Megacab Ram very slow build thread

[anotheraznguy]

Everything has come and now i just need to get the truck back.

Currently at a shop getting some sliders done. Because of the high GVWR these sliders are pretty overkill in terms of wall thickness. 105" total length

 

[boss324]

That's huge!

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[darthyota]

Whats the wall thickness on em? My main tubes are not quite .250 wall and my step tube is .154

 

[tsingson]

Those things are beefy.

 

[anotheraznguy]

i believe the rectangular tube is 2x4 .250 wall and then the round tube is 1 3/4 DOM with .188 wall thickness. This is definitely adding a huge chunk of weight.

 

[anotheraznguy]

And they are all done. Still works as a step and of course i lost some ground clearance sadly but i think it is worth the tradeoff

 

[darthyota]

How did you loose ground clearance?

 

[OffroadTreks]

How did you loose ground clearance?

It's not so much ground clearance you loose. It's just they hang down and bang on stuff. I went from 33's to 35's the same time I got my sliders. Then when I tackled the same trails again in Moab, my sliders banged in places I never would have hit the rocker panels on the 33's. But... I could also do way more thanks to the sliders that I couldn't unprotected and on 33's.

 

[anotheraznguy]

@BoldAdventure What are you doing for gas tank protection? Does the factory power wagon have something? My gas tank and SCR/DPF hang well below the frame so i need to figure something out for that.

 

[anotheraznguy]

Front bumper / winch / lights. Waiting on some electrical pieces before i can finish wiring this.

Also getting ready to leave for this weekend so trying to pack up everything and trying to fit things under the new tonneau cover. With the tonneau cover, there is only 19 inches of total height. What hurts the most is the spare tire taking up half of the bed. I am really contemplating putting the spare on the rear bumper and running a new backup camera

 

[OffroadTreks]

@BoldAdventure What are you doing for gas tank protection? Does the factory power wagon have something? My gas tank and SCR/DPF hang well below the frame so i need to figure something out for that.

The PW has factory full armor. Including the gas tank. You can actually lookup the part number and buy it.

 

[anotheraznguy]

Finally got my first trip out with the new goodies. Went to poker flat and explored around the area and ended up at Cleghorn Bar. Was glad that I had the rock sliders cause leaving Poker Flat campsite and continuing up the trail i had some pretty good rub spots. The sliders gave me confidence and helped pivot my truck around some tight turns. Also had some sketchy spots getting to the final campground. I actually dropped my inside rear tire off the cliff when taking one of the tight hairpins going into Cleghorn


Coming into Poker flat OHV camp site



And a few pictures i took. Sadly i usually end up not taking much pictures.

Our small campsite

The views were amazing

Thank goodness for Sliders

 

[JoeRadio]

Good looking truck you have here. I have been picking through the build page for full sized overlanders. Thanks for posting

 

[crit_pw]

Great looking rig, build is coming along nicely. I had 3 different megacabs before getting my Power Wagon. Loved everyone of them. I do miss the extra room in the cab but not enough to give up my Wagon. I will definitely be following your build!

 

[Knownman]

Thanks for posting your experience and build here. I'm new to the scene and have yet to purchase my rig but I do have my favorites so far. A Ram 2500 or the power wagon are at the top. Got to decide on the diesel versus gas option.
How capable do you feel your truck is now in terms of 4 x 4ing?

 

[JoeRadio]

I drive a similar rig, ram 2500 diesel, 3" lift and 37" tires. They come with a traction device in the rear diff already (similar to a truetrac/posi/limited slip etc) and I feel the truck does quite well off-road. I started out thinking I'd need lockers front and rear and a huge lift to make the truck a real off roader but that's not the case. Keeping in mind overlanding is more about going places than sinking it in mud holes or get into heavy rock crawling, I think you'll be satisfied with it off-road. It'll go most places you need. The one thing I would like off a PW is the electronic sway bar disconnect, just for convenience sake. A pro for the diesel is ease of tunability, resale someday, and to some extent fuel economy. Just 2 cents for your consideration

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[Knownman]

Thanks Joe,

That power wagon has me salivating overtime I check it out. But I can't help think about the Cummins turbo diesel. I've always wanted one and I think I'm not really going to be rock crawling as much as I'd like to be overlanding. Josh's truck is so nice.

 

[Edward Gentle]

That is one great looking truck and I love what you've done to it.

 

[Teh_Viking]

Truck looks great, Love the bronze on white combo. Full Size Overland at its best.

 

[anotheraznguy]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Its been too hot to go anywhere lately so we have been taking care of home things.

Planning next trip to Mojave road / Joshua tree park once it actually cools down.

I will say this. Having a megacab vs a crew cab 6' bed the turning radius makes things a bit more complicated. I have come into tight turns where i need to be very careful to line the truck up in order to make the turn. The length ends up being a pretty big issue. In terms of diesel vs gas I prefer diesel just because of the mileage especially when towing enclosed trailers. With the current setup i am getting roughly 14 MPH combined. When doing heavy 1/2 gear 4LO i am getting about 7-9 MPG. For how heavy and how much of a brick this truck is i think that works out really good. When towing my small 20 ft enclosed i am still getting almost 10 mph highway where as my buddies tundra is hurting at 4-5 mpg.

In terms of capability i still have open front and lsd rear. I havent had an issue so far but the bigger tires and lift do help with ground clearance and articulation. I have gotten into a bit of trouble in deep snow but i don't believe a locker would have helped in that situation. The biggest concern with the diesel and offroading is the exposed underside. The Exhaust with the expensive SCR and the gas tank is below the frame rails. So any heavy rock crawling will become and issue. With the power wagon they have skid plates from factory that protect it.

My next steps are to build some skid plates and eventually some sort of rear bumper/spare tire mounting solution. Then just upgrading the existing suspension with better parts. Already found the downsides to having a cheap Zone lift kit. The radius arm bushings are almost shot after only 1k miles and it clunks and pops whenever turning or loading hard. Could also be the sway bar end links since i am using drop brackets. Will most likely be replaced with quick disconnect end links that remove the drop bracket.