New guy w/ Gen2 2500

[sxharr05]

I found ExPo while searching tires and it seems to be something I'd be greatly interested in.
Greetings from the Southeast corner of Pennsylvania. I'm SX, a 37 year old married father of two. All of my life I've been interested in what's off the beaten path and finding a way to get there. Whether it be finding a secret fishing hole, wandering down a barely noticable footpath or taking the moutainbike offline (legally, of course) I've always felt better being where the general populace isn't. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to explore too much as I've worked two jobs nearly all of my adult life. As it looks like that may be coming to an end sooner rather than later, I feel I may have some time to "get out there".

Anyway, enough of the on-line dating intro.

What i'm rockin' is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 quadcab, short bed four-by. Gasser. I had always wanted a way to make it a bit more utilitarian, but after getting stuck in this last snowfall out here~and subsequently being pulled out by an Isuzu Trooper~I realized it was time to see what's what and get to work. As it sits right now, most of the mods are geared toward performance. CAI, 52 mm throttle body, high-flow y-pipe and cat, exhaust, wires/cap/rotor, Superchips tuner, levelling kit, BDS shocks, 315/75r16 AT's, and 4.56 gears. In the rear. Front is still spinning, albeit disengaged, 3.54s. Maybe that's why I got stuck? Have a cb mounted up, as well as a 2-meter HT.

Planned and ordered upgrades are the front diffrential, obviously, Cooper STT's in the 315 flavor, towhooks bolted and welded to the frame. I'm contemplating a front-mounted reciever in order to mount up a winch when I feel the need. Also some sort of a shell, since I regrettably sold the one that was on the truck when I bought it. I also plan to bolt up some add-a-leafs to boost the rear and swap out the two inch spacers up front with three inch coils. There's also the TFODjr shift kit that needs installation. Since I plan on purchasing a camper (mid 20 foot range) at some point towing ability will be a priority so I'll be adding a trans temp guage (the 46re can be tempremental, to say the least).

So here I am and there it is. What say you?

As it was, when purchased:

As it sits now:

 

[saveitforsunrise]

im a noob here too, so first of all welcome to the forum, these guys made me feel more welcome than anyone else on the web, i believe i found this wonderful place from 02tahoeMD, you have a beautiful truck, not a dodge fan, but can resepect one more than a ford, i too have been pulled out by something that shouldnt have even tried (honda element) and it makes you want to be able to go through anything, so thats what im working on at the moment, good luck on the build and welcome to the forum:smiley_drive:

 

[sxharr05]

Thanks for the welcome and the compliments. Just from lurking I can tell I'm going to like it here.

It's tough being pulled out by something "smaller", but having previously owned a 1987 Toyota 4Runner that never got stuck without trying I can certainly respect the abilities of the smaller import 'utes.

 

[saveitforsunrise]

theres a dodge build here, extreamly nice, forget his name but ill look around

 

[saveitforsunrise]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25237

 

[sxharr05]

I had been checking that out before I decided to join. Absolutely beautiful.

 

[blakeape]

Nice start to your project. You mentioned you want to install add a leafs in the rear. If you are interested I have a brand new pair that came with my old lift. I never used them. I think they are 2" skyjackers or tuff country. If you are interested you can have them for $40 plus shipping.
Later
Jake

 

[sxharr05]

Nice start to your project. You mentioned you want to install add a leafs in the rear. If you are interested I have a brand new pair that came with my old lift. I never used them. I think they are 2" skyjackers or tuff country. If you are interested you can have them for $40 plus shipping.
Later
Jake

What is the width on them? If they are a match I'll take them.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

. . . but after getting stuck in this last snowfall out here~and subsequently being pulled out by an Isuzu Trooper~I realized it was time to see what's what and get to work. As it sits right now, most of the mods are geared toward performance. CAI, 52 mm throttle body, high-flow y-pipe and cat, exhaust, wires/cap/rotor, Superchips tuner, levelling kit, BDS shocks, 315/75r16 AT's, and 4.56 gears. In the rear. Front is still spinning, albeit disengaged, 3.54s. Maybe that's why I got stuck?

First of all, Welcome! I think you are going to like this place.

Yes, the fact that you essentially converted a 4 wheel drive truck into a 2 wheel drive truck probably contributed greatly to your getting stuck.

That said, I must add that there is no inherent magic in 4 wheel drive. Your real limiting factor is still the fact that there is only a few square inches of contact between each tire and the surface it is resting on.

If this is going to remain your daily driver, and you simply MUST travel regardless of the snow, the best thing you can do is pick up four junkyard rims and get dedicated, STUDDED snow tires mounted and balanced on them and switch over to them in the winter.

I've been battling upstate New York winters for forty years now. I've driven rear engined cars, front engined rear wheel drives - with and without posi, front drive cars, and a 4 wheel drive truck, and the real key to making any of them storm fighters is the tires. My daily driver is currently a front wheel drive passenger car with studded tires on all four wheels (so that the back wheels brake as well as the front ones do) and I simply have never been able to get that stuck.

Beyond that, yes, get front end gears to match your rear. Consider also getting a lock-on demand locker for the rear, or at least retrofit factory limited slip to it.

But tires are the key.

Regards
John

 

[sxharr05]

First of all, Welcome! I think you are going to like this place.

Yes, the fact that you essentially converted a 4 wheel drive truck into a 2 wheel drive truck probably contributed greatly to your getting stuck.

That said, I must add that there is no inherent magic in 4 wheel drive. Your real limiting factor is still the fact that there is only a few square inches of contact between each tire and the surface it is resting on.

If this is going to remain your daily driver, and you simply MUST travel regardless of the snow, the best thing you can do is pick up four junkyard rims and get dedicated, STUDDED snow tires mounted and balanced on them and switch over to them in the winter.

I've been battling upstate New York winters for forty years now. I've driven rear engined cars, front engined rear wheel drives - with and without posi, front drive cars, and a 4 wheel drive truck, and the real key to making any of them storm fighters is the tires. My daily driver is currently a front wheel drive passenger car with studded tires on all four wheels (so that the back wheels brake as well as the front ones do) and I simply have never been able to get that stuck.

Beyond that, yes, get front end gears to match your rear. Consider also getting a lock-on demand locker for the rear, or at least retrofit factory limited slip to it.

But tires are the key.

Regards
John

Oh, I agree with all of that. The A/T's looking like drag radials probably played a bigger factor in my stuck than the gearing, or were at least as guilty. I'm already planning on getting a backup wheel/tire combo when the funds permit. Considering the relatively small amount of snow we get here (relative to Upstate New York) I wouldn't normally be REAL concerned, but it seems as though someone in the area decided driver safety was largely a waste of tax dollars. When I had the 4Runner the roads were always clear aside from blizzard conditions. Now, not so much.

Anyway, this is less about snow and more about getting out there the rest of the year. :elkgrin:

Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

 

[shortbus4x4]

If you are going to be towing put a big aux trans cooler in the truck.

 

[sxharr05]

If you are going to be towing put a big aux trans cooler in the truck.

Along with e-fan conversion, it's already planned for.

 

[sxharr05]

Alright. Since I've been here I've replaced my tires with something more aggressive and a bit smaller to allow for greater suspension travel (the 315/75 AT's were pushing it as it was), picked up an Itronix GoBook II for nav and APRS down the road and just this week added a topper. Plans going forward are a sleeping platform with tool/supply storage underneath, on-board water, a secondary battery in the bed to run accessories off of and the regular tools and camping gear. My goals really are for long weekend getaways, mostly solo explorations of PA where I can set up a quick overnight camp and roll in the morning with minimal repacking.

 

[RU55ELL]

Nice truck! I am very interested to see where this build goes since I have been thinking about getting one of these for myself. How old are your kids and how much room do they have in the back? The biggest reason for a 3/4 in my situation is that it will be more of a wheeler than anything else so I want those axles. I am looking more for a Cummins or even the V10 but I wouldn't be opposed to the 360 either. Any pics of it off road yet?

 

[sxharr05]

Thanks for the compliment. As far as room in the back seat, I can actually fit back there comfortably (6' 225#) with the seats in their normal positions. Kids are 8 and 4, so there is plenty of room for them.

I too am curious to see where the build goes. I was originally building it as a "muscle truck", with mods geared more toward power and speed. So I have no wheeling pics or real wheeling experience with it other than barely maintained roads to fishing spots. My focus has certainly switched to more of a mild off-road capable rig while still being my daily driver.