2006 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4wd SLT - "Rumble"

[jscusmcvet]

Spacer lifts are fairly easy to come by, as the strut top is the same as the same gen Ram. From what I know of IFS in general, 2" is pretty safe. Before I bought mine, someone did a spacer close to 4" of lift, which is really too much. In my case they combined it with a spring over axle lift in the back.

I'm debating over going with a smaller spacer to go for closer to 2" of lift vs SAS.

If you went with a 2" lift, everything I know says it's safe, but no promises

So if i understand this correctly, the 1500 and the dakotas share suspension? If that is true then can wew just use 1500 parts? I have put in a message to Rancho asking about their quicklift since they have one for the 2010 1500 but nothing for the dakota. Will let you know.

 

[CR-Venturer]

So if i understand this correctly, the 1500 and the dakotas share suspension? If that is true then can wew just use 1500 parts? I have put in a message to Rancho asking about their quicklift since they have one for the 2010 1500 but nothing for the dakota. Will let you know.

No, the 1500 strut is 2" longer, unfortunately, however the top hat diameter, bolts and bolt spacing are the same, meaning that you can bolt it right into the top, but it won't fit into the lower control arm by reason of being too long.

The upshot is that tophat spacers made for the 06 generation of ram 1500 will fit Dakota struts.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Great info. Thanks.

 

[CR-Venturer]

So I keep thinking about a solid axle swap even though it's expensive and complicated. I did a little research and found that the 2010 series of Jeep Wrangler's front axle track width is only 1" narrower overall than the Dakota, plus I'm fairly certain the bolt pattern is the same.

Something to think about for sure.

 

[CR-Venturer]

So the next mod I did was to build racks on the sides between the uprights of the bed rack to hold the recovery boards and, on the opposite side, the axe and shovel:

Funny enough, I did this in order to clear up the top part of the rack for more cargo, or perhaps, someday, a rooftop tent...

And then "someday" came a lot sooner than I ever expected. I had been considering a RTT for years, and had decided that if I ever did get one, it would be a clamshell style one, for many reasons. I always decided not to go for it, though, because of the staggeringly high cost of RTT's, with hard shell ones generally being the more expensive. One day, however, I went on Princess Auto's website (kind of the Canadian version of Harbor Freight) and discovered their already very affordable clamshell RTT was on clearance for a shockingly low price of $1235 with free shipping!

It was frankly too good a deal to pass up. Even if I were to decide that RTT camping wasn't for me, I could probably re-sell it for more than I paid. So I bought it.


It comes with the little wire arm thingies to push out the flaps into awnings on the sides as well as a telescoping ladder, a hanging organizer thing and a little rechargeable Chinesium camp lantern, which was a nice touch, I thought, even if it is a bit cheapo.



Things were looking up, but then, on Christmas Eve, tragedy struck in the form of an extremely icy road and the stupidest deer I have ever seen.

I was driving along about 20 under the speed limit because it was very dark, extremely icy, and there are a TON of deer out where I live. I crested a hill, and out of the darkness I see this four legged moron wandering down the middle of the road. I braked as hard as I could without losing control, turned as far toward the edge as I could without going into the ditch, all in hopes of avoiding the furry wandering idiot I was closing in on. The other side of the road was perfectly clear, and the deer was closer to that side. Did it turn toward safety and the totally clear side? No, the moron walked right in front of my big grey truck with bright lights. Because of the extreme cold, the plastic bumper and the plastic bumper support behind it shattered into a hundred pieces. In the end, the deer actually bounded off into the night, apparently none the worse for wear after being stunned for a few minutes.

Thanks to that dumbass I need a new bumper, but I try to see the positives. The deer was apparently fine, and I am glad of that, despite how ineffably stupid the creature is, and the only metal damage anywhere is a tiny insignificant dent behind the bottom corner of the headlight and a bit of cracked paint at that spot. Other than that and the exploded bumper, nothing was damaged at all. Now I could replace the broken parts with bits from a wrecker, but I sent an inquiry to a local fabrication shop that does winch bumpers...if the price is reasonable, I might just go with a steel winch bumper, since I do want to mount a winch eventually.

Today, I mounted the RTT, and it looks great:

I drove to town and back and found that at least up to 80kph, there's no annoying wind noise, and the handling of the truck is great. It even improved my traction in 2WD by adding some more evenly distributed weight to the back. I plan to add some vertical bars to the rack holding the traction boards so that I can bolt them on rather than using the bungees I have there temporarily.

I also plan to experiment with attaching a shallow shelf or bracket underneath the upper rack to slide the CRV picnic table into for storage.

Cheers!

 

[jscusmcvet]

Well - before the deer I can say your truck looks great. And you might consider coming up with a better story than a deer... I am pretty sure you lost that bumper piece as you were trying to rescue a family in a minivan from the devastating winter snow anda cliff or something ;-)

 

[CR-Venturer]

Well - before the deer I can say your truck looks great. And you might consider coming up with a better story than a deer... I am pretty sure you lost that bumper piece as you were trying to rescue a family in a minivan from the devastating winter snow anda cliff or something ;-)

Hey, thanks! I'll make Rumble pretty again, don't worry. If the price is right, I'm going for the steel winch bumper, but I have yet to hear back from the fabricator. Probably going to call them today.

Yeah, it's not the most glamorous story, but there's no cliffs near Edmonton so my choices are limited lol

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Hey, could have been worse. Could have been a moose where Rumble would be Rubble! I love Dakotas, get his chipped tooth fixed and drive the wheels off.

 

[NCFireGuy]

So the next mod I did was to build racks on the sides between the uprights of the bed rack to hold the recovery boards and, on the opposite side, the axe and shovel:
View attachment 247349
Funny enough, I did this in order to clear up the top part of the rack for more cargo, or perhaps, someday, a rooftop tent...

And then "someday" came a lot sooner than I ever expected. I had been considering a RTT for years, and had decided that if I ever did get one, it would be a clamshell style one, for many reasons. I always decided not to go for it, though, because of the staggeringly high cost of RTT's, with hard shell ones generally being the more expensive. One day, however, I went on Princess Auto's website (kind of the Canadian version of Harbor Freight) and discovered their already very affordable clamshell RTT was on clearance for a shockingly low price of $1235 with free shipping!

It was frankly too good a deal to pass up. Even if I were to decide that RTT camping wasn't for me, I could probably re-sell it for more than I paid. So I bought it.
View attachment 247350
View attachment 247351
It comes with the little wire arm thingies to push out the flaps into awnings on the sides as well as a telescoping ladder, a hanging organizer thing and a little rechargeable Chinesium camp lantern, which was a nice touch, I thought, even if it is a bit cheapo.
View attachment 247352
View attachment 247353

Things were looking up, but then, on Christmas Eve, tragedy struck in the form of an extremely icy road and the stupidest deer I have ever seen.
View attachment 247354
I was driving along about 20 under the speed limit because it was very dark, extremely icy, and there are a TON of deer out where I live. I crested a hill, and out of the darkness I see this four legged moron wandering down the middle of the road. I braked as hard as I could without losing control, turned as far toward the edge as I could without going into the ditch, all in hopes of avoiding the furry wandering idiot I was closing in on. The other side of the road was perfectly clear, and the deer was closer to that side. Did it turn toward safety and the totally clear side? No, the moron walked right in front of my big grey truck with bright lights. Because of the extreme cold, the plastic bumper and the plastic bumper support behind it shattered into a hundred pieces. In the end, the deer actually bounded off into the night, apparently none the worse for wear after being stunned for a few minutes.

Thanks to that dumbass I need a new bumper, but I try to see the positives. The deer was apparently fine, and I am glad of that, despite how ineffably stupid the creature is, and the only metal damage anywhere is a tiny insignificant dent behind the bottom corner of the headlight and a bit of cracked paint at that spot. Other than that and the exploded bumper, nothing was damaged at all. Now I could replace the broken parts with bits from a wrecker, but I sent an inquiry to a local fabrication shop that does winch bumpers...if the price is reasonable, I might just go with a steel winch bumper, since I do want to mount a winch eventually.

Today, I mounted the RTT, and it looks great:
View attachment 247355
I drove to town and back and found that at least up to 80kph, there's no annoying wind noise, and the handling of the truck is great. It even improved my traction in 2WD by adding some more evenly distributed weight to the back. I plan to add some vertical bars to the rack holding the traction boards so that I can bolt them on rather than using the bungees I have there temporarily.

I also plan to experiment with attaching a shallow shelf or bracket underneath the upper rack to slide the CRV picnic table into for storage.

Cheers!

it may be time for a heavy duty bumper Build Your Custom Bumper

 

[CR-Venturer]

it may be time for a heavy duty bumper Build Your Custom Bumper

Funny you should mention that, because I emailed a local fabricator for a quote...hehe. I don't think it's in the cards right now, unfortunately, due to financial constraints, but definitely on the list of desired mods.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Hey, could have been worse. Could have been a moose where Rumble would be Rubble! I love Dakotas, get his chipped tooth fixed and drive the wheels off.

I gotta say, I'm really starting to love this truck. I've pulled like four random people out of the ditch already this winter lol I'm looking forward rectifying the front lift situation and building more on it.

Looks like I'll be getting a new bumper from the wrecker on the 4th of January, so I'll post up when that's all done.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I gotta say, I'm really starting to love this truck. I've pulled like four random people out of the ditch already this winter lol I'm looking forward rectifying the front lift situation and building more on it.

Looks like I'll be getting a new bumper from the wrecker on the 4th of January, so I'll post up when that's all done.

I had a 98 extended cab sport with v8. I had it lifted with the rancho suspension and had WAAG grill guard, tail light guards and tube running boards. I loved that truck, I still say it's the best truck I owned.

 

[CR-Venturer]

I gotta say, I'm really starting to love this truck. I've pulled like four random people out of the ditch already this winter lol I'm looking forward rectifying the front lift situation and building more on it.

Looks like I'll be getting a new bumper from the wrecker on the 4th of January, so I'll post up when that's all done.

I had a 98 extended cab sport with v8. I had it lifted with the rancho suspension and had WAAG grill guard, tail light guards and tube running boards. I loved that truck, I still say it's the best truck I owned.

I like the second generation ones too, but I especially love the body style of the pre-facelift third gens like mine. The biggest challenge I'm running into is that there's basically zero aftermarket support for these nowadays. Rancho used to make a lift for the third gen, but those are not available anywhere anymore, so I'm basically left with the option of spacer lifts. Thankfully I can use the Ram spacers of the same era because the tophats on the front struts are identical.

Your Dakota sounded awesome. They really were great trucks from all accounts, it's really a shame that they ended up being discontinued, largely because of some poor choices by the manufacturer in terms of pricing and making them a little too big to the point where they were encroaching on the Ram size bracket.

If they do ever bring them back, I hope they make them a true Tacoma killer with awesome off road chops and a really solid V8 option.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

If they bring them back, I doubt it will be a v8.

 

[NCFireGuy]

If they bring them back, I doubt it will be a v8.

Just a baby Hemi please :)

 

[CR-Venturer]

So I received all the parts last week for the repair and got started on it in earnest yesterday. Got decently well into it. I managed to get rid of the dent, rust gash and cracked paint from the driver side fender right behind the headlight:

Got the new headlight housings in and they look good:

I've got the first coat on the bumper, and it looks pretty good. should be good to go with another coat today.

The grille is giving me more trouble. 2 coats so far but I knocked it over and it got dirty, and then there's some kind of crinkling issues in spots, so I'm going to aggressively sand it today and re-coat it, hopefully that will resolve the issue. Once the painting is all done, it can all go back together.

Unfortunately I discovered that there's something wrong electrically with the passenger side front marker light/turn signal bulb, as I replaced it with a brand new one and got no result. Also my passenger tail light is out as well, which is annoying, but oh well.

I will post up the end result when Rumble is back in fighting form. Cheers!

 

[Motohead1]

If your still thinking SAS just know the HPD44 from a late 70 Ford f150 has the same bolt pattern as your rear axle and the WMS is the same at 65". When I SASed my 2001 I also matched it with an 05 dakota rear axle for the bolt pattern alone.

 

[CR-Venturer]

If your still thinking SAS just know the HPD44 from a late 70 Ford f150 has the same bolt pattern as your rear axle and the WMS is the same at 65". When I SASed my 2001 I also matched it with an 05 dakota rear axle for the bolt pattern alone.

But isn't the 2nd gen a 6 lug wheel, whereas they went to a 5 lug with the third gen?

 

[JeepingMike]

Thanks for sharing the build in progress! Loved my 95 Dakota. Never built it out because I was at sea, workups and deployment, most of the time. Then parted with it because a carseat in the extended cab without back doors sucked. Have fun with yours!

 

[CR-Venturer]

Finished adjusting the bumper today, and although it's a bit gappier than before, and I believe the new bumper is slightly bent, I'm going to call it good enough for this old truck, at least until I can afford a steel winch bumper.