Diesel Bombers - 300k plus trucks

1995 Dodge Logs 1 million miles

Tom Olding, Fort Recovery, Ohio, thinks the head gasket may be going out on the engine in his 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 Diesel.
That might make it a "worst buy" canidate except for the fact that this truck just recently passed the 1 million mile mark and the enging has never been touched. Nearly everthing about the pickup is origional. "I bought it new when it came out in 1994," he says, aoubt the extended cab pickup with a Cummins Diesel.
Olding can't say enough good things aobut that engine. "I've changed the oil every 9000 miles , and I've replaced the fuel pump on it at about 750000 miles. I've worn out a couple clutches, and fifth gear has gone out of the transmision twice," he says.
"But with more than a million miles on the pickup, I'd have to say I've gotten my money's worth out of it."
He has used the pickup to deliver Airstream travel trailers from the factroy to dealers, driving for KBT Trucking Go. He delivers an average of about one trailer a week, logging somewhere around 110000 miles per year.
He believes he holds the record for most miles on a pickup with the original engine. "I didn't start out to put that many miles on it," he says. "I've worked for KBT for going on 15 years, and started out with a Ford F-350 with a diesel engine. I put 572000 miles on it before I replaced it with another F-350. The engine on the second one started smoking after only aobut 240000 miles so I traded it on the 1995 Dodge.
"When the Dodge passed up my first Ford I figured I'd put 600000 miles on it . It kept going strong, so every time I passed another 100000 mile mark I'd decide to go for the next one. It wasn't long before it had 900000 miles on it and I figured I might as well drive it a million miles," he says.
When he passed his goal, he bought another 3500 Dodge Ram with the same engine. "I found a 1996 that had only 160000 miles on it. It had been well-maintained, and I figured it might be as good as the older one."
He now uses the well-traveled pickup for shorter trips, but says he still wouldn't be affraid to head off on a long delivery with it. "It doesn't have the power it did when it was new, but it'll still handle a 26 ft travel trailer just fine," he says.
Cummins Diesel Engine Co. invited him to display his 1 million mile pickup at the plant in Columbus, Indiana in May when the company celbrated the production of its millionth engine. A video commemerating the occasion will include footage of Olding's Cummins powered pickup.