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2005 Dodge Cummins: Tow Rig/ DD/ Do-all truck

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Avery4jc

Avery4jc

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Avery4jc submitted a new Build:

2005 Dodge Cummins: Tow Rig/ DD/ Do-all truck

So I know it's not a Chevy or a trail truck but everyone around here seems to enjoy a good build thread and I figured this would spice things up a bit.

So I sold my beloved '94 12 valve Dodge that has treated me VERY well for over three years. Some of you may remember I bought it for $2,200 and it was BEAT. I daily drove it from the day I bought it and slowly fixed it up over the years. The AC blasted cold and it got stupid good mileage but I was starting to want something a little more plush.
So what I did was keep driving the good old 12 valve and saved. Eventually I had enough to go shopping for a 3rd gen. I was reluctant to go to an auto but being it's my DD I figured if I got a good deal on a 3rd gen with an auto I could justify building up the trans someday.

So enough with the talk, I know everyone just likes pictures.

I found this 2005 quad cab short bed locally and picked it up for what I consider a good deal. The lift and wheels/tires were all basically brand new.
5" lift with 35/12.50-17" Toyo MT's.
View attachment 231022



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Read more about this build here...
 
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So as usual there's always something going on in life and soon after I bought it I needed to drive down south to the Riverside area with a little box trailer to pick up a very important drop leaf table that's a family piece and a bunch of regular appliances like a fridge/washer/dryer/etc. It also worked out well because one of my best friends found some tires for a build he's working on that were on the way.

So the truck needed two things right off the bat. Some good tie-down points in the bed (it didn't have the factory ones when I bought it) and a good drop hitch. I was flat broke after buying the truck so I figured I could fab my way out of this pickle with stuff I had laying around.





...and the adjustable drop hitch I built for it. Works well. I want a rapid hitch but this was "free". I had some receiver tubing material left over from an old job so I made use of it.


 
I did that stuff and got a good alignment at an awesome local shop before hitting the road. Surprisingly the unit bearings and ball joints are all good on both sides. The only play he showed me was both ends of the draglink were starting to get some wiggle under load (truck sitting still and cranking wheel). So I'll address the steering stuff in a bit.

Made the 500+ mile drive there and back just fine. Cruise set at 63-65 the whole way and we got a combined 17mpg for the weekend. Not too shabby.


 
So here's the next stuff on the list that I have on hand...

Picked up a steering box brace that fixes a common problem on these 3rd gen Dodges especially with bigger tires and a drop pitman arm. The sector shaft can wiggle around under the load and obviously wear out the box and make it leak. So this ties the frame together up front where the sway bar mounts and has a new nut to hold the pitman arm on that has a stub machined on it to fit the flange bearing. So now the area of the sector shaft that the pitman arm rides on is effectively in double shear.



I also ordered a tranny pan and my friend got me an updated Borg Warner Solenoid and sensor for my birthday that is supposed to help these 48RE transmissions get rid of "shutter shift". The common complaint is under normal and heavy throttle they shift great but under light throttle they can't make up their mind sometimes going through the gears. These common rails make so much torque you find that you are more often than not hardly on the throttle. So I figure as long as the pan is coming off I might as well update the solenoid.

 
Ok, finally I have a pair of bags I've been saving. I can't remember where I got them but I plumbed up some lines and leak checked them the other day and they're both good to go.



The plan is to machine some cradles like Daystar sells and mount them like this...


I also have an order coming in from Ruffstuff Specialties with some goodies that I'll explain when they show up. :)

That's all for now. Progress should be slow but steady.
 
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A nice little box showed up today. I've been to Pismo enough times to know that your day is a lot nicer when you don't have to deal with axle wrap... even in the tow rigs.
So on the crawler I have a traditional "ladder" bar setup that works phenomenal but on the dodge I'm going a different route.
I'm going to build a set of traction bars with some Ruffstuff joints up top and sleeved poly bushings at the axle. I know this style setup can bind with a lot of travel due to the rear end moving backwards as the suspension compresses but lets be honest here, this is a tow rig, not a crawler and my stock springs and blocks out back don't offer much in the way of travel.

So we'll start with this setup and go from there.
 
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I've been debating on do that style on my Duramax too, with a hiem and a bushing. Hopefully it will work out good and not cause a harsher ride with the bushing.
 
Cili said:
I've been debating on do that style on my Duramax too, with a hiem and a bushing. Hopefully it will work out good and not cause a harsher ride with the bushing.
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The guys I hear complain about harsh ride issues are ones with left and right hand heims on the bars and they spin the bar to load it up and lock it down. I know this setup will physically stop axle wrap, the only issue is on long travel suspensions it could bind. But that's not much of a problem in this case.
 
Hmm I have an extra 7/8 Heim now you are making me want to add an anti wrap bar to my dmax. Then again i am stock height on 285's. Please share how those airbags help when you get em in. Trying to decide to either buy the firestone kit or just buy the bags and fab brackets.
 
I had bags on the back of my old truck and won't own another without them. It makes the back of the truck nice and solid while towing.
 
Cool I'll add it to the list of things to do when I get time. Only have put 500 miles on the truck so far this year. Lol
 
For my birthday last week my parents got my center console lid fixed.
It was the only part of the interior that was messed up so it's good to go now.




I went wheeling and camping this weekend with chevysmithz71 but after a nap this afternoon I felt up to installing the box brace. It makes a noticeable difference. Nothing drastic but worth the price and install time for sure. I'm sure my box will live a longer life as well too.

 
Work and school have been keeping me on my toes but I had a little time after work tonight to start roughing out the frame brackets for the traction bar.
I'm going to weld washers on the outside where the bolt passes through and radius the lower corners to match but here's the start. Started out with 2-1/2" .250" wall seamless tube which fits like a glove over the joints with the misalignment spacers.

 
I drove 20min to work and completely forgot about my steering brace being on. Didn't feel any difference. I guess that's a good thing meaning my box is still tight. Good thing to put yours on now before it gets bad with those 35's.
 
chevysmithz71 said:
I drove 20min to work and completely forgot about my steering brace being on. Didn't feel any difference. I guess that's a good thing meaning my box is still tight. Good thing to put yours on now before it gets bad with those 35's.
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Yeah, I think these braces are like Chevy steering box brace kits. Better have one on before the frame decides to crack. I was more concerned about the leverage my drop pitman arm puts on the box than the 35's alone.
 
Looking good!

You sell the 12v already?

You are making me wish i'd bought a dmax burb conversion rather than the BMW that i drive to work every day.
 
dhcomp said:
Looking good!

You sell the 12v already?

You are making me wish i'd bought a dmax burb conversion rather than the BMW that i drive to work every day.
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Yeah, I sold it a couple weeks back.
If I had a long commute I'd definitely have to make a more realistic choice for a daily driver but since I don't and I don't really drive that much in general I can stick with DD'ing big diesel trucks. The mileage isn't horrible so far either, I'm getting about 16.5-17mpg on most tanks.
My tuner has a mileage setting I haven't messed with but I'm sure it'd help a little too.
 
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