Ramv Build -- Resurection

[Ramv]

Well I figured I would start a thread on the Dodge buildup. I have recently made some upgrades, and always think it would nice to start a thread but I’m not planning on tearing this down for a while. This is really more of history thread though. Most of my mods have been bolt on as my garage is too small to fit the truck in and has no power outlets.

My projects need to be done in 12 hrs or less, and are generally done outside with battery or CO2 power. When welding is needed I end up in a friends driveway. (Thanks Corbin, Nate, Jeff and Phill)

Current specs are:

2001 Dodge Ram Sport Off-Road reg cab/short box

Drive train:
• 5.9 L V8, Hypertech Programmer (275 est hp)
• 46RE Auto trans, HD T/C, dual ext Coolers, Dakota Digital temp gauge, Art Carr shifter
• NV241J Transfer Case (4.0:1)
• 50:1 Crawl ratio
• Front Dana 60 with ARB Air locker, 5.13 Precision gears, Yukon 4340 Inner ,
• Rear Dana 70 with Detroit locker, 5.13 Spicer gears, disc brake conversion, High Angle Driveline 1410 U bolt conversion yoke
• 42x14/17 Interco Super Swamper Iroks on 17 x 8 Allied beadlock wheels
• Front 0.140 inch DOM CV driveshaft (13-30 through out)
• Rear 0.250 inch DOM Non-CV Long slip yoke driveshaft (1330/1410 joints)
• 23 gallon Jeep Grand Cherokee tank mounted in the back.

Suspension

• Front
– 7" Skyjacker coils, Bilstein 7100s (360/80 valving), Timbren AEON bumpstops, PSC limit straps, Skyjacker 5 inch relocation brackets, custom lower control arms with Evo Joints, removed sway bar, ThurenFab Track bar w/ RE joints
• Rear
– Off-Road leafs with Rancho Add-a-leaf, Skyjacker Nitro shocks, 5/8" u bolt flip, Chevy spring plates, custom shock mounts

Steering
• ThurenFab SHD Crossover steering
• Redneck Ram a$$ist, Stage III Kit

Protection
• Custom front winch mount, '97 F-150 tow hooks,1 3/4" 0.120 DOM grill guard
• Rockstomper rocker protection 2 inch 0.120 wall DOM
• 2 inch DOM 0.120 wall 6 point exocage by Federal Fusion (Evolution Machine)
• Custom bed 2 inch DOM with 1/8 inch aluminum panels
• 1 3/4 inch DOM removable Molly Bars w/ Jenny Handle
• Custom rear bumper by Phil with LED taillights and hidden 2 inch receiver
• Custom t-case skidplate and cross member
• Shortened Exhaust

Recovery
• Warn XP 9.5 winch
• Warn M6000SDP winch (rear, remvoable)
• F-150 Tow Hooks, rear shackle mounts
• Warn recovery kit
• Misc. straps, shackles, snatch blocks

Lighting
• Super Bright LEDs front and rear
• Hella fog/driving lights
• Hella back uplights
• Pro Comp 100 watt driving lights



Other
• RCI 4 Point Harnesses
• Motorolla CB Radio, with Firestick Attenna
• Garmin Legend GPS
• Onboard Fire Extinguisher and first aid kit
• Warn HD booster cables, spare parts, air and hand tools
• 16’ 2 gage booster cables, welding materials
• 20 lb CO2 tank with Powertank XP 3000 regulator kit with custom mount
• ARB Air compressor
• 60" High-lift jack with custom mount
• Wet Okele seat covers
• Full size spare
• Quick Release doors
• Spare Gas with custom mount
• 30 watt back-up lights
• Kenwood H2A Sirius Satellite Radio Reciever
• Infinity 200 Watt RMS Basslink Sub/Amp/Crossovers
• Sony Waterproof boombox (for use with doors off)

A little history:

I bought the Ram in 2001. My ’93 Ranger had hit 125 000 miles and while still looking and running like new, I wanted something bigger.

The other choices were a Chevy K2500 reg cab with 6.0/NV4500 or a F-250 reg cab w/ a 5.4/ZF-5. I could not find a manual tranny in either, and with Dodge announcing the end of the solid axle short bed, I decided to go Mopar.

The ’01 Intense Pearl Blue Sport Off-Road Ram 1500 arrived from a dealer 1000 miles away, with deep tint, plenty of Dodge stickers and mudflaps. The mud flaps and stickers were removed before I drove it home.


The truck was mainly used as a daily driver, with some mild wheelin during the summer of 2001. In October I added a Denver Off Road aluminum bumper and Warn XD 9000 winch. My first trip to Moab was a few weeks later, the Dodge also towed a built YJ back at 35 mph up the passes on I-70.






After Moab, I decided to add rocker protection. Smittybuilt taillight guards were also added. After a winter on the highways of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho and Alberta, I began to realize that limited slips were scary at best. A Powertrax No slip was installed. This made driving on icy roads far more confidence inspiring. The tires were looking a little small, so a set of 315/75R16 Pro Comp X Terrains and 16x8 Rock Crawler wheels were ordered up. The tires bolted on with no lift or rubbing.






The summer of ’02 saw some hardcore wheeling. Lower Helldorado, Pritchet Canyon and Cliff hanger in Moab, the Rubicon and Fordyce in California, not to mention dozens of trails in Colorado and tens of thousands of miles of cross country driving. I also added a Rancho 3” lift with RS 9000 shocks. The stock tie rod bit the dust, so a Rockstomper 1 ¾” DOM tie rod was added. The stock ECM was sent to Kenne Bell for Optimizer tuning, stepping the 360 up to around 275 hp/375 ft lb torque on 91 octane.



The spring of ’03 saw the install of an ARB air locker, which made the truck that much more capable. It also lead to the first breakage. A broken u joint, axle shaft, ball joints and knuckle on lower Helldorado also destroyed a X Terrain driving home from Moab with the tire at an angle.

Video Link:


http://www.trailseeker.com/4x4/moabzuVI/...tchett.wmv






The truck was repaired quickly and back on the road. While wheeling in Colorado the stock NV231HD transfer case broke but I was able to drive to shop where the RockTrac NV 241 J HD was installed. The brand new case from JB Conversions was much stronger and had a 4:1 low range but bolted in. The shop refused to build new skidplates as requested. 0.120” DOM rear shaft was built. Some hard wheelin in Montrose put the truck on its side, leaving a dent.







The next trip was to Carnage at Buena Vista. The full body truck got a few dents and the shaft developed an interesting smiley shape. The shaft was re-tubed with ¼” wall tube, (as was originally requested) and plans to reduce the body began.




Christmas ’03 saw the truck at Evolution Machine in Calgary building cage work and the flat bed. We also updated some skidplates, and built a new rear bumper.





5” Skyjacker control arms were added and 37” Krawlers on stock wheels. The truck did Independence near Penrose, and then did Ultimate Adventure 2004 with Petersen’s 4 wheel and off-road magazine. This trip saw three broken axleshafts and u joints, and the truck drove from St-Louis to Chicago, to northern Minnesota to Wyoming. Fortunately all the spare parts were brought along, so the truck was in full operating condition the whole trip.




That summer saw a trip to Die Trying in Montrose and a broken transmission housing, along with broken axle shafts.


Some repairs and the Dodge was back on the road, with plenty of dents to show off. With 110 000 clicks on the clock, it became obvious that a second rig may be good, so a tow rig/daily driver was added.





2005 spring I got selected for the Ultimate adventure again and the transformation to bigger began. A ’01 Dana 60 and ’98 Dana 70 was sourced, with 5.13 gears, ARB locker front and Detroit rear. I updated the rear brakes to discs using Chevy and Ford parts. New fabtech shocks were added. An electric line lock was added as were custom lower control arms fabbed from ¼” wall DOM and polyurethane bushings. The truck returned to stock steering and diff covers since Crane did not have Dana 60 ones available and the rockstomper tie rod did not clear the D60. The XD 9000 winch was swapped for Warn’s new XP 9.5. Wheels from an ’04 SRW Dodge 3500 were used.







Ultimate Adventure 2005 saw some minor dents, including to the diff cover, damaged LCA bushings, some bent steering parts and torn valve stems. The only repairs on the trail were replacing the valve stems.



The next tough trail we did was Carnage Gulch at Buena Vista, which resulted in a broken Dana 70 shaft. The nice thing was the full floater only too a few minutes to change the shaft.

In Moab that fall I lost anther valve stem and had several blown beads, vowing to get new wheels once I sold my half ton axles.

Over the winter I installed steering from a ’98 HD Dodge, which was a far superior design.


I also added 4 point racing harnesses,




7” Skyjacker lift springs and Nitro front shocks.





In order to avoid drive shaft bind, PSC limiting straps were used.

In March we did a snow run with Superlift TV and were on two episodes:




While wheeling on 21 road near Grand Junction the one ton steering box broke. I got another from the junkyard but ordered a complete Redneck Ram hydraulic a$$ist kit when I got back. Unfortunately it didn’t arrive until after a couple of other trips.






I sold my axles in Farmington, and wheeled there, then spent some time in Moab and a weekend in Montrose.





Die Trying saw a broken front D 60 inner, and a rear 70 shaft broken on both ends. The other 70 shaft twisted at the splines and I was only carrying one spare, so we called it quits.




Once back to Denver the hydraulic a$$ist was installed which resulted in a vast improvement in steering power, however the speed is much slower. This resulted in the best run to date through Carnage Gulch only winching once.









ThurenFab’s track bar was installed next to locate the axle better with less stress on the frame and steering box. This project required some welding but seems like a good design utilizing a Rubicon Express upper joint.




I also installed a set of Timbren Aeon springs in replacement for the front bumpstops, in order to improve handling and pace through rough roads.




Next on the list will be another set of lower control arms, adjustable in length, using Evolutions spherical ball joints.





Some new skidplates are on their way:



A Crane front diff cover will also be added. In the distant future, 39” or 40”s, beadlocks, relocated fuel tank and updated bedwork are on the to do list.

I’m also training a new driver:

[Big04pimpin]

pics not working

[The Boss]

once a bbcode tag goes bad, it messes up all the following ones...

let me know if you need some help

[1SikDMAX]

thats a nice build up. ive loved that truck since i joined the site. good work

[Patent Pending]

Great pics. I'd venture to say your truck has probably seen about the most wheeling of anybody here. Great build, and awesome rig. Keep up the good work.

[Ramv]

Quote:On 2006-09-13 08:16, The Boss wrote:
once a bbcode tag goes bad, it messes up all the following ones...

let me know if you need some help

Thanks Jason, I had just copied a word file and the html code had screwed with it. I had the history thing written for awhile, figured I might as well tie up some band width

[Got Mud??]

Sweeeeet as normal. I always look forward to your wheeling pics. That is one sexy rig you have!! One of my favorite trucks on the site.

[Nick]

The picture of the truck going through the river is my favorite.

future plans? (for the truck) nice lookin co-driver

[Ramv]

Quote:On 2006-09-13 09:56, NickM wrote:
The picture of the truck going through the river is my favorite.

future plans? (for the truck) nice lookin co-driver

Thanks!

Not any real plans, the usual, bigger tires, try to upgrade/fix the body...

Its a work in progress...

[Alphacowboy]

I remember when you first got it! And remember saying to myself, WTF is wrong with this kid, trashing a perfectly nice truck...

Your truck is eventually what I want to build, not with my CTD, but for a trail rig, thats what I want!