Another Ram 3500 build...

[blackdmax15]

Hi all figured i’d Post this build up as most of y’all have inspired me with yours. I’m an AD Marine stationed in San Diego and living/flying around the desert SW over last ten years has motivated me to get out and explore it more towards ground level. We have a Yukon XL, but the more we explore it has become a limitation plus I don’t want to scratch the white diamond tricoat paint anymore. Plus the Yukon XL with 3 car seats was getting too small as we travel heavy and for comfort so the wife lets me take her. Feb 13 I ordered the truck from Dennis Dillon dodge in Idaho. Their online prices are stellar and my original plan was to build a prospector XL through them and they gave me good vibes on the phone (I am not affiliated other then I just gave them a ton of money when I bought the truck). Trying to be more frugal as i’m Planning to transition out of the service next summer, I compiled a list of what I thought I need and sent the list to Cody at DD and they said they could or have ordered most of the stuff I wanted so they got my deposits and the wait began.

The truck came in last week and I just picked it up on Monday the 28th. Overall i’m Extremely impressed with their service and how the whole build flows. It rides better than our Yukon Denali and gets slightly better mileage. For the trip from Caldwell to San Diego, I hand calculated 20.2mpg and that’s corrected for the larger tires. Specs are as follows:

Truck: 2018 Granite Crystal Ram 3500 CC/SB with Cummins and Aisin transmission. It’s a Tradesman with vinyl seats and floors (so the kids won’t totally destroy) and I got the 440A dual alternators. Only other mod was the 5” radio because I needed XM radio.

Parts: Thuren 2.5 King kit with 1.75” coils and active sway bar. AEV black Saltas and Toyo RTs 37/12.50. WKO 0.188” sliders and the Diamondback Hd tonneau cover. DD tinted the windows and installed all the parts for a great labor price (i’m now a fan if you can’t tell).

I’m almost done with phase one and phase two will be lockers/gears and maybe larger tires... all that is left is to decide between Line-X or bedrug, order the BD On6x curved light and CJC brackets. Oh and headlight revolution replacement bulbs since the factory low beams are the worst ever. Hope you enjoy. Love to answer any questions and will post updates as I find issues.

 

[Tex68w]

Congrats on the new truck and welcome to the Portal. Also, thank you for your service, I know the struggle, I got my DD214 last year, what a glorious day lol.

It's insane how many HD Ram truck builds are currently under way at the moment, it's quickly becoming the go-to HD truck option in the overland travel world.

Out of curiosity, what is the height from the bottom of your sliders to level ground? I have a similar build to yours and I will have mine in a few weeks and I was curious about how low they will hang. Looking forward to seeing your build come together in the next phase.

 

[ttengineer]

I like it. How do those Thuren coils ride?


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[Explorerinil]

Nice truck, you’ll like the thuren suspension over the AEV, your ride will be allot better! I got the same truck just different color and a few years older. Any plans on gears? What are your future mods?

 

[Kingsize24]

Very nice! Thank you for your service.

Truck looks incredible, and the mods you have going are perfect. Can't wait to see the places it takes you and your family. Subscribed!

 

[warrpath4x4]

Nice looking truck

 

[Copperhead14]

Good choice. I have a 2500 mega cab, ram box bed, with Cummins and 285/75-18 R/T’s on stock steel wheels. It is a great truck.

 

[Kingsize24]

Good choice. I have a 2500 mega cab, ram box bed, with Cummins and 285/75-18 R/T’s on stock steel wheels. It is a great truck.

Don't mean to jack this thread, but we need pics. Post them up in your own thread when you get a chance.

 

[blackdmax15]

Don't mean to jack this thread, but we need pics. Post them up in your own thread when you get a chance.

Do the 5 original pics not show up? Here are some more.

 

[blackdmax15]

Nice truck, you’ll like the thuren suspension over the AEV, your ride will be allot better! I got the same truck just different color and a few years older. Any plans on gears? What are your future mods?

I asked a local gear specialist but he never got me my quote. I want to do 4.88s and ARBs, but i’m Super satisfied with the 37s so May just go 4.10/4.30 and call it a day. With the Aisin the 3.42s aren’t bad honestly. It’s peppy, but geared I have a feeling it would be a rocket. Future mods are maybe 42s with the deeper 4.88s, lower control arms to move the front end forward, AEV flares, ARB dual compressor to go along with my CO2 tank, Asfir sliders and mount either my 9.5xp or a 16.5TIS witch hidden in the rear bumper. On of my junior Marines is going to a fab school at night so we are going to work on the rear winch mount. It’s been done before, but I want to keep weight in the rear.

 

[blackdmax15]

Congrats on the new truck and welcome to the Portal. Also, thank you for your service, I know the struggle, I got my DD214 last year, what a glorious day lol.

It's insane how many HD Ram truck builds are currently under way at the moment, it's quickly becoming the go-to HD truck option in the overland travel world.

Out of curiosity, what is the height from the bottom of your sliders to level ground? I have a similar build to yours and I will have mine in a few weeks and I was curious about how low they will hang. Looking forward to seeing your build come together in the next phase.

Thank you for your service Sir. I feel weird when people thank me as the military has given me so much but it’s appreciated. The large amount of ram builds including yours are why I titled the thread his way haha. Ground to bottom of sliders is 18 3/4. The lowest part of the truck is the lower control arms. The one big complaint and bummer about the truck is that I had planned to remove the center jump seat and hard mount my Arb fridge freezer. I have the 50qt that will sit a little higher than the factory seat/arm rest, but there is a metal bar running across so I think it will just be too tall now. More to follow but it’s convenient to just refill the kids drinks while driving and don’t want to have to stop to access it. If any of the kids are sleeping, that peaceful time is precious and enables me to put some miles down. If I put the fridge under the tonneau, i’ll Have to open doors and open the tonneau/tailgate to access it and inevitable wake them. Plus every stop with the little demons turns into a 15-20 boondoggle.

 

[Kingsize24]

Do the 5 original pics not show up? Here are some more.

I was talking to copperhead. All your pics show up fine.

I too am looking for a rear winch mount. I have another 16.5 to mount. Look forward to see what you end up doing to mount it. This is the only one I've seen that also incorporated a rear skid.

 

[Explorerinil]

I asked a local gear specialist but he never got me my quote. I want to do 4.88s and ARBs, but i’m Super satisfied with the 37s so May just go 4.10/4.30 and call it a day. With the Aisin the 3.42s aren’t bad honestly. It’s peppy, but geared I have a feeling it would be a rocket. Future mods are maybe 42s with the deeper 4.88s, lower control arms to move the front end forward, AEV flares, ARB dual compressor to go along with my CO2 tank, Asfir sliders and mount either my 9.5xp or a 16.5TIS witch hidden in the rear bumper. On of my junior Marines is going to a fab school at night so we are going to work on the rear winch mount. It’s been done before, but I want to keep weight in the rear.

Sounds like you got a plan, and a nice set up already. I got the Aisin trans and it did ok with 3:42 gears and 37’s, once I swapped in some 4:30gears it really woke up and is fun to drive, plus towing is much better than stock.

 

[Tex68w]

I was talking to copperhead. All your pics show up fine.

I too am looking for a rear winch mount. I have another 16.5 to mount. Look forward to see what you end up doing to mount it. This is the only one I've seen that also incorporated a rear skid.

View attachment 452118

I need details about this! Who makes it, where can I get it, and how much is it? I removed my factory spare and hangar hardware and now I have tons of empty space back there.

 

[Bayou Boy]

More to follow but it’s convenient to just refill the kids drinks while driving and don’t want to have to stop to access it. If any of the kids are sleeping, that peaceful time is precious and enables me to put some miles down. If I put the fridge under the tonneau, i’ll Have to open doors and open the tonneau/tailgate to access it and inevitable wake them. Plus every stop with the little demons turns into a 15-20 boondoggle.

I've always done food in the fridge in the bed/camper and drinks/beer in a Yeti or soft Rtic in the back seat floor. I find I can reach back and grab stuff if I put the cooler right behind the console and it isn't in any one's way. Also, there is no comparing pulling a beer out of an ice slurry and pulling one out of the fridge at the end of the day. Every few days I drain some water and put a 10# block and a 10# bag of ice in and it will stay cold the better part of a week with the block holding down the fort. I've found blocks are fairly easy to find at grocery stores in the mountains.

Just something to think about.