2014 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab

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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Trabuco Canyon, CA
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Took this week and was looking into more bikes. My head spins trying to sort through reviews. I def want either a longer travel trail bike or a short travel enduro. 150-160 should be more than enough especially with the technology in New bikes. It's so much different from when I used to race it's mind boggling. I'm still lugging around my 26" 200/180mm free ride bike from 2003 lol. Its getting hard to find parts to keep it updated so it's close to time to retire it to the wall.

I keep circling back to something like a specalized stumpy evo or polygon or one of those Marins, just wish I could test ride one before throwing some decent amount of money out ***** nilly.
Check with your LBS if you have one around. I have one 10 min away from where i live and they let us try much anything and yes you'll notice a big big difference between your old bike and the new ones. Try them both with 27.5 tires and 29's. 27.5's should corner faster but 29's go pretty much everywhere.
 

hodge-xj

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2006
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5.9 cummins
Check with your LBS if you have one around. I have one 10 min away from where i live and they let us try much anything and yes you'll notice a big big difference between your old bike and the new ones. Try them both with 27.5 tires and 29's. 27.5's should corner faster but 29's go pretty much everywhere.
The one local to me I've always used recently turned into a trek dealer. Still use them for random services as they kept the tech that always did me right, but as you can imagine they are a one trick pony for sales. I'm gonna check out another spot I never knew about today. The GEO on my 26er is very close until you compare reach/ETT/wheelbase where these new bikes are just super long. My angles are very close to the same as new stuff so I'm stoked to see how a 29'er feels. Never used to like climbing etc but now a days I'm enjoying the misery of jamming both up and down.

I'm still a meat head on the downhills so I'm thinking a 160/170 bike will just live longer and be better for the east coast chunk I see. Fuji has 2 bikes I'm keen on trying.
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Hemi 5.7
Had my coolant flushed today, 121530 miles. Paid my local shop $125 to do it, 5 min from home, no mess to clean, same dudes who changed my trans fluid last year. I called the dealer and they wanted $230, so i just bought 3 gallons of 50/50 Mopar OAT for $57 and just dropped the truck at the shop. Picked her up 2 hours later. Coolant is good for another 8 years and 120k miles :)
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Damn it's been a while i haven't posted a thing but i'm still here and the truck isn't going anywhere. We're just driving her and she's still well behaved, not a single sqweak, not a single drop of oil seeping anywhere, still on factory tierods, front LCA's, axels and hubs. Knocking on wood the ol girl is still kicking butt just fine like an old scotch hahaha.

52530361111_acf0958d32_k.jpg2022-11-28_04-47-54 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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2014
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Hemi 5.7
We got stuck in a cluster **** of icy roads and cars yesterday in Big Bear CA. I should have known better since they got 8" of snow apparently the day before so i guess everybody wanted to check it out :)
Took 4 hours to get from our house in Trabuco Canyon to Arrow Bear, then another hour from Arrow bear to drive 2 miles up. Lol i turned around after that, another 5 hours to get back home. I'll try again next weekend since we never made it to the town but i'll leave early morning instead. Roads conditions were marked as R2 so 4x4/AWD vehicles with MS tires don't need to have chains, but you have to have them in the trunk if you get pulled over and the authorities ask to see them. The KO2's performed flawlessly.

52602548646_8723d0e7dc_k.jpg2023-01-02_08-52-35 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52602977905_0f0db22a5f_k.jpg2023-01-02_08-53-39 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 

Ramrob20

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Lake Tahoe
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2014
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5.7
Great truck man! I am getting things together for my lift/leveling and curious how much total lift you got out of the 2.5" JT spings. Reading your posts it seems like 3.5''? Id like to sit about an inch lower in the rear than yours and thinking of going with Icon 1.5'' JT springs. Thanks for such thorough documentation of your truck, its been super helpful!
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Great truck man! I am getting things together for my lift/leveling and curious how much total lift you got out of the 2.5" JT spings. Reading your posts it seems like 3.5''? Id like to sit about an inch lower in the rear than yours and thinking of going with Icon 1.5'' JT springs. Thanks for such thorough documentation of your truck, its been super helpful!with
My pleasure man. The Clayton JT 2.5 Springs gave me 2" lift total with 500lbs in the truck bed. They'll add 2.5" on a stock 4x4 crew cab 1500.
In March/May 2023 i'll officially have 3 years with all my Clayton offroad stuff: control arms, rear trackbar and springs. I've had zero issues, zero maintenance, i dont worry beating on the arms, greasing bushings or worrying about bushings getting messed up in the mounts, i don't worry about springs sagging. Could not have a better setup. The springs haven't even sagged 1/4" in 3 years. all Made in USA stuff.

If you get the Icon JT 1.5" springs, please post their free length and your measurements before after to put the info in my shock/spring spreadsheet :)

Have fun bro.
 

Ramrob20

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If you get the Icon JT 1.5" springs, please post their free length and your measurements before after to put the info in my shock/spring spreadsheet :)
Absolutely, but I must have missed that. Where can I find it?
 

danielmid

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2015 Sport 4x4
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Absolutely, but I must have missed that. Where can I find it?
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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We headed for the Anza Borrego desert this weekend, lots of rain everywhere so i didn't venture too deep in the washes. We still visited some of our favorite spots so the kids can drive in the dirt which was super fun this time for them as the previous rain had the sand very packed so they were able to give the Kings a run for the money. It's been 2 years since the last time Accutune worked their magic on them and they're still kicking butt. And now the kids can do 50mph with the truck so we let them rip in the desert.

52629582076_546a454a65_k.jpg20230115_113702 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52630019635_61feb40552_k.jpg20230114_160729 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629061967_8209cbc4d9_k.jpg20230114_161127 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629581516_d26814fd8d_k.jpg20230114_160802 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629880114_b5cccb550c_k.jpg2023-01-15_04-54-36 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629616761_d6a9beb232_k.jpg2023-01-15_04-43-50 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629581686_d64aa2094b_k.jpg20230114_170148 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629828879_ae30eb6880_k.jpg20230114_171145 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629582306_5c73e5b1c4_k.jpg20230115_133256 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629829109_bbff4b3d7f_k.jpg20230115_114727 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52630061993_e24762135d_k.jpg20230115_114828 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52629829209_9e375b7abf_k.jpg20230115_121710 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Took the truck out to KOH 2023 today with my son and friends.. Had an absolute blast with the tires at 25psi. Put the Kings to its paces at 55-65mph like i had them installed yesterday hahaha. 125k miles and still on factory unmolested tierods, factory LCA's, factory CV axels, factory hubs. Kings for the win again :)

52669988199_4556bcbe2a_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-05-29 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52669989694_1a4e35ba66_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-06-36 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52669706391_41b660c2dc_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-10-23 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52670141905_7c02be9f3d_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-10-13 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52669707241_8aaa4757ee_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-11-11 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52669995379_a6176e998c_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-11-28 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52669995464_6bd2ed78d5_k.jpg2023-02-04_11-11-34 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Spent a chilaxing day in the Anza Borrego Desert today exploring some roads.

52788705892_23f36da0e4_h.jpg20230402_101546 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789655740_47a0086d80_h.jpg20230402_104039 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789496979_1930680aff_h.jpg20230402_132117 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789702455_65ee34f2f4_h.jpg2023-04-02_08-47-09 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789539744_1b621bcae2_h.jpg2023-04-02_08-46-36 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789715133_84981f747d_h.jpg20230402_151825 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789714658_b0ca10f94a_h.jpg20230402_142645 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789265561_decf499c73_h.jpg20230402_140344 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52788709317_91d757cbe9_h.jpg20230402_142631 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789493784_a0016c5b7c_h.jpg20230402_132620 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789711543_272681d37f_h.jpg20230402_134905 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789711688_0c0ccb0f58_h.jpg20230402_135420 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789497104_12f8f76055_h.jpg20230402_142229 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789265926_a7f93ff9a6_h.jpg20230402_145753 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789714763_a1c5bcdfff_h.jpg20230402_144548 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52788709667_7ca91e4672_h.jpg20230402_155750 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52789659700_2ed5a88da1_h.jpg20230402_183503 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Took the family for a couple of days and back to the Socal desert, this time 29 palms and Johnson Valley. The weather was around 70F so made it perfect to be out there having fun. Kiddos had a blast driving the truck offroad while i concentrated finding more roads to explore where they could test the Kings safely :)
Packed ligthly as we rented a house in the middle of the Socal desert..

Trying out this format but the pics appear to be little. So i'll goback to link them from flickr...
 

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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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Packed lightly as we rented a house in the middle of the Socal desert
52798024899_4dd9999940_k.jpg2023-04-06_08-21-36 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52798228908_b9639c3edd_k.jpg2023-04-06_08-21-30 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52798176750_7756ce22fe_k.jpg2023-04-06_08-22-33 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


52801430494_8f9855b8ec_k.jpg2023-04-07_09-24-49 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Curious places you find out there, This $5 pizza place is the best Pizza you'll find in Yucca Valley.
52797214307_5bdb293ac5_k.jpg2023-04-06_08-21-47 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

We did some mine exploring around Gold Crown road in the mine district
52801465898_ff3f30cfaa_k.jpg20230406_114331 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52801466643_4432449782_k.jpg20230406_122010 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52801270459_2626a2619d_k.jpg20230406_121926 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Kids covered many miles driving around, oldest daugter finding new places


52801466518_941d7c8aff_k.jpg20230406_123253 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52801467643_bb91c291b3_k.jpg20230406_142735 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

My son learning the ropes from Daddy :)
52801271519_89190884f3_k.jpg20230406_141708 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

52801271494_7d65f43637_k.jpg20230406_141744 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

My other daugther been a little more restrained hahaha, she drove one of the other trucks
52801420400_60686b417f_k.jpg20230406_131511 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 

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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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The time to get the Kings rebuilt have come. The performance degradation is noticeable so i'll install the Rancho suspension soon and send the Kings out to Accutune for maintenance.
 
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ram1500rsm

ram1500rsm

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***** me it wasn't the shocks :) wooo wooooo
The truck handling had started going to crap progressively in the past few months to the point i was experiencing bumpsteer when hitting road imperfections when the steering has been leaning a little towards right or left, which had me thinking how in the ***** i have bumpsteer with an IFS?. Another revealing thing my truck has been pulling slightly left or right for months out the blue even after getting her aligned and not seen anything special in the alignments. Last time after my post back in July 10 the bumpsteer condition was so scary at one pooint i had to lift the gas and actually go on my brakes as the event took me surprise, which definetely led me to check things a little more in depth. Went down there checking the basics with loose balljoints or loose something and right as i looked inside the bumper skid, it struck me, And i remember i didn't exactly like the way the skid mounted to front crossmember using the two big bolts holding down the steering rack. See post# 1163 for reference.

If you see the marks that skid has been moving a little bit for a while, and thus i'm almost 99% sure as the skid moves the steering rack moves as well, and that's the bumpsteer and the weird feeling i've been getting from the truck suspension for the past few months.


53078209160_0cf4c06644_k.jpg2023-07-28_01-44-04 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

I took the skid out and so far so good. All the issues i was experiecing are 100% gone and the truck feels solid everywhere again considering she has 129k miles and is still on on stock and unmolested front lower control arms, tierods, wheel hubs and cv axels.
and now i was sure to put enough torque on the damn 2 bolts, 133lbs initially, then 90* more using my new Milwakee hi torque impact.

Came from a trip to Arizona couple of days ago and not a single damn squeak, no vibrations nothing, and no more bumpsteer or feeling like the shocks went to hell.
I'll keep an eye on her anyways and keep doing normal maintance stuff of course. Best truck i've ever had and hoping to keep it for a good while and a lot more miles.

53078037959_05e8853e3c_k.jpg2023-07-28_02-08-36 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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