2018 Ram 3500 G56 Expedition Family Adventure Vehicle

[Kingsize24]

First a bit of a cut is needed, Then these beefy as hell bumper supports are bolted on. These things are HEAVY! So is the stinkin' bumper!



Now on to the bumper install. It has 8 bolts total holding it on, it isn't going anywhere. I found it easier to use the sensor holes to bolt up a couple of the bolts vs: what the instructions said. They had you doing it all from the back side for some odd reason. An extension, a wobble socket and a 19mm took care of it. Here are a few random pics of bumper BEEF as well.

 

[Kingsize24]

Finally hoisted it up there with my engine hoist and a soft bubba rope. It then needed a bit of fiddling to get it level and sitting evenly from side to side, paying attention to all the gaps. It fit VERY, VERY well IMO. Was very impressed with this part of the install.



Then it was time to put on the swing arms. These things seem well built as well, and the offset is well away from my tailgate. I see no issues with arm to tailgate impact like Marshall had mentioned with his. They must have offset this somehow.



As you can see I have the plate sitting in there at this point, but it can not be bolted in due to the two mentioned bolts in the middle of the bumper that you can see in the pic above this one.

 

[Kingsize24]

Well it is on, and all the mechanicals work well, very well in fact. Now I'm simply waiting on the final details to come in so I can finish up. I'm also going to move the tire over some to better see the tail light from behind. A small detail, I know. LOL

Not 100% what to do about the sensors. I may just remove them and keep that system off. As long as I have the camera, it isn't a deal killer, but it is annoying. I may fill the holes with some single light pods for rear lighting. Not sure at this point.

I'm still waiting on my Aluminess box to come in for the other side for my Honda EU2k. So the plate will stay there for a bit.

 

[Tex68w]

So are you experiencing any backup sensor issues like Marshal mentioned?

Expo1 told me they would remove the shackle mounts for an extra $50, not a bad deal if it eliminates the backup sensor issue. Throw a receiver mount shackle hitch from Factor55 and you have your rear recovery point.

 

[Kingsize24]

So are you experiencing any backup sensor issues like Marshal mentioned?

Expo1 told me they would remove the shackle mounts for an extra $50, not a bad deal if it eliminates the backup sensor issue. Throw a receiver mount shackle hitch from Factor55 and you have your rear recovery point.

Yes. Read post 120. It covers all the details.

And very true about the shackle mounts. You can't use them anyway with the sensors. I honestly don't think that will fix the issue however. I think the orientation is always going to give them issues. The only way I see this going away is if the shackle mount is removed, the sensor holes raised, and the orientation of the sensors kept as stock, in the stock location. It still may never work with the spare tire. They see everything from 180° in every direction, and everything that sticks out past the sensor it is going to see.

 

[ttengineer]

Do the swings outs open up to 180 degrees or just the 90 degrees shown in the photos?


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[Kingsize24]

The gates lock as shown. Approx 95-100°. It isn't at a true 90°. It would be easy however to make a longer lock plate. If you look in the last picture, that plate is easy to remove, and a longer one made and put in place. They will open beyond 180° if you go past the lock without contacting the body. It may be something I do in the future. Hell they may make one, I haven't asked. I will once I finally get them on the phone.

Do the swings outs open up to 180 degrees or just the 90 degrees shown in the photos?


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[chet6.7]

So are you experiencing any backup sensor issues like Marshal mentioned?

Expo1 told me they would remove the shackle mounts for an extra $50, not a bad deal if it eliminates the backup sensor issue. Throw a receiver mount shackle hitch from Factor55 and you have your rear recovery point.

I talked to Expo1 over a week ago,I told them to delete the shackle mounts,they were supposed to get back to me....I guess I need to be a squeaky wheel.
It may not help with the sensors as K24 has mentioned,I can live with it because I have a rear cam but it is sloppy on their part.

 

[Tex68w]

If the sensor compatibility can't be done simply because it would pick up the spare or whatever items are hanging off of the other swing out then I guess one could resort to the backup camera (that apparently presents another issue that doesn't have a finalized work around). The sensors aren't totally necessary but they are there for a reason and if they intended to make them work by implementing them then they should have done so successfully or eliminated it from the final design.

I have no need for the swing outs so this issue doesn't directly concern me, but I have been considering the base bumper for my truck and I wonder if the sensors will work without the spare being present.

 

[blackdmax15]

Looks great. Going to start researching as this will save me a 37” tire under my tonneau. I need the room.

 

[marshal]

If the sensor compatibility can't be done simply because it would pick up the spare or whatever items are hanging off of the other swing out then I guess one could resort to the backup camera (that apparently presents another issue that doesn't have a finalized work around). The sensors aren't totally necessary but they are there for a reason and if they intended to make them work by implementing them then they should have done so successfully or eliminated it from the final design.

I have no need for the swing outs so this issue doesn't directly concern me, but I have been considering the base bumper for my truck and I wonder if the sensors will work without the spare being present.

i dont believe the spare would impact the sensors as i ran my truck without the spare on it for a while and still suffered the same issue. I have reason to believe that no shackle mounts and ensuring that the sensors are appropriately oriented based on the stock layout would get them to work.

 

[Bayou Boy]

It should be fairly easy to sit under a stock truck and use your hand to figure out what the actual sensor alarm area is. I have my doubts that the spare is not going to alarm the sensor as I'm pretty sure putting the tailgate down causes them to alarm, and they end up in the same place it looks from the picture.

Reading that again it is cryptic as hell, but I hope you get what I'm getting at. HAHA.

 

[Kingsize24]

I talked to Expo1 over a week ago,I told them to delete the shackle mounts,they were supposed to get back to me....I guess I need to be a squeaky wheel.
It may not help with the sensors as K24 has mentioned,I can live with it because I have a rear cam but it is sloppy on their part.

If it does indeed make a difference, please post up. I have no issue with cutting them off then recoating. I will say however, it isn't a deal breaker. As long as I have a camera behind this beast to help the view out, I am fine. Hell, 10 years ago we wouldn't even be talking about these issues.

If the sensor compatibility can't be done simply because it would pick up the spare or whatever items are hanging off of the other swing out then I guess one could resort to the backup camera (that apparently presents another issue that doesn't have a finalized work around). The sensors aren't totally necessary but they are there for a reason and if they intended to make them work by implementing them then they should have done so successfully or eliminated it from the final design.

I have no need for the swing outs so this issue doesn't directly concern me, but I have been considering the base bumper for my truck and I wonder if the sensors will work without the spare being present.

It comes with a bracket for the camera. That part is sorted. And it has plenty of room to connect once pulled from the loom. I have not messed with the camera however because I will be relocating my camera to the rear of the topper once it comes in. I ended up ordering a Snugtop as a few have mentioned.

Looks great. Going to start researching as this will save me a 37” tire under my tonneau. I need the room.

Good luck with your research!

i dont believe the spare would impact the sensors as i ran my truck without the spare on it for a while and still suffered the same issue. I have reason to believe that no shackle mounts and ensuring that the sensors are appropriately oriented based on the stock layout would get them to work.

I'm leaning this way as well. I may try to shave the tabs off of my sensor receivers to allow them to be rotated to proper orentation and try again. I still have my doubts, but we will see. Not a HUGE deal if they don't work, but I wish they would have engineered it into the complete package before release.

It should be fairly easy to sit under a stock truck and use your hand to figure out what the actual sensor alarm area is. I have my doubts that the spare is not going to alarm the sensor as I'm pretty sure putting the tailgate down causes them to alarm, and they end up in the same place it looks from the picture.

Reading that again it is cryptic as hell, but I hope you get what I'm getting at. HAHA.

LOL... I pick up what you are putting down. I will try that and see what becomes of it. I have to take the tire off anyway. So I will also check to see if there is any impact with and without the tire as well.

 

[marshal]

dont forget to fit the crane for picking the tire up. I about busted a nut trying to lift my 130lb tire and wheel combo from the ground to chest height by myself and trying to thread the needle (wheel stud) at the same time.

 

[Kingsize24]

dont forget to fit the crane for picking the tire up. I about busted a nut trying to lift my 130lb tire and wheel combo from the ground to chest height by myself and trying to thread the needle (wheel stud) at the same time.

ROFLMAO!!!!

It is a bit heavy for sure. It helps to roll the tire up your leg to knee height, then pick it up. Or use your MaxTrax as a ramp. I've dealt with this on many occasions, but it sure as hell beats putting in on and pulling it off of the top rack on your topper. Tons of wheelers do this, and it sucks when getting it up there. I'll take this any day of the week. As with anything, there is a technique.