Best older Dodge pickup for daily use?

318willrun said
92 318 is magnum, 93 360 is magnum. Many, many of these are out there with 250,000 miles or much higher. My 99 Durango has the 318. It has 186,*** miles on it. I have changed the water pump, and that is it on the motor/tranny. I did put 2 new front wheel hub assemblies on it. I did everything myself. Still drive it everyday.

P.S. I like all the old dodge trucks. I am not against any of them. You just have to way out all the things that are important to you. The easiest truck I have had to work on was a 1970 dodge d100. When I opened the hood, half the fender is raised with it. The top of the fenders are about a foot wide and made excellent work benches... lol

Yes I know all about the longevity and reliability of the Magnums. See my above post on that.

The only things I care about that it must be is long bed. Not looking for the more popular short bed show truck. Just simplicity when working on it, low-maintenance, and that it drives and hauls.

Preferences that are on the top of my list are rust-free (within reason, serious rust/rot I mean) a 318 motor and good price.

After that would be lower mileage, auto tranny (I hear ya on the OD it would be nice to be highway friendly), and working A/C.

Last would be heavy-duty towing ability (which may necessitate something more than a 318 but I don't really know). I don't plan on doing a lot of it, but there could be a need to take a car/trailer here and there in my future. Again that depends on the reality of that situation. If a major heavy-duty diesel truck is the way to go there, then I'll find an alternative for such rare occurences.

My dad had a '70 or '71 D100. Would be happy with one of those but my concern is age for a "daily driver", and the initial cost. I figure there's more demand for an early 70's vs 80's/early 90's.