Fishmaster's 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 HD 4x4 Cummins Turbo Diesel

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:38 am

Dodge Ram HD 4X4 Cummins Turbo Diesel

So nearly thirty years after the little Suzuki LJ50V (in Perth, Western Australia) I've now got a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 HD 4x4 and I live in Napa California.

Boy how things have changed!

Instead of a 549cc 3 cyl 2 stroke beneath the bonnet we now have under the hood a 5.9 Liter I-6 High-Output Cummins Turbo Diesel with 325 Horsepower and 610 ft lbs of torque.

I've never owned a diesel before and having so much torque at your command is a new experience for me.
After 11 months, I still get a kick out of it...

It's really quiet, it can take steep grades with ease (it chews 'em up and spits 'em out actually) and it delivers good fuel economy. On a 350 mile trip down to Southern California earlier this year we were averaging around 21 mpg at 65-70 miles an hour....
And back up here in Napa - well, it pulls the 24' Skipjack with no probs...

Thanks go to Tim for spending a weekend haggling with the dealer and getting me $8,000 off the list price... And to Moikey for always raving about getting a diesel and how great they are (but never actually getting one himself?)

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:13 am

I've just bought some side steps for the Dodge Quad Cab (and fitted 'em myself). Man they were expensive! So they were 3" tubular chrome, so what! At $525 a pair for the factory version from the Chrysler Dealer I reckon they are a rip-off. But I needed them.
1) for the missus (coz she's only 5' 1") and
2) as door protectors...

When I clean the mud off the truck I'll take a photo and post it.
I inquired about spray-on bed liners yesterday. The rear bed (tray) is getting all scratched up...That's because I use it...

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:21 pm

Don't have time to clean the mud off. These are the steps I fitted. I don't like the way they attach to the underbody....

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:26 pm

Spray on bed liner. I didn't go with Linex or Rhino coz the nearest shop was 50 miles away. I chose a place in Napa that has a product called Armour or something. It's about a 1/4" thick - however they had problems with the application (bubbles) and kept the truck for days, there were still a few bubbles in it when I picked it up... I need to use the bl##dy thing so I took it home. We'll see how it goes...

(p.s. It looks ok in the photos coz I didn't focus in on the problem areas, which are part of the tailgate and part of one side. The bed was ok and it's gonna get the most use anyway)

twmcdaniel · Post by **twmcdaniel** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 4:39 am

Bobby,

The truck's looking pretty good. I'm sure the little misses appreciates the side steps!

About the bedliner, probably should have taken the time hit and taken the truck over to Vacaville or Sac to get a name brand liner sprayed in. Hope you can get the bubbles issue taken care of - too expensive of a truck to have to deal with problems. I'm sure you are enjoying the protection of the bed liner (and the liner on your truck too)...

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:13 pm

Took some pics of the gauges while I was towing the boat on the Freeway.

Boat: 24' Skipjack Deep Vee Fiberglass/Chev V8 with Outdrive
Unladen boat and trailer weight combined about 5500lbs...

At a towing speed of 60 miles per hour (100kph) the only problem I had was with the speed creeping up all of the time... I had to keep watching the speedo and backing off.

TOWING THE BOAT AT THIS SPEED I was still getting over 19 mpg (12lt per 100k) !!!

The tachometer was just under 1700 rpm

Mullaking · Post by **Mullaking** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:25 am

Thats really some rig. I would love to own one just like it but it would be cheaper to buy a house in Aus. My ute is all finished and I drove it back from Perth to PH last week. Unfortunately I have lost my camera usb lead so I cant upload pics. When I get a new one I will send some pics. It doesnt look anything special but its a 6.5Lt Chev and thats all that matters. n

Mullaking · Post by **Mullaking** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:32 am

Heres my motor stats.

6.5 Chev Diesel
Capacity 6.5 ltr 397 Cubic Inches

Horsepower 170 at 3400RPM

Kilowatt 130 @ 3400 rpm

Torque
320 ft lbs at 1700 RPM
420 Nm at 1700 RPM

Oh and I get over 100km more per tank of juice compared to my old 3.0lt Intercooled Turbo Diesel Nissan motor.

They told me that the old motor was definately ready for a rebuild and needed a new injector pump. The motor only had 120 000km on the clock. Well done Nissan on building such a crap motor.

Post by **Bob Fisher** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:38 am

Shane,

Have you got a side pic of the 4WD - for the forum? I'm sure Moikey would like to see it. They don't have that model here
(in the USA) ... and Moikey really likes Nissans...

Mullaking · Post by **Mullaking** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:07 am

Just so happens I do have a pic. Its taken in my carport so its not the best pic but you get the idea. Basically we took a standard production line Nissan Patrol wagon and chopped the back off to allow a short tray to be added. Then we pulled all of Nissans mistakes out and replaced them with quality bits that work.

Why cant they just build em that way in the first place?

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Fishmaster's 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 HD 4x4 Cummins Turbo Diesel

Fishmaster's 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 HD 4x4 Cummins Turbo Diesel

Side Steps

Side Steps

Spray on bed liner

Looking Good

Dodge Ram HD Cummins Turbo Diesel Power/Economy

Nissan Diesel