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 Smittybilt X20 Waterproof 12K winch:
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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):
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.