New Power Wagon Owner A few questions

[agentbook]

Hey everyone, new here just got a 2023 Powerwagon on Patriot Blue. Beautiful truck.

Question, I do more highway miles than anything else. The stock Goodyears while ok, tend to grab the road and pull. I know that’s what they are supposed to do, but I would rather have something more for the highway.

Anyone every put Michelin LTX AT/2 or Michelin LTX M/S? I would prefer something less aggressive for now.

Other question is the lumbar on the drivers seat. Any way to get this to go away? Not a fan of lumbar pushing out and I have it all the way in. I had a 2015 1500 before this and seats were perfect. Wondering if the dealer and get the lumbar to go back more or just remove it.

Other than that the truck is amazing. This truck has been on my wish list for a very very long time.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Nice ride. Welcome to the club.
Before you change tires, go have the front end aligned to Thuren specs.
You can thank me later.
Also my '21 alingment was out of factor specs from the factory.

 

[agentbook]

Nice ride. Welcome to the club.
Before you change tires, go have the front end aligned to Thuren specs.
You can thank me later.
Also my '21 alingment was out of factor specs from the factory.

Thanks for the reply. But what is Thuren specs and how do they compare to factory specs for the alignment?

I am still leaning towards changing the tires but can check the alignment as well

 

[DrTron]

Question, I do more highway miles than anything else. The stock Goodyears while ok, tend to grab the road and pull. I know that’s what they are supposed to do, but I would rather have something more for the highway.

I, too, run mine almost exclusively on tarmac. But I also wanted 35's, the 33's do look a bit tiny. As I couldn't find any road tires in 35, I went with the Nitto Recon Grappler AT's. Those don't have an aggressive thread and work well.

But I guess I should get an alignment to Thuren specs at the next service, too.

 

[agentbook]

I, too, run mine almost exclusively on tarmac. But I also wanted 35's, the 33's do look a bit tiny. As I couldn't find any road tires in 35, I went with the Nitto Recon Grappler AT's. Those don't have an aggressive thread and work well.

But I guess I should get an alignment to Thuren specs at the next service, too.

What is the size of the tire you used? Thanks

 

[DrTron]

What is the size of the tire you used? Thanks

25x12.5R17.
These here: https://www.nittotire.com/light-truck-tires/recon-grappler-all-terrain-light-truck-tire/

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Thanks for the reply. But what is Thuren specs and how do they compare to factory specs for the alignment?

I am still leaning towards changing the tires but can check the alignment as well

Go to CJC off road, I think it's on their site. Or just Google it.
Basically set toe at 0 or slightly in. Never toe out.

 

[DrTron]

Here, that's from the Thuren website:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0510/0529/2724/files/13-22_2500_3500_PW.pdf?v=1638206406

 

[agentbook]

Does anyone have experience with the tires I mentioned? I used the M/S ones on my 1500 but don’t have experience with them on a 2500

 

[Crusty old shellback]

All I've used on my PW were BFG AT and currently have MT Baja Boss which are a RT.
Both are good tires.
I'm now living in the mountains and had our first snow yesterday, alibet it didn't stay. I'll find out how good the MTs are in snow soon, but others say they dud work good. Haven't had any issues on road with them.
Get the alingment done first. Then figure out your tires. It will make a difference.

 

[rdaled]

I'm running Falken Wildpeak A/T3 35x12.5R17. Mainly highway pulling an RV. They were a little rough initially, but after having them road forced balanced they are smooth as butter. Love them!

 

[Skid51]

Have just ordered a new PW, should receive it in a couple of weeks. Olive, Level 2, Safety & Tow Packages… am pretty excited with this one. Will add a few questions of my own to this thread as I prepare for delivery:

1) Tires: I live in a smaller town in the Canadian Rockies and my last truck (a Yukon) ran a dedicated winter tire set, Blizzaks, 6+ months every year. As much as I’d love to get by in the PW with a year-round set of 35’s or 37’s in a 3PMSF A/T I see enough storms and greasy roads on hwy 1’s Rogers Pass and on local natl/provincial park trailhead access roads to know that’s rolling the dice. So options are:
a) are there any winter tires that come in 35’s? I could put those on the OEM rims and put a set of 35 or 37 M/T’s on another rim set for summer use, which will include off-roading. But a bit of a search reveals zero winter tires that come in a 35? (EDIT: seems Hakkapellitta’s do, guess the tire shop I talked for info doesn't carry them) I just think 33s look out of proportion on this truck.
b) Close my eyes and just fire studs into the OEM 33” Duratracs. Again, get another set of rims & tires for summer use.
C) Roll the dice on _the_ most winter worthy of the 35” 3PMSF A/T’s… KO2’s, Wildpeaks etc but any experiences with which, if any, is clearly the best in winter? I’m more concerned about highway ice/hard pack grip than deep snow.

2) Right after delivery and before the truck gets too grimy and the inevitable rock chips start: Front end paint pro: Xpel vs 3M vs..? Bed spray vs drop-in plastic liner?

3) Toppers: Really like the RSi Smartcap but two owners of those have told me the rear hatch locks freeze in winter. Is that a universal issue? Could one glue a flap above the locks to keep meltwater from dribbling into them? Other suggestions?

4). I’l be towing two trailers, 5000 and 6500 lbs, concurrently with a loaded bed several times every summer. I think in the worst case of over-squat, air-bags in cradles are the easy solution.

Thanks to all on this forum so far. The info gleaned really helped me get sure the PW was the right truck for me. Look forward to sharing and learning more down the trail.

 

[Kauffmj1]

I can't help with items 1 and 3, but in regards to the others.

2. I didn't do any type of paint protection, but I did opt for the spray in bed liner. I've had plastic liners, no liner and DIY paint-in liners. The spray in one looks way better and seems to handle abuse much better than the others. They all have their pros and cons, but I really dig the spray in liner. I have heard it will sun fade with time, but I have a soft tonneau over mine most of the time.

4. I've towed my 5500lb Jeep JK 4-door (lift, big tires, lots of steel bumpers and skid plates) on a U-haul trailer multiple times now and the squat was minimal. Those u-haul trailers are pretty low slung and balance pretty well, but I was surprise dhow little it cared the jeep was back there. There was for sure some squat, but it wasn't like it was an inch from the bumpstops. I think the need for air bags will depend on the frequency of towing and how tongue heavy it is. If you plan on off-roading and flexing the suspension a lot, there can be some airbag downsides but I am hardly an expert on them. I'd try towing with it first to see what you think before buying a rear suspension solution.

 

[dmhines]

I towed a 3000 lbs car on a u-haul car transporter and my PW definitely sagged. The U-Haul trailer makes you pull car too far forward putting too much weight on the tongue. I towed it 650 miles no issue but definite sag but that’s the trailers fault.

 

[Kauffmj1]

Not the greatest pics, but there is mine with the Jeep on it. It does sag for sure, but nor horribly so. And you are totally correct on the U-Haul trailer. My jeep barely fit, so I couldn't adjust the weight forward or backward.

 

[dmhines]

 

[Skid51]

Interestingly the 2024 ‘build & price’ function on the Canadian ramtrucks.ca site now shows an optional self-levelling rear air suspension, but I don’t see it on the US ramstrucks.com site. Clearly should help with towing squat but wonder if there’s any compromises while not towing, especially while off-road say with articulation?

 

[Kauffmj1]

Interestingly the ‘build & price’ function on the Canadian ramtrucks.ca site shows an optional self-levelling rear air suspension, but I don’t see it on the US ramstrucks.com site. Clearly should help with towing squat but wonder if there’s any compromises while not towing, especially while off-road say with articulation?

I don't believe anything like that was ever offered on the Powerwagon or Rebel 2500s. My guess would be the online builder is still the flaming pile of excrement it was back when I ordered. The builder for the Jeep site is just as bad, so I think its just that Stellantis doesn't put too much into those online configurators. I would look for one of the 2024 order guides the dealers use that are floating around on here and see if its listed in there. If its in those, it could possibly be a new option. However, I feel like we would have heard a lot more chatter about it on here if that was the case.

 

[techman]

Anyone every put Michelin LTX AT/2 or Michelin LTX M/S? I would prefer something less aggressive for now.

That is all I have ever used on my trucks (1/2 and 3/4). The BEST all around tire. Read the reviews. I know most folks like the agressive stuff to go with their agressive trucks, but for a great tire, Michelin is all I put on all my vehicles.

 

[dirt-merchant]

"Get the alignment done first. Then figure out your tires."

Can the Thuren spec alignment still be done after you have already changed out for bigger tires?