Another great truck from Adam at Dishman Dodge

[BBeck]

Hi:



After ordering my new truck on March 30, I finally received it on June 12th. I flew in to Spokane and spent the afternoon with my father in law and then picked up the truck.



I drove it from Spokane to the Seattle area and put just under 300 miles on it after Adam paid to have the tank filled up!



Specs: 2500 MegaCab Laramie 4x4 with 6. 7L and 6sp auto; Patriot Blue with Khaki interior; sunroof, GPS, 3. 73 gears with anti-spin. I added a lot of accessories including:

1. ARMA spray-on liner "over the rail", front to rear rocker panels and over the Bushwacker "OE" Style fender flares AND the entire door entry area front/rear
   
2. DiPricol gauges (EGT_pre-turbo, Trans Temp and Boost) on the A-pillar; one observation of this install is that it negatively affects the sound image in the truck. It was hard to hear the driver side front speaker that is located at the top of the dash
   
3. 3M film on the entire front end - hood, bumper, fender section behind the headlights; and film on the headlights and foglights
   
4. LEER XQ100 canopy with front slide that can also be removed
   
5. Prodigy (P3) brake controller
   
6. Big Country SS Nerf bars
   
7. Pro Mudflaps
   

Observations and then pictures...

1. Altered my speed from 55 to 75 on I-90
   
2. Never went above 1900 RPM
   
3. Engine so quiet, it is hard to keep a steady speed because you don't hear the change in rpm while driving
   
4. Went through less than half a tank of fuel
   
5. Passive regen: I posted this on the "regen" thread as well - noticed the truck would run about 900-1000 degrees in steady highway driving. Then every 20 minutes or so, it would climb quickly to almost 1400 degrees, stay there for about a minute or two and then drop back to the 900-1000 degrees
   
6. Trans. temp was steady at around 130 degrees, though today, it has been around 150 degrees
   
7. Truck drives very smooth (long wheel base) and tracks quite well for being so big
   
8. I haven't punched the throttle yet, but I have noticed that when climbing up to speed and then after the trans shifts into the next gear (dropping the rpm to around 1100) the truck literally takes off. I find I have to pull back on the throttle.
   
9. Driving in the evening through farm and rural areas - the truck loves to collect bugs! Especially in the grill and front radiator.
   
10. Also, the radiator fins are extremely thin and bend very easy. It will require some type of protection otherwise you will lose the cooling benefit due to bugs, rocks etc.
    

Pictures!

 

[BBeck]

More pictures!

3M film also called invisible bra on the front fender behind the headlight. Also, Josh at Dishman had great attention to detail and sprayed the ARMA on the back of the truck's rocker panel by first removing the rear bumper.



The third picture also shows the SS door handle inserts. The last picture shows the collection of bugs in the grill.



Note that on the Megacab Laramie trim, the on/off road tires (Bridgestone) are standard instead of an option. I had actually wanted the Michelin tires.

 

[BBeck]

More pictures!

Back of truck

Front Fender

A-pillar gauge with DiPricol

 

[jcarey]

Very nice. Sharp!



Did you get all the work done at Dishman, including the gauges?



Will the ARMA dull over time? It looks great now.

 

[DEickhoff]

What a beutiful truck. I just can not wait for mine to get here. I am also thinking of getting guages installed prior to picking it up.



Dawna

 

[BBeck]

Very nice. Sharp!



Did you get all the work done at Dishman, including the gauges?



Will the ARMA dull over time? It looks great now.

Yes, I had all the work done at Dishman with Josh's team. Good question on whether it will dull over time. I would hope not, but if it did, it would be over a long period of time. Worse case is that I would want to have it removed and reapplied 5 or 10 years down the road.



I'll ask Josh about that and give another response. Not sure if fading is covered under the warranty. I was more concerned about damage to the bottom from rocks, tire spray and so forth.



I have 370 miles on it now.

 

[jcarey]

Thanks for the response. I saw this info on their web site and thought you might be interested:



ARMA GLOSS PREVENTS FADING!

Arma Gloss is a water-based, UV-resistant top coat in an array of colors that prevents fading and revitalizes the luster of any faded bedliner or other polyurethane surface.

High-gloss

Superior stain resistance

Water, chemical, abrasion & impact resistant

 

[BBeck]

Thanks for the response. I saw this info on their web site and thought you might be interested:



ARMA GLOSS PREVENTS FADING!

Arma Gloss is a water-based, UV-resistant top coat in an array of colors that prevents fading and revitalizes the luster of any faded bedliner or other polyurethane surface.

High-gloss

Superior stain resistance

Water, chemical, abrasion & impact resistant

Great timing - Josh mentioned that as well. Also mentioned to wash it and keep it clean as you would do with the truck.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Bbb

On that photo of the rear end of your truck!! What is that image in the blue paint just left of center of the tailgate?







Pretty truck. I like the flares and the coating along the bottom.

 

[BBeck]

On that photo of the rear end of your truck!! What is that image in the blue paint just left of center of the tailgate?







Pretty truck. I like the flares and the coating along the bottom.

That of course would be me standing there taking the picture.

 

[DanSullivan]

Looks Great

What a truck. Well worth the wait for sure. all you have added only makes it better. Driveing it is a lot different from the other trucks. for me any way mine was a 96 what a difference. You Did Well

 

[BBeck]

Thanks Dan - I completely agree. I was initially looking at the older trucks, but wanted rear disc brakes. Since that starts with the 2001 model, those trucks are still going for over 20k. And while I love the sound of a diesel, it was too loud for the family and also needed more room in the back.



That brought me to looking at the 2003+. Those are in the low $30's which led me to looking at a new truck. I test drive quite a few trucks and really like the room of the Megacab. It will be our "family" rig for camping, trips and so forth. In summary, I sold myself on a new over used one. :-laf



Brad

 

[TKeeler]

Condenser Guard

Brad nice truck . No pictures of Adam, Todd or Josh?



The fins you are referring to in the front are for the AC condenser and yes they are very prone to damage. I have the KILBY'S CONDENSER GUARD ('03 - '07 5. 9-6. 7L DODGE)-Dodge Cummins and Ford Power Stroke Diesel Truck Accessories - Geno's Garage but haven't got it installed yet, it looks like it will work pretty well. I also ordered the MPC - TOOL TRAY/GRILLE GUARD KIT ('03-'07 DODGE)-Dodge Cummins and Ford Power Stroke Diesel Truck Accessories - Geno's Garage for the top.



You really got me thinking about getting a pyrometer as it sounds like it's readings are showing the regen cycles. Anybody added the pyro/boost setup to the BrakeSmart? I got the BrakeSmart parts earlier in the week now just got to have the time to get it installed.



Never mind about the BrakeSmart pyro/boost monitoring... I just read on their website it's still in development.

 

[craiggo]

Dealer installe gauges?

So Adam set you up with the install of those gauges? What was the cost?



Craig

 

[BBeck]

So Adam set you up with the install of those gauges? What was the cost?



Craig

Josh, who is the accessories guy, and team installed the gauges. The cost was $589. 50 installed. Josh provides a 10% discount on parts and labor. Very pleased with the install.



Also note that on this trucks, the trans temp sensor had to be installed on the trans pan as there is no other places to tap into it. The 5. 9L trucks did on the trans but not the new 6sp auto.



Brad

 

[DanSullivan]

Transmission Temp

I wonder if you can do the dip stick method on the new trucks thats the way I did my 96, just Jb weld it to the dip stick. still on and working fine when I sold it. and real easy to do just one tiny hole in top of dip stick for the wire. is the only drilling.

 

[ModifiedDiesel]

Another option is probably to put a tee in the line to the cooler. That will tell you the hottest temperature of the fluid.

That's where I plan on putting mine when it eventually shows up.

 

[Grizzly]

All these post about, "Another great truck from Adam at ... ... . ", Do you guys get a kick back from Adam or something for doing this all this free advertising for him?

 

[TKeeler]

Dishman Dodge

All these post about, "Another great truck from Adam at ... ... . ", Do you guys get a kick back from Adam or something for doing this all this free advertising for him?

No kick backs here just the best price I could find and good honest information from a straight up operation, none of the usual 'used car salesman' tactics or BS. Ask a question and if they don't know the answer they won't try to BS their way through... they will find out. Discounts... these guys help you get all of them, unlike some places that either act dumb or really have no clue.



I only wish they weren't 600 miles away from where I live. :{

 

[MJarske]

Brad,



Beautiful truck!!



for the conenser fins try the Kilby condenser guard from Geno's.

I put that on as wellas the Stainless cover to dress it up.



I want to do the pyro and trans gauges next.

Did the pillar mount really block that much sound?



Mike