Air Dam yes/no (Power Wagon)

[Travelin Ram]

Doing some work under the truck today and I got to contemplating whether to remove the plastic air dam or not... no doubt that thing is not good for approach angle. For off road operation it seems a no brainer.

And yet, fact is it’s on pavement most of the time, and if I’m doing a nasty trail I’ll just take a Polaris.

So, the question I put to those of you that have removed them, did you see any downside; e.g. turbulence or any other discernible negative effect?

Thank you for your contributions to my over analyzing any minor change.

 

[Trailmaker]

Doing some work under the truck today and I got to contemplating whether to remove the plastic air dam or not... no doubt that thing is not good for approach angle. For off road operation it seems a no brainer.

And yet, fact is it’s on pavement most of the time, and if I’m doing a nasty trail I’ll just take a Polaris.

So, the question I put to those of you that have removed them, did you see any downside; e.g. turbulence or any other discernible negative effect?

Thank you for your contributions to my over analyzing any minor change.

Take it out!!! I can write about it on my thread whenever I finish my front skid. But you will need to cut off the compatibility brackets. search compatibility brackets you’ll see my comment.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Thanks @Trailmaker , and thanks for the photo. The compatibility brackets are gone, because they’re incompatible with the tow bar brackets I installed to flat tow the truck. Those also replaced the recovery hooks, which I’m not wild about, but compromises have to happen sometimes. At some point I’ll likely get an aftermarket bumper and toss all that factory facade.

 

[Trailmaker]

Thanks @Trailmaker , and thanks for the photo. The compatibility brackets are gone, because they’re incompatible with the tow bar brackets I installed to flat tow the truck. Those also replaced the recovery hooks, which I’m not wild about, but compromises have to happen sometimes. At some point I’ll likely get an aftermarket bumper and toss all that factory facade.

@Breaker Alex pulled his off too. I did not get any wind noise and I could not tell if I had a drop in MPG. But I have to get gas every 4 days it seems. Even if my truck sat over the weekend, the gas thieves come and take it. I get 19 mpg only when I want to(or my wife is driving) most days I’m hanging around the 11-13 mark.

Take a board from the wheel to the bumper and you will see that we don’t gain much on approach angles, but it was in the way of the front skid I was building and it made the “truck look lower” then it really was. So for those reasons I took it off.

 

[SeppW]

Left it alone. If it gets torn off, it gets torn off. Thus far it's been no issue.

 

[lnferno]

Took mine off and so glad that I did. It didn’t seem to affect gas mileage as bad as I thought it would. Averaged 16.2 MPG on 37s without that air dam on a trip from Colorado to Moab. Definitely needed the extra clearance in Moab.

 

[Grand Mesa]

A retractable air dam is being used on the Ram 1500's. Since the Power Wagon is a much higher up vehicle it might have a MPG and off road benefit.

https://www.plasticsnews.com/articl...ctive-air-dams-boost-aerodynamics-on-ram-1500

There are too many other variables around here of driving up and down over a mile in elevation on the mountain highways to determine a MPG impact of removing my PW air dam.

 

[retired]

Bumping this thread up...the search function sux

any more pw people with input on the air dam?

 

[LeesEvoX]

Bumping this thread up...the search function sux

any more pw people with input on the air dam?

I took mine off last weekend. Honestly just for looks. Makes the truck look taller, and also lets you see the tires a bit more.

Edit: If you do remove it. You need to remove the compatibility brackets, because they hang down lower than the front bumper. They are bolted on. But i havent mustered up the strength to get those damn nuts off. (takes like a 24mm socket, and hanging 200Lbs (me) didnt even make it bat an eye)

 

[retired]

I took mine off last weekend. Honestly just for looks. Makes the truck look taller, and also lets you see the tires a bit more.

Edit: If you do remove it. You need to remove the compatibility brackets, because they hang down lower than the front bumper. They are bolted on. But i havent mustered up the strength to get those damn nuts off. (takes like a 24mm socket, and hanging 200Lbs (me) didnt even make it bat an eye)

photos? I doubt you have driven enough to notice a mpg difference yet.. I have a dewalt impact driver that will get about any job done when it comes to removing stuck bolts..My concern is I live were speed limits are 75-80mph and I am actually headed to Moab on Sunday and we drive it in a day (~800 miles) so rarely under 75-80. The other thing I am concerned with being winter all the de-icer and sloppy crap that will fly underneath onto the synthetic winch line.

 

[LeesEvoX]

photos? I doubt you have driven enough to notice a mpg difference yet.. I have a dewalt impact driver that will get about any job done when it comes to removing stuck bolts..My concern is I live were speed limits are 75-80mph and I am actually headed to Moab on Sunday and we drive it in a day (~800 miles) so rarely under 75-80. The other thing I am concerned with being winter all the de-icer and sloppy crap that will fly underneath onto the synthetic winch line.

I have driven it maybe like 500 miles. No difference in MPG. i also have a 75MPH highway by my house. No difference in wind noise.

Now... since you live in Montana, and save salt to put up with. This might not be the best for you. Because like you said, it will all fling up under the truck, and winch. Maybe keep this as a summer mod lol

 

[Trailmaker]

I took mine off last weekend. Honestly just for looks. Makes the truck look taller, and also lets you see the tires a bit more.

Edit: If you do remove it. You need to remove the compatibility brackets, because they hang down lower than the front bumper. They are bolted on. But i havent mustered up the strength to get those damn nuts off. (takes like a 24mm socket, and hanging 200Lbs (me) didnt even make it bat an eye)

I cut mine and added to it.

 

[UTAHPWRWGN]

photos? I doubt you have driven enough to notice a mpg difference yet.. I have a dewalt impact driver that will get about any job done when it comes to removing stuck bolts..My concern is I live were speed limits are 75-80mph and I am actually headed to Moab on Sunday and we drive it in a day (~800 miles) so rarely under 75-80. The other thing I am concerned with being winter all the de-icer and sloppy crap that will fly underneath onto the synthetic winch line.

All that crap is coming straight in the fairlead opening onto your winch line anyways. Synth lines need to be washed a few times a year.

 

[retired]

All that crap is coming straight in the fairlead opening onto your winch line anyways. Synth lines need to be washed a few times a year.

while I agree synthetic line needs to be washed (I have been running it for over 10 years on jeeps) I never have crap come in thru the fairlead on my jeep. I guess if it is a problem it would be easy to block the opening.

 

[Breaker Alex]

Bumping this thread up...the search function sux

any more pw people with input on the air dam?

Removed both front and rear air damns.
Yes, the rear sensors too. I use the camera instead as I keep the sensors off ( annoying alarms too often )

I bet the air dams helps a normal height 2500 truck with stock tires.
But us? Ahhh we are allready too high and usually with 35" tires and up.

So MPG gains and other aerodynamics must be negligible IMO

Looks better ( IMO )and higher clearance.

 

[Grand Mesa]

Keep mine on.

At city and off-road speeds drag isn't a big deal, but the faster you go, the more it matters. At 70 mph highway speeds, you've got four times the force working against your Power Wagon than you have at 35 mph. Every .01 of drag coefficient improvement equates to approximately 0.1 MPG increase depending on the truck. You may not notice any MPG difference due to many other factors apply.

On the nearby Utah Interstate 80 it has 80 MPH speed limits. A good test of how the Air Dam still deflects the air from under your Power Wagon even when lifted is to use your driver's side outside rear view mirror. Stick your head out of the window at 80 MPH into the wind and then put it behind the rear view mirror. You should notice that at 80 MPH the wind without your mirror deflecting it feels similar to thie video below in winter conditions. I tested this theory on I-25 in Colorado when my recalled wiper motor failed on my Chevrolet K1500 during winter conditions.

YouTube · Reed Timmer
2:41
MAJOR WINDSTORM Boulder, Colorado! Wind gusts to 90 mph possible
Nov 30, 2019