- Joined
- Apr 4, 2015
- Posts
- 178
- Reaction score
- 361
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM
- Ram Year
- 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel 4x4
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7L
Welcome to my build thread! I have been lurking on the forum for bit already and have started to make some modifications to my new 2020 Ram Rebel so thought I would start another build thread. To be honest, I am posting the same build thread on a couple of online forums so apologize to members who have already seen this as I know a lot of folks pop in and out of the various forums!
Of course, this thread will be a work in progress so feel free to join in if you want share ideas or suggestions. I will also try and share some of my off-road adventures and report on what worked (and what didn't).
By way of introduction, I have been active on the various car and truck forums since I invented the Internet (okay, maybe that wasn’t me but definitely one of the first users…lol). But I am true car enthusiast having purchased and owned over 70 cars and trucks ranging from old Broncos to modern day F-Types and loved everything in-between (even some of the junkers)! But over the years, I have become more of an off-road/expedition kind of guy more than a sports car fanatic as off-roading in the high desert and mountains of northern NM and southern CO has become one of my favorite pastimes.
Previously, I have built up many an old classic (CJ5/CJ7, full-sized Cherokee Chiefs, early Broncos, etc.) to quite a few modern trucks (Rams, Tundras, 4Runners, F150s/F250s, Tahoes, Chevys, etc.) so hopefully this one will meet my goal of being somewhat unique while enhancing the factory features and capabilities without breaking the bank (too much). Since I actually take my rigs off-road on "moderate" trailing adventures, my goal is not to build a highly lifted "bro" truck or mall crawler (no offense to others because I have certainly built those as well) but also not trying to build an extreme desert prerunner or rock crawler either. Hopefully, sharing this build thread will help give ideas for others that are like myself looking for tasteful modifications while retaining the vehicle's original purpose as a daily driver, family hauler, or work vehicle but also serve as a weekend toy!
I recently purchased my Rebel but ironically it was not my first choice; I was actually waffling between buying either a new 2020 Raptor or 2020 Power Wagon (yes, two different kinds of off-roading approaches but really liked both). After test driving the Power Wagon, I decided it would not quite fit all of my parameters as a daily driver/family hauler (almost too high/ too big with less comfortable ride but still an amazing machine) so I decided on the Raptor (the Ecoboost engine did not bother me as I have owned (2) other Ecoboost F150s with no issues and they were fun to drive at altitude)! But the more time I spent with the Raptor, the less enamored I became as the truck is a tad too wide for daily parking and mountain trailing (perfect for desert runs) but I eventually just got turned off by the hard plastic interior that came with a +$70K price tag (although the seats and overall performance were worth it). So I scrapped the Raptor and was going to buy another Tundra since my previous one was solid with never an issue and had a lot of fun building and beating it up on the trails. Luckily, before I went in to make a deal after several visits to the Toyota dealership, I took an extra day to visit the nearby Ram dealership and purchased my Rebel immediately after the initial test drive (great interior and the factory ride was amazing for an off-road biased vehicle)! I could have saved myself a lot of time had I considered the Rebel first...lol.
My new Ram Rebel (stock form):
2020 Ram Rebel 4x4 Factory Options
Granite Crystal Metallic Monotone Paint
5.7L Hemi MDS VVT with 8 Speed Auto
Black Leather Interior
Rebel 12 Package
Rebel Level 2 Equipment Group
Dual-Pane Panoramic Sunroof
Trailer Brake Controller
Blind-Spot and Cross-Path Detection System
Rear Wheelhouse Liners
Spray-in Bedliner
Granite Crystal Metallic Monotone Paint
5.7L Hemi MDS VVT with 8 Speed Auto
Black Leather Interior
Rebel 12 Package
Rebel Level 2 Equipment Group
Dual-Pane Panoramic Sunroof
Trailer Brake Controller
Blind-Spot and Cross-Path Detection System
Rear Wheelhouse Liners
Spray-in Bedliner
My modifications for this truck will be tuned more for daily driver/family use with some off-road capability but not as extreme as some of my other more off-road focused builds. Modifications currently planned include:
+2-inch suspension system (not a spacer system as do not want to limit wheel articulation); purchased/installed but changing out
35-inch tires (currently deciding between another set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers or trying out the General Grabber X3); pending
18x9 wheels (with more negative offset to push out tires towards outside edge of fenders); purchased
ARE Z-Series topper (for securing gear, bikes, etc. when traveling); purchased
Bedrug bed mat; pending
LED off-road lighting (both driving and spot beams); purchased and installed
Front window tint; installed
Aftermarket exhaust (probably Magnaflow)
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