2014 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab

[revitupmoto33]

Looks like you are a proud new owner of a Hi-Lift, there are some attachments I’d strongly recommend. I made these ones but I know you can find similar ones online. There is nothing scarier than when a hi lift kicks out, I was fortunate enough not to get hurt when I had one slip out on me with my old CJ7. The one on the right is a larger base plate 8x8” with spikes to help keep a good footing and the left is an attachment for lifting from round tube.

 

[hodge-xj]

Looks like you are a proud new owner of a Hi-Lift, there are some attachments I’d strongly recommend. I made these ones but I know you can find similar ones online. There is nothing scarier than when a hi lift kicks out, I was fortunate enough not to get hurt when I had one slip out on me with my old CJ7. The one on the right is a larger base plate 8x8” with spikes to help keep a good footing and the left is an attachment for lifting from round tube.

View attachment 158954

These are a must, hi lifts are great, but terrifying every single time I've used one. It's always in an incredibly less than ideal spot

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[ram1500rsm]

Looks like you are a proud new owner of a Hi-Lift, there are some attachments I’d strongly recommend. I made these ones but I know you can find similar ones online. There is nothing scarier than when a hi lift kicks out, I was fortunate enough not to get hurt when I had one slip out on me with my old CJ7. The one on the right is a larger base plate 8x8” with spikes to help keep a good footing and the left is an attachment for lifting from round tube.

View attachment 158954

I have the Hi lift base already but i'll see if there is something available for the round tubes, unless of course Revit Motorsports can fab some for the market

 

[ram1500rsm]

Added some serious engineering to the rock sliders cause the kids kept asking for it on rainy days. amazing what $.89 cents can do

2019-03-16_12-47-32 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

2019-03-16_12-47-46 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

2019-03-16_01-16-22 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

 

[ram1500rsm]

And added the Deeze tailgate mat
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

 

[revitupmoto33]

I have the Hi lift base already but i'll see if there is something available for the round tubes, unless of course Revit Motorsports can fab some for the market

I’ll have to dig around in my scrap bin and see if I have anything that might work

 

[ram1500rsm]

Decided to do a little experiment removing the front sway bar, why ? wanted to test how the truck felt without it while doing offroad and also wanted to see how close the tire could tuck at full compression for the purposes of perhaps stuffing some 37's

CV angle full stuffed
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Plenty of room between the UCA and the RES even if i was jumping the truck
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

No issues with coil binding either
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

315's at full stuff no sway bar
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Impressions without the sway bar:
There is more sway as expected, the Kings do a good job around corners though so cornering didn't feel super sketchy, but rapid wheel corrections do suck as the truck sways like a boat left and right, i'm sure i could correct this for the most part if i had compression adjusters running them on the harder setting but i don't see myself driving without the sway bar long term anyways. Truck corners better with the sway bar as expected, and i like the feeling going fast with the bar to my surprise though i couldn't give the truck enough gas today to test. I was doing 30-35mph as our local spot was a little busy this afternoon so decided to play it safe.

Without the sway bar there is 1 5/8" gap between the tire and the fender, this is with the Strut resting on the bumpstop
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr


Like wise with sway bar on, 3 1/8" gap
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Had to put the factory sway bar bushings back, as the new links i got from oreally's sucked balls, the bushings at least, 2 passes on the local trail at some speed at the bushing literally disintegrated, this set have 70k miles now, can you tell ?

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr


I think i'll stay on 35's until i can run Fibwerwerx fenders

 

[ram1500rsm]

Ordered a set of universal mud flaps from Amazon for $18 wooo woooo , It didn't feel good spending $100 on something i don't know if i'd like, so at least for less than $20 i can cut it to how i'd like to see it.
https://www.amazon.com/SUNPIE-Unive...s&qid=1553719154&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

I'm tired of all the damn splash i get especially when the ground is wet/muddy, even more now that it took me 2 hours to get rid of that freaking black tar chit you see in the pic above. that was some sort of liquid/oily asphalt the city was dumping at the entrance of the dirt road so it's mixed with dirt and water. They were dumping this on the ground before dumping the actual hot ashpalt on top. i tried to avoid it as much as i could driving by the half of the road that wasn't covered by it. it was worst than that by the time got home lol. I feel sorry for a Tacoma dude that thought playing in that crap was fun, he was hauling butt slidding and tearing that crap down his truck was covered in it very badly, i guess he thought it was just mud hahaha.

 

[hodge-xj]

Ordered a set of universal mud flaps from Amazon for $18 wooo woooo , It didn't feel good spending $100 on something i don't know if i'd like, so at least for less than $20 i can cut it to how i'd like to see it.
https://www.amazon.com/SUNPIE-Unive...s&qid=1553719154&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

I'm tired of all the damn splash i get especially when the ground is wet/muddy, even more now that it took me 2 hours to get rid of that freaking black tar chit you see in the pic above. that was some sort of liquid/oily asphalt the city was dumping at the entrance of the dirt road so it's mixed with dirt and water. They were dumping this on the ground before dumping the actual hot ashpalt on top. i tried to avoid it as much as i could driving by the half of the road that wasn't covered by it. it was worst than that by the time got home lol. I feel sorry for a Tacoma dude that thought playing in that crap was fun, he was hauling butt slidding and tearing that crap down his truck was covered in it very badly, i guess he thought it was just mud hahaha.

Best investment I made was flaps and flares bar none. Man are we getting old? I remember when I used to hit every puddle east of the Mississippi

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[ram1500rsm]

Best investment I made was flaps and flares bar none. Man are we getting old? I remember when I used to hit every puddle east of the Mississippi

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Lol tell me about it, now i can't even smell mud hahaha. I don't mind dirt one bit and can go weeks before i'll wash the truck even if it's covered in that stuff , but the moment it rains or the trail becomes muddy i tend to stress out about it especially when that dirt becomes mud.

 

[hodge-xj]

Lol tell me about it, now i can't even smell mud hahaha. I don't mind dirt one bit and can go weeks before i'll wash the truck even if it's covered in that stuff , but the moment it rains or the trail becomes muddy i tend to stress out about it especially when that dirt becomes mud.

Good thing you don't live out here than, we've got nothing but mud as of recent. I will say tho, hang the flaps as low as you can whilst still being secure. My undercarriage in the direct path of tire spray has stayed perfect. So much less in my eyes when I lay under it now.

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[ram1500rsm]

Good thing you don't live out here than, we've got nothing but mud as of recent. I will say tho, hang the flaps as low as you can whilst still being secure. My undercarriage in the direct path of tire spray has stayed perfect. So much less in my eyes when I lay under it now.

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I'll see what i can do tomorrow assuming i'm getting them today. My prob with the low hanging ones is that most of the trails i run have some rocks here and there and i'm affraid they wouldn't last one trip. Hoping this ones are kind of flexy as well but i want to hang them a little higher assuming i'll still get some splash protection. I point my front tire towards the obstacle, typically a rock around here then drive right through it, exactly what you see in the picture i posted with and without the front sway bar . That's why i needed the rock sliders as i've massaged the rocker panels before and i don't want to trash them.

Next problem is the damn front bumper POS. I've in been in chats with a local fabricator via email and i'm looking to set an appointment this weekend on next for him to see the truck and i want to explain more or less what i'm looking for so we can establish couple of options and price. I'd like prerunner style tubes but i wan to to hang a winch right there, plus recovery points and i'm hoping coming up with a winch mount plate for it won't be too expensive otherwise a more simple bumper with just recovery points will do. it'll take a while but i'm not in a rush.

 

[hodge-xj]

I'll see what i can do tomorrow assuming i'm getting them today. My prob with the low hanging ones is that most of the trails i run have some rocks here and there and i'm affraid they wouldn't last one trip. Hoping this ones are kind of flexy as well but i want to hang them a little higher assuming i'll still get some splash protection. I point my front tire towards the obstacle, typically a rock around here then drive right through it, exactly what you see in the picture i posted with and without the front sway bar . That's why i needed the rock sliders as i've massaged the rocker panels before and i don't want to trash them.

Next problem is the damn front bumper POS. I've in been in chats with a local fabricator via email and i'm looking to set an appointment this weekend on next for him to see the truck and i want to explain more or less what i'm looking for so we can establish couple of options and price. I'd like prerunner style tubes but i wan to to hang a winch right there, plus recovery points and i'm hoping coming up with a winch mount plate for it won't be too expensive otherwise a more simple bumper with just recovery points will do. it'll take a while but i'm not in a rush.

I hear ya on all points. First off my flaps hang way down and I have yet to rip them off, surprisingly they are pretty hard to tear off as they mount pretty well, and I drug them across 8" thick ice and about every single rock I climbed over with my 33s caught them when I came down. You should be good.

Honestly at this point with the bumpers I'm gonna take conventional approach. Barricade bumpers through American trucks has a new high clearance bumper similar to the ADD stealth, it's light and tucks up nice. Than I'll figure out how or even if I want a winch. If I do that is end up making a setup similar to the VICE designs winch mount and just make it modular to my setup. My local fab guy just bought a new house and he works out of a home shop, so he's at least 2-3 months out from even being ready to start back.

I don't know if the weight of a permanent mounted winch will be worth it. I may do a front receiver and wire it for both front and rear pulls and just have my winch safely put in my bed somewhere. Not as convenient, but I also am not treating this truck to the trails that require those type of crazy recoveries, I'll be getting a dedicated rig to thrash. Idk, right now I need to decide paint colors for the house, so we all know what I'm goin through with that **** [emoji854]

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[ram1500rsm]

Got the flaps installed. Ended up cutting a bit too much towards the sides from the front ones so i'll have redo those. This are universal flaps they're flat and they don't follow the shape of the front seams so i had to use a heat gun to mold the material they're plastic and they have some flex so they'll do well.

This is V1 for the fronts
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

2019-03-29_07-55-52 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

 

[hodge-xj]

[emoji41] it's a flappy flare

Your flaps look good, but I will say they look a little bit short. They're definitely goin to cut down on the spray up the sides of the truck, but not as much as you might think, especially if you are going faster. I know it's a compromise between clearance and coverage, and you have the sliders, so they may be sufficient. I had ones that were shorter like your set and the sides were always slathered, except for the small triangle these covered. I was like wtf. Lol. Try em out and see!! I do like an tho!
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[revitupmoto33]

I hear ya on all points. First off my flaps hang way down and I have yet to rip them off, surprisingly they are pretty hard to tear off as they mount pretty well, and I drug them across 8" thick ice and about every single rock I climbed over with my 33s caught them when I came down. You should be good.

Honestly at this point with the bumpers I'm gonna take conventional approach. Barricade bumpers through American trucks has a new high clearance bumper similar to the ADD stealth, it's light and tucks up nice. Than I'll figure out how or even if I want a winch. If I do that is end up making a setup similar to the VICE designs winch mount and just make it modular to my setup. My local fab guy just bought a new house and he works out of a home shop, so he's at least 2-3 months out from even being ready to start back.

I don't know if the weight of a permanent mounted winch will be worth it. I may do a front receiver and wire it for both front and rear pulls and just have my winch safely put in my bed somewhere. Not as convenient, but I also am not treating this truck to the trails that require those type of crazy recoveries, I'll be getting a dedicated rig to thrash. Idk, right now I need to decide paint colors for the house, so we all know what I'm goin through with that **** [emoji854]

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I like the idea of being able to use a winch from the front or the rear, forward isn’t always an option lol.

 

[revitupmoto33]

I'll see what i can do tomorrow assuming i'm getting them today. My prob with the low hanging ones is that most of the trails i run have some rocks here and there and i'm affraid they wouldn't last one trip. Hoping this ones are kind of flexy as well but i want to hang them a little higher assuming i'll still get some splash protection. I point my front tire towards the obstacle, typically a rock around here then drive right through it, exactly what you see in the picture i posted with and without the front sway bar . That's why i needed the rock sliders as i've massaged the rocker panels before and i don't want to trash them.

Next problem is the damn front bumper POS. I've in been in chats with a local fabricator via email and i'm looking to set an appointment this weekend on next for him to see the truck and i want to explain more or less what i'm looking for so we can establish couple of options and price. I'd like prerunner style tubes but i wan to to hang a winch right there, plus recovery points and i'm hoping coming up with a winch mount plate for it won't be too expensive otherwise a more simple bumper with just recovery points will do. it'll take a while but i'm not in a rush.

I’ve always wondered how much a shop would charge to fab up a bumper similar to the add/ or even what I have. About 150 in metal then a boat load of labor

 

[hodge-xj]

I like the idea of being able to use a winch from the front or the rear, forward isn’t always an option lol.

Wire in a few of those Anderson connectors and you're set. I tend to look at things for multi purpose setups, a rear mounted winch would be awesome when I get my trailer and dedicated trail rig going. As well as like you said, forward isn't always the best option, etc.

In my perfect world I'd love to have this truck do it all, but that's not a thing right now, so as long as I'm mindful that I don't do a crazy off center pull I'm sure a front mounted receiver hidden would suffice. And it's cheaper than making the bumper I want.

I really need to get my welder back going, there hardly anything I like for these trucks. I was moving **** today, almost blew my window out with brush, looking for headache racks and they mostly all look like ass or are 300+. Seriously.....we're in the wrong biz.

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[ram1500rsm]

I’ve always wondered how much a shop would charge to fab up a bumper similar to the add/ or even what I have. About 150 in metal then a boat load of labor

I'll let you know once i can get to meet this dude, found a couple of fabricators in the Tacoma forum, and this one happens to be around Cerritos and it's pretty much the closest i've found so far. he told me he'll be very busy for the next couple of months but he'll try his best to accomodate me. we will see how much it'll be.

 

[ram1500rsm]

[emoji41] it's a flappy flare

Your flaps look good, but I will say they look a little bit short. They're definitely goin to cut down on the spray up the sides of the truck, but not as much as you might think, especially if you are going faster. I know it's a compromise between clearance and coverage, and you have the sliders, so they may be sufficient. I had ones that were shorter like your set and the sides were always slathered, except for the small triangle these covered. I was like wtf. Lol. Try em out and see!! I do like an tho!
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I tested them today and i think i'll leave them like they're for now though the news blankets will be coming in tomorrow or Monday. Way better than what i had before.

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr