I started by pumping fuel at a truck stop service center 30 years ago, then got into the towing aspect of it, then started helping the mechanics in the truck shop by doing service pm's, brakes, clutch's and genereal maitenance. I left for a few years while in the military, then when I got out I went back to work for the same company and started doing all kinds of truck and trailer repairs, everything from inchassis to electrical. I still work for the same company, but only part time.


Tim

 

I'm into rvs. When I retired, we started doing some traveling. Went through 5 or 6 different gassers trying to find a good tow rig. Got a Dodge with a 12 valver and have never looked back.

 

My first diesel experience was my Dad's little veedub rabbit.

But I do remember seeing the first CTD in Motor Trend or something. 400 lb-ft! NOTHING in 1988 had 400 lb-ft! I was also huge into Dodge trucks (raised on Mopars).

Anyway, that all laid dormat for many years. About 12 years later, I was recently married and my wife's car was NOT acceptable. I figured she could "inherit" mine, and I'd get something else.

We all know you can end up places on the Internet and have no idea how you got there, but one day I ended up on the TDR website, which was fairly small back in early 2002. I lurked. And lurked. I was hooked when I found out what these guys were doing.

Instantly all my past memories of Dodges, that Cummins ad, and the "Cummins mystique" all came back to me. When I found out that these guys were cranking them up to the then-unheard-of levels of 400hp I was floored! 400hp and decent mileage!! I simply HAD to have one.

So I went tire-kicking at the local dealer, and they had nothing like what I was interested in. I was certain that I wanted the 6-speed, a 4x4, shortbed, and 3.54 gearing. Not a single unit like that of any color available in the state of GA.

They got into their system to do a dealer trade, and found a truck close to what I wanted in Johnson City, TN. But it was RED (gag!). But they gave me more than our junky little Subaru was worth on trade-in, AND they sold it to me for almost $5K under sticker. I bit.

A few days later I picked up my brand-new truck with 450 miles on it (from the drive from TN to GA).

We didn't really know then that the HO was less power capable than the So trucks. No matter, it will still give me all the HP I could ever need, and a lot of what I want.

The joy I derive from owning and driving this truck is considerable. If only my budget was as big as my dreams

 

Working for a Dodge dealership, I used to prep the trucks when they come off the semis. Their was an old timer in our shop that couldn't stand the rattle of the first gen. Cummins, so I used to leave them idling
just to edit him off. I was the new guy,so he ragged me all the time, so that was payback.

 

My Dad bought a 98' 4x4 drw. I was hooked with that sound of the turbo. Now that truck now has 298,000 miles on it.

 

As a kid I always love big trucks and tractors. Dad always had some kind of diesel tractor for working around his property. So I was always around it, running it, and working on it. I ended up going to school for diesel mechanics too. At the time I was in school I owned a gasser 2500 dodge, a few of my teachers and classmates had diesel pickups. After seeing what they could do with the cummins trucks I was set on buying one after I got out of college. So now I have a 2002 CTD. I've even converted the girlfriend to liking diesel trucks. Before I met her she wanted a Solar Yellow QC Ram with a Hemi, now she wants a Solar Yellow QC 2500 with a Cummins.She drove my 02 and said forget owning a gas truck, she wants a diesel.

 

I needed another vehicle and a truck seemed like a good idea. Prior to this you couldn't give me the best part of a diesel. I had come thru a string of GM car diesels at work with no good experiences. So I took a string of 1/2 tons for a ride. I wasn't impressed. Then I sat down and took a closer look. I didn't want a truck that thought it was a car, nor a car that thought it was a truck. If I had to have a truck it was going to be a real truck. That meant manual trans, ride like a truck, look like a real truck, smell like a truck. That got me to diesels. I drove a number of Fords, Chev and GMC as I was really a GM guy at the time.

I had a Chev dually gasser back in the race car days so I looked at few of these but most were in bad shape and I remember the 5 mpg towing and 9 mpg around town so they really were out. Plus they really struggled with the heavy race car trailers.

I still was not impressed. Finally a buddy who is a Dodge fan said go drive a couple Dodge trucks. So I tried a couple Dodge diesels. The first one was a 2500. It had everything but no room behind the seat. Then I hit a 98 1 ton quad cab dually with a 12 valve Cummins. It had everything I wanted but it also had more than it's share of rust. I really didn't know much about the 12 valve vs 24 valve at the time so I let the ultimate truck get away from me I guess.

Shortly after this I drove an 03 1 ton Quad cab dually with 6 spd. It was a demo with about 4000 miles. It was probably the buy of a lifetime but I just didn't want the big payment especially as I was out of a job at the time. So I found this '99 at the same dealer. It was a great truck. It had everything I wanted and needed plus it was at a pretty good price after we talked turkey. So here we are.

About a week after I got it I landed a part time job at a landscaping co. I made a deal with the owner to lease my truck to haul the big gooseneck while he towed the tag with his 3/4 ton 01 Dodge.

So I was able to make a bunch of payments from the lease and got paid besides. Maybe I should have stayed there haha.

I also found us here as well as other groups so I started learning about the Cummins diesel. I did listen to advise and got a fuel pressure gage. Shortly after I had a failed lift pump. It was my first diesel repair and I became a believer in the fuel pressure gage. It probably saved my VP for the time being. So I thank all the DTR guys that helped me.

 

Been in tractors all my life. Plus my dad's first 2 ranch trucks were 89 2wd auto cummins and a 91 4wd auto cummins. Then we had a 97 CC dually 4wd diesel a few years later, and my brother got a 93 auto. Needless to say, I had to have one.

 

Always been around diesel tractors on the farm so besides the performance of them I knew how reliable they are, with gas engines it seems like your always having to do something to make them run right. I was a Ford guy but I think glow plugs are almost as evil as spark plugs so I bought a Dodge.

 

First off this is a nice thread, it's cool to see people enjoying good memories, I enjoyed it! I was the same as a lot of people here, loved semi's especially the cab-over's. There was an old first gen diesel in my town, loud exhaust, I didn't know why it sounded different, I just liked it. I had a phase, loved how old PSD's sounded, grew out of it, then I ended up driving a deuce and a half and a 5ton for a while, and was in heaven with the exhaust pipe right there, close to you. I was again hooked, the whistle, the smoke! Then the stewart-stevenson FMTV's got me again when I rode in the back for a couple hours and was mesmerized by the exhaust note. Now, I find the Cummins the best sounding engine and love it's simplicity.

 

I've always loved diesels. They amazed me with what they could do.

More recently, the ability for diesels to run bio-diesel or WVO peaked my interest, in case there is a new fuel crisis.

 

I picked up a copy of Dieselpower and i was hooked.

 

Well, to be honest it was me wanting to be like my older brother when I was a kid. He bought a 94 which I loved, then a 95 which I started driving when I turned 17 and now I have the 05. Now the 95 is owned by the business and is a work truck. It has and always will be part of the lifestyle I suppose.

 

The diesel bug that bit me was the Mega Cab. I got to drive one of the first ones w/the CTD in 2005. I was impressed from the get go and am anxiously awaiting to buy my first CTD (once I get back from this upcoming deployment).

 

I started shopping toy haulers. First looked at one I could tow with our '02 Yukon. Didn't take long to realize can't tow much with that. My Dad called and asked if I wanted to buy his '01, he found an '03 he wanted. Re-shopped toy haulers and was able to get six more feet of trailer. Plus, it's really cool!