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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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One of things I have been wanting to share is some artwork that I have in my garage/shop. My brother is a professional graphic artist and has done a number of works for rock bands, music festivals, horror houses, and so forth. Anyway, he created these for me over the years.


Of course, my avatar:


Logo_Edited_1_(1).jpg



My recent lighted Desert Dawg sign I use in my shop over the beer fridge (have to squint to see in 2nd photo...lol):


Desert_Dawg_Sign.jpg


Paul's_Shop_2.jpg


Another couple of shop signs I have hanging up:


Paul_s_Petro_by_fensterer.jpg


2013_09_22_21.52.36.jpg


I have this hanging up in the shop too:


String_Cheese_Capitol_Theatre.jpg


He has quite a few others of which some I don't even have framed yet. But if interested, you can check out some of his other work if you Google images for "Phil Fensterer". Just thought it would be fun to share.
 

hodge-xj

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So was taking a photo of the CV axle angles after everything has settle a bit and was wondering if anyone thought this is/will be an issue with the stabilizer bar linkage (see below)?

Front_Stabilizer_Bar_Link_Driver_Side.jpg


So that looks pretty agressive of an angle, but I've also come to learn that rubber boots do give things the appearance that it may be worse than it really is.

Maybe Jack the truck up and allow the suspension to fully droop and see if it's binding up. I'm sure it will have a shorter service life, but if it's not binding up run it, if there are upgrade out there id consider them to be safe.



That artwork is badass! I'm so envious of the talent, my artistic side is limited to stick figures! Does he have a site or just does it for fun??

Love how your build is going, and I'd comment more but tapatalk has been terrible and I rarely log into real internet, but man I need to keep up to speed, truck looks great!!!
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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So that looks pretty agressive of an angle, but I've also come to learn that rubber boots do give things the appearance that it may be worse than it really is.

Maybe Jack the truck up and allow the suspension to fully droop and see if it's binding up. I'm sure it will have a shorter service life, but if it's not binding up run it, if there are upgrade out there id consider them to be safe.



That artwork is badass! I'm so envious of the talent, my artistic side is limited to stick figures! Does he have a site or just does it for fun??

Love how your build is going, and I'd comment more but tapatalk has been terrible and I rarely log into real internet, but man I need to keep up to speed, truck looks great!!!


Thanks hodge for the look; I thought it was bit aggressive too so a little concerned. I will check it out at full droop to see if it binds. Hopefully not and will last a bit.

He has most of his stuff post on Deviant Art @ https://www.deviantart.com/*****-of-anubis/favourites/3548374/fensterer.

He does have a website @ http://creativeschism.com/ but he hasn't updated in a while so Deviant Art and Google are best bets.

Thanks for the encouragement on the build. The truck looks and performs much better after I replaced the Falcon 2.25-inch system (that actually only netted me about 1.125 inches of lift) with the Fabtech-Dirt Logic 3-inch coilover lift system.


Yakima_Roof_Rack_System_1(1).jpg

Yakima_Roof_Rack_System_1a(1).jpg

Yakima_Roof_Rack_System_1b(1).jpg
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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Took the Ram (and the wife…lol) to Pagosa Springs for the weekend. Typically, we would go up to Ouray/Telluride to check out the Aspens during this time of year but we were just there a few weeks ago so decided on Pagosa where we usually rent a small cabin situated right along the San Juan River where we can also do some catch and release trout fishing. Sorry for the low quality shots as I forgot my camera (again) and had to use my old cell phone.

Quick road shot in northern NM (looking past the bugs on the windshield…lol):

San_Juan_Cabin_Road(1).jpg

Few shots around the cabin (unfortunately, no mountain shots as the haze was intense due to the fires in Colorado and California):

San_Juan_Cabin_3(1).jpg

Saw lots of geese and deer, and even heard a bear prowling around the cabin one night (found some bear paw prints on the front porch but no shots of the bear):

San_Juan_Cabin_Geese(1).jpg

Unfortunately, the river was very low this Fall so that was disappointing (and you know how bad my fly fishing skills are when I can't catch any in a low flow river...lol):

San_Juan_Cabin_River(1).jpg

Dusk shot from cabin:

San_Juan_Cabin_Dusk(1).jpg

Due to COVID, we really didn’t run into too many folks considering this is usually a hot spot for Fall visitors. We did manage to find a couple of outdoor places to enjoy some local brews and good food but mostly just spent the time driving around and relaxing at the cabin.

San_Juan_Cabin_Riff_Raff.jpg

Also disappointing is we did not fit in any off-road adventures this time but have to admit it was great just chilling out.

San_Juan_Cabin_2(1).jpg

Again, the Ram did great as a road-trip vehicle with plenty of power for passing slower vehicles on the uphill runs. This time, I averaged 16 mpg by end of the trip which I thought was pretty decent given the amount of mountain driving there and back with speeds ranging between 65-80 mph. Had I been able to trail some, I am sure the mileage would have been lower. The big Yokohama Geolander G003 MTs were very quiet and the B2 Fab exhaust had absolutely no drone to it; overall, a very quiet and comfortable ride.
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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DSCF5731_(2).jpg
More to follow...
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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Rio Puerco Desert Run #1


So my brother and I decided on an impromptu romp out in the Rio Puerco west of town; me in the Ram Rebel with my kid and he in his nicely spec'd out FJ Cruise. I was hoping to have another friend join us in his brand new Rebel too but the timing was bad so ended up just being our two vehicles. The Rio Puerco is a favorite spot as it is relatively close to home and has a wide range of trail options (you can literally spend all day and not come close to hitting them all). There are tons of very long and high hill runs with deep sand, hard packed whoop-de-loops for the aeronauts, and various sand dunes you can race up.


I was very interested to see how the Rebel performed on faster desert runs than the slower mountain trails I took it on a few months ago. The Rebel did great as the Fabtech Dirt Logic coil-overs soaked up the washboard dirt roads and small ruts without any drama; at up to 60 mph, the truck remained smooth and very stable without any sideway motion (certainly felt very capable if I wanted to go faster). And once we got to the dunes, the Ram had lots of power to plow through while the new Geolanders did a fantastic job keeping the rig on top of the soft, loose sand.


It was a picture perfect day and the only real issue was that there were too many people out and about with motorcycles and ATVs running amok so had to be really on alert as there are tons of curves and hills to traverse. But everyone seemed attentive and all had a safe fun time.


Getting through the first leg:


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1a.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1b.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1c.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1e.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1g(1).png
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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After romping over the whoop-de -loos (of which can cause some serious air if not careful), we headed for the dunes:


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_4.png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_2(1).png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1h(1).png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_1k(1).png


I did manage to drop my front end pretty hard going over a hard rock shelf I didn't see in time. Luckily, I had just enough clearance with the 3-inch lift and taller tires to avoid any damage on the left side (so the AMP power steps still good).


DSCF5656_(2).png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_2(2).png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_2a(2).png


Rio_Puerco_11.1.2020_2a1.png
 

ram1500rsm

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Awesome views bro and very nice rigs. That FJ bring back very good memories.
Here was mine back then.
I guess we keep loving the outdoors and the 4x4's to get to those remote places that make life feels good :) Happy wheeling man.
16227598748_140d4a1e19_k.jpgCAM02457 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

15792917934_2c56282bd8_k.jpgCAM02490 by RAM RSM, on Flickr
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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Awesome views bro and very nice rigs. That FJ bring back very good memories.
Here was mine back then.
I guess we keep loving the outdoors and the 4x4's to get to those remote places that make life feels good :) Happy wheeling man.
CAM02457 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

CAM02490 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Thanks! Nice FJ...they are definitely great trail vehicles. Makes me miss my 4Runner too!
 
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Desert Dawg

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GREAT SHOT!

Thanks. There is less than a minute of catching the mountain in its full glory right as the lighting changes fast, so got lucky for an impromptu photo shoot...lol.
 
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Desert Dawg

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Recently tried out my BushRanger X-Jack that I got for Christmas along with a pair of ORCISH Recovery Traction Boards! The X-Jack can be inflated out on the trail either by using the truck's exhaust and/or an air compressor.


Since a Hi-Lift jack won't work very well for my truck due to the power side steps and rub rails, I was really stressing about what I would do if something happened out on the trail; an inflatable jack is an ideal solution (not to mention a lot less weight and bulk to haul around). Before use, you have to inflate/deflate a few times to get it stretched out and ensure no leakage. I carry my VIAIR 400P Portable Air Compressor inside the truck so decided to try it out for the inflation; as expected, it worked perfectly!


After doing that, I tested it under load and figured out I still need some extra lift under the jack as it almost lifted the rear but not quite high enough to compensate for the lift and larger tires. Luckily, the traction boards can be used as a platform for the inflatable jack system and give me the additional height needed to clear the tires.


BushRanger X-Jack inflatable jack system with VIAIR compressor:


BushRanger_X_Jack_1.jpg


BushRanger_X_Jack_2.jpg


BushRanger_X_Jack_3.jpg


I secured the recovery traction boards along the inside of the bed with a couple of bungee cords; works great as the boards don't bang around but easy to get out for use.


Orisch_Recovery_Tracks_1.jpg


Orisch_Recovery_Tracks_2.jpg


Orisch_Recovery_Tracks_3.jpg
 
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Desert Dawg

Desert Dawg

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It's been a crazy past few months with my work and travel schedules, so I have not made any real progress on my current build. However, I did manage to take a day off a couple of weeks back and took the Rebel out for a quick desert romp and managed to make an impromptu body modification...lol.


Bashed_Skid_Plate_May_2021_4.jpg


Bashed_Skid_Plate_May_2021_1.jpg


Bashed_Skid_Plate_May_2021_2.jpg


Bashed_Skid_Plate_May_2021_3.jpg
 

hodge-xj

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Bummer! But that just means you'll get to upgrade. I don't get update notices for the forum anymore, so often I miss a lot, but I saw your post on the other forum about changing it up in the suspension?
 
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Desert Dawg

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Yeah, I kind of stopped updating here as I don't get any notices anymore either and very little response to my posts (you're the first since December of last year so thanks for hanging in there...lol). I just assumed that no one is interested in the build anymore.

I did order a black front bumper module (aka, faux skid plate) and waiting to install my hidden winch mount which just came in yesterday!

New black skid plate:

New_Black_Front_Bumper_Fascia.jpg

New Smittybilt X20 Waterproof 12K winch:

[Newly_Arrived_Smittybilt_X20_12K_Winch_1.jpg

Vice Design Hidden Winch Mount system (just came in...have to go pick it up at UPS so don't have a pic yet; here is web shot on installed version):

Vice_Design_Hidden_Winch_System_(2).jpg

Regarding the suspension, I have been stifled. The Fabtech Dirt Logic 3-inch system is actually pretty good; decent daily ride quality, very good high speed stability and response, and the lift height/stance is perfect (not too high). But it has some demerits for the way I use the truck and that is mainly it is brutal for slower speed crawls over the rough stuff. I took the Ram over Engineer Pass (El. 12,800), and while we made it, the lower sections were full of rock outcroppings/ledges, boulders, and crevices that the Dirt Logics are not tuned to handle. So it was a rough, rough ride! Of course, out on the desert, the system does very well when going higher speed runs over washboards and dunes. But low speed washboards has the truck shaking and moving all over the place. Also, the Dirt Kings are not quite as smooth as other top-tier coilovers for daily driving either (still very good, just not "as good"). So I think I am going to be happier with more of a middle of the road performance system like the Fox 2.5 Performance or maybe King OEM Performance systems since my playground is both desert sand and rocky mountain trails.

But my predicament is I also want a lifted Rebel that gives me better approach, departure and breakover angles (without resorting to $3K bumpers) as I also dumped the Rebel twice on the boulder sections and caused some minor damage. And to be totally honest, I like the aesthetics of a lifted vehicle if not overdone. Unfortunately, to get a high quality coilover system, the choices are pretty limited right now for the 5th Gen Rams, and especially for the Rebel. I want a custom setup from King that will net me 3-3.5 inches of actual lift over the Rebel factory ride height (so would have to include diff drop kit, carrier bearing kit, maybe extended brake lines, upgraded UCAs, etc.) but King has been totally unresponsive to my inquiries and the off-road shops have 5-11 months of backorder in getting anything out. I reached out to Carli about tweaking their 2.5-inch system for the Rebel to do same, but they have been totally unresponsive to date (too busy to bother). I did get a call back from Dirty Deeds (very informative) on available King systems and he said that my current Dirt Logic setup is probably the best I can get for trying to have 3" of lift and some increased off-road performance but at the sacrifice of the slow speed crawl performance and also stated that any of the currently available King systems would only net me about 2 inches of clearance at best and there is a backorder (Ben is the one on the Youtube videos and great guy to talk to). So it looks like I am boiled down to (2) options; the Fox 2.5 Performance Elite with DSCs all the way around, or the BDS 6-inch Fox 2.5/2.0 Coilover system with DSCs as well.

The problem with those two options is they are complete extremes from each other: 1) while the Fox Performance Elite would the better system, it only nets 2.25-inches of actual lift if maxed out on the Rebel and would actually decrease my current clearance by a full inch and 2) the BDS system uses the still very capable Fox 2.5 with DSC in the front but with the 2.0 in the rear (so not as stout) and would actually increase my lift between 2.5-3 inches over my current setup so I am thinking that may be too high. Plus the BDS system would require some cutting but all of my geometry would be correct. BDS does offer a 4-inch system which would be the perfect height/stance that I want but unfortunately it is a 4-inch spacer system using the factory components (UCAs, struts); it rides great but does not increase the wheel articulation over factory so at best helps with the approach/departure angles. Some folks have used Bilstein's or Fox 2.0's up front but that also does not give me the off-road performance I want.

I have talked with BDS extensively (very responsive compared to King and Carli) and they stated that I could dial down the front coilovers on the 6-inch system by about 1/2-inch which should not hinder anything (except maybe make the ride a tad softer) but they could not say with certainty since they haven't actually tested the system that way on the Ram; however, it would net me a slightly lower lift and help me get the truck into the garage since my clearance is limited to 83.25 inches. If I keep my same tires (34.4 inches tall), that could work. The dealership near me has a slew of 6-inch lifted Ram 1500s that they can't sell (markup is crazy) so I have been measuring the heck out of them. It seems like it would increase my ride height by about 2.5-2.75 inches over my current setup which is doable especially since I have the AMP Powerstep XL side steps (which drops the step down an additional 3 inches further than the normal Powerstep for the wife...lol). But I am still worried about having that high of a lift for highway handling and daily use (I use the truck bed a lot so would have to lift everything another 2.5 inches up and I'm not getting any younger...lol).

So I have to choose since I can't ice my cake and eat too on these new Gen trucks (compared to my previous Tundra and F150 builds). Dang it FCA, build a truck we can mod and do it all! Oh yeah, it's called a Jeep Gladiator or TRX...lol.
 
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rule18

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I've watched this thread from the very start. The thoughtful transformation you've accomplished is amazing. Really well done!

Oh yeah, SUPER jealous of your shop. :happy175:
 
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