1996 Dodge 2500 – Richard R.

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Bought it New in 1996

I purchased my 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 brand new. I also purchased a 29 ft fifth wheel at the same time. I chose this truck because it had an 8 liter V10 engine that had more horsepower and torque than the diesels that were available then. It also ran on unleaded fuel, which made it cheaper to operate. I mainly used the truck for pulling the fifth wheel, which I did quite often until my son got into school activities that took away the weekends. It has set outside for many years, being driven occasionally. The sun had taken its toll on the dash pad and other plastic parts, and pulling the fifth wheel wasn’t kind on the steering box and rear suspension. The truck only has 60K miles on it. I thought about buying a new truck and was shocked by the prices. Instead, I decided to give it some TLC and renovate. I purchased the dash pad and instrument bezel From LMC and had an upholstery shop installed them. There was considerable damage under the pad that had to be repaired before installation. You cannot tell that the replacement pad wasn’t the original. I also upgraded the radio and replaced other broken plastic parts, and dried out the rubber parts. It looks perfect. I had the steering box and power steering pump replaced, and added an air lift kit to the rear suspension to beef it up. I plan on taking the truck and trailer on the road for extended travel in the near future.