Edmonton Dodge Ram

This time the owner was out of the truck, and we pulled up and got to talking. He looked familiar, but nothing really clicked until he said, “You used to drive a red Dodge out here a lot in the ’90s, huh? I had an old ’87 Bronco.” And it hit me: This was Ian Anderson—an old friend who I used to run the sand dunes with back before my magazine life, when I used to spend the majority of my time in the sand. We weren’t next door neighbors or anything, but we’d see each other in the dunes often enough and would spend hours beating the crap out of our trucks together. Over a decade later, we were both back in the same spot and running into each other again.

But this time, Ian had a new ride. It turned out that seeing me flog my Dodge convinced Ian that Dodges can take a beating and can still handle well at speed in the sand with a solid axle. When it was time to find another multi-purpose truck for Ian’s work, play, and support, an ’06 Dodge 2500 4×4 was Ian’s first choice to help out his company, www.dezertdepot.com. With a simple, clean, and stout build, it is a truck that can handle everything he throws at it and that every truck guy can appreciate and love.

Months later, Ian and I ran into each other again, but this time in Gorman, California. Ian was on his way to the Mint 400 and had never been to the Hungry Valley OHV park. Of all times he chose, Ian got a glimpse of late-spring snow in Southern California. It made for a slippery and muddy day of fun. OR

Specs
Vehicle: 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 4×4 Quad Cab
Owner: Ian Anderson of Arroyo Grande, California
Chassis: Factory 2500 chassis
Engine: 5.9L Cummins engine, Hypertech programmer, K&N air filter, Magnaflow exhaust
Drivetrain: Automatic transmission, AAM front and rear axles, stock 3.73:1 gearing
Suspension: ICON 2.5-inch Stage 4 suspension, progressive-rate coils, ICON 2.5 shocks, rear Deaver mini pack
Steering: Factory Dodge linkage, Fox steering stabilizer
Brakes: Factory Dodge front and rear discs
Tires/wheels: 37-inch General Grabbers on gloss black 17-inch Method beadlock wheels
Interior: Stock interior with Lowrance 540 GPS and Rugged Race radio’s Vertex standard VX-4200 in the dash
Other Parts: 3/16-inch plate and 1-inch tube axle truss, Fiberwerx fiberglass bedsides and fenders, Dezert Depot front light bar, four Soltek Baja Designs lights
Favorite Off-Road Area: Pismo sand dunes