Gray Man build thread ver 2.0

[Cruizer]

Sweet! Can't wait to see it.

 

[Gymkata]

Sweet! Can't wait to see it.

Ok, the Icon suspension is on and the wheels are plasti dipped!!! I updated the 1st and 2nd pages of this thread with tons of install pics.

 

[shaner82]

Very nice. Love that colour

 

[Cruizer]

That looks great. I love the black and grey.

 

[Gymkata]

Thanks ^^^

Just realized I never posted a before and after pic side by side of the truck to see the height difference.
Here you go.

 

[Gymkata]

Also, FYI to everybody. This kit didn't come with installation instructions. It wasn't too difficult to figure out, but it did take my buddy and I a whole morning to put it on.

I just called Icon and confirmed you have to cut the passenger plastic rear fender liner to fit the piggy back shock reservoir. If you look at the driver's side rear, the piggy back points directly forward toward the driver and it doesn't interfere with the fender liner at all, but on the passenger rear the piggy sticks out at a 45 degree angle toward the rear since it has to clear the brake lines under full compression.

Icon is currently "developing" installation instructions for the kit...lol...but they did just confirm to me you must cut the plastic liner on that side to make it fit.

 

[Gymkata]

Ok, so I had the opportunity finally to test out the weight carrying capacity of the Icon 2 stage rear springs. They worked great. There was about a 4 inch drop with 2000 lbs of wet top soil in the bed. It rode like a champ, without the bouncing or swaying that I have seen from stock truck suspensions when loaded past their capacity.

 

[Gymkata]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but figured I'd share a few crappy cell phone pics of some trails in Virginia a buddy and I hit up last week. The hill in 2 of the pics is much steeper than it appears and my buddy left his Nissan Frontier at the top because he didn't think it would handle the steep muddy hill. We made it down and back up without issue...very careful throttle and exact tire placement in a few places were key though. Good times. The GY A/T w/Kevlar tires performed surprisingly well. I just need to get a different front bumper. I'm afraid I'm going to rip off the low Sport bumper one of these days.

 

[Gymkata]

I've been enjoying my Ram a lot lately. I had thought about selling it after the winter, but no more. I am going to keep modding it and enjoying it. Today I ordered a few more goodies from Moe's.

 

[BgHrn]

Nice!

 

[Egress]

You have an absolutely beautiful truck! Very clean, it’s easy to see when someone puts a lot of love into a vehicle.

 

[Gymkata]

^^^
Thanks. I try to keep all my vehicles as clean as possible.

 

[Gymkata]

So, I installed ARH longtube headers. I can feel the added power, especially with the Diablo Trinity tuner. There's just one problem...massive lost ground clearance!!! I've never seen the ARH longtubes with the 6spd, but the 8 spd must be longer and forced them to make this ridiculous midpipe crossover section...either way, it's completely unacceptable. If I didn't somehow get shipped a wrong part, I'm going to have to have my shop custom build that section so it fits properly...which shouldn't be necessary after purchasing such an expensive set of headers. I can't afford to hang that up on a rock somewhere and possibly tear the headers off from the engine bay.

Sorry for the crappy pics...my camera didn't want to focus in the dark.

 

[Gymkata]

Here are a few more pics in the daylight to illustrate the fitment of the ARH longtube midpipe in front of the crossmember. On the passenger side the pipe is 4" below the transmission (the bottom of the pipe 6.5"). On the driver side the pipe is 2.25" below the transmission (the bottom of the pipe is 4.5+"). At the lowest point the pipe drops 4.5" below the crossmember. Like I said in the previous post I'm still trying to figure out if the shop put everything together properly...It looks like they did to me though.

EDIT: I finally (1 year later) contacted ARH a few days ago regarding the poor header fitment. I emailed them these pics and they overnighted me a new cross section...great service. I will install it when I get the time. From the looks of it the entire section will sit 1-2" below the cross member, but not the 4" it is currently at the lowest point.

 

[Gymkata]

I still haven't found any resolution to the issue in the previous post, but that is a separate matter.

I am excited because I have wanted rock sliders for my truck for quite a while, but didn't want to make them from scratch (considering the lack of support from the aftermarket). I just found this...https://www.rockslideengineering.com/product/rock-sliders/ It isn't as low profile as I would like, but it does appear like it will get the job done.

 

[Gymkata]

I just took my daughter out to go play in the snow. I drove to where I knew nobody else would be...down by the river...and snapped a few pics.

 

[ronbridges34]

Beautiful truck!!

 

[JJP71584]

Badass man, my daughter is only 9 months old, but I'm definitely looking forward to doing stuff like this with her...Sharp rig!

 

[Loaded]

That is one nice looking truck. +1 for getting the kid involved. My son loves going driving in dads truck.

 

[Gymkata]

So, this post isn't related to my 2014 Ram build. I just wanted to share a quick pic of going off road in my old 1997 Ram 1500. My father bought this truck in January 1997, one day after I left his Jeep Cherokee with $400 parts value in a nasty accident in one of the worst accident nights on Mt Hood in Oregon. I was on my way home from night snowboarding and was one of 35 accidents in a 5 mile stretch of road where the ground re-froze quickly while we were driving.
I got this truck from my father in 2003 with 93k miles, still completely stock and kept it stock until the transmission went out at 130k miles. I installed a beefed up transmission and decided to chuck the anemic 318 for a crate 360 with a ported heads and a mild cam. I also had a true dual exhaust custom fabricated and made a bunch of suspension changes, installed 4.10 gears and put a Yukon LSD in the rear along with 35x12.5R20 Toyo MTs. I also put in a pretty nice stereo system and a few other things. Over the years I beat on the truck. It had been sitting in my driveway, mostly undriven for several years. It was in a fairly sad state with the exhaust mostly rusted out when I bought my 2014 Ram 1500 and decided to give it to one of my buddies who was being forced to sell his 3rd Gen Ram 2500 Cummins due to losing his job. Since giving him the truck, he has put significant time and effort into my old truck and has turned the beast back into what it was built to be. Here is a quick pic that I snapped while we idled around through an easy wheeling area. Enjoy. I definitely enjoyed the nostalgic ride.