War Eagle

I don't know about what the directions say for the 2nd gen Dodge but the install directions for my '05 specifically said not to use any brand of brighter bulbs (brighter than stock) because of life and heat issues.In fact the directions say the unit is rated for 120 watts for the high and low beam on function. That is the output of the 9007 stock bulb (hi and low together)The Sylvania brand bulb is the only recommended bulb.I hope there is no problem in the future and I'll be watching very closely but I followed directions to a 'T' cause I don't want a melted assembly. If I ever lost the electronic control it should be fairly easy to go back to the stock setup. Just pop the headlight assembly out and un-connect the Brite Box connectors and plug the stock connectors back in to the headlight assembly. Probably not a 10 minute job but certainly a field doable job so I shouldn't have to be stranded.Boy the light is sure nice at night.Upgrading the fog light from the stock 1000 lumens (ea) to the new one at 1700 lumens (ea) is another very visible improvement.

Night lighting for the Dodge trucks I have sure has leftme wanting better. I decided to add the full blown Brite Box to my '05 and to upgrade the bulbs inmy fog lights. Now with my low beams on I can also use my fog lights (nothing new here overstock capability) that have the upgraded bulbs. This requires adding an adapterplug to accept the brighter capacity bulb. This gives me something like 40% more lumens that the stock bulb. Now when I turn on high beams my low beams also stay on as well as my foglights will stay on also. This required adding the Brite Box electronics aswell as necessary adapter wiring and new fused power taps going directly toeach battery to power the set up. All the power required to run these lightsgoes through new Brite Box electronics and wiring harness. The light improvement is a huge change. Here is a picture of one of the electronic boxes as well as the day light viewof the lights with low beam on and one with high beam on.

I have the free maps and traffic updates with the model that I bought. I don't pay any money to get my downloads and they have worked everytime I go to the website for the downloads.In fact I get an email telling there are map updates available for download.

I got the extension truss put together and installed and then took a couple of pictures.Look at the size of this thing extending out 48 inches from the receiver.The capacity of this extension is 6k pounds dead weight and 12k pounds with weight distributing hook up.

I bought an Edge backup camera that mates to my Edge CTS monitor. The camera comes mounted to a rear license plate frame. I haven't mounted it yet so I can't give you a picture yet but if you go th this site you can see the product marketing picture of the camera mount. http://www.edgeproducts.com/product.php?pk=129&pvk=438

My truck aslo was the heavy duty model with the camper package. The hitch is a class III which is 5k dead weight and 10k with weight distribution.The new hitch is a class V and gives me 6k dead weight capacity with a 48" extension and 12k capacity with weight distribution and 48" extension.

I use TomTom and really like it. I bought one with lots of ram so I wouldn't have to worry about limiting the maps I load on it.You have to go to the TomTom web site and look at the various models to be sure you get the one with lots of ram.Many times the good sales on are units that have limited ram or other GPS features.On my 3rd gen I have the NAV system and it has limited capability. Only gives turn by turn directions and no moving map. Very cumbersome to use compared to the TomTom. I am looking for options to replace that system but like you said the radio/nav system combos are 'mucho denaro"Haven't decided on a solution for that truck yet.

When I replaced the VP on my truck I bought from Oregon Injection and they asked me for the serial number of my truck and wanted to know if I was planning to run a chip on my truck.I was planning to put a chip on the truck and told them that. I asked why would that make a difference and they told me that they would give me a beefed up pump. I don't know if that meant HO or SO but they were emphatic about knowing whether I planned to run a chip.

Here are some pictures of the Super Hitch installed on my truck. It marries to the stock one that came with the truck. There are now two 2" receiver boxes now.The extension is formed with 2" tubes that are formed in a truss and that is where they get the capacity for a 48 inch extension. I have to assemble the extension and when I get that done I'll post some pics of it.

I got it here : JD Auto & Truck Parts, +1-508-636-7362, sales@jdautoandtruck.com 1 Insight CTS (Fits 1996 and Newer OBDII-Enabled Vehicles) (83830) @ $315.94 There was a shipping charge added.

Ok, I went with the torklift superhitch.Installed it today and it took somewhere close to 3 hours with no hoist so just working on my back.Needed another set of hands. The hitch assembles in 3 main pieces (plus all the bolts, washers brackets etc.) Wow does this thing look stout. Haven't hooked up to anything yet but it is a class V with a rated capacity of 17k pounds at the hitch and 6k pounds on the end of a 48 inch stinger.

I just bought the Hellwig sway bar to add to my '05. I opted for the Big Wig as I carry a slide in camper that moves the cg way up in the air.I had a regular Hellwig on my 2nd gen but opted to move up to the Big Wig for this new truck. Haven't installed it yet but will try to work that in over the next 3 or 4 weeks.I was surprised at how much quieter this '05 is compared to my 2nd gen. I think it is quieter on the road also. I have an '09 Camry XLE that has terrible road noise when you drive on the hiway above 65.I can listen to the radio in the truck at a much lower volume than I have to turn the radio to in the Camry when I am on the freeway.I am going to replace the stock muffler on the truck so that will probably add a few db's to the sound level.

My new (to me '05) truck didn't have any guages and is completely stock. I opted to add the CTS Insight guage to my truck. I have the CTS installed and am using and monitoring my truck paramenters that are provided through the OBD II port right now. This provides a minimum of 5 operating parameters that can be monitored but can be upped to 8 on the screen at one time. It also provides a driving coach that is an interesting feature that I have been using lately and am learning lots about driving for economy.I purchased the Edge backup camera mod, the pyro temp mod, the turbo cool down mod and I plan to add a pressure sensor mod as well. When I priced out a 4 guage set with their required sensors etc. it was more expensive than just the price I paid for the CTS insight. When I added the camera mod and the temp mod then I was nearly $100 over the price of the 4 guage set. What I get is one neat little compact package with color and a nice single futuristic looking touch screen. It has a nice stream line molded like dash mounting that doesn't clutter up my pillar or the middle of my dash or hang down from the overhead console. Nothing is wrong with these other mounts but I like the change and I am cool with the look. Yes, I know it is expensive but it has a bunch of features that I really liked and that I couldn't otherwise get without adding other devices in the cab, For instance if you get a backup camera you have to put some sort of screen inside the cab to see what the camera sees. On the CTS you see the backup camera view on the same screen the CTS uses to display the guage information. I found a web sight that I could buy the CTS Insight for a discount price of $315 and the camera mod was $175.There are other cameras on ebay and Amazon that run in the neighborhood of $99 to $125 but as I said I opted to go with the integrated set up because of the all in one screen that the CTS insght offers.I don't have all the mods hooked up yet but I am enjoying what I have working right now.

I use a slide in camper and it has 12-30 watt lights inside and uses a total of 360 watts when all the lights are turned on.I changed them all out to LEDs. I used the ones that give me a brighter color (white rather than the yellow incandesant soft color) and higher lumen output than the stock 30 watt incandesant bulb.I can now turn all the lights on and read and do fine hand work anywhere in the camper and I can see great. My load is about 40 watts total now. Great power savers and very bright light.These work great and I am very happy with the results.

I took mine to the dealer and they couldn't find a problem to fix but I still had the hunt. They did say that one of my batteries was a little low compared to the other one.We charged it up and used if for another 6 months and I still had the hunt come back. Cleaned all the electrical connections and tigthen the grounds but I still had the hunt.So I went out and bought two new batteries and have been hunt free for one year already.

I have had my set of batteries in my slide in camper for two camping seasons now and they are still going strong. I make sure to check the water level at least two times during the season and use only distilled water to fill. In the winter my camper is stored inside out of the waeather and I have used only a battery maintainer (hooked on a timer so it runs 4 hours per day). I am hoping to get 4-5 years out of my batteries. I use all LED lights inside to minimize the overall pull on the batteries and have camped off the grid for 3 days at a shot with lots a battery left. I carry a generator so when I want to fire up the microwave I can do that without any trouble. I also run a 12v tv a couples of hours each night during those off grid days.My batteries came with a 2 year full replacement warranty and 5 yr pro-rated coverage.My frig is run on propane when off grid and doesn't run on battery power. I lost a pc board that had to be replaced in the frig and that was spendy. Went out on me when I was traveling last year in a heavy thunder and lightning storm in MN.At this point in time I am happy with how everything is working.

Don't know if you were saying your mom had pancreatic cancer or not but I have lost 3 realative and friends to pacreatic cancer in the last year.It seems that it is very agressive and there is no cure. There is a specific treatment center down in Houston (MD Anderson) but it has to be caught early and then they have only been able to extend the life a little but not cure.This cancer seems to me to be a death sentence for sure.There was a book and CD created by a man that had this cancer (Randy Pausch I think, called the "Last Lecture"). It is a very helpful and uplifting to families and people dealing with this stuff.I have seen the CD and read the book and would recommend it to anyone impacted by this terrible disease.Sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I wish you and your family well.

I am not sure if it is the same size as other 3rd gens but if it might be worth a try to see if it is listed in the service manual that is located at this site. http://forum.mopar1973man.com/downloads.php?do=cat&id=19

I am wanting to set up my (new to me ) 05 to carry my slide in camper as well as pull a boat or trailer while I have the camper on.The class III hitch that comes with the vehicle won't handle the load of using an 48" extension to haul a 5-6k trailer load.So I am contimplating adding a new Class V hitch. Of course there are several to choose from but I do not have any previous experience in adding a Class V to a truck.Curt, Reese, Tork-Lift, etc., are a few I am looking at. I have used the Tork-lift camper tie downs on my 2nd gen and liked them real well and am planning to add them to my 05 as well.But the hitch is a new deal for me. Some of the hitches use a 2.5" extender bars and the Tork -lift uses 2 - 2" extenders tied together.I am leaning toward the Tork-Lift magnum hitch as it seems to be able to carry the most weight when you use a 48" extension, but this setup is about 2x what you would spend for the other class V setups (albeit it does seem to be rated to carry more weight with the 48" extension).I am interested in hearing feedback on others that use a class V with an extension and which manufacturere they use and how it works for you.Thanks

I got my rv's at FarmBoy Diesel. Paid $295 a year ago and the ride was included and no core required.

There are rebuild kits I have seen available on ebay but I don't have any experience with them to offer a testimonial.I bought a complete vacuum pump at Rock auto.They had the best price I could find.Be prepared for sticker shock when you go to pricing that pump.

Thanks for that info. I haven't dug into the problem yet but I will keep Geno's in mind if the problem is the heater element.I made my trip to Portland and back. Got 20.8 mpg (hand calculated) going and got 19.5mpg on the return trip.This is about 1mpg less than my 2nd gen on a comparable trip to Portland. Knowing that the 3rd gen is heavier than my 2nd gen and that the wheels and tires are different (265x17 vs 245x16) and the rear end ratio is different (3.73 vs 3.55) I am not feeling to bad about the mileage so far.

Ya, if there is heavy flaking rust it has to be taken off before you put the naval jelly on. If you have heavy pitted rust spots then you may have to apply more than one coat of the jelly to remove the rust.Depending on where you have the rust and how much there is, I think you can use the jelly and it would be easier than trying to get it all sandblasted off. Sand blasting will be very dirty and will get gritty stuff everywhere so you will have to take great precautions to prevent damage from the rest of the truck.I don't think the naval jelly provides any protection after you wash it off, so you will have to prime and paint or use undercoat to protect the metal.They make undercoat in the kit form so you can spray or roll it on your self if that is the way you want to go.

If the rust isn't thick and flakey then you might use naval jelly. You just paint it on and then wash it off with water after it has done its thing.

I bought a set of powerstop rotors from Auto anything and got the drilled and slotted ones for my 2nd gen. Also bought Hawks pads (the LT high performance. Been running them for about 4 years and have about 80k miles.Was worried because I have gotten some junk with China made manufacturing, but these have seemed to work fine for me and the pads are really good. If I have to anchor the truck I can really make it stopfast. Way better than the stock stuff ever was and the 2nd gen only has disks on the front.