Diesel Power Wagon spotted!

[JCleary]

I was at the local motorcycle shop today, and some dude pulled in in a red diesel that looked just like a power wagon, but it indeed had a Cummins in it.



When I asked him about it, he said he bought it, *and* a wrecked truck with 3 miles on it. Popped the Cummins into the Power Wagon and put on a Road Armor front bumper to house the winch.



He said he was going to be in Diesel Power mag next month. He also claimed 450 horsepower/750 torque running a stock common rail with a Predator module



I hope he has an overdrive unit in it, as his top speed must be less than 85mph w/o it. Still has the stock axles with the lockers.



Anyone seen this thing and know anything about it? The guy wasn't volunteering much

 

[Bertram65]

It would be a lot easier to take a diesel 2500 and put power wagon emblems, fender flares and an after market bumper with a winch on it and tell everyone it was a real power wagon with a diesel than take out a hemi and put a Cummins in it's place.

Did it have the electronic sway bars, and axle lock and sway bar switches on the dash and everything?

 

[steved]

That much power through a 10. 5"AAM rear... and the ability to lock the axles solid... if he ever gets into a bind, he'll probably twist something off...



steved

 

[CHolman]

I pisted a guy off saying that if the Power Wagon had a Cummins I wouldn't think twice about getting one. He said what's wrong with a HEMI? I said nothing, but when you compare the two Cummins/HEMI A Cummins will win in every way. He Blew up like a blow fish and drove off in his New Power Wagon... :{ Talk about hurt a guy's ego and I didnt even mean too. . CRY BABY :{ It's a nice truck, in fact it's the best 4X4 truck plat form out there IMO.

 

[SKneeland]

those shiny electric toys are over-rated and dont work as well as they would lead you to believe.



after you drive around in circles for half an hour, hopefully your axles will be locked. god forbid if you drive in the mud and get stuck before locking



and the disconnecting sway bar... . i wont even go there.....

 

[MoparBob]

I had the oppurtunity to wheel a Power Wagon with the owner of my local dodge dealership (he's my neighbor ) and I was impressed with the improved off-road ability. My biggest complaint was the lack of power compared to the cummins, but at the same time, it wasn't a slug. The lockers worked great and the electric disconnect anti-sway bar worked every time we wanted it too (and sometimes when we didn't - automatically engages over a certain speed). If dodge ever beefed up the drivetrain to handle a Cummins... I would be one of their first customers!

 

[BHolm]

those shiny electric toys are over-rated and dont work as well as they would lead you to believe.



after you drive around in circles for half an hour, hopefully your axles will be locked. god forbid if you drive in the mud and get stuck before locking



and the disconnecting sway bar... . i wont even go there.....

I'm not sure how lockers and a swaybar disconnect can be overrated. I live in area where there are tons of off road trails, and I am just a couple of hours from Moab Utah, 4wd Mecca. Lockers are the only viable way to get into or better yet out of many off road situations. The swaybar disconnect allows better articulation of the front axle which is a huge advantage over not running one at all if street use is a concern. The lockers need speed differential to engage so the dog teeth can line up. I have owned vehicles with selectable lockers for years, and I use them a bunch. It makes a standard 4x4 truck look like a joke. The lockers on the PW were not really intended for mud runs. I am pretty sure the application is geared more towards rock crawling which I understand the PW is very good at, better than anything else on the market I suspect. If they made it with a Cummins, I too would be in the front of the line $$$ in hand.

 

[SKneeland]

the point i was trying to make,like bertram65 stated, the difference in price to buy a power wagon could be far better used to make a better vehicle in the long run.

 

[jelag]

I have a cousin in Medford OR..... he took his 50's something power wagon 3 or 4 years ago and put a cummins in it... ... it runs out really nice... . his is geared really high... . and gets nice mileage... ...

 

[BHolm]

I have a cousin in Medford OR..... he took his 50's something power wagon 3 or 4 years ago and put a cummins in it... ... it runs out really nice... . his is geared really high... . and gets nice mileage... ...

You're right back to breaking parts with that set up too. I went out wheelin with a couple of late 40's Power Wagons last week. They both run mild 350 chevy's. One has stock PW axles and the other big Dana's. The guy running stock axles told me he has broken three diffs and several axles. The day we went out he broke another superwinch hub in front.



That said, there are lots of trucks out there I would like to have a Cummins in

 

[BHolm]

the point i was trying to make,like bertram65 stated, the difference in price to buy a power wagon could be far better used to make a better vehicle in the long run.

That is IF you could get a locker for the 11. 5 rear, and IF you could fit the swaybar disconnect. You are right though, it could be done more cost effectively and come up with the similar results.



My point was that selectable lockers are a HUGE advantage in many extreme off road situations. I was wheelin the Unimog the other day with the old PW guys and we came upon a stock new Dodge CTD way up on the trail, so don't tell me people aren't doing it. I think the new PW is a super cool truck, it has an awesome set of features that I personally would use a lot. If the new Dodge we ran into up there had the PW equipment he would not have had to turn around and back track 10 miles, he would have locked it up, disconnected the swaybar and likely shown us all how it was done! They are also features that when integrated into a vehicle often work much better than if you tried to do it yourself. Just didn't want all that hard work the Dodge boys did on the PW sold short

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

If serious use of the Cummins was intended in the PW, all that heavy Cummins Iron directly over the front sure is NOT a good thing in serious off-road work - too bad the mid engine and total vehicle balance concept has escaped the engineers in some of these special purpose vehicles...

 

[Drewhenry]

New Vs Old

I once had a 1953 M-37. That is the military variant of the civilian Power Wagon for those of you not up on dodge history. No power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, no overdrive, and 5. 83 ratios front and rear. I think 55 was as fast as I could get her to go---the only place you could get a speeding ticket was in a school zone. I believe the 230 cubic inch engine made 90hp and 210lbft. It would go anywhere I needed to go and many places I should not have, it just wouldn't do it very fast. Someone out there should get one, hook it up with a chain to a new Power Wagon, put them both in 1st gear 4wd low, let out the clutch and then get out of their vehicles and see what happens. Putting the maximum rated payload in the beds of the vehicles would also be a requirement. Just for fun.

 

[BigDan]

That much power through a 10. 5"AAM rear... and the ability to lock the axles solid... if he ever gets into a bind, he'll probably twist something off...



steved

The 10. 5 should be fine, since Dodge put thoes in their SO's for 2 years.

 

[FFutch]

That is IF you could get a locker for the 11. 5 rear, and IF you could fit the swaybar disconnect. You are right though, it could be done more cost effectively and come up with the similar results.



My point was that selectable lockers are a HUGE advantage in many extreme off road situations. I was wheelin the Unimog the other day with the old PW guys and we came upon a stock new Dodge CTD way up on the trail, so don't tell me people aren't doing it. I think the new PW is a super cool truck, it has an awesome set of features that I personally would use a lot. If the new Dodge we ran into up there had the PW equipment he would not have had to turn around and back track 10 miles, he would have locked it up, disconnected the swaybar and likely shown us all how it was done! They are also features that when integrated into a vehicle often work much better than if you tried to do it yourself. Just didn't want all that hard work the Dodge boys did on the PW sold short

And don't forget the competitions off-road package consists of some pretty stickers and maybe a skid plate ... Doug

 

[BHolm]

If serious use of the Cummins was intended in the PW, all that heavy Cummins Iron directly over the front sure is NOT a good thing in serious off-road work - too bad the mid engine and total vehicle balance concept has escaped the engineers in some of these special purpose vehicles...

Actually, since I am devils advocate on this thread already :-{} I would beg to differ with that statement Gary. The absolute best climbing vehicle I have ever seen, and possibly one of the most capable factory off road machines ever, the MB UNIMOG has a big 5. 7 L direct injection diesel hanging over the front axle. It is a cab over design and when empty I bet it is about 70/30 weight dist. Having all that wieght up front helps it climb because it keeps traction up front as you climb, a vehicle lighter up front will burden its rear tires more while a front heavy vehicle crawls right up. I could climb stuff the old Power Wagons couldn't, I can climb stuff Jeeps can't. That front wieght bias helps, not hurts. Now if Baja racing is your style of off road, something better balanced would be the way to go.

 

[CUMMINZ]

"E" nuff said!

#ad

 

[cyborg]

Actually, since I am devils advocate on this thread already :-{} I would beg to differ with that statement Gary. The absolute best climbing vehicle I have ever seen, and possibly one of the most capable factory off road machines ever, the MB UNIMOG has a big 5. 7 L direct injection diesel hanging over the front axle. It is a cab over design and when empty I bet it is about 70/30 weight dist. Having all that wieght up front helps it climb because it keeps traction up front as you climb, a vehicle lighter up front will burden its rear tires more while a front heavy vehicle crawls right up. I could climb stuff the old Power Wagons couldn't, I can climb stuff Jeeps can't. That front wieght bias helps, not hurts. Now if Baja racing is your style of off road, something better balanced would be the way to go.

I had the opportunity to wheel a mog. The most impressive, sidehilling, rock crawling SOB I've ever driven. I would not have taken it where I did, and how I did, if the dealer wasn't sitting there saying "sure, no problem". Now if that was directly related to it's weight bias, is beyond my paygrade.

 

[ilovetrains]

Actually, since I am devils advocate on this thread already :-{} I would beg to differ with that statement Gary. The absolute best climbing vehicle I have ever seen, and possibly one of the most capable factory off road machines ever, the MB UNIMOG has a big 5. 7 L direct injection diesel hanging over the front axle. It is a cab over design and when empty I bet it is about 70/30 weight dist. Having all that wieght up front helps it climb because it keeps traction up front as you climb, a vehicle lighter up front will burden its rear tires more while a front heavy vehicle crawls right up. I could climb stuff the old Power Wagons couldn't, I can climb stuff Jeeps can't. That front wieght bias helps, not hurts. Now if Baja racing is your style of off road, something better balanced would be the way to go.

Um - what mog are you referring to? The early 60's had 6 cylinder gas engines mounted pretty far back. It is basically under your butt. The later ones had a 5 cyl diesel, arround 3. 0l.



I have not wheeled the current mog's, but they are set up for some kind of rear wieght, either from machinery or a bed which would get that weight ratio closer to 50/50. And the new ones cannot touch an older one.

 

[steved]

The 10. 5 should be fine, since Dodge put thoes in their SO's for 2 years.

Yeah, behind an SO... behind a mod'd 600CTD... with the capability of fully locking and sending all that power to a single shaft... mmm, might be a touch light... especially with 4. 56s to add even more grunt.



steved