Part 7: Tow Vehicle
After looking for months for a specific vehicle, I finally had to settle for one that was close. I originally was looking for the following 1988-2002 2500/3500 (¾ -1 ton) Pickup Extended Bed 4 x 4 Drive Train 5 or 6 speed Manual Transmission
The model could have been a Chevy Silverado, or a Dodge Ram, either one would have been OK
Found a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 – V10 2 wd for a good price as it needed a few things to bring it back up to a good solid truck. It has relatively low mileage at 137k, compared to other models I've looked at.
I looked at single cab trucks, extended cab trucks and also crew cab trucks (4 doors). What I found was a little confusing... Seems the single cab trucks had the lowest mileage of them all and the extended cab trucks had the most... it ranged from 100k to even one advertised as having almost 400k. This is on gas motors.....needless to say the more the miles, the more worn out the running gear.
My new/old truck needs upper and lower ball joints to start, I just noticed a radiator leak, the new type with plastic ends, so the general concession is replace it. It has a valve cover gasket that has pushed out so it is leaking there, and there are a few cosmetic things I want to do to it like replacing the headlight assemblies, new set of tires, alignment, etc....
It might sound like way to much work, but I can do a lot of it myself and I recommend that everyone learn to do some of the minor things......
I just watched “Panda Monium” and she was having a friend grease up all the grease spots on the front end... which is a good idea.... often... our vehicles will be accumulating lots of miles and will eventually break down or need preventative maintenance.
I will be getting more pics and also starting my Youtube videos soon... I will be starting from the beginning and bringing everyone up to date.....
I look forward to getting the silver beast on the road full time (its legal right now) but don't want to drive it with really bad ball joints.... As soon as I get my 2500 on the road, I will be putting my 04 dodge Dakota 4 door, 4 wd up for sale......
Trying to decide what the next blog will be....... will post soon!!