Hi I am ghost2501. I am the owner of a new-to-me 2001 dodge ram 2500 with utility-security shell. I just moved over to dodge from ford. I am a carpenter by trade rough finish and cabinetry.

My truck is white non-lifted quad-cab. 5.9 engine 360 c.i.d V8. 6 foot short bed. No tail-gate on account of shell w/ladder rack. It was owned by a cabling company before me they were the first owner, I am the second. Right now it has cheap but useable commercial tires on it, as I didn't have the cash for the ideal tires, and wanted to keep the load range.

I have questions about it of course concerning

Effective life span for reliable operation
Effective upgrades for tow/ haul of loads
What on it was standard and what was added on
Upgrades for fuel economy and ride quality.
Etc.

So yeah that is it basically it is a work truck and will remain that.
And Hi all again

 

Hi Ghost. Welcome to DF!

I just did a plenum pan on a truck with 360,000 miles on it. Original engine and trans. So, it will last as long as it is taken care of.

Maintenance is the key. Need to check the plenum, and if you are close to 100K miles or more, time to replace the timing chain and gears. O2 sensors if they are original. Basically, go thru it, and if it's a maintenance item, maintenance it.

Another major improvement would be an SCT tuner from Hemifever. Gets rid of the death flash, and also drastically reduces 'torque management'. (which guts the engine at low rpm, where you actually WANT the power.)

For fuel economy, and ride quality.... well, its a three quarter ton truck. Neither of those is going to be very good. As you will be carrying a bunch of tools, (and therefore, fair bit of weight) that will certainly help with the ride. I find, on my truck, the more weight in the bed, the nicer it rides..... to a point.

You should be able to average around 12 MPG around town..... little better on long hauls. That will vary by the amount of weight you have, or the weight of your towed load.

Check out the second gen ram tech section for LOTS of ideas, and be sure to read thru the Stickied Plenum thread.

In the 2nd gen faq section, there is a thread with a link to get a build sheet for your truck. It will tell you pretty much everything that came stock on it. Including tire size.

Have Fun!

 

Thanks for the welcome reply and the info provided. I've been running down the info you provided.

As far as the whole 3/4 ton thing yup I know it won't ride like a car which is fine by me. actually I've always been a truck guy my last was a 71 250 from ford so that is until this truck at least the standard I measure a three quarter ride by. Now with this new beast I have an out standing ride. Better than the cars I've had recently actually.

I'm not really having an issue with that per se. Right now the issue is old shocks and or worn sway bars i think. coupled with four warped rotors and a tall camper raising the weight center on corners. None of this is bad enough to be a safety issue. but, ... you know when i need to redo i like to improve if possible

 

Welcome to DF!