New Guy here with a fullsize..

[Wants2Wander]

trans cooler

I had an 03 Cummins Ram with the manual, the auto needs to be kept cool as its right up to the max input torque off the lot. The trans gauge will help with that a lot, it doesn't take much to shave a lot of life off of that trans. Got rid of mine to better afford schooling, wish I still had it for sure.

 

[poriggity]

I had an 03 Cummins Ram with the manual, the auto needs to be kept cool as its right up to the max input torque off the lot. The trans gauge will help with that a lot, it doesn't take much to shave a lot of life off of that trans. Got rid of mine to better afford schooling, wish I still had it for sure.

My particular truck is the manual trans as well, so temp is not as big of an issue... i put a shovel and axe on my list...
anything else?
scott

 

[Wants2Wander]

Very nice, I put the BD diesel short shift kit on it and no longer was rowing the boat over in my passengers lap. Real easy to do, goes in from the interior, just take the center console out from around the shifter. Damn, I'm really missing my big silver semi. Hoping to find a cummins to slip into the Burb in a couple years, that and the manual trans is one of the best engine/trans combos ever. I put sound deadening mat in the doors to cut down on noise in the cab, i didn't make it to quiet gotta hear the turbo spoolin, that helped make my hour and a half commutes more bearable. I have a sub enclosure that puts a 10" in the bottom of the center seat storage bin. Gotta have tunes. I carried a tile shovel and axe along with all of the other crap I lugged around for excavating.

 

[poriggity]

I am seriously researching the BD short throw shifter myself... Glad to know it works out.
Scott

 

[poriggity]

First item purchased for expedition travel.. I needed a good flashlight... Found these in a 2 pack at costco for $20. Outstanding light output for the price. Solar powered with battery backup, and small enough to throw in the glove box. Happy with it so far... First addition to project Land Mass!
Scott

 

[poriggity]

Another update for those who care. I have a CB radio on the way to me, and I am about to order some recovery equipment from Sierra Expeditions. I already have a couple of 30' snatch straps (No hooks!) and some good working gloves. I am gonna pick up some D ring shackles, a 60" hi lift, a decent shovel, and an axe to keep in the truck. I am excited to get this thing going! I am trying to decide if a roof rack is a necessary item for this truck... I would need something that can be easily removed though... Any thoughts on that? I am currently thinking that a rack on the roof wouldn't be completely necessary, since I do have 8 feet of bed space I can use up..
Scott

 

[poriggity]

Loco,
Thanks man.. I am seriously considering doing a soft sided cap for the truck.. either bestop of softtopper.. The thing is, I need it to be removeable in order to utilize my hard sided slide in camper for weekend camping trips. I plan on sleeping in the back of the truck for off road adventures, but when I want to just take the wife camping for the weekend, she'd rather go with the slide in, which isn't really practical for off road adventures... I am SERIOUSLY considering ponying up for a canvas topper to store all my stuff in, and sleep under when I am by myself.
Scott

 

[Loco-Nomad]

My 2 cents would be not to get a roof rack. You have tons of space in that bed, put a cap on it, but I think I read you were considering a slide in camper. It would be kinda hard to get to your gear up there unless you climbed into the bed. That truck has plenty of storage space, but a roof rack does look sweet, I will give you that!

 

[poriggity]

Yeah.. I have a slide in camper, that would be used for times when the wife and I just wanted to go camping, which is why I need a topper of some sort that is easily removable if need be... Seems like both the bestop and softtopper canvas tops would work well, and be fairly easy to remove to put in a slide in camper....

I have been researching winch mounts for my truck, and it seems as though I can't do much. Being that it's a diesel, my only real options are a very expensive new front bumper, or buying a front mount hitch and using a warn multi mount type setup.... I am leaning toward the front hitch and multimount setup, only because it's easy to remove if needed, and it would serve my purposes without spending a ton of $$...
Scott

 

[poriggity]

Just an update, I finished up my recovery kit with a pair of D Ring Shackles... I also have a Midland CB on order, as well as Coax Cable.... I love being back in the offroad world... but there goes all my money

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

with the cold weather coming in, that slide-in camper sounds pretty smart right now!

multi mount sounds good. It would be nice to leave it off when you don't use it but your diesel won't notice either way.

good luck w/ the build take plenty of pics

 

[poriggity]

with the cold weather coming in, that slide-in camper sounds pretty smart right now!

multi mount sounds good. It would be nice to leave it off when you don't use it but your diesel won't notice either way.

good luck w/ the build take plenty of pics

Trust me I plan on it. Didn't have a camera handy last night to get pics of my D ring shackles, but I am very happy with them. I think a front hitch and a multi mount is in my future as well.... At least until I can afford a beefy front winch bumper.
Scott

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

this might work for you
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51984

 

[poriggity]

this might work for you
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51984

I like it.. but I don't know if the dimensions of the Ford bed are different than that of the Dodge bed.. not to mention it's black... I would really like to have a grey one.. I wish I had the money at this point anyway.. HAHHA.. Thanks for the link though brother!
Scott

 

[poriggity]

Well, it's been raining the last few days, so I have not been able to get much done to the truck. I did take it in to have all the u joints and the carrier bearing in the rear driveshaft replaced under warranty.. The truck had a SERIOUS vibe problem going on... Now that I have that fixed.... I can get to the modifications!

First up, throw the D ring shackles in the recovery bag, then install the CB radio... ... Still trying to narrow down what the next modification will be.
Scott