Need Help on possible 2011 PW purchase

[MedicDB]

Hey all.

I am brand new to this forum. I have always wanted a Power Wagon but the cost has kept them out of my reach. I found one at a price that works for me but I wanted your thoughts on if it is a good deal or if I should keep looking. The truck is a 2011 and currently listed on Craig's List in my area. Here is the listing.

https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/2011-dodge-ram-2500-power/6615569041.html

I went and looked at it today. They guy was asking $12,200 but said he already made a deal on another truck he wants and needs the cash and we haggled a bit and he agreed to take $10,500

The Bad:

It has a salvage Title and has a non factory paint job. I pulled a Carfax on it and found out the following.

https://www.carfax.com/showroom/#/report/3D7TT2CT1BG509976

I am fairly mechanically inclined and crawled around under the car. From what I can tell the frame is straight and has no wrinkles. Most everything else seems to be there and in decent working order. The engine sounds good and seems strong with no major leaks. Oil looked good but not new.

I tried to test the lockers and sway bar disconnect and got only blinking lights. Not sure if they activated. I admit this may have been user error on my part though since I did not know how Dodge rigged the computer. I had the transfer case in 4x4 high but was on pavement. It felt like the rear may have locked. Are these actuators know to have problems? The owner said he never used them. When crawling under the truck I would believe that the truck has not seen any off road use since it had no scratches or dents and was rust free. This guy was the 1st Colorado owner and prior to that it lived in Lubbock TX.

1. 172,000 miles
2. The original winch and winch plate is missing.
   
3. A/C not blowing cold
4. missing hood sprayer
5. Crappy after market mirrors that vibrate.
6. The paint job sucks, over spray, orange peel, lack of prep, door handles sprayed, Grill sprayed black and chipping off.
7. base model black front bumper put on to replace factory crashed one.
8. crappy aftermarket smoke headlights and tail lights.
9. Owner is a construction worker and has used the truck as such resulting in a bed that is all dented up. Also has old holes from a old goose neck hitch that is no longer installed. The tail gate latch is worn out and difficult to get it to latch. The interior is grubby.
10. Drivers seat has 2-3" hole in the usual wear spot.
11. Steering wheel leather worn through with a crappy Wal-Mart cover.

If I get this truck it will see occasional use either towing the family 25' travel trailer for family camping trips and/or 4-wheeling moderate Colorado and Utah trails. I have a Toyota Tacoma that I use for the hardcore rock crawling stuff. I will also use it once a week or so for typical truck use hauling.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you would take the risk or not. Also let me know anything I need to watch out for or check before I purchase.

Thanks all, I really appreciate your input,
Damon

 

[Blue Streak]

I personally would pass, but price isn't bad.

 

[Low_Sky]

It’d be a hard “no” for me.

Swaybar works in 4HI. Truck needs to be on a level surface for the bar to disconnect, sometimes throwing your body weight back and forth to rock the truck will get it to pop if it doesn’t go when you push the button.

You have to be in 4LO for the lockers. The fastest way to test the lockers is to just bring a floor jack. Jack an axle up, turn the locker on, and try to spin a tire by hand. They should lock up with just a few degrees of tire spin with no load on the diff, and you’ll be able to hear an electric “hum” coming from them. If you can’t do this method, you’ll be messing around with finding gravel to drive on and doing S patterns and figure 8s. They can be finicky if they don’t get used a lot.

Heat is a known killer for the rear locker, so if it has been used hard as a tow vehicle I would definitely want to check the locker before you buy.

I knew it hadn’t been off-roaded as soon as I saw those goofy deep dish 20s. “Not off-roaded” doesn’t mean not abused.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[boxofrokx]

For me, I wouldn't buy a truck with a salvaged title. At least not as a daily driver. Something I was going to heavily modify, maybe.

 

[MedicDB]

Well I asked for your opinion and you guys delivered. I then discarded all your wisdom and decided to get it anyway. I did get him down another $500 so we are at an even $10K. At that price I feel I can fix or overlook all the flaws. My last truck was a salvage rebuild and has been a great truck. I will be taking the gamble on this one and hoping for similar performance. I figure it gets me all the parts that make a Power Wagon and I have never been afraid to get my hands dirty and do my own repairs. With any luck they won't be needed or will be easy. If not this won't have been my first or last .

Does the new owner of a kinda crappy older salvage title Power Wagon still gain entry into your club?
I promise to sell off the stupid 20" rims and return it to a real truck.

 

[yillbs]

You just paid 10k for a truck that doesn't have cold AC and has a bad paint job. AND.. You're missing the winch. You're also not sure if your sway DC works.

Sounds to me like you got a bit too excited and purchased a POS. I hope it works out for you, but literally every red flag was in your face and you chose to ignore it. I'm going to personally look over your account every couple days. The post is inevitable " help, my truck won't start ".

I'm a pretty big *******, but I do hope the best for you with that.

I do have one question though, did you at least get the 6.4... or did it have the 5.7?!?! I don't think the 6.4 was standard in 2011.....

 

[MedicDB]

You just paid 10k for a truck that doesn't have cold AC and has a bad paint job. AND.. You're missing the winch. You're also not sure if your sway DC works.

Sounds to me like you got a bit too excited and purchased a POS. I hope it works out for you, but literally every red flag was in your face and you chose to ignore it. I'm going to personally look over your account every couple days. The post is inevitable " help, my truck won't start ".

I'm a pretty big *******, but I do hope the best for you with that.

I do have one question though, did you at least get the 6.4... or did it have the 5.7?!?! I don't think the 6.4 was standard in 2011.....

Nope it has the 5.7. In the Colorado market $10K is a pretty unheard of price. I have been watching for these things on CL for a while and they usually list for way more. I looked at it like a fixer upper. I plan to toss a new 12K lbs. HF Badlands winch in it and will fab up my own bracket. The A/C doesn't scare me. The truck will see some decent off- road duty so no worries on the ****** paint. Besides, this truck will only add to my fleet of family vehicles. I won't need to rely on it as my daily so if it fails to start all I need to do is go grab a different set of keys. Perhaps it was a huge mistake. Time will tell. You will be the first guy I ask when it goes bad I promise.

 

[yillbs]

Nope it has the 5.7. In the Colorado market $10K is a pretty unheard of price. I have been watching for these things on CL for a while and they usually list for way more. I looked at it like a fixer upper. I plan to toss a new 12K lbs. HF Badlands winch in it and will fab up my own bracket. The A/C doesn't scare me. The truck will see some decent off- road duty so no worries on the ****** paint. Besides, this truck will only add to my fleet of family vehicles. I won't need to rely on it as my daily so if it fails to start all I need to do is go grab a different set of keys. Perhaps it was a huge mistake. Time will tell. You will be the first guy I ask when it goes bad I promise.

I too have been on the lookout for a pw. As a non daily driver, I'll cut you some slack. I think I might be able to overlook some of those items as well, but not with the 5.7. Keep us posted on how she holds up!

 

[MedicDB]

I too have been on the lookout for a pw. As a non daily driver, I'll cut you some slack. I think I might be able to overlook some of those items as well, but not with the 5.7. Keep us posted on how she holds up!

According to your avatar list it looks like you own a 5.7. Why then the hate for this motor? Have you had problems? When I did some research it seemed as if the 5.7 is a pretty good platform. Did I miss something? I remember coming across some lifter issue complaints and the occasional camshaft report but is there something else?

 

[yillbs]

According to your avatar list it looks like you own a 5.7. Why then the hate for this motor? Have you had problems? When I did some research it seemed as if the 5.7 is a pretty good platform. Did I miss something? I remember coming across some lifter issue complaints and the occasional camshaft report but is there something else?

The 5.7 motor is an engineering marvel. Absolutely love it. It is however a half ton pickup. There is a reason the 6.4 is standard on the newer power wagons. The 5.7 I'm sure is more than adequate for the pw, but I don't want a 3 quarter ton pickup with the same motor as my half ton. Mostly just preference

 

[boxofrokx]

...

Does the new owner of a kinda crappy older salvage title Power Wagon still gain entry into your club?
...

Welcome to the dark side... We got cookies!

 

[boxofrokx]

The 5.7 is a fine motor. It will be fine in your truck. If I recall, the 2o11 had 4.56 gears. No problems.

One of your posts mentioned a disappointment in your front bumper. I would be looking for a Ranch Hand or other after market to start the mods. I don't think you will find the room for a badlands inside the frontend.

As far as the 20" wheels, if you don't like 'em, replace 'em. They look fine to me but I'm a form follows function type. Use them tell they're unusable, them decide.

 

[boxofrokx]

Oh, the AC. My 2o1o 1500 went thru evaporator cores... about every 80k miles. I diyed it the second time. Took about a day. If you determine thats were your problem is, there is a utube on how to do it. Were all the bolts, connectors, order etc to get the job done. Get a filter kit from Geno's Garage.

 

[MJockey]

When I did some research it seemed as if the 5.7 is a pretty good platform. Did I miss something? I remember coming across some lifter issue complaints and the occasional camshaft report but is there something else?

The 6.4L has the same lifters with the same issues. The only advantage of the 6.4 over the 5.7 is the increased torque, but it doesn't equate to higher payload / tow ratings. Those ratings are lower on the new PWs. It also suppose to get better gas mileage, but I haven't seen it.

In my opinion the biggest difference between your truck and the new ones is the interior.

Have fun with your new purchase and welcome to the club.