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'15 Dodge 3500 Tow Rig

Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I recently picked up a tow rig, sold my 3/4 gas GMT800 Chevy last month and have been looking at so many different trucks.... I really wanted a manual transmission Dodge Cummins and had a price range I wanted to be in, but it wasn't easy to find at all. This '15 Dodge 3500 long bed came up for sale and looked a bit rough, did not have a manual transmission, but I wanted to check it out. The price was right, it had some killer upgrades and add-ons and was the right color!

It's a Tradesman work truck package; vinyl floors, tiny radio screen, long bed, etc. It's not fancy by any means.... it's a used and abused work truck. It's equipped with a Pronghorn UTD Flatbed with locking tool boxes, Fab Fours front Ranch bumper (no winch mount, unfortunately), new ATS Aurora VFR 3000 Stage 1 turbo, upgraded 6 speed 68RFE from BD Diesel, has been deleted, etc.

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It has a lot of miles, a few dents and plenty of rock chips on the rockers. The truck belonged to a local logging company, so it has seen plenty of time on dirt roads.

The Cummins 6.7 with the aftermarket turbo and upgraded 6 speed auto transmission seem to run really well.... it's pretty quick for such a large truck. It needs some cleanup, some minor repairs and possibly new foam for the drivers seat and new seat covers.

This thing it rated at 370 HP and 800 FT/LBS. The payload capacity is 4,480#'s and max trailer capacity is 17,000#'s. I think it'll haul a camper and tow the Jeep just fine! :rofl:

I have some plans for upgrades, better wheels & tires, better shocks... we'll go from there.


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_Auzzy_

_Auzzy_

Web Wheeling Extraordinaire
Location
Richfield Utah
Greg said:
I recently picked up a tow rig, sold my 3/4 gas Chevy last month and have been looking at so many different trucks.... I really wanted a manual transmission Dodge Cummins and had a price range I wanted to be in, but it wasn't easy to find at all. This '15 Dodge 3500 long bed came up for sale and looked a bit rough, did not have a manual transmission, but I wanted to check it out. The price was right, it had some killer upgrades and add-ons and was the right color!

It's a total work truck package, vinyl floors, tiny radio screen, long bed, etc. It's not fancy by any means.... it's a used and abused work truck. It's equipped with a Pronghorn UTD Flatbed with locking tool boxes, Fab Fours front push bar bumper (no winch mount, unfortunately), new ATS turbo, upgraded 6 speed 68RFE BD automatic transmission, has been deleted, etc.

It has a lot of miles, a few dents and plenty of rock chips on the rockers. The truck belonged to a local logging company, so it has seen plenty of time on dirt roads.

The Cummins 6.7 with the aftermarket turbo and upgraded 6 speed auto transmission seem to run really well.... it's pretty quick for such a large truck. It needs some cleanup, some minor repairs and possibly new foam for the drivers seat and new seat covers.

This thing it rated at 370 HP and 800 FT/LBS. The payload capacity is 4,480#'s and max trailer capacity is 17,000#'s. I think it'll haul a camper and tow the Jeep just fine! :rofl:

I have some plans for upgrades, better wheels & tires, better shocks... we'll go from there.


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Click to expand...


Go over that whole front end if she's seen dirt. those cute little upper ball joints barely pack that thing on smooth asphalt lol
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Got bored tonight and decided to add a set of LED offroad lights.... nothing special, cheap lights straight out of China. They're 6" and similar in design to the Baja Designs LP6's. I had to weld on light tabs, then bolted them onto the tabs. I thought I could use the wiring and switch for the lights in the bumper, but on further inspection they're missing parts, so I'll have to add new wiring. Trying to make the truck look less 'Rancher' & more 'Adventure Tow Rig'.

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Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Lights are pretty crucial for proper adventuring, IMO. I hate getting caught in the desert at night with just the stock lights.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Kevin B. said:
Lights are pretty crucial for proper adventuring, IMO. I hate getting caught in the desert at night with just the stock lights.
Click to expand...

Totally agree... I've had plenty of encounters with animals at night to justify excellent lighting. And these things are BRIGHT, they put out a lot of light, at least the smaller ones do on my TJ.
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Greg said:
Totally agree... I've had plenty of encounters with animals at night to justify excellent lighting. And these things are BRIGHT, they put out a lot of light, at least the smaller ones do on my TJ.
Click to expand...
It's pretty cool how bright lights have gotten, even the "cheap" ones. I've been running a set of Rigid Dually pods for years and years, one of them finally gave out a couple months ago. I replaced them with a set of DOT fogs from Diode Dynamics, they're supposed to be about twice as bright as the Duallys and actually have a shaped beam to keep it low and flat. I'm excited to get them hooked up and see the output.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
The stock exhaust had a couple holes in it and enough rust that it wasn't worth repairing, I figured if I had to replace it, I might as well upgrade!

After some searching I found a pretty affordable $400 option (from China, Yikatoo), a 5" stainless steel straight pipe exhaust. It comes with all the hangers, clamps, etc.

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Install wasn't terrible, I removed the passenger front inner wheelwell for access to the downpipe v-band, dropped the spare tire and had to lower the transmission crossmember. It took about 3 hours, with much of the time being spent removing the rusty exhaust bolts. Fitting it up wasn't too difficult, start at the front and work backwards.

It's not bad at all at idle... you can tell it's straight piped. Driving around normally it's not bad either, but once you get it under full boost it gets LOUD, the 5" tubing acts like a megaphone. The exhaust brake and turbo whistle sounds are much more noticeable now, and I love it. 😍

It does have a bit of mid-range drone that's slightly noticeable, I'm sure it'll be even worse with a load hooked up to the truck. I don't want to hear the drone, so I have a Flo Pro Twister 5" In & Out muffler on order. It'll go on once I get over the novelty of a straight piped truck.

 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
As much as I dislike DD'ing a diesel tow rig, that's what I've been doing. My commute to work is 9 miles one way, I've understood that short drives aren't the best for diesels, but it's what I've got for now. I'd really like to get the '70 C10 up and running again so I can DD it.

I did run thru my first tank of fuel commuting and some running around town. Averaged 16 MPG over 400 miles... I could have gone another 50 miles on the tank. My previous Chevy had a small tank and got well under 300 miles between tanks of gas.

Fuel was $3.90/gallon and cost right at $100 to fuel up. Guess that's OK? 🤷‍♂️

Filled up, claiming 500 miles to empty...
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Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I've been 'enjoying' the 5" straight piped exhaust, but the novelty of a loud as hell truck has worn off.

I wanted to tow with the straight pipe and see how annoying the drone was. A trip to Moab with the TJ in tow was a good test, plenty of freeway driving with a load. Loud and unrelenting, the drone was terrible... the muffler needed to go on.

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With a 4 hr trip to Hanging Tree and the wife along for the ride next weekend, I figured I'd better correct it before having one pissed off wife after 4 hrs of droning.

I removed a section of exhaust and installed the Flow Pro Twister mentioned in the previous post. After a quick test drive, it's much more docile. Now, I'm not worried about waking up all the neighbors when I fire the truck up at 6 AM on the weekend. 😆

It still sounds good but it's not overbearing, under full boost it still has a throaty howl, but it's not ear piercing like it was. The company that builds the Twister says it eliminates drone, so although I didn't tow I'm confident that I'll still have a wife after next weeks trip. 😉
 
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