STREGA'S 2016 Ram 3500 cab/chassis adventure truck build

[STREGA]

The truck of choice for build:

2016 Ram 3500 4X4 regular cab, SRW, cab/chassis in a Tradesman level trim. 6.4L Hemi with a 6-speed Aisin transmission, manual shift transfer case and 4.44 axle ratio. Payload is 3,830 lbs, max towing is 17,680 lbs and GCWR is 24,000 lbs.

Reason I chose this truck:

I'am a full time RV'er and need a truck capable of towing a 32' bumper pull trailer that has a 12,500 lbs GVWR when loaded and a payload capacity around 3,500 lbs. Although I really wanted a Power Wagon because of it's off road capabilities it came up short on its towing/payload/GCWR ratings. I also wanted a flatbed so by buying a cab/chassis I didn't have to remove a pickup bed and try to sell it (or most likely give away) since I have no where to store it. Also the 6.4L Hemi with the Aisin tranny combo is only available with the cab/ chassis.

Build plan for this truck:

Install a aluminum flatbed, mount a FWC Hawk popup camper, storage boxes under the bed and between the cab and camper storage for spare tire, fuel cans, propane tanks and other items that I do not want inside the camper. Not looking to go to crazy on mods but slightly larger tires and I like the AEV Katla rims. A front bull bar bumper is also on the list, don't think a snorkel will be installed but you never know....

Truck pics as it came from dealership:

 

[p nut]

Nice! Seems like an awesome platform for what you're planning to do.

 

[STREGA]

Nice! Seems like an awesome platform for what you're planning to do.

Thanks p nut. I believe I have found the right truck to do the job. My needs in a truck are probably a bit different/unique than most here on the Portal. Hopefully when this build is complete it will be helpful to someone else thinking of doing something similar.

 

[p nut]

Just a quick question: Why did you choose a Hemi over Cummins?
_
I would choose the same, but curious why you did.

 

[kraven]

Nice. The cab/chassis is like a secret level for ordering a truck the way you want from Dodge.
It'll be fun to see this unfold.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Is the 6.4 detuned on cab/chassis versions?

 

[chilliwak]

I like your truck Strega. Funny that they dont offer that truck with a cummins diesel. If you keep things light I am sure you will have lots of power with the gasoline motor. That rig has just endless posibilities. Keep us posted with pics of your build. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[STREGA]

I like your truck Strega. Funny that they dont offer that truck with a cummins diesel. If you keep things light I am sure you will have lots of power with the gasoline motor. That rig has just endless posibilities. Keep us posted with pics of your build. Cheers, Chilli...

Thanks Chilli, Actually they do offer it in a Cummins.





The truck on the left in the first pic is mine the one with the black grill is a Cummins with Aisin tranny they were both speced about the same, IIRC the Cummins truck was about $5-6k more. The second pic shows the difference of where the fuel tanks were located, the gasser has it mounted right behind the cab and the diesel has it at the rear of the truck the DEF tank is behind the cab.



Here's a pic of the truck AEV had at the OEX west this year, it had the Cummins in it. This truck was my inspiration/downfall LOL.

 

[STREGA]

Is the 6.4 detuned on cab/chassis versions?

With the Aisin transmission (AS66RC) the Hemi is rated at 370HP and 429LB-FT torque. With the standard tranny (66RFE) it is rated at 410 HP with the same torque rating (both cab chassis figures, interesting that the Aisin has a lower HP rating). So it is detuned some although it feels plenty powerful as is. Haven't had a chance to tow anything with it yet so I don't know how well it's really going to do.

 

[STREGA]

Nice. The cab/chassis is like a secret level for ordering a truck the way you want from Dodge.
It'll be fun to see this unfold.

Yes it is, the cool thing was that it was already sitting on the dealer lot and was speced out almost exactly the way I wanted, made it real easy and no waiting. It's been over 4 years since I have been excited about a truck build, this should be a fun one!

 

[STREGA]

Just a quick question: Why did you choose a Hemi over Cummins?
_
I would choose the same, but curious why you did.

Good question and there is a short and longer answer to it. I will give the short one for now and probably expand on it more later in this build thread. Reliability, very real warranty problems with the Cummins and lower cost overall. Of course the compromise with choosing the Hemi was I'am giving up a lot of performance that the Cummins offered.

 

[STREGA]

Planned uses of this truck:

This truck is going to become our only vehicle in the near future so it's going to be a DD. We also need the ability to move our home when needed (as mention earlier we are full time RV'ers, my job requires that we live in a RV, also known as work camping). The wife and I are getting closer to our retirements although we will never really totally retire. Our plans are to work about half the year or less and travel around the U.S. the other half to see all the places we've wanted to. A lot of the places we will go to will be RV friendly (the RV is our home base) but a lot of them will not be. That is where the FWC popup camper or something similar on the truck comes into play, we will just drop off the trailer in a safe place and explore with the truck only. Although the truck is still a big package to take to some rougher trails we will be able to get to some great areas to base camp from. This is the reason for choosing a reg. cab truck over a crew cab, I wanted as short a truck as possible and since its just the wife and me we really did not need the crew cab although it is nice to have the extra lockable room. Another compromise. This plan will take from 2 to 3 years to get in place hopefully closer to the 2 year mark, I just got promoted from seasonal work (about 9 months a year) to year round employment. So in the mean while we will have weekends to do short camping trips and get the truck dialed in for the bigger adventures to come.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

With the Aisin transmission (AS66RC) the Hemi is rated at 370HP and 429LB-FT torque. With the standard tranny (66RFE) it is rated at 410 HP with the same torque rating (both cab chassis figures, interesting that the Aisin has a lower HP rating). So it is detuned some although it feels plenty powerful as is. Haven't had a chance to tow anything with it yet so I don't know how well it's really going to do.

That is odd. I can only assume that RAM thinks owners who buy the aisin will be working the truck hard all the time so they detuned it a bit?

 

[justafurnaceman]

I'm very interested in this. Looking at doing a very similar thing and trying to find a 3500 chassis now. I'm looking at getting the Cummins though...

 

[STREGA]

That is odd. I can only assume that RAM thinks owners who buy the aisin will be working the truck hard all the time so they detuned it a bit?

That was kinda what I was thinking, back it off 10% or so for long term reliability.