2003 Dodge Ram 3500 Dually XD Rockstar Rims and Tires Upgrade

I had a hard time finding photo's of what my truck would look like with new rims so I thought I would share.  In my case I can't lift or go bigger.  The truck already sits too high for towing a 5th wheel.  Duallys are less common and typically if a guy is buying rims he goes for bigger tire and has a lift kit so it was hard to find photos.

The factory chrome hub caps needed to go.  I went with the XD Rockstars with the factory size Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain Adventurer with Kevlar LT235/80 R17's.  I should get 60,000 miles out of these.  $2113.13 out the door for the 6 tires and 4 new rims.  I think I got a good deal from Americas Tire here in Tracy, ca.  I researched going with a taller rim and lower profile tires like many have done, but I hear the ride quality goes down when you do that and my truck rides rough enough as it is so I left things stock.

 Here is what they look like in case anyone is interested.  I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

Looks nice eh?

Pismo Beach 1st Timer Experience

So you want to go to Pismo Beach in your brand new 5th Wheel Toy Hauler eh?  All the stories are true.  Plan on getting stuck.  Maybe if you read this you won't get stuck but even if you do it's no big deal.... probably.  Don't panic or be afraid, just be prepared.  Like anything in life it's not so bad once you have done it once.  Just make sure you do it right and you will have a great time.  If you are reading this post prior to your 1st trip then you are heading in the right direction.

My cousin, an avid Pismo Beach goer told me about how he burned up his brakes, blew up his clutch and how dually's don't do so well in the sand.  Kinda puts the fear in you right?  Other friends told me I would have to air down.  I am towing around 15,000lbs of 5th wheel behind a Dodge Ram 3500 4X4 Dually with a Cummins HO 6 speed MT.  I took the advice, made some modifications to my Truck, bought a tow strap, brought a shovel and a tool for removing air from my tires and off to the beach we go.

I had hoped to avoid airing down as it's a pain to air back up so I head out on to the beach without airing down. It was low tide so the sand was hard packed near the surf so I had no trouble driving to mile marker 7 to meet up with some friends.  They already had a site picked out for me.  I end up passing them a bit and start up the hill to turn around and I didn't make it 20 feet before I was knee deep in the sand.  My wife panics and jumps out.  I am calm, cool secretly a little concerned as this is my 1st time.  I immediately begin to air down the front.  A friend works on the trailer tires.  He has these things that you screw on and it takes the tires down to 18lbs automatically.  My wife digs out behind the tires with our shovel in preparation for backing out of the hole.  In less that 5 minutes I am backing out no problem which is good cause if the tide came in my 5th wheel would become a houseboat.  :)

But I am not out of the woods yet.  I still have to turn up and around into loose sand and drive to the spot.  I make a run and turn up and surprisingly traction is solid and I am moving along just fine in the soft stuff.  Airing down really does make a world of difference.  I still can't quite make it up the hill into the spot that was picked out for me.  I would get most of the way and start to dig in.  I am able to back out though since it is down hill.  I make few runs and gun it, throw some sand and finally come to rest next to three other RV's.  We were all circled up like they did with wagons in the old westerns.  Now it's time for a beer.

Backing out when it was time to leave was no problem.  Granny geared it out no sweat.  Left at high tide in the soft stuff and still no trouble.  Drove to the garbage cans with a mile left to go and felt it was ok to air back up.  Friends followed me there with their air compressors and I was backup in no time.  It helps to go with a group of friends that have done it before.  Now that I have done it, it will be much more relaxing drive next time.  The pre-trip anxiety will be gone.  Since I am still a newbie at towing a 5th wheel I have enough anxiety as it is.  After making the trip without any major issues I feel 100% more confident now.

Here is a summary of what I did to prepare and what I would do next time.

1. Added a PacBrake brand Exhaust Brake.  It comes with a tank which I used to air up the front tires.  This offers peace of mind coming down the hill.  Awesome!
2. Next time I will bring a small compressor as the small PacBrake compressor will take too long.  There is a service that will air you up for $1 per tire as a backup plan.
3. Added Smarty Jr programmer and 5" exhaust system to add and additional 100hp.
4. I purchased a Tire Valve remover to speed up the air down process but if you loose the valve you are screwed unless you have some spares.
5. Before the next trip I will buy set of Tire Deflators.  I think 18lbs was too low for my trailer so I will look for something to take them down to 25 or so and experiment from there.  I will also try to only air down the Trailer instead of the truck as I have heard that works for some.
6. Before the next trip I will pick up a small 6 gallon or similar portable compressor.
7. I used a full tank of diesel so I had nothing left by the time I got on the beach and had to make a special trip in to town for diesel.  Next time I will be looking to fill up part way there.
8. I brought some 4X6's to put under the jacks for stability.
9. Some folks bring boards and tarps that wrap around the RV keep the wind and sand out.  It wasn't too windy on this trip so they weren't needed but I gather it could be nasty on a windy day.

Other optional tips and info off the top of my head.  Bring firewood.  Nothing like a nice fire and Smores.  I learned that double riding is not allowed and helmets, flags are required on all vehicles on the dunes.  There is a 15mph speed limit on the beach which is patrolled regularly by authorities.  It's only $10 bucks a night and reservations are recommended on popular weekends.

Wow! Adding Horsepower Was Way Too Easy

I am still pinching my self to make sure I am not dreaming.  Yesterday I added 100HP in 3 minutes.  Well, sort of.  I did a fair amount of reading before hand and some internet searches to decide on what setting to use, but the install literally took around 3 minutes.  You plug in the device for a couple minutes, select your desired power setting and that is pretty much it.  You can unplug it and put the programer under the seat and enjoy the new power or you can leave it plugged in and play with the power setting which ranges from 0 to 99.

I own an 03 Dodge 3500 Ram with the 24 valve 5.9L Cummins engine with a 6 spd MT.  Until my recent purchase of a 15lb fifth wheel I had always felt my Dodge had plenty of power.  Not so now.  It works, but I want more ya know?  I called Power Products Unlimited to get a suggestion on which exhaust brake and exhaust system they recommended.  I had done some preliminary research already but I wasn't sold yet on any products.  I figured the added HP gain and lower EGT's would be enough of an increase in HP so I had no plans to buy a programmer.  The salesperson recommended the Pacbake exhaust brake and Pro Flo exhaust system.  He also recommended the MADS Smarty Jr and went on to explain more about the product.  I was an easy sell.  I figured since I was doing the install my self I could afford the extra expense of the programmer and I am all smiles now.  :)

After some internet searching most people were recommending the SW2 setting (70HP gain) for auto tyranny's and SW3 (100HP gain) for the MT.  From what I read, depending on your diving habits, SW3 can actually be better on fuel economy.  We shall see.  I have only driven around town a bit so the jury is still out on the settings.  I am concerned about burning up my clutch so I may tone it down a bit.  Running empty the increase in acceleration is huge now, but if I punch it while towing I might blow up my stock clutch.  It sounds like there is a torque setting that I can adjust to help minimize the chance of damaging the clutch.

I will update this post later as I learn more. 

Peace of Mind Modifications to Reduce Stress

After taking delivery, our maiden voyage and a trip to the dealer with the Beast in tow and after conversations with friends and family I have determined there are some necessary upgrades that must be completed.  These upgrades should add peace of mind and confidence which will reduce stress while towing a 15,000 lb fifth wheel.  As i mentioned in a previous post "What have I done?" my truck has met it's match.  And after our Maiden Voyage in our Cyclone 3110 I realized at least two modifications would be required add on's to my 03 3500 Dodge Ram HO Cummins Dually.

My Dodge handled the beast ok, but breaking is a concern and getting up to speed is slower than desired.  Until now my Dodge has been more than enough.  I carried a 4,000lb camper and towed an 18ft fiberglass boat with no trouble.  The only performance modification I have made was adding a cold air intake.  I also added Turbo and Pyrometer gauges so I can keep an eye on things.  After hearing stories about people smoking their brakes there is no way I am taking this beast up any long and steep grades until my truck is ready.

My research suggested that going with the Pacbrake exhaust brake would be a good choice.  Since money is tight and since this was not originally budgeted into our purchase I will be doing the install myself.  Since I also need more horsepower i figured it would be a good time to upgrade the exhaust and add a performance module.  I am not trying to get loud or smoke my tires or blow black smoke out my tail pipe.  I just want to be able to get up and go when I need to.  So I went with the Flo Pro 5" turbo back exhaust and was advised to buy the MADS Smarty Jr.  I was told my MPG might improve with this setup as much as 4 mpg.  I don't believe that, but if I save any and gain power i will be happy.  I am anxious to see how much my exhaust temps go down after adding the new exhaust.

For those of you thinking about doing your own install like this I will warn you, it is a bit intimidating at 1st.  In my case I haven't had a full day available to work on this yet, so I have been picking away at the install 10 mins here, 30 mins there an hour there.  I started by doing the easy stuff that could be done on the bench.  I have done a lot of internet and forum searches looking for photos and how to's whenever I had questions and slowly things are coming together.  The install is not complete yet, but so far so good.  Everything has bolted up nicely.  The instructions could be improved, however using process of elimination on the air lines they have been sufficient so far I hope.  I had to pick an alternate location for the mounting of the wiring harness since the location they pointed out in the instructions doesn't seem to exist for my model and year Dodge.

I had a hard time deciding where to install the air tank.  I think I would prefer to mount it mid-ship on the passenger side, however in the end I installed it exactly where the manual suggested.  I am sure this will be fine.  I still have some electrical work to complete and now that the exhaust has arrived so I just need to take a day off to complete the job.  My weekends are just too busy and I need to get this done.  I have read you need three hands for a portion of the exhaust brake to exhaust pipe connection phase so I will most likely be phoning a friend.

I will update this post when the job is done.