Ram 2500 XL for overland / expedition trips

[Ravenmad]

We mounted the ARB compressor on a main bed support, passenger side, just forward of the rear wheel. We used nut inserts that we drilled and inserted into the tub support. I will get an exact measurement on how far it is above ground level as soon as my buddy gets out of bed and I can get a tape measure. It looks like its approx. 41 inches to the mounting surface. I think when I get back to Colorado and into the shop we will build a shroud for the compressor as well. It will have the inner fender well to protect it from debris for sure (once we finish them) but I would like to build a piece to give it a little extra. Also, when we get it on the lift I can use a real camera and take pics of how we routed the air line and the wiring harness (yet to be installed also).

I know AEV sets they don't like the tactile feel of the factory Aux. switches, but they are also into selling stuff, so we are wiring the compressor and front ARB into the factory aux. switches to keep the dash clean.

We also still need to install the dual compressor and the air tank. The dual compressor will require a mounting bracket to be fabricated along with its own debris shield. The air tank will have steel hard lines run from it to both the front and rear of the truck for air chucks.

 

[Ravenmad]

Looks like your truck is coming along well! You got a ton of room for those tires, can u post a pic of a tire at full turn? I’m thinking of getting a set of high mark flares and some 39 inch iroks

Pics of the tire clearance. the tires are a 40.8, however, they are only 10.5 inches wide at the tread (very narrow). The front bumper is the factory bumper trimmed to clear and I installed the front lower section of fender flare on them as well. On the rear of the front tire were it interfaces with the rocker panel / cab of the truck, there is still a ton of room. I took the pics with the tire as close to the rocker panel / cab of the truck as possible. There is still about 2 inches of clearance.
p.s. don't look to close, I haven't finished the inner fender wells and I filled the hollow cavity with foam to keep debris out.

The last pic shows the offset of the tire wheel combo in relation to the outside edge of the flare. I could have gone with another 3/4" of neg. offset to push the tire out farther, but that would have also increased my scrub radius and it would cause the tire to be that much closer to the body when I turn ( plus I like the idea of a little bit of tire coverage to keep debris of the side of my truck as much as possible).

I also could not get a decent pic. of the tire to radius arm clearance because of lighting, but I will later today ( I will say, it has a ton of room).

 

[redthies]

I love the tire and wheel combo. Looks great!

 

[ttengineer]

A couple of things:

Why run 2 compressors? A dual ARB should be plenty to run the lockers and tools, especially with a spare tank.

Has your computer been recalibrated for the speedometer running 40s? That would mess up your MPG calcs unless your hand calculating them.

I also am going to run the AUX switches so that I can use the switch pod area for a ProClip mount to run a ram mount iPad hanger. See pic attached.

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[marshal]

i can't believe with a gas engine im getting better highway fuel milage than you. that blows my mind.

 

[Explorerinil]

i can't believe with a gas engine im getting better highway fuel milage than you. that blows my mind.

You aren’t turning 40 inch tires and making 800+ torque either

 

[marshal]

You aren’t turning 40 inch tires and making 800+ torque either

but im 35% less efficient just out of the gate

 

[Ravenmad]

i can't believe with a gas engine im getting better highway fuel milage than you. that blows my mind.

I drove just over 300 miles today empty in mixed driving. I dropped my highway speed down to 65 and was averaging 16.1mpg. I drove one 30 mile section on the highway at 60mph (to the great displeasure of everyone else on the highway lolol) and got 16.4mpg, but that is the very best Ive been able to get so far. I suppose I should not be surprised, the truck weighs right at 8K, has a lot more wind resistance now that the truck sits around 8 inches higher than stock and a tire wheel combo weighs in at 167 pounds each. The 4.88 gears feel nice and the throttle response is snappy even with the 41s . I will be able to format a much better opinion once I tow the jeep home tomorrow over a 600 mile trip. I am looking forward to seeing the difference in fuel millage towing with 4.88s on the way home compared to the 3.42s on the way out here.

I did drop my air pressure in the tires today, only by 3 pounds though. we did a chalk test to look at the contact surface of the tire con the road. Ended up dropping the tire pressure a little and it seems to help quite a bit. We also changed out the diff fluid after the obligatory 6 heat cycles at varied speeds in the last 24 hours. The gear oil we drained out looked great with very little material in it.

 

[marshal]

man im not far from you on tire/wheel weight. im at 131lbs i think

 

[Ravenmad]

but im 35% less efficient just out of the gate

Before I lifted, re-geared, and 41 inch tired my truck, I got a pretty consistent 20 mpg on the highway if I drove 68-72 mph. The first 6.4 hemi 2500 CCSB I had before the diesel would only get 17 if I absolutely babied it on the highway, and that was bone stock. My buddy at work put 35s on his 6.4 hemi 2500 and he gets pretty consistent 14mpg on the highway. Most guys I've talked to that run 6.4 hemi's and 37 get around 12-13 on the highway (thats what they tell me) but I've yet to talk to anyone who is running a 40 plus inch tire on a 6.4 hemi. The general rule of thumb (I was told by several people in the know) is that if you build 2 identical trucks, 1 with a stock 6.4 hemi and 1 with a stock 6.7 cummins the cummins will get about 3 mpg better milage.

 

[Copperhead14]

Do you have any type of tuner on the truck? I would think it would help with shift points if you can enter the correct gear ratio and tire size.
It’s a lot of fun following your build. It has to be fun to drive.

 

[Explorerinil]

Do you have any type of tuner on the truck? I would think it would help with shift points if you can enter the correct gear ratio and tire size.
It’s a lot of fun following your build. It has to be fun to drive.

The speed is taken from a tone ring on the front wheels, not the transmission or transfer case like on some older vehicles. Changing the gear ratio via a tuner will make no difference on the shift points, changing the tire size to match your new tires will. I have experimented with this with a hyper tech speedometer calibrator.

 

[Ravenmad]

Do you have any type of tuner on the truck? I would think it would help with shift points if you can enter the correct gear ratio and tire size.
It’s a lot of fun following your build. It has to be fun to drive.

Good question, I don't have a tuner, however, the AEV lift came with a " pro-cal" so I was able to correct for the tire size to within a .25" and the exact gear ratio. My speedometer looks to be within .5 mph of my separate GPS. The shift points seem to be very good. I can not imagine what the truck would be like without the adjustment for tire size and gear ratio.

 

[Ravenmad]

The speed is taken from a tone ring on the front wheels, not the transmission or transfer case like on some older vehicles. Changing the gear ratio via a tuner will make no difference on the shift points, changing the tire size to match your new tires will. I have experimented with this with a hyper tech speedometer calibrator.

Interesting point of information, at one point I was fine tuning the speedo by adjusting the tire size with the "pro-cal", for whatever reason the computer did not except the adjustment. I was not paying attention and drove off, made it about 1/4 of a mile, looked down when I heard an audible "ding" and realized the speedo. was not working, along with a "check anti lock brake system light". The point being, the transmission shifted fine and everything else worked but the speedo. Anyways, I pulled over, turned the truck off, reset the dip switches on the pro-cal and cycled the setting over again. Weird thing was, the computer would not take setting it to 40.50" for tire size. It will take 40.75 and 40.25, but for whatever reason will not take 40.50. Anyways, thought I would share that bit of trivial information lolol

About to leave salt lake with a jeep in tow.

 

[ttengineer]

So why 2 compressors? A dual ARB with a tank should be plenty.


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