2003 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Diesel

Life has never been easy for Greg Boardman's '03 Dodge 3500. But, it has become a lot of fun. Born as a dual rear-wheel 1-ton work truck, Greg's Dodge was destined for a life of towing and hauling until Greg met Kent Kroeker of KORE Performance. Greg was blown away by Kent's black diesel desert race Dodge and knew right away his truck's dualie days were over.

Off came the tires, wheel adapters, and dualie bed. On went KORE's Baja 1000-proven suspension and Toyo Open Country tires. The Dodge's life wasn't about to get any easier-just a lot dirtier. Greg was committed to building a truck he could drive off-road on a 2,000-mile round trip without having any mechanical failures. Along the way, he bent, busted, or destroyed the front axle twice, the rear axle once, and the original clutch. As expected, the factory 5.9L Cummins, NV4500 five-speed and NV271 transfer case have held up to everything Greg could throw at them in 75,000 miles-so far, anyway.

Now Greg's Dodge leads a life of action. In fact, we could barely get him to keep it still long enough to take the pictures. After the sun went down on our photo shoot, Greg convinced us to go with him on his test loop where he shook the truck down and tossed it into the air a few times. Where other work trucks might get retired, this one has sprouted new wings and taken flight-sometimes, literally!

Before it evolved for its life of speed, Greg Boardman's '03 Dodge Ram 3500 actually began life as a dualie.

Under the hood, the standard output 5.9L Cummins was updated with Diesel Dynamics Stage III injectors and modified CP3 injection pump from Floor It Diesel Performance. A FASS lift pump makes sure the injection system gets all the fuel it needs under any condition. To burn that fuel, an Edge WSB turbo was bolted onto the stock exhaust manifold. And a DRC Big Honking Air Filter (BHAF) high-flow intake with paper filter was added to keep the finest dust particles out of the engine. Transmitting all the newfound power to the wheels is a South Bend dual-disc 12CB clutch in front of the NV4500 transmission.

To keep the truck functional, yet still able to take a pounding, Greg added 37x13.50R17 Toyo Open Country tires on 17x9-inch forged Weld Racing Commando Pro bead-lock wheels. To get the most out of the new tire and wheel combo, the truck was fitted with KORE's Unlimited Series suspension that lifts the front of the truck 3-1/2 inches and provides 9-1/2 inches of wheel travel. Glassworks fiberglass fenders painted by Tim Barker let the suspension cycle and add to the truck's aggressive look.