Here I am

New Ride!!!

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new truck- friend or foe

  • cumminswillie
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Drive line vibration

  • twgriller
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J

JGilbert

Okay guys, here is my new ride. I purchased it today at M&L Motors in Lexington, North Carolina and floated back to the 5th wheel. It is a 2008 Dodge Ram Laramie 5500 with the hauler bed on it. It had 2000 miles on it. It has almost everything but the kitchen sink on it. I got a fabulous deal on it.



It does not have an air hitch yet. That will come Tuesday.



I'm excited. Now I need to see about some customizing.



Joe
 
Wow... . no, major WOW!! that is one sharp truck.

Congrats on the purchase. Let us know how it tows and if you can get a pic with a trailer on it.
 
It is a 4x4 Laramie and I absolutely LOVE it. Here are a few picts from different angles.



It doesn't have a hitch on it yet. But there is a guy in Lexington that runs Hitch Crafter. It is an air ride hitch place. He is making me a special version of the 32K air hitch that will fit in the trough. It needs to be there so my 16,000 lb 39 ft long fifth wheel trailer will ride level.



That goes on Tuesday. We leave North Carolina Thursday and head for South Carolina and Georgia.



JoeOo.
 
Looks good! Of all the tow beds and basic flatbeds I've seen I think the CM brand looks best because the header fits the contours of the back of the cab much nicer and is uses rounded, radiused corners rather than square or angle cuts.

I'm interesteed in hearing your opinions of ride quality both unloaded and loaded with your trailer.
 
Last edited:
Hey Guys,



The photos of Joe's 5500 do not do it justice. I saw it yesterday at Hitch Crafters. Joe and I watched Jason and crew install the hitch. :-laf



Joe's truck is the nicest 5500 that I have seen. With the Hitch Crafter air ride hitch it will be a real rig, not a toy.



#ad
 
First Pull!!

We traveled from Sherrill's Ford, NC to Charleston, SC today pulling the 39 foot (now 41 ft, with the addition of the rear bike rack) and I must say, it was a great trip. Smooth sailing. I put the cruise on 60 mph and we were there in about 5 hours. Pulled into Oak Plantation Campground for at least 3 nights, maybe more because there is a lot to see and do in this area.



There were a couple of spots on I-26 from Columbia to Charleston that had the concrete sections that reminded me of washboards, ie. bumpy roads. The EZ floater hitch handled it like a charm. The truck was great, but on the bumpy part, we could feel the bumps. On the smoother parts, the truck was absolutely wonderful ride-wise. The wife remarked that it was much smoother riding than she expected it to be.



I did find one problem that I will need to get checked out at the Dodge dealer when we get back to Texas... ..... riding at 60 mph, it was smooth as silk; riding at 62, it got a little bumpy even on a smooth road; riding at 65, it was very bumpy. So we rode at 60, which was fine with me since that is the speed I like to tow at even when we had the Ford. I'm thinking it is a tire slightly out of balance.



JoezillaOo.
 
Hey JGilbert, are you related to a Jeff Gilbert also from Texas? I know him from a dirt bike website, been riding with him a handful of times.
 
Okay, I have towed with the new truck several times for stretches of 150 to 250 miles. There was one stretch the first day of towing where it was really bumpy if I got above about 62 mph. However, the past two days I have hit 67 and it was smooth, so it must have been that stretch of road the first day.



I absolutely LOVE this truck. I am getting anywhere from 9. 5 to 10. 5 mpg which is totally acceptable to me. It is the same range of mileage I got with the F350 I traded in. This is a much stronger truck than the Ford. I literally do not know the trailer is behind me.



I have enclosed a pict of the truck hooked up to the fifth wheel. Now the wife says we need some red on the trailer. Yeah right, like that's going to happen. ha



Joe
 
JGilbert said:
wife says we need some red on the trailer.
Click to expand...
My wife says your wife is right and I kinda agree.

You could probably do it pretty inexpensive with a vinyl decal. Your local print shop could make something up that would follow the lines of some of the existing graphics.
 
What gears do you have?



_________________________

93 250 2wd xc 354 auto 266k

04. 5 3500 4wd cc dully 373 6speed 90k
 
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
TSB Updates
Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
Advertising



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