Lady Godiva: 2017 Ram 3500 CCLB Build

[Gibby56]

You are right, not sure I'll ever end up running anything larger than 35s...

You say that now. It sounds crazy but these trucks fit 37's really easy and look right IMO. They have Large wheel wells

Edited: realized you have a 3500 not a 2500. You wont need bags or Timbrens.

Viair has a sweet setup I'll be going with for air. 20016 is the part number. The specs look like I would be able to run air tools off of it

 

[Watt maker]

Definitely following this build since I really liked your tacoma!

As for the tires, I recommend looking into the Ridge Grappler from Nitto. The 35/12.50/18 or 20 has a Load Range F and a few of the other sizes that are Load Range E have a 4000 lb capacity. If it were mine, I'd go with some 285/75/18 (true 35") Ridge Grapplers.

 

[Copperhead14]

I am running 285/75-18 Toyo R/T on my 2017 2500 mega cab Cummins with stock steel wheels. They have about 20,000 miles now. Great tires, good traction in all weather and great wear.

 

[marshal]

not familiar with any prefab setups for the ARB compressor. I have a dual compressor system from Extreme Aire coming this week that im going to put together and plumb

 

[Explorerinil]

You say that now. It sounds crazy but these trucks fit 37's really easy and look right IMO. They have Large wheel wells

Edited: realized you have a 3500 not a 2500. You wont need bags or Timbrens.

Viair has a sweet setup I'll be going with for air. 20016 is the part number. The specs look like I would be able to run air tools off of it

If he run carli rear leafs or a mini pack he may want them, I run bags with cradles on my 3500 due to sag when loaded.

 

[Adventurous]

Some people make their first mod a lift kit, or tires, or a performance chip to get an extra 100 HP, me, I prefer to focus on the important things first. By which I mean the wholly unnecessary but gives me a little bit of satisfaction every time I open the fuel door type mod. Yes, I know the fuel door has a rubber gasket and yes, I know the system is pressurized and won't let anything in in the event that it were to get past the fuel door, but every time I opened it (well, the two times so far) it just looked so sad and empty in there.

See? Sad.

DSC_3980 by Tim Souza, on Flickr

$14 on Amazon later and things don't look nearly as sad. Both have 2 o-rings to seal it up and prevent any sort of dirt from getting in the system

DSC_3981 by Tim Souza, on Flickr

 

[Adventurous]

Anyone have experience running quality aftermarket shocks, like King 2.5s, with the OEM springs? Most of the suspension packages I am seeing (with the exception of Thuren 0.5" lift front springs) try to lift and level the truck, or maintain slight rake, while unloaded, which is undesirable once a camper is in the bed and the rear suspension squats. Rough measurements with the camper on show that the truck is near level or slightly nose high with the 2,400 lb dry weight camper in the bed. I'm already anticipating having to add bags to compensate for the roughly 1,000 additional lbs of people, stuff, and dogs.

Whereas this will be our home on wheels for a while and reliability is key, I am trying to abide by the KISS principle and avoid going down the rabbit hole of changing one thing (suspension lift) and screwing something else up (track bar).

 

[Watt maker]

Anyone have experience running quality aftermarket shocks, like King 2.5s, with the OEM springs? Most of the suspension packages I am seeing (with the exception of Thuren 0.5" lift front springs) try to lift and level the truck, or maintain slight rake, while unloaded, which is undesirable once a camper is in the bed and the rear suspension squats. Rough measurements with the camper on show that the truck is near level or slightly nose high with the 2,400 lb dry weight camper in the bed. I'm already anticipating having to add bags to compensate for the roughly 1,000 additional lbs of people, stuff, and dogs.

Whereas this will be our home on wheels for a while and reliability is key, I am trying to abide by the KISS principle and avoid going down the rabbit hole of changing one thing (suspension lift) and screwing something else up (track bar).

I don’t see why you couldn’t run the Kings with stock springs. I’d say try it.

Sounds like you are going with nice big camper, in that case, I’d definitely recommend airbags. I recommend each bag having it’s own shrader valve as well, don’t “T” the bags together.

 

[chet6.7]

Anyone have experience running quality aftermarket shocks, like King 2.5s, with the OEM springs? Most of the suspension packages I am seeing (with the exception of Thuren 0.5" lift front springs) try to lift and level the truck, or maintain slight rake, while unloaded, which is undesirable once a camper is in the bed and the rear suspension squats. Rough measurements with the camper on show that the truck is near level or slightly nose high with the 2,400 lb dry weight camper in the bed. I'm already anticipating having to add bags to compensate for the roughly 1,000 additional lbs of people, stuff, and dogs.

Whereas this will be our home on wheels for a while and reliability is key, I am trying to abide by the KISS principle and avoid going down the rabbit hole of changing one thing (suspension lift) and screwing something else up (track bar).

I don't have any experience to offer,but I have thought about going to Kings on my stock suspension as well,I have not seen any posts on Kings/stock suspension. I have looked at the Filthy Motorsports site,they have more valving options than other sites I have seen.I don't know how long it takes to get an order filled,if the shocks come from King instead of Filthy,it can take a while.
http://www.filthymotorsports.com/King_OEM_RAM_2500_Shocks_p/king-25001-327.htm

 

[redthies]

I may have a bit of insight... below is a pic of my ‘14 3500 spec’d almost identically to yours, with the glaring exception of color.

I’m running Thuren coils, Bilstein 5100s and Airlift bags in the back. I have 35” Cooper ST Maxx tires on it as well. I’ve put 78,000 miles on it and it’s awesome.

My camper is a 2017 Northern Lite that I factory ordered. It is about 2600 lbs dry. I barely notice it on the truck.

 

[Adventurous]

I may have a bit of insight... below is a pic of my ‘14 3500 spec’d almost identically to yours, with the glaring exception of color.

I’m running Thuren coils, Bilstein 5100s and Airlift bags in the back. I have 35” Cooper ST Maxx tires on it as well. I’ve put 78,000 miles on it and it’s awesome.

My camper is a 2017 Northern Lite that I factory ordered. It is about 2600 lbs dry. I barely notice it on the truck.View attachment 445219View attachment 445218

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for, not to mention the almost exact truck configuration I'm looking to build. Air Lift bags are on the way along with some Daystar cradles, and I keep waffling about a lift kit and am glad to hear that it rides well with the Thuren coils. Which ones did you end up going with?

Also, how do you like those Coopers? I'm on the hunt for some 285/75R16s that are good all terrains. Right now it's between the Ridge Grapplers, Terra Grapplers, Toyo AT IIs, or the ST Maxx. I don't need a full blown mud tire, but I do need something that can hold its own in the snow and dirt.

 

[Boz]

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for, not to mention the almost exact truck configuration I'm looking to build. Air Lift bags are on the way along with some Daystar cradles, and I keep waffling about a lift kit and am glad to hear that it rides well with the Thuren coils. Which ones did you end up going with?

Also, how do you like those Coopers? I'm on the hunt for some 285/75R16s that are good all terrains. Right now it's between the Ridge Grapplers, Terra Grapplers, Toyo AT IIs, or the ST Maxx. I don't need a full blown mud tire, but I do need something that can hold its own in the snow and dirt.

Did you mistype this? Cause you can't fit 16" wheels on that truck.

 

[Adventurous]

Did you mistype this? Cause you can't fit 16" wheels on that truck.

Yep! Shoulda been R18. Whoops.

 

[Tex68w]

I loved the Cooper STT Pros but I have no experience with the St Maxx. I can say however, that I despise the Terra Grappler and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The Ridge Grappler is hot stuff as of late, but I have been seeing conflicting views on tread life and that would give me pause for this type of rig.

 

[redthies]

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for, not to mention the almost exact truck configuration I'm looking to build. Air Lift bags are on the way along with some Daystar cradles, and I keep waffling about a lift kit and am glad to hear that it rides well with the Thuren coils. Which ones did you end up going with?

Also, how do you like those Coopers? I'm on the hunt for some 285/75R16s that are good all terrains. Right now it's between the Ridge Grapplers, Terra Grapplers, Toyo AT IIs, or the ST Maxx. I don't need a full blown mud tire, but I do need something that can hold its own in the snow and dirt.

It’s been a while but I think I did the 2.25”. The daystar cradles are a good idea, but I don’t see a lot of flex happening with these trucks.

ST Maxxs are great. 295s fit well, 305s rub a bit but I got 45,000 out of my first set, and they are quiet and smooth with great traction. I could have got 55-60k out of the 295 Maxxs, but I put a big hole through the tread of one with a dagger shaped rock. I didn’t want to risk running a patched tire on my fall trip from BC to Colorado etc when loaded to 12,000 lbs. Toyo AT IIs suck (I got 20,000 out of my 285s). I’m not a Nitto fan.

Pics from Mt Shasta and Gunnison area: