Dodge Ram 3500 Overland Build

[silvrcummns]

hy,
I'm finishing my blog in a couple of days about the Dodge ram detailed mods in order to be a good expedition vehicle.
meanwhile before changing the torque converter, the truck need a tuner like smarty touch or s06, I have the so6. iT's all in the programming of the TC, ONce you have the smarty you could choose a more agressive setting so it with less slipage when unlocked.smarty is very good for offroading since with OEM programing fuel is severly limited at low speed so impresion of lack of power
transmission is very good untill it breaks hihi like mine did ( without notice at 180 k kms) so 3000 $rebuilt transmission and auxiliary transmission radiator with fan 180F thermostat from ebay.but mine carryed a huge contruction trailer in the city so it didn't help.
I've liked the location of the 12v compressor since i'm trying to get a bd exhaust brake kit
michelins ltx are great tires I would do 265 rear and leave the 245 front., better handling and mpg....



http://globalcamper.blogspot.ca/p/4x4-dodge-ram-camper.html
have safe travels
incognito

I'll be sort of referencing your blog here. Depending on your setting your smarty can be somewhat of a culprit. When I take to the mountain grades, especially steep dirt roads I've found it best to go into 4 lo. The gear reduction helps as a mechanical advantage when climbing with less throttle input ( and trans slip and egts). And when you do get up to speed 10-15 your trans can actually be in lock up and eliminate the slip entirely. After a long time at slow speeds climbing my temps will get up there too. Time to pull over and enjoy the scenery. Make sure your radiator is clean most likely it's packed full of dirt. Either remove and degrease/ wash or try with an air wand ( removal is a bit more thorough and new coolant is a bonus).

Lastly, with the weight of your vehicle im curious what gears you have. Hopefully 4.10's or if 3.73's it might be a worthy upgrade. And yes I agree that exhaust brakes are awesome on these trucks! I have installed a dozen or more pacbrake kits and they install very well and work amazing. Small onboard sir system they provide is a nice bonus too but if you already have an ob air set up you can still get there kit without the compressor.

 

[incognito]

hy,
the guy with the mobile repair truck who changed my leaking number 5 injector line said to me that number 4 and 5 injector lines are a problem. he said he changes those quite often. repair costed me 400$ saturday evening stranded somewhere in Virginia. for the cost around 70 $ line at the dodge or around 40 $ for a dorman autozone I plan to change all the lines...just bought dorman from autozone looks beefier

other improvements for 2003 -2007 dodges, they call them redesigned ...
mopar new hd steering box , eliminate wandering, imprecise steering
oem balljoints are too loose I've put xrf kit from ebay
on my truck I've put also oem ujoints and skf bearings ( germans...)

I don't know what countries you want to explore but I've sold 2 truck with campers which went from canada to chile. the only problem was 2 ujoints( dust water too much 4x4) and a bearing ( to many bumps and potholes) on the road.
better filtration is a must on these high pressure diesels
I would take with me when exploring other countries a bearing and 2 front ujoints just in case.
hope this helps
incognito

 

[Highway Camper]

Hi there, just joined after reading for a few days. I had a Dodge 2003 5.9 and I put the Dynatrac free spin hubs on it at 73K and had no problems. Warn hubs kept the front driveline from ever moving. I towed a 7K TT with it many miles and had no issues with the 48RE trans as the engine was kept stock and I did not abuse it. Now I have a '14 Ram 2500 4x4 CCSB that might be a bit much to off road with, Keyless enter and go, remote start, full Laramie package. Snugtop shell camper. The truck is used for pulling my TT and would like to do day trips so probably just do backroad discovery routes and such. Time for tires and thinking of Michelin Defender in 295-70-18, a highly rated tire but not mud type, any thoughts? Been into 4x4 for 40 years now all here in So Cal deserts. I put Bilstein HD shocks on and it really helped over stock. Plan on keeping the suspension stock height but will need to air down for dirt roads. Any one use Power Tanks (CO2 tank) for airing up? This place is great for info not found anywhere else

 

[cj7ox]

Highway Camper, I've got a 2006 Ram 3500, 5.9 CCSB. I run 285-75-16 Nitto Terra Grapplers, which I have had very good luck with. They are decent (for an AT tire) in mud, and ride great on the road. Suspension is completely stock, and those tires fit without any rubbing. As to the Power Tanks, I made my own using a CO2 tank like those used for soda fountains, a regulator, and air hose. You can make one for a good bit less than buying a Power Tank, and when it gets empty, most fire extinguisher supply shops will let you exchange the empty tank for a full one. They work great for airing tires, and you can even run air tools from it.

 

[OffGridCamper]

View attachment 318852

Seems like the perfect spot, especially for opening the petcock with ease. Have you thought about protection for it when going over obstacles?

 

[KSL22]

Highway Camper, I have the larger Smittybilt air pump and am impressed with how well it airs up. It might take 15min (wasn't timing it) to go from 20 to 50psig on all 4 tires.
I would love a CO2 tank and they work real well. But the initial cost is above what I want to spend for how I would be using it.
The other cool one I have seen used in the 4x community is a AC compressor. I have no idea where you would mount it on the 6.7 as the serpentine belt is crazy as is.

 

[Highway Camper]

The 14 is not friendly to electrical mods as I clipped on a compressor to the battery and next morning my 8.4 radio wigged out a little. Just going with a Power tank, got a deal going. I need to air back up to at least 65 pounds.

 

[chet6.7]

I have hooked up a Viar compressor to my 14's battery without any problems,the truck was not running.
HC was your truck running?
I do miss the simplicity of the pre- computer vehicles.

 

[Driven To Wander]

Good to be back!

After a long hiatus, I am happy to be back on the forum. I can’t believe my last post, ScanGauge II install was back in January. Time really flies when you have a hard deadline.

With only 3 weeks left to go to our departure date, preparations are in full force. We will be overlanding from Vancouver, Canada to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, with our 3 year old son in tow. Before we head south however, we will be driving to East, to Washington DC to visit my wife’s family and also some of the National Parks along the way. Then we will fly to Turkey for 6 weeks to visit my parents and enjoy the last days of Mediterranean summer in Turkish Riviera.

If you would like to follow us, our new website, DrivenToWander.com is up and running.

I have been working on the truck almost every weekend to get him ready. Many projects had been completed and still some to go. I will try to post one project every other day.

 

[Driven To Wander]

Auxiliary Transmission Cooler Install

Driving an American truck to South America where parts are not available could be a risky business. I am pretty confident 5.9 Cummins Turbo Diesel is as reliable as any engine out there. One thing I am nervous about however, is Ram 3500’s 48RE transmission. My truck’s rebuilt 48RE has about 35K miles on it. I will probably be fine for a while but I wanted to make sure it operates smoothly and stays healthy and does not leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere.

The automatic transmission produces a great deal of heat. Ideal operating temperature is between 150 to 200 Fahrenheit. As temperature rises, the automatic transmission fluid begins to break down and damage occurs. Excessive heat also causes expansion and changes tolerances on internal components.

I have been paying extra attention to my ScanGauge II to monitor the transmission fluid temperature. With the added weight of the camper, it has been operating around 185 F. When it reached 205 F in a stop-and-go traffic, I decided to install an auxiliary transmission cooler.

I picked up Hayden Automotive 405 Ultra-Cool Tube and Fin Transmission Cooler for $35.



Model 405 is the biggest Ultra-Cool trans-cooler with the dimensions of 2.1 x 16.7 x 11.1 inches.



Unit comes with 3/8" x 3' hose and is not long enough to complete the project. I purchased additional Gates 27057 Transmission Oil Cooler Hose.



I also needed Lisle 39400 Angled Disconnect Tool Set and half dozen of Hose Clamps.



Here are step by step instructions:

1. To access the transmission fluid lines, loosen the clamps and remove the intercooler hose.






2. Prep the cooler by attaching the hoses and sticky foams.




3. Remove top two intercooler bolts and raise it up a bit to access behind.






4. Position the aux cooler against intercooler and make sure when hood comes down it does not touch it. Insert the plastic ties at each corner that go through the foams. Insert the locking round washers behind the intercooler and secure the unit.

 

[Driven To Wander]

Auxiliary Transmission Cooler Install part II

5. Detach the cold transmission fluid line by inserting and simply pushing disconnect tool.




6. Hayden auxiliary transmission cooler model 405 uses 3/8" connections. 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 however uses 1/2" hoses. So to be able to connect those together, I needed two female 1/2" and two male 3/8" connectors.





7. I cut the cold transmission fluid line hose with sharp knife and prepped the hose by attaching connectors. I am using metal pipe joint compound and two clamps.





8. Here is the final picture of the connections. I am tapping into cold transmission fluid line coming from factory cooler and creating another loop.





Before I put everything back together, I turned on the truck and made sure there were no leaks. Once project was completed, I took a long test drive with the camper. Here is the temperature after 30 minutes of driving around. 158 F, not bad for $70, 4 hours project...

 

[Driven To Wander]

Bilstein 5100 Series Rear Shocks Install



I wanted to put these Bilstein 5100 series shocks on the truck from day 1. Finally got around to do it.


Here is step by step instructions;
1. The rear shocks were supposed be the easy ones to install. No need to raise the truck or remove the tires. I sprayed liquid wrench on the nuts the day before the install hoping that would be sufficient. I was wrong.







2. Remove plastic wheel housing. It makes it much easier to reach top bolts.



3. Remove the bottom bolt.

4. Remove the upper bolt. Upper nuts have a piece of metal welded to them to lock them in place. I managed to bend one of them and took me 2 hours to remove it.



5. Install the new shock in reverse order and repeat the whole process for the other side.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

I'm all for keeping transmission temps manageable, but I am leery about choking off the flow by 73% through reducing the cooler line size from 1/2" to 3/8". You don't want to starve the transmission of fluid on the return side of the circuit.

Before you leave check the factory spec for flow rate and make sure it's still acceptable.

My old 1993 Dodge factory service manual has a flow test based on adding an extra quart of tranny fluid and then timing how long it takes to move the quart through the factory coolers.

A worthwhile test for a truck that will be "miles from nowhere" to quote Cat Stevens.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

 

[Driven To Wander]

Good point Pntyrmvr! I will look into that. I have been driving the truck with auxiliary cooler for more then a month and I have not seen any adverse affect yet. I would think starving the transmission of fluid would also result in higher temperatures which is not the case. Also, metal transmission lines up to the quick disconnect are about 3/8" thick.

Thanks for the warning.

 

[Driven To Wander]

Lockable Storage

Dodge Ram has an ample storage space under the back seats. I wanted convert this space into lockable storage for our gear.





Structure for the seats is very sturdy and I wanted to take advantage of that. Here is what I came up with and step by step instructions.



1. Remove the back seat. There are 4 bolts at each corner plus one that holds the middle seatbelt. Once the bolts are removed, simply lift it up to unhook the back rest.



2. Remove the back rest by removing the bolts on each side. Remove the bottom cushions. Plastic lock at the back needs to be undone that holds seat covers.



Here is the seat with everything removed.



3. I cut a piece of metal bar that is approximately 5.5" x 1.5" x 3/16".





4. Drill the metal bar and the seat and attach them together with 1 1/4" bolt and nut.





I have welded the nut and bolt so it can not be removed by ratchet.