Thanksgiving Camping

[slick]

Took the family out of town for a nice relaxing Thanksgiving away from the TV and shopping. Probably a new Campsgiving tradition! The truck did great. The Magnum 318 ran great, but it's just a little under powered. It did the job, but pulling the hills it was working pretty hard..

[gww]

looks like a great start of a tradition for you and yours. and great look n outfit. camping, back roads,a slower pace and family together. cant get any better.

[pismopowerwagon]

Thanks for the beautiful pic

what a nice camp

[slick]

Definitely want to convert this thing to 4wd. There were some great back roads that I would have liked to drive in to..

[Worden18]

Very cool; thanks for sharing. Curious...what kind of camper is that?

[slick]

It's a 1957 Shasta

[pismopowerwagon]

Tailgate is a perfect bench, Dodge made them nice a flat for any project.

[Hobcobble]

Very cool camping duo! I'm digging that guard dog too!
John

[powerwagoncrazy]

Great pics! So an underpowered 318 means... time for your first 12 valve swepty?

[slick]

Eventually yes! I'm planning the build in my mind as we speak!! I think I want to do a 94-98.5 12 valve, 5 speed, 4wd, complete frame swap

[powerwagoncrazy]

NICE! The '94-'98 are definitely my favorite regarding power and reliability- moreso the '96-'98 as they had higher HP ratings from the factory and the injection pumps are a bit more reliable than their '94-'95 counterparts. As far as I'm concerned, the 1st gen front suspension stuff is far superior to the 2nd gen stuff, though- that track bar/ball joint/unit bearing/CAD crap is just sad

[slick]

Agreed. If I find a first gen I'll be all over it. I was just thinking of the newer style coil suspension for everyday creature comfort.Just wanting a little smoother ride in my old age!!

[powerwagoncrazy]

Ya definitely- a 1st gen does ride pretty darn nice with a set of 4" lift springs under it, though! My old '97 was a pretty comfortable ride, but the '98 doesn't ride much better than my crew cab does. Might have something to do with the full-on 1 ton springs and the unforgiving 19.5's I put on it LOL!

[slick]

Good to know. I just recently heard about the CAD axles. Not being a 4wd guy I need to do my research and figure out exactly what it is..

[soopernaut]

Good to know. I just recently heard about the CAD axles. Not being a 4wd guy I need to do my research and figure out exactly what it is..

Center Axle Disconnect-they use vacuum lines to engage the axles and the mechanism for engaging is in the differential or axle tube. The vacuum lines can leak over time causing the 4wd not to engage. There are also relays which control the vacuum which can fail.

[slick]

I read up on it. Seems like a decent design so possibly save on fuel? But, I'm assuming it's the week part of the system.

[Brudog]

I see four chairs in that picture. Does that thing actually sleep 4?

[powerwagoncrazy]

I read up on it. Seems like a decent design so possibly save on fuel? But, I'm assuming it's the week part of the system.

It's one of those "eh" designs- they're decent when they work, but you're still spinning the axle shafts (well, the drivers' side and the outer shaft on the passenger side on a 2nd gen Dodge) and the spider gears in the carrier. As Soop said they're vacuum actuated, which on my '97 I found one of the vacuum lines had been severed, which caused the front axle to not engage and made for a crappy drive home in a freak snow storm. On a 2nd gen cummins truck 4x4 operation relies on a vacuum line to run from the vacuum pump to a vacuum switch on the transfer case, and then two lines that run up to the vacuum valve on the front axle to slide the internal axle collar back and forth. In my opinion it's just too much BS!!!

That said, they make a cable to slide said collar back and forth, eliminating the entire vacuum operated setup.

The other option is to slide and affix the axle collar into the locked position, and use the spindles, 4x4 stub shafts, bearings, hubs, etc. etc. from a ford TTB50 front axle to rid of the unit bearings and convert it over to a locking hub/ traditional wheel bearing setup. This also eliminates the need for all the vacuum-operated junk. But you're still left with the crummy trackbar setup and balljoints.

Seen a few others yard all the dodge stuff out and go to a leaf-sprung '78-'79 Ford king pin Dana 60 under the front of their 2nd gen trucks as well- probably the route I'll go when my '98 stuff gets worn out.

Sorry for the novel in your picture thread- some food for thought, though!

[slick]

Thanks for the info as usual Rob.. Brudog it does sleep 4. My wife and I and my 9 year old and 12 year old. As they get bigger we are going to have some issues though