Dave and Sue's 1994 Dodge Ram
Pictures of my Ram in Alaska Factory Options My Fuel Log Aftermarket Accessories    Camper Repair Log

Visit Geno's Garage for Truck accessories.

      Our 1994 Ram has been heavily customized for on and off road camping.   The truck's versatility makes it possible for us to blast across the country on a whirlwind tour, or leisurely explore the back roads and byways, or creep into quieter and less traveled forests and parks.  It caries four weeks of food, clothing for several weeks of any kind of weather, tools for repairs and building fires, bicycles, backpacking and hiking gear, spare parts, offroad equipment, and emergency gear. Ham radio equipment keeps us in contact with the world (if we want to be).

       The truck is NOT the ultimate trail machine! At over 10,000 pounds when fully loaded, it is too heavy for deep mud or sand. Even with the pop-up camper, it is tool tall and too wide for snaking through closely spaced trees or low branches. The truck is also too long and too wide for serious rock crawling. The 33.5" tires are too small for serious trails, the truck's lack of bottom clearance can easily lead to high centering, and the 3.54 axles are geared a little too high for good crawling.
       What this truck will do, is get us and our gear to a remote (or not so remote) camp site over any reasonable kind of road, and provide dry and comfortable accomodations for anything from a weekend camp trip to a two month expedition.

      The camper is basically a large pop-up shell that has beds and bins for storing camping gear. We have no heat or cooking equipment inside the camper, preferring to do our cooking outside and use the camper only for sleeping. A side awning provides an outdoor porch that is relatively dry in foul weather. Showers are rudimentary and take place under the awning.
      The vehicle is NOT a luxury RV with satellite TV, running water, and a microwave oven. It also is NOT the ultimate expedition camper - the insulation is not good enough for expedition duty, and one would quickly notice the lack of creature comforts on an extended trip. The camper is basically a tent that is warmer and dryer than any regular tent, and is much softer for the back than a tent is. This "tent" is also fairly easy to pack for travel when the weather is bad. In 2000, Sue and I took a two month trip to Alaska, living in the truck and camper the entire time (Yes, we are still married!). We have also charged across the country several times on shorter trips, and spent many weekends camping in the parks and National Forests of NC, TN, VA and WV.

1994 Dodge Ram 2500HD 4X4 - In Alaska
Photos (click to enlarge) were taken in 1996 - more Alaska stuff

Alaska line (32 Kb jpg)	Atigun Pass (77 Kb jpg)

Yukon River (64 Kb jpg)	5 mile Camp (27 Kb jpg)

Our Ram with a new Diamond utility bed and Fourwheel Slide on Camper.  The November 1999 photo was taken in California at a delightful Sonoma County Regional Park campground on the Coast Highway (CA highway 1).

• Cummins Turbo Diesel 175 HP, 420 lb-ft , CPL 1815,  Build Date 11-23-95
• (Now has an aftermarket TST kit installed for 230 hp/605 lb-ft)
• New Venture Gear NV4500 5 Speed Manual 5.61, 3.04, 1.67, 1.00, 0.75, R 5.61
• New Venture Gear NV241 Transfer Case
• 3.54 Axles - 4850 lb Dana 60 in front, 7500 lb Dana 80 in the rear
• Towing Package
• Snowplow Prep - with #039 passenger side, #046 driver side front springs
• 4 Wheel ABS
• RV Mirrors
• Clearance Lights
• ST Package with AC, Cruise, Tilt Wheel, Am/FM/Cassette 4speaker
• Light group
• Dodge Under the Rail Bed Liner

My truck was ordered from Judy Hylton at Thompson Chrysler-Plymouth in Radford VA.  Thompson is a small 5 star dealer that I highly recommend (instead of the mega-dealer in the next town). Thompson's service department fixed a Ram for a customer who had been totally disgusted with his treatment at the mega-dealer. Details were posted to the RTML, and a transcript of the postings is available (25Kb file).

  After 72,508 miles, my total fuel consumption has been 4180 gallons yielding an overall average of 17.3 MPG.

• Empty average = 20 MPG. Vehicle weight with passengers, fuel and 100 pounds of tools is 7350 pounds. - Mileage has dropped a bit lately. The decrease in fuel economy plus a lot of white smoke in cool weather has me thinking my timing has slipped a degree or two.
• With pop-up truck camper, average = 16.5 MPG. Weight as above plus camper is 8400 Pounds.
• On the 1996, 12,000 mile Alaska trip with the camper and gross weight of 9280 LB, we averaged 16.1 MPG.
• Towing a 7000 pound trailer has averaged 15.1 MPG.
• Worst ever mileage has been 14.1 MPG with a heavily loaded flatbed trailer at 65 MPH.
• My Reunel winch bumper cost me 1 MPG in weight and wind drag

On May 12, 2000 the timing was checked and found to be at 10 degrees BTDC. We advanced it to 13.5 degrees and expect fuel economy to improve.

My better half: Sue's 2001 QC Ram