08 Dodge 3500 build

[Outback]

Tonight while away from home I started thinking about building up my 08 Dodge 3500 4x4 Diesel into an American Expedition rig. It gets good fuel mileage (for a full size truck). She can carry alot of weight and has enough room in her for my whole family. She is a crew cab single rear wheel long bed. This isnt the first time ive been dreaming about building her up but I finally found the company I want to use as my foundation for the build. Everything runs on the suspension. While the stock suspension is good its not the best (no stockvehicle is) for off roading. I believe I have found the best setup for an expedition based Dodge 3500 / 2500. KORE! Kore has really done there home work and has come up with a GREAT kit(s) for my vehicle. If your not familiar with KORE jujst check out the Baja 1000 and see who drives there rigs down to Baja. Races them on the Baja 1000 and then drives them back home. Now I'm not going to race my truck but they do make a suspension system for my purpose plus if you want you can have the full race suspension put on your Dodge and run it in the Baja.....If thats your thing. Heres a picture from KOREs website of there RECON kit. PLUS a little description.

FROM KORES WEBPAGE:

For a smooth street and trail ride, the RECON SERIES uses soft-riding VR coils and progressive mini leaf packs. Retains factory load ratings while greatly increasing control both on and off road. The Bilstein 6646 front shock gives increased wheel travel and no "topping out" over obstacles. Developed by KORE, the Bilstein 6647 rear shocks are specially valved to work with KORE MINI LEAF PACKS in the HD Dodge application.


- Full replacement suspension system
- Recon Steering damper controls big tires
- Includes Race Series End Links
- Up 3.0 inches of lift in front

- 1 inch of lift in the rear
- Up to 11 inches of wheel travel
- Shocks warranted for life

- Retains OE driveline and steering geometry

- Unparalleled highway ride and handling

- Can be set back to stock

- No cutting, welding or drilling

- Permits 35x12.5 tires on OE wheels
- For 2003-2008 Models


Stay with me while I start to build her up. I will be in the field for the next three weeks but will get her started when I get back home.

 

[Gregny]

You won't be disappointed with the KORE setup.... I love mine what a smooth ride:victory:

 

[Heimz]

Sounds great, man! I love to see the Dodges done up as Expo rigs. I too have done alot of thinking about my future plans and like to see other rigs for inspiration.

You'll like the KORE kit, as its years better than the stock ride. There are other companies as well that deal with nothing but 2nd and 3rd Gen. Dodge trucks. Check out Carli Suspension (www.thecarlisuspension.com) and Thuren Fabrication (www.thurenfabrication.com), both awesome and outstanding companies.


You should seriously call up KORE, Carli, and Thuren to discuss your plans. You might find that you want something "more" than the Recon! These guys can offer some great advice are REALLY good about non trying to sell you something you dont want or need. In fact, Thuren sometimes recommends Carli parts if he thinks it will work better for the customer! A++++!!!!!

The best advice I can give you is "Do it RIGHT the first time!!!". Don't skimp with these suspension setups, because upgrading can get expensive! Ive seen guys dump tons into a Recon level suspension only to upgrade to a race type setup that, though they dont race, say it rides better and smoother than their entry-level kit.

Keep us posted! Cant wait to see what you do with the rest of your truck!

 

[milo12]

Sounds nice. I also have a 2008 3500 SRW diesel. I went with the Lorenz suspension. Works awesome, so much better than stock. I'm sure you will be happy with the Kore stuff. I would recommend not doing the minipack and just do the entire replacement leafs. Much better ride and articulation. I also recommend the Carli long travel airbags, great to level the truck under load without giving up travel.

Another thing I want to do is put in a front locker. The one from the Power Wagon fits and can be bought on ebay for around $400.

I don't know if you have all the emissions stuff intact but I can say if it falls off the truck runs perfect and gets a few more mpg's.

 

[mcgovski]

I have been pondering the same thing. I have a dodge 3500 '06 4door ctd long bed with a cab over camper. I am thinking of selling the camper and lightening things up.
my thoughts:

FlatBed
Kitchen/water/storage cabinet behind the cab
motorcycle storage on the remainder of the bed
cargo rack over cab and cabinet
autohome RTT
awning

just my thoughts...I will be eager to see what you come up with

what do you think about this vehicles world wide support?

 

[Outback]

First I must say thanks for all the responses. In no particular order I will try and answer some of the questions. World Wide Support. To be honost I just dont know other than in Australia. NONE. No Dodge trucks in OZ at this time that I know of. To be honost my plans for this rig are only for North America. I wont go South below our border since Crime is way out of control! So for me Vehicle support is fine.

I suspected the front locker from the Power Wagon would fit! Man thank you for confirming this. I know the rear wont. I believe the only thing the two diffrent rear ends have in common are the Diesel Axles. Thanks for the info!

YES I agree I will be happy with KORE! If the MOPAR engineers picked them to put the suspension on the Concept Diesel Power Wagon then you know there TOP GRADE! PLUS all the Baja wins. I have been talking to one of the KORE guys in RENO and still have not decided which kit I will go with. At first I wanted something that would do very well at S L O W speeds and crawling. I wanted arcticulation and a smooth "controlable" ride. BUT apparently this can be accomplished with all of there kits. Ive been kicking around with "What size tires"? I figured 35" tires would be about perfect. But then went back and read the article on the 08 Diesel Power Wagon concept build. They were running 40" Goodyear MTs! 40"!!!!!! But they only had about 3" of lift on the front and 2" of lift on the rear. This is about max of a lift I would ever do. So then I started to look at the pictures and realized they did some MAJOR surgery on the fenders. PERFECT. I would rather cut some sheet metal off than go up with suspension and other type of lifts. Since some tires chains broke this winter and dinged up one of my fenders (do you believe this for an excuse to have room for bigger tires?) By doing the surgery they were able to keep the Center of Gravity low. Why people put 8 to 12 inches of lift has never made sense to me unless they lived in a swamp....period! Now Im not saying Im going with 40" tires but man can you imagine the terrain you could cover SO much easier? So for now the tire size is up in the air. No matter what I do I will have to change out my gears. I could maybe get away with 35" with my 3.73 gearing but since I will be adding some type of traction devices (Power Wagon locker up front) I can get into the pumpkins at one time and do it right.

OK so here is a question: I am hoping against hope but does anyone know of a selectable locker for the rear? To me these are the only real choice for an expedition rig.

 

[Outback]

For the Camper shell I have decide on a Flip Pac. Im not sure if any of you know who Viking Vince is but I spent a weekend with several members here on a Mojave run. Viking Vince had his very cool little Toyota truck there and he had a Flip Pac. Now Vince is a tall man and he had PLENTY of room in his Flip Pac camper. The Flip Pac looks pretty much like a camper shell. BUT with a crank and about 15 seconds you have a full tent and a 7' walk space! Bed is ready to go and can sleep 4 adults. Again perfect for my family of 4 and of course our dog. Please feel free to show me what you have on your rigs. I am open to suggestions but I really love the idea of the Flip Pac!

 

[jcbrandon]

...does anyone know of a selectable locker for the rear? ...

How 'bout swapping in a complete rear end from a Power Wagon? You'll get a selectable locker and 4:56 gears.

 

[Outback]

That is a good idea. But I need to tow a 12,000 lbs trailer with my Truck and need the extra beef on the one tone rear axle. If I go with 40" tires then 4.56 gears will be the ratio I need!

 

[jcbrandon]

I'm not up to speed on the differences between running gear on the Dodge 2500 and 3500 trucks. My 2007 Power Wagon is rated to tow 10,600 pounds. Does the 3500 have a beefier rear axle?

 

[Outback]

Yes it is a beefier axle. Not sure how much. My Snowcat and trailer come in at about 12,500 depending on the gear and fuel I have in her. I do have some lighter cats. But for now I need a 1 ton to two her with.

 

[milo12]

The diesels have the 11.5 rear axle. I don't know what a power wagon has. I have checked numerous forums and no one has been able to find a locker. If you want to spend the coin your could get a Dynatrac axle in any ratio you want with a locker.

I also have the 3.73 and I wish I had the 4.10 or higher. I run 35 in tires and the 3.73 is marginal. The new auto trans just doesn't have a low 1st gear like the manual. I really need the gearing to go slower. I have even considered getting an Atlas 4 speed and swapping out the transfer case. That would be the dream setup.

So you know the complete line of Dodge trucks is sold in Argentina and other South American countries.

 

[Christian]

:littlefriend:Im just sad that you dropped getting on the Volvo wagon with the rest of us filthy few.

 

[Heimz]

The Power Wagon has some "special" axles, they employ the 10.5" AAM housings but use the bigger diesel 11.5" AAM axle shafts (to handle the torque of the lower gearing). You can buy a front PW locker to fit your 9.25" AAM axle up front, but you should check into 1) an Eaton E-locker if you want to install a locker, or 2) A complete Power Wagon front axle runs about $2200 from the dealer. Swap your rear gears and youll be diesel power wagon extraordinaire.

FWIW, the 4.56 gears are REALLY nice for the low speed stuff, but REALLY suck on highway. A diesel with 35's would NOT like those tall 4.56 gears. Talking with several well known people in the diesel Dodge community, they all agree that 3.73's are perfect for 35's and 4.10's are about perfect for 37's. 40" tires would work well with 4.56's. I have friends with 37's and 3.73's and can easily roast the tires, so I really dont think youre going to run into issues with it really being a dog- its a DIESEL, not a gasser! Youve got 650lb/ft of torque to spin those beasts!!!

 

[Outback]

:littlefriend:Im just sad that you dropped getting on the Volvo wagon with the rest of us filthy few.

OH NO! I havent dropped the Volvo! No this is just a rig for the Americas. Again my dream rig is the Volvo!:victory: