I picked this thing up 6 years ago



We actually had 2 of them at the same time, blue was diesel, whites gas



Its a 2007 (air quotes) "1500" megacab with the Hemi 5.7. 5-Spd Automatic 545RFE Transmission Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle, the 1500 gets the air quotes because 3rd generation Mega Cab 1500's are a 3/4 (as in 2500) ton truck with a slightly reduced GVW. The frame, axles, brakes, wheels, are all 3/4 ton Dodge parts. This was a ploy by Dodge to trick some people into thinking they were buying a 1/2 ton truck because Dodge did not actually have a big cab available that was built on the IFS 1500 Ram platform. At the most the spring rates may be softer than a 3/4 ton Mega Cab. Previous owner installed air bags with a built in compressor and in cab controls and gauge.

First upgrades I did
a superchips flashpaq 5 tuner
K&N true cold air intake
added the self-powered sub from the TJ

One of the reasons for the truck is to get out there and make memories. We do a lot of camping, son is in scouts and im the troop committee chairman and camp with Veteran Overland.







somebody got their lure stuck in a tree i kept telling him not to cast near

 

Back in May 2021

I hit a good sized rock in the road and had a vibration between 65-70 MPH, then I noticed some wear on the inside of the front tires indicating the toe was off, I already knew I had a loose balljoint so I ordered up all new steering linkage and ball joints. Couple weeks ago I replaced all the steering linkage and steering stabilizer, while doing that I noticed a coolant leak starting. Every once in a while I could smell antifreeze but never seen any leaking... until now lol. Saturday I changed out the water pump and thermostat, it was uneventful except for trying to get the fan clutch off.

Hoping this Saturday I can change out the balljoints and the truck will be good to go again. Ordered XRF ball joints.

 

June 2022

I couldn't put it off any longer, after over a year I finally got off my butt and did it. were heading to PNW overland expo and the ball joints needed done. getting the wheel bearing assembly off the knuckle was the biggest pain in the ********, I ended up having to put one of the hub bolts back in with a socket and extension and use the power steering pressure to push the hub off but I had to keep alternating the bolt around the holes to do it. so now I have a bent bolt, I am waiting for a new one to show up in the mail.

picture as proof I actually did something on this truck lol

 

July 2022

we made it to the PNW overland expo in Redmond, OR

it was a pretty good location with good views



we got to meet some of our favorite youtubers



i won a drawing for a solo stove and got a ton of free swag.

of course we cant go to the Bend area without stopping at Shaniko

 

March 2025

My kid has been in scouts for the last couple years and im involved in it also, my Tacoma has a CB that the scoutmaster and I use to communicate while traveling to campsites so im adding on in here. i pulled the cubby out and cut the top section out of it, it fits snug enough that i don't need the mounting bracket.



fish camp

 

April 1 2026

So this thing has had the exhaust ticks going on for a bit, I ordered a set of headers for it



The top bolt has been broken for a while



the lower one made a turn and then snapped



this is what success looks like



but it was short lived because the headers don't fit between the head and the frame. luckily the one manifold I have removed so far isn't cracked so its going back in with new bolts and gaskets as I don't have time to order more headers.

Got that one back on, new gasket, new hardware (not in the picture is a new shock)

 

April 6th

Spent Saturday doing something ive never done on this truck in the 6 years ive owned it... changed all the fluids lol

for never changing the diff fluids in the 6 years ive owned this truck and pulling trailers, the fluid looked good in both axles. Also changed the trans filter and fluid, transfer case fluid, and changed the engine oil and filter.

I still need to fix the driver side exhaust manifold but my Ace hardware is out of the bolts. It is a lot quieter now but there is still ticking from the driver side.

April 27th

The 14th or so I changed out the tie rod ends from the box to the axle side

The 17th we were taking scouts to spring camporee so first thing in the morning I got new tires on the rear (fronts were changed out a couple months ago), also had tire shop do a front end alignment as I had done some aligning but it still darted back and forth a bit (and had been noticeable for a while). When I left the shop it was fine in town but when I got it up to freeway speeds it was almost scary and felt like it was swaying back and forth but I didn't have time to go back and sit there waiting for them.

Truck sat till the 25th, did some research on what the specs should be for toe and caster compared to the printout the tire shop gave me. The caster adjusters per specs are supposed to be straight up at 12 o'clock but what I was finding online was many people said they needed to adjust the caster adjuster to the 11 or 1 o'clock depending on which side your looking at but with the adjuster pointing forward.

FIXED... steers better than it has the last year+

Yesterday I pulled the driver side door panels off an fixed speaker wires and the wiring in the rear door that always breaks from the doors opening so far (for those who don't know the mega cab rear doors open almost if not to 90 degrees)

May 4th

Well that was disappointing lol

Back to bad steering, crawled back under it and the caster washers were basically back where they were before I adjusted them. It did take a whole lot of force to make any adjustment. With this new information that they "adjusted themselves back" im gonna say the adjusting bolts are seized in the bushings and i was just twisting the bushing. I had new stock control arms I bought for my 2006 and never installed so I pulled those out and picked up some new adjusting bolts.

Ended up having to cut the adjusting bolt on the driver side but got both arms replaced and the new bolt. Need to work on the passenger side after work but im sure i will be cutting that one also.

New control arms


gear box showed up last night


Picked up a used canopy for $300. still need to pull it, sand it, paint it, seal and reinstall


steering box brace tracking says it will be here tomorrow

And were all caught up now

 

Steering box brace showed up yesterday, took about 20 minutes to install