Ram 2500 XL for overland / expedition trips

[Tex68w]

I like that you are going to modify them to tie into the body mounts and provide a flush surface underneath. I love the way that the Randy Ellis Sleekster sliders look, more than any other option on the market, but I fear putting that many holes in the truck for the rivets. Even with painting those areas and possibly even using some sort of sealant, I just envision multiple opportunities for rust to rear its ugly head later on down the road. I look forward to seeing your install pics.

 

[Ravenmad]

JW Speaker 7 inch rounds mounted and wired. I also picked up a set of 1" shackles for the AEV front bumper WLL

 

[Ravenmad]

New Air lines for the onboard air system..

 

[Ravenmad]

Owwww ,and almost forgot... Loving my new stereo ..... Alpine Restyle.

 

[Ravenmad]

I like that you are going to modify them to tie into the body mounts and provide a flush surface underneath. I love the way that the Randy Ellis Sleekster sliders look, more than any other option on the market, but I fear putting that many holes in the truck for the rivets. Even with painting those areas and possibly even using some sort of sealant, I just envision multiple opportunities for rust to rear its ugly head later on down the road. I look forward to seeing your install pics.

I agree. When they get here I will take a good look at how to remedy the issues. I am actually hopeful that by building the bottom section that ties into the frame mounts I might be able to then get away with a commercial grade adhesive for the section that overlaps into the door jam. We will see.... Either way, I will take detailed pics so people can see how they mount. I sure do like how they look and I would rather spend the extra time and money to build the bottom section than loose the ground clearance with traditional frame mounted sliders.

 

[Tex68w]

The ground clearance you lose with the WKO sliders is disappointing and the look is a slight detractor as well, they just hang really low. That said, they are extremely strong and provide both a good step and protection to the lower part of the doors as well. There sadly is no perfect solution.

 

[Ravenmad]

The ground clearance you lose with the WKO sliders is disappointing and the look is a slight detractor as well, they just hang really low. That said, they are extremely strong and provide both a good step and protection to the lower part of the doors as well. There sadly is no perfect solution.

Again, I absolutely agree. I am really looking hard at building a real set of skid plates to go with the Sleeksters from R.E.D. In the end, there is no such thing as a perfect design, each of us will have a slightly different vision of what we want and what we like. I myself prefer mods that look as close to factory as possible and I like clean smooth designs without clutter.

I think the essence of what a real overland vehicle is transcends individual components layered onto a vehicle. Just because a truck has bumpers, winch, lights, rack, RTT, awning and a tablet with navigation does not make a truck a good overland vehicle. I rather believe its how well the individual parts compliment each other and support the base vehicle, expand its capability, and at the same time do not detract from its essence and reliability, that leeds me to say a truck/vehicle is a good overlander.

I would like to think that my truck has been well thought out. I in turn looked at capacity, capability, strengths and weaknesses and from all that made a list of modifications that needed be made. Then took a long look at each weakness and essayed what product I needed that would not clutter or detract from a strength of the vehicle. BOOOMMMMM, at that point I chose products/upgrades to strengthen a weakness, and that is the best I can do to get to perfect "for me" and what I want the truck to do....

 

[Kingsize24]

I agree. When they get here I will take a good look at how to remedy the issues. I am actually hopeful that by building the bottom section that ties into the frame mounts I might be able to then get away with a commercial grade adhesive for the section that overlaps into the door jam. We will see.... Either way, I will take detailed pics so people can see how they mount. I sure do like how they look and I would rather spend the extra time and money to build the bottom section than loose the ground clearance with traditional frame mounted sliders.

Very, very interested in how they end up mounting when used with panel adhesive. That option sounds very attractive as opposed to drilling into a VERY rust prone area anyway. I also will be talking to him about some once I see how yours turn out. I would like the body protection, as well as the ability to still use my AMP steps that tuck up in tight to the body, and still have frame support like you speak of. The end result of my truck will be extremely heavy, and I'm sure it will need all the support it can get.

Optimisticly awaiting your results.


Jason

 

[Gibby56]

Can you give us a little detail on the Alpine Unit? I've seen it pop up online here and there and advertised in the dealerships but haven't read any real review of it.

 

[Ravenmad]

Very, very interested in how they end up mounting when used with panel adhesive. That option sounds very attractive as opposed to drilling into a VERY rust prone area anyway. I also will be talking to him about some once I see how yours turn out. I would like the body protection, as well as the ability to still use my AMP steps that tuck up in tight to the body, and still have frame support like you speak of. The end result of my truck will be extremely heavy, and I'm sure it will need all the support it can get.

Optimisticly awaiting your results.


Jason

I will keep you updated. I got the call this morning, the truck freight delivery is set for Thursday.

 

[Kingsize24]

Awesome! Yes please do. I will be watching this thread to see for your update. I'm sure they can do exactly what I am looking for, and yours will probably answer all my questions. Thanks!

 

[Ravenmad]

Can you give us a little detail on the Alpine Unit? I've seen it pop up online here and there and advertised in the dealerships but haven't read any real review of it.

Yup, the head unit is the 009 model, RAM Restyle. I am still learning my way through it so forgive my overly simplistic opinion of the head unit.

What I don't like:
It needs some type of anti glare coating or screen protector, for some reason it catches the glare from the sun and at times is almost imposable to read.
I need to set up the "short cuts" on the main screen, some of the options are not completely intuitive and you have to go searching for them (like stop route in Navigation, its about a 3 step process to get to it)
Its very expensive.
You have to cut the dash plastic and the inner support structure to install the head unit.

What it does that I do like:
SIRIS sat. radio
Navigation (very good, but you can't import FunTrek maps)
The head unit communicates with the truck and you can set up the Vehicle info. page to display up to 6 diff. items from intake air temp to motor torque ( very cool). It will also control your cabin heat, seat heaters, AC, and what not... ( this option has a quick touch button as well.
It has a metric ton of options for importing info, music and media.
it has a quick touch button for 2 cameras, and it works even if you are driving, just push the button and wallllaaaa...

All in all, it works very well and is light years better than the standard stereo. I can not compare it to the factory premium sound and head unit though, I don't / didn't have one.

If you have a specific question let me know and I will gladly answer it.

 

[Gibby56]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up! It definitely looks like an awesome unit and it sounds like it integrates with the oem system pretty well.

Does it have Car Play or screen mirroring? My dream is to find a unit I can mirror the Avenza Maps app onto that also ties into all the factory settings.

 

[ttengineer]

Thank you for taking the time to write that up! It definitely looks like an awesome unit and it sounds like it integrates with the oem system pretty well.

Does it have Car Play or screen mirroring? My dream is to find a unit I can mirror the Avenza Maps app onto that also ties into all the factory settings.

You’ll need to jail break the radio to do screen mirroring. It’s a few hundred dollars I think from customtronix.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Ravenmad]

You’ll need to jail break the radio to do screen mirroring. It’s a few hundred dollars I think from customtronix.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yeah, my 009 Restyle is jail broke, but i will have to double check on the software that was used to do it.