Hooligan’s 2012 Ram build/assembly

[boy&hisdogs]

A few gratuitous pics of Bald Mountain before it closed for April and May. Ya know, just in case ya’ll think this is a show queen. Was able to make it to the top, it’s not a tough trail but a few others at the top did ask how I made it. They were in Jeep’s and Toyotas.

Last hill at the base of the tower.

Which way did you go in? I go to Dinkey Creek all the time and always wondered about trying Bald Mountian. Now that my truck is lifted I just might.

 

[Hooligan]

Went in through Rock Creek.

In winter I’ve never gone in through Tamarack, it may not be legally open, or maybe it’s just not accessible with snow.

 

[Hooligan]

Not hardcore, needed a way to mount a Hi-lift. Until I think of something better, the in-bed 2x holder will do. It keeps the jack from sliding around. Used the 4xRac mount from Hi-lift and a 2x6. The kit comes with 1” bolts which obviously aren’t long enough for the 2x material. My bolt bin didnt have any longer and it was night. So, did the only thing I could do, made the wood thinner. Used a spade bit to sink in the nut. I’ll redo it, but it worked for today’s trip.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

Where on your truck do you use the hi lift? It looks like it would slip off your bumpers and well... I hope you aren't using it on your rockers.

 

[Hooligan]

Well, haven’t used it yet

I do need to work on getting some sliders.

 

[Hooligan]

Ran the Strawberry Pass trail on Saturday. Being 4th of July weekend was expecting a zoo, just everywhere. I passed two Toyotas at the gate, they were airing up. I got the, “ he can’t seriously be taking that full-size on the trail” look as I aired down.

Was peaceful, no one on the trail, not another soul till the Kirkwood side.

With a full-size, I wouldn’t rank the trail as easy. There are three, maybe four spots of toughness in the first like 3 miles. Total trail to Highway 88 was 12 miles. Super easy 2wd mostly after the first 3 miles. If your looking for challenge, turn around after the last obstacle or boredom will await.

Had some rain and thunder storms.

I’m not used to going on trail alone. Combined with rain, I rushed through and tried to force some bad lines. would think being alone I would have been more deliberate and stared at lines before going in. Probably nerves.

Anyways, lots of flex wasn’t needed, just the spacing of rocks and tightness between trees made for excitement. Not having sliders, I was worried about doing body damage, but those might be a hindrance as some cases I squeezed by with a mere inch to spare. The YouTube videos show the rocks as very mild, and I get that video never does justice, but the last area was way more dugout then any of the YouTube videos show. Thought I was going to lose driveshaft on last rock pile. Daughter (first time trying to spot) was like, you are hitting the back part, the big piece of metal that is like a ‘T’.

On the 2nd obstacle, I totally didn’t see a rock. Forward movement was halted and truck kept pivoting to passenger side. I thought front tire had a rock, so I back up, turn and try again…Same pivot. Tried this a few times, finally got out and there is a tire sized rock on passenger side jammed against muffler and in front of rear axle. Luckily it wasn’t moving, I just had to reposition and was all good. This was an instance, where I was rushing and didn’t pay attention…not sure why since there was no pressure of other people on the trail. Minor scratches.

Scratch on rear diff is from last rock pile

Gatekeeper isn’t really, one could bypass on the driver side.

View from the top is nice, overlooking Caples Lake, and the flowers were still in bloom.

 

[Hooligan]

Went to Prairie City for the first time, place is pretty cool.

I like the hill climbs, but the stream beds look fun…I’m not ready for them yet.

Attempted to plow some rocks with the steering stabilizer. I dont know the obstacle names, but next to the concrete pyramid is some hills, one is dirt and to the left is a rocky climb. In the picture below the hill is in the background. Was almost through it when I felt the front hit something. I backed down a bit to move around a rock. My brother came over to spot me and was telling to turn passenger, tires weren’t moving. My first thought was a smashed the tie rod. I just backed down, with no steering…the stabilizer was crushed. Well good, that is an easy fix.

Quick removal and playtime resumed.

 

[Hooligan]

Next day took my brother in his GX, his girlfriend in a JK, friend in a Power Wagon and another in a 90’s Toyota up to Signal Peak. This would be an easy trail…in a Jeep. Running a full-size makes it into a moderate trail.

Got my first real trail damage, if you know the trail the first obstacle is a rock in the middle of the trail. Options are going right or left. I had lined up to go right and then thought otherwise. I was backing up to go left side and behind me was a rock. Combination of going down hill and in low gear, the truck didn’t stop when I wanted it to. I rolled over a rock and crushed the passenger rear rocker panel . Dammit! WhiteKnuckle sliders are due in a month, wasn’t supposed to dent shit before they get here. I need to do some metal massaging to get the door open.

That obstacle wouldn’t be one in a smaller rig, or one with sliders. Took us a while to get through since we didn’t have armor. Sometime after that buddy isn’t the Power Wagon bounced into a tree stump, his whole driver rocker got crushed. This was supposed to be an easy trail, and his first trip out gets some bad damage. Got his door too.

The section with the tree roots was easy, stuck to the driver side and just drove through. No pictures of it. I would say a fun trail, there were enough places that required attention due to size. If you were running a small Toyota, Jeep or buggie it wouldn’t be a challenging trail. Still worth it for the views.


Had the top to ourselves. Awesome views!

 

[mastadon]

Cool build so far. You have my all time favorite Ram truck color. Sagebrush Metallic is awesome.

 

[Hooligan]

Been a boring few months with no trail time. Did a little work, added Thuren 3” XS coil spring lift for the front, and their track bar. Damn it’s tall.

I give credit to the YouTube people that can film their garage work. I don’t even have time to take photos along the way, gotta get it done!

I took some before and after measurement, I’ll post later.

The springs are easily twice the weight of the factory spring.

Factory spring is about 18.75” tall. These are 21.5”

So, does it ride better? I’d say so. Can’t really quantify how much better, but the speed bumps on my street are nice at 35 mph. They were harsh at 25 before . I haven’t taken it off-road yet. I need to so some poser flexing in the backyard.

 

[Hooligan]

Since I had tires off, was a good time to rotate them. Moved driver front to passenger rear. In this photo, driver front is close to camera. It’s so lopsided it wont stand up on its own. This must be from manufacturer as they only have 3000 miles on them, and 10 ozs of weight

 

[Hooligan]

When changing springs they recommend to loosen control arm bolts and retorque. Regardless of their recommendation, I had to loosen bolts to get the second side to droop enough to get the spring in, first side was no problem.

When retorquing, I let one of the caster adjustments get out of order. I don’t know many degrees based on the markings, but it was enough. The truck had a severe steering shake at like 30 mph. Not death wobble violent, but wheel shook side to side from the 11 to 1 position. I had taken my time with the install, so I was briefly stumped as to the cause. My ball joints are tight, tie rod is good. I figured I’d try to add some more caster angle, it was then I noticed they were out of sorts.

The cam bolts don’t have super duper good markings, but there is an arrow. I used my laser level to assist. Stacked a ratchet handle to keep the bolt steady while tightening. Set both sides equal. Truck drives totally good now.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

Since I had tires off, was a good time to rotate them. Moved driver front to passenger rear. In this photo, driver front is close to camera. It’s so lopsided it wont stand up on its own. This must be from manufacturer as they only have 3000 miles on them, and 10 ozs of weight

I had a set of those on my truck. They were... just ok. Decent traction of road, but they wore funny and I ended up getting rid of them with plenty of usable tread left becuase they cupped so bad.

 

[wvracer821]

I'm a big fan of Thuren's stuff I had a dually with a bunch of his goods and I really loved it. I have been dragging my feet on a setup from him for my 2018 because of the shock lead times.

 

[Elwenil]

I went with Thuren springs on my 2500 as well. The Bilstein leveling kit I ordered was stuck in backorder hel, so I swapped to Thuren's leveling springs. They tried to talk me into a full kit, but I already had rear Bilstein 5100s and a Rough Country track bar waiting on the Bilstein kit, so I just used their springs and ordered the front Bilsteins to match the rears.

I didn't have much trouble getting my springs in other than fighting to get clearance to get my impact on the track bar bolts. I still need to grind the booger welds off my drag link so I can get my steering wheel back straight. The only real post-lift issues I had were adjusting the track bar to get the axle back centered under the truck and the antilock light coming on before the truck rolled 3 feet on my shakedown run to settle everything before torquing the bolts. I used my AlfaOBD app to set my tire circumference for the 35s and everything worked out well and kept the lights off. I was a bit worried about death wobble or something but I never had any handling issues and I have about 5k miles on it so far with a decent bit of highway driving.

As for Patagonia tires, I keep seeing that they are popular with the overlanding crowd and a lot of people claim they are terrific, but everyone I know that has bought them say they wear funny, don't balance well and are pretty "meh". I think they have a cool tread pattern, which is probably why they are really popular since most of the people who claim they are so great aren't going on anymore more than fire roads.

 

[Hooligan]

Lead times are crazy every where. Thuren site says front springs will be back in stock in December .

For Patagonia there are definitely mixed reviews. Some folks in this thread had bad/horrible experience with them. For my needs, I’m spending a bunch in other areas, so keeping tire cost lower was needed. This is also only a weekend use truck, so a tire that lasts 20,000 miles is like 5 years or more. I’m not one to buy, use and sell so I’m stuck with whatever for life, so 5 years from now I get to try another tire. I’m okay with that. Since I don’t cycle through tires, I have nothing to compare these to, so far they seem to work. I‘ve posted some pics of trails, so they get used on more than fire roads and can’t say they have let me down for lack of traction. I haven’t tried them in mud. I will say, they are quiet especially with their mildl aggressive tread pattern.

I do need to tweak my drag link, thought I had steering wheel squared up but after driving I need some minor adjustment.

I also need to look at my side to side and see if the track bar needs adjustment. Before springs, driver side tire stuck out like 4”, and passenger side was like 2”.

 

[Elwenil]

I did the typical diagonal measurement trick and centered the axle as best I could at relaxed right height and it worked out well. With my rim choice the tires stick out quite a bit, even slightly past the flares, so I wanted it centered as much as possible for the look as well as thinking it was "how it should be". I took plenty of height measurements but didn't think about measuring the axle side to side. It worked out pretty well in the end for a nice daily driver so I am happy with it.

I chose to go with the BFGs mainly because I've always liked them and I really wanted the "old school" white letters to go with the rims. I admit it hurt, even with my discount, but I splurged on the rims and tires because I wanted a certain look and I haven't had a "nice" truck for a while. I still have my Ramcharger to beat on in the woods but it definitely needs some parts thrown at it. The surplus 37" MTRs on it are the 2nd worst tires I have ever owned, the first being the old style of surplus MTs that were on it before, but they were hard to beat for the price.

 

[wvracer821]

any updates?

 

[Hooligan]

any updates?

Back in December I installed the White Knuckle Sliders, they only sat around for 3 months :-) . They are heavy. it really highlights the passenger side dent from Signal Peak. I bought them raw and rattle canned them for easy touch up. Put some tread tape on the top for grip. Haven’t had occasion to test them on rocks…yet.

Aside from that, no other changes (or to speak overland “mods”) . it’s doing what I wanted/needed a mild off-road truck that doesn’t need constant fixing. It’s a biggie though, its mildly painful hearing the branches scrape the sides, but it’s a 10 year old truck, can’t look good forever.

The Patagonia worked well for me in the snow on a few trips to Bald Mountain, but I don’t have other tires to judge them against. Had a few snow trips, and recently just some mild forest service roads.

I need to install my Midland radio…purchased from Christmas time. Dang, sucks that my install times are measured in months.

I like the ride, really liking the Thuren springs and Fox shocks, a truck this big shouldn’t feel this good doing like 40-50 through some of the forest service roads. So much nicer than stock. I don’t have an poser flex shots, I’ll try to get some this weekend on the trail.

 

[Hooligan]

So…what is next on the list, really would like to regear it. Has 3:73, and still has surprisingly good power, on and off road. I’m thinking some 5:13 would be nice and throw in some ARB at the same time. However that is like a $5k bill, so I’m having a hard justify that to myself.

Maybe go flatbed?

 

[Hooligan]

Poser pics

 

[Dead Pool]

Cool build, good to see some stuff on Thuren and how that worked out for you. My dd is a '18 hemi 2500 cclb. Doubt I ever go this hardcore with it, but I have taken it some places that people give me that wtf look. I'm on factory tires and suspension, and that front suspension is about as bone jarring as anything I've driven. Thinking about a thuren level or maybe 5100s, not sure. I know my shocks are shot, but it never did ride smooth at all. Running 4.10 gears and stock 275/70/18's here now on some ready to be replaced Milestar patagonia XT's.

 

[Hooligan]

I like the feel of the Thuren springs and Fox, I dont have a lot to compare to but it doesn’t feel like 3/4 ton truck. With your ‘18, there are shorter spring options, I had 3 or 6 “ as the choice. I can’t say about the Bilstein but I have not heard any regrets over Carli or Thuren…except the cost.

 

[Hooligan]

No changes to the truck, just being used past it’s design parameters. Didn’t get many poser shots.

 

[Hooligan]

Did get a scratch

 

[surpip]

Good to hear about the springs, I'm pretty sure that's my next purchase for my 3500. Don't feel bad about your install times, my bumpers are still in the garage from a a year ago, and the set of 20" stock black rims I found for $400 is waiting on my current set of tires to wear out.

 

[Endlesstrails]

Poll the audience, in the Marketplace now a member is selling the electric TracLoc for $1k. This is pretty much same price as ARB, any reason to buy the e-locker over ARB?

Dont see any stories of either breaking in these 11.5 AAM axles, ARB has vacuum line versus wire to contend with. Front end will be ARB, so an air source is needed.

The TracLoc GTL is a limited slip when off, but if limited slip is needed easy enough to just lock the ARB. If I lived in a rain, snow, mud area with daily driving the LSD might

The front PW e-locker was only $850 (I will have to remember where). The rear at 1K for a 11.5 is a steal. I put a front e-locker and rear ARB in my 08 CTD. I wish I had the rear E-locker as well just for the limited slip aspect on the street. I over power the peg leg way too often, especially in the rain. I have had too many issues with air compressors quitting at in opportune times to count on one to get me out of the back country, I installed the mini ARB compressor dedicated to the rear ARB separate from the one I use for onboard air for that reason.
And it is probably a install issue but I do get gear oil back into the compressor from the ARB when cycling it. That wouldn't be an issue with the e-locker.
Running wires for the e-locker adds some complexity but isn't a big issue. It is only a two wire connection when not in the PW so wiring a switch is easy.

 

[Hooligan]

Haven’t done gears or lockers yet. I do like having the LSD, can feel it working on the road or even in mild off-road applications.

If I found the Eaton versions cheaper, might do that, but for the price ARB seems like a stronger unit and I could live without the LSD.

 

[Hooligan]

Snow from a few weeks ago

 

[Hooligan]

Was at the scrap yard, this weight with me, 75 lb dog and 1/4 tank of gas.
I’m sure with full gas, recovery gear, camping stuff and other people that I’m close to 9,000.