3rd Gen Ram "Pre-Runner" Appearance Budget Build

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Johnnymac2k6

Johnnymac2k6

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Gets my vote. And get rid of those step bars for sure. Any real trophy truck would not have them.

What brand tires you buying?

Subbed!!

Believe it or not...without beating me up lol. Treadwright 35x12.5 r17.
Supposedly I could get a 37 on there, but I wanted cheap tires to test fit the 35's...and I don't want to get 8 mpg...opposed to the pre-pre-runner 18 ish mpg.

The bars will probably go...or at least get blacked out. Idk if I want some tube type nfab or something. This is my daily,and the wife is 5'2"
 

derekp

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Badass man. I always wanted those fenders but never pulled the trigger on them. What kind of offset are you getting on the wheels? You may have said it but I missed it.
 

usaf2006

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Believe it or not...without beating me up lol. Treadwright 35x12.5 r17.
Supposedly I could get a 37 on there, but I wanted cheap tires to test fit the 35's...and I don't want to get 8 mpg...opposed to the pre-pre-runner 18 ish mpg.

The bars will probably go...or at least get blacked out. Idk if I want some tube type nfab or something. This is my daily,and the wife is 5'2"

I had treadwrights on my old truck. Guard dogs, 285/75/16s. Loved them. Wore great and went everywhere.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

Johnnymac2k6

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Badass man. I always wanted those fenders but never pulled the trigger on them. What kind of offset are you getting on the wheels? You may have said it but I missed it.

Everything I can find that I like (in my pricerange) is zero offset.
With a 17x8.5 it's only a half inch further out than oe. You can see how much these swallow my factory 20''s and 33's. Soooo... I have some 2 inch hub centric spacers coming. Since I don't have the gnarly long arm kit, I think that'll space the wheels out nicely. If it's too much, I can turn them down in a lathe.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

Johnnymac2k6

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I had treadwrights on my old truck. Guard dogs, 285/75/16s. Loved them. Wore great and went everywhere.

Glad to hear that. The reaviews were great, and they claim 40k miles. I got "the warden" which is their most street able tread. I think I paid $650 for four delivered, which is 200 cheaper than the mastercrafts that I just put on it.

So now I have 3 brand new oe size mastercrafts...probably give them to my father for his new crew cab bighorn. Since I'm sure his oe tires will sandpaper off in 30k miles in typical new car fashion.
Wife's charger needs tires already with only 25k on it.
'Ol FCA still using 20k mile plugs and tires as usual.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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Few notes on the fiberwerx and the amerihood.
Tons of cutting, tons of prep, quote was 15 hours per bedside.
The hood doesn't want to accept the factory grille without a lot of clearancing.
Factory strut rods are too strong for the glass
I'm going to have extensive head scratching in how to re-fabricate my cai air box to actually make the ram air functional. The hood protrudes down much further into the bay.

The front fenders needed a lot of trimming
They won't accept the factory antenna
They don't accept factory wheel liners (which I knew I'd have to cut and extend my oem inner fenders.

Bed sides are much wider on the top shelf area also so my bed caps are now for sale lol
The taillight buckets are not cut at all. So that's extra labor.
And the gel coat is probably only what I'd call a B plus...after blocking we are through the gel coat in many spots.
If you weren't particular, you could do a lot less work, but for my shop, these are far from a scuff and shoot.

Would I buy both again? Sure. But if I was fronting the entire bill, I'd have a lot more in hanging these vs oems...even though the panels are half the price of oem.
 

usaf2006

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I put 9k miles on my old guard dogs when I had them. Tread never wore. They were all 16/32nds the entire time I had them lol.

Can't wait to see the finished product!
 

derekp

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Nice. The wheels and tires will look good with those spacers. I honestly think you'll end up wanting them more out so I wouldn't cut on them. I'm excited to see how it turns out. You went the route that I almost did before I bedlined my truck. I actually wish I had your nfab bumper because the newer models have the side holes for the 40" bars. Mine does not.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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Nice. The wheels and tires will look good with those spacers. I honestly think you'll end up wanting them more out so I wouldn't cut on them. I'm excited to see how it turns out. You went the route that I almost did before I bedlined my truck. I actually wish I had your nfab bumper because the newer models have the side holes for the 40" bars. Mine does not.

Well because I'm frugal...and because my temper is still burning from when I found an nfab on sale for $588 and then they declined to ship it to me. I bought a clone off ebay. Came with the lights, and doesn't have the big goofy nfab logo on the skid.

OFF ROAD FRONT BUMPER FOR 2002-2007 DODGE RAM 1500 W/ 2 38" RIGID LED LIGHT BARS | eBay

It was $640 with a shopping cart rebate when I got it.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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So you think I will want them sticking out more than the 2.5 total inches huh? Man I thought the spacers may be too much lol
 

derekp

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Oh nice. Yeah i could care less about the nfab logo as long as the bumper is functional. Yeah I think you'll want them out more. I have 17x10s with 2" spacers and I still want 20x12s with the -44 offset. Lol
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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Oh nice. Yeah i could care less about the nfab logo as long as the bumper is functional. Yeah I think you'll want them out more. I have 17x10s with 2" spacers and I still want 20x12s with the -44 offset. Lol

The shop is VERY hesitant to go drilling / cutting on the crumple bars...but I think they can trim the oe bumper pads, which is the lesser of evils.

I really wanted to get out of the 20's I wish the 17's just had 6 inches of BS...but couldn't find any cheap enough. I will see how she looks with the spacers for now.

I will never give up my 4wd, so that limits my front travel options. I don't wanna lift it just to lift it. If anything I'd want the performance of a mid travel kit. I guess I need to quit instinctively calling it a long arm kit, since I'm 4wd and have cv axles. lol
 

usaf2006

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Can't remember the name, but someone makes a long travel kit for a 4wd. Super expensive tho, like $7k for a basic kit.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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Can't remember the name, but someone makes a long travel kit for a 4wd. Super expensive tho, like $7k for a basic kit.

YA, lol..this truck may be worth 15 AFTER the 8K in paint/upgrades...so it won't be getting another 7K invested unfortunately. I wish though.
 

sweet2007

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Nice looking trucks like the front bumpers

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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More pics tomorrow hopefully.
 
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Johnnymac2k6

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Surprisingly good quality, i gotta say. Hubcentric, and wheel centric.

4pcs 2" Hubcentric Wheel Spacers 5x5.5 Adapters | 9/16 Studs For Dodge Ram 1500 | eBay

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