jsalbre's 2023 Rebel Build and Adventures

[jsalbre]

I've been lax in getting this all put together, so the first couple posts will be a bit of a catch-up, then I'll update from there as things happen.

I ordered a 2023 2500 Rebel on Oct 21, 2022. The truck was built on Jan 12th and shipped on Jan 20th. I picked it up from the dealer on Feb 8, 2023. I went with the Rebel as I do a lot of offloading, but also tow a travel trailer so I wanted more towing and payload capacity than a Power Wagon offered. The Rebel is essentially a PW without a front locker and disconnecting sway bar, and with a suspension similar to that of a "normal" 2500 (Ram says the suspension is unique to this trim, but haven't detailed how exactly). Because of this suspension my truck has a payload capacity of 2,872 lbs (nearly double that of a Power Wagon) and a towing capacity of 16,730. This is more than enough to tow my 26' trailer (and larger should I upgrade in the future), as well as a bed full of other camping and outdoor gear.

So far we absolutely love the truck. We've put 8000 miles on it in 4 1/2 months and aside from the (expectedly) terrible fuel economy and the too small gas tank it's wonderful.

Order Details:

• 6.4 Hemi/8-SPD
• Level 2
• Towing Technology Group
• Safety Group
• Bed Utility Group
• 4.10 Axle Ratio
• 20x8.5 Black Diamond Cut Alum Wheels
• Power Sunroof
• Power Deployable Running Boards
• Engine Block Heater
• Front Electric Winch
• Dual Alternators 380A
• Trailer Tire Pressure Monitoring System
• Upfitter Electronic Module (VSIM)
• Bright White
• Lower Two Tone Paint

Pictures from the day we picked it up:

 

[jsalbre]

Within a few days of picking up the truck I removed the front sway bar. I don't haul super heavy or tall (think slide in camper) loads, so the factory one piece radius arms provide more than enough roll resistance, and having the front sway bar off will both improve everyday driving comfort and slightly improve off-road performance. I also installed a set of RokBlokz mudflats front and rear (original size), and replaced to factory Warn winch hook with a Factor 55 Flatlink E. We then headed out to the mountains to do some exploring and playing in the snow.

My wife caught an awesome shot of a bald eagle flying over the truck. It's almost too much freedom in on photo.


Here's a shot from the same day showing the RokBlokz.


Not long after I used some 8020 parts I had from a bed drawer project in my previous 2500 to build a mount for my Maxtrax and bikes.


I picked up a mount for my 5 gallon Wavian NATO gas can and reworked the 8020 frame to accommodate.


Next we loaded up the truck and hooked up the travel trailer to it for the first time to go camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We hit an unexpected blizzard going through the mountains and what should have been a 7 hour day turned into a 16 hour day, with much of the driving being in 4WD at sub-20 MPH speeds and near 0 visibility on I-70. This was taken when we pulled over in Denver after getting out of the storm to let our nerves settle.


I installed a RetraxPro XR tonneau to secure camping and other gear in the bed, and keep it mostly sheltered from weather, then mounted some Rhino Rack HD bars to the top of it to hold my bikes and other misc things.


We went exploring again, and played in some puddles.

 

[jsalbre]

I mounted a Harbor Freight Apache 9800 (Pelican knockoff) case to the cross bars to hold my recovery gear, and then mounted my Maxtrax to the lid of the case. I've learned that every time I need my gear it's buried behind something in the bed or underneath stuff in the cab. This gets it all out of the way and easy to get to. It's relatively secure, but if someone really needs to steal it that's what insurance is for.


I swapped out the rough textured boat anchor Warn fairlead for a Factor 55 fairlead


I got a custom topo hood blackout with my logo on it made by Taco Vinyl in Boise. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

 

[jsalbre]

This brings us to this weekend.

We hooked the trailer up again and headed out to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to do some camping and exploring.


On the way back from our exploration on Saturday evening we were heading south on Idaho 75 near Galena when I was flagged down by a man standing on the side of the road waving his arms frantically. He told me that he was driving a dually with a slide in camper and a cargo trailer. He'd pulled off on the dirt road to eat his lunch (hours before) and when he went to turn around to leave he turned through what looked like a dry field, but turned out to be deep sticky mud, and he promptly sank. He'd given up trying to get himself out and had walked to the main road to get some help, but all that had driven by for hours were Subarus and small SUVs. Seeing us coming down the road he was sure he'd finally found help. I drove down to where he was stuck and evaluated the situation. He was well and stuck, with the truck buried 6+" into the mud and the tongue of the trailer shoved down into it, with a steep 2' climb back onto hard packed ground. Complicating the issue was a small creek and a culvert right next to where he was stuck.

There was definitely no good direction to use a tow strap from, so I ended up setting up a double winch line pull. I had to stop and reposition multiple times during the recovery to keep him moving the right direction and keep the winch line from rubbing the ground. Several times the winch drug me towards him more than him towards me. Unfortunately there were no trees around that were large enough to anchor on. It took close to an hour but we eventually got him out and back on the road. He said that his rig weighed in somewhere around 16k+ pounds. I feel like I earned some trail karma that day, so next time I get stuck so bad I can't get myself out I shouldn't have to wait too long for help to show up!


The factory Warn Zeon 12s and the Factor 55 soft shackles and Rope Pulley certainly came in handy!

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Heckuva pull.

Glad you could help out and everybody got home safe. I’ve been on both ends of that situation…

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Within a few days of picking up the truck I removed the front sway bar. I don't haul super heavy or tall (think slide in camper) loads, so the factory one piece radius arms provide more than enough roll resistance, and having the front sway bar off will both improve everyday driving comfort and slightly improve off-road performance. I also installed a set of RokBlokz mudflats front and rear (original size), and replaced to factory Warn winch hook with a Factor 55 Flatlink E. We then headed out to the mountains to do some exploring and playing in the snow.

My wife caught an awesome shot of a bald eagle flying over the truck. It's almost too much freedom in on photo.
View attachment 58885

Here's a shot from the same day showing the RokBlokz.
View attachment 58886

Not long after I used some 8020 parts I had from a bed drawer project in my previous 2500 to build a mount for my Maxtrax and bikes.
View attachment 58887

I picked up a mount for my 5 gallon Wavian NATO gas can and reworked the 8020 frame to accommodate.
View attachment 58888

Next we loaded up the truck and hooked up the travel trailer to it for the first time to go camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We hit an unexpected blizzard going through the mountains and what should have been a 7 hour day turned into a 16 hour day, with much of the driving being in 4WD at sub-20 MPH speeds and near 0 visibility on I-70. This was taken when we pulled over in Dever after getting out of the storm to let our nerves settle.
View attachment 58889

I installed a RetraxPro XR tonneau to secure camping and other gear in the bed, and keep it mostly sheltered from weather, then mounted some Rhino Rack HD bars to the top of it to hold my bikes and other misc things.
View attachment 58890

We went exploring again, and played in some puddles.
View attachment 58891

The new hood and mirrors look really tough.

I also like those headlights, are they new or submodel specific? I don’t remember seeing headlights like that last pic or maybe I haven’t been paying attention (halogens here)

Welcome to the swaybar delete club.

 

[jsalbre]

The new hood and mirrors look really tough.

I also like those headlights, are they new or submodel specific? I don’t remember seeing headlights like that last pic or maybe I haven’t been paying attention (halogens here)

Welcome to the swaybar delete club.

I love the new mirrors. You get good visibility even when you're not in tow mode, and if I forget to switch them over it's a quick press of a button on the door to slide them out instead of having to pull over and climb out.

The headlights are the same ones that Limited Night Edition and PW Level 2 (or Level 3 last year, or 75A the year before that) have. The turning capability of them is excellent on dark twisty roads, and they look awesome.

I was hesitant to completely delete the sway bar as I went with the Thuren on my last 2500, but I figured I'd give it a try and it feels almost the same to me, for $600 less. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

[Jacob]

I like the lifted tire on the gmc.

 

[Poolmonkey]

This brings us to this weekend.

We hooked the trailer up again and headed out to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to do some camping and exploring.
View attachment 58904View attachment 58919View attachment 58918

On the way back from our exploration on Saturday evening we were heading south on Idaho 75 near Galena when I was flagged down by a man standing on the side of the road waving his arms frantically. He told me that he was driving a dually with a slide in camper and a cargo trailer. He'd pulled off on the dirt road to eat his lunch (hours before) and when he went to turn around to leave he turned through what looked like a dry field, but turned out to be deep sticky mud, and he promptly sank. He'd given up trying to get himself out and had walked to the main road to get some help, but all that had driven by for hours were Subarus and small SUVs. Seeing us coming down the road he was sure he'd finally found help. I drove down to where he was stuck and evaluated the situation. He was well and stuck, with the truck buried 6+" into the mud and the tongue of the trailer shoved down into it, with a steep 2' climb back onto hard packed ground. Complicating the issue was a small creek and a culvert right next to where he was stuck.

There was definitely no good direction to use a tow strap from, so I ended up setting up a double winch line pull. I had to stop and reposition multiple times during the recovery to keep him moving the right direction and keep the winch line from rubbing the ground. Several times the winch drug me towards him more than him towards me. Unfortunately there were no trees around that were large enough to anchor on. It took close to an hour but we eventually got him out and back on the road. He said that his rig weighed in somewhere around 16k+ pounds. I feel like I earned some trail karma that day, so next time I get stuck so bad I can't get myself out I shouldn't have to wait too long for help to show up!
View attachment 58905View attachment 58906View attachment 58915View attachment 58907View attachment 58908

The factory Warn Zeon 12s and the Factor 55 soft shackles and Rope Pulley certainly came in handy!

Double line back to the factory hooks?…cause somebody was asking whether they could stand up to a double line pull, would say so.

 

[jsalbre]

Double line back to the factory hooks?…cause somebody was asking whether they could stand up to a double line pull, would say so.

Yeah, winch to pulley to passenger side factory hook. No uncomfortable noises or anything. The only thing I heard was the engine, the winch motor, and the tires dragging through the sage brush.

I’d have no reservations doing it again.

 

[Poolmonkey]

Yeah, winch to pulley to passenger side factory hook. No uncomfortable noises or anything. The only thing I heard was the engine, the winch motor, and the tires dragging through the sage brush.

I’d have no reservations doing it again.

Heck yeah, good work.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Nice recovery...What was that knuckle head thinking when he drove into the swamp?? LOL

 

[jsalbre]

Nice recovery...What was that knuckle head thinking when he drove into the swamp?? LOL

You couldn’t tell it was muddy until you were in it. Everything around was dry and the grass hid the mud. Still something you should check when your hauling that big of a rig around, but I can see how he ended up in that situation.

 

[Eatonpcat]

You couldn’t tell it was muddy until you were in it. Everything around was dry and the grass hid the mud. Still something you should check when your hauling that big of a rig around, but I can see how he ended up in that situation.

Ohh, I guarantee someone would have had to drag me out of there too!!