2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins AKA Tow Pig

I have this 2003 Ram 2500 4x4 with the 6 speed manual. Relatively low miles (114xxx) and counting. It's a pretty darn nice truck. The exterior is a bit beat up, but I have a plan to rectify most of that. This will be a low key "build" thread that will mostly consist of me adding parts and attempting to do some diesel tuning. 

Long term plan is freer flowing exhaust and intake, an exhaust brake and a tuner (hopefully no blown up engines). A set of wheels, a leveling kit and some body work will likely take place as well. 

My first project is to find / build a replacement exhaust for it, as the factory unit is rusted out and literally falling apart.  Any recommendations? I'm leaning towards a 4" unit with a straight through muffler. I don't mind loud pipes, but am wanting to avoid excessive highway drone when towing. 

Pics of the pig.

Need to remove all chrome / stainless trims. I hate chrome on trucks 

I was pretty happy with MBRP on both a 7.3 Ford and Dodge/Cummins 5.9.   The MBRP 'mufflers' are right on the edge of what was acceptable to me for noise... it was noisy under heavy load on long grades, but otherwise not bad.

Don't straight pipe it.  You'll hate it on long tow days.  Everyone else will hate it too.

New 4" from the Dp back with a straight through muffler got installed yesterday.

Quiet at idle and a nice, deep tone while driving. 

Very happy with this choice

That's good.

My '95 12V had a turbo-back 4" pipe with a straight-through "muffler" (in quotes because it didn't muffle squat).  No cat (which makes a huge difference). That truck was berking loud.  Even at idle.  A co-worker eating lunch outside once told me he could still hear me over a mile away.  Even over the 6-lane highway next to the office.  Fortunately, the end of the pipe is a fair distance away on an club cab 8' bed truck, so the drone from inside wasn't bad.  I'm sure my neighbors loved me when I left for the office at 5AM. 

I've never heard of Street Max mufflers, but so far I'm impressed. At idle, there is nearly no exhaust noise and at a low RPM cruise (1200-1500), it is as quiet as my '17 Suburban. SWMBO refused to ride in the stinky and loud truck before this, and now is perfectly content in it.

3.5" downpipe to 4" adapter welded in. Not my preferred method, but since I didn't pay for it, I can't complain. 

The truck is definitely louder, and deeper, at full song, which is great. I'm excited to tow something heavy and see if it drones with a load.

Tow pig got a birthday present.  

I'm excited to try out the +100whp tune and see what happens. Most reports / dyno plots I've found show around +200 torque.

I have a line on an intake horn and am looking for a cold air intake as well. 

That is the full extent of power adders / performance boosters I'm planning at this time. Should put me in the neighborhood of 850 ft/lbs. If that isn't enough, I have bigger problems. 

I absolutely love my 2005 high output automatic truck.  It's like driving a battleship but that 8 foot bed sure is handy.  The truck has great torque and routinely gets over 20 mpg on the highway.

It has a 4" exhaust but im unsure who's it is as it was on the truck when I bought it.  It and a K&N filter are the only mods I have and all I plan to have.  I'll be interested to hear your feedback on the tune.

Good luck with the new ride!

Had to send the tuner off to be reset. The guy I got it from hadn't cleared it fully, so it was VIN locked to the truck he no longer owned. 

Got the tuner back this week, but haven't had a chance to play with it yet due to this:

That's a lot of rust for one corner. I had to remove the pads with a bar and a hammer, they were frozen in the saddles with rust. Rotors were also destroyed by rust on the inner face. Some crazy how, the calipers are just fine. They move freely, no leaks and boots look to be in good condition. 

Preliminary brake inspection showed 4mm pads, but brake performance was lacking at best. I'm glad I tore these apart to investigate!

New rotors for all four corners should be here tomorrow, then I can play with tuner. 

Also, scrapped the fifth wheel hitch install in favor of buying a new trailer and will be installing a Decked system in the back of this pig, as well as knocking out some minor body work.

New brake rotors and pads are on, tune uploaded and intake muffler removed. 

I am blown away by the amount of torque that tune added. I actually turned it down to around the midpoint because I don't need to break drivetrain stuff. 

Turbo spools almost immediately. Doesn't roll coal, just a small puff of smoke, which is perfect. 

Since Birdlady decided we need a bigger camp set up, we acquired that 24 foot bumper pull rig last weekend. I'm excited to drag it around behind this truck all summer

Does the exhaust drone with the muffler gone, or is it pretty similar on the highway?

In reply to bigeyedfish :

Whisper quiet on the highway, unless I have a heavy load behind it and a grade to pull.

We hauled our 26' camper this weekend and birdlady and I could comfortably talk quietly as we cruised at 60mph. 

Load her up on an incline and conversing will have to wait until I come out of the throttle.

In reply to birdmayne :

We have a 32' that weighs a little over 8000 lbs and my truck tows it really well.  Some of that is attributable to the powertrain and some to the extra-long wheelbase.

Glad you're pleased with the tune!

In reply to Loweguy5 :

It completely changed the driving characteristics of this truck. 

I keep reading that the stock airbox is good to 500 hp, so I'll likely leave that alone. I don't see any need to add more power to this truck, especially with the heavy 6 speed trans. It's closer to driving a semi than a sports car, in terms of shifting. More power won't necessarily make it quicker, just adds drivetrain shock if I miss a shift. 

Since I no longer need a fifth wheel hitch, Tow Pig got a new (to me) storage solution.

I'd like to put a larger box up front to fill the gap, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this. 

Now I need to build a truck specific tool set and keep it locked in there.

Only downside is I can't open it when hitched to our trailer, because I can't get the tailgate open all the way.

Speaking of tailgates... like the custom body work on this one?

Ya, me neither. Which is why this is happening. 

I can't find my velcro pad for my DA, so I hand sanded a couple of paint chips down. Will prime and feather soon then hit with sealer before painting. 

Just a little update. My new job gave me a Honda Ridgeline to commute in. They refer to it as my "work truck". 

I recently had the pleasure of hauling an old Ford home from Portland to Wenatchee, about 4 hrs each way. What a stark reminder of what a true "work truck" does and is.

Cruising along at highway speeds, even up steeper grades. Turbo whistle. Effortless towing and trailer braking. 

This truck is a beast, and I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate it.

"This truck is a beast, and I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate it."

As you should says your 03 DuraMaxx LB7 w ZF six speed cousin.....pssst yours is in way better shape....like it alot 

That bed toolbox setup is awesome. Does it attach to the bed or just go off weight?

In reply to 759NRNG :

Trade ya if it's a CCLB. I had an '04 2500HD but it had the 6.0 gas. Would tow my fifth wheel and trailers, but not effortlessly like this Cummins

In reply to iansane :

J hooks through factory tie downs. Really solid once installed. 

I should probably put something in it, since it's contents are comprised of dust and spiderwebs