Hey does anyone know the easiest and cheapest way to put cruise control on a non-cruise control CTD truck (1985)? thanks!

 

Easiest,, A stand alone aftermarket system.

 

are there any the you would recommend in particular?

 

I was doing some reseach on this subject sometime ago for my big truck.
From what I found this one seam to be the one to have. Rosta Diesel Truck Cruise Control PN 250-1223, $325.00 But I have not bought one as of yet.

 

ARA used to make Chrysler's cruise control. They have an after market kit that looks like factory. One thing to consider is when you re-route the speedo cable to the servo be careful when bending it and if it has developed a "set" (which it probably has by now) then you will also have to replace it as well. To get the wires down the steering column we would cut the plug off and crazy glue it to a long tie wrap, feed it down then cut off the tie wrap and crimp the plug back on.

 

well from what I found out about ARA, they have been sold out to some company in california. the Rostra one looks pretty good though. Thanks guys!

 

The easiest and cheapest would be a locking hand throttle cable.

 

In a perfect world with no wind or hills then thats the way to go.

 

I wonder if a Mag Pickup and a Woodward Governor from a GenSet would work, I have lots of those laying around. lol

 

Actually the internal governor assembly in the injector pump does a pretty good job of maintaining speed.

In my dads truck we drove from colorado to ohio with such a cruise control and it did quite well! True your speed will vary a little but if you start slowing down just put your foot on the peddle till you're at the top of the hill.

Aaron

 

The one that was on my 89 had a mag pick up on the driveshaft. The system worked by regulating driveshaft rpms. It did not hook to speedo system.

 

Mine was made, i think, by UltraCruise. I don't know how good the factory cruise systems work, but it works decent. The only thing is sensitivity, which you can adjust, but if you don't want the speedo needle to move when you set the cruise it is really a rough ride, in our trucks, because it doesn't let the throttle down slow, it just seems to drop it. Mine isn't set up too bad. Also, when you kick the cruise off with the brakes, I always hit the gas first. it takes up all the slack in the driveline, like i said, drops the throttle. I would reccomend factory cruise, but it sounds pretty complicated in comparison to my cruise.

 

Hey guys, Bruiser who is on here told me of a cruise set-up the 4 - WD guys use. Maybe he will answer. If not i will give him a call and he can tell you who makes it. He made it sound like a very simple installation and worked well...Augie