Etoimos' 2022 Power Wagon Build

[Etoimos]

Current Photo of the PW:

Photo of the PW when I first got it:


Running MPG list (MPGs way outside the norm are from me tracking the mileage while pulling my OGT trailer separately).





Build discussion:

Today I officially joined the Power Wagon family by placing a factory build order through Sandi at Mark Dodge. As the first step of this new build, I must say that Sandi has made the initial steps of this process supper easy and I recommend anyone looking to order a truck to give her a call. My MSRP was $67,690 and my purchase price was $59,669.



While I'm waiting on the PW to be built, I'll be ordering the RSi SmartCap Evo with dual half bins. I plan to light the inside of the SmartCap with a couple of HardKorr LED light strips. The bed will be protected with a Bedrug Classic and I plan to make a built in dog create at the front of the bed that ties into the half bins.

I also plan to upgrade to 35" General Tires Grabber ATX tires. I'd love to go to 37s, but I will be pulling my Expedition 2.0 trailer and it can only run 35s and I want to make the spares interchangeable between the truck and trailer.



For Comms, I'll be running with an inReach mini, Gaia GPS, and (most likely) a Midland MXT275 GMRS Radio. On the protection side of things, I plan to add a Dethloff engine-trans skid and a set of rock sliders (maybe the White Knuckle slides). There are a lot of other mods that are on the list, but they are further off and a little fluid still, so I will not list those out just yet.

Now the waiting game begins........

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Badass set up. Is that your current/old set up in the pic? Are you going to swap the trailer axle to 8 lug or are you going to change tires out on the rims in the field?

 

[Great White North Eh]

ya awesome lots of picks when you get-er set uo.

 

[Etoimos]

Badass set up. Is that your current/old set up in the pic? Are you going to swap the trailer axle to 8 lug or are you going to change tires out on the rims in the field?

Thanks. Technically that was my old setup. I sold the Jeep Wrangler as it was built for rock crawling and got a Gladiator when I started overlanding more. Here is the current setup:



The plan is to swap out the hubs on the trailer to match the PW.

ya awesome lots of picks when you get-er set uo.

Photography is one of my other hobbies, so lots of pics will be taken!

 

[Brewbud]

Great setup! Does Off Grid Trailers offer the hubs for the Ram 8 lug or will you have to use adapters?

 

[Etoimos]

Great setup! Does Off Grid Trailers offer the hubs for the Ram 8 lug or will you have to use adapters?

The Timbren 3500HD axle-less suspension that OGT uses actually come with a 6000lbs hub in 6x5.5 bolt pattern (that is what sets the HD apart form the normal 3500 which uses a 3500lb hub). This is an issue for Jeep owners since Timbren does not make a 6000lbs hub in the 5x5 bolt pattern. Timbren does make a hub with 8x6.5 pattern, but I'm unsure if you can order a trailer from OGT with them on it (as I owned a Jeep when I bought my trailer, I never looked into it). I plan to swap the hubs on my trailer to the 8x6.5 hubs. A pair of them only run about $350, but I don't know yet if I have to upgrade the spindles or not.

 

[Etoimos]

The first step in any build thread has to be the truck itself getting built, and I got word yesterday that my truck is schedule to be built on 18 Jan. That will put it just over 2 months from order date to build build date.

I also got quite a few goodies for the build as Christmas presents, so things are starting to roll on this build.

 

[gimmie11s]

Nice, congrats.

 

[PapaJoe]

The first step in any build thread has to be the truck itself getting built, and I got word yesterday that my truck is schedule to be built on 18 Jan. That will put it just over 2 months from order date to build build date.

I also got quite a few goodies for the build as Christmas presents, so things are starting to roll on this build.

I too have a Wagon ordered via Sandi and MD; build date is Jan. 19.

 

[jetrinka]

Great setup. I run that Midland radio and it works great. You’ll be very happy

 

[Trail_Wagon]

Can't wait to follow along. I've got a supercharger Gladiator Rubicon on 37's and I love that truck, but it's just not big enough for what I want. I feel the power wagon is a giant Rubicon anyways, so it was the obvious choice. My plan is a scout kenai instead of trailer. I ordered my pw December 2nd. Looking forward to seeing your build progress

 

[Etoimos]

Great setup. I run that Midland radio and it works great. You’ll be very happy

My wife did get that radio for me as part of my Christmas, so I'm glad to hear that you are happy with it. I need to check and see if it is possible to run a second external speaker. I'd like to mount a speaker in the truck bed so I can hear it when setup at camp.

Can't wait to follow along. I've got a supercharger Gladiator Rubicon on 37's and I love that truck, but it's just not big enough for what I want. I feel the power wagon is a giant Rubicon anyways, so it was the obvious choice. My plan is a scout kenai instead of trailer. I ordered my pw December 2nd. Looking forward to seeing your build progress

Congrats on the PW order! I bet the supercharger makes the JT much more fun to drive. I really like mine as well, but as you say, it is just a bit to small. The great thing right now is how much used JTs are going for. I bought mine new back in 2020 for $50k and the local dealer just offered me $53k for it. I'll lose some money on the mods that I've put on it, but I'm more than happy with how it has turned out on the financial side.

Does the PW have enough payload for that type of camper? I have a buddy that is trying to decide what type of setup he is going to do. If he goes the camper route, he says he has to get a non PW 2500 (most likely a diesel at that point) to handle all the weight.

 

[Trail_Wagon]

My wife did get that radio for me as part of my Christmas, so I'm glad to hear that you are happy with it. I need to check and see if it is possible to run a second external speaker. I'd like to mount a speaker in the truck bed so I can hear it when setup at camp.



Congrats on the PW order! I bet the supercharger makes the JT much more fun to drive. I really like mine as well, but as you say, it is just a bit to small. The great thing right now is how much used JTs are going for. I bought mine new back in 2020 for $50k and the local dealer just offered me $53k for it. I'll lose some money on the mods that I've put on it, but I'm more than happy with how it has turned out on the financial side.

Does the PW have enough payload for that type of camper? I have a buddy that is trying to decide what type of setup he is going to do. If he goes the camper route, he says he has to get a non PW 2500 (most likely a diesel at that point) to handle all the weight.

The camper weighs in right at 1300 ish empty, so its likely going to go over on payload. I'm going to do airbags and daystar cradle to help hold the weight up. Upgraded helwig sway bar in the rear. With those two mods, it should easily handle the weight of the slide in.

Scout Kenai

 

[Etoimos]

Yesterday I placed an order the RSI SmartCap and two half bins. RSI said they had the new 2500 caps hitting US shores in Jan, Feb, and Mar. The dealer said it would be 2-3 months before it shows up. So who knows. The half bins are already here in the US, so I should have them in about two weeks. I plan to start laying out and mounting my air and electrical systems in the bins. That will safe me some time getting everything done when the cap finally shows up. I did not mention it earlier in this thread, but I have a trip up to Tuktoyaktuk, NT, Canada on the artic ocean at the end of May, so I could run into a time crunch on this build.

 

[Great White North Eh]

Heading to the end of the earth EH. Have a good trip and post some picks. Hopefully with your top on.

 

[Etoimos]

Heading to the end of the earth EH. Have a good trip and post some picks. Hopefully with your top on.

Thanks. I've been planning this trip for a couple of years, so hopefully everything goes pretty smooth. I'll be making the trip with my son and his best friend as well as one of my work buddies. I'll be sure to share photos (and probably some video) from the trip. I always write up trip reports for my adventures. If you are interested in them, you can see my past trips on my site Adventures of Etoimos. For the big trip to Death Valley a few years back with my dad and son, I had a couple of hardback books printed up with the trip report and photos in it. Those turned out to be a great way for both my dad and my son revisit that wonderful trip together.

 

[Etoimos]

I got a nice email from Mark Dodge on Saturday... My truck is on their lot! That was exactly 80 days from order to lot. I don't think that was too bad.

 

[Loosebolts]

I got a nice email from Mark Dodge on Saturday... My truck is on their lot! That was exactly 80 days from order to lot. I don't think that was too bad.

View attachment 31086

View attachment 31087

Did you pick it up?

 

[Etoimos]

Did you pick it up?

Not yet. I'm going to fly down and pick it up and drive back... so I have some more stuff to work out. It might be another two weeks before I can get down there though.

 

[Etoimos]

Plane tickets bought, I'll be picking my truck up this Friday!