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What did you do TO your RAM today?

dieselscout80 said:
How many miles were on the factory ball joints?

Makes me tired thinking about doing it.
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Yeah, I'm a little sore, but worth it. Truck has 65k, but I started noticing some inside tire wear over the winter. It's feeling a lot better already, going to get an alignment in a couple of weeks after retorque and some miles.
 
Got the 3” Thuren leveling kit with their trac bar and Fox shocks installed. 35x12.50 nitto ridge grapplers and 20x10 -18 Hostile Sprockets. Got sent the wrong rear spacer so just using air links for the rear lift right now. Truck rides amazing in the front and like a 10 ton 1960 dump truck in rear with the bags full of air lol. Will be way better when the spacers come in of course. Overall very happy with the parts and the new look!!

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GR1MxREAPER said:
Not sure if you are talking to me but if you are, I bought it used. 2021 2500 limited 35k miles. Traded in my 2022 1500 limited. Absolutely love the truck. It gets the same mpg as my 1500 as both had 35’s and this truck handles the tires way better with 4.10 gears.
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Yep, thanks! Sorry, I should have used 'reply'... I bought my first 2019 Ram 2500 brand new and put about 64k miles on it when I got rear-ended by three cars (the insurance totaled it). Then I found a used 2019 very similar to my first one, it had 90k on it. Loved the first one enough to buy the second one. I really wanted a new one, but could not believe how the prices went up, so a settled for a used one. Anyhow, would like to drive this one till the next gen 2500 comes out. I had 35x12.50r18 Toyo ATii's on my other one, this one has KO2's in a 275/65r20 (roughly 34.1x11.00). After they wear out, I will get 35 or 37" tires....
 
Today I changed to a Factor 55 Ultrahook and rope guard. My main reason for wanting it was to be able to use the rope guard to give some protection to the connection point of the synthetic rope from UV light. And from mud and dirt. It will do that and looks ok, but if I had it to do over I would would not go this route again and probably would have returned all it if both parts had not come from different sources and I had not painted it already. The rivets provided to attach the rope guard were not in spec with the holes in the ultrahook. Turns out there are lots of reviews on Amazon from others who received ones with the same problem as well. Three of the 4 rivits using a 1/4 punch on my workshop bench would not go in all the way no matter how careful we were and just smashed. I was able to salvage it without drilling them out for new rivets by painting the rivets black. So it is not not that noticeable unless one is looking close. Function over looks it will be beat up after a few uses anyway and it will serve it's purpose. But I would wait on a design change before I would buy it with the rope guard again. The other thing I noticed is the little lock pin fits very loose in both holes. I can turn the hook over and it will fall out with just a firm tap on the other side of the hook. It will soon be lost if I don't remember to take it out every time I use the hook. It's only useful purpose will be to keep my FJB pull from being stolen while the hook is flush on the bumper.


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So my son started working at a local dealer and of course ran my VIN. Apparently it coded as a special order rig. Explains why it sat for over 290 dealer days I guess lol. Anyway finally finished the lighting setup, hands down the most illuminated rig (stock) I've ever owned. Adding some unders and floods helped but still. Trailer is from an antique fire apparatus group I run logistics for. Great setup I'd say.
 

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Crashresq21 said:
So my son started working at a local dealer and of course ran my VIN. Apparently it coded as a special order rig. Explains why it sat for over 290 dealer days I guess lol. Anyway finally finished the lighting setup, hands down the most illuminated rig (stock) I've ever owned. Adding some unders and floods helped but still. Trailer is from an antique fire apparatus group I run logistics for. Great setup I'd say.
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What under/rock lights are those?
 
Alligator John said:
Today I changed to a Factor 55 Ultrahook and rope guard. My main reason for wanting it was to be able to use the rope guard to give some protection to the connection point of the synthetic rope from UV light. And from mud and dirt. It will do that and looks ok, but if I had it to do over I would would not go this route again and probably would have returned all it if both parts had not come from different sources and I had not painted it already. The rivets provided to attach the rope guard were not in spec with the holes in the ultrahook. Turns out there are lots of reviews on Amazon from others who received ones with the same problem as well. Three of the 4 rivits using a 1/4 punch on my workshop bench would not go in all the way no matter how careful we were and just smashed. I was able to salvage it without drilling them out for new rivets by painting the rivets black. So it is not not that noticeable unless one is looking close. Function over looks it will be beat up after a few uses anyway and it will serve it's purpose. But I would wait on a design change before I would buy it with the rope guard again. The other thing I noticed is the little lock pin fits very loose in both holes. I can turn the hook over and it will fall out with just a firm tap on the other side of the hook. It will soon be lost if I don't remember to take it out every time I use the hook. It's only useful purpose will be to keep my FJB pull from being stolen while the hook is flush on the bumper.


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You sure it’s genuine Factor55 since it came from Amazon? They’re just down the road from me and from what I’ve seen of their stuff they don’t let anything out the door that isn’t perfect.
 
jsalbre said:
You sure it’s genuine Factor55 since it came from Amazon? They’re just down the road from me and from what I’ve seen of their stuff they don’t let anything out the door that isn’t perfect.
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Only the rope guard came from Amazon. So perhaps, or I also wonder if it could be a source change on the rivets or even outsourcing the rope guard from China after Warn purchased Factor 55. I know the Warn VR line is sourced in China. The aluminum was so soft with the rivets, I could see the ends starting to deform just from the initial light tap from a Craftsman punch on each one. On the initial check for fit without the rope guard in place we could only slip one of the rivets in by hand, and with the rope guard in place, it was a real bear to getting all of them fully in before the initial tap to seat them. IMO the way it is attached was someone's afterthought and a bad design.
 
I just installed AMP Research Smart Power Steps.
The existing steps were chrome with plastic step pads. I have slipped on them getting into my truck 3 times. I was not going to risk slipping a fourth time.
Love the new steps. They extend almost 3” lower and are 2” wider than my old steps. Also 100% of the surface is nonskid so no more chances of slipping and breaking a hip or worse. My son calls them “Old Man steps”.
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Alligator John said:
Only the rope guard came from Amazon. So perhaps, or I also wonder if it could be a source change on the rivets or even outsourcing the rope guard from China after Warn purchased Factor 55. I know the Warn VR line is sourced in China. The aluminum was so soft with the rivets, I could see the ends starting to deform just from the initial light tap from a Craftsman punch on each one. On the initial check for fit without the rope guard in place we could only slip one of the rivets in by hand, and with the rope guard in place, it was a real bear to getting all of them fully in before the initial tap to seat them. IMO the way it is attached was someone's afterthought and a bad design.
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Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a legit piece. I know the guys building those, and they’re a perfect fit every time. The aluminum should be pretty hard too.

It’s sad you can’t trust products on Amazon.

Any chance you could share a link to the item you purchased on Amazon? I’d like to run it past someone over there.
 
It is the only source on Amazon. They sell all Factor 55 products. Bunker Industries. I'm pretty sure it is legit. Honestly I think the problem is with the holes for the lock pin and rivets being out of spec for the rivets and lock pin provided with it. Some bad ones are either getting by them or there is some variation in spec with whatever the source for their small parts is. For the cost of this thing, there should be a better way to mount it, or there should be an option to buy it pre mounted. Most are not having a problem, but some clearly are. I also scrolled through some google images of the product and zoomed in on them. Others had smashed rivet tops so perhaps it is just normal for it to not be a clean install. Buyer beware.

"This product was a huge disappointment from a brand that I’ve come to expect quality and cutting edge design from. The Flat Link and Ultra Hook are amazing. This product I simply garbage. My first attempt resulted in mushroomed rivets that were not able to seat all the way down. I ended up drilling them out and removed the Rope Guard with minimal damage to my Ultra Hook. I assumed it was my error and ordered another Rope Guard. Same issue. It’s near impossible to keep the Ultra Hook stable due to the beveled surface. I’m just going to dremel this down and chalk it up as the last Factor 55 product that I’m going to waste my money on. My opinion, don’t risk ruining your $250 Ultra Hook by putting this garbage on it. Factor 55, do better."

"Don’t know what to say other than DO NOT BUY. Installation seams straight forward but when one of the answers to a question on the item page includes “carefully drill out the …” you are forewarned. I will be drilling mine out and sending everything back. First I have to carefully cut off the portion of the pin sticking out of the rivet. What should have been a 10 minute job is now going to consume my morning. 4 screws instead of rivets would have had me sitting by the pool already. Being careful won’t save you, the tolerances are just too tight. Good luck, have a Dremel standing by if you try it. What a pain in the ^§§."

I zoomed in and cropped a rivet from one of the google images that came up. A lot of them look like this, so I may be complaining about something that is just normal for the way it is installed. My Power Wagon is not parked in a garage, so I wanted something that will keep the UV rays off the end of the rope. Not pretty, but it will work.

IMG_6045.jpeg
 
Alligator John said:
It is the only source on Amazon. They sell all Factor 55 products. Bunker Industries. I'm pretty sure it is legit. Honestly I think the problem is with the holes for the lock pin and rivets being out of spec for the rivets and lock pin provided with it. Some bad ones are either getting by them or there is some variation in spec with whatever the source for their small parts is. For the cost of this thing, there should be a better way to mount it, or there should be an option to buy it pre mounted. Most are not having a problem, but some clearly are. I also scrolled through some google images of the product and zoomed in on them. Others had smashed rivet tops so perhaps it is just normal for it to not be a clean install. Buyer beware.

"This product was a huge disappointment from a brand that I’ve come to expect quality and cutting edge design from. The Flat Link and Ultra Hook are amazing. This product I simply garbage. My first attempt resulted in mushroomed rivets that were not able to seat all the way down. I ended up drilling them out and removed the Rope Guard with minimal damage to my Ultra Hook. I assumed it was my error and ordered another Rope Guard. Same issue. It’s near impossible to keep the Ultra Hook stable due to the beveled surface. I’m just going to dremel this down and chalk it up as the last Factor 55 product that I’m going to waste my money on. My opinion, don’t risk ruining your $250 Ultra Hook by putting this garbage on it. Factor 55, do better."

"Don’t know what to say other than DO NOT BUY. Installation seams straight forward but when one of the answers to a question on the item page includes “carefully drill out the …” you are forewarned. I will be drilling mine out and sending everything back. First I have to carefully cut off the portion of the pin sticking out of the rivet. What should have been a 10 minute job is now going to consume my morning. 4 screws instead of rivets would have had me sitting by the pool already. Being careful won’t save you, the tolerances are just too tight. Good luck, have a Dremel standing by if you try it. What a pain in the ^§§."

I zoomed in and cropped a rivet from one of the google images that came up. A lot of them look like this, so I may be complaining about something that is just normal for the way it is installed. My Power Wagon is not parked in a garage, so I wanted something that will keep the UV rays off the end of the rope. Not pretty, but it will work.

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Interesting. I’ll run it by someone over there and see what he says.

I run the FlatLink E because I couldn’t see any reason for a hook. My rivets look clean, but they were put in with a press instead of a drift.
 
Crashresq21 said:
So my son started working at a local dealer and of course ran my VIN. Apparently it coded as a special order rig. Explains why it sat for over 290 dealer days I guess lol. Anyway finally finished the lighting setup, hands down the most illuminated rig (stock) I've ever owned. Adding some unders and floods helped but still. Trailer is from an antique fire apparatus group I run logistics for. Great setup I'd say.
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Sons at dealers are great.

I've gotten free keys cut when I programmed my own $25 ebay FOBs, TSB work scheduled in ASAP and completed to satisfaction, and should get a new air filter swap for the wrong (genuine) part I got online (AA filter instead of AB) and missed the return window. Also forgot to order a $25 cabin filter and he said they're like $6 dealer cost.

I even get my A6 worked on at a Ram dealer (he used to work Audi). He put on my new brake parts, balanced my summer wheels/tires. I paid him well for his time and still come out ahead.
 
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