Dodge Dakota

Poor choice for a wheeling rig, only an OK choice for a DD. And I've put 50k miles on a v6 version and a 1 or 2k in a 318 powered one. The upside is they have more room all around than a mini-truck and a nicer interior than the same vintage mini-trucks as well.
 
I have a 01 quad cab with the 4.7 V8 . No major complaints. Its a daily driver tho not a 4x4. just my road vehicle. have it lowered 3/3. My reason for buying ... I had a 90 grand marquis .. lol.. and Noticed once I bought a new flat screen I really needed a truck ... Wanted to keep the interior room of the marquis but wanted a bed, esp since I was going to be moving. Not TOO bad on gas .. get about 21 hwy. if you do an occasional tow/haul It does very well. tows 5k easily never tried more. stops with the 5k easy too. Seems like most engine /mechanical work is pretty straight foward and regular maint for all fluids/filters/plugs/ sensors is a breeze all fairly easy to get to. Overall very happy. Would buy another.
 
I have heard that it is pretty hard to find a good lift kit for a 2005 or newer model. Pretty much limited to coil spring spacers or a a body lift.
 
yeah friend of mine has one, Ext cab with 4.7. Has 3in susp and 3in body looks pretty decent and is fairly big. He runs 33s and even with posi that thing will burnout on those 33s that are MT's like its nothing .. for a long time even. Stock power. for a truck of its size it has a bit of ass. Not power braking .. but actually peeling out.
 
I am looking for something to do some off roading in but still be a decent daily driver. I need some room so a Wrangler will not work. I would prefer a truck. I like the Tacomas but they are over priced. Anyone have some suggestions? I am not looking to be able to do any radical stuff off road but I do not want to look silly on the trail either.
 
The tacomas are "overpriced" because they hold their value better than any other truck and it's been that way for years. Something to think about if you ever plan to sell it again.
 
Ive got a 02 Crew Cab long bed frontier with a 3.3L, 3" body lift, 2.5" suspension lift and 33's. I love it for my dd and trail rig.
 
braxton357 said:
The tacomas are "overpriced" because they hold their value better than any other truck and it's been that way for years. Something to think about if you ever plan to sell it again.
Click to expand...

I think you are better off buying a new Toyota. The used ones are just too expensive. I was looking the other day at an '04 double cab 4x4 with 107k miles and it was almost $16k. You can get a new one for less than $30k....
 
Nissan11 said:
Ive got a 02 Crew Cab long bed frontier with a 3.3L, 3" body lift, 2.5" suspension lift and 33's. I love it for my dd and trail rig.
Click to expand...

I like Nissan. I had on old 90 model D21 several years ago and it was a very good truck. How difficult/expensive was it to get your lifted?
 
I've got an 01 dakota that i've had stock for years. Its in the proccess of getting 1 tons under it now. Dana 60 HP King and a 14bff. The truck has been great, now i'm going to see how she will handle with some meat under it.
 
xGROMx said:
I've got an 01 dakota that i've had stock for years. Its in the proccess of getting 1 tons under it now. Dana 60 HP King and a 14bff. The truck has been great, now i'm going to see how she will handle with some meat under it.
Click to expand...

Are lift kits readily available for the second generation models?
 
The body lift was about 300 bucks I think, and I did it at home. The suspension lift I did for mine is actually just add-a-leaf in the back and torsion bar crank/re-index in the front with an alignment. The only price to do that was the add-a-leafs and rear shocks which was around $130 all together. There are suspension kits available but not any bigger than 2.5", and they are pretty pricy.
 
I used to run a 98 with a rancho 3 inch suspension lift, 3 in body lift 33 mud terrains 4.10 gears and an ARB locker in the 8.25 with a 318.
In all honestly I DD'd and wheeled it on the weekends. They arent the most capable but they do have enough power and if you get a good kit like the rancho you shouldnt have any problems. Never broke a half shaft or anything in the drivetrain. Drown the motor 1 or 2 times pulled it outta the hole and kept goin till i got home and changed the plugs.
The only thing that really happened to go wrong was the U-Joint in the front driveshaft went bad and had to be replaced.
The ride was great and you could just about power through whatever you wanted. But from what i remember the traction like in anything was the key to having it go well in off road situations.
 
I have looked around and there are limited options for a lift kid for a '05 or newer Dakota. You can get some coil spring spacers to level it and I think that will allow you do run 32s with some minor rubbing. I think you can run 31s on it stock. It just looks lower to the ground than most vehicles running 31s because it is so long. I can get one of these for about 5 grand less than a comparable Toyota. I suppose with 5 grand to play with I could get it as off road capable as any stock Toyota.
 
Back
Top