Dark side/kinda

[turbohunter]

Ever since I sold my ‘08 F350 I’ve been in need of a large/tow/long haul rig. My little ‘61 is a sweet truck but certainly not a distance darling.
I am a Ford guy but sometimes the universe steps in and puts something in your lap that works perfectly.
The story is I have a friend whose brother recently passed. He lived in Vegas and had a cabin in the mountains of Utah close to Bryce Cyn NP.
He had a few trucks and one was a 1995 Dodge Cummins 4x4 dually. He kept it in great shape and even put a recent paint job on it. My friend offered it to me as she knows I enjoy this stuff. She was very happy that the truck is going to help me out and that it stays in the family so to speak. She didn’t care about the money and we agreed to a price that was good for both of us. So now I’m the owner a truck that I can actually work on (the 350 was a bitch).
I tore into it immediately fixing some wiring “mistakes” and cleaning it up but all in all it’s a pretty darn nice truck.

[blykins]

I drive a RAM 1500.

I bought it new in 2018.  Went to 3 different Ford dealers because I wanted an Ecoboost, but none of them wanted to deal with me.   Went to the Dodge dealer in town and they were very open to negotiation.   I love the truck.  I don't tow, so I don't need a lot of torque, but the V6 has over 300 hp, has plenty of power, and got 24.4 mpg on the last mileage check. 

[turbohunter]

Oh brother, 24.4 I think is a far off wish for this truck. I’ll be happy to reach the high teens. I think I may invest in a set of free spin hubs for it to help in that department. Also gonna try taller tires. Not going to obsess on it but will peck away at that aspect.

[BigBlueIron]

95 Cummins. 20+ millage is normal for those. Even a one ton dually. Should be a P pump, very easy to get some performance out of them without sacrificing any longevity, driveability or millage. See some pillar gauges so likely its had some "work" done.

[turbohunter]

Yes someone’s been in there before. It has a new exhaust manifold and an updated fueling system. It looks like the front cover has never been off so I’m going to go in and see if the KDP has been done. Front crank seal is slowly leaking so time to replace it anyway.
Hope you’re right about mileage. That would be the cherry on the icing. On the cake. 

[My427stang]

I drive a 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie 4x4 quad cab with a Cummins I bought new.  I love this truck after years of Ford diesel ownership

I set lash to the tight side of factory the exhaust and tighter on the intake, took out the silencer in the intake and it runs strong

18.5 mpg around town with rural mix, 16.5 city, and 23-26 pure highway depending how hard I am hitting it.  Cruise control with 10K on the bumper, all you hear is turbo sound change, never downshifts.

Cummins are bit more noisy than a Powerstroke or Duramax, but they make power at lower rpm and are just pleasant to drive

[turbohunter]

I must say even though I bleed Ford blue I’m really enjoying this truck so far. It’s just simple and I appreciate that if designed right and this truck is. I can’t wait to work on it and drive it long distance (which I will in July).

[MRadke]

I have a 98 that I bought when it was 5 years old.  One of the best upgrades I did was to install a steering box stabilizer. http://dodgeramsteeringstabilizer.com/  My truck developed a nasty death wobble in the steering that no amount of money stuck into tie rod ends and various joints in the steering would fix. I bolted the stabilizer on and now it runs down the road straight, with no steering wander.

[turbohunter]

Thanks I have one on order.
That’s the first thing I’m doing is addressing any weaknesses of the design then I’ll move on to performance.

[475fetoploader]

That’s a great looking pickup! I worked at an outfit in the 90’s that did some hotrod work on pickups.  We all agreed we needed a Ford F-350, that rode like a Chevrolet, and was powered with a dodge Cummins. Makes it tough to be a purist.

[shady]

I think the first thing you need to do is change the fuel filter.

[Stangman]

I think the dark side would be going to Chevy.

[turbohunter]

I think the dark side would be going to Chevy.

You have point