Towing but spare is a pain...

From : gene

Q: anyone plow with a dakota am thinking of buying one to plow a small condo complex with short narrow drives and streets. any thoughts fred never plowed with a dakota but...............a couple of thoughts come to mind. short narrow drives and streets are a pia. no place for the snow to roll off the blade you have to have some weight and grunt to push the snow and stack it. also if you have to back drag a light plow on a dakota probably wont do it. commercial plowing is best done with a properly optioned 3/4 ton or bigger truck. i wouldnt want to be out in one of those 2-3 inch per hour storms with a dakota. but thats me you on the other hand...... roy .

Replies:

From : detailing dude

i just purchased an 05 ram 1500 qc 4x4 slt w/4.7 l 3.92 rear. i tow a popup camper and have a question about the brake controller harness and factory 7 pin trailer plug. the truck did not come with the factory tow package so all i have is the flat 4 connector under the bumper. ive heard that the brake controller plug is under the dash near the brake pedal. when i look there i see a wiring block near the emergency brake pedal with a blue 4 pin plug. is this the brake controller harness since i have the flat four can i purchase a factory 7 pin harness and if so does it simply plug in somewhere under the truck i have no problem wiring up the 12v and brake line if need be - just wondering if the the truck was pre-wired for the 7 pin plug already. todd .

From : big al

as far as a vacuum pump. i use an old refrigerator compressor. you will never under the best of circumstances achieve anywhere near not even close to the 500 micron target with a refrigerator compressor. you might think it works great for you and thats fine and well but dont mislead others into thinking your way works because it doesnt. it might enable you to get cool air from your vents but its not as cool as it would be if it were done right.....and your components wont last as long as they should. you arent pulling a deep enough vacuum to evacuate all moisture and non-condensables. sure it might get you by and im not busting your chops on this. i just dont want others to think this is an accepable alternative. -- nathan w. collier http//inlinediesel.com http//7slotgrille.com http//utilityoffroad.com http//bighornrefrigeration.com .

From : bob

if you look on the window sticker it will tell you the dealer it was shipped to. im doubting that any dc dealership would be selling water damaged cars. one never knows though but i would guess that its a semi-normal occurance. is anyone else experiencing problems with rusting seat brackets under the seats. i noticed the brackets under my front seats and the dealer replaced them under warranty. however my back seat brackets are also rusting . i guess im wondering if this sold as new truck might have been partially submerged. i cant imagine rust forming on metals that are in a dry cab and protected from the elements by not only the cab itself but also the seats. gary the metal parts used in the seat frames etc. are bare and not painted or treated against corrosion. rust appearing on the surface of these parts is not uncommon and will happen due to humidity etc. cmon you mean that your heated girly girly seats are going to rust vbg seriously though i aint buying it. but then again you see them all the time i dont. i never had rust on my seat brackets on any dc trucks. keep in mind that the carpet gets wet with snow in the winter so the bracket nearest the door should show signs but they dont. this guy is talking about his seat back as well. roy mike .

From : Annonymous

dale i said factory flaps not factory installed. i installed them and simply followed the directions that came with them. i have an 04 3500 dually with the cummins. there are no holes in the sheet metal front or back. i believe i still have the installation directions. i will look for them and make copies if you like but these are dodge rubber mud flaps. now i also have a set new in the box of husky brand that i bought and ill give them away free because of the same problem. steve steve i have never seen factory installed flaps. all the dodge trucks sitting in lots have no mud flaps on them or rubber mud flaps with the dealers name printed on apiece of stainless steel attached to the flap. these flaps each have 4 hex head screws holding them on. quess what they had to drill holes on the truck wheel well lip to put them on. today i seen a customers ford f350 have chrome wheel well mouldings. just like the ones i had on but instead of screwing them on they had some sort of a clip holding them in place. steve i would like to know more about these mud flaps you have them dont get screwed on. whats a ctd cummins turbo diesel dale lusardi stevenospam@lusardi.de wrote dale all the late model cars use very light guage sheet steel to save weight. however all the sheet metal is coated at the factory before final paint. chips in the paint will not cause rust. simple touchup paint suffices. obviously any chips that deform the metal has the potential to damage the coating. this coating is also applied to the flooring panels as well. i think any holes drilled or punched anywhere on the vehicle is a risk and should not be done. the mudflaps on my 04 ctd are factory flaps and do not mount to the sheet metal. they have special fasteners that mount to the plastic polypropolene inner fenders. some of the responders have mentioned rhino liner and other similar products. yes they are very good but they add a lot of weight and they have the potential to create cavities that can collect water without detection because of poor bonding due to oil and grease not properly cleaned first. my comment about ford is only partially correct. i apologize. ford has no equivelent to the cummins. the power stroke isnt even in the same league. however i wasnt thinking about their gas engines. the ford v8s are much better that the dodge competition. maybe the hemi will prove itself but im not buying one yet. ok steve what would you put on your truck to protect it from stone chips like you got to have mud flaps so you have to drill a couple of holes to install them right. how about protecting the wheel well lips. do you leave the metal bare and use touch up the paint once in awhile for any chips im asking these questions because im going to get it painted and not putting anything back on. i have the mopar running boards they are ok and they are mounted to the underside. they help prevent damage to the rocker panel. fmb suggested xliner will look into that. as for assuming responsibility for my actions you are wrong on that part. dodge sold me the wheel well covers even though they werent mopar and installed them for me. like if they told me not to put them on and why i would of never had them put on. yesterday the sales manager told me that they now realize they should be taken off once in awhile and cleaned. they are finding out im not the only one having trouble. only mine the paint started to lift and surface rust is showing up. and also they are still installling them. and im not in denial ford trucks are not an inferior product. lusardi stevenospam@lusardi.de wrote dale there are times when common sense applies and this is one. yes the installer should have known better but so should you. anytime the paint and or the zinc coating is violated you risk this problem. when i received my 2004 the first thing i did was put the truck up on jack stands and looked for all those things the factory didnt paint and properly protect. the factory had done a pretty good job in comparison to both ford and gm and it still took me 3 days to dissassemble paint and reinstall. ultimately the vehicle is yours. you bought it and you also bought all the problems or advantages that come with it. step up to the mirror and address the guy you see and tell him to assume responsibility for his actions. furthermore if you use this as justification to switch to ford and a clearly inferior product you are in denial. steve my 2003 has rust. i had chrome wheel well covers put on by the dodge dealership where i bought the truck new. also had moulded dodge mud flaps put on.put these on to protect the truck from stone chips. just a couple weeks ago i took of the flaps off to clean them. some sand got trapped inside the flaps and washed them. then i decided to take the chrome wheel well covers of to see if anything needed