (I live in Eugene if anyone already knows who I should go to), and in general what maintenance should I be doing on a regular basis.

Someone is bound to tell me I need to be looking for a newer, more reliable vehicle, and I will listen to such advice, although our history with vehicles is find one you like and drive it until it's dead. The fact that the camper is on a flatbed also, in my mind, complicates the idea of changing vehicles.

Any and all advice from you folks is welcome.

Ain't she purty? A godwit is a bird if anyone is wondering.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

But… which godwit? Hudsonian?

Yes, a good diesel mechanic will keep the beast running for a number of years, and many more miles. Member @ckent323 has kept his going for a very long time, I recommend you read his thread on his upgrades. An advantage you have is not needing DEF, plus it probably tolerated higher sulfur fuel. I think finding a good diesel shop in Eugene would be wise.

Edit: A Dodge forum should have info about local Eugene area mechanics.

 

[pawpaw]

Sagefemme Congrats and a nice truck and being a 2004 (Need to verify date of manufacture) it may be the coveted 305 HP 555 lbs torque Cummins if it was built before 2004.5. A few questions:

1: Where did the truck come from? Does the underside of the truck look solid or has rust ate any holes in the body?
2: What transmission does it have? Automatic or Manual
3: You can read the error codes by simply putting the key in the ignition and turning it to the "ON" position 3 times in a quick sequence. So you have to turn it on and back off 3 times quickly. (Don't start it just turn till you see lights on the dash) Have a paper ready so you can write the codes if any that appear where the odometer display is. If you get no codes and it simply shows "done" that means the engine and electronics are showing no errors at all. If it displays any codes don't panic just write them down and look up the codes online.

With all this said I know this year truck intimately because I have owned the same model from 2003 since it was new and I do all my own oil changes and maintenance. My truck has 170k on it and I have no doubt it can make it to 350K. The Cummins engine was designed to easily make it to 350K before any major maintenance is required. With that said many of these cummins make it to 500K before needing engine work.
The following are a few items that are known to be problematic on these trucks. When I say problematic they are known issues and are not difficult for a mechanic to check. Oh and I don't have a diesel mechanic I just take mine to a reputable shop for brakes bearings or other items I don't want to self maintain.

Known issues with these trucks:

Front end upper and lower ball joints wear out prematurely. I have replaced mine with good NAPA parts
Fuel lift pump (called a CP3) is easy to replace on these years and are known to fail around 100k miles on them. I always carry a spare one with me. Best practice on your truck is have a mechanic replace it.
Dashboards crack and disintergrate if left in the sun
The door seals are not great and probably need to be replaced if original
Other than that I can't think of any major issues with the 2003 - 2005 Dodge heavy duty trucks.

My personal opinion is take the truck to a reputable shop and have them do a safety inspection on the brakes, front end ball joints, tires, u joints etc. No need for a diesel mechanic.

Here is a pic of my baby....still rolling and rust free!

 

[Sagefemme]

 

[Sagefemme]

Thanks Sagebrush and pawpaw. Here's my sticker; date of manufacture seems to be Feb 2004? I don't know if it's the coveted whatchamacallit.

Automatic transmission I think 4 speeds.

Thanks for the info about error codes.

The dashboard does have a crack. The texture on the steering wheel is worn off and feels sticky, like it's partially melting! I have ordered a steering wheel cover for it.

Also thanks for the encouragement.

 

[pawpaw]

Did the truck come from California?

 

[Sagefemme]

Also, vehicle spent most of its life in Springfield, MO. The body is in very good condition and the underside looks pretty rust-free, although I'm not a great judge of that. I can have a truck-loving friend take a look.

 

[Sagefemme]

I think Springfield can be pretty snowy.