Brutus the dream truck.

[WINKY]

So i am starting my build of my 2001 Dodge ram 2500. He is a long bed extended cab 4wd 6spd manual with Cummins 24v turbo diesel.

He is stock for now but soon will morph into a nice trail/search recovery/expedition rig.

Plans:
front bumper w warn 16.5ti winch and offroad lights equipped on bumper
tiregate prerunner style
lockers front and rear
onboard air system with tank
water storage
well planned use of bedspace for tools gear and camping equipment
cb with linear amp
inbed auxiliary fuel tank 98 gallons (apx2500 mile range of onboard fuel)
2inch level kit with 34x12.50x16 tires for now
down the road i will fit a 5"lift with 35's on it
linex the bed before fuel tank install
roof mounted offroad light setup five 6" lights
very loud air horn


more to come when i figure out more to do to it, and pics as well.

DEEZL

[Nay]

So i am starting my build of my 2001 Dodge ram 2500. He is a long bed extended cab 4wd 6spd manual with Cummins 24v turbo diesel.

He is stock for now but soon will morph into a nice trail/search recovery/expedition rig.

Plans:
front bumper w warn 16.5ti winch and offroad lights equipped on bumper
tiregate prerunner style
lockers front and rear
onboard air system with tank
water storage
well planned use of bedspace for tools gear and camping equipment
cb with linear amp
inbed auxiliary fuel tank 98 gallons (apx2500 mile range of onboard fuel)
2inch level kit with 34x12.50x16 tires for now
down the road i will fit a 5"lift with 35's on it
linex the bed before fuel tank install
roof mounted offroad light setup five 6" lights
very loud air horn


more to come when i figure out more to do to it, and pics as well.

DEEZL

Do your 2" lift and 34x12.5x16 trxus MT's before your Moab trip. Moab loves a long wheelbase (even if it drags a long arse worse than most places). You don't really need lockers in Moab with all that traction...

[WINKY]

yeah the lockers will probably be late this summer. i want to actually be able to recover myself before i gain the ability to get myself stuck up a river with no paddle :P

i am doing the bumper, winch and tires before moab. Thanks!

[Brody]

Hey ...questions on anything, just post 'em and I'll try to find stuff out for you. You need any welding stuff done, PM me.

I have been on craigslist lately looking for all sorts of odds and ends and there are a lot of lockers and gears out there. I have also been looking and reading about weak links in Dodges like yours and Chris' and posting what I find. I hope that this is helping out.

Sounds like you are on the right track with some solid ideas. You ought to get everyone to pitch in for some of your accessories as you will probably end up being the FR4x4 recovery vehicle.....

[WINKY]

hey i dont mind being the recovery vehicle, that whats im building it for its too big to crawl but i can get ya out

the nice thing is when i put it in 4 low and idle it 1st gear it moves slower than a person walks normally. if i put it in reverse its even slower! Top speed in either gear 4low is like 5mph

[WINKY]

oh also i have a 5th wheel inbed receiver for towing plus the class3 or 4 stock hitch...

[WINKY]

anyone ever heard of these guys? if so how is their quality ?

http://www.fabfours.com/Full%20Size%...20DR94-A1550-1

[Brody]

Top notch from what I have heard and read on reviews in magazines. They are a few guys who all used to work for different oufits and decided to get together and do their own thing.

If you google FabFours, look at all the posts and see if there are any complaints about their work, quality or customer service. The internet is better than the Better Business Bureau these days and if a company doesn't make good stuff or screws up, it will get posted...

[WINKY]

thanks meng! i am starting to lean towards road armor get a plain bumper and do my own brush guard on top of it later... an extra $500 for some tubing....yeah ill do it myself. AHAHHAHA

[WINKY]

Top notch from what I have heard and read on reviews in magazines.

do you have a url for them? top notch that is

[Brody]

Here you go:

http://www.fabfours.com/


These guys all wheel and take their wheeling seriously is what I have heard. They got tired of stuff that they were buying breaking and decided to make their own stuff that doesn't.

That is the direct link. Just google 'fabfours' and you get a lot of hits..sites selling their stuff, comments on their stuff, comments on their customer service, etc. It'll take a little bit of time, but will provide for some interesting reading, especially if you are curious about buying their products.

Here is that link for ya:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...bfours&spell=1

Of course you'll get a bunch of crap about the Beatles, but what the hey...

[WINKY]

thanks meng!

[Brody]

A bumper like that isn't too hard to build...simply a lot of fab and cutting after a template is made. If you look closely, you will see where they used standard sized steel plate every place they could, only cutting certain sections to get it to work. The welding, as I am sure you know, would take a long time to do...ditto the grinding to make it look sweet.

I'll keep my eyes open at the junkyard and see if something comes in that has a decent bumper on it. I managed to find one for Tye (for his Disco) that he paid $40 (off of an IFS 4Runner)for and ended up with something that would've cost $400. There is a build up thread on here somewhere with some photos...Ditto with Steve's stinger...I found that one too on a trashed buggy. He went down and cut it off, paying $15-20 bucks for it and we made it work on his Jeep...looks good, too. Anyway, I'll see what I can find and let you know.

I might be able to help out with a place to work on your rig when you need to, too. Just PM me and we'll see if soemthing can be worked out...

[WINKY]

I actually think i am going to go with the buckstop bumper, its reasonably priced for what i am looking for and can handle the 16.5 winch. But if you think you found something worthwhile by all means let me know

[WINKY]

I was thinking of cutting off the excess spring material off the "overload" springs on my truck, I wont be towing anything heavy enough to use them and they would limit the flex i can get out of my truck. I dont foresee any bad consequences on doing this but does anyone have any concerns? I dont have the space to take apart the springpack and remove them, get new axle ubolts and such... they dont add to the lift at all either, pretty much never going to be used by me.

[Brody]

Don't know if you have cut spring material before, much less overload springs, but spring stuff is an SOB to cut. Doing it on a vehicle?? I don't envy you..I usually cut that stuff on a metal cut off saw, so I suppose you could get a couple of 7 1/4 metal cut off blades and use them in a skill saw. Cut offf blades in a grinder would work, too, but get a bunch...

So, let me understand this...you are going to cut all of the overload off as close to the axle as possible, leaving what amounts to a block under(over??) the springs??

Man, I thought I chose to do some 'projects', but you have me beat on this one...

[WINKY]

lol yeah the overload springs 2 of them are on the very top right under the ubolt plate ontop of the regular springpack. I was thinking of renting a sawzall and get some industrial blades and start hacking away since i got to do the rear brake shoes anyways...

to picture it better the overload springs are bout 5 inches above the regular springpack and the axle is under the regular springpack. I will be cutting them just a bit wider than the ubolt carrier plate on the top.

[Brody]

Even the best 'demolition' blades for a sazall aren't going to do too much good and will probably just walk around on the steel.

If you want to pitch in for some metal cut off blades, and want a driveway/garage to work in/out of, I'll be happy to give you a hand just so you don't end up shooting your rig. You could just come over here and we'll knock it out. I have a sazall, grinders, cut off, etc., what I don't have is work...so I have some time to fill...

My wife picked up some temp work this week and is doing the 9-5 thing, so this week is good during the day. I am going to be gone this Saturday on a trail run, but could help Sunday. This coming Monday or Tuesday would also work for me as LaDawn is out of town for both days. If not this weekend, next week/weekend would be good, too.

Anyway, PM me and let me know. The offer is there...

[WINKY]

so sometime in april i will be getting the level kit but will need space to install it and a set of extra hands to assist. Would anyone be up to lending a driveway/garage and hands to install? I will have jackstands but no jack (the big kind) i will have my tools as well. I can pay $ or food/beer whichever

thanks peeps

[Brody]

How 'bout giving me a call or PM when you get closer. I could probably work something out...