November 2001

Mike & Sherry Carter
(aka dtravelersuv)

Mike and I want to thank the DOC for this nomination. It was a surprise, especially so early in our membership here.

We'd been following the introduction of the 'D' ever since we bought our FR Dak in 1997. We couldn't afford to wait for the first 'D's to come off the line because we needed a truck to haul the horse trailer we'd just ordered. The Dak still serves us well, however, as it approached 90K miles and our other vehicle crossed the 100K mile point, it was time to pursue our dream of getting a 'D'. We started looking this past Spring and I stumbled upon the DOC forum and found a wealth of information I don't think I could've assembled if I'd surfed other sites for a year.

We were looking for a truck to serve as our primary vehicle for everyday driving, weekend road trips, and hauler for our two-horse trailer. We looked at several competitors in addition to the 'D' and nothing came close. Everything else that could haul a trailer was way-big for what I wanted to be driving every day!

In May of 2001, we found exactly what we were looking for at a dealership only two miles from where I work. Although not the FR we had originally sought, the CPR has quickly won us over, and it looks great with the Sandstone cloth interior. (This is NOT the opening salvo of another color war, so just sit back and enjoy the rest of the story ;-}, ed.) TRAVELER, as he would be named later, came equipped with the SLT package, 5.9L engine, PT4WD, tow package, heavy duty group, third row seat, rear A/C, running boards, large mirrors, and fog lamps.

So far, he's lived up to every expectation we had. Mike's even getting used to the fact we couldn't get the 5-speed manual transmission he loves in his Dak. Thanks to the 3rd row seat, Mike's daughter, Michelle, is no longer smashed between her grandparents when they come to visit. Sasha, our 80-pound Malamute, has her own A/C source in the summer - even though she doesn't get the controls. The towing power is nothing short of awesome, which the horses appreciate as we explore riding trails in the Mid-Atlantic area. We even surpassed our original expectations by taking our first 4-wheelin' road trip to western Maryland. Since reading about all the folks 4-wheelin' out west, we figured it might be fun. Although I doubt we'll ever do the serious off-roading others do, TRAVELER did not disappoint during our adventure.

His modifications have been pretty much cosmetic so far. We dressed him up with Mopar windshield screen, rear mud guards, and door sill-guards. Other after-market additions are brake light hitch receiver plug, Draw-tite electric brake controller, Weathertech Weatherflectors, Vtech Ram's head tail-light covers, K&N Hi-Flow replacement air filter, StreetScene grill and valence inserts, and "Durango" TBL modification. Of course, we also got our DOC Gold Membership which is probably the best modification of all.

Thanks to the DOC and the wonderful participation on the forum, we have many more ideas in store. Feel free to visit our website for more information.

Sherry Carter

Editor's Note: Mike and Sherry were nominated as Durangoers of the Month in recognition of their "Four-Wheelin' in Western Maryland" article for the 4th Qtr 2001 D-Zine.

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