Danny Gaston's 2004.5 Dodge Ram Cummins 600 2500 4x4

2004.5 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Cummins 600 H.O.

Hey, thanks for checking out my tow rig. This truck is a 2004.5 model Dodge Ram 2500
Laramie quad cab with a sport package. It is powered by the turbocharged Cummins 600
diesel and a 6 speed manual transmission. The truck is fully loaded and is the best truck
I've ever owned. It's awesome! This is my first diesel pickup and I'll never go back to a
gas-powered truck again. I'm putting down probably close to 500 horsepower and still
getting 21 miles per gallon. I can pull two or three Jeeps on my trailer with ease, or play
around off road, or hit the drag strip, or pull a sled, or simply drive around town with some
friends and have plenty of room. This truck does it all!

Below are a list of modifications I have done to the CTD, and more pictures follow.

For a video of my truck at the local sled pull this fall, Click Here.

Engine 5.9 liter Inline 6 Cummins Turbo Diesel Common Rail 325 horsepower/600 ft.lbs of torque stock Stock turbo, silencer ring removed AFE Proguard 7 Stage 2 air intake Edge "Hot" Juice - 180 hp/440 ft.lbs torque Edge "EZ" - 65hp/150 ft.lbs torque Edge "Attitude" monitor with pillar mount MBRP Cool Duals 4 inch exhaust with 5 inch tips	Lighting PIAA 4 inch fog lights PIAA 4 inch driving lights KC Slimlites driving lights KC Slimlites long range lights Brite Box for headlights (dual beam on highs) PIAA 55w backup lights, plus stock reverse lights Green neon interior lights near front and rear cupholders (wired to come on with headlights, I couldn't see the cupholder before)
Drivetrain NV5600 6 speed manual transmission SouthBend Clutch 3600 lb. 12 cb dual disk clutch SouthBend Clutch hydraulic clutch upgrade NP243 electronic transfer case AAM 925 front axle (Dana 60 equivalent) Dynatrac manual hub conversion with 35 spline outers and Warn hubs AAM 1150 rear axle (Dana 80 equivalent) with disc brakes 3.73:1 gears	Stereo Eclipse AVN7000 in-dash navigation/GPS/DVD head unit Parrot handsfree bluetooth cell phone interface Ipod controller and Sirius satellite radio boxes for head unit control Infinity 3.5" coax front dash replacement speakers Infinity 6x9" coax front door panel replacement speakers Infinity 6.5" component set in rear door panels Kicker 10 inch subs under backseat in custom box Kicker 700w 4-channel amp for mids and highs Kicker 650w mono amp for subs Stinger amp wiring kits with 1 farad capacitor with digital voltmeter
Suspension Skyjacker 4.5" lift with rear spring replacements King remote reservoir 2.5" shocks, custom valved, 12 inch travel Superlift sway bar links, Skyjacker sway bar drop brackets removed	Protection Road Armor stealth series front bumper with prerunner light bar Road Armor stealth series rear bumper Bushwacker "Extend-a-Fender" fender flares
Steering DSS steering brace PSC steering box tapped for hydro PSC hydro assist cylinder ThurenFab crossover steering ThurenFab adjustable track bar Quad4x4 replacement ball joints Tires and Wheels 17x10 MHT Luxury Alloys NT-1 wheels, 4.5" backspacing 37x12.50r17 BFGoodrich All Terrains currently 37x13.50r17 Toyo MT's ready to go on 37x12.50r17 BFG's on stock wheels as spares	Miscellaneous Warn 16,500 lb electric winch Kodiak Sidewinder steps on all four doors Eclipse back-up camera SRT-10 hood SRT-10 shifter knob B&W Turnover gooseneck hitch (removable ball) 3M protected rocker panels Husky floor liners front and rear 5% tinted windows Billet front door panel inserts (replace the red reflectors) Ventvisors on all four doors Sliding rear window Drop-in bedliner and tailgate protector Electronic brake controller for my 36 foot dual tandem flatbed

What's Next?

As I'm sure you can tell, I don't leave things alone. The truck runs great and looks
great right now but I have much bigger things in store for this Cummins. In the very
near future, I'm going to be upgrading all of the brakes because I've had some problems
with the stock rotors and pads for several months now. I'm looking at upgrading with
EGR Performance Brakes products like I did on the blue Dodge. That would give me
slotted rotors, carbon kevlar pads, stainless braided brake lines, and blueprinted calipers.
However, the stock brakes do work very well when they work, so I might just stick with
stock replacements for once in my life. I am also going to put some Firestone Ride Rite
airbags in the rear suspension to help level things out when I tow and hook up to the
sled. They are virtually non-existent when aired down but you can quickly air them up
and help support your rear suspension quite a bit.

I will also be working on a custom long arm setup for the front suspension with Don
Thuren of Thuren Fabrication. We've talked about it and there isn't anything really nice
available for the 3rd gen trucks yet, and Don has the skills and knowledge to put together
a long arm system that will blow away the competition. My truck will be the lab rat, getting
cut and measured, and finally, upgraded with Don's 3rd gen long arms.

After the long arms, I will put the Toyo MT's on because I'll be able to push my front axle
forward about an inch and get a little more room for the larger Toyos. That will also give
me more positive caster and the truck will ride like a Cadillac. Once the Toyos are on, I
will be looking into ARB air lockers for both differentials. Right now, they are only made
for the front axle, but I've heard that we should see a locker for the AAM 1150 rear axle
sometime in 2007. With lockers front and rear, I'll have twice the traction and my sled
pulling will be much more impressive.

Speaking of sled pulling, it is to blame for my long term goals with this truck. My truck
runs great but it's not winning like it should, so I will be visiting Haisley Machine in
Indiana in the future for some ATS twin turbos, larger injectors, new intercooler, and
much more. I'm just going to go all out. The nice thing about twins is that you can
still drive the truck on the street, even though you can put down some serious power.
I don't know what the truck has for numbers right now, but I'm looking to hit about 600
horsepower at the rear wheels with the twins, with only #2 diesel fuel. That is my goal.
I'm shooting for an extremely reliable, high horsepower daily driver and tow rig. Cummins
makes it easy to do, all it takes is a little time and a lot of money. I wish it was the other way
around, but then everybody would be driving around an 11 second 4 wheel drive.

Recent Pictures

Getting towed home after cracking the injectors