2015 Ram 2500 Carli/Thuren Build W/Four Wheel Camper

Gibby56

Desert Rat
I have been reading threads on here for a while and recently started posting some and figured I would introduce myself and my truck!

I purchased my truck new in 2015 and the original plan was to only use it for work and hauling trailers/dirtbikes. Its a 2015 2500 Tradesman with the Cummins powerplant.
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I installed a leveling kit on it to get rid of the factory rake thinking "This is a trailer dragger, I dont need anything fancy"
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Upper glove box retrofit
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This setup worked great for moving the crawler around to the different trail heads
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Once the crappy transforce tires wore out, I purchased 35" General Grabbers and 17" Method Standards
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A couple pictures of the truck in day to day activities
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The wife and I have used the truck for countless tent camping trips for dirt biking. Our riding group is starting to move away from dirt bikes and more into the mild wheeling/camping trips so when our old tent finally gave up we decided to upgrade to a bed tent and air mattress to bridge the gap until the four wheel camper. This has worked great so far! We can set up everything before we leave the driveway and it all folds into the bed. Then I cover it with a Lund rolling tonneau cover.
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Now I am at the point where things begin to get interesting...

I ordered sliders from White Knuckle Off Road. I chose to go with the .188" DOM and full top plate. These things are BEEF
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Then I decided that the spacer lift has to go..


So after a bunch of research I ended up with most of a Carli 3" suspension system with the King 2.5's
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I decided to piece together my own suspension system mixing Carli and Thuren parts. Most parts being Carli.

Carli Springs front and rear
Carli radius arms w/ limit straps
Carli torsion swaybar
Carli tuned King 2.5's
Carli rear track bar drop
Carli front diff guard

Thuren E-Brake brackets
Thuren boogie bump stops
Thuren rear sway bar links
Thuren King steering stabilizer

Not suspension related but I also installed the Patton Fab bed supports

To me it seems like Carli had a more complete front suspension system, whereas Thuren has a better design for the rear.

The future parts list for the truck consists of:
Thuren front axle truss
Thuren rear track bar
Thuren front bumper
Viair onboard air
Four Wheel Camper
37's
Regear to 4.30's
Timbren bump stops when the camper is on the truck

I am also kicking around the idea of sending the shocks to Thuren when they need to be rebuilt and have them re-valve and add finned reservoirs. Right now the truck donkey kicks ~50mph. Maybe 3.0's will be realistic at that time, who knows..

Anyway, that is the introduction and story of the truck so far. I am going to post about the first trip with the suspension next.
 
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Gibby56

Desert Rat
The first trip with the suspension was to the desert here in California near Ridgecrest. We mapped out ~240 miles of trail all offroad that we planned on doing in about 2 days. We ended up hitting ~150 miles due to time. We decided to enjoy the stops we mapped out along the way rather than just boogie through everything.

In preparation for the trip I purchased a HF high clearance hitch carrier that I made some minor tweaks to. I added a KC Cyclone amber LED that plugs into my trailer wiring so I had a dust light. I also bolted on a smittybilt gas can carrier so I had diesel on the trail.
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We stopped at quite a few spots but the ones below were some of my favorite

Trona Pinnacles
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Fish Rocks
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Right outside of Wagon Wheel
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"Abandoned Houses" in Boron
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And who doesn't love the bright desert moon!
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Bonus: driving through pismo and my wife asks me if I wanted to stop at the dunes...
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chet6.7

Explorer
You have a nice truck.
The Thuren rear track bar,is one of the best mods on my modest truck so far.I have mentioned it several times on this site,because it is that good.I am now thinking about the Thuren rear sway bar links.
 

Gibby56

Desert Rat
You have a nice truck.
The Thuren rear track bar,is one of the best mods on my modest truck so far.I have mentioned it several times on this site,because it is that good.I am now thinking about the Thuren rear sway bar links.

Thanks!

I am really happy with the sway bar links. I was attracted to the JKS bushing and that they can be rebuilt. I didn't like that the Carli ones were aluminum, adjustable, and non rebuildable. The Thuren ones are beefy and set to one size and work up to 15" of wheel travel so that was what sold me.
 

malibubts

Adventurer
Looks great!

How do you like the upper glove box retrofit? My 1500 is a Tradesman and it just seems like a bunch of wasted space there without it, so I'm thinking about adding it in.
 

chet6.7

Explorer
Thanks!

I am really happy with the sway bar links. I was attracted to the JKS bushing and that they can be rebuilt. I didn't like that the Carli ones were aluminum, adjustable, and non rebuildable. The Thuren ones are beefy and set to one size and work up to 15" of wheel travel so that was what sold me.
Thanks for the info.
 

Gibby56

Desert Rat
Looks great!

How do you like the upper glove box retrofit? My 1500 is a Tradesman and it just seems like a bunch of wasted space there without it, so I'm thinking about adding it in.

It is one of the best things i have done so far for the truck. To me, it made the interior feel more complete and i like that i could cover the items in that storage area. The install was easy took about 45 mins which most of the time was spent looking for the right socket.

I am not sure if the 1500 are the same as the 2500 but my truck didn’t come with a cabin air filter (mine is a tradesman too). There is a retrofit package available that i would recommend if you’re going to do the swap. The access area is right behind the lower glove box door that you have to remove anyway to install the upper glove box. I noticed a huge air quality difference in cab when off-road.
 

Gibby56

Desert Rat
Nice rig, I love seeing the progression over the years.

Thank you! I like the new SD's in black, yours looks sweet with the bronze wheels.

Its crazy the change in direction I have gone with this truck. When I first got it, I never would have thought I would be doing the things to it I am now. Most of the mods have happened in the past 5 months. Crazy how things change
 
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Dalko43

Explorer
It is one of the best things i have done so far for the truck. To me, it made the interior feel more complete and i like that i could cover the items in that storage area. The install was easy took about 45 mins which most of the time was spent looking for the right socket.

I am not sure if the 1500 are the same as the 2500 but my truck didn't come with a cabin air filter (mine is a tradesman too). There is a retrofit package available that i would recommend if you're going to do the swap. The access area is right behind the lower glove box door that you have to remove anyway to install the upper glove box. I noticed a huge air quality difference in cab when off-road.

Why doesn't FCA put a cabin air filter in the Tradesman? It seems like that's something that should be included in all of their trucks, regardless of trim level.
 

malibubts

Adventurer
It is one of the best things i have done so far for the truck. To me, it made the interior feel more complete and i like that i could cover the items in that storage area. The install was easy took about 45 mins which most of the time was spent looking for the right socket.

I am not sure if the 1500 are the same as the 2500 but my truck didn't come with a cabin air filter (mine is a tradesman too). There is a retrofit package available that i would recommend if you're going to do the swap. The access area is right behind the lower glove box door that you have to remove anyway to install the upper glove box. I noticed a huge air quality difference in cab when off-road.

Good deal, might end up going down that route for some more storage.

The 1500 is the same, I don't think the cabin air filters come on any Ram actually. The spot is there as you know, but just not cut out. I actually did that maybe a year ago and for like $25 was a pretty awesome mod.
 
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Bayou Boy

Adventurer
It is one of the best things i have done so far for the truck. To me, it made the interior feel more complete and i like that i could cover the items in that storage area. The install was easy took about 45 mins which most of the time was spent looking for the right socket.

I am not sure if the 1500 are the same as the 2500 but my truck didn’t come with a cabin air filter (mine is a tradesman too). There is a retrofit package available that i would recommend if you’re going to do the swap. The access area is right behind the lower glove box door that you have to remove anyway to install the upper glove box. I noticed a huge air quality difference in cab when off-road.

I definitely agree about the top glove box. It came stock in my truck and it's the perfect size for a set of gloves, headlamp, and a warm beanie-type hat.
 

Boz

Observer
I am also kicking around the idea of sending the shocks to Thuren when they need to be rebuilt and have them re-valve and add finned reservoirs. Right now the truck donkey kicks ~50mph. Maybe 3.0's will be realistic at that time, who knows..

Anyway, that is the introduction and story of the truck so far. I am going to post about the first trip with the suspension next.

From what I understand, Thuren will not touch Carli shocks and vise versa (unless things have changed). Truck looks great!
 

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