Project Wander Wagon

[my1stcummins]

I've thought quite a bit about suspension and have some idea of using Lorenz 2" springs to level it and their full leaf rear springs. I already have Bilstein 5100s and those were an improvement over stock. Not 100% sure yet on suspension and probably won't do it till next year. (We're in the process of adopting and it's not cheap!) Mostly need to research what's best for slow-roading. I don't do much fast stuff so I need shocks, springs that are appropriate for that rather than high speed.

I love the M101A2 but haven't pulled it in the dirt yet. Using it mostly for yard stuff at the moment. I plan to tear it apart, sandblast, and repaint it next year. Looking forward to that project and once it's done I'll pull the trailer up hunting for its maiden voyage in the dirt.

Hey thanks for the list of mods. I was just thinking of what to do to protect the condenser and tubing and that Defiant shield is perfect. Just called them and they said they stopped making them 2 years ago but the owner has a used one on the shelf he's selling me for cheap! :wings:

I initially looked at Carli and Kore, but I think the Lorenz seems like a more sane and reasonable choice since i don't intend to go Baja my truck and $5-10K on a suspension seems a bit excessive at this point in my life.

Glad you got a shield...too bad they don't make them any longer. It's a well made item. You'll be happy with that purchase.

 

[Fish]

I initially looked at Carli and Kore, but I think the Lorenz seems like a more sane and reasonable choice since i don't intend to go Baja my truck and $5-10K on a suspension seems a bit excessive at this point in my life.

Glad you got a shield...too bad they don't make them any longer. It's a well made item. You'll be happy with that purchase.

Where did you get the idea you need to spend that much with Carli or KORE? My Carli starter system lists out a $1375, with the 5100's. Their Bilstein 2.0 kit costs less than $3K.

Don Thuren also has a Fox 2.0 setup that's quite reasonable, but I'm not sure what the price is.

Just throwing a few options out there.

 

[my1stcummins]

Fish,
I guess I wasn't clear there. I didn't intend to make it sound like Carli or Kore didn't offer such budget systems, you are correct in stating that they have "budget" systems. Perhaps I got lost in all the hype and focus on their top of the line systems and talk around the office of their latest and greatest systems. :drool:

Glad you jolted my train of thought. Do you feel your suspension was worth the price? I'd love a better ride without having to increase the ride height too much. The ability to park in a garage is handy sometimes.

 

[TRACTION]

Installed a set of Mac's VersaTie tracks in the bed. The kit comes with track, rings, and a few standalone attachment points that I haven't installed yet. I ordered the long bed kit but cut it down to fit the short bed since I needed to make sure the pre-drilled track would clear the joists under the bed.

Project took about 3 hours and two people. It's a fairly simple concept but tricky to make sure everything lined up and the underbed access is tight in a few spots.

Example of the tie down rings.

Also got my license plate bracket mounted and the plate installed. Should have done this before I put the fairlead roller on since the clearance behind made it difficult to get the nuts on the bolts.

 

[Fish]

Fish,
I guess I wasn't clear there. I didn't intend to make it sound like Carli or Kore didn't offer such budget systems, you are correct in stating that they have "budget" systems. Perhaps I got lost in all the hype and focus on their top of the line systems and talk around the office of their latest and greatest systems. :drool:

Glad you jolted my train of thought. Do you feel your suspension was worth the price? I'd love a better ride without having to increase the ride height too much. The ability to park in a garage is handy sometimes.

I love my Carli Starter. Absolutely worth the price. Prior to the suspension, I'd bottom out the bump stops going over speed bumps at 5 mph. After, I could hit them at around 25. Note that I had a used set of full KORE leaves installed at the same time. Many say that ride harshness in Dodges comes from the rear end. I tote an extra 700 lbs or so, so that's not as bad an issue with me.

I am looking at upgrading my shocks. The upgrade will allow for a custom tuned shock rather than an off the shelf unit.

 

[my1stcummins]

Installed a set of Mac's VersaTie tracks in the bed. The kit comes with track, rings, and a few standalone attachment points that I haven't installed yet. I ordered the long bed kit but cut it down to fit the short bed since I needed to make sure the pre-drilled track would clear the joists under the bed.

Project took about 3 hours and two people. It's a fairly simple concept but tricky to make sure everything lined up and the underbed access is tight in a few spots.

Example of the tie down rings.

Also got my license plate bracket mounted and the plate installed. Should have done this before I put the fairlead roller on since the clearance behind made it difficult to get the nuts on the bolts.

That track system is really nice what kind of weight rating does that have?

 

[my1stcummins]

I love my Carli Starter. Absolutely worth the price. Prior to the suspension, I'd bottom out the bump stops going over speed bumps at 5 mph. After, I could hit them at around 25. Note that I had a used set of full KORE leaves installed at the same time. Many say that ride harshness in Dodges comes from the rear end. I tote an extra 700 lbs or so, so that's not as bad an issue with me.

I am looking at upgrading my shocks. The upgrade will allow for a custom tuned shock rather than an off the shelf unit.

Yeah, I went out to Ocotillo a few months ago and those roads out there were just terrible. While they didn't look that rough, I couldn't get out of first gear for fear that I was going to rattle my doors off. Same story with the bump stops.

In Alaska my problem was with the rear end being too stiff and getting excessive wheel hop, usually when i would dig through the snow and catch gravel road below. This happened in deep sand here as well.

I am hoping to move to Poway with a buddy this summer and we are looking at homes with at minimum a 3 car garage so that we can work on our rigs. Soon as that happens, it's suspension time. I am eager to hear what shocks you choose. Are the 5100's not sufficient? Does your suspension eliminate that nasty bouncing that we get from the highway down here in socal? I swear I feel like I need a sports bra somedays driving down these highways.:Wow1:

 

[my1stcummins]

Traction,

If you haven't already installed one, check out the tailgate assist. I put one of these in soon after I got my truck. Now, opening the tailgate is a one hand ordeal rather than two, which comes in handy.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Auto..._l=SBC;cat104796180;cat104696280;cat104658480


I also got a tailgate handle lock which is nice if you want more secure storage. Next on my list of bed upgrades are some simple side curtains to keep out prying eyes.

 

[TRACTION]

That track system is really nice what kind of weight rating does that have?

The Mac's website lists each tie down as 1000lbs so that's plenty for holding down my gear. If I expected that kind of load though I'd use larger washers underneath the bed than what was provided in the kit. I'm mainly using it to hold down a few Action packers, cooler, etc.

I'll be using their threaded studs to mount a tool box in there as well. That way I'll be able to remove the box as needed.

 

[TRACTION]

Traction,

If you haven't already installed one, check out the tailgate assist. I put one of these in soon after I got my truck. Now, opening the tailgate is a one hand ordeal rather than two, which comes in handy.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Auto..._l=SBC;cat104796180;cat104696280;cat104658480


I also got a tailgate handle lock which is nice if you want more secure storage. Next on my list of bed upgrades are some simple side curtains to keep out prying eyes.

Thanks for the suggestions. The curtains is a good idea. Let me know what you come up with for that. I already have the tailgate assist. After the tailgate dropping on my arm (a friend had un-latched the tailgate and I didn't know it, opened the canopy and BAM!) I needed something to prevent that from happening again. Got that at Cabela's as well.

 

[Fish]

I am hoping to move to Poway with a buddy this summer and we are looking at homes with at minimum a 3 car garage so that we can work on our rigs. Soon as that happens, it's suspension time. I am eager to hear what shocks you choose. Are the 5100's not sufficient? Does your suspension eliminate that nasty bouncing that we get from the highway down here in socal? I swear I feel like I need a sports bra somedays driving down these highways.:Wow1:

Where were you a couple of weeks ago when I put my rental up for sale? Luckily for me, it's in escrow now.

I still have the 5100's. They do not take out all of the bumps, but they're better than stock. After all, we're still driving a 3/4 ton truck. 163 just south of MCAS Miramar is pretty brutal.

I have driven a Carli 2.0 truck at Glamis and it was a huge improvement over the 5100's. I hear good things about Thuren's Fox package. I'd like to upgrade to 2.5's, but I hear the price is going up, so I'll probably end up with a tuned 2.0 set up. Or someone's used 2.5's. The 2.5's require a taller shock tower. That allows for a longer shock and more travel. More travel means a smoother ride. Plus the bigger shock allows for more tuning.

The bottom line I ask everyone is: what do you want to do with your truck and what do you want to spend?

 

[Rbertalotto]

Is that a free spin hub kit I see? Did you do the install? Wondering how difficult it is.

I wrote an article about this install on my web page

http://rvbprecision.com/dodge-cummins-diesel/ems-off-road-free-wheeling-kit-install.html

 

[TRACTION]

Fished a few odds and ends this weekend for the Arb bumper and winch install.

The bracket provided by Arb to mount the solenoid control box within the bumper made it difficult to access and almost impossible to mount without taking the bumper off so I fabricated a new mount. I used 3" wide 5/16th metal between the two light mounts and drilled corresponding holes for the box. Altogether it came out good and I should have room to still mount some lights at some point in the future.

Moving the box required longer cables which I created from the original winch battery cables. I also had to create another ground cable and attach it to the solenoid base bracket since in original form the bracket grounds to the motor itself. I used #2 welding cable to connect the winch itself to the passenger side battery since it had less items already attached to it. For all the cables I used the hammer style crimper and #2 battery lugs with a 5/16th hole.

Installed the factory fog lights and wiring harness in the bumper as well so now I have fogs again.

Next project is to swap out the center console for the jump seat version. Hopefully picking one up tomorrow. Already tried ordering it from a local auto wrecker but they sent the wrong seat twice so went the Ebay route instead.

 

[Boz]

Fished a few odds and ends this weekend for the Arb bumper and winch install.

The bracket provided by Arb to mount the solenoid control box within the bumper made it difficult to access and almost impossible to mount without taking the bumper off so I fabricated a new mount. I used 3" wide 5/16th metal between the two light mounts and drilled corresponding holes for the box. Altogether it came out good and I should have room to still mount some lights at some point in the future.

Moving the box required longer cables which I created from the original winch battery cables. I also had to create another ground cable and attach it to the solenoid base bracket since in original form the bracket grounds to the motor itself. I used #2 welding cable to connect the winch itself to the passenger side battery since it had less items already attached to it. For all the cables I used the hammer style crimper and #2 battery lugs with a 5/16th hole.

Installed the factory fog lights and wiring harness in the bumper as well so now I have fogs again.

Next project is to swap out the center console for the jump seat version. Hopefully picking one up tomorrow. Already tried ordering it from a local auto wrecker but they sent the wrong seat twice so went the Ebay route instead.

Looks good. I've always liked ARB's bumpers. Had one on my 92 range rover. Do you have the full center console? I've been wanting to swap that into my truck for a long time maybe we can work something out. What color is your interior?

 

[TRACTION]

Do you have the full center console? I've been wanting to swap that into my truck for a long time maybe we can work something out. What color is your interior?

Yeah I have the full center console. I like it but I'm mounting a computer in the rig and it interferes with the mounting pole. Interior is the light grey fabric so the center console is similar. I have no idea how much it would cost to ship but if you're interested let me know and I'll find out eventually. I'm not 100% sure I'll get rid of it yet till I figure if I like the replacement.