Truck Of The Week: Ryan Rusher’s ’02 Ram Single Wheel Conversion

This week’s Truck Of The Week goes to Ryan Rusher and his 2002 Dodge Ram. Spotted at the 4 Wheel Jamboree show in Indianapolis, Indiana, Ryan’s Ram piqued our interest because it looked like it had more than just a few add-ons. In fact, after talking with him, this truck went through quite a bit of a transformation.

Starting life as a dually, Ryan’s Ram was really a clean truck, but he wanted more. “I don’t know. I just wanted something different,” Ryan said. “I knew I could do it so I started converting it into a single-wheel truck. Now, it has transformed into something completely different.” This truck surely has changed a lot when you compare the build photos to the completed photos.

Out at the show, we wanted to give out our Editor’s Choice award in which Ryan would go on to earn. The criteria to win wasn’t bringing the newest and shiniest truck. I’ve personally seen so much of that, I wanted to find someone who has wrenched on the truck, bought the parts, taken the time to do it themselves or with the help of friends and family. Ryan’s truck was a good choice as he’s made this from mild to wild in this journey.

To start things off, the interior of the truck looks fairly normal for a truck like this. Two 12-inch subwoofers under the rear seat, a 7-inch, touchscreen DVD/radio head unit, multiple gauges on the pillar and wheel for data acquisition, and custom red interior lights for the kick panel. Although he’s customized the interior to his liking, that isn’t the focus area on this truck.

Rusher has spent most of his time, for one, turning this into a single wheel but also taking this 5.9-liter Cummins engine from stock to spicy. “I wanted more horsepower and the only way to do that is to add some good parts,” Ryan said. “The engine features compound turbos, a big set of injetors, and a few other things.”

After more questions, it was determined that Ryan’s truck features a 63/66 BD Diesel Performance Super B over an HT3B compound turbo setup, a set of Scheid Diesel Lightning II 15o-horsepower injectors, 0.93 crossover tubes, MaxSpool Engineering billet pushrods, and a five-inch exhaust all the way to the rear. It doesn’t stop there, though. Other upgrades include ARP 425 head studs for the additional boost, a billet tappet cover and new gaskets throughout, and a Quadzilla Adrenaline V24K for tuning. As for the transmission, Ryan uses Dan’s Transmission built 47RE with an HMR shift kit.

Knowing the suspension of these trucks isn’t the best, he did some upgrades to that department too. Oversize differential covers, PFF upper and lower control arms, Reaper traction bars, XRF Auto adjustable track bar, ball joints, and steering components, On the outside, this shiny white Ram features a fresh coat of paint all the way around.

Suretrac Wild Climber R/T tires wrapped in Moto Metal wheels are the tread choice.

“I’ve repainted the truck and added some things that were necessary. This includes an R/T fiberglass hood, a molded roll pan, new fenders, a new tailgate, a 4th gen bumper and mirrors, and some front-mounted LED light bar.
With 269,000-miles on the clock, this truck has been transformed into a really nice rig. Congratulations to Ryan on the award and we hope you, the readers, will bring your truck out so we can see it firsthand this coming year. Stay tuned to Diesel Army for more truck features, event coverage, and industry news. What do you think about Ryan’s Ram? Let us know in the comments below.

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Artie Maupin

Artie Maupin is from Southeast Missouri and has an extreme passion for anything diesel. He loves drag racing of all kinds, as well as sled pulling competitions.
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