"Bruiser" A 2017 RAM 1500 4X4 5.7 HEMI adventure...

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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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Eastern Sierra, CA
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7L Hemi
And I blacked out my badging with plastidip! I was so hesitant because I believed chrome and Maximum Steel Metallic paint were a match made in heaven. I was even considering getting chrome wheels for awhile...

Boy was I wrong. Maybe best mod I've done??? Naw...but close.

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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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Eastern Sierra, CA
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Oh yea...I got the front diff and transfer case skid plates. They look stupid and hang low and fit awkwardly and are weak...but it's something. One day I'll get someone to fab something more beefy...someday....

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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

Senior Member
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Location
Eastern Sierra, CA
Ram Year
2017
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5.7L Hemi
0700 hours...just got home from work...

Expecting my ICI Baja bumper to be delivered today! Problem is, a freight truck can't get to my house, so I have to meet them down the street to accept delivery. Which is fine...except they will be here sometime between 1000 and 1400, and will telephone from about an hour away. Ugh. Night shift sucks for normal regular people type ****....

In preparation, I put some VHT Rollbar and Chassis paint on some Rebel tow hooks I got off Ebay. Here they are drying after a final coat, complete with gratuitous shots of of my garage gym...

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ram1500rsm

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Trabuco Canyon, CA
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2014
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Hemi 5.7
0700 hours...just got home from work...

Expecting my ICI Baja bumper to be delivered today! Problem is, a freight truck can't get to my house, so I have to meet them down the street to accept delivery. Which is fine...except they will be here sometime between 1000 and 1400, and will telephone from about an hour away. Ugh. Night shift sucks for normal regular people type ****....

In preparation, I put some VHT Rollbar and Chassis paint on some Rebel tow hooks I got off Ebay. Here they are drying after a final coat, complete with gratuitous shots of of my garage gym...

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SAIA Freight ?
That's what ICI used with me, had to make an appointment over the phone to schedule a time i was going to be home, 12 to 5, guy showed up at almost 7:00pm though the driver called several times to let me know he was running behing schedule. The box said 145lbs but it was because the box came with a huge wooden pallet attached to it, the bumper is only 75-80lbs or so. I was thinking to myself how in the hell i'm going to dispose this crap ? lol i asked the driver if he would take the pallet back and he said not normally, but because he was late and what not he told me he would do it. Had to chisel the freaking thing out of the box hahaha, but i had everything handy in my garage so it took me an extra 2-3 minutes to be able to get rid of that thing. after that i just used a utility knife to cut the box in pieces to fit in the garbage can. Giving you the heads up in case yours comes with the pallet too, if you don't want the pallet you'll need a hammer and a chisel or something similar to knock down the pallet braces out of the box.

I haven't thought about the tow hooks, i'll check to see if i can leave mines in there after the bumper install.
 
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MidwestExpress

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Overland Park, KS
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2014
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HEMI 5.7L
SAIA Freight ?
That's what ICI used with me, had to make an appointment over the phone to schedule a time i was going to be home, 12 to 5, guy showed up at almost 7:00pm though the driver called several times to let me know he was running behing schedule. The box said 145lbs but it was because the box came with a huge wooden pallet attached to it, the bumper is only 75-80lbs or so. I was thinking to myself how in the hell i'm going to dispose this crap ? lol i asked the driver if he would take the pallet back and he said not normally, but because he was late and what not he told he would do it. Had to cheasel the freaking thing out of the box hahaha, but i had everything handy in my garage so it took me an extra 2-3 minutes to be able to get rid of that thing. after that i just used a utility knife to cut the box in pieces to fit in the garbage can. Giving you the heads up in case yours comes with the pallet too.

I haven't thought about the tow hooks, i'll check to see if i can leave mines in there after the bumper install.

My ADD front bumper came the same way. The delivery guy thought that I had ordered a bathtub.
 

ram1500rsm

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Oh yea...I got the front diff and transfer case skid plates. They look stupid and hang low and fit awkwardly and are weak...but it's something. One day I'll get someone to fab something more beefy...someday....

View attachment 164750 View attachment 164751
They hang low yes, but way better than not having anything, for how flimsy it looks let me tell you it can whistand some beatings without sweating, ask me how i know :)

My ADD front bumper came the same way. The delivery guy thought that I had ordered a bathtub.
I have no idea how much money they add in their bumper prices because of that but i'm sure we're paying for it. Wonder if'll be cheaper to do what other companies do and just foam the inside and close the box. either way is a mess to dispose. The Barricade bumper i ordered just came with bubble wrap on it so disposing the box was a breeze. I would have had to pay $30 to get rid of the pallet at my local landfill, plus the gas and time to get there.
 
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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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2017
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@ram1500rsm it's All Freight Trucking. I can use the pallet to replace old ones under my wood pile. My main concern is to make sure it's all undamaged before I accept delivery...
 
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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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INstalled the ICI Baja bumper today! About 45min into the job, it started to rain...hard! I had to shove the nose inside my garage gym to finish.

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The side filler panels were a muthafucka. The brackets were a pain, and there is a little camming tab that is pretty much BARELY big enough to secure the whole assemble to the plastic headlight surround. Took almost 2 hours to fiddlefuck them on. After that, the bumper was easy peasy.

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The filler panels are some sort of rubber comppound that almost feels like fiber board. Interesting. Can't say that I love them and will proably get an OEM filler panel one day.

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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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Location
Eastern Sierra, CA
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Wrapped the fog lamp harness up and hidden against the frame. I hoe to use it to wire in some light pods when I get them. Got the bumper on and centered. Deffinately a 2 person job. Here is my helper, helping.

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Zip tied the radiator/fan splash guard to the grill. Once you take the bumper off, and the plastic mounts behind it, the lower part of the grill does not have anything to snap too. It's jut held on by the 4 top bolts and 4 plastic push tabs (one of mine broke, so I only have 3) I hope it doesn't rattle loose over time!

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I couldn't decide on which hooks to use. I have the rgular OEM ones, but I also bousght some Rebel ones on Ebay because I was sure they'd look way cooler...but maybe not.
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The regular hooks are, well, HOOKS which is kinda lame. But the rebel hooks are really long, maybe over an inch longer than the regulars. They look cool, until you put them on the truck and realize how awkwardly far they protrude. the regular ones stick out far enough already! I couldn't decide and the garage had bad lighting so I pretty much flipped a coin. I went with the regular ones. Thee better approach angle was the deciding factor. I may cut the hook section off one day and just have that inner closed loop portion for recovery.
 
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bruiserRAM

bruiserRAM

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2017
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5.7L Hemi
FYI: the damn tow hooks are VERY close to the flange on the lower mounting bracket. A dollar bill stays stuck in between! ICI told me they would not fit. I was prepared to grind down the rear of the hooks enough to make them fit, but I didn't need to. My bumper is pretty centered, so the hooks both just fit.

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I torqued all the bolts to 50 ft lbs. That's just past cranking ass tight with a regular sized ratchet. One exception...I torqued the lower tow hook/lower bumper mount bolt to 30 ft lbs. The tow hooks have a rubber bushing that squishes. 30 ft lbs is a lot of turning and is damn tight.

ANYONE KNOW ANY DIFFERENT? I believe in correct torquing...
 
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