Fired up the old 98 dakota from my screen name. 1998 dakota 4x4 318 5 speed manual. Bought the truck in 2005 it’s been sitting for 4 years now. She’s rough been through it all odometer reads 190,000 but drove it for several years with a broken speed sensor so mileage is well over 200,000. It was my truck all through high school so you can imaging what it’s been through. Threw a battery in it a couple gallons of 91 primed the key 3 times and she popped right off. Took it out down some gravel/dirt roads today had a blast. I think I’m going to turn it into a trail truck now I don’t plan to ever license it again. Anyone got some ideas for modifications for trail use?

 

Solid axle front suspension conversion. Nice lift, big tires, better gears, and a SUPERCHARGER!

 

Oil field pipe front bumper with an air fitting to carry some air if you need it on the trail. Over riders to protect the grill and radiator. a HEAVY roll bar in case you roll it. I've got a dune buggy fuel tank I'm going to bolt in my beater truck for fuel for 4 wheelers.





Maybe cut the wheel wells out a bit to clean up the rust and make more room for off camber driving. If you're good at welding, make a frame with wire mesh to protect your windshield from limbs and rocks. Smaller ones for the headlights. On the roll bar, I'd add a light bar in the center and two smaller lights with one on either side aimed at an angle to light the trail up next to the truck.

 

I think I’m going to start with building something to protect the front end I like the air tank pipe idea. I’m not wanting to sink a ton of money into it just something to play with. I’d rather start with a better base if I’m going to go all out. Definitely need to invest in some lighting and Build a functional Roll bar for safety though. Also thinking I want to reroute my air intake higher up. I’ve gotten water in it before not fun bent connecting rod. What about the exhaust or lack there of in this case? Do I need to mess with it?

 

You'll need to spend some money but if you have access the scrap metal and can weld, you can do a lot more with the same amount of money. Heavy cast oil field pipe can be found for cheap around here. To keep the water from being ingested, I'm assuming you're going to ford water, I'd go with a snorkel and stacked tail pipe. This will get the intake air and exhaust above the water. Since you don't care about looks, you can cut the hood and run an exhaust pipe up the back of the cab. This will also get exhaust gasses out from under it. Just pipe with no need for a muffler, unless you want to. One thing to invest in is an electric cooling fan. Replace the engine driven fan and with a toggle switch you can shut the fan off so it doesn't blow water back on the ignition. Plenty of dielectric grease at the base of the cap and on the wires, both ends, and if you DO submerge the ignition, it may shake it off. I had a Jeep pickup with a 289 that I ran so deep in water it was coming over the bottom of the windows. I had to change the oil afterward as it got in through the road pipe, but it ran just fine. I'm pretty sure you'll stay with a PCV set up.

 

Well hopefully I won’t end up in anything that deep but like I said I’ve done the water in the intake thing before back when It was my baby and I actually cared about the truck. I can weld so that’s not a problem I’m going to be doing the work myself Gonna try to get the most bang for my buck. I guess we will just see what happens at this point all bets are off. What tires would you guys recommend? I’m not planning to rock crawl or anything just need traction for mud

 

A couple of years ago, I traded a BMW sedan for my Cadillac Escalade. The kid worked at a tire shop and put Firestone Discoverer MT2 tires on it. I have a tree farm and I'll use it up there at times and they do good on everything except granite outcrops. A bit pricey for a mud toy/beater. You might get similar tread on a cheaper tire. I asked the folks at the Firestone store what the tires run and they said depending on the deal, $1500-1800. They have a heavy case and a lighter tire should be cheaper.

 

In the past I’ve ran Wild Country Buckshot Maxxis Mudders and Federal Couregia MT. I liked the Federals the best just looking for other people’s opinions