Thanks for the info, everyone. And yes, dad is a bit obsessive with pics. He took one of the odometer before it left the dealer and one when it was being towed away. He's got multiple shots of the marks under the truck. He's probably got pics of each drop of gas he put in it, I don't know.
Actually, it went from bad to worse when I talked to the service manager on behalf of my dad. My dad was too upset to talk to anyone and asked me to handle it, besides, he can't hear well on the phone(years of working in noisy diesel shops). The service mgr said he test drove it 20 miles and there was no problem or shaking. I told him what my dad said and how he felt that there was something wrong in the rear end and what it felt like and the fact that my dad was a mechanic and knew what things should and shouldn't look like. (Heck, he's not your average schmo, he fixed trucks for a living.)
I told him my dad gave a good tug on each of the wheels and heard a clank and felt play in the rear tire/suspension area(I didn't remember which side, but said if he'd just check them, they'd find it). But the svc manager didn't even listen to me and talked over me as I was explaining and he argued with me about what my dad said and treated me like an idiot(I am a girl, I must be stupid). He didn't even listen to what I was saying. He was a total ass and if he thought I was a raging lunatic, he should have passed me off to his boss, under the circumstances, and when he suggested I speak to the owner of the dealership, I agreed and asked him to transfer me. Then he went to a rage that I couldn't just talk to Mr. Oz< I mean Johnson, I'd need to call and get an appointment and I asked for the number and waited until the line went dead.
I'll mention again, there was NO blowout, it just felt like the whole rear end was coming apart and my dad had only put 15 miles on the vehicle and the dealer had the truck AND the 35k in cash from my dad and they're going to treat me like that? Bad, bad move.
So dad found the cust svc # for corporate and I called and the woman I spoke to(Sue) couldn't have been nicer! She documented the issue, the rough handling at the dealer, my dad's feelings and fears and empathized with my dad's lack of confidence in the vehicle and said she'd see what she could do to resolve the issue AND she'd get back to me by Monday at the latest.
Now that's what I needed to hear. I feel much better having talked with the corporate office and she assured me that they would do everything they could to satisfy my dad. I told her all they needed to do is supply the vehicle that he ordered in the condition one would expect of a truck that was just driven out of the showroom. Not too much to ask, is it? I want nothing more than to come back and say that Dodge is a solid, honest and reputable company that stands behind their vehicles.
I'll let you know how it goes.