2018 Ram 2500 - FAV - Family Adventure Vehicle

[wazzudude]

Here we go!

Over the last ten years my trucks have slowly been growing in size (and expense) and I have finally graduated to the land of “Heavy Duty” trucks. I have moved from a Dakota, to a 2008 Ram 1500 then a 2014 Ram 1500 and now to my new baby… A Ram 2500 Big Horn with the Cummins and the Off Road package! Oh boy, I am excited!

So, I thought I’d start off with a little about me, this new truck and what exactly you can expect from this build.

First, I’m a high school teacher. You can write off any ideas that this will be a high dollar fast moving build. This will not be SEMA worthy.

This truck must do it all. It will pull our travel trailer to camping spots all over the west. We camped over 40 nights last year. It will be used to take my wife, kids and dog out exploring. We regularly take drives out on logging roads and to find interesting things. It is also my commuter car. Haha, commuter car... I mean I commute to work 70 miles round trip every day.
I have some plans for this truck to make it more suitable for our needs.

I thought I would start a build thread here to keep track of the changes.

Well, here she is.

 

[Tex68w]

Congrats, I'm certain you'll love it! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

 

[chet6.7]

I will follow along.

 

[Big Ern]

Congrats. Great rig. Welcome to a long (and expensive) rabbit hole.

 

[Brianagg06]

Congrats. Glad to see I'm not the only one who commutes over 70 miles daily, with a Cummins...ha! Great truck and engine for sure. I'll be following along too

 

[Explorerinil]

Awesome can’t wait to see what you are going to do.

 

[Montaska]

Aww yeah! Sub'd! I also work in Education so I understand what you mean about it not being "SEMA worthy". Great looking truck, looking forward to the build!

 

[wazzudude]

Thanks! That's a nice looking Ford you have there. I came pretty close to going Ford this time around.

 

[jgallo1]

Congrats.. I just got one and I could not be happier

 

[wazzudude]

First things first...

When choosing a new vehicle, I knew that I was going to go diesel and it really came down to the F250 or the Ram 2500. I liked both for different reasons. The Ford rode great the Ram looked awesome. Then I test drove a Ram with the off road package and I was sold. I felt that the different shocks made the Ram ride better than the Ford. I was leaning Dodge...

Then I realized that if I chose true blue pearl like in my 1/2 ton I could reuse my canopy. Well, considering how much these new trucks cost that was the deciding factor for me. I would rather not spend another 2 grand on a color matched canopy.

Putting the canopy on was the first improvement. I gotta have a place for my dog. He goes almost everywhere with me and I'm not putting a 130 pound German Shepherd in the cab. Here she is today with the canopy on!

She's coming along!



Oh yeah, I like stickers...:sombrero:

 

[Gibby56]

Congrats! It's awesome to see another Ram on the board.


The camper shell is sweet, did you already have a sleeping platform and storage done from before?

 

[wazzudude]

Congrats! It's awesome to see another Ram on the board.


The camper shell is sweet, did you already have a sleeping platform and storage done from before?

No sleeping platform. The back is where this old guy sleeps.




My sleeping platform is located in the trailer. It is our base camp for day trips and adventures. I like to explore, but I also like to relax with a beer from my fridge and sleep in a real bed.

 

[uscg2008]

Sub'd

 

[Gibby56]

No sleeping platform.

My sleeping platform is located in the trailer. It is our base camp for day trips and adventures. I like to explore, but I also like to relax with a beer from my fridge and sleep in a real bed.

I get it now. Based on the picture of the pup, I am assuming he would take up most of the space in the bed of the truck!

Oh, I am totally on the same page of the being comfortable part. Some guys on here have some wild camper shell setups

 

[Marine]

Nice looking truck. Congrats