New, slow build. Do all 2015 Ram Cummins turbo diesel. 37s and 550hp.

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
I'm a Ford guy, but I've had a few customers with Rams that make me really look hard at them.

Bite your tongue Pete! You'll soon come to the dark side!

My 68 has been Really F@€$in Excellent so far (50,000+) and I'm NOT easy on it. Stock power is probably helping, but I am at max gvw at least 50% of the time. I put some cash into extended warranty instead of in to the Aisin. We'll see how it plays out...
 

thethePete

Explorer
Yeah, the Aisin doesn't have any extra headroom for additional power and there is zero aftermarket for it. I know. I tried to get one built, we could only get a very stout stock rebuild for it and I had to pull back some power on that truck because of it.

The main issue with the 68RFE is that they tried to make it shift smooth and gentle under low load by slowly ramping up line pressure, unfortunately it doesn't ramp quickly enough for a modified truck and the rate the power comes on, and you don't end up with enough clutch pressure and burn out the clutches. The shafts are a known weakpoint too, but you gotta be into big boy power before that's a huge problem. If you're at stock power and just loading it heavily it's not a huge deal, it can keep up, the problem comes from modifying it; the power comes on quicker than the tranny can keep up with and the clutches slip before they get enough line pressure to grab. You can keep the trans alive with additional power if you pedal it all the time, but where's the fun in that.

The big selling feature for me with the Ram besides the Cummins is the fact that it's the only one you can get with 3 pedals anymore.
 

Trophycummins

Adventurer
Solid. Suncoast makes good stuff, I steer my customers towards BD because they're local, but I've heard nothing but good things about Suncoast. Hope you did the flex plate at the same time! I'm a Ford guy, but I've had a few customers with Rams that make me really look hard at them.

I'm a ford employee. Almost got fired when I brought the ram to work on the first day.

Yeah, the Aisin doesn't have any extra headroom for additional power and there is zero aftermarket for it. I know. I tried to get one built, we could only get a very stout stock rebuild for it and I had to pull back some power on that truck because of it.

The main issue with the 68RFE is that they tried to make it shift smooth and gentle under low load by slowly ramping up line pressure, unfortunately it doesn't ramp quickly enough for a modified truck and the rate the power comes on, and you don't end up with enough clutch pressure and burn out the clutches. The shafts are a known weakpoint too, but you gotta be into big boy power before that's a huge problem. If you're at stock power and just loading it heavily it's not a huge deal, it can keep up, the problem comes from modifying it; the power comes on quicker than the tranny can keep up with and the clutches slip before they get enough line pressure to grab. You can keep the trans alive with additional power if you pedal it all the time, but where's the fun in that.

The big selling feature for me with the Ram besides the Cummins is the fact that it's the only one you can get with 3 pedals anymore.

My tranny bangs gears as hard as my old built th400 in my drag car. Theres nothing "smooth" about my trans tune lol.

Yesterday I got a bit done, finished my c02 bottle mount and my fuel jug mount.

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Here's the bottle mount, mounts to the inner wall of my bed and uses 7" hose clamps heatshrunk with rubber to keep it in place.

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Mount for two 5 gallon fuel jugs. Ratchet straps with the hooks cut off are attached to the tabs on the side to suck the cans down.

I still have a stock rear bumper and wanted a recovery point, I took my forged reese titan ball mount, turned down a bushing for it, and threw a 7/8" shackle in it.

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I'm also exploring the idea of a flat floor behind the front seats and mounting my ARB fridge there.
 

thethePete

Explorer
I'm a ford employee. Almost got fired when I brought the ram to work on the first day.

My tranny bangs gears as hard as my old built th400 in my drag car. Theres nothing "smooth" about my trans tune lol.
Me too, but they don't care so much what we drive at my stealership. The last one I worked at was like that though... ****** that. I drive what I want.

That's why your trans is gonna survive ;) It's an HD truck, no reason for it to shift smooth.


Axle unit bearings will love those heavy *** 37s.........

Yeah, like he mentioned; HD trucks will take a 37" tire no problem. 35s don't cause noticeable wear on any components over stock size, 37"s are almost as negligible as far as additional wear is concerned. If you've ever held a 1-ton unit bearing, you'd be pretty confident they'll survive. A set of 19.5s is probably heavier than a set of 37" mud tires anyway, and they come on those stock in Class 4 and Class 5 trucks.


....sorry for cluttering up your thread, I have a newborn, so I have a surplus of time on my hands at home now.
 

chilliwak

Expedition Leader
You don't have to apologize to Chili. His head DOES swivel 360* so he can check out all the girls at the festivals he attends every year! :)

I love the look of the truck with those Toyo Muds:Wow1: on er. Awesome.:drool: And yes Redthies, my head does have a tendancy to swivel at sweet looking girls!:smiley_drive:
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
I love the look of the truck with those Toyo Muds:Wow1: on er. Awesome.:drool: And yes Redthies, my head does have a tendancy to swivel at sweet looking girls!:smiley_drive:

You and me both Allan! I barely made it through downtown Van alive today! There was some SERIOUS talant wandering around in the sun! All the Priii (plural of Prius??) were scattering in the wake of the mighty 3500 Cummins with the big camper on it!:pROFSheriffHL:
 

chilliwak

Expedition Leader
You and me both Allan! I barely made it through downtown Van alive today! There was some SERIOUS talant wandering around in the sun! All the Priii (plural of Prius??) were scattering in the wake of the mighty 3500 Cummins with the big camper on it!:pROFSheriffHL:

37 inch tires roll so easily over that....

i hope you had fun...:smiley_drive:
 

D45

Explorer
Theres a ton of us running 37s, many are on 2.5/3.0 kings and beat on their trucks at 80mph in the desert, no issues. Thanks though. :ylsmoke:

Wait till yours fail, without warning, and leave you stranded cause the hub locked up or worse, the wheel/tire come off (and take the axle stub and caliper with it)

It does happen, ask me how..........I ran 37s on my ole Cummins, too
 

ZJARCHER

Adventurer
I've ran 37s on multiple cummins trucks and run with the same cats that the OP is referring to. We beat on our trucks harder than 99% do. No issues yet. I'll build it when it goes... Usually comes with warning signs.
 

silvrcummns

New member
Wait till yours fail, without warning, and leave you stranded cause the hub locked up or worse, the wheel/tire come off (and take the axle stub and caliper with it)

It does happen, ask me how..........I ran 37s on my ole Cummins, too

D45, while I acknowledge you went through such a terrible experience and have heard of similar stories from others. I have never seen it happen in person. All these unit bearing trucks can have issues and I've seen some really bad ones I've never had a total failure. My truck has had 37's ( mall crawler stage of life) and 35's ( sees more dirt now) for the better part of 90k and is still tight minus a minor amount upper bj movement. Like trophy cummins has said, there are a lot of people who wheel these trucks very hard at high speed and never have a bearing split in the manor yours did. Wear out, yes. Need to be replaced trail side, yes. Total failure...hardly ever.

With these trucks it pays to stay on top of maintenance and inspecting. This should be obvious to people who do off road ( to any degree) that things have to checked and expected to be replaced.

Trophycummins, truck is looking sweet man! Keep up the good work
 

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