This is what the truck looked like when I got it, minus the bath.
This is what the truck looked like when I got it, minus the bath.
This is my first Dodge Truck, and I got it because I wanted a diesel, and liked the Cummins engine. I got into looking at a vehicle for my sister, as she wanted to take a cross-country trip. She wanted a camper though, as she had to have a fridge, stove, bed, etc. And room for her cat. I suggested a truck with a cab-over, and I could have it when she was done with it, as they were wanting a vehicle for just a month or so, and then she did not want it anymore. So we looked for something one of us would not mind having afterwards. I said I would like a diesel, and at the time I was contemplating only having one vehicle, which would have to be a diesel 4x4. It was a miracle, but I actually got the truck! This one was listed in the paper, and my sister drove it, liked it, and we were going to get a camper. I got really interested and already attatched to it (I was litterally foaming at the mouth everytime any truck with a diesel went by me - I wanted one THAT bad!!) I was working at the time, and my mom helped me get a loan for it. My sister decided she wanted to save her money instead of the trip, so I got the truck right away! She drives in a way that would make me scared lending it to her anyway. The day after I got the loan for this truck, I got fired. Go figure.
I am a truck lover, and this is my newest one. I like the 60s 70s trucks the best. I can not afford a new truck, and most diesels are in the newer ones, although the early/mid 80's are coming down in price. This truck still has an "old" truck look, and is pretty similar to the seventies chevy, the fender/hood anyway.
The truck came with worn out tires, which were pretty small too, but heavy duty. They were 245 75 16's, load range E. Nice tires, just too small! I put some 245 70 19.5's on the back for a trip, and they raised the rear up pretty good. They are very nice tires, and carry 4545 lbs at 100 psi. They are about 34 inches tall, and offer an aspect ratio of only 70 - which means good handling - not a lot of rolling and sloshing/sliding with and equivalent 15/16/16.5 - the only drawback is no airing them down much for offroading as they pop off. I guess the other drawback it is REALLY hard to find these rims anymore - for singles w/ 8 6.5 bolt center. They are recaps which to me mean better than regualar as they put a lot more carbon in the rubber and makes it real hard. You can put hundreds of thousands of miles on them before they wear out, and usually the sidewalls start to split open and give you blowouts before the tread ever wears off - this is for light truck/car tires - which the rubber is DESIGNED to rot out quickly so the tire decomposes. Which is good, but not if you want it to last a long time. I still have some 9.00 16 (NICE tire) that are from the korean war. Military nylons recaped in the fifties. I will probably get a set of the stock 235 85 16's for it pretty soon, probably just a road tread as I may be doing a lot of commuting - maybe 500 miles/ week. It gets better mileage than the other vehicles too - they are all gassers ranging from 350's to 454's. Thanks to diesel and an overdrive - all my others are direct "highway spinners!" but their trannies sure are easy to work on though.
This is what sold the truck - a Cummins Turbo Diesel, with a Banks Power Pack. I love this engine. Only bad thing is the torque drop-off due to the VE pump's inablility to give a ton of fuel. I do like the P7100 better in that regard, and inline pumps in general. But I do like the VE pump and a lot of its capabilities. The engine still puts out a nice amount of power. Banks claims it is 610 ft lbs at 1400, and 224 hp at 2400, both at the rear wheels. Although not a ton for the engine, it is a lot more than stock. It definatly has more than a gasser at the lowend - and even some of the diesels in other trucks (lot of duramax/power strokes that put out a lot of torque do so later (does equate to much more power remember that power is the product of torque and rpm, divided by 5252. V8's just cannot beat an inline at low end torque. And to me, that is what is NEEDED, the other is DESIRED. If you get stuck in a sand hole or have a steep hill to climb (offroading), you will see what I mean. I go into the mountains all the time and higher elevations are so nice to have a turbo at. Not that diesels loose much low end up there anyway - still have enough air as the cylinder full has enough for low throttle. I took this up to the mountains and it did not have any problems at all with power. It would even climb up the grades in overdrive. And speaking of the turbo on it, I love hearing it spool up. I love that sound. It is fun to let off the throttle just to put it on again and spool up the turbo again. I may take the muffler off and just have straight pipes, or maybe a big flowmaster, and then I would be able to hear the turbo even better, and have that wonderful straight six diesel sound. Even with a 6.2 chevy diesel with no turbo at all still did not loose much power at all up in altitude, although I drove normally - might notice a loss if you hot rod it up there, but I do not drive that way.
This is a picture from US 395 in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, climbing out of Owens Valley. The White Mountains are visible in the distance. I just left the town of Bishop, where I filled up on three Spicy Chicken Sandwhices at Carl's Jr (Hardees). This was on the way back from a trip to Palm Springs. I had left the truck down there for a month or so, and was on the way bringing it back home. This is just a little south of Mono Lake, and climbing into the Long Valley Caldera. I went down to Palmsprings with my mom, going this same way. It is about 200 or so miles longer this way, as it is a big "side-shoot" but it is much prettier than the Central Valley in California. On the way back I was by myself. I am getting used to traveling by myself because no one ever wants to go on trips with me to borring places, and travel the way I do. I am not the city slicker, but a camper, and fewer the unessessary amenities the better type.
These are from the Mono Basin, where I drove a little in the snow. I stopped where it was at in the photo and walked around a little. The road only went about a fifth of a mile further, and I did not want to get stuck. I do not have a lot of experience driving in snow, as we never get any where I live.
Here is the turnout just below Conway Summit that offers a nice view of the Mono Basin. It was getting fairly cool outside, and the sun had gone down just a little bit ago, and was on its way to getting dark. I left the engine running as I was climbing a steep grade, and to leave the heater on. I loved smelling the burned diesel fuel smell. Dang it smells so GOOD! I also enjoyed hearing the diesel idle away too. Sounds great. I am one of those who loves hearing and smelling diesels.