Help Please with Dream Rig!

[merrittexpo]

Ok...here we go.

I am looking to buy a full size Dodge Ram truck, Heavy Duty edition, sometime soon. I am wanting to build this vehicle into the ultimate travel, off-road, distance, sustainable, etc. rig.

I have plans to travel to Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California, and several other awesome and remote locations in the works and I am wanting to have a vehicle that is capable of handling any terrain that I could throw at it. I am thinking some light rock crawling, definitely snow travel, tons of fire roads, and probably a fair amount of beach/desert/sand exploration.

Long story short I am looking for this communities input into what is widely believed to be the best expedition full size rig on the market. MONEY is NOT AN ISSUE. And I have absolutely no problem building something that doesn't technically exist.

I am thinking of taking a Laramie Dodge 3500 Crew cab SRW truck and adding ARB lockers, Buckstop bumpers, Carli 6" suspension, and 37" tires. Then a LEER topper with some sweet bed mods to make hauling, camping, and working out of the back even easier.

Let me know what you think and offer any insight that you might have. Would I be better off buying a stock Powerwagon or modding the diesel to work? Thanks and sorry for such a long post. Looking forward to hear your opinions!

Kevin

 

[Rot Box]

I am thinking of taking a Laramie Dodge 3500 Crew cab SRW truck and adding ARB lockers, Buckstop bumpers, Carli 6" suspension, and 37" tires. Then a LEER topper with some sweet bed mods to make hauling, camping, and working out of the back even easier.

Would I be better off buying a stock Powerwagon or modding the diesel to work?

Welcome!

Buy a 06 or older Dodge 3500 with the 5.9 Cummins (before emissions equipment and the mandatory ULSD took over) and put ARB lockers in the axles and install a bumper large enough to fit a Warn 16.5 winch. Ditch the 6" lift idea (waaaayyyy too tall) and go with a leveling kit at most for the big tires. With that much driving time I would stick to a 285 with a 10 ply rating myself...

Sweet bed mods are a Four Wheel Camper lol :bike_rider: Best of luck please keep us posted with a buildup.

Andrew

 

[Warn Industries]

Welcome!

Buy a 06 or older Dodge 3500 with the 5.9 Cummins (before emissions equipment and the mandatory ULSD took over) and put ARB lockers in the axles and install a bumper large enough to fit a Warn 16.5 winch. Ditch the 6" lift idea (waaaayyyy too tall) and go with a leveling kit at most for the big tires. With that much driving time I would stick to a 285 with a 10 ply rating myself...

Sweet bed mods are a Four Wheel Camper lol :bike_rider: Best of luck please keep us posted with a buildup.

Andrew

I like the way you think! :sombrero:

Just thinking out loud (er ... typing out loud?), would there be any advantage to getting a Power Wagon, or do you think he's better off building a non-Power Wagon rig?

 

[angusdevil]

What has you wanting a Carli 6"? It's farking sweet but may not be necessary. I have a hard enough time on fire roads with a 3" and 37's... I don't want to think about adding another 3" to it. If you need 17"+ of suspension travel, then sure, getcha some but if you're not going to be doing Baja style racing and only light rock crawling, you really don't need it. Hop on DTX and ask the boys over there about suspension.

 

[Metcalf]

Regular cab longbox maybe?

My thoughts personally.

-Keep the truck as light as practical. Don't go bolting on a ton of super heavy parts. Your truck and wallet will thank you.
-37s will fit stock ( on stock 6" bs wheels ) if you push the axles out 1/2" front and back. Lower is better!
-For weight bias, keep the front heavier than the rear, even loaded! Off-road performance will be MUCH better.
-Dodge trucks, especially Cummins engined ones, don't like a lot of extra weight over the front axle. Don't do the big bumper big winch thing. Seriously consider a rear mounted winch or lighter multi-mount system.
-For a multiple use truck, consider doing some kind of convertible rear topper and/or storage system.
-Don't install a roof rack, Don't mount a roof top tent or lots of stuff up top. Your vehicle dynamics will be MUCH better.
-Plan on a full-size spare tire taking up a lot of room. Best place I have found is standing upright behind the drivers seat ahead of the drivers wheel well. You can still shoulder check traffic and it keeps the weight fairly low and ahead of the rear axle. It also minimizes space lost in the bed.

Just a few thoughts.
Good luck on the project.

 

[merrittexpo]

What has you wanting a Carli 6"? It's farking sweet but may not be necessary. I have a hard enough time on fire roads with a 3" and 37's... I don't want to think about adding another 3" to it.

I was thinking the 6" for space needs with 37's. But you are probably right. And the more I think about my driving style, a tall vehicle is not the best thing for me...I drive too fast!!

What about a full out 3" suspension with 35's and then fitting the spare under the bed?

I have a need for the LEER shell with a rack on top as I have 3 large sea kayaks that I will want to take with us. I also have two kids and have the need for the extra covered space the camper shell will provide.

I like the idea of not doing the big heavy bumpers and having a multi-mount winch system that I can take and keep in the bed and use either up front or out back when the need arises, which I dont think would be that often.

Do you guys think that for the travel I described the diesel would be the best way to go? I am not as much concerned about fuel mileage or cost, more the idea of finding fuel and being able to get it wherever I am at. I would assume that this would not be that big of a problem, but you never know I guess.

Thanks for the feedback on this, and yes, once the build starts I will begin a new thread and keep everyone up-to-date.

Kevin

 

[4Rescue]

Sounds awesome, as previously said get a pre-06 5.9L Cummins for lac of head aches with Emissions complexity etc. IMO when it comes to Domestic Diesels Cummins is king. Just keep after the front end of the truck, ball joints and steering issues etc.

Of three uncles I have on my Mom's side (including one living in Homer AK and the other two being contractors) they all drive Dodge 3500's of various years and aside from some Ball-joint issues they all still swear by these trucks. The uncle living in Alaska will NEVER drive anything but a cummins powered rig and he builds/fixes diesels all the way up to cruise-ship engines so I trust his knowledge more then anyone else's...

Oh and he uses his Dodge to go moose unting as well so I guess it HAS to work eh (he's got a simillar thing to what you're looking for, F/R lockers, 46" (?) TTC Micky Thompson's home-made bull-bar and rear bumper sliders and body rails (think Aussie Bull-bars with bars connected to the sliders but front and rear) ... He run's a manual tranny for overall durability and because he's turned up the motor a bit with thngs like a marine grade fuel pump etc...

GREAT choice and direction of build, I also agree with the previous post saying ditch the 6" lift, that's WAY TOO tall unless you think you need massive breakover angle improvements for that long wheelbase truck.

Cheers

DAve

 

[ktn00000]

MONEY is NOT AN ISSUE?

Well then definitely the pop up camper; ARB's front and rear, the Warn 16.5ti Thermometric winch, lots of good skid plates underneath, and some very good mud terrain tires if you are going to do any sort of rock crawling in a place like Colorado (where I am at) or Utah. When you choose a tire, care quite a bit about the sidewall. also make sure it is Load Range E for a rig like this. If you do a lift, make sure you are looking for articulation without giving up your GVWR. In many places you may off road, height will be as much of a consideration as clearance. Too many places you cannot go if you are too tall and too many places the trails are off cantor where going tall becomes dangerous. I would care more about improving the articulation than gaining clearance. 35's would be fine in most situations.

Sounds like fun!

 

[angusdevil]

From my travel experiences with a diesel, I pack out as much as I can. Once you REALLY get out in the sticks, they don't have diesel at the pumps because everyone gets diesel delivered to their house. I see this more in areas like AZ and NM so YMMV.

I rock 37's on Thuren/Carli 3", you'll be fine. Get some Thuren arms so that you won't get any tire rub.

 

[SupaRice]

My opinion probably doesn't mean much from an expo perspective since I'm still a n00b to expo....

But from a strictly off road perspective, a Dodge Power Wagon fits the bill for all those parts you were talking about. Stock. Warn winch, e-lockers front and rear, sway bar disconnect, rock rails, full skids underneath, and HEMI power.

And on top of that you can fit 35" tires factory since it's lifted 2" higher than a standard Ram 2500 4x4. Some guys are running 37" tires with just a leveling lift and a little fender trim rub at full flex.

I have a 2006 quad cab Power Wagon and I LOVE my truck, and it's a great starting point. Out of the box it will go a LONG way for such a large vehicle.

 

[Master-Pull]

03 ram, CTD, leveling kit, 35 inch tires, ARB bumper, thinking about lockers in the future:

-Alex

 

[GTABurnout]

2007 5.9 Cummins here. The 5.9 has no emissions stuff except a Cat. I was stock on 35's but not I have a Carli 2.65 kit. Truck is perfect height, I need a set of 37's now but other then that. My 35's on stock wheels fit in the stock spare location. Unsure if that will still be the case now with the suspension travel I should be getting with full leafs.

I say go 06+ so you get the newer interior. But avoid the 6.7 if you want to avoid the emissions stuff...

 

[shellb]

This is a great brain storming session!

I am following along to learn as much as I can...this is something I have contemplated/debated as well.

Brett

 

[Cornfed]

I'm in the middle of building a similar beast.

I have an 04.5 5.9 Cummins. Easy to modify, no smog, tons of after market stuff available for them. Very dependable.

I went with the 6 inch lift because I run 4:10 gears and love deep stream crossings. I drive slow and purposfully and don't tow anything. Just like to get through the deep mud and stuff when needed. (Home base is Georgia so the red clay is very snotty!)

I just wanted to suggest the most excellent bumper solution for Dodges. (Others have mentioned the heavy front end issue...)

I'm going with Aluminess front and rear winch bumpers.

http://www.aluminess.com/ (I don't work for them...just a customer.)

They are only 85 pounds each and as tough as you'll likely need.

My rig so far:

Bumpers and 4 wheel camper to go.

Here are the Aluminess bumpers to which I am referring. Excellent product and many different configurations for either tools, tires, fuel, water storage:

 

[SupaRice]

What'd you end up getting?! :smiley_drive: