Guinevere - our $800 Dodge Ram Expedition Rig

faraoni

New member
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This is Guinevere - she's named after the majestic pegasus-clad van from the movie Onward. My two boys named her. Guin's a 2003 Dodge Ram with a 4.7L V8 and 155K miles. It's not pretty by any means. It has four doors, a pretty nice interior (smells like fertilizer) and quite a bit of rust. It's A/C runs cold and heat runs hot. It runs well and passed Connecticut emissions testing so it's got that going for her. I'm still waiting for registration to go through. First two times didn't go so well. Waiting to hear back about round three.

I found Expedition Portal after I bought a 2012 Tacoma and had plans to go full-overland with it. With an unexpected second boy three years ago - well, plans changed and I traded that in for a parent mobile that the wife drives. I've been itching for another expedition-type vehicle since my Tacoma and I've been lurking back to the site ever since. Last year I got my six year old hooked on camping and well...

This is where Guinevere comes into the story. I've been walking passed Guin for the last six months. Big Blue has been relaxing in a neighbor's side yard and I watched the front driver's side tire slowly go flat. Months ago I had contemplated putting a note on the truck to see if the owner was willing to sell it. About two months ago I finally did it and got a call the next day. The owner was willing to let her go for $1000. I offered him $800 - replaced the flat with the spare and drove the truck 300 feet to my driveway.

Now I await my registration before I put any money into the truck. As soon as that happens the first thing on the list is new tires, fluids, and a full go-over. I've already noticed a small hole in the frame that I'll take care of pretty quickly. Found a local guy who can do it for around $200.

Anyway, I'm still figuring out what do with Guin but I'll do my best to update here. On the short list I would definitely love to have a bed rack and RTT as soon as I can. I know Rams aren't the most common here but I'm open to suggestions or input from anyone who has had one or for that matter just want to let me know what's worked or hasn't for them or what to look out for.

A Ram wasn't my first choice but for the price I think it'll do just fine. If this old thing can get me to cool places with my family and do it well with minimal issues I think it was money well spent. Onward!
 
The 4.7 is a solid power plant as long as you keep a close eye on the temperatures, don’t let it get hot, and change the oil like you are supposed to they will run for a long time. They are a little underpowered but if you’re coming from a Tacoma it’s nothing you are not already used to.


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faraoni

New member
The 4.7 is a solid power plant as long as you keep a close eye on the temperatures, don’t let it get hot, and change the oil like you are supposed to they will run for a long time. They are a little underpowered but if you’re coming from a Tacoma it’s nothing you are not already used to.


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Yeah, so far so good. Just changed the oil. I'm certainly not hot-rodding the beast but I wouldn't mind a bit more torque. I'll get to that eventually. Right now I've got a squeak from the rear when in reverse. I'm going to replace the ujoints and the differential oil next.
 
My '96 4x4 with the 5.9l had 302k miles on it when I sold it to my mechanic's son. He's still out thrashing it in the desert. Treat it right and it will last!
The pic in my sig was taken on the Steen's Mountain Rd. in Oregon.
 

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