Rockcrawlindude
a rock crawlin’ dude
That has been reported as normal as far as I know. Clean it off and watch it
Ram Heavy Duty Forum
Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Atl-atl's 2024 Tradesman 2500 Power Wagon "documentation" thread, now on 40s!!
- Thread starter Atl-atl
- Start date
Killer truck! Are those the 1.5” front springs or the .5”? Also what rear spring rate did you end up using?
Thanks! Fronts are the 1.5", rears are the dual rates and in the rear Im also using Thurens HSK shim kit with all the shims in place.
Awesome! Thank you!!!
I forgot to ask was there a specific reason to use a non-power wagon isolater? Assuming it was just a standard 6.4 2500 one or?
Yes, to use the Carli weld-on coil spring retainer you have to swap to a non PW isolator. And yes, all other non-PW use the same isolator. Though I might be wrong about this if the 2500 Rebel uses some of the PW suspension.
This morning I met up with a friend from Arkansas who was visiting Sedona and we ran Broken Arrow. Summer is off season in Sedona so we had the trail almost entirely to ourselves which was amazing. Only had one photo(video) bomb by a Pink Jeep Tour but other than that it was great. I cant believe how little the 40s rub with absolutely zero trimming and only removing a couple small plastic trim pieces. Time for 42s when these wear out
Ive got some video to edit but for now here are the nicer stills I took.
Ive got some video to edit but for now here are the nicer stills I took.
Last edited:
Been working on a landscaping project for the last week. Rented a small excavator and skid to play with in the dirt. Had a blast and the truck handled it well. The Thuren dual rate rear coils held up quite well considering they have 15" of travel and ride nicer than stock!
I did have an issue with the trailer brake not functioning correctly that I was never able to sort but thankfully the rental place was only about 5 miles away. I do need to figure out what the deal is with it though. When the trailer was plugged in the truck would recognize it until I put it in drive and the truck would say the trailer is disconnected. Everything seemed to be connected correctly, the truck would recognize that I had a trailer when in park, yet when I put it in drive it would not connect the brake, would not let me choose the trailer type and would not let me set the gain. The brake also would not work using the manual switch. Its my first time towing with this truck so maybe its operator error. If anyone is familiar please help!
I did have an issue with the trailer brake not functioning correctly that I was never able to sort but thankfully the rental place was only about 5 miles away. I do need to figure out what the deal is with it though. When the trailer was plugged in the truck would recognize it until I put it in drive and the truck would say the trailer is disconnected. Everything seemed to be connected correctly, the truck would recognize that I had a trailer when in park, yet when I put it in drive it would not connect the brake, would not let me choose the trailer type and would not let me set the gain. The brake also would not work using the manual switch. Its my first time towing with this truck so maybe its operator error. If anyone is familiar please help!
Well Ive started doing some prep work on the Ram in anticipation of phase 2. The stock brake pads are horrendous on this truck, especially after going up to 40s. So I decided to try out new pads before blowing a whole wad on a big brake kit. My original intent was to run EBC Yellowstuff because they seem to get good reviews from truck guys. I couldnt find them in stock anywhere so I wound up with Hawk Super Duty pads. First impressions are very good, especially for only $200 for a whole set front and rear. Initial bite is WAY better than stock, under normal driving conditions they behave normally and are quiet with nice pedal feel, good enough that I think Ill be happy with just the pads and not have to spend $2000 on SSBC calipers. Though I really loved them on my RV, that thing stopped faster than most sports cars. I havent towed anything or had any super hard breaking events so time will tell but so far so good.
Next up I got a water tank from Trail'd. It mounts in the stock spare location, its 15 gallons and has two separate 3/4" threaded bungs for drain/fill. I picked up a couple ball valves that thread into place for easy drain/fill. Im going to be using this as a grey water tank. If you can read between the lines you know where this is going...
I had to modify the truck slightly to make it fit by cutting off some metal that is used to keep the stock spare in place. Essentially half of a steel wheel, seems completely unnecessary.
Bye bye
New tank in place. I do need to fab up some bump stops for the tank to snug up against. Its secure but has a slight wobble that I want to get rid of before its full of 15 gallons and Im bombing down dirt roads.
Next in line was airbags. Im going to be adding about 2500lbs to the back of the truck so I picked up these rad airbags from Full Travel Bags. If you arent familiar, these are what CJC sells. They mount using a quick release for the air line and the bags so you can easily swap them out for the stock bump stops or aftermarket ones that mount to an additional sliding plate they provide. The bottom of the bag is completely free so you dont lose any flex and the bags have their own internal bump stops as well.
Here are some stock photos from CJC how the bags and bumps swap in and out. Its pretty slick, you dont even need to jack up the truck or take the wheel/tire off to swap them out.
The compressor I used is the WirelessOne system from Airlift. I mounted it underneath the driver side rocker panel. Its up well above the lowest point of the truck so it wont get messed up offroad and there is still plenty of room for my Amp Powersteps to tuck up. Im contemplating making some kind of splash shield to try keeping away mud and road grime. They claim this is where its supposed to be mounted so we will see, hopefully it lasts.
I have a few more things to do like relocate the spare from the bed to the back of the truck. Ive already got something in the works for this, just waiting for it to show up. And lastly removing the Leer topper and Bedrug. Not sure if Im going to keep these or list them for sale. Probably sell them, so if anyone is interested in a nearly new Leer 100XR in silver for a Ram with 6'4" bed and a bed rug, make me an offer! All of this is being done because my new camper is almost ready. Immediately after selling the RV I placed my order for a new Alaskan Camper which will be ready for pick up mid December.
My actual unit, Alaskan 650si. Nearly complete, just waiting on QC.
Next up I got a water tank from Trail'd. It mounts in the stock spare location, its 15 gallons and has two separate 3/4" threaded bungs for drain/fill. I picked up a couple ball valves that thread into place for easy drain/fill. Im going to be using this as a grey water tank. If you can read between the lines you know where this is going...
I had to modify the truck slightly to make it fit by cutting off some metal that is used to keep the stock spare in place. Essentially half of a steel wheel, seems completely unnecessary.
Bye bye
New tank in place. I do need to fab up some bump stops for the tank to snug up against. Its secure but has a slight wobble that I want to get rid of before its full of 15 gallons and Im bombing down dirt roads.
Next in line was airbags. Im going to be adding about 2500lbs to the back of the truck so I picked up these rad airbags from Full Travel Bags. If you arent familiar, these are what CJC sells. They mount using a quick release for the air line and the bags so you can easily swap them out for the stock bump stops or aftermarket ones that mount to an additional sliding plate they provide. The bottom of the bag is completely free so you dont lose any flex and the bags have their own internal bump stops as well.
Here are some stock photos from CJC how the bags and bumps swap in and out. Its pretty slick, you dont even need to jack up the truck or take the wheel/tire off to swap them out.
The compressor I used is the WirelessOne system from Airlift. I mounted it underneath the driver side rocker panel. Its up well above the lowest point of the truck so it wont get messed up offroad and there is still plenty of room for my Amp Powersteps to tuck up. Im contemplating making some kind of splash shield to try keeping away mud and road grime. They claim this is where its supposed to be mounted so we will see, hopefully it lasts.
I have a few more things to do like relocate the spare from the bed to the back of the truck. Ive already got something in the works for this, just waiting for it to show up. And lastly removing the Leer topper and Bedrug. Not sure if Im going to keep these or list them for sale. Probably sell them, so if anyone is interested in a nearly new Leer 100XR in silver for a Ram with 6'4" bed and a bed rug, make me an offer! All of this is being done because my new camper is almost ready. Immediately after selling the RV I placed my order for a new Alaskan Camper which will be ready for pick up mid December.
My actual unit, Alaskan 650si. Nearly complete, just waiting on QC.
Amazon.com: Hawk Performance HB931P.786 Super Duty Street Brake Pads : Automotive
Buy Hawk Performance HB931P.786 Super Duty Street Brake Pads: Brake Pads - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
Amazon.com: Hawk Performance HB930P.786 Super Duty Street Brake Pads : Automotive
Buy Hawk Performance HB930P.786 Super Duty Street Brake Pads: Brake Pads - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
Not in this size camper. I think some of their bigger ones do though. Most slide-in pop-up style truck campers dont have grey tanks. Unless you get the ultra massive RV style ones but thats not my style.
Interesting. I got the part numbers from hawkpadsdirect.com. They only list up to 2022 and dont have a specific power wagon choice but I figured Id give it a shot and they were an exact fit. They didnt come with new clips but my truck is new enough that I just reused my old ones. Also a couple of the backing plates popped off which was annoying but I managed to get them lined up and still was able to do the whole brake job in about an hour.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you get the camper on and how it handles.
Did you ever love the axle back from the 1.5 forward position?
Did you ever cut the front fenders?
Was there anything needed to fit the 40's in the rear fenders?
And final question for now, what are the wheel specs?
Did you ever love the axle back from the 1.5 forward position?
Did you ever cut the front fenders?
Was there anything needed to fit the 40's in the rear fenders?
And final question for now, what are the wheel specs?
I did not move the axle back, its still at 1.5" forward. I did wind up doing a very small amount of trimming. Essentially the same as what most people do to fit 37s on a stock truck. Slight cut of the pinch weld and then smashed it over and used a torch to heat up the liner and push it out of the way. Nothing to the rears except removing one little plastic trim piece that screws on. Wheels are 17x9 +18. They only rub a tiny bit on the radius arms but I have added in a little bit of steering stop. Thats it, no rubbing anywhere else. I actually just trimmed it this week. Went a full year without the trimming in front, it only rubbed a tiny bit at full lock when hitting a bump. I figured Id just get rid of it.
Thanks for the tip about the pictures that are down, Ill try to figure that out. As for the control arms, yes I think some of the bent/notched ones would help. Id like to try some out. I need to talk to Metalcloak because Id be really interested if theirs also had enough adjustability in the frame side joint to extend the wheelbase so I can try ditching my drops get rid of my extra steering stop.
Yeah I have Metalcloak on my JL Wrangler and they do have a bit of adjustability to center the wheel in the wheel well. I'm sure they could give the measurements for fully extended.
Well a lot has been happening around here lately. It snowed in Flagstaff so I got in one good day of skiing and then we booked it down to the valley so I could start prepping the truck for phase 2.
Did some minor pinch weld and fender massaging in front and now my rubbing is totally gone, even at full flex.
Before
After
Threw on a Rig'd spare tire carrier so I could get the spare out of the bed. So far I like it. Definitely sticks out kinda far and reduces departure angle a little but not too bad. Also deleted the rear parking sensors and relocated the backup cam. Whats interesting is the rear cross traffic alert still works after deleting the sensors. Not sure how, maybe its camera based? Also chopped the exhaust tip to gain a bunch of ground clearance.
Installed Happijac camper tie downs. When the camper is off the truck the only thing you see are two small black tabs in between the bed and cab and then two small chrome tabs on the back bumper.
Then I got to removing the topper and bed rug. I bolted some 2x4s to my camper jacks and was able to easily remove the topper by myself in like 30 minutes. It even jacked high enough to clear the spare tire. Pretty pumped about that. Just need to rig up some ropes to hang it from the ceiling. Also removed the tailgate because the new camper hangs over just a little.
Did some minor pinch weld and fender massaging in front and now my rubbing is totally gone, even at full flex.
Before
After
Threw on a Rig'd spare tire carrier so I could get the spare out of the bed. So far I like it. Definitely sticks out kinda far and reduces departure angle a little but not too bad. Also deleted the rear parking sensors and relocated the backup cam. Whats interesting is the rear cross traffic alert still works after deleting the sensors. Not sure how, maybe its camera based? Also chopped the exhaust tip to gain a bunch of ground clearance.
Installed Happijac camper tie downs. When the camper is off the truck the only thing you see are two small black tabs in between the bed and cab and then two small chrome tabs on the back bumper.
Then I got to removing the topper and bed rug. I bolted some 2x4s to my camper jacks and was able to easily remove the topper by myself in like 30 minutes. It even jacked high enough to clear the spare tire. Pretty pumped about that. Just need to rig up some ropes to hang it from the ceiling. Also removed the tailgate because the new camper hangs over just a little.
Well, for those of you that dont follow me on instagram, here is the true start of phase 2. Brand new Alaskan 650si. A few mods still to do to the truck and after the first few nights in the camper the list is already pretty long. Loving it though. Its the perfect middle ground between the RV and a smaller/soft sided camper. Dont worry that hitch step isnt permanent.
Its so fancy. Its so much nicer than our old rental spec Thor RV. Its so much nicer than really any other pop-up camper on the market, regardless of price, and its priced in line with most of them depending on how you spec it. It genuinely feels like a mini Earthroamer. The use of space is perfect, the lights are LED but warm colored and everything is dimmable. The whole thing is power including raising and lowering the roof and nearly everything is monitored or controlled via bluetooth. 12v air con, 324ah of lithium, solar and dc-dc charging, toilet inside, shower outside(by choice) all the trim is real wood, no fake laminate BS here(other than the counter tops, obviously not real granite for weights sake.) And I can install/remove the thing in ~30 minutes.
Its so fancy. Its so much nicer than our old rental spec Thor RV. Its so much nicer than really any other pop-up camper on the market, regardless of price, and its priced in line with most of them depending on how you spec it. It genuinely feels like a mini Earthroamer. The use of space is perfect, the lights are LED but warm colored and everything is dimmable. The whole thing is power including raising and lowering the roof and nearly everything is monitored or controlled via bluetooth. 12v air con, 324ah of lithium, solar and dc-dc charging, toilet inside, shower outside(by choice) all the trim is real wood, no fake laminate BS here(other than the counter tops, obviously not real granite for weights sake.) And I can install/remove the thing in ~30 minutes.