Some of you know I blew up another 48RE in my Cummins 2004 Ram 3500 Laramie single wheel 4x4 quad cab shortbox with 216K miles and it is still sitting in Pennsylvania. A friend has a 2000 Ram 2500 2wd quad cab shortbox sport and is a black SLT Cummins automatic that he bought new and has 150K miles that still runs great and he hasn't driven it in winter for the last 7 years. He wants to trade me even as he needs a real 4-door truck for his family and also wants a 4x4 he can drive in the winter. What do you think? Here is a pic of my truck, it has 18" wheels with new tires and I have added a Ranch Hand monster bumper on the front after this pic was taken.

A close pic of the truck I may be trading for, but with the towing mirrors.

Trade it, sell it, buy a small Freightliner or International single axle with a manual transmission. Put an end to the pattern.

Sheldon

I drive Internationals everyday, no thanks! I am done towing for a living, so I am just looking for something to occasionally tow my 32' LQ trailer that weighs a max of 11K lbs if I have my 69 D200 in it, most of the time it will haul less than 9K lbs.

Not sure if looks matter to you at all but the '04 looks better. Which do you like more. If it's your current truck then get a good tyranny in it and enjoy it as I think you'll enjoy it more.

If your tyranny wasn't in bad shape would you even consider this trade?

The 04 gens are going for stupid money & don't know what it'd cost to rebuild your Cummins, but if you need 4WD, I'd keep it. I loved my 02 2500 4wd, but the had to learn the hard way what upgrades I shoulda made!.
The 98-2002 gen 2500's with a steering box stabilizer, 727 upgrades for towing & the Fast Pump upgrades are hard to beat. I like the later gen's interiors & front suspension, and they are much quieter than the earlier gens, so that's something to consider.
Two friends of mine just bought 04's. Both 4wd's & the one with 23K orig miles went for $29K & the one with 120K went for 23K. I think your decision basically comes down to cash outlay to fix the 04 & do you really need a 4wd. Best wishes in whichever direction you go.

The 2000 is a sweet looking truck. I also prefer the 2000-02 Sport style and larger comfyier interior (front seat room).

It sounds like a fair deal for both of you.

You will miss the 4wd during the next few months tho.

If the black one is an auto you best pull it and have it upgraded.... Even the smallest of power adders will drive right through that stock converter. Towing your heavy azz 32 foot trailer will bring that truck to it's knees in stock form. been there....done that.... still driving my 01. Over 100K on my trans that I built with Dave G's help and parts. Chip, injectors.....finally helped it get out of it's own way.

Your 04 is probably at least a $14,000 truck with a trans. The one you are thinking of trading for is worth a lot less. Even with the cost of a good trans, I think a trade would be a poor financial decision. The 04 also has a lot of improvements compared to the 2000.

Of course most of us would not keep old mopars if the decision was purely a financial one...

I think u should keep the 04 and fix it. The 2000 is really nice but your 04 is as well.
With all your tranny problems, do you keep fixing the same transmission, is it the original tranny for your truck? Maybe it has some flaw in it that is causing your problems ie machined wrong, a hairline crack somewhere that you can't see?

I would fix the 04 the 2000 isn't worth as much and it has basically the same trans that is in your 2004. The 2004 has different electronics in it along with a few other changes.

get someone that knows the 48re and you should have no problem getting 200k out of 1 of them.

It is the original trans for the truck. When I blew the original Cummins I figured I would have the trans built while everything was apart, apparently a bad decision. I have even considered an Alison conversion, though pricey. I appreciate all the advice, gonna make a decision soon...

I love the 48's. We build them for 600+ horse trucks all day long. Even ship them all over the states! My brothers dynoed 1021hp on diesel only held by our tranny and billet shafts. Once all the upgrades are done there is no reason for them to not last for 200K+miles especially with a stock truck. I just built the one in my 04 along with the motor. Next up for a set of twins.

May as well through in a tranny pic