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I'm on my second Dodge truck. My first was a 2001 2500 with the 5.9 gas motor. It was a great truck. Despite my preconceptions about American vehicles, the fit and finish was great and it held up quite well until I traded it in with around 70k miles. My wife has horses and the gas motor just wasn't up to hauling a 7000 lbs of horse, hay and tack. I traded it in for a 2004 3500 short bed with the 600 Cummins diesel motor with the single rear wheel. If you're going to tow frequently, definitely spend the extra cash and get the diesel. In addition to the power, you'll get better mileage and they're designed with a long rebuild cycle in mind (I've read 350k miles).
Few things you'll want to look out for. The new body style began in 2003. These trucks have the Cummins motor which has less of the typical diesel clatter. You can actually stand next to the truck and have a conversation. The new trucks have the new 48RE tranny which is supposed to be more stout than the earlier 47RE model in the earlier trucks. However, I've never had any issues with either. The new body style 2003+ also have 4 full doors (or closer to full) rather than the hinged suicide-type doors. In 2003, the Cummins was around 550 ft/lbs of torque, and in 2004+ they bumped it up to 600 (however, it comes at higher revs). If you go for an early body style truck, it may be useful to know that Dodge went to 4 wheel disk brakes in 2001. Earlier trucks have front disks-rear drums. The earlier trucks have a huge aftermarket of products available to them while the market is just starting to get going for the newer design.
You may want to check out a site like the turbo diesel registry -- devoted to the Cummins diesel. (tdr.org, I think).
Good luck with the search!
T.
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