Hello all,

As the title states, our fire department recently aquired a 2002 Ram 2500 with 4x4, 360 gas engine, auto transmission and a Stahl work body. Truck was an ex-Air Force vehicle we got from a government surplus program for FREE. Truck has a little over 90,000 miles and other than a fuel pump and a rebuilt transmission it has given us no problems.

We wanted a truck we could build into a wildland/brush truck to handle fires that are off the beaten patch. We did not want a brand new truck for this; we expect the truck to get scratched and dinted.

That being said, here is out budget:

- Firefighting tank/pump skid unit= $8,000
- Paint and lettering= $2,000
- Lights, siren and radio= $2,000
- Hand tools= $1,000
- Wheels and Tires= $2,000
- Replacement front bumper= $1,000
TOTAL= $16,000

That being said, I need suggestions on any areas these trucks have known issues with or things we need to consider upgrading. Our fleet mechanics perform all work so labor is not an issue if there is something that needs taking care of.

Also, what size tires would fit well on this truck? I know the rear will squat some once we get the skid in the back, and we have already considered an add a leaf. I am thinking a set of 285/75R16 BFG KM2s on a nice set of 16x8 aluminum wheels. If anyone has a picture of a work body truck with upgraded wheels and tires that would be awesome.

Anyway, whatever info you guys can provide is well appreciated!

 

Intake plenum. See the stickied thread at the top of this forum.

Transmission.... particularly, the torque converter. Known weak points.

Heads are prone to cracking..... especially if the engine overheats, even a little...

The 285's are basically 33" tires. If the truck has the 3.55 gears..... that is going to stress the already questionable trans..... I would highly recommend 4.56 gears to go with those tires. (good size choice though, should fit without too much trouble.) That will give you a bit more low end grunt, maybe better gas mileage..... (yeah, like that is much of a consideration.....) You will like the combo off-road though.

I would also recommend a larger auxiliary trans cooler, with a filter..... (two separate pieces...) and a temp gauge.

 

Welcome fellow firefighter!

+1 on everything Hey you just stated.

I would highly consider some helper springs in the rear or airbags because the skids are pretty heavy especially once you've loaded them with water and equipment.
If the truck has 3.55 gears definitely go with 4.10s or 4.56s. With all the additional weight and new wheels and tires the transmission will go very soon. Because lets face we're not in the business of driving slow.

My department runs a regular cab f-350 powerchoke with 33 inch bfg mud terrains as the brush truck and even it squats a little but since its a diesel the power loss isn't significant at all.

 

Welcome from another firefigher

Our forestry dept around here still has quite a few of the 2nd gen Dodge trucks. Most of ours are Ford's. Lots of good suggestions above. How big of a tank are you putting on the back? Our old ones are 250 gal and new ones are 350 gal. 250 gallon tank = about 2100 lbs water weight and 350 gal = almost 3000 lbs water weight so I would definately beef up the rear suspension. Might want to go with steel wheels over aluminum and run E load tires. Get a big brush guard for the front of it. What alternator is in it? May need a bigger one on how many lights you hook up. What else are you planning on putting on it? What part of the country are you in?

 

Just a question, but are the stock brakes going to be adequate after you put all the weight in the rear and beef up the the tires?

 

Brakes? What brakes?

I was wondering what was going to keep the rear axle form doubling over with 3000-5000 pounds added to it!

 

With appreciable weight riding on it and knocking about in the boonies, that transmission in stock trim certainly will leave you walking out. Unless the wind turns on you forcing you to run away to watch the truck burn from a safe distance.

If it were mine to do, I'd call PATC (888-201-2066) and get their advice, but I'm guessing their Mega Viper with a couple of additional upgrades would be the hot ticket. The high zoot billet converter for sure, probably the billet input shaft, maybe even some additional clutch upgrades.

Given that you're likely to see heavy loads at low vehicle speeds for extended periods, you'd do well to install an auxiliary transmission cooler as HeyYou has said, but also with a thermostatically controlled electric fan on it to keep the machine cool(er than it would otherwise be) during those times. And the remote filter. You're going to be taxing those clutches and they're going to shed friction material at a much higher rate than street driven vehicles, so you might as well catch it in the cheap and more efficient remote filter rather than in the more expensive and less efficient internal filter. (Remote filter gets plumbed upstream of the cooler!)

If it were mine, I'd want more gear oil for the diffs to swim in by way of something like the Mag-Hytec differential covers. Going from zipping down the road with too much weight on to crawling through the sticks, things are going to get quite warm in the pumpkins. And the stouter material will stand up to rocks and branches better.

I'd consider having a local machinist craft a new alternator pulley about 15% to 20% smaller than the stock unit to get more output at lower rotor speeds. Our stock alternators are not bad units at all, but with the extra electrical loads I wouldn't expect one to stay caught up through extended idle time without a bit of help.

You only thought the truck was free!

PS: No winch? If you're not a flatland department you'll probably want at least one.

 

First off, thanks for all of the fast replies!

I will pass along the plenum mod to our mechanic. Shouldn't be too hard for him to figure out. He should also be able to handle the auxillary transmission cooler and gauge. Being as we just rebuilt it, I want this transmission to last (as long as possible anyway).

I will also suggest the regearing. Depending on how budgets look I had considered working in lockers for the front and rear at the same time. Brakes can also be upgraded at any time.

I had found the front bumper replacements from Peacemaker and talked back and forth with them a little. They seem like a decent company and they have awesome prices. The truck will eventually have a winch mounted to it as well.

Suspension wise I wanted to do a leveling kit in the front with a AAL in the rear to help compensate for the bumper in the front, the skid in the rear and the larger tires. I chose to stick with the 285 BFGs because of their load rating and range. I wanted something bigger than stock but not too big.

All emergency lights will be LED and the scene lights on the truck will run off of the skid unit's alternator. Other than keeping the truck running the stock alternator shouldn't catch too much work.

All in all this truck more than likely will not get used very much. We are a small city fire department that runs around 150 calls a year. We just happened on to this opportunity with the truck being allocated and the funds being approved. The $16,000 is what we have for initial project items; we carry a separate budget for routine fixes and upgrades.

I will see if I can get a picture of the truck posted. If everything goes to plan it should go for paint this week.

Thanks again, and keep the suggestions coming!

 

ONLY 150!! lolol yea she's gonna sit alright.

+1 on everything UnregisteredUser said as well

 

Yeah. Like I said, we are a small city department. We cover roughly 2.5 square miles and 2,500 people. The county department that surrounds us runs on average close to 4,000 calls a year (no transport EMS). This is where I work full time. I volunteer with the smaller department.