Originally Posted by Sublimize23

thought of antoher question. what kind of police attention do you guys normally recieve driving trucks?

Originally Posted by Sublimize23

I will miss parking in tight parking spaces though. how do you guys handle parallel parking?

Originally Posted by phox_mulder

There's a couple guys around here that are constantly being "harrassed" by the police for lift violations, they are well within specs, in fact have the same height I do, I have never had to deal with them, but carry a copy of the Utah lift laws in my glove box, just in case.


If you lift it just right, the rear bumper clears the hood, so you back up till the tires contact the grill,
then pull forward till the front tires do the same to the trunk.
Any rubber marks come off with a wipe of a paper towel. [laugh]


phox

Originally Posted by Sublimize23

haha! do the rams have an 8ft bed like the F-series?

Originally Posted by Sublimize23

Hi all, new here. In about a year or so, I'll be looking to buy a full-size diesel truck, and I have a couple questions.
1) The only thing I have to tow is a trailer that holds 3 dirt bikes, gear, etc. I've always loved trucks, and I am mostly going to use it as a daily driver, am I crazy?
This is a personal choice and I as you don't need a full size medium duty truck I wanted one...

2) I plan on getting a dually, because I love the way they look, and they have a much stronger rear end. is there anything I should know about?daily challenges, etc

Dully are many time bought by people who really don't know anything about them. The dually is actually rated at less weight that the single 3500. The reason being no suspension or brakes etc were changed and with the addition of the two tires that counts towards the overall weight. Plus duallys are really to stabilize heavy trailers so your truck isn't being manhandled by what you tow. If you are just pulling a few motorcycle a dually is unnecessary. Also as some have stated finding parking for a dually is a pain and driving one takes skill as well. Not worth it in my opinion.

3) I'm also looking at 1999-2000 Ford F-350's (yes, I admit it, I'm a Ford man..), what are the advantages of the ram with the cummins over the powerstroke?

With the money you are talking about you are looking at a 7.3 and an older 12v cummins most likely. I can only speak for the 7.3's as I used them a lot for many years. When international put the turbo's on them they became a much more reliable engine as before without they would build too much compression underload and crack heads. My brother-n-law had an older 7.3 and now has a 2nd gen 24v cummins and was the best move he ever made. Comparing the 2 in my opinion the cummins is a real truck engine and the 7.3 is a gas block turned diesel no comparison...

4) what kind of highway MPG can I expect? for those in the DelMarVA region, what are you currently paying for diesel? one thing I like about diesel is that the price rarely fluctuates.

I am in Maryland and fuel goes between being below 87 to inbetween 87 and 89. The only way to compare would be to get the power of my 03 diesel I would have had to buy the V10 which gas mpg is no comparison and a no brainer.

5) I've heard a lot about fuel gelling. what is done to prevent this? what happens when your fuel gels? what do you do when it happens? I'll be going to college in southern VA next fall, and that's when I plan on buying the truck. it doesn't get too cold down there, but there is the occasional snow.

In areas where it gets cold the fuel has an additive added automatically as the seasons change. I have always driven diesels in Maryland and have never added any anti-gel other than what is in the fuel already. They do sell anti-gel additives that you can add to this if you wish. If the fuel gels it becomes like jello and will no go through your injectors and such. I have never had a problem...

6) I've been driving 5 spd for a while, and I'd like to keep it that way. Is there anything I should know about clutch/transmission wise? I've driven a few F-350's and chevy 3500's ( [yuk] ), but they were all auto.

If you get a Dodge with the 6 speed you should have very little problems. That transmission is bullet proof and if the person before you raged it I would say replace clutch and that thing will last a long time.

7) finally, my budget is about $13,000, what year/model ram do you think I'd be able to afford? I'd like a laramie if possible.
thank you very much, and I eagerly await your reponses, and I will continue my own research.

Originally Posted by sparky3008

VP44 is after the lift pump. The lift pump takes fuel from the tank and sends it low pressure to the vp44. This pressurizes the fuel and sends it to the injectors. Many times what happens is the lift pump fails starving the vp44 and the vp44 burns itself up as it uses excess fuel to cool itself... (I am new to this and could be wrong but is what I understand about it).