April 2005

Chuck Housner
(aka BigDog)

Hello fellow DOC'ers,

I'm Chuck Housner and have been a hanging around the forum since September 1999 when I took delivery of my Patriot Blue SLT. It wasn't long after that I joined the DOC. On the forum most people call me Big Dog even though that's what I call my truck. Let me start out by saying thanks for selecting my truck as the Durango of the Month for April of 2005.

I'm looking forward to attending my first official NEDOC event in May, a Birthday Party for the Chapter and Mini-Meet that's being held at Dwayne Messerschmidt's home in Connecticut (Thanks Dwayne). Big Dog will be getting a torsion bar/Add-A-Leaf lift done there and I'm excited to say the least! After that I'm really looking forward to attending my first official National DOC event, the All Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It should be a great weekend. I can't wait to meet all the people I chat with and post messages with on a regular basis.

After taking delivery of my D, it didn't remain stock for more than a week. The first group of mods included adding Donnelley rear view mirror with compass & thermometer, replacing the stock AM/FM/Cassette with the AM/FM/Cassette/CD/EQ stereo and installing OEM molded splash guards & a Ramshead hitch plug. Although, I've done a lot of other things to personalize my D in the last 5 1/2 years, it's still pretty mild compared to many.

I'm an outdoor person and Big Dog supports all my outdoor hobbies. I use it for camping, transporting my inflatable boat with outboard motor (which I use for fishing) and I love to take it offroad. Even stock, the D is an admirable performer off-road. My next group of mods will focus on improving the off-road capability. I'm planning on adding a front receiver hitch so I'll have a tow point in the front, adding some roof mounted lights and much needed skid plates.

A little about Big Dog:

1999 Patriot Blue SLT 5.2L, PT4WD, 3.55 gears, Cobra WX-75 CB Radio with Firestik DS-14 Antenna, Donnelly Electronics Rearview ECT Mirror, Chrysler AM/FM/Cassette/CD/EQ (OEM), Panavise InDash Custom Cellphone mount with Panavise Clip Caddies, TRAM 2M Glass Mount Antenna, Slush Mats (OEM), Molded Splash Guards (OEM), Ramshead Hitch Plug (OEM), Auto Ventshade In-Channel Vent Visors, Thule Roof Rack System, 31x10.5R15 Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Monroe Sensa-Tracs shocks and Optima Red Top battery

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