The Ram that ate the Jeep . . . My Build Thread

[jkcobra]

Rigidity comes from 2 things: Mass, and shape. Expanded metal has little of either. Would it help maintain the shape of the basket? Yes.

Will it add carrying capacity to meet the needs of a 100+ lb dynamic loading situation? Not in the least.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are wrong. Honeycombs, very little mass, very strong rigid structure that has been repeated over and over again in structural design, for example... the original idea behind creating expanded metal.

To be clear, there are different versions that have varying degrees of strength. True expanded metal is stronger than the original sheet it came from and the joints are stronger than a weld or wrap would be. Perforated metal, holes have been punched and the joining areas weakened, so not ideal for structural use, but it looks pretty and is used a lot in design. And then it gives expanded metal a bad wrap when it deflects and fails.

Wire mesh, well, yeah, no need to explain.

So is expanded metal used purely by itself to hold heavy loads? Well no, that wouldn't be very smart, but as I said previously, I will also be modifying the subframe of the rack...

So, back to my build thread.

I'll update more once I get some time to modify the rack.

 

[CodyY]

Sounds great.

Except that "expanded metal" is not "honeycomb".

Expanded metal will do nothing but tear up your luggage, tires, knees, knuckles... especially in aluminum, the raised edges are for traction when in short spans in conjunction with a spread load. Aka; trailer ramp, stair treads, etc. What you need is perforated sheet (holes or diamonds will suffice either way) to keep crap from falling out over a stiffened superstructure. I would recommend an additional joist bar and doubling the number of stringers, tie them into a lower perimeter and gusset the mounting legs in the X and Y dimension.

Some of us build this kinda stuff for a living.

No charge for this post.

 

[Regcabguy]

So one thing I will be looking to improve in the future will be fuel economy. I averaged 13.6 mpg on the Colorado trip. I knew I would drop some with the larger tires; however, I also know others have gotten much better results out of this engine. So I am looking at the Bully Dog unit and EFI live, also looking at / considering options to remove the DEF requirement as well. The DEF is more because of current refill requirements (every 2500 miles or so), but I believe there may be a flash from the dealer to improve that. Anything else I should be looking at for simple improvements, i.e. new intake, etc?

EFI's doing beta testing for the 2010-2015 Rams. Hang in there. Universally,everyone raves about their product.

http://www.efilive.com/latest/2010-15-cummins-6p7l-tuning-moves-into-beta/

I've been running a Smarty for seven yrs now but am ready to make the jump to EFI soon.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Lack of room, lack of fuel economy, lack of tow capacity, lack of passenger safety. Jeeps are great as "toys" but not very practical as real world daily drivers.

"Lack of room" - maybe. Depends on what your definition of "room" is.

"Lack of fuel economy" - I didn't buy my Jeep to do hyper-miling and I don't have to pay for diesel at the pump either. Typically the cost of a diesel power plant and tranny can't be justified by MPGs and it takes a LOT of miles on the odometer to actually justify the diesel uncharge.

"Lack of tow capacity" - absolutely. It's not a tow truck.

"Lack of passenger safety" - huh?

"Jeeps are great as "toys" but not very practical as real world daily drivers" - Jeez who knew! I've been daily driving my JKUR and until I read your post I didn't realize it's not "very practical."

Now back to the Jeep-to-Dodge-pick'em-up-truck thread

 

[jkcobra]

CB and brake controller

Added a new CB over the weekend, Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB, and since it got installed where I previously had my Prodigy brake controller, I finally got around to installing the OEM brake controller i've had sitting in the to-do pile for awhile now. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Still need to permanently mount the external speaker for CB and the Mic, just waiting to decide where I want them.

And antenna mount / quick disconnect. My truck barely clears the garage at work, there is no way the antenna would.

 

[black_hawk8888]

Love your truck. I went a slightly different route with the 6.4 Hemi power wagon but it has the same bed/cab/color configuration. My question for you is this: do the 35x12.50r17 Toyos fit without rubbing, even during flex?

I really like the AT2 extreme tires and wasn't sure if they would fit. I figure your CTD with the level is about the same ride height as the power wagon and I've heard some 35s rub the radius arm bolts and some don't.

 

[jkcobra]

I get a very slight rub on the control arms as they are stock for the moment, but it's manageable. Those are on the list of next big mods for next year.

I looked heavily at the power wagon, but towing capacity finally swayed my decision.

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[Jollyrogers]

What gear ratio does your CTD run? I have the same question about tires. I have a '14 2500 CTD Laramie. I am planning on Timdens or some sort of airbags for the rear. No desire for a lift or leveling, but want better rubber. Debating on doing wheels/tires now or wait on some wear on the stockers. Was thinking of going Toyos. Also have been contemplating replacing front/rear bumpers with aluminess.... my stock bumper has the fog lights, but want to add a winch at some point.
Congrats on the truck! Love ours



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[jkcobra]

What gear ratio does your CTD run? I have the same question about tires. I have a '14 2500 CTD Laramie. I am planning on Timdens or some sort of airbags for the rear. No desire for a lift or leveling, but want better rubber. Debating on doing wheels/tires now or wait on some wear on the stockers. Was thinking of going Toyos. Also have been contemplating replacing front/rear bumpers with aluminess.... my stock bumper has the fog lights, but want to add a winch at some point.
Congrats on the truck! Love ours

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its a 3.42 for the moment... I "plan" to add lockers and redo the gears next year when I do the control arms. I may decide to opt for the winch and bumpers first though, still up for thought.

As far as the Toyos, I specifically chose the AT2s (and had them shipped cross-country) because I wanted a mildly aggressive tires with good road manners and long term mileage. So far I love these tires.

 

[jkcobra]

Had a little fun with the truck this last weekend. And I got to spend some quality time with my daughter, so it made for a very good day.

I had been to Hidden Falls (Marble Falls, TX area) a few times before with the Jeep, this was the first time with the truck so i was curious how it would handle in comparison. When we arrived, the park staff thought we were there for the gun club because they thought I was a little nuts for taking the truck on trails. Other than a few places that were a little too narrow and a couple of approach angle spots I really didn't have any issues. The again, I wasn't ever planning on taking it rock-crawling up massive waterfall ledges, but I still left very impressed by what it could do.