Many of our recent Muddy Mondays features have looked at Dodge/Ram trucks in big open areas but this week, we look at a 1998 Dodge Dakota storming through some slop out in the woods. The footing doesn’t appear to be especially treacherous at first but when the Dakota gets in up to the axles roughly halfway through the video – there is far more mudslinging than originally expected. Fortunately, with the help of a set of 33×12.5 Super Swamper Thornbirds, this midsized Dodge pickup is able to dig through the sloppy mud and water.
The Dodge Dakota doesn’t always get the respect of the bigger Ram 1500 but this video is a reminder of just how great the Dakota was in an offroading scenario as the truck shown in this video is stock shy of the tires, a 3 inch body lift and a Flowmaster exhaust setup on the factory 318 cubic inch V8. This truck also has an odd road friendlier front bumper a rear roll pan (with the exhaust poking through) and a can extension that gives this truck a ore rough and tumble look while the 318 sounds great (best heard at the end of the video) thanks to the folks at Flowmaster.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
