I was going to request a repeat of that, too.

flanderseder, put it this way - If that truck was fully insured, and you stood to gain $$, you would have instantly been suspect #1.
The insurance company sure would not have settled for an ad hoc verdict by a part time fire fighter, you shouldn't either.

All signs point to this being done with malice ,,, Is the house next ?
Those are the questions I'd be asking, whether or not anything actually comes of it, call the state police, tell them the situation, I don't see how they can flat out refuse to investigate.
Don't know if you've been swamped with rain, but there could even be imprints on the ground pointing to a culprit, at the very least they should be able to determine how this dirty deed was done.

 

i will do that because i actually have a relative that's a state trooper so i'll at least talk to him even though i agree with the one guy. all cops up here care about is the paycheck. i have not been able to actually look under the truck because as you can see that's a little difficult the way is it, but i will be doing that tomorrow and maybe get a few more pics but from the under side of the truck.

 

Sorry being a vol. Its more like 365 24/7! The bent frame rails.

 

and here we go again......

"the bent frame rails" is not a sentence, you have to give us a verb to go with that, like "the bent frame rails went for a walk, or took a drive. or the bent frame rails dressed up pretty and went out dancin.....

 

Hey Flanders let me start by saying sorry for the loss of your truck.
I was in the Fire Department for 15 years and have done a few arson investigations mostly structures but a few vehicles. I want to offer you a nickle tour of your photos from an investigators persprctive. I have never seen an 01 Ram firsthand with this much damage so don't take my commets as gospel. Here are my OPINIONS
from the photos you posted and that were previously reposted on this thread. I believe the fire started in the passenger side of your cab I would almost say the rear seat.
Here's why. (I'm using the picture order from Tigga posted on page 5 of this thread)
1. on picture #2 fire always points away from it's origin You can see from the grass pattern points away from this area plus the bottom right of the door looks as if the paint is still intact. fire burns in a U shape and the presence of paint tells me the fire was at a 45' angle from this part of the door.
2. the front drivers side of the truck is the least damaged. This tells me the this is the furtherest point from the fire. The gas tank is on this side so this side should have been damaged in my opinion if the gas tank "Blew"
3. On picture 9 the dash collapsed more on the right side meaning to me the fire was hotter on that side (opposite side of the gas tank) also when plastic is exposed to fire it tends to "point" towards the fire if you look at the instrument panel it has the appearance of pointing to the passenger seat. telling me it was hotter on that side
4. This is a guess from the pictures so I may be wron on this one Pictue 10 looks like melted glass is in the passenger seat it also appears to be "pointing" to the rear of the truck this is why I say the back seat. Also what is that pipe?
Look around the passenger side of cab and see if you can see any plastic that doesn't belong like a gas can or plastic soda bottle.
I think the back of the truck was burnt when the fuel tank finally gave way but I don't see any sigh of an "explosion" these tanks now days are designed not to blow up under normal circumstances granted this was not normal but I think it was colateral because it wasn't as hot since the wiring doesn't appear to be completely melted like the seat compartment. I am curious to know why the gas tank door was open?
The least amount of damage to your truck was on the opposite side than the fuel tank just look at the front tires oth are still inflated and the one on the tank side isn't even damaged neither is the blinker light.
Don't know it it was arson or not but I would almost guarantee it wan't the gas tank. I will agree with Fireman Bill if those springs were red hot then there would have been nothing left of the sheet metal around this area. When you get underneith the truck take pictures and see if there was any part of the truck not burnt or less burnt that others. I'll bet you'll see alot of the underbelly with little damage. let me know how I did if an investigator comes out but as far as state investigators they will almost require your finance company call them out. See if your finance company will transfer the loan on another vehicle rather than you defaulting on the loan. Worth a shot good luck and I hope I helped Sorry it's so long of a post but alot of information to post.

 

Wow, Rebhays probably gave you a better analysis then anyone from the volunteer fire dept...

Sorry for you loss man, it's obvious that you moved back home to help take care of your mom, and in doing so put yourself in a place where you had limited choices for income. Guys ripping on you on here about the job situation don't quite understand where you live and how little there is for work up there.

Good luck with the state patrol, but sounds like you already know how that will go. That part of the state the state agencies are fairly useless. It's a good ol boy network and often viewed as a job for life. I'd guess you are at least 2 hours away from finding anyone who's really qualified to do any investigation up there. Also, regarding the guys saying to look at foot prints, might be hard to see stuff like that after the fire dept. tromped around.

If the fire did start in the cab, curious where your amp cable was run?

 

thanks rebhays and hutch. the amp wire was run under the carpet on the driver side through the firewall (and yes i used a rubber gromet or however u spell it). the gas door was open because of the pressure when the tank blew i know that for sure because i was out by the truck when that happened and rebhays i don't know if all the pics were posted you would probably have to click on my photobucket link, but anyways i have a picture there were i tried showing that the driver side of the box was pushed out (i'm guess) about 6 inches plus that truck had NO dents in it before the fire so what ever see dented is from the fire. thanks again guys and i'll try to get pictures from under the truck a.s.a.p.

 

i'd be checking into the alarm manufacturer to see if the alarm you have has ever led to shorts/fire. and you said that the truck was completely stock but someone else mentioned an amp wire, if you had an amp and the power wire got close to ground for some reason i could see it arcing but it'd pop the fuse pretty quick. and if that was the case it would have probably arc'd while the truck was moving and not when it was just sitting there.

and what do you mean that there is nothing usable on that truck? you still have one good fog light and one good rim.

 

no i checked them the back of the fog light is melted a little bit and both rims on the front had a slight warp to them.

 

first... the gas tank ignited. if it had "blown" the sheet metal of the bed on the drivers side would be totally ripped apart. now that being said, when they do ignite then can pack quite a punch, which would explain the open door, and some warping of the bed side... As stated before, todays tanks, especially the ones on these trucks are plastic, and designed not to "blow" in a fire. normally what happens is the tank gets too hot and begins melting making a release for pressure long before the gasses from the fuel ignite. and it is the fumes, or gasses, that are what cause explosions, not the liquid fuel itself. some manufactures are even putting pressure vents on thier tanks now to vent the gasses in case of a fire.

Trust me if the tank had "blown" it would have shook your house. there was a fire in a shop I used to work at... the fire started next to the shops old panel van. it still had a metal tank and about 1/4th of it was full. the fire quickly spread and as I was running to the fire with another extinguisher the tank went.... 5 feet away and it dang near put me on my back... that was the closest I got to the fire, and I ended up with singed hair and clothes.

also could the fire have been caused by something smoldering like a cigarette possibly in the cab that was in your bed?

oh and the lights and horn doesn't really mean anything... most likely when your dash and steering column started the wires shorted out and since the battery was still working so did the lights and the horn... actually kinda common in auto fires.