2014 Ram 2500 Build thread

[Phreak480]

Picked up a new to me 2014 Ram 2500, 4x4, long bed, 4 door, rear air suspension, Cummins beast in Longhorn trim. Got her in 2016 and sold my 2003 1500 hemi, 4x4, 4 door, long bed, SLT trim. Been doing a bit of this and that for a few years on it and decided I should start posting about it.

I need to work on getting pictures and I'll share more details as I go along, it might be a bit disjointed so I'll apologize now.

Mods in no particular order;

Diamondback HD ATV carrier bed cover
Yaesu FT-8900r Ham radio
Stryker SR-89MC 10 meter radio
Front hitch
Custom weatherproof block heater plug (with mating extension cord)
10 meter antenna, 2m/70cm antenna, and GPS puck all mounted permanently through the roof
Fender mount 2m/70cm antenna
Custom cargo rails in the bed (much like what you see on the toyota pickups)
34.5" tires (they were on it when I got it) that fit with no lift needed

This is just the starting point and I'll be adding more pictures and info for the stuff I've done an am doing. If there is something anyone wants particular info about please ask and I'll do my best to get you all the details.

I'm currently working on adding some storage to the underside of the bed cover lids. I stole the idea from LLOD on youtube, after seeing some of what he did on his diamondback cover. I'm using shock cord to secure items to the inside of the lid with carious bits of hardware for different retention purposes.

 

[Phreak480]

Here she was the day I picked her up at the dealer.


More pictures to follow, they are all too big for upload currently.

 

[Phreak480]

Some of the storage in the lid of the bed cover.

This is all made from 1/4" and 3/16" shock cord and then various hardware like one would see on a kayak actually. Which cord used for each item depends on weight, size, shape, etc. I like the J hooks for looping the end over when pulled as it makes an easy attachment method to stow and un-stow items. The cable clips make good end point and even stops to keep items from shifting, and then the pad eyes are good for being a loop through point. I'll gladly get up close pictures of any of the sections if anyone wants to see something specific.

Air hose, tarp, work light, jack handle, mats for my old knees, axe, mattock, broom head, and broom handle. The broom handle is actually mostly heald buy a kayak paddle clip, and there is just 1 short bit of shock cord at the end to keep it from rattling against the lid.

Here you can see my bin of electrical repair bits, and my old Army issue goretex jacket and pants. If you are looking for surplus goretex this desert pattern stuff is the most durable by far.

If you look closely you can see a bit of the cargo rails I built. Made them from unistrut. 1 down each side and 1 across the front. I'll get more pics and put together more info on the mounting and bracing and make that a separate post in here.

Planned for the future is some side panels that hug the wheel wells and leave the whole 4x8 center of the bed (slightly bigger in each dimension actually) so I can haul all my tools and such (yes I tend to be very prepared) and still leave the center open for sheet goods, or even just hauling other stuff. The only stumbling block is how to fit my full size 3 ton floor jack, yes I'm soliciting ideas.

 

[Phreak480]

Exterior shots of the Diamonback bed cover when it went on. This is by far the best cover I've owned. On my previous ram I had a full cab height topper, and then an electric roll cover. This truck came when I bought it with a manual roll cover (sized for the short bed) with a tooldbox in front of it, and then got my electric roll cover from the old ram. I finally settled on the Diamondback after a buddy got one on his truck. It is be far the most weather resistant cover I've ever had. Yes in a hurricane you might get some water intrusion, or a car wash or hitting it with the power washer, but otherwise all tight and dry.

It can haul 1800lbs on top (2 ATVS easily) and I've loaded it pretty close to that limit before without issue. It's also a great platform to stand on, lounge out on, etc. The rails all the way round are for the ATV ramps. Usually you only get side or rear rails but I had them build it with both. If I haul 2 ATVs I side load and if 1 I load from the rear. The ramps are around 10ft long I think and fold for easier storage and hauling. The big greay 4 door locker you see in the back right of this picture was hauled on top of this cover actually.

About the only negative is if you are like me you had a TON of ratchet straps already, well the hooks on most don't fit the cleats well. Good news is that harborfreight has some 8 or 10 inch webbing loops that solve the problem just fine. This isn't really a knock on the cover, it's just the reality of hooks vs cleats.

And to top it all off it's designed and built in the USA. Customer service is amazing, I called with questions before buying and to see if they had a military discount (they do). I had 1 small part come in slightly damaged from shipping and they sent a replacement of the whole sub-assembly right away.

They just recently unveiled a smooth version, it is still sprayed in line-x but it's smooth aluminum and not diamond plate. It's so damn sharp lookng I almost wanted to upgrade.

I plan to add some t track to the top to be able to easily mount (and un-mount) a roof rack for a rooftop tent. I want to build it to span either the center and front panel of the center and rear and be easily slide between with only loosening a few bolts. This would allow it to be rearward for rooftop tent hauling but get moved to the forward position if I want to haul kayaks (a few are 17ft long so I'd rather minimize rear overhang). By having it only only cover the center and 1 other panel at a time I place less limitations on access to the contents of the bed as well.

 

[Phreak480]

Gotta have tints.

She made friends.

 

[Phreak480]

Yaesu FT-8900r dash mounted.

Just used some basic bracketry from home depot, one of these days I'll take it apart and paint it black but it's been this way a few years now.

Drilled a hole to run the wiring down behind the radio. Do this with the trim removed, a friend learned the hard way. The wire on the side closest to you is from the main unit to the remote head and the farther one is to remote the mic to a better spot and not have the cord dangling across the stereo. Body of the radio is buried in the center console, but I did run a 6 pin mini din extension from it to an accessible spot for ease of re-programming. So far no issues with heat for the head or the main body even in the summer sun down in Georgia a few years ago.

Remote wired the hand mic to come out between the driver seat and the console.

To remote the mic you need a 6 conductor RJ-12 cord set. It plugs into the face of the radio on the side and then you cna run it to where you want and then join it to the mic plug with a female to female coupler. Also here is the 8 conductor rj-45 type male to female cord set for my 10 meter radio, mic not pictured here.

 

[Phreak480]

Side view of the antennas.

Detail of the fender mount.

On the roof. If you look closely you can see the GPS puck on the passenger side. It's mounted mirror image of the factory shark fin. This will eventually feed a dedicated APRS setup. I might look to see if I can add a basic 1/4 wave whip for that just forward of the sunroof, I need to pull the overhead console and take a look at the structure again. I might be abel to use a thick style NMO mount. I prefer them due to the smaller 3/8" hole they use and the fact that I can add a large reinforcing washer on the inside. I onec pulled a regular NMO through the roof on my previous ram, big antennas and off-roading don't mix.

Front view, you can also see the front hitch.

View of the fender antenna from inside.

 

[Phreak480]

Custom wireless charging mount for my phone.

I didn't build or design the physical mount, I bought it on amazon.
It fit's in the business card slot.

I added a Qi coil to it though.

 

[Phreak480]

Bigger Tires. I really would like to stay at about this height but get a bit narrower. This are just over 11 inches wide, I'd like to get down just below 10 I think but still stay in a legit all terrain tire.

And of course different tires at different pressures made the truck grumpy.

I've since fixed this problem though by reprogramming the computer. Pm me for more info if you want it done.

She can still get good mileage even with those big tires.

Oh and here is my little helper when she was about 1 year old.

 

[jonathon]

Nice setup. How’s the fender mount working out for you? I’m thinking about putting my 2m/70cm antenna there only because I’m considering a Four Wheel Camper. Everything is a compromise...

Long bed with a bed cover is where it is at. I will never have a canopy again for daily stuff.

 

[CountryboyNC]

Nice truck, lot of practical mods. I really like the blue cord hanging from the mirror...got my a little over 16 years ago now.

 

[Phreak480]

Nice setup. How’s the fender mount working out for you? I’m thinking about putting my 2m/70cm antenna there only because I’m considering a Four Wheel Camper. Everything is a compromise...

Long bed with a bed cover is where it is at. I will never have a canopy again for daily stuff.

The mount works out great. I did get some wide heat shrink to hold the coax to the mount on its side so it couldnt end up in a spot to get pinched. I added a wiring boot to run the coax and power in to the cab. Honestly my radio is still hooked to it and not the roof antenna.

And yeah hard cover is for sure the way to go. Diamondback all the way.

 

[Phreak480]

Nice truck, lot of practical mods. I really like the blue cord hanging from the mirror...got my a little over 16 years ago now.

got mine early 2005...

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[CountryboyNC]

Yep, summer 04 for me...and now I’m a recruiter haha

 

[thewas4x]

You mentioned maybe adding some attachments along the inner bedsides. This company gets great reviews for their Ford products, and they have RAM/ Dodge stuff coming out very soon.

https://www.builtrightind.com/

I plan on adding their brackets to my Power Wagon. Good basis for mounting whatever kind of gear you need.