Why My 1992 First Generation Cummins Dodge is for Sale After 18 Years

Published February 28, 2022

For anyone who knows me, you know how hard this day is. I have decided to sell my beloved 1992 D250 first generation Cummins Dodge after owning it for 18 years.

Note: June 21, 2023

June 21, 2023: Sold. Congrats to Jason and Jaimee of Franklin, NC on their new truck!

My 1992 D250 Dodge. It has the Cummins 5.9 liter, 12-valve diesel engine known as the “Million Mile” engine because it’s so tough.

Click on the video above for more Cummins Dodge pics

I’ve absolutely loved this truck, and the new owner is going to be as happy with truck as I am sad to see it go. Ask my wife Julia. She just bought a newer truck and we don’t need two trucks, so I’d rather see a new owner enjoy it than mothball it in our barn.

Hauling our mules and horses to Leatherwood, in Ferguson, North Carolina

This has been my favorite, truck. Ever. Here, hanging out in the barn waiting for its next mission.

How I Bought my Truck

In 2004, I saddled my mule Woody in Oriental, North Carolina, and rode him 13 months and 3,500 miles across America, to San Diego, California. Along the way, I bought a pack pony, Maggie, and when my trip was over, I bought a pickup truck, camper and trailer, and hauled them from California back to North Carolina. The truck I bought all those years ago is the 1992 Dodge I’m now listing for sale.

In all the years I’ve owned it, I’ve used this truck to:

trailer my mule Woody and pony Maggie from California home to North California after I rode them across the United States
haul my mule Polly from North Carolina to Canada and from south Texas back to North Carolina for the “Lost Sea Expedition” (stream the documentary on Amazon)
trailer mule Polly to Newfoundland and back
trailer mule Polly to eastern North Carolina to film the Emmy award-winning PBS North Carolina segment “The Mule Rider“
bring my mules Brick and Cracker home from Idaho after I rode them 2,200 miles from my wife Julia’s and my cabin to her her brother, Nick, and his wife, Carolyn’s, house in Sun Valley, Idaho. This is the story behind my new book “Two Mules to Triumph“

On the Road

2006: Driving my mule Woody and pony Maggie home from California after I rode them from the Atlantic Ocean to San Diego, California. This was a few weeks after I bought my truck. Here, I’m visiting Leonard Knight of Salvation Mountain / “Into the Wild” Fame (Salvation Mountain, California)

2009: Hauling mule Polly to Canada to the start of the “Lost Sea Expedition”

2010: Hauling mule Polly home from Fort Hancock, Texas, at the end of the “Lost Sea Expedition”

2019: Getting ready to haul my mules from Idaho back to North Carolina after I rode my mules Brick and Cracker out to see my brother in law Nick and his wife Carolyn (Hailey, Idaho)

That’s a lot of hauling mules I really care about, which is why I’ve taken such good care of this truck and trust is so much. Nobody likes to break down while they’re hauling their horses or mules.

It’s also reliably hauled my mules and me to dozens of book signings, school programs, and library visits. I’ve also used it to haul hay, gravel, lumber, mulch and whatever needs hauling (and yes, it always gets washed out after mulch).

Aside from that, it lives under cover and gets used less than 5k miles per year.

Some Truck Photos From This Week

Check out the CarFax Report

Service Records

The truck has been serviced by Appalachian Tire and Auto in Lenoir, North Carolina.

The Truck’s Story

I’m the truck’s third owner.

This truck was bought by its first owner in Kansas, used lightly, and sold to the second owner, who lived in Arizona. I bought it from the second owner in Yuma, Arizona 2005 and have enjoyed it ever since here in western North Carolina.

It’s pretty much like it came from the factory aside from the usual wear marks you’d find on a carefully used truck of this vintage.

Hauling our horse Magneto and mule Cracker to Moses Cone Estate for a trail ride (Blowing Rock, North Carolina)

The Bullet List

Stored under cover

Southern truck
No body rust
Straight body
Regularly serviced and maintained (Appalachian Tire / Lenoir, NC / service records available)
Never wrecked
Totally stock
Never modified
Non smoker vehicle
Transmission rebuilt 30k miles ago and pulls strong.
No smoke
Starts every time
20+mpg highway
Seats have been covered since I bought it from the second owner (2005) so they’re in great shape
Dash,carpet and upholstery in very good condition

*Note:Odometer reads 139,930 but quit working a few years ago so would guess vehicle is at +-175k miles

Automatic
Regular cab
2-wd
Drop in Bedliner
Replaced headliner

AC
Tires: 80% tread

TOWING SET UP
Rear air bag suspension
B&W Turnover ball gooseneck hitch
Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Electric Brake Controller
B&W receiver hitch
Bull Ring tie downs (6)
2” ball hitch

NEW OR REBUILT (receipts available):
Transmission
Brake booster
Front/rear seals
Window seals
Door seals
Armrests
Passenger side window motor

KNOWN ISSUES:
Odometer not working (quit at 139,930, vehicle now at +- 175k)
Chip in windshield
Headlights work but switch could use replacing
Paint is faded in areas
Radio not working

Other

If you’re in the market for a much-loved, strong, reliable, stock, gently driven, First Gen Cummins Dodge, you’ll have to wait a long time for another one this cared for comes on the market.

Bernie Harberts

Lenoir, North Carolina

Payment: Certified check

Terms: 3 days

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