Ghetto Fab.
No idea what I'm doing
- Joined
- May 19, 2020
- Member Number
- 208
- Messages
- 554
Funny thing is I have a 14 Ram 2500 tradesman cummins quad cab truck right now. Its bitchin. Hauls the family and the 4runner on a trailer really well. Plenty of room and comfort for all our crap. I actually started building a popup camper for it and really need to get it finished. It is amazing how capable the ram chassis and the power wagons are, and the desert is pretty wide open for them.
Having said that though, I'd really rather not wheel my ram. It is the nicest thing I own vehicle wise and its actually worth something. I'd like to keep it that way. I've also wheeled a similar 14 ram on fins and things in moab, a beginner trail, and it was nerve racking. Visibility out the pass side is the worst of any vehicle I've ever driven and wheeling on top of the sand stone out there at times, it just looks like your in low flying plane since you can't see any of the ground on the right.
I think of trips we've done in the past and think about what we could have done different and how that applies to what I'm looking to do vehicle wise. We went to death valley two year ago and it was great. We towed my 4runner out there and drove around offroad in that. The 4runner is small and light and will go anywhere out there. We covered a lot of ground and it was hot. On the third day the AC quit and the truck wasn't the most comfortable to drive all those miles on the highway or offroad. I think about where we went and there was only one day going up to the salt tram where I wouldn't have wanted to drive the ram. We could have done most of that trip in the ram with no issues and been totally comfortable. Except we wouldn't have gotten to see the salt tram. Sure we could have found something else to do, but it sucks being limited on where you can go. I'd like to go back out and hit lippincot road too, and thats another place I'm not sure I'd take the ram.
Have you ever wheeled in the sierras? If not you should make it a point to sometime. Good times! Its tight though in spots. Rubicon is actually pretty open to fullsizes now I feel like. Other spots like dusy will just crumple all your door panels. The trees are barely wide enough for my 4runner in spots. Jeeps work because while the axles are essentially full width, the body is not and that tends to save them. The tires sticking out tends to help save the body. A fullsize doesn't really have that option. I'm going wheeling this weekend on a trail we try to hit every year for the boys. Its got a few tight spots and I'm going to try to photo a few spots with my 4runner in them so people can get an idea of how tight it is. I've long contemplated building a chevy tahoe, but its body width keeps me from doing that. Otherwise they have the power, wheelbase, comfy seating and cargo space I'm looking for. The dakota is appealing since its in between my 4runner size and a tahoe size, plus V8, and cheapish. A set of fullwidth tons, coilovers in the front, something in the back, 37"+ tires and I'm sure it would be plenty capable for my needs offroad. I'm not sure it has the reliability I want though, and it could use more power. Ideally 300hp-300tq I think would be ideal, and that lead into my questions comparing it to a chevy colorado, which makes those power numbers.
I like the idea of a jeep body on a ram chassis. I thought of that before and things actually line up really well. I have cad models of a JK frame and 4th gen ram chassis to compare too. Problem is though, in cali you wind up registering it as a ram 2500 and get hit with the registration weight penalties on top of a wrangler having less cargo space than my 4runner and I'm trying to move away from a cludged together vehicle. I'm trying to find something with a motor-drivetrain combo in a descent sized body that has a factory integrated wiring harness and AC system. That way its all factory and works seamlessly together, at least in theory. Keep in mind my 4runner has a swapped in engine and trans and while I did the best I can, its not perfect and the systems don't all integrate happily. I really like my 4runner on the trail, but the not seamlessly integrated stuff, lack of highway power for distance driving, and the want for more space for family and all our crap has me looking at alternatives.
Most of this has become a mental exercise for me. I will probably never part with my 4runner, but its fun to think about what fits. I know if I changed my use case, split them up, or just gave up on part of it, I'd have no problem finding many vehicles that fit the bill, but what fun is that? My kids are 8 right now, and I expect in 10yrs this won't be an issue anymore anyways.
Sorry for the wall of text.
Kevin
Having said that though, I'd really rather not wheel my ram. It is the nicest thing I own vehicle wise and its actually worth something. I'd like to keep it that way. I've also wheeled a similar 14 ram on fins and things in moab, a beginner trail, and it was nerve racking. Visibility out the pass side is the worst of any vehicle I've ever driven and wheeling on top of the sand stone out there at times, it just looks like your in low flying plane since you can't see any of the ground on the right.
I think of trips we've done in the past and think about what we could have done different and how that applies to what I'm looking to do vehicle wise. We went to death valley two year ago and it was great. We towed my 4runner out there and drove around offroad in that. The 4runner is small and light and will go anywhere out there. We covered a lot of ground and it was hot. On the third day the AC quit and the truck wasn't the most comfortable to drive all those miles on the highway or offroad. I think about where we went and there was only one day going up to the salt tram where I wouldn't have wanted to drive the ram. We could have done most of that trip in the ram with no issues and been totally comfortable. Except we wouldn't have gotten to see the salt tram. Sure we could have found something else to do, but it sucks being limited on where you can go. I'd like to go back out and hit lippincot road too, and thats another place I'm not sure I'd take the ram.
Have you ever wheeled in the sierras? If not you should make it a point to sometime. Good times! Its tight though in spots. Rubicon is actually pretty open to fullsizes now I feel like. Other spots like dusy will just crumple all your door panels. The trees are barely wide enough for my 4runner in spots. Jeeps work because while the axles are essentially full width, the body is not and that tends to save them. The tires sticking out tends to help save the body. A fullsize doesn't really have that option. I'm going wheeling this weekend on a trail we try to hit every year for the boys. Its got a few tight spots and I'm going to try to photo a few spots with my 4runner in them so people can get an idea of how tight it is. I've long contemplated building a chevy tahoe, but its body width keeps me from doing that. Otherwise they have the power, wheelbase, comfy seating and cargo space I'm looking for. The dakota is appealing since its in between my 4runner size and a tahoe size, plus V8, and cheapish. A set of fullwidth tons, coilovers in the front, something in the back, 37"+ tires and I'm sure it would be plenty capable for my needs offroad. I'm not sure it has the reliability I want though, and it could use more power. Ideally 300hp-300tq I think would be ideal, and that lead into my questions comparing it to a chevy colorado, which makes those power numbers.
I like the idea of a jeep body on a ram chassis. I thought of that before and things actually line up really well. I have cad models of a JK frame and 4th gen ram chassis to compare too. Problem is though, in cali you wind up registering it as a ram 2500 and get hit with the registration weight penalties on top of a wrangler having less cargo space than my 4runner and I'm trying to move away from a cludged together vehicle. I'm trying to find something with a motor-drivetrain combo in a descent sized body that has a factory integrated wiring harness and AC system. That way its all factory and works seamlessly together, at least in theory. Keep in mind my 4runner has a swapped in engine and trans and while I did the best I can, its not perfect and the systems don't all integrate happily. I really like my 4runner on the trail, but the not seamlessly integrated stuff, lack of highway power for distance driving, and the want for more space for family and all our crap has me looking at alternatives.
Most of this has become a mental exercise for me. I will probably never part with my 4runner, but its fun to think about what fits. I know if I changed my use case, split them up, or just gave up on part of it, I'd have no problem finding many vehicles that fit the bill, but what fun is that? My kids are 8 right now, and I expect in 10yrs this won't be an issue anymore anyways.
Sorry for the wall of text.
Kevin
