New wood hauler works GREAT!

[Valkyrie Rider]

First load in the new to me Dodge/Cummins truck. Hauled this load of about 3/4 of a cord of red oak the 1.5 hours home like a champ. Suspension wasn't even showing any weight. I could feel the weight, but the modded motor helped a bunch! I was wishing for an exhaust brake at times.

Looking at weight tables for different species of firewood..... and red oak being 4880lbs/cord..... and having just about 3/4 of a cord on the truck, weight I figured was around 3500lbs!

It was also my first time cutting with my very slightly used, but new to me Dolmar PS-7900. I LOVE the saw! Cut like a laser with a 20" bar, wasn't too heavy, and handled SUPER. I may actually sell my basically new J-red 2171 since I don't see its place with as much as I love the 7900!

 

[JRepairsK70e]

nice load of firewood ,hey before you change your mind ....how old is the 2171 and what do you think its worth ?? i have a small pile of jonnys and am always willing to make it a little bit bigger lol cheers jk

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

nice load of firewood ,hey before you change your mind ....how old is the 2171 and what do you think its worth ?? i have a small pile of jonnys and am always willing to make it a little bit bigger lol cheers jk

The 2171 is two years old and had maybe 2 tanks of fuel through it total. The bar is still like new and has the original chain which hasn't even seen a file. PM me if interested and I'll think about pricing... and if I really want to sell it. I bought it new from Spike60 on here.

 

[mga]

nice truck, man, but, i'd do some protection on that back window.

 

[Misfit138]

Beautiful truck. That engine will run and run and run and...
Gotta love the Cummins.

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

nice truck, man, but, i'd do some protection on that back window.

That is on the list as well as some bed sides. I have the expanded metal for the "headache" rack already in the garage. I actually have a full 4'X8' sheet of it and was thinking about making the bed sides as well as back window protection all from the same stuff. Need to buy some square tube for the framework I guess.

Out of that sheet I could make two 15" total height bed side rails and a full back glass protection. Just need to figure out how much square tube and angle I need for the framework.

Would LOVE to use all square tube..... but the cost gets to be a lot quick!

 

[promac850]

That is on the list as well as some bed sides. I have the expanded metal for the "headache" rack already in the garage. I actually have a full 4'X8' sheet of it and was thinking about making the bed sides as well as back window protection all from the same stuff. Need to buy some square tube for the framework I guess.

Out of that sheet I could make two 15" total height bed side rails and a full back glass protection. Just need to figure out how much square tube and angle I need for the framework.

Would LOVE to use all square tube..... but the cost gets to be a lot quick!

The trick to cheap metal is knowing someone that works at a place that orders large quantities... I got lots of 1" (about 50') and 1/2" (about 40') sq. tube for 50 bucks since my dad works at place that basically fabricates/assembles a bunch of stuff from plastic to metal. They came in 20 ft lengths, which I handed dad the tape measure, soapstone, and the Hitachi G12SR grinder with a cutoff wheel, and he brought it to work, cut them down into 8ft lengths, and hauled them home. I will be using most, close to all of the steel in a welding cart that I am going to make... lol, it's fricking huge, all for a little Handler 140... But I'm thinking ahead, like what if I started a fab business, or my own auto shop, etc and run through crap tons of wire...

I could (probably will) rig up a 33lb spool holder, and run a tank to do MIG welds or gas shielded flux core, or just do self shielded flux core. There will be a spot for the largest tank of argon that's available, and the handle will be a part that holds the tank on. The handle will bolt on, and will be easy to remove. Them damn chains don't do it for me... I don't trust the thin links that they use, and not to mention how most (well, all) don't even go up above the middle point of the tank, where it should be, supported by a lower chain just below the middle point of the tank.

It will roll on all swivel casters (I hate not being able to slide a cart in between a shelf and a tool box...) The third shelf will be about 5" from the bottom of the cart, and will likely hold leftover useful shorter pieces of steel, while the upper two shelves will hold the helmet, gloves, etc.

I plan on ordering more stuff, such as some bigger sq. tube, various round tube, and possibly a full length I beam for a possible future splitter project. Maybe some U channel, and...

Seriously, if you know someone that works at a steel company or someone that makes large orders at work from a steel company, inquire. The price may surprise you. They can tag your order onto theirs, and that gives you massive savings, and if you order enough, the company saves some too. I bought this stuff much cheaper than it would've been at TSC, it's 12 bucks for a 4' length of 1" sq. tube there... and 7.50 for a 4' length of 1/2" sq. I saved a #### ton of money on this little project.

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

Got a price on 2" square tube with .083 wall in 24' lengths today. The first place I checked with was $2.97/ft for 72' of it. I requested a price for 70' figuring that is what I need to make the rack and sides how I envision.

I may only get the 2" square tube for the rear rack, and use mostly angle for the bed sides since I'll only use them with hauling wood. The rear rack will stay on all the time.

 

[TJ-Bill]

I'd love to get my hands on one of those trucks.. NICE indeed.. your braver then I am to drive around with your saws on that rack, I think I'd need to have a camera on them while I was driving just in case!

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

I'd love to get my hands on one of those trucks.. NICE indeed.. your braver then I am to drive around with your saws on that rack, I think I'd need to have a camera on them while I was driving just in case!

The saws were well strapped down.... I checked them about 1/2 way through the first half of the drive on the way to the cutting site and they didn't look like they moved at all. The hitch carrier isn't the greatest, but it's nice having the FULL capacity of the bed for wood and keeping saws, mix, bar oil, etc. back there. I typically cut much closer to home and no highways.... but after the saws being fine riding back there for 140 miles or so mostly at 65mph+ on Saturday..... I trust it more.

My ultimate set-up is to add TWO 2" recievers to the FRONT bumper (which is custom made out of 3/16" plate already) and make my own cargo rack that mounts in a double receiver that will fit a truck tool box or other carrier to keep the saws/gear in and be able to swap out for a winch mount that is really strong or other things like a weight bar if I get into truck pulls.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Very nice haulin truck. What did you haul with before?

I've currently got a regular cab, short bed '00 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 318 V8. Partially loading down my 18' trailer really makes the true duals rumble!

I've been wanting to sell it and buy a Cummins, but it's only about an 8 mile round trip to my cutting site. Been thinking lately of adding a leaf or two to the rear, +4 quart trans pan and an aux cooler.

A decent Cummins truck around here runs about $10k. I'll only use it for pulling our bassboat and wood trailer.

How's your mileage with it?

 

[mdavlee]

If you think saws are expensive to play with don't go sled pulling. It's big time fun and will have you wanting to drive 5 hours away to pull. Don't ask me how I know. I spent today putting a new pressure plate into the 07 I had that I pulled some with. The south bend double disc only lasted about 35k miles before a lever broke. The floater plate looked like it had been heated with a torch in some places as did the old pressure plate. I don't even own the truck anymore and I'm still working on it. What clutch is in your truck now?

 

[mikefunaro]

I'd love to get my hands on one of those trucks.. NICE indeed.. your braver then I am to drive around with your saws on that rack, I think I'd need to have a camera on them while I was driving just in case!

I was his cutting partner for the day. Well one of them. When he called and said his plans were to strap the saws directly to the hitch carrier I got a pain in my gut, but it all turned out ok. I kept my 576 in its powerbox. cheesy, but i figured an extra layer of plastic if they hit the asphalt wasn't going to hurt anything.

In all seriousness everything was double strapped and didn't even move on the highway.

 

[Bob95065]

I have a 1997 extanded cab with the Cummins diesel and a NV4500 5 speed. I love that truck.

Check out these boards:

2nd Gen. Dodge Cummins 94-98 12V Forums - Dodge Cummins Diesel Forum
1st and 2nd Generation Ram - Years 1989-2002 - Dodge Diesel - Diesel Truck Resource Forums

I have learned volumes from them. Lots of experience and ideas. I have done many mods to my truck including 2WD low for backing trailers, injection pump tuning, gauges, on-board air, headache rack, etc. I plan on keeping my truck a long time.

 

[mdavlee]

Yeah those are pretty good places to check out. I spend most of my time on competition diesel anymore. They're geared more towards all out sled pulling or drag racing trucks than daily drivers.

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

Yeah those are pretty good places to check out. I spend most of my time on competition diesel anymore. They're geared more towards all out sled pulling or drag racing trucks than daily drivers.

There is some decent info on Cumminsforum, but I also spend more time on CompD. We also have a "local" New england club with a forum and a hangout spot/garage with a group of guys who know the Cummins trucks inside and out.

As for the clutch in my truck..... it wouldn't last pulling and I'm at almost at it's limit of power handling now. It's a LUK "stock replacement" that is holding my 350+ at the wheels OK, but I know any more mods and I'll smoke it. Going to have to go dual disc as I want to get about 500hp or so at the wheels. I want a fun truck, but its got to be able to work too..... can't get crazy. A local friend has a P-pumped 24V with over 1000hp to the wheels... ran 11.3sec 1/4 mile on mud terrains!

 

[mdavlee]

I used a south bend 3850 12 cb in the 07. It only had 5 pulls on it and 35k miles at somewhere around 550-600 hp. I really don't like single disc clutches anymore for anything. The double disc are much nore driveable.