1996 Dodge Ram 3500

Pickup Truck

5.9 Liter 12-Valve Cummins Turbo Diesel

Automatic

3B7MC33C7TM115518

Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed

Diesel

Sorry to all of you who were bidding on or watching this unique haul truck when it was posted this past Sunday night. Ebay removed my original listing because I listed the title as CLEAR. I did this because this truck does in fact have a clean, clear, non-branded Georgia title... just like any other clean, clear GA title on any other vehicle in this state. However, as I will detail below, this truck was a nearly damage free theft recovery several years ago. The insurance company had already paid the owner for the theft of their truck, prior to it being recovered. Once the truck was located & recovered, the insurance company owned the truck & sold it at auction. Because a total loss claim was paid by an insurance company on this vehicle, AutoCheck considers it a (rebuilt) vehicle. Even though the truck was not wrecked or severely damaged. The State Of GA inspected this truck after the frame was stretched to accommodate the sleeper. The inspector could find nothing wrong with this vehicle & issued this truck a clean, clear, non-branded, totally normal, completely transferable..... 100% perfect Georgia Certificate Of Title. I have the title in my possession. Both AutoCheck & CarFax show this truck to have an CLEAN GA Title now. So here the truck is again. Same truck. Same perfectly clear title. But eBay requires me to list the title as being rebuilt, rebuildable, reconstructed. I have sold 100's of vehicles that have went to buyer's all over the world. No one has ever had a problem with a title they have received from me. You won't either. The title for this Dodge is EXACTLY the same as any other GA title. It is NOT a rebuilt title. Hello, let me start by saying that I realize how stressful it can be to buy anything sight un-seen. I don't think a paragraph & 1 or 2 pictures is enough to accurately describe an item of any kind, let alone a motor vehicle. I understand that you may be in a different state or even a different Country & therefore are unable to come view this Ford in person. I want you to know everything I know about anything I offer for sale. For that reason, my postings tend to be a little on the long side. I also post 24 super sized pictures. Please take the time to read the item description & view the pictures. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. All will be answered promptly. I have sold diesel trucks to buyers all over the world. All members who have bought diesels from me have been extremely pleased with my performance & the items they have purchased from me, I'm sure you will be as well. Description- These days it seems like no one can build a new diesel pick-up that you can depend on. Every diesel from Ford, Chevrolet & Dodge have MAJOR problems that make the trucks unreliable & expensive to keep running. So those of us who have been through the headache of owning a late model truck are going back to the tried & trued, always ready to work, never let you down, run forever.... 5.9 liter Cummins powered Dodges! The problem is, most of the 5.9's have a million miles on them & are nearing the end of their useful lives. Or they are simply worn out from years of hard work. Or rusted out from salt exposure. BUT THIS ONE IS NONE OF THOSE THINGS! This purpose built custom hauler is ready to work! The truck was purchased from an insurance auction by a well known custom car / race car builder here in GA, a few years ago. It was a theft recovery & had NO damage, other than a minor dent in the passenger side front fender. The damage was so minor that the original fender was able to be repaired & repainted. (if you look very closely you can see that the new paint is a touch lighter than the aged original paint) The truck was purchased for the sole purpose of building a reliable, economical, custom hauler. A 12-Valve 5.9 Liter Cummins Turbo-Diesel powered Dodge was specifically selected for this build. These engines are legendary. When it comes to fuel economy, they can't be beat. When it comes to reliability, they can't be beat. When it comes to longevity, they can't be beat. Finally, when it comes to pure, smooth, pulling POWER..... you simply can't beat this engine! You may be thinking "why not just pull with a standard dually? Who needs a sleeper?" Well...... A lot of you may not know this, but it is illegal in most states for you to sleep in your truck, unless your truck is equipped with a DOT approved sleeper. Many truck stops will not allow you to use their facilities unless your truck is equipped with a DOT approved sleeper. You can't even sleep in a government maintained highway rest area without a sleeper. The DOT & other highway law enforcement officials have cracked down on independent shippers in recent years for violating this rule. It can be an expensive & time consuming hassle. You could stay in a hotel every time you sleep but that would put a huge dent in your profit on every single load! You could bite the bullet & buy a road tractor fitted with a sleeper, but then you must have a CDL & deal with all the hassles that go along with it. Plus, cost of operation & maintenance are astronomical on a Big Rig. That is why this Little Rig was built! A sleeper was located that would match well to the dimensions of this Dodge, plus meet all of the DOT requirements. The truck was pulled into the shop & the PROFESSIONAL fabricators went to work. EVERYTHING WAS DONE RIGHT ! ! ! This is NOT a hack job done in some guys backyard. The frame stretch is beautiful. This haul truck tracks as straight as an arrow down the freeway! A 90 gallon auxiliary fuel tank was mounted in the bed & piped into the factory tank. Flow from the auxiliary tank is controlled by a manual valve & can be monitored using the factory fuel gauge. A top of the line, 16,000 lbs Reese 5th wheel hitch was also installed. After the hauler conversion was completed, the truck was inspected by the State Of Georgia & issued a Clean, Clear, Georgia Certificate Of Title. The truck was used to haul custom cars for a short time & then used to haul Hot Shots, uShip, loads for a short time. It performed great! Recently the race car side of the builder's business increased so there was no time to operate a haul truck. It was offered to me & knowing the quality of this truck, I bought it on the spot. I planned to put a driver in the truck transporting vehicles for eBay customers but have not had time to devote to setting up that part of my business. I am now being forced to move my shop & need to free up space. I have sold dozens of diesel vehicles here on eBay. You can view some of those listings & the great feedbacks left for me by clicking on my feedback rating. I had planned to keep this SUPER STRONG haul truck forever. But things change so here it is with NO RESERVE! Don't miss it! These trucks are extremely hard to find!!! DRIVETRAIN- This truck is powered by the legendary 12-valve Cummins 5.9 liter in-line 6-cylinder turbo diesel. In my opinion, these are among the best engines ever put into a pickup truck. They have all the power you could ever want for all of your towing needs. They get extraordinarily good fuel mileage. They are low maintenance & are known for their long lives. It is not uncommon to see a 5.9 going strong after 700,000 miles! The Cummins in this RAM3500 is strong. It starts easily. Just let the glow plug light go off & hit the key. The engine fires right up every time. This diesel will run all day without missing a beat. It does not skip, stumble, shake, shutter, smoke etc... It does not overheat & runs great oil pressure at operation temperature. There is absolutely no blow-by & I see no fluid leaks. With only 256,000 miles this diesel truly is just getting broken in! The engine is bone stock. No one has modified anything. This 5.9 is just as the Cummins engineers designed it to be. Sure, you can get more power out of this diesel. Sure you can get more fuel mileage out of it. But wouldn't YOU rather be the one to choose & perform the modifications? That way you know they are right for your application & you can be sure the work was done properly. The Ram Heavy Duty, 3 speed automatic transmission with overdrive & lock-up torque converter, is also in perfect working order. No abnormal noises. No jerking or hard shifts. No slipping or soft shifts. Just a smooth & quiet shift though all gears at all speed. Overdrive works just as it should. The lock-up torque converter works just as it should. These design features act like 2 additional gears. So in effect, this is a five speed automatic transmission. Which works very well behind the 5.9 Cummins & is perfectly suited for a freight hauler. This truck is factory equipped with the optional limited slip (anti-spin) rear end that is completely smooth & quiet. 3:55 gears insure that this baby semi truck will cruise down the freeway at low RPM's! That means less wear on the engine & LESS FUEL CONSUMPTION! The steering & suspension components all feel nice & tight. The truck holds the road well. No dipping, darting or wondering around. The tires all have 70-80% tread life remaining! They are all matching & have a nice straight road tread which provides you with a smooth, quiet ride. There is no feathering, cupping, cracking & all are wearing evenly. The brakes do not pulsate & stop this big truck straight & true. There is a nice trailer brake controller in the cab. Mechanically this entire truck seems to be in excellent condition. BODY & PAINT- As you can see, this is a nice looking vehicle! All of the body panels line up as they should. The door, hood & tailgate hinges & latches are nice & tight. As to be expected there are a few minor dings, scratches & rock chips here & there. The worst of these is a very small piece missing from the lower edge of the rear dually fender, just behind the driver rear tire. It is not very noticeable unless you are on the ground looking up, so I have not tried repair it. The body is solid as a rock. No rust repair. No rotten places. I have noticed a small amount of surface corrosion in a few places. Nothing to be concerned about. No rust through. Just some staining & bubbles here & there. Nothing a little touch-up paint can't take care of. The truck is solid! The underside is as clean as the top side. Overall this truck is in far above average condition. It is easy to see this vehicle has been cared for. I did nothing more than hand wash & dry the truck & you can see by the pictures that the paint still has a great shine. I did not have the truck buffed or waxed & didn't touch up any chips or scratches as I wanted you to see the truck as it looks everyday. Just imagine how nice it would be with a good detail job! INTERIOR & OPTIONS- The inside of this truck is as nice as the outside. The full rear bench seat will accommodate 3 adults comfortably & will also fold up to allow for large cargo or luggage to be stored inside the truck's cab. The rear seat upholstery is perfect. The 3-way split front bench will seat 3 adults comfortably or fold down the large center console & it is just like having buckets. Both the driver side & passenger side seats are fully independant of each other & both have fully adjustable backrests. The driver's seat is also power. The front seats in this Dodge are just like new! Most that I've seen are ripped or have been repaired on the driver's side from getting in & out over the years. The seat in this dodge shows NO WEAR! No rips! No repairs! This is a good indication that all of the miles put on this vehicle have been freeway miles! Another good indication is the lack of wear on the brake pedal. Applying the brakes frequently at red lights & when making turns causes the brake pedal pad to wear thin over the years. The brake pedal in this Dodge shows LITTLE TO NO WEAR! So even though this truck has what most people would call (high mileage) you can bet that all of the miles were made during freeway driving which is far easier on the vehicle than in-town driving. Lack of wear on the seat & lack of wear on the pedal equals lack of wear on every other part of this truck! As with most 1994 - 2002 Dodge trucks, this one has a few cracks in the dash. They are not as bad as many I have seen & most people would never notice them. However, I found a company who makes a molded nylon cover for these dashes which has the same look, feel & texture of the factory dash. I bought one for my Dad's truck & it made the dash look just like new again. You can't tell it is a cover at all. Personally the cracks don't bother me at all but I do have the info in case you decide you'd like to order a cover. Because this is an SLT Laramie it is loaded. It has chrome bumpers & trim. It has the deluxe cloth power seats. It has power windows, power locks, tilt steering, cruise control, full instrumentation, intermittant wipers, premium sound system with CD etc... There are no cracks in any of the glass. All of the power options work just as they should. This truck has ice cold a/c & toasty warm heat. This rare vehicle still retains all of it's factory manuals & booklets! There is a nice set of full length diamond plate running boards. They run all the way up to the rear wheel opening. Which makes climbing into the bed for trailer hook-up a breeze! There are no cracks in the windshield or any of the other glasses or mirrors. The mirrors are actually factory towing mirrors from a much newer Dodge. They work great for seeing your trailer around the sleeper. The original truck mirrors are included. SLEEPER- This is a factory built, flat top, single sleeper which came from a lightly used road tractor. It mates to the dodge body very nicely! Not too wide. Not too tall. Just right. I have seen pick-up / sleeper conversions around that serve their purpose well enough but just look horrible. Way to big for the truck they are mounted on. No aerodynamics. Just a big, boxy, wind brake which slows you down & kills your fuel mileage! This one is NOT like that at all. This truck looks as if it was born with the sleeper installed. This is a good lookin haul truck! I have owned dozens of 12-valve Dodges & can tell no difference in fuel mileage between this truck & one without a sleeper. This Dodge will average 20 miles per gallon empty! The sleeping area is accessed through the whole left when the rear glass was removed from the cab. No cuts or modifications were made to the back of the cab. If you ever lost the need for the sleeper, simply remove it & re-install the factory back glass. Inside the sleeping area is exceptionally clean! It looks as though no one has ever been inside. The entire interior is factory insulated & covered with heavy duty vinyl. The sleeper mattress is like new & covered in matching hypo-allergenic velour. There is plenty of ventilation. There is working d/c lighting. There are previsions to install an inverter for a/c power. There is a heavy duty divider curtain between the truck cab & sleeper which cuts down on noise & blocks out all light. Making it easy to sleep in a crowded truck stop or even while your partner is driving! This extended cab Ram still retains it's original front & rear seat so there is seating for 6 adults in the cab if needed. Passengers can also legally ride in the sleeper, since it is a DOT approved unit, complete with safety belts. So there is plently of seating should you need it. Or plently of room for you, your partner & your luggage to stretch out & travel in comfort! * This is a TRUE auction! * NO RESERVE! * Low starting bid! * You set the final price! * Bid what you think the truck is worth to you! * If you are the high bidder at the end... YOU WIN! BIDDING- Please only bid what you are prepared to pay for this vehicle. Anyone wishing to inspect the truck or have the truck inspected is welcome to do so but inspections must be completed prior to bidding & prior to auction's end. If you have little or no feedback please contact me prior to bidding. I realize everyone has to start somewhere & welcome your business but I must verify that you are a serious buyer if you have little or no buying history. I have encountered a couple of crooks/ scammers here on eBay who have cost me both time & money. This will no longer be tolerated so if you are not a SERIOUS buyer, PLEASE MOVE ON. All members with a genuine interest in this vehicle are more than welcome to ask questions. All will be answered promptly. If you look at my feedback comments you will see that all of the REAL buyers have been very happy after dealing with me. Many of the comments are from people who have been very happy with diesel trucks they have bought from me. SHIPPING- Shipping costs & arrangements are the responsibility of the buyer. However, I have assisted buyers & their shippers in the pickup of several vehicles over the years. I can recommend several shippers who have performed well for buyers in the past but you will have to make your own arrangements with them. I will work with you & your shipper so that they can get this truck to you as fast & cost effectively as possible. As always, you are more than welcome to pick this vehicle up in person. I will be happy to pick you up at the Atlanta Airport or local Amtrac station, free of charge. Or rent a car, drive here, turn it in at the local rental car office & I will pick you up so you can drive this truck home. If you happen to reside in Canada, I will send all of your paperwork to your chosen boarder crossing prior to you flying in. That way you will have no delay with customs as you drive the truck across the boarder. I am happy to assist you in any way I can, should you decide this is the truck for you & win this auction. I was very fortunate to find this haul truck. I had planned to keep it forever but now need the space. This is one of those vehicles that doesn't come along very often. It is hard enough to find a clean 5.9 Cummins... but to find one equipped like this is nearly impossible! This extremely capable Dodge was built to handle the toughest jobs & because it is powered by a 12-Valve Cummins Diesel... you know it's going to get the job done & get you back home, day after day, without all the b/s that happens to the newer trucks! A new truck can't compete with this 96 model. But a similarly equipped, NEW RAM3500, would cost you somewhere in the $50,000 range, without a sleeper! This Dodge is not new but it is mechanically sound, structurally solid, properly finished out & ready to work! Best of all, this amazing haul truck is going to sell at a small fraction of what a new truck would cost! Whether you want to start a hotshots freight hauling business & fight in the Shipping Wars... or you need to pull your Bobcat or other equipment to the job-site, or your camper cross country, or tow your boat to the lake or coast, or your race car to the track, or classic car to the show, or transport vehicles with your 1,2,3 or even 4 car trailer, or get your livestock to market. No matter what the job is, this great looking Dodge Diesel will get it done in comfort & style! It's a well thought out haul truck that is perfectly suited for many tasks. I'm sure you will love it! Thanks for your interest in my Dodge. Please remember, this is a NO RESERVE sale. High bidder will win. I hope you get it! JD This vehicle is being sold as is, where is with no warranty, expressed written or implied. The seller shall not be responsible for the correct description, authenticity, genuineness, or defects herein, and makes no warranty in connection therewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection, defect or damage. Any descriptions or representations are for identification purposes only and are not to be construed as a warranty of any type. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and to have satisfied himself or herself as to the condition and value and to bid based upon that judgement solely. The seller shall and will make every reasonable effort to disclose any known defects associated with this vehicle at the buyer's request prior to the close of sale. Seller assumes no responsibility for any repairs regardless of any oral statements about the vehicle. Jurisdiction over this sale & any related matters is now & shall forever remain exclusive to Jackson County Georgia. By placing a bid you agree to all terms laid out in this contract.