2013 Ram 2500 for light Off-Road Duties

getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
So I bought a 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Crew Cab Long Bed with the 6.7 Cummins. It had 14K miles on it when I got it a month ago.

Curious as to what you guys think of it as a light duty off road truck.

It has on it so far some 305/70/17 Nitto all terrain tires. And i think this one has the Limited slip rear axle in it as well. I just installed a 2.5" leveling kit in the front over the weekend. I like everything about it except the ugly stock running boards. I think i'll get some AMP Research folding running boards eventually.

I'd really like to run the AEV Bumper, a 16.5K winch and the AEV snorkle on it. I also ordered a tonneau cover for the bed and I plan on having bedliner sprayed in, then I'll throw away the plastic stock bedliner. I also plan on deleting the EGR system. I'll leave everything else stock.

It fits the family pretty good. Its a comfortable truck to drive on long trips.

I also plan on using the truck to pull a camper and for towing cars on a flatbed trailer.

Thanks
 

Trophycummins

Adventurer
You can take that truck anywhere if youve got good suspension, big rubber, and areny afraid of body damage.

Take a look at my build thread for my 2015, youll see what the capabilities of that rig could be. My build is a little more than "light duty" though.
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2025 deleted member

Well-known member
You can take that truck anywhere if youve got good suspension, big rubber, and areny afraid of body damage.

Take a look at my build thread for my 2015, youll see what the capabilities of that rig could be. My build is a little more than "light duty" though.
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Not really, some places it wont fit.
 

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
If you
plan on using the truck to pull a camper and for towing cars on a flatbed trailer
, then you should probably ditch the leveling kit. HD trucks ride tail-high when empty for a reason. Check the load range on your tires, because you'll want an E-rating for that truck, even without the trailer. When you replace the tires, get LTs instead of P-metrics. The spray-in bed liner is a no-brainer. The snorkel is a waste of money unless you are planning on deep water crossings. If you don't have limited slip, think about a rear locker. It's a very nice truck and you'll love it.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
If you , then you should probably ditch the leveling kit. HD trucks ride tail-high when empty for a reason. Check the load range on your tires, because you'll want an E-rating for that truck, even without the trailer. When you replace the tires, get LTs instead of P-metrics. The spray-in bed liner is a no-brainer. The snorkel is a waste of money unless you are planning on deep water crossings. If you don't have limited slip, think about a rear locker. It's a very nice truck and you'll love it.

3/4 trucks come stock with E-rated tires. 1/2 tons come with P rated ones which I'll never understand.
Airbags in the rear will enable him to run a leveling kit.
 

XJINTX

Explorer
Dang I still can't get over a 2013 with only 14K on it... great deal. I have an F250 with an FWC camper and I go most places I want. If I know I'll be in an area where I want to crawl trails I flat tow my Jeep. I am TOTALLY satisfied with mine for what I do. Yes, a winch does give me a bit of a "Warm Fuzzy" as I know I have it if needed.
 

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
3/4 trucks come stock with E-rated tires.
Not all of them. Dodge had a couple of TSBs that traced death wobble to the BFG AT/Ko Load Range D tires that were OEM on some 2500s. My PW came with those tires, and a lot guys reported problems with those tires on 2500s. I moved those tires when new to my GMC 1/2-ton and still got death wobble when the tires hit 30M. And OP's 2500 CTD has 305/70/17s on it, so they are probably P-metric and may not be the originals even though the truck has only 14M on it.

Airbags in the rear will enable him to run a leveling kit.
It's cheaper to remove the leveling kit than to add the airbags, and he shouldn't need airbags on a 2500 CTD unless his trailers are massive. I'm not a fan of leveling kits, but that's just me.
 
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getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
This is it. I debadged it and put a leveling kit on it. I also got some husky floor mats for the front and back.

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TommyG

Adventurer
You can do quite a bit with it. You won't be rock crawling crazy jeep trails but it will go more places than you might think. Be prepared for a million scratches on and possibly some minor sheet metal damage but it can be a pretty capable truck. Invest in some good recovery gear and get out there and see what it can do.
 

getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
I took it on a trip with my kids and wife. We went out to the Devils Playground in the West Desert of Utah. It did pretty good.


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getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
Ok, So the next mod is some forward facing lighting. Its getting darker for longer everyday that passes right now. So I purchased a 30" Curved LED light bar.

I'll post up on that as soon as it shows up.

I'm going to start looking into some shocks. The stocks are fine, but don't have a lot of travel. Maybe I can ad on some swaybar disconnects as well.
 

Trophycummins

Adventurer
Ok, So the next mod is some forward facing lighting. Its getting darker for longer everyday that passes right now. So I purchased a 30" Curved LED light bar.

I'll post up on that as soon as it shows up.

I'm going to start looking into some shocks. The stocks are fine, but don't have a lot of travel. Maybe I can ad on some swaybar disconnects as well.

You won't get more travel out of new shocks unless you get the supporting suspension parts.

Get a thuren active rate sway bar and discos won't be needed.


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