Hey all, I'm a VW freak who finally wanted a pickup, so about 4 months ago the VW dealer where I work gave me a good deal on this '02 Ram. It's a 5.9L 4x4 with the Heavy Duty Towing equipment, or whatever it's called (bigger radiator, trans cooler, 3:91 rearend, etc). It's obviously been well taken care of, it's very clean and runs beautifully, it's got nearly 68K miles on it.

I guess I'm wondering what the typical quirks are with these trucks, also curious to know if there's any way possible to improve fuel economy and of course, increase torque. I love the truck, but gawd the gas mileage pisses me off, which I suppose I should have taken into consideration before I bought a big heavy American truck with a nearly 6 liter engine. I've already got really basic things planned, like a K&N and a nice exhaust.

Basically, if anyone has any tips or advice for me about this truck, it'd be great. This is my first pickup and perhaps even more importantly, my first Dodge. Thanks again

The Beast in question....

 

Yeah,
I hate the damn gas mileage as well. But I guess, the looks and the work it does justify me keeping it.

I wish they would come up with an aftermarket ECU, where you can tune it to higher MPG.

 

Congrats on the new truck, I assume you are talking about the 5.9L Magnum and not the 5.9L CTD. The 5.9L Magnum is not known for getting good MPG, when I had my 99 Ram 1500 5.9L I got between 9/12 MPG. You might get an additional 1-2MPG with a muffler and a good CAI and so on. I am not sure as I never did any mods to my 99. I can tell you to check out the Aero Turbine muffler, part # AT3030, it is a sweet setup "More TQ and HP and sounds wicked" and you can get a really good price from Dodgeforum sponsors.

Good luck!!