As our Muddy Mondays feature videos go – it doesn’t get much muddier than the 2nd generation Ram 1500 shown in action in this week’s video. This video starts with the truck already soundly buried in the mud with the truck covered…and I mean COVERED…in mud.
This Ram 1500 tries and tries to get moving forward on this deep, swampy road but when all else fails – he starts digging through the slop in reverse. Remarkably, backing out of the mud works much better than forward motion but the beating that this truck takes in the high revving action proves to be too much for the transmission. At the end of the video (and during some mid portions, to a lesser extent), we can see smoke coming from under the middle of the truck as the transmission begins to spray fluid onto the hot exhaust. However, even with this gradual transmission failure the Ram featured in this video is able to dig out of the mud.
Gearbox carnage aside, this is one incredible clip of a Dodge Ram partaking in some serious mudding action and the mud-coated results make this video worthy of being featured here on DodgeForum.com. There is pretty solid sound included with this video but I will warn you that there is some not-safe-for-work-or-kids language at the end of the video as the onlookers revel in this Ram’s mudding glory.
"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.
