dieselfuelonly
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- Chapel Hill, NC & Greenville, NC
Hi everyone, finally signed up here and decided to make a post.
I was wondering how well a Deuce would work for me in the business I plan to start up - working with my skid steer, tractor, etc.
Where to start... My name is Dennis, I currently live on the outskirts of Chapel Hill, NC, and go to ECU in Greenville, NC.
I have a 1996 Dodge Ram 3500 dually w/ the Cummins diesel... I really enjoy working on it. My recent project was converting the truck from an automatic transmission (47RH) to a 5-speed manual (NV4500). That was a very challenging project, but at the time extremely rewarding for me. I am a pretty mechanically inclined person, I'm good with diesels, and I like to take on projects even when I get a lot of "don't waste your time with it" from others.
So far my plans to start up a small business using my Bobcat 753, tractor, etc. are going well.
I guess I could start by listing some of the "pros" and "cons" that I can think of - maybe some others can help.
Cons:
* Not a very "comfortable" vehicle - though I drive with a straight piped Cummins, non-working AC, and the "ride" of an empty dually whenever I'm going somewhere
* Quite a big vehicle - While I'm already used to parking in the "boonies" with my dually, watching out for people creeping into my lane, etc., a Deuce would be even bigger
* Harder/more expensive (in some respects) to maintain - that goes without saying... stuff like fuel will cost more, and some special parts I would have to order online (though I do that all the time, anyways).
Pros:
* AWESOME advertising for my business. I don't know anyone else around here that owns one. With a logo slapped on the side, I would be hard to miss for sure.
* I would have two trucks instead of just one - I'm not relying on one vehicle to transport my equipment. If the Deuce is down, I rent a trailer (until I buy one of my own, which I need to do anyway) and pull my stuff behind my Dodge.
* Can go where my Dodge can't - 2WD Dodge duallies, coupled with the torque of a Cummins get stuck in wet grass - if I needed to clean up some debris for someone in a wet area, I could back the Deuce up so I'm not making long trips to dump stuff in the truck bed/trailer with the skid steer.
Those are just a few of the things that come to mind, and there are others as well.
I know it may seem like a crazy idea at first, but then again thats the reaction I got from everyone when they heard I wanted to convert my Dodge from auto to manual.
The 45ish MPH cruising speed isn't a huge deal for me. While it is a bit slower than what I woudl be doing on the freeway with my truck and a trailer, most of the speed limits around this area are 45MPH and below.
Mainly I just need to know if a deuce would be a pretty reliable truck. I realize it may have a few quirks here and there, but I figure they must be made pretty darn good considering what they were used for in the military.
Sorry for the long post, I just want to provide as much information as I can to help others give me some good feedback.
Thanks!
Dennis
I was wondering how well a Deuce would work for me in the business I plan to start up - working with my skid steer, tractor, etc.
Where to start... My name is Dennis, I currently live on the outskirts of Chapel Hill, NC, and go to ECU in Greenville, NC.
I have a 1996 Dodge Ram 3500 dually w/ the Cummins diesel... I really enjoy working on it. My recent project was converting the truck from an automatic transmission (47RH) to a 5-speed manual (NV4500). That was a very challenging project, but at the time extremely rewarding for me. I am a pretty mechanically inclined person, I'm good with diesels, and I like to take on projects even when I get a lot of "don't waste your time with it" from others.
So far my plans to start up a small business using my Bobcat 753, tractor, etc. are going well.
I guess I could start by listing some of the "pros" and "cons" that I can think of - maybe some others can help.
Cons:
* Not a very "comfortable" vehicle - though I drive with a straight piped Cummins, non-working AC, and the "ride" of an empty dually whenever I'm going somewhere
* Quite a big vehicle - While I'm already used to parking in the "boonies" with my dually, watching out for people creeping into my lane, etc., a Deuce would be even bigger
* Harder/more expensive (in some respects) to maintain - that goes without saying... stuff like fuel will cost more, and some special parts I would have to order online (though I do that all the time, anyways).
Pros:
* AWESOME advertising for my business. I don't know anyone else around here that owns one. With a logo slapped on the side, I would be hard to miss for sure.
* I would have two trucks instead of just one - I'm not relying on one vehicle to transport my equipment. If the Deuce is down, I rent a trailer (until I buy one of my own, which I need to do anyway) and pull my stuff behind my Dodge.
* Can go where my Dodge can't - 2WD Dodge duallies, coupled with the torque of a Cummins get stuck in wet grass - if I needed to clean up some debris for someone in a wet area, I could back the Deuce up so I'm not making long trips to dump stuff in the truck bed/trailer with the skid steer.
Those are just a few of the things that come to mind, and there are others as well.
I know it may seem like a crazy idea at first, but then again thats the reaction I got from everyone when they heard I wanted to convert my Dodge from auto to manual.
The 45ish MPH cruising speed isn't a huge deal for me. While it is a bit slower than what I woudl be doing on the freeway with my truck and a trailer, most of the speed limits around this area are 45MPH and below.
Mainly I just need to know if a deuce would be a pretty reliable truck. I realize it may have a few quirks here and there, but I figure they must be made pretty darn good considering what they were used for in the military.
Sorry for the long post, I just want to provide as much information as I can to help others give me some good feedback.
Thanks!
Dennis