Lazy's getting a truck

[lazycommie]

Yep, I'm getting myself a truck by this time tomorrow. A 98 Dodge Ram 4x4.


Any suggestions as to what I should be doing to it? I already know it'll wind up refinished in a cream tan color(black is too hot for the FL sun). I'm turning the tweaking and such overt to you, ATG, as I wanna hear some ideas.  

[aretoo]

...For some reason, I'm envisioning camo paint and gun racks. (Yes, plural...) smile  

[God-Raped-Me]

Dodge makes really nice trucks as it is, I would probably just enhance the muffler system, and make the inside all nice looking.

I'm a fan of things looking plain on the outside, but when you get inside it's a whole different story! And loud, my vehicle has to be loud. I'm saving up to "fix" the muffler on my car.

 

[lazycommie]

aretoo

...For some reason, I'm envisioning camo paint and gun racks. (Yes, plural...) smile

Plural is a necessity! Although they won't exactly be visible, since this is the kind of area where I'd get stopped for having "OMG TEH EBIL BLACK GUNZ". They'll be in the corners of the back "seat" area(which I'm ripping the seat out of anyway for more storage).

GRM- The interior needs a ton of work anyway. Any suggestions on what I should do with it? You know, material, color...?

Loud is a given.  

[God-Raped-Me]

Well you said that it's hot there so I would be against Leather! Leather gets nasty sticky on skin! I've liked reds and greys for interior colours. Darker reds actually. If you're going with a cream colour outside I would go with a light grey interior. Just your normal fuzzy (none of us here can remember what it's called right now) material would be fine material. Although if you don't mind being sticky p/leather is a nice option, again a grey or a deep red Would look nice. If you want it to match your exterior you could go beige, but it doesn't always look nice having the same outside as the inside.

In the back I would add a small folding seat. That's only because I enjoy having others with me when I drive.

Any other questions in which I may have suggestions.

 

[lazycommie]

God-Raped-Me

Well you said that it's hot there so I would be against Leather! Leather gets nasty sticky on skin! I've liked reds and greys for interior colours. Darker reds actually. If you're going with a cream colour outside I would go with a light grey interior. Just your normal fuzzy (none of us here can remember what it's called right now) material would be fine material. Although if you don't mind being sticky p/leather is a nice option, again a grey or a deep red Would look nice. If you want it to match your exterior you could go beige, but it doesn't always look nice having the same outside as the inside.

In the back I would add a small folding seat. That's only because I enjoy having others with me when I drive.

Any other questions in which I may have suggestions.

Light grey sounds good. Greys and such would match the dash as well, since it's a medium grey.

I always wear full length clothing(shirt with sleeves, pants), so stuff doesn't get sticky for me no matter what. I think I'll go with canvas or regular upholstery fabric, though, since it doesn't get as sweaty. Uck, I hate sweaty seats.

What about the floor? If I'm doing the upholstery, I may as well do the floor of it too. What color/style?  

[God-Raped-Me]

I've always been a fan of black for the floor, and it being a rubber like material. Super easy to clean, doesn't make stinky fabric when the snow melts into it grr although I don't think you have to worry about that. That's what I would do though, black and the rubber/vinyl like material.

Is it a standard or automatic?

And pics now?

 

[The Dinosaur Next Door]

Yay for trucks? I can't drive them; they are too big and I run things over. sweatdrop I'm sure you'll do much better, though, Lazy.
That's all I've got... I know nothing about trucks.  

[God-Raped-Me]

My parents have a Ford F450, V10! It's a damn Bus! You sit so high up in it, and takes forever to get up and go. All the power is directed towards towing Boats as my father has a boat repair business. It's really really big! The damn thing uses Transport truck tires, the top of them is at my hips! It really guzzles gas though. If you were to put a car behind it, the beginning of the flat bed starts sear the top of the cars windshield. That said, you have no clue how many retarded people tailgate the damn thing! Like really if they ran into the back of that truck they could easily be scalped! I want to get my parents one of those LED make your own saying, licence plate border things, and have it say something like "what would happen if I stepped on my breaks? Would you have time to stop?" Or something a bit more witty. I am not witty right now.

 

[lazycommie]

God-Raped-Me

I've always been a fan of black for the floor, and it being a rubber like material. Super easy to clean, doesn't make stinky fabric when the snow melts into it grr although I don't think you have to worry about that. That's what I would do though, black and the rubber/vinyl like material.

Is it a standard or automatic?

And pics now?

It's standard, which is fine by me since this is literally my first vehicle.

I think I will go with black, and probably that boat deck fabric you see on bass boats. It's cheap, goes on easy and lasts forever.


I'm pretty good at driving big things, but mostly because I've been driving massive boats since I was 4(literally, one day my dad decided to take me on a transport trip and decided to leave me at the helm for most of the trip, with the direction of "keep it between the buoys"). Those things are really unresponsive. Compared to those, the truck is really responsive. And it even has brakes!

I also can't stand cars and being down low in one. It just doesn't feel safe with my a** only inches from the ground, and with people in vehicles many times larger all around me.


I just got it today and drove it home. I don't have a camera, but later I might haul my laptop out and see if I can use the webcam to take a pic of it. It's big, black and is lifted a bit(on air shocks), not much to see.  

[God-Raped-Me]

I found I was developing a heavy foot, cars seem, to me at least, to give the illusion of driving faster and now I don't drive so fast.

I should totally get into racing...

I do like how driving in a truck gives you a feeling of power though. And normally they don't get caught on 10 inch snowbanks stare

Still can't wait to see!

 

[lazycommie]

Right now I'm cleanng all the trash out of it. The bed was full of all sorts of nasty s**t  

[lazycommie]

Bump for update:


Cleaned all the s**t out of it. Have a pic of it.



But now it won't start. Replaced the battery, thinking that was the problem, but it isn't. I hope it's not the solenoid, because where Dodge put it is the most a** backwards place possible(underneith, by the transmission, right next to the starter).

Any ideas what might be wrong? Key turns, I get electrical power, but it won't turn over.


EDIT: turns out it was both the starter relay AND the solenoid. I still have to replace the solenoid.

In the mean time, it can be started by removing the relay and bypassing it with a hunk of wire, effectively hotwiring the truck.  

[God-Raped-Me]

Reminds me of my van when it was going to the shitter. Because of the placing of the engine and other metallic parts we had to use this super long screwdriver to bypass the starter. God it was horrible! We had to set the ignition to "On" then spark the thing! It always made this huge spark with a loud "ZAP" and then the engine would go "Shinkshinkshinkshink" as it was turning over.

My father was able to by pass everything from inside. He hooked up my ignition to a cigarette lighter adapter. That way we turned the key to on, and plugged in this adapter to the lighter slot (can't remember the actual name for it right now) and the van would start. Our power windows lost power too. To fix that one we used a car cell phone charger. We had to pull the negative from the positive and strip the ends. Then we had to pull the power panel from the door turn it over and apply the wire to the corresponding nodes, get a zap and the window would go up or down depending on how we touched the wire to the nodes!

I felt like such a redneck! sweatdrop

 

[lazycommie]

Yup, GRM, that's true redneck enginuity. Tis a great thing, though!


I'm going to run a switch bypassing the relay into the cab. That way I can turn it on by flipping a toggle switch or(better yet) hitting a momentary button. Engine turns over and kicks on, then release the button and go.

I also found I can start it this way without the key, and by doing that it keeps all the other electronics(everything from windows to lights, even brakelights) off. Something I must make note of should I ever need to run blacked out.


EDIT: Turns out it was just the security device being wonky. Problem fixed after the previous owner called me.