Ltdave...

Michigan, about 50 miles from where our trucks were born. worked less than 2 miles from the plant for 23 years...

bought a '96 club cab in spring of 97 with the 3.9l and 2wd. loved that truck but needed something bigger so sold it...

needed something NOW that could haul a bit more than my Caliber, that my daughter could also drive while she's home from college...

picked up a 2004 SLT club cab 4X4 automatic with the 3.7l. 89,000 miles but with zero power accessories other than power steering and brakes. manual locks, crank windows, manual mirrors, manual seats, no cruise control, and no mirrors on the visors! it DOES have A/C. i put a blower motor resistor pack in it...

it was a municipal owned truck in Pennsylvania someplace so its got amber emergency lights on the roof that will HAVE TO GO. there are a few dents in the passenger side box outer and the paint has some scrapes in it that will need addressing but otherwise it is very rust free...

i didnt want to spend a lot of money on it but now im thinking i need to do some customizing to it. ive got a couple of ideas but nothing crazy. the rims (if OEM) are actually not horrid. i ran a build sheet from the link in the stickies, to find out its got 3.92 gears in the rear end. i dont intend to pull anything with it other than say a utility trailer so shorter gears might be in the plans down the road. mpg rating is NOT very good...

thats it in a nutshell...

 

Welcome to DF! I think you are not very far from me. (depending on which direction from Detroit you are......)

Changing your gears isn't going to help your gas mileage enough to justify the cost. These trucks just don't get "Good" gas mileage..... It's a big, heavy brick, with a motor, and some tires. Unless you do the work yourself, you are looking at spending north of 1600 bucks to regear.... (two axles to deal with.) It would take a LONG time for the 1 or 2 MPG you may pick to pay for that....... and the 3.7 isn't exactly a powerhouse...... If you haul anything in your trailer, you will like the 3.92's a whole lot better than 3.55s....

Wander on down to the Third Gen ram section. Lots of helpful folks there.

 

im the opposite direction from you. from the eastern most point in Michigan...

yeah, was thinking of BOTH axles. not really the truck i wanted, but it is what it is...

ive got a Haynes manual on the way and im picking up a Chilton's tomorrow so i should have most everything i need to maintain it...

 

Nope. Haynes and Chilton are pretty generic, and given the sophistication/complexity of new (in the last decade or so) vehicles, they just aren't sufficient. Get a factory service manual for it. You can find the PDF version for usually under 30 bucks.

You live up in the Thumb area? Pretty country.

 

 

Welcome to DF!