Ramv Buildup in Review (history)

[evilram]

I am serious though, my driveway is roughly 50' long, so I'm sure that thing would fit. I am having another bay poured, so it will be 4 cars wide. Ideally, I can get the gates built for the fence and get my trailer behind.

Back to the thread though; Did you ever end up using those 7" springs? If you get bored would you mind measuring your front arms? I can't remember which ones you gave me after painting them and am trying to figure out some lengths.

[ramv]

Cool, that might be interesting. Right now it is in storage near my house.

I haven't used the springs. I put new shims on them (steel this time!) and center pins, and occasionally carry one as a spare to Moab, but they are f-ing heavy.

I will measure tonight.

[evilram]

Originally Posted by ramv

Cool, that might be interesting. Right now it is in storage near my house.

I haven't used the springs. I put new shims on them (steel this time!) and center pins, and occasionally carry one as a spare to Moab, but they are f-ing heavy.

I will measure tonight.

I was looking at pictures of the trailer and my 3 yr old son said he wants to buy it... I'll just blame him

[ramv]

Some pics from our last Moab trip


Rocker Knocker


Rodeo on 39"s

[ramv]

More







Rock Pile



White Knuckle

[evilram]

all great pics... What is with you and wheeling with huge zukes??

[ramv]

Don't let the Isuzu guys hear you compare them to Suzukis...

[evilram]

Originally Posted by ramv

Don't let the Isuzu guys hear you compare them to Suzukis...

eh... all those mini trucks are the same to me

and yes, it is jealousy...

[ramv]

Well, put a new Optima Yellow top in, and hit Blanca this weekend:



Winch free top to bottom and back, above picture is Jaws 2. 2 hrs from the parking lot to Blue lake. We put in an attempt to climb Blanca/Ellingwood, didn't quite make the saddle before the hail and pending thunderstorm shut us down. Not too bad though, 13,800', were only headed to 14 000' on Ellingwood, or 14,300' on Blanca.



Once we got back to the truck, pouring rain, and my power steering box went out. Armstrong steering all the way down. Pulled the box tonight and will send it to Redneck Ram for a rebuild.

[ramv]

Camped up on Medano Pass. Left the Dodge at the Sand Dunes, and took the Av.

[evilram]

I'm always jealous of the trips you make. Maybe if I'd just man up and finish my pile I could actually make it one of these days....

The truck looks "good"

Let me know how it goes with Redneck Ram. I am thinking of sending down to them at some point.

If you need, I've got a spare steering box as well...

[ramv]

I have had great service from WTO. However if I was starting from scratch I would go full hydro. You can't beat West Texas's price and service though, I would highly recommend them.

[evilram]

Yah, full hydro would be nice. But, it has some "legal" issues and I don't trust hydraulics. Worked on them for too long to trust my steering system to it.

[ramv]

After breaking my steering box so many times, I don't trust mechanical steering.

[evilram]

Originally Posted by ramv

After breaking my steering box so many times, I don't trust mechanical steering.

true enough...

[Mr. Mindless]

Originally Posted by ramv

After breaking my steering box so many times, I don't trust mechanical steering.

I'm with you.

Aside from racing it's pretty rare to see the ram vacate from the axle. how many times have you seen sector shafts break and boxes rip off the frame? You wouldn't sell me on the numbers game on that one - the hydro rigs ALL get USED

[ramv]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mindless

I'm with you.

Aside from racing it's pretty rare to see the ram vacate from the axle. how many times have you seen sector shafts break and boxes rip off the frame? You wouldn't sell me on the numbers game on that one - the hydro rigs ALL get USED

Yep yep.

Not to mention, if you count the cost of the Thuren SHD steering, and the Red NEck Ram Stage 3 kit, i am into it about the same as a decent full hydro and truss. That would sure clean up the underside.

Not to mention, I went through all the iterations before (inverted Y, inverted Y with upgraded tie rod, inverted T, stock 1500 steering box, GM 3500 steering box, 3500 ps pump)

[Mountain Ram]

Full hydro has been under mine for a while now. Like RamV- too many tie rods and sector shafts sacrificed to the rock gods. I got a barely used PSC setup for $600. A little quirky on the road, but nothing you can't get over. Can tuck up nicely on the Dodge D60



I have seen alot of issues with rock rigs losing mechanical steering on the road. I saw one guy lose a hose on a full hydro setup... either way- you are losing steering control!!

Todd

[ramv]

Dodge sat for nearly a year. Battery was dis-connected but still died. Once I boosted it with the Avy, (which sat for almost six months, killed the battery after two, got it charged back up and then disconnected it. Diehard Platinum way better then Yellow Top Optima)

Did a quick day run to Holy Cross. Great trip, couldn't quite get up Cleveland rock on bald muddy tires, (the only time I have driven up it was on Krawlers, Iroks suck) but great trip, no carnage, no line at the creek, and no winching..

French's creek, made it without backing...



Trav put a 700R4 and 4 spd Atlas in the Rodeo and now stops in the middle of obstacles just for pictures.... (Not sure the name of this obstacle)



Tow rig did a great job on the way back 2.5 hours to the house, a personal best, not bad for a gasser!

I have got a few rides in on my latest toy, it's much easier to hit the trails for couple of hours on the Super Enduro then spend a full day away from phone/email that the truck requires with my new job.

[Mr. Mindless]

sounds like a lot of sitting time. Same sort of battery issues I had after that too. I've got one good and one dead battery in the Cummins right now and just swapped a doorstop yellow top in the Dakota for an Exide spiral cell. Hopefully that lasts a bit better.

[ramv]

Good luck! I only bought the Optima since O'Reilly is 5 minutes from my house and they had it in stock. Sears is about an hour away. The Diehard Platinum has been in my Avy since 2008, (and considering I replaced the l/a battery every year before that), and was absolutely drained this fall, I was amazed I got it started with a jump pack and now it seems to be as good as normal. The jump pack didn't get me anywhere with the Dodge, other then enough juice to trigger the booster cable solenoid, so I could boost off of the Avalanche.

[Ram-on-Rocks!]

Any updates?

[ramv]

Been parked in my garage since the last picture was taken. I took the doors off and fawked up the driver's one when I dropped it. Orange bike has been hanging out there too. Haven't had a full day off since June, and have been traveling a lot so no time/ambition to work on anything other than keeping the house together. (Hence why the Avalanche and Dodge sat for the last year, only had ~ 10 days off and the Missus suggested a non-wheeling trip may be appropriate )

[Ram-on-Rocks!]

Damn, that sucks. What do you do? Well, I hope you can find some time to mix play and work soon.

[ramv]

Cement and frac engineer lead.