The `84 F-250 XLT 6.9L 2WD ATS Turbo Truck, which led to the upgrade. I got about 12,000 miles out of this truck prior to the upgrade.

Following a search of Craigslist, I found a `93 Dodge D-250 LE Club Cab with the First Gen Cummins 12V Engine.  Getting this truck would make the fleet “all MOPAR.”

The `93 D-250 I found near Concow Lake, California. At this point the truck had 291k original miles on the ODO.

The price was right, so I bought it.  Hell, just BS’ing with the owner and swapping Truckin’ stories made it worth the price (and the half-day drive).

The best part about this new Truck was its pulling power – a leaps and bounds improvement over the old F*#d.

Here's a good photo of the `93 D-250 with our "House on Wheels", a 2005 Jazz 2780 BH.

After many upgrades, a good cleaning and some recreational trips pulling the “House on wheels”, it was clear that 2 adults +2 kids + dog made for cramped quarters in the D-250 Club Cab.  Not to mention that the jump seats were a law enforcement infraction just waiting to happen.

So, the goal was to find a CREW Cab, something in the vein of the first Dodge Trucks available with Crew Cabs, but with modern performance.   As you may know, Dodge has a rich history of providing Crew Cabs throughout their truck history (Starting with the Sweptline Era in 1961, Crew Cabs were a factory option.  Prior to that, Power Wagons were available with Crew Cabs).

Late March 2009, I found my next project.  A `92 Dually Crew Cab within 150 miles of my location.  Not bad!

A `92 Dodge D-350 Dually Crew Cab. How can it be?

BUT WAIT!  Dodge quit building true, four-door Crew Cabs in 1985 according to the Standard Catalog for American Pickup Trucks.  So how is it possible that this truck can even exist?

... and it even has a 440 under the hood. WOW! my first big block, what a trophy!

Turns out the truck had been traded to a guy for an IOU.  The guy who traded it to the seller had scattered the driveline all over a California Highway somewhere.  He must have been pretty pissed, this is an awesome looking truck.  Oh well, his loss, my gain!

I debated buying this truck for about an hour, because:
1.) The 440 would get about 2 mpg pulling the fifth wheel
2.) Swapping the 440 out for the Cummins would probably require about 50 hours of labor, not to mention any other “necessary” upgrades to the truck
3.) I’d have to completely dismantle another perfectly running Dodge Truck (refer to the D-150 which enabled my Front frame stub swap into the `67 D-100)

Then, the seller re-iterated that I would have a very rare truck when I was finished.   And 15 other calls from guys wanting to do the same thing had been received (even one guy who stopped by).   He was right, the truck would be rare and ultra Mopar-ish.   So I bought it for about a 1/4th of what I paid for the perfectly running D-250.  I’ chalking it up as an upgrade to the running Cummins truck.

Moving a truck this big, without being able to drive it, would be no easy task.  I didn’t even have a truck and trailer for it. Fear not, the owner was a fellow Dodge Trucker, and had an `03 2500 Ram to take care of this job.  That was the least worrysome part.

What I was most worried about was the former owner’s homemade trailer.   It barely looked long enough to carry the load, but it did have heavy duty mobile home axles.   He promised he could get it from Placerville, CA to Carson City without a scratch, or my money back.  That was all I needed to hear.

The guy's Ram 2500 made light work of moving around the `92 Dually Crew on a homemade trailer.

Mission accomplished.  His 3/4 Ton 4×4 RAM had no issues pulling the load over Echo Summit on Highway 50, and down into Carson.  And the trailer somehow held up.  With a Dually Crew Cab on it!

Ready to roll down into the shop. Hope it doesn't crash through the back wall!

Fancy Jack and Hinged Tongue setup. Very stout and functional. Reminds me of those $279 Harbor Freight Trailers, only much better.