O.k......I heard several opinions about getting off road and getting down and dirty...... ;DMost of which seem to reflect the fact that the weight of the CTD will almost always cause the front end to "find the bottom" and get you stuck even with 35's or 37's. :'( :'( :'( Can someone share their personal experiences/opinions with me about this? ??? I lifted my 2002 6" and added 35's but still have not really took her "in the deep". I live in spokane, wa and there are lots of mountain trails and ORV parks......just waiting on a little rain so I can drive it to work.......covered head to toe in mud (woo hoo!) Also, it seems that a lot of other drivers (especially Ford) don't like what my truck seems to stand for >(aside frome the logo RAM IT! on the rear glass! ).....I pull into parking places and see them go "oh God look at that big NOISY truck" >......then again, some seem speechless with big grin......love at first site maybe? :-* Anyway......seems like they either love it or hate it........I say "buy some stinkin ear plugs"!!!!! Which by the way, the lift DOES seem to make it louder! My pictures are under "Tom's Dodge!" album pg. 42

THANKS!!!!!
Tom

 

I have been off road a "few" : times me only being 20 I still have lots of time left Yes the front end is heavy but I have really not had too much of a problem. #1 ruel keep your speed up. it will be like a rock in water if you stop been there but I did not stop it a tree did :- I like to take her off road. But its a lil more fun if the mudd is not REALLY RELLY deep. that way you don't have to worrie about trying to get out the window. Been there too :-[
DM01

 

Thanks Dodgeman01.......gonna be sure to have a buddy.....and a chain with me when I go. You know, what I crave most is to just spin and sling (mud) and spin and sling and spin and sling ......will that burn up the tranny too quick? ??? Also.....what are the "weak" points when you are just going crazy in the mud?

Thanks!

 

Got stuck in a marsh by my favorite fishing spot. Front end sunk like a stone. Been in some mud and had no problems but question my E rated tires ability. Seems to spin the training wheels and lose momentum fairly quick. Love gravel tops for spin and sling or wet grass. Can't imagine it hurting the tranny to much but the rear end and the wheel bearings. Water contamination is a bad thing. My father in law has a 93 dually and we don't get stuck often in his but he has a more agressive tire tread. I always carry a shovel and a come along. Learned a new trick the other day. Take an old tire with no rim with you. If you get stuck, dig hole and put tire in with rope attached. Put dirt back in and use it as an anchor. A lot of digging invovled but it beats calling for a wrecker. Good luck and enjoy all that torque! ;D

 

Will do...........
Hear a funny fisherman sayin' the other day..........

Fishermen:

Early to bed,
Early to rise,
Fish like hell,
Tell big lies!

 

[quote author=tanderson2002us link=board=10;threadid=20194;start=0#msg189793 date=1064612835]
.....and a chain with me when I go. [/quote]

I wouldnt do that EVER!!!!!!! Please save your self and buy a tow strap and use that chain for something else...the reason i say this is because my one of my best friends was killed by a chain.....came through the back window and basicly decapitated him :'(....2nd guy I knew was my brother's step brother...He was getting pulled out and the chain snapped and came through the windsheild and took off a side of his face....no he only has 1 eye,,,he cant move his arm striat up and he only has a couple of teeth on the left side. :- These were good quality chains also. But anything could happen. But please keep this in mind when offorading.
Im done just wanted to share little info with yall.

Sean :-

 

Oh yea. Yall think yall have it bad when yall (Cummins owers) go muddin and sink.....The PSD's weigh more than the Cummins. So we have a harder time than yall. :

 

Get the biggest, baddest tow/yank strap you can find (also without chain ends).

Never attach a tow/yank strap to a hitch ball as that is very dangerous as well.

Sorry to hear about the unfortunate incidents guys. Using a chain doesnt seem like a big deal, but obviously it is.

 

Don't use the tow straps with the metal hooks on the end either.

Saw a pic where it came through the back window and through the seat.

Take a blanket with you and throw it over the strap to keep it from slingshotting if it breaks.

If it's you being pulled out, it will break, we weigh a bit more than the average gasser.
Broke mine 3 times before I got pulled out.
Stock tires , front end sunk to the frame.
This was a 9,000#, 2" strap (with the hooks removed) left over from my Toyota.

I now have a 4" x 30', 38,000#'er under the rear seat.

phox

 

I've got the same size, and have pulled a ford PS and a 1st gen cummins out without a problem. Not as much stretch as 20,000lb strap though.

 

Thanks for the tips on the chains....things like that you never want to learn the hard way. Sorry about ones who did. I got a tow strap but dont know its rating.....it's about 3.5" in dia. Probably a cheap one......guess I will find out.

Thanks again.

 

Put it in 4 high and blow out the black smoke... Don't worry just have fun. Any truck can get stuck, I KNOW FOR A FACT.

 

I'm not understanding where a chain can come sailing back at you if it breaks. a chain dosn't strech the same as wire rope or a tug strap.
on a straight steady pull with no "jerking" if that chain breaks it should just fall to the ground with out much if any backlash.
??? ??? ??? ??? :P

 

[quote author=westcoaster link=board=10;threadid=20194;start=0#msg191741 date=1065074521]
a chain dosn't strech[/quote]

In fact, it actually does, but very little, and it really wants to go back to the exact shape it was, and in a big hurry, so when the "weakest link" gives way, within a millisecond all the links are back at their original shape, and that gives the chain HUGE momentum since it's mass is great.

Example.
If you have a 100 link chain, and each link only gives .05" Thats 5" total, and when one link breaks,, that 5" is taken up in no time.

Cables are just about as bad too, but don't have the mass to make them as deadly.

Straps are what you need, and you need one that is rated for what would seem like an ungodly amount of weight just to tug a small object around. If a Strap is rated for 10,000 pounds, then most likely it is only approved to pull 3,300 pounds. Do you see the magic number? Almost all straps I have seen only have a 33% or 1/3 working weight. You will need a minimum of a 30,000 pound strap to unstick a not so stuck Dodge/Cummins, even more if you are REALLY stuck,, becuase it is going to take more than the weight of the truck to get it moving. (Ever try to pull a bycicle out of the mud? When it's deep in the mud, it's a bit harder to get it out initially)

I have seen straps used improperly more times than I can count on my fingers and toes.

The PROPER way,, but it doesn't always work,, if it doesn't, you SHOULD use another method, but I'm guilty of unsticking a truck improperly also.

Tie the straps to a secure location, but not to critical parts,, i.e. tie rods, sway bars, springs, shocks, driveshafts : Get the picture? (Alcohol will make the weakest part seem invincible)

Once you've got the strap secured, weighted, and spectators away. Pull forwards untill you've got about 1'-2' left of slack, then kinda get some momentum up, hit the "end", and let the strap draw very tight, hit the brakes (to keep from rolling backwards) and let the elasticity of the strap pull the stuck truck free. If possible, you should try to get the person stuck to apply power in the direction you are pulling him. With him trying to get out, and your tugging, he should get free. Keep backing up, and tugging and pulling against the elastic of the strap to get him free.

"Running" up against the rope with lots of speed and reckless abandon will usually only lead to bent parts, and at minimum a snapped strap.

BTW, with 35" tires, anmd getting stuck in the mud, you will need to watch the trans temperaures, or atleast change over to synthetic fluid. The high heat is what kills transmissions in stock power, low mileage trucks. Heat hardens the seals, and makes the clutchs loose their holding ability, along with detiorating the lubricity of the ATF.

If I were you, and seeing how much moeny you have allready spent on the truck, I would do a Complete high-HP transmision rebuild, put gauges, and a PE COMP. You will be all smiles, and you won't ever NOT have enough power to go through the deepest of mud without enough wheel speed. You could even add some injectors,, not that adding power is addicting, or anything like that. ;D

Anyway, sorry about the long post, but I hope this helps, bad grammer and all.

Merrick Cummings Jr