Ram SRT-10 Viper Truck Prices Are Crazy: What’s Going On?
The Dodge/Ram SRT-10 pickup, mostly referred to as the Viper Truck, has always been an outrageous package. There’s a bit of magic when anything has a Viper V-10 engine stuffed between the frame rails. But according to our pals at Hagerty Insurance, prices for these hot rod trucks have shot up almost 50 percent year-over-year. What the heck is going on?
Just like that Viper Trucks are some of the hottest investments right now
Hagerty is now calling the Viper Truck one of the hottest investment vehicles around. Through its insurance for collector vehicles and analysis of auctions, prices, and trends, it says the market value for these trucks in top condition is clearly off the charts.
As an example, it uses a 2006 SRT-10 with only 1,400 miles on the ticker selling on Bring-a-Trailer for $76,000 earlier this year. Then last month, a 2004 truck with only 245 miles sold for $68,200. Though these are extremes as far as mileage goes, they’re incredible prices regardless.
Of course, the upside to these notorious single cab trucks is the 500 naturally aspirated horsepower with 525 lb-ft of torque. Combined with the V-10 were a reinforced frame, TRW disc brakes, and a lower stance. But there are other reasons this truck is seeing prices spike so fast.
How many Viper Trucks did Dodge/Ram make?
Dodge/Ram made only 10,143 examples over its 2004-2006 three-year run. So while they’re a rather low production truck, they are still plentiful enough to be available and attainable. You just have to watch out for a few issues.
Viper Trucks have a tendency to leak fluid around both the oil-cooler and power steering lines. Upgrading to better lines solves that problem very quickly. Another issue is the brakes.
Specifically, the four-piston brake calipers on 2005 and 2006 trucks. They’re known to get stuck. This can cause overheating and even see the brakes lock up. The fix for this inherent problem is a rebuilding kit according to Hagerty.
Automatic transmissions weren’t up for the power and torque of the Viper Truck
While a fairly bulletproof transmission, the automatic transmission was shared with the quad-cab Ram trucks. Its application in the Viper Truck revealed some flaws not apparent in quad-cab models. When you look at possibly buying one of these screamers, make sure to look at the transmission fluid.
If the trans fluid is brown or smells burnt, there is something going on that isn’t good. Servicing it on a regular basis helps extend its life. Or, you could opt for the Tremec manual transmission, which is pretty much bulletproof.
There is another downside that you can’t do much about. Lousy fuel economy, with nine mpg numbers for the city and 15 mpg for highway use. But hey, this is a hot rod truck. You can’t expect much economy from a V10 engine. Plus, putting it into collector vehicle status means you’ll be driving it less anyway.
Cleaned-up, Viper Trucks with more miles are still relatively affordable. But probably not for long. If you’ve always had owning one of these in mind, maybe now is the time to step up. Along with Ford Lightning and big block Chevy pickups, they’re never going down in price ever again.
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