DarkCherry's '11 Ram Outdoorsman

[DarkCherry]

I have noticed that I have not started a build thread on here yet. So, here we go.

This is my 2011 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman. I got this truck in May 2014 and rapidly realized, as most people do, that my plan to keep this vehicle's appearance stock fell through fast! It didn't help that after the storm rolled through our town last June that damaged every house and destroyed all vehicles caught outside, two other Outdoorsmans with the exact same color scheme and step bars as mine popped into town (7500 people). The only differences is that my truck had exhaust, one has upgraded to 20" rims and the other has the RamBox, that is it. Since I do not like to blend into the crowd or walk up to the wrong vehicle in a parking lot, I decided it was time to start the fun. LOL Luckily at least the perfect sounding exhaust was done before I bought the truck. It sounds like MF but has no name brand on the muffler so I am unsure of what it is.

Right after I got her home


Debaged (Except the Hemi emblem for now)






Extang tri-fold cover



Total mods to date - 3/29/15

-Brand?? After y-pipe exhaust
-Weston step bars
-AVS window visors
-Debadged
-Extand tri-fold cover
-HBS 2" level
-Diablo Intune with Hemifever 91 octane tune
-Vararam intake

 

[DarkCherry]

*Went through and put a 2" level on the truck today. That was actually a fun project and now I just need some 34-35" tires with rims to complete the install.







Two weeks ago I put a 91 Oct Hemifever tune in and couldn't be happier with the results! I used the Diablo Trinity Intune for the programmer since when I want to monitor my gauges I use my phone and a Bluetooth OBD2 port.

I bought a Vararam from another forum member on 3/26/15 and should hopefully be in Saturday so I will post pics when I get that done.

Future plans:
-Finish eliminating all chrome on and in the truck (no Plasti-Dip)
-Moe's 87 mm throttle body
-34-35" tires on 18" rims
-LED light bar above the windshield
-new TC <-- way future
-Cam <-- way future
-4" zone lift <-- way future
-Headers
-More to be added to this list LOL

 

[DarkCherry]

Yesterday, I got the Vararam intake installed and now all I have to do is wait for the weather to warm up a bit to measure and trim the shroud between the grill and radiator to give it a nice factory touch. I will post pics of how it turns out.

You know, it is amazing just how much room that air box took up. Now, it would just be nice if a company made a factory looking bracket for the pass. side to put another battery where the old airbox was.







BTW, if anybody can tell me how to rotate the attached photos back to the way it was when it was taken (Rotate 90%) , I would appreciate it. Thanks

 

[DarkCherry]

It was 78 degrees yesterday so I got to work on the shroud to give the truck a factory look with the Vararam and to satisfy my OCD while looking at how the unit sat in front of the radiator.

Before



After



I made a bracket using some slotted angle I had left over from my garage door opener install. I bent it in half to give a nice round edge on one leg and then flattened it enough to fit nicely on the mount and make sure there is at least a 1/2" gap to the a/c radiator.






I layed out the opening and cut it out using a 1/16 cut off disc and a 4.5" grinder so what it would be easier to keep it straight and then used 80 and 220 grit to finish the shaping.




After that I reinstalled the Vararam and the driver's side still wanted to droop down so I had to tweak that a bit. I did not get a picture of the 1/2" x 4" thick solid foam I glued to the bottom of each side of the intake (about 3" in) right above the coolant radiator. That was the finishing touch so it would stop from falling down in on corner after giving it some gas and ensure the front of the unit stays level at all times. OCD side of me is happy for now LOL

 

[CMil527]

congrats, nice rig!

 

[DarkCherry]

Thanks, can't wait for the next phase lol

 

[DarkCherry]

I finally had the time to paint the front and rear ram heads, painted the exhaust tips (after finding out what the tips I want on my truck cost), removed the pillar vinyl and since I was bored waiting for paint to set between coats, I took the old chrome license plate frame I had on my truck for a bit and painted it black and silver. I like the swing down top screw covers on the license plate frame, that was a nice design touch and why I couldn't just throw it away.