rube bonet
Adventurer
I became involved with this project sometime last fall. My customer, Mr. C, had a 2007 Dodge 2500 Cummins he was setting up for extended travel and hunting trips in more extreme conditions. He had already had it outfitted with bumpers/ winches, a high quality suspension, and a caravan camper. It still had a lot of loose ends, and some of the work done was with less than desirable, especially from a reliability aspect. My goal would be to refine the platform, and increase its offroad capabilities. The drivetrain is plenty stout, cummins with 6 speed manual, and big AAM axles destined to receive a set of ARB's. Conditions this thing will see are a little out of the norm for me (snow, mud and ice), so step one was to familiarize myself with the truck. I flew up to Montana to pick up the vehicle last december, drove it back to Arizona through a couple days of icy and snowy road conditions. Definitely a worthwhile ordeal, it also pointed out a few obvious problems, more on that later.
The truck, as I received it, somewhere in Utah.
Side trip to Zion on the way home
Camping for the night. Brrr, Phoenix natives don't like the cold.:sombrero:
Other overland vehicles on my route
Worst snow storm of the trip...a few hours from my house in Arizona
The trip revealed few things to me:
The truck feels great on snowy, icy roads; very sure footed as long as you are easy on the throttle.
Round tube rocksliders suck as steps when conditions get slick. These stuck out far enough you couldn't step over them, with a big enough gap to catch your foot in.
It is cold in an empty camper with no heater. No real surprise there.
Gas mileage is awful (10-12 mpg). Gearing is too low for this tire size, compounded with the "aerodynamics" of the camper.
Suspension is a little loose on the highway, great in the dirt, or snow on this trip.
The list as it stands now is to verify suspension is working correctly, and fine tune the long travel springs and airbags in the rear. The rocksliders will be cut off and replaced with something more useful and less hazardous. Skidplating and armor will be added, ARB's in the diffs, and probably a gearing change. The camper needs to be outfitted for sleeping and dog storage, and a roof rack built. The plumbing and electrical systems will see some bullet proofing, along with an auxillary fuel tank. Basically, a whole lot of odds and ends to make this this truck a complete package.
.
The truck, as I received it, somewhere in Utah.
Side trip to Zion on the way home
Camping for the night. Brrr, Phoenix natives don't like the cold.:sombrero:
Other overland vehicles on my route
Worst snow storm of the trip...a few hours from my house in Arizona
The trip revealed few things to me:
The truck feels great on snowy, icy roads; very sure footed as long as you are easy on the throttle.
Round tube rocksliders suck as steps when conditions get slick. These stuck out far enough you couldn't step over them, with a big enough gap to catch your foot in.
It is cold in an empty camper with no heater. No real surprise there.
Gas mileage is awful (10-12 mpg). Gearing is too low for this tire size, compounded with the "aerodynamics" of the camper.
Suspension is a little loose on the highway, great in the dirt, or snow on this trip.
The list as it stands now is to verify suspension is working correctly, and fine tune the long travel springs and airbags in the rear. The rocksliders will be cut off and replaced with something more useful and less hazardous. Skidplating and armor will be added, ARB's in the diffs, and probably a gearing change. The camper needs to be outfitted for sleeping and dog storage, and a roof rack built. The plumbing and electrical systems will see some bullet proofing, along with an auxillary fuel tank. Basically, a whole lot of odds and ends to make this this truck a complete package.
.
.....truth be told there hasn't been a "real" power wagon produced since 1968.
