Ram Truck Now Has 2.5 Million Miles
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In 2011, FARM SHOW interviewed Howard Clayton of Waterloo, Iowa, who had driven his Dodge Ram 3500 pickup for nearly 1.7 million miles (Vol 35, No. 2). We checked in with Howard this August and were astonished to learn he’s still driving the same truck. It now shows nearly 2.5 million miles on the odometer.
Clayton rolls more than 130,000 miles a year as a contract driver for Bennett Trucking of McDonald, Georgia. Although he lives in Iowa, technically he "lives in his truck," delivering 5th wheel camper trailers from Indiana manufacturers to dealers across the country. “I’ve been in every state of the lower 48, and several provinces in Canada,” Clayton says proudly. “I ordered the 3500 1-ton dually with a 5.9 engine in 2000, and I’ve been driving it ever since. It’s never caused me a lick of problems because I pay attention to regular maintenance and change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles. The engine has been overhauled once with new pistons, bearings, and a crank.”
Since we last visited with Clayton, he’s put in a new transmission and rear end and installed several sets of tires. All of his service work is performed by Forest Cunningham from Hallsville, Mo. He says the engine just purrs along, and he uses high-quality synthetic fluids. “It’s just a super vehicle that’s comfortable and has plenty of power,” Clayton says. It has a 6-speed manual transmission and enough power so Clayton can tow trailers up to 42 ft. long. Loaded, he gets around 13 mpg, but on return trips, that number jumps to over 20. He gets paid by the loaded mile and travels primarily on freeways. Clayton works 12 months a year and is often on the road for 5 to 6 weeks at a time. His wife sometimes accompanies him, but mostly it’s just him and his Ram Truck, a CB, and XM radio.
“I’ve been doing this so long I know the good places to stay and eat and have truck stop friends all over the country,” Clayton says. Even though he’s 74, he still puts in a full day’s work, leaving early in the morning and parking by mid-afternoon so he has a place to get a good night’s sleep. “There are more and more trucks on the road every year, and I’m just one of the old-timers,” Clayton says. “I’ll keep at this as long as I can and as long as my truck keeps running smooth.”
In 15 years running this rig and another 10 driving semi, Clayton has never had an accident.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Howard Clayton, 3212 Ryan St., Waterloo, Iowa 50701.
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Ram Truck Now Has 2 5 Million Miles PICKUPS Miscellaneous In 2011 FARM SHOW interviewed Howard Clayton of Waterloo Iowa who had driven his Dodge Ram 3500 pickup nearly 1 7 million miles Vol 35 No 2 We checked in with Howard this August and were astonished to learn he’s still driving the same truck It now shows nearly 2 5 million miles on the odometer Clayton rolls more than 130 000 miles a year as a contract driver for Bennett Trucking of McDonald Georgia Although he lives in Iowa technically he ‘lives in his truck’ delivering 5th wheel camper trailers from Indiana manufacturers to dealers across the country “I’ve been in every state of the lower 48 and several provinces in Canada ” Clayton says proudly “I ordered the 3500 1-ton dually with a 5 9 engine in 2000 and I’ve been driving it ever since It’s never caused me a lick of problems because I pay attention to regular maintenance and change the oil and filter every 10 000 miles The engine has been overhauled once with new pistons bearings and a crank ” Since we last visited with Clayton he’s put in a new transmission and rear end and installed several sets of tires All of his service work is performed by Forest Cunningham from Hallsville Missouri He says the engine just purrs along and he uses high quality synthetic fluids “It’s just a super vehicle that’s comfortable and it has plenty of power ” Clayton says It has a 6-speed manual transmission and enough power so Clayton can tow trailers up to 42 ft long Loaded he gets around 13 mpg but on return trips that number jumps to over 20 He gets paid by the loaded mile and travels primarily on freeways Clayton works 12 months a year and is often on the road 5 to 6 weeks at a time His wife sometimes accompanies him but mostly it’s just he and his Ram Truck a CB and XM radio “I’ve been doing this so long I know the good places to stay and eat and have truck stop friends all over the country ” Clayton says Even though he’s 74 he still puts in a full day’s work leaving early in the morning and parking by mid-afternoon so he has a place to get a good night’s sleep “There’s more and more trucks on the road every year and I’m just one of the old-timers ” Clayton says “I’ll keep at this as long as I can and as long as my truck keeps running smooth ” In 15 years running this rig and another 10 driving semi Clayton has never had an accident Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Howard Clayton 3212 Ryan St Waterloo Iowa 50701
