As if a person needed another reason to visit impossibly beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, that’s where this black 1990 Dodge Power Ram W250 LE 4×4 Diesel pickup is located. Fly in and drive it home, listening to that sweet Cummins diesel and getting 15+ mpg if you take it easy. It’s listed here on eBay, there is no reserve, and the current bid is $15,100.
Following the similar D-Series trucks from the early 1970s, Dodge offered the first generation of Ram pickups from late 1980 for the 1981 model year, until mid-1993. We’ve seen a ton of them here on Barn Finds over the years, both third-generation D-Series trucks and the new Dodge Ram pickups. Dodge is often left outside the ring when it comes to the “Ford vs. Chevy” battles a lot of us grew up with and still hear every now and then. As always, I like (almost) every vehicle and would not kick this beautiful Dodge 4×4 diesel out of the garage.
This basic design went back almost two decades by this point, but it’s crisp enough to have lasted by the time 1990 finally rolled around. It was the second year Dodge offered what is often hailed as the engine that saved their pickups, the 5.9-liter Cummins direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine. This powerhouse had more torque than anyone else, at least in pickup use, and was the only one with direct injection, not to mention having the famous and respected Cummins name. The underside looks solid and there’s no mention of rust in the seller’s description.
The interior looks fantastic from what we can see, with nice fabric seats with vinyl accents – fancy for a pickup in this era, not so much today when everyone wants full leather. This one doesn’t have a floor-shifted manual transmission, unfortunately, but the heavy-duty TorqueFlite A727 automatic was up to the task of backing this powerful engine. I don’t see a flaw inside, do you?
Here’s the famous Cummins 5.9-liter OHV inline-six turbocharged diesel with direct injection, 160 horsepower, and a whopping for the time 400 lb-ft of torque. Roaring through the transfer case and heavy-duty automatic to all four wheels as needed, this one is said to run and drive “fantastic”, and as an LE model, it’s loaded with features and options. Hagerty is at $30,400 for a #3 good-condition example, so this one is a screaming bargain at half that bid price now! Any thoughts on this Dodge 4×4 diesel? Are you a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge pickup fan?
Great truck for someone doing a heavy landscaping business or firewood 🪓🪵 from the backcountry.
Or just for having and using, as the old man used to say. I’d just like to listen to it idling, that’s worth it for me. There’s only a day-and-a-half left on the auction, and it hasn’t moved off of the $15,100 price with no reserve. This may end up being a steal.
You hear them coming before you see them coming.
Great truck just as a great truck. Will outlast its body, I had many, still running great but frame gave out of all of them.
The entire underside looks like it has been painted “rebuild black.” Hopefully it is just a protective coating and the seller is not hiding anything.
i have owned many dodge diesels 15 mpg ,no closer to 30
Yeah 15mpg would defeat the purpose.
I think you’re right, Ron. Weird, I replied to this thanking you for the comment that 15 mpg wasn’t enough, but it went away. Hmm…
I agree, I saw a lot of info showing 15 mpg as the number, but that doesn’t make sense, it should be more than that.
Closer to 25mpg if you drive 60mph. It goes down from there the faster you go. But still pretty good concidering at 70mph you can get 20 or so.
That’s what I thought. A friend of mine had one of these a couple of decades back and he said he was getting 30mpg on the highway.. which is part of the reason I’d love to have one and the other is for the four wheel drive.
What’s not to like? Black beauty, 4WD, 8ft bed with upgraded interior. PW, PL, carpet, I think it was LE trim level with that. Prospector Pkg.
The eBay ad says “low” reserve. These Dodges equipped with the Cummins diesel and in this kind of condition with only 148K miles is going to attract a whole lot of interest. Me included. The auction is hours away from ending so it will be interesting to see what the final bid turns out to be. GLWTS.
Another huge plus in buying this is that you’ll get\to spend time in Cour -d’Alene! South of the freeway is pretty much the same as it’s been for years-
& years,which is a great thing.North of the freeway (I90) is a totally different
story,as it looks a lot like Southern California,& there’s now a 4 lane highway
going to Sandpoint.Too many Southern Californians there now.
It’s also very sad to hear about the firefighters who were ambushed &
killed there.
Sold for $15,400. Somebody got a nice truck for a very good price.
Thanks, John! I agree, either Hagerty is way off or this was a steal.
Ugh, it must have been a scam bidder as it’s been relisted.
$10K with that kind of mileage.
These great trucks aren’t in demand at a premium price anymore.
My friend bought a pretty clean one that they claimed they put rebuilt trans (5 speed in. It wasn’t right. But they gave him the old trans. He pulled the one and bought new bearings, seals and made a good trans . Paid $2500 for truck
Ballpark of new price.
No one pays less than 15 grand for these, no idea where you guys think these are not worth anything!