Tim Smith ordered his 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 in 1994. Eight months later he took delivery at Jasper Jeep Sales in Jasper, Georgia. It was and still is the truck of his dreams. Smith has no plans to ever part with his ultra-faithful, long-time vehicular companion.
When Smith took delivery on June 7, 1995, his new Dodge had 14 miles on the odometer and a sticker price of $32,000. Smith got a deal. He paid a measly $28,900.59 for the big red truck.
Smith describes his Dodge pickup, with respect, as a 1-ton, four-wheel drive, extended cab, long bed pickup with dual rear wheels. It’s equipped with a 5.9 Cummins diesel and a five-speed standard transmission.
“It’s actually a four-speed with a granny gear that you hardly ever use,” said Smith. “You use the granny gear if you’re pulling a load up a mountain.”
Originally, Smith bought the super heavy-duty truck with the idea of pulling hot shot trailers with relatively light loads for short hauls like construction equipment, bulldozers, backhoes, and excavators. That never happened but Smith kept the truck, just in case.
Long before Smith relocated to Virginia Beach more than two decades ago, his Ram super duty pickup, named Big Red, was already an integral part of the Smith family.
Other than a rusted rear bumper, a slightly torn section of the driver’s seat, and a couple of small dents in the hood, Smith’s 28-year-old Dodge Ram looks almost as fine as it did when the black and red pickup first rolled off the assembly line in Mexico.
“The first time I drove this truck to work at night. I worked nights then. I had this young kid come over to me. It just blew his mind,” Smith said. “He said it was the ‘baddest’ truck he had ever seen with all the clearance and fender lights.”
“Yeah, she does look pretty good,” Smith thought. He was totally satisfied with his impressive new acquisition. Almost three decades later, Tim Smith is still completely satisfied with his tough, dependable Dodge Ram. It was a match made in Mexico.
When a friend from Kentucky asked Smith if he ever thought about selling Big Red, Smith told him “not really.” Smith was thinking his truck might be worth only $5,000 to $6,000 at the time.
“I got 20 people back in Massimo, Kentucky, who would fight with each other to hand you $20,000 for the truck,” said his friend.
While Tim Smith began to consider that his Ram might be worth far more to some people than he thought, he didn’t allow dollar signs to cloud his judgment, or convince him to part with the Ram.
“I bought it because I thought it was the best truck for the money at the time. And I think it still is,” said Smith. “I make things last. That’s why I got a 28-year-old pick-up and a 23-year-old riding lawn mower. I make things last.”
His Dodge pickup was only in the shop one time for repairs under warranty, for a rear end seal. It took the dealership two weeks to fix it. After that Smith decided that if his truck needed repairs in the future, he would take care of them himself. The truck never again went into the shop for warranty repairs.
Tim Smith is a professional truck driver by trade, but he’s not a certified mechanic. When it comes to repairing Big Red, or anything else with a motor, Smith is resourceful and determined. He’s not afraid of hard work or getting greasy.
“I think the biggest thing with any vehicle is how you treat it, how you drive it, and the proper maintenance,” said Smith. “The biggest thing is not abusing it.”
Whether his Dodge needed ball joints or brakes replaced, Smith handled it. No repair job was too big for Tim Smith. When hydraulic brake lines rusted out in his pickup, he bought new lines, bent them to the original specifications, and made the repair. His Cummins diesel developed occasional oil leaks, and Smith dove into the engine compartment and resolved them one at a time.
Currently, Big Red has 221,000 miles on the odometer. Smith’s longest trip in the Dodge Ram took his family from Conyers, Georgia to Traverse City, Michigan and back to visit his wife’s grandmother. It was snowing. It was cold. Smith really needed his four-wheel drive. Via Interstate 65, the Smiths’ trip from Conyers to Traverse City and back took over 28 hours and covered a total of over 1,900 miles.
When Smith took delivery on the Ram, it was fully loaded with air-conditioning and an Infinity stereo with eight speakers. It had electric windows and electric locks. It had a cloth interior and carpet. Smith ordered the pickup with a split front seat and a factory tow package. Everything still works except the stereo.
“The paint job is red on top, black on the bottom. It’s about 90 percent red,” said Smith. “It has a black hood, black top, black around the top of the bed. I think they called that a ‘waterfall.’ I liked the way it looked in the brochures I looked at. That was the color I wanted.”
Over the decades, Smith has used the truck for hauling his wife, kids and dogs. He’s hauled a few goose-neck trailers with it and some cows for a friend. Smith’s hauled metal roofing for repairing a property he owned. He also uses a 7 ½ by 17-foot cargo trailer to haul personal gear.
“Basically, I used that trailer to haul my daughter to college and in and out of medical school,” said Smith. “She went to Radford and medical college in West Virginia so there was a little snow involved.”
Smith characterizes the motor and the truck itself as very dependable. It has been better than he ever expected. He never dreamed that he’d get 28 years out of a clutch. He’s pulled some pretty good loads. No trouble with the transmission, no trouble with the clutch, and actually no trouble with the motor other than a few oil leaks.
Not just anyone is going to drive Big Red. Smith has serious reservations about allowing others to drive his truck. His wife Trish is an exception. Smith has allowed probably three people to drive the truck since he has owned it.
This Dodge Ram has no computer. It’s all mechanical, easy to work on, and doesn’t cost much to fix. It has been practically bullet proof over the years.
A new fully-loaded Dodge Ram dually one-ton comparable to Smith’s veteran super pickup would probably cost between $80,000 and $100,000 – with a few added electronic options.
“It’s absolutely cheaper to keep her, and I ain’t getting rid of the old girl,” said Smith. “I’m not just going to give her to somebody who is not going to appreciate her. I’m serious. I don’t want anyone else to have her.”
To Smith, his truck is much more than just a good-looking old pickup. For nearly three decades, the dependable vehicle has been an integral part of Smith’s life and family.
“The real reason I’m going to keep her is that I like her. Even if a bought a new truck, she’s going to stay right here,” said Tim Smith. “I’ll even walk by and pat her on the tailgate once in a while.”
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