Tinman454
Senior Member
Wow just finished from the start great job on your truck, sucks to hear about the parts. Anyway thanks for the Posts and hope you have better luck in the future with the mods.
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Thanks for following along! Yes, I will be posting more especially as I try out my new setup.Wow just finished from the start great job on your truck, sucks to hear about the parts. Anyway thanks for the Posts and hope you have better luck in the future with the mods.
Yes! The truck rides amazingly smooth. I lost about 1/2-inch of lift or so but still need to take some measurements to confirm. But my wheel and tire setup clears just fine and the 6112s soak up all the road imperfections. My previous off-road biased Dirt Logics provided a nice street ride but definitely rode a lot stiffer compared to the Bilsteins.6112 updates?
I'm stoked to hear that they worked out! Enjoy your trip and I look forward to seeing pictures! Have fun!Yes! The truck rides amazingly smooth. I lost about 1/2-inch of lift or so but still need to take some measurements to confirm. But my wheel and tire setup clears just fine and the 6112s soak up all the road imperfections. My previous off-road biased Dirt Logics provided a nice street ride but definitely rode a lot stiffer compared to the Bilsteins.
I am up in Ouray, CO again and hoping to tackle a more timid pass this time (compared to the lower section of Engineers Pass with all of the rock ledges), but should still be able to put the 6112s through some paces. Will post an update soon!
Got a short trip in to see how things worked out with the new Bilstein 6112 front coilovers!
First, the 6112s are set at their highest level for 2-inches of lift on the Rebel. I retained the Fabtech UCAs along with the Dirt Logic 2.25 rear shocks and coil spring spacer. My existing wheel/tire setup cleared fine including at full lock despite the truck now sitting about 1/2-inch lower than with the Dirt Logic coilovers.
First part of the trip was a 5-hour ride from my home in Albuquerque, NM to Durango, CO and a quick stop in Silverton, CO and finally up into Ouray. Highway speeds average ~75 mph and reported gas mileage right at 16 mpg (which is pretty good for a heavy full-sized truck on 34s and other mods going mostly uphill to over 10,000 ft.).
The new 6112s rode brilliantly; the entire ride was very smooth with the 6112s soaking up everything in their path. Handling still felt great and the coilovers provided confidence with great rebound control.
It was a rainy trip up so only took a couple of quick shots coming into Ouray:
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The next day was about finding an easy trail to put the 6112s through some off-road pacing. Luckily, I found one with a lot of ruts and smooth exposed rock shelves that I was able to traverse. The coilovers soaked up everything without an issue and provided a comfortable ride in the process. This is no comparison to my last trip using the Dirt Logics to crawl over high rock ledges and boulders (certainly not going to do that with just the Bilsteins) but it was a good feeling that the 6112s can still take you off the beaten path.
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So barring any need for more technical four wheeling, I am pretty happy with the new setup even though I lost some of the stance I wanted with my build. Next test will be out on some desert runs to see how they soak up dips and dunes.
When it comes to electronic anomalies you can't mess around. Ditch it before you get burned. This is one of those "you either get a good one or ya don't" situations. Too much to risk. I own an ecodiesel so I understand this feeling of looming peril in the back of your mind. Everything has issues, but being unable to diagnose or rectify them is a total non starter in terms of that discussion. You're truck is a high end model, tastefully modified and low miles, you'll pull top dollar. It sucks, but it sucks more getting stranded in what should be a stone cold reliable truck.Well, this is the end........................................I think.
Earlier this week, I had to get into the office earlier than usual and so I go out to leave only to find that my +$60K , low mileage 5th Gen Ram Rebel is totally dead, again. If you recall, I posted exactly a year ago when I went out for an off-road adventure up in Ouray, CO but found that the truck was totally dead that first morning. First, I had tried a normal jump from another vehicle but to no avail. Since Ouray is a small mountain town with one mechanic (who has a ton of Jeep and 4Runner knowledge but no 5th Gen Ram experience), and definitely no auto stores exist there either, I paid for a service truck to come from another town over 40 miles away to perform a power jump before committing to towing the truck to the nearest Ram dealership that was also over 40 miles away. Luckily, the professional jump start worked and I made the trip back home to Albuquerque, NM. Took the truck to my local dealership and of course they could not find any issues. But since that event, I have had no additional "dead battery" issues...until now.
Luckily, I had purchased a Tacklife battery jumper after my last episode up in Ouray just so I wouldn't get stranded out in the desert or mountains somewhere; I totally don't feel like I can rely on this vehicle not to mention the recurring issues with my 12-inch screen randomly going blank (glad I paid extra for that option) and the console's USB ports shorting out all the time too (and yes, the dealer could not replicate nor find any issues) along with some other minor annoyances. After hooking up the Tacklife, I couldn't get the truck to start and received an error message stating the battery was "too low" to jump. But the device has a "boost" mode just for the occasion so I pushed that and the truck started up after a couple of attempts.
I just turned 20K on the odometer after almost 3 years of ownership and now I have to make another trip to the dealership again.
So I think this latest event sealed my thought process on changing the Rebel out for something that will more closely meet my need for reliability (not chance getting stranded somewhere remote) and off-road capability. To the former, if I only drove the truck in town and didn't take it on long road trips or to remote areas, I might be more inclined to deal with it more and work with Ram and/or the dealership to figure things out, maybe. To the latter, it's a double whammy as I certainly can't rely on the vehicle to go off-road but also can't really achieve the off-road build I want without investing heavily again into another suspension that won't break on the trails.
I have been toying with the idea of going back to a Toyota 4Runner as I had lots of fun building my last one to my specs (ton of aftermarket) and taking it on a wide range of off-roading adventures due to its smaller size and great off-roading capability (especially after the mods). Plus, it is still a decent daily driver, good for the dogs, can tow my trailer for weekend Home Depot runs if needed, and is a lot more comfortable to take on long distance, highway trips (vs. the Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator that is not good at high speeds and noisy or even the new Bronco that is just too noisy too out on the highway). I went over to the Toyota dealership and placed my name on the wait list for a 2023 TRD PRO or TRD Off-road Premium (yes, the old 4Runners are still very hot right now probably for similar reasons as folks don't want to chance the newer, more complicated versions coming out....aka, new Tundra issues). The current 5th Gen 4Runner is certainly old tech but it works , you can mod them like crazy and beat them up on the trails, and they will last +200K-300K miles without stranding you somewhere.
But I haven't signed on the dotted line yet.
Thanks! My feelings exactly. I obviously have had Dodge/Ram trucks before, as well as a ton of F150s, Chevys, Jeeps (from classics to modern), Land Rovers, etc. and none of them had any issues to the level my new, modern Ram does. With exception of Land Rovers, none were as complicated electronically as the current Ram but even my Land Rovers did not have issues (which is lind of ironic given their poor reliability history). However, I do think most folks have very little, if any, signicant issues with their new Rams so I am quite happy for them. But mine turned out to be one of those that continues to have issues and has soiled my confidence that I won't have more even if I can get the current ones fully resolved (which I wil still work on before selling the truck) or even if I traded out for another Ram vehicle (as the each new model year gets more complicated than the prior).When it comes to electronic anomalies you can't mess around. Ditch it before you get burned. This is one of those "you either get a good one or ya don't" situations. Too much to risk. I own an ecodiesel so I understand this feeling of looming peril in the back of your mind. Everything has issues, but being unable to diagnose or rectify them is a total non starter in terms of that discussion. You're truck is a high end model, tastefully modified and low miles, you'll pull top dollar. It sucks, but it sucks more getting stranded in what should be a stone cold reliable truck.
I can't believe the dealership won't go over the vehicle to make sure all the harness plugs, grounds and overall electrical components are good. Than again I can believe it. In my opinion you shouldn't have to deal with things Like this on a 50k+ truck.
I've been eyeballing Toyota's myself. Only gripe I had was it seemed like the seats were lower to the floor than I was used to.
The big issue imo is people simply don't use 1/2 ton rams like we do. Spacer levels with 35s and huge offset wheels paired with a muffler delete is the predominant market. Beyond that "experts" push 5100s as gospel and we really see no growth in aftermarket support. Its there, but its still niche enough we're faced with higher cost or DIY solutions for armor and very limited variety in much else. It's a shame since the truck has tons of potential, but it is what it is. Being honest, if you put a Power Wagon and a Rebel next to each other and I had choice of either, im taking the power wagon all day, and aftermarket has followed suit.Thanks! My feelings exactly. I obviously have had Dodge/Ram trucks before, as well as a ton of F150s, Chevys, Jeeps (from classics to modern), Land Rovers, etc. and none of them had any issues to the level my new, modern Ram does. With exception of Land Rovers, none were as complicated electronically as the current Ram but even my Land Rovers did not have issues (which is lind of ironic given their poor reliability history). However, I do think most folks have very little, if any, signicant issues with their new Rams so I am quite happy for them. But mine turned out to be one of those that continues to have issues and has soiled my confidence that I won't have more even if I can get the current ones fully resolved (which I wil still work on before selling the truck) or even if I traded out for another Ram vehicle (as the each new model year gets more complicated than the prior).
Complimenting my current sentiment is the lack of aftermarket offerings that prevent me from getting the stance and off-road prefromance I want (relative to Tundras, F150s, Chevy 1500s, Jeeps, 4Runners, etc.). I really thought, with the Rebel, that it would attract more aftermarket/performance attention but not the case (usually everything is designed foe the Ram 1500 with Rebel models an afterthought like suspension systems). I guess there are enough differences between the models but a lot less folks that actual purchase the Rebels and modify them to justify development of aftermarket parts just for the Rebel (I am don't qualify spacer lift systems as quality off-road systems).
But all of that is immaterial especially if you can't rely on the vehicle to start or not lose its control interfaces. This issue is not a "Ram" issue at all (except for me personally as mine happens to be a Ram); it's a modern vehicle issue across the board as vehicles are becoming too reliant on electronic/remote controls that are totally integrated with the entire vehicle's operations. You can't even tap a power wire for off-road lights without fear of frying your PCM (something I learned the hard way with my Titan PRO...boy, that was a very expensive mistake...lol). Now we have chip shortages and auto sensing/control features that add to the growing list of issues that all manufacturers (and their customers) are dealing with. Even Toyota now has issues with their new Tundra after over a decade of solid performance and top reliability ratings (mine was amazing with not a fault).
So going back to the current Gen 4Runner makes a lot of sense to me (especially before the new Gen rolls out this coming spring/summer). I can mod it, go places I where I had to turn around with the Rebel, and still meet my daily needs. But I am still dealing with a twinge of guilt everytime I get into my Ram because it is a beautiful truck inside and out.