I am a longtime mopar guy and have just bought a 1976 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4 with the idea of getting into off roading on weekends in the so california area. What are your opinions on the best way to build up my rig for occasional daily driving and occasional off roading?

1.Get it running good
2.Buy bigger tires
3.Cut fenders to fit said tires
4.Have fun and learn as you go

That's what I would start with... Welcome to Pirate:flipoff2:

If you are new to off road stuff you probably want to find a site that's a little lower down the ladder than Pirate. Unfortunately here you will probably get less than friendly answers to a lot of the basic questions because, well, that's just how Pirate 4x4 is. The good news is there is an excellent site just for Ramchargers and Dodge D and W series trucks at RamchargerCentral.com. Most of what you want to know has been done by members there at least a dozen different ways and the atmosphere is much more "new guy" friendly.

Thanks for the frank assessment. Here I was all eager to shell out for a red star and everything. Sorrry for getting in the way.

Not trying to discourage you in any way. There is a ton of great info here but a lot of guys jump in and ask a lot of questions without searching to see if it's been covered many times and get a less than warm "Pirate welcome" and they get the idea that we are all a bunch of assholes. Well, we probably are but either way there is still a lot of great tech here but it's mostly advanced tech in chassis and suspension design and fabrication. There's not much here for people who are satisfied with a stock configuration truck that is lifted for mild offroad use. A glance through the most recent build threads will net you a BR series Ram Quad Cab that has had all the sheetmetal taken off the front and the bed and frame hacked off behind the cab to make room for tubes and Unimog axles as well as a few trucks on Rockwells, some with boat sides or narrowed front and rear sheetmetal. Pirate is pretty radical as far as tech and it's like jumping into advanced physics when you only really want to know multiplication.

they get the idea that we are all a bunch of assholes. Well, we probably are but

Im not an asshole, Im just misunderstood.

Well, maybe not :flipoff2:

Duane

if your in woodland does that mean you will be wanting to head up to the sierras on the weekends? if it does invest in a locker or limited slip of some sort. Body protection if you plan on doing rocks.

Learn to wheel without a locker first and then get one. That way when it breaks off raod and you have an open diff again, you'll still know what to do. But yeah basic idea, especially for a Ramcharger, 1. Bigger Tires, 2. Cut alot of sheet metal (cause you can with a ramcharger), perhaps a small lift, and then some lockers and gears.

JWIV