Rebel Conversion vs Power Wagon

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knightjp

knightjp

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im probably going to catch **** for this but it sounds like what your looking for is a ford raptor.
The Raptor is an Amazing truck, but it isn't what I'm looking for. Does not ride as nice as my stock Ram SLT. I will give its off roading capabilities though.
Another factor is that it is way too common here. You see one every where you go.
Over here you do see a lot fo Fords and GM trucks. Hardly any Rams. Even more so, the Rebels are even more rare. I think it has something to do with the dealers here. They don't provide as much options in configurations as the GM truck dealers do.


if the power wagon is your dream truck, are you going to be satisfied with a built 1500 or are you just going to wonder "what if" you bought the power wagon instead? thats the question i would ask myself. for what your looking to do the 1500 and power wagon both have their advantages and disadvantages so its going to come down to which do you really want.
You are totally right. The last thing that I would need is to have my mind wandering; especially after I've spent on turning my own truck into a version of the Rebel.

The local dealer said that they would not be bringing any more 2500s or Power Wagons because they were not good sellers. The only really available heavy duties around now are going to be the GM trucks.
 

O.R.T.

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Armchair opinion here. As much as I'd love to have a 2500 built close to a PowerWagon but with the play capabilities of an IFS, having driven Toyotas, Fords, GMCs, and Rams in sand and dirt, at speed, I'm gonna say just build the 1500 and put the rest aside to buy that 2500/3500 at a later time.

I'm sure you know all the videos there but here's this one anyways.
[yt]NvxhzAcLSkE[/yt]
 

DaKing

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Personally, I'd go with a power wagon. I just like the look of the HD over the 1500's.

However, a heavy 2500 / 3500 will suck in the sand. You would want wide tires with 10 to 12 PSI with an HD in the sand. Also, lockers and sand actually don't mix. Trucks with open diff's will perform better in the sand. The PW obviously has selectable lockers. I'd say sand is the only weakness of a RAM2500. I guess with a performance modified HEMI that would help.

I prefer my RAM 1500 for sand. It has a ~600+ HEMI and floats over the sand. The HP allows me to get all 4 spinning at speed.

I like my RAM 2500 for hard trails, basically anything other then sand.

And for extreme rock crawling, I prefer my Jeep Truck with a stroker motor. Flexes like an 18yr gymnast.

Cause you will be seeing sand, Id say mod your current 1500. Build the engine a little, suspension and other things.
 
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.

I'm sure you know all the videos there but here's this one anyways.
[yt]NvxhzAcLSkE[/yt]

Thanks for the advice and the video. Never seen that one before. And its right where I live too. I think I have seen that truck around.

Personally, I'd go with a power wagon. I just like the look of the HD over the 1500's.

However, a heavy 2500 / 3500 will suck in the sand. You would want wide tires with 10 to 12 PSI with an HD in the sand. Also, lockers and sand actually don't mix. Trucks with open diff's will perform better in the sand. The PW obviously has selectable lockers. I'd say sand is the only weakness of a RAM2500. I guess with a performance modified HEMI that would help.

I prefer my RAM 1500 for sand. It has a ~600+ HEMI and floats over the sand. The HP allows me to get all 4 spinning at speed.

I like my RAM 2500 for hard trails, basically anything other then sand.

And for extreme rock crawling, I prefer my Jeep Truck with a stroker motor. Flexes like an 18yr gymnast.

Cause you will be seeing sand, Id say mod your current 1500. Build the engine a little, suspension and other things.
I would like to choose once and stick with it forever. My current 1500 has been amazing. I admit that since owning it for the past 3 years, I have not taken it off road probably once or twice.
But I am starting to get into the adventure spirit and plan on doing more offroading. So I would like to have something that is the perfect all-rounder.
Logically a built 1500 is probably all the truck I will ever need. But you never know.
 

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Sorry, I missed that you will be replacing your current truck with either a Rebel, or a Powerwagon.

Rebel - very nice, but essentially a regular Ram with exterior body trim features (this is my big issue with Ram, they should have put in a different engine to give it more HP than regular 1500's). The air bag suspension that comes standard on them, may not be what you are looking for, as you might want to lift it and put bigger tires.

Powerwagon - Maybe exactly what you are looking for. And since you will be ordering new, you might as well get what you want. This will already fit bigger tires, comes with a winch, and having a solid axle, makes future upgrades easier and cheaper.
 
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I'm just curious as to why doesn't Ram upgrade the Power Wagon's transmission to something like the 8 speed on the 1500.
Surely that will increase the fuel economy and make it easier to live with as a daily driver.

I mean would not that make it a bit better. Maybe there is an aftermarket beefy 8 speed that will fit the Power Wagon's application.
 

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I'm just curious as to why doesn't Ram upgrade the Power Wagon's transmission to something like the 8 speed on the 1500.
Surely that will increase the fuel economy and make it easier to live with as a daily driver.

I mean would not that make it a bit better. Maybe there is an aftermarket beefy 8 speed that will fit the Power Wagon's application.

I will bet it is because of the HD tow ratings. I'd imagine the 8 spd included int he 1500's isn't rated at towing 18k lbs, which some of the 2500's are.
 

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I'm just curious as to why doesn't Ram upgrade the Power Wagon's transmission to something like the 8 speed on the 1500.
Surely that will increase the fuel economy and make it easier to live with as a daily driver.

I mean would not that make it a bit better. Maybe there is an aftermarket beefy 8 speed that will fit the Power Wagon's application.


The 6 speeds currently in HD service are completely different animals from the ZFs in the 1/2 tons. Also, fuel mileage can be helped by a trans, but remember a Power Wagon weighs 2000+ pounds more than a 1/2 ton and even from the factory has drastically more aggressive tires. It is much taller, etc. You are never going to see what most people consider "good" fuel economy in a Power Wagon unfortunately. But you have to pay to play lol.
 

WilliamS

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No matter what go HD class. They have better axle options, stronger transfer cases, and more locker options for front and rear. A 1500 will only be so good, but the ultimate utility will be based on a HD platform.
 
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No matter what go HD class. They have better axle options, stronger transfer cases, and more locker options for front and rear. A 1500 will only be so good, but the ultimate utility will be based on a HD platform.
The Power Wagon is the ultimate. It's the king IMO. Do you think that in will be good in the long run, considering my usage parameters? You need to remember that this thing will be spending most of its time on the highway rather than off-road.
 

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Well considering that the PW can self rescue, its still the most capable.
 

69GWC

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For the sand I would get the 1500 and not ad things that are real heavy to it, Baja style.
 

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When it comes to off road, it seems that the Power Wagon isn't the king anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=oI-ymLQmm9s

PW wouldnt have cared if Nathan had actually hit that hill with some momentum. The truck is way too heavy to just be creeping around in that loose soil. Bigger tires would have got it through as well. Notice how the Colorado just floats right over all the damage the other trucks did because of how light it is.
 

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I found this video on youtube. It is just a guy talking about his ride, but he makes a few pretty good points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN_3Dm5ygE4

To me, the Rebel would be the perfect truck IF they put in a more powerful engine. It shouldn't have the same engine as the standard 1500's 5.7, or at least they should tune it to get a higher HP rating than 395.

But, other than that, I agree, it is way more practical than the Power Wagon, and significantly cheaper than the Raptor.
 
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knightjp

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To me, the Rebel would be the perfect truck IF they put in a more powerful engine. It shouldn't have the same engine as the standard 1500's 5.7, or at least they should tune it to get a higher HP rating than 395.

But, other than that, I agree, it is way more practical than the Power Wagon, and significantly cheaper than the Raptor.
Well they did get the 6.4 in the Rebel TRX. That would have been a screamer. But I'm glad that they did not. This means than with the exception of the suspension, there is little difference mechanically in between my truck and the Rebel.
This means that I can just buy the parts and bolt them on.
 
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When it comes to off road, it seems that the Power Wagon isn't the king anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=oI-ymLQmm9s

I like TFL truck videos, but I don't know that this single obstacle, in this single video, under those certain conditions and with that driver prove anything other than in that video, with that driver, in that video...you get the idea.

In a technical rock crawling scenario, maybe the PW wins with its articulation and lockers front and rear. Maybe the Raptor wins in the sand. Maybe the Colorado wins when the road gets narrow. Hard to say there is one king...
 

mohemipar

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I was looking at stuff for the Ram 1500 and came across this...
This AEV Recruit package is pretty nice and looks like something more substantial than a Rebel conversion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BJOg-uqTEg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI_uKlGxISo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAxY3qeBbIk&t=316s

AEV gear is nice. They have some ex Chrysler engineers working there. The quality is very high. But they are pricey. You gotta pay big bucks for their stuff. I have their Salta wheels and really love them. The wheels are actually priced great though. Might do their HD bumper system down the road. But for suspension work I will most likely go Thuren. I hate to lose the factory coils but I dont work my truck enough to really worry much.

Did you see the Colorado they did at Sema? Very cool concept truck.
 
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