Is the ram a street truck?

[Kevin petro]

So I just bought a 2017 ram 2door with the hopes of making a fun truck for driving in the desert here in the UAE. Instead it seems I bought street truck. I haven't modified the suspension yet, because a) it's hard to get things here quickly, and b) I wanted to see how this handled to get some ideas on what I need. What I found out is that the ground clearance on it is horrendous. I was plowing sand with the lower cross member for half the day, and I couldn't hit a bump going faster than 5 mph or I would take a huge gouge out of the earth.

Who designed the cross member for a truck to be so low? Did they not expect people to use these trucks off road.

Sorry for venting but this really frustrating. At this point I'm trying to figure if it would be wiser to sell this thing before I sink any more money into it, or if maybe it can be salvaged and turned into something that doesn't recoil in terror if it leaves the tarmac.

I've included some shots of the debris that accumulated on the lower cross member.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

So I just bought a 2017 ram 2door with the hopes of making a fun truck for driving in the desert here in the UAE. Instead it seems I bought street truck. I haven't modified the suspension yet, because a) it's hard to get things here quickly, and b) I wanted to see how this handled to get some ideas on what I need. What I found out is that the ground clearance on it is horrendous. I was plowing sand with the lower cross member for half the day, and I couldn't hit a bump going faster than 5 mph or I would take a huge gouge out of the earth.

Who designed the cross member for a truck to be so low? Did they not expect people to use these trucks off road.

Sorry for venting but this really frustrating. At this point I'm trying to figure if it would be wiser to sell this thing before I sink any more money into it, or if maybe it can be salvaged and turned into something that doesn't recoil in terror if it leaves the tarmac.

I've included some shots of the debris that accumulated on the lower cross member.

View attachment 235785

View attachment 235786

You have street tires on it.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

@Kevin petro you could set up a decent off-road set up with a simple leveling kit and some decent tires. Tires will raise that crossmember up. If it’s a dedicated off road toy I’d try to go as big as possible but 37’s are not hard to fit

 

[OC455]

A decent suspension lift and some bigger tires wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[kurek]

Yes it's a street truck and you should sell it.... but also take note of this difference in your truck and mine:




I apologize that these are pictures I already had, so the are not from the same angle exactly but you can see a pretty big difference in your vehicle's ride height -



I have almost nothing done to my truck suspension-wise it's pretty much just lift struts making the difference.

 

[kurek]

You may also find these interesting:

https://www.prefix.com/minotaur/

 

[Purplert]

They design them for the masses. Most aren’t doing extreme off-roading. For the ones that do they either lift them and go aftermarket. For the rare 2% that’s doing more well you better go custom yourself or have a speciality shop modify something for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Kevin petro]

You may also find these interesting:

https://www.prefix.com/minotaur/

This is one of the videos I was watching when I was trying determine if I should get a ram. Now that I know the Ram suspension a little bit better, I can see that they installed a lift to the strut mount on the front. This is actually something I was considering doing. I don't know if it gets me anything though considering how easy it is to bottom out the suspension on the truck.

I'm well familiar with the area they are driving in in this video. It's actually kind of a lame area to go out here.

This is one of the areas I was hoping to take the Ram once I got it ready, but it is absolutely not even close to ready at this point.

(14) 2021 January 8 Liwa Yellow Truck - YouTube

I have to figure out how to get some coilovers shipped out here, and what size to get.

 

[kurek]

I have to figure out how to get some coilovers shipped out here, and what size to get.

It looks like yours is possibly sitting lower than it should, the CV axles seem to go upward from the carrier out to the wheel hubs and they should be level.

So that means if you get struts that are made for 2" of lift above stock, they may really give your truck 2.5 or 3 inches from where it is right now. That's pretty significant..

I don't have any familiarity with the availability differences in UAE vs. North America, as you point out it may be more difficult or delayed to get some kinds of products to where you are. I'm certain a set of the Bilstein 6112's would transform your truck into something more like what you want but those take a couple months to get even in the USA.

Really any leveling strut would make all the difference - as long as you stay around 2" (from stock, in your case maybe you would net more) and don't put any spacers on the struts you don't really need new upper control arms so that saves a little expense. But since it looks like your truck is sitting lower than it should, I would advise getting a set of leveling struts that include new coil springs so that you can be assured of consistent results.

 

[kurek]

This is one of the videos I was watching when I was trying determine if I should get a ram. Now that I know the Ram suspension a little bit better, I can see that they installed a lift to the strut mount on the front. .

The truck in that video has more than just a strut lift, it's (as far as I can tell) the KORE suspension system from Kent Kroeker (the "K" in KORE ) that was offered in Mopar's Ram Runner kit & I believe is now the basis for the Minotaur upfitter trucks... plus they appear to have added a little extra to it with a secondary shock absorber & some other bits.

We all wish we had the $$ lying around to install that!

 

[Daw14]

Yes ,my ram is a street truck .

 

[Wild one]

So I just bought a 2017 ram 2door with the hopes of making a fun truck for driving in the desert here in the UAE. Instead it seems I bought street truck. I haven't modified the suspension yet, because a) it's hard to get things here quickly, and b) I wanted to see how this handled to get some ideas on what I need. What I found out is that the ground clearance on it is horrendous. I was plowing sand with the lower cross member for half the day, and I couldn't hit a bump going faster than 5 mph or I would take a huge gouge out of the earth.

Who designed the cross member for a truck to be so low? Did they not expect people to use these trucks off road.

Sorry for venting but this really frustrating. At this point I'm trying to figure if it would be wiser to sell this thing before I sink any more money into it, or if maybe it can be salvaged and turned into something that doesn't recoil in terror if it leaves the tarmac.

I've included some shots of the debris that accumulated on the lower cross member.

View attachment 235785

View attachment 235786

For 1 thing you bought a truck that's already been lowered,there's your biggest issue with it dragging the crossmember.

 

[chris1126]

i keep mine on road only. no rain, no snow. only sunny days

 

[IRSmart]

My Ram is NOT a street truck

 

[Blstrick55]

What size tires are those?

 

[IRSmart]

What size tires are those?

Mine? 37’s and they run big

 

[jws123]

You bought a 2 door they are raked forward a lot more you need bigger tires and leveling struts in the front.

 

[ram1500rsm]

I don't remember how mine was sitting stock but this truck in the OP appears to be lowered than normal?, perhaps running tiny tires not exactly sure but yes that crossmember sure looks like it will hit a curve if you got it close to it

OP you guys have King or Fox suspension dealers in UAE. That's the start.
For example:
https://www.instagram.com/king_shocks_uae/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/kingoffroadshocksuae

You can have a performance mid travel setup with aftermarket UCA's with King or Fox Coilovers and some rear
larger springs and haul butt across the dunes. You'll need longer coil springs like Icon 1.5" rear coil springs + say Icon UCA's in the front, then add the Kings 2.5 OE kit on top of that and your truck will be ready for performance dune driving.
http://www.kingshocks.com/products/oem/ram-trucks/
or
https://www.ridefox.com/subhome.php?m=truck&make=Ram&model=1500+&year=2014&position=ALL
rear coil springs:
https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com...-09-up-ram-1500-rear-15-dual-rate-spring-kit/
UCA's
https://www.iconvehicledynamics.com...ccessories-09-up-ram-1500-tubular-uca-dj-kit/

If you're looking for max performance say you want to grab big air in those dunes Dirt King or Gorracing have a couple of options that will give you that
https://dirtkingfabrication.com/collections/ram-1500
https://gorracing.com/t/Ram1500


Talk to those folks in Duabi and start your inquires that way.

Have fun.