Boogielander Build

[boogielander]

Hello all,
My name is Eric and I am new to the RAM world. This thread will serve as my "build page" where I detail my research, parts installed, trip reports, pictures, and everything else.

• What is Boogielander?
  • Boogielander is the combination of two words: Boogie and Overland.
  • Boogie means going fast in the desert, skipping through the whoops and sand. Catching air is not a requirement, but encouraged.
  • Overland means driving long distance to some remote place to camp. The process of getting there is part of the fun while destination is equally important. I may or may not have the problem of carrying too much gear that I don't use.
• A little bit about myself:
  • I came from a 5th Gen Toyota 4Runner. Of the 5 years that I have the 4Runner, I've transitioned it from a casual day trip trail runner to an overlanding rig with various mods. So much mods that I ran into the power delivery issue when loaded down: even with regear, I couldn't get enough power to the wheels to push this pig! So after much consideration, I decided to jump onto the Ram 1500 Rebel. I will include pictures, places I've been, and mods in a separate thread for the 4Runner.
  • I work as a tech at my friend's shop. My friend worked as a Chrysler tech for almost 20 years before he opened his own shop, so when he raves about the Hemi engine and the FCA line up I took note.
  • I've extensively running the local trails of SoCal since 2020 (almost every weekend). In the past 2 years I've explored most of the trails that the 4Runner could handle, went to Moab and Colorado (Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass, etc), and I've decided I don't like being off-camber. Overlanding and desert running is more of my style.
• A little bit about my Ram:
  • It is a 2022 Ram 1500 Rebel 4x4 in Hydro Blue. I ordered it through Mark Dodge in LA since people here are raving about their customer service and ease of transaction (interesting fact: my friend/ boss had sent probably over 15 people to Mark Dodge for Jeeps and Rams, and he himself just received his TRX that he ordered back in April). Mark Dodge people should really give us some more discounts for sending so many orders over LOL
  • I also ordered Hemi V8 w/ e-torque, electronic T-case, 33 gallon tank, Level 2 Package, Rebel 12 Package, and Trailer Brake Control
  • Order confirmed on 6/29/2022
  • VIN 7/1/2022
  • Delivered 11/7/22
  • 
  • How she sits the day it was delivered.
• A little bit about my plan:
  • Lighting:
    • Baja Designs Squadron Sport - ditch lights (transfer) (Installed 12/3/2022)
      • Installed with SDHQ Ditch Light Bracket
    • Baja Designs S2 Sport - chase lights (transfer)
    • KC C-Series 30" Dual Row - Bumper Bar (transfer)
      • Sold with 4Runner
    • Diode Dynamics SSC2 (transfer)
    • Baja Designs LP6 - Bumper, sandwich the KC bar (new)
    • SwitchPros 9100 (transfer)
      • Mounting is TBD. I need to look at the engine bay and mock up a few designs. I emailed @Shifts And Grins Fab a while ago about some sort of panel where I can mount SwitchPro with a few bus bars and fuse block and hope they pull through!
      • Mounted in engine bay with NH Overland's engine bay mount
      • Mounted control panel to factory phone holder location
    • Rock Lights (new)
  • Onboard Air
    • ARB Single (transfer)
    • Mounting solution (TBD)
    • Currently planning to mount to weatherproof case in bed
  • Storage
    • Greyman Tactical Seat Back MOLLE Panels (transfer)
    • Decked Drawer System (new) (Ordered: 7/27/2022, Installed 11/17/2022)
    • Chassis Unlimited Bed Rack (Ordered: 7/19/2022, Received: 8/16/22, Installed: 11/23/2022)
    • ICS Fab Dash Mount (Ordered: 7/10/2022, Received: 7/22/2022, Installed: 11/26/2022)
    • RAM mount tablet holder (transfer)
    • Wireless phone charger (transfer or new, TBD)
      • I doubt the OE solution will be boogie rated.
      • Not using wireless charger for now. Did not realize I have wireless Carplay in UConnect 5 and if I need to charge my phone it will be for long distance driving which is fine to plug in
  • Electronics
    • iCom 2730a (transfer, Installed 11/26/2022)
    • Solar (transfer)
      • Mounting on RTT
    • Iceco fridge (transfer)
      • Mounting TBD
    • SDHQ Battery Terminal Kit (Installed 11/26/2022)
  • Overlanding Gears + Tools
    • Roof Tent (transfer)
    • Tool Boxes (transfer)
    • Kitchen (transfer)
    • Air hoses (transfer)
  • Suspension
    • Fox Performance Elite Series 2.5 DSC (Ordered: 7/27/2022)
      • Extended Travel Front (883-06-166)
      • Rear (883-26-079)
    • Icon UCA (Ordered: 7/27/2022)
      • 218550DJ
    • Carli UCA (Ordered: 11/7/2022)
      • CS-RAM15UCA-09
    • Carli Rear Coil Springs (Ordered: 11/7/2022)
      • CS-RAM15MRC-RBL-19-R-HD
    • Carli Rear End Links (Ordered: 11/7/2022)
      • CS-RAM15-EL-R

 

[boogielander]

Here are some pictures of my 4Runner. A lot of the items on this rig will be transferred over.


****pit area with ICS 4Runner Dash Mount and Rago Fabrication Center Console Mount.
I also attached a holster on the driver side as well.


Roof tent with solar set up. The same setup will be carried over to the Chassis Unlimited bed rack. The Fuelpax will also be carried over.


How the 4Runner currently sits.

I still believe that 4Runner is the perfect size for most trails. I could squeeze through a lot of rocks and trees without worrying about body damage, but it just doesn't have enough power for the speed that I want to drive at. In a perfect world I'd keep both, but I already have an E90 M3 as my weekend toy.

 

[boogielander]

A discussion about lift and UCA:
Fox indicates that using their 2.5 resi w/ DSC 2-3" lift (part number #833-06-166), an aftermarket UCA is required. However, knowing that Rebel is lifted 1" already, I will need to subtract their advertised lift size by 1 inch. In reality, at 3" setting on the Fox, I will only have 2" of lift compared to stock Rebel. This posts the question: is UCA really needed, since UCA is not required on the #833-06-165 kit that offers 2" lift?

I had some questions about the need of wheels with UCA as well. Most UCA manufactures recommend a wheel with at least 4.5" backspacing. Initially, I thought I need new wheels but I want to avoid dropping another $1500 on wheels (set of 5, matching spare) due to budgeting. After much research, I found out there's no need for aftermarket wheel at this time:

• Stock Rebel wheel spec is: 18x8, ET19.
• Using the chart here, I found out that the stock wheel's backspacing is 5.25in, well over the UCA manufactures' recommendation of 4.5".

That's a relief for my wallet! Now I just need to find out if I need UCA with the Rebel.

 

[Biggiehorn]

Really looking forward to following along with this thread! Congrats on the Rebel! Huge fan of the hydro blue. And I don't know what it is, but 4Runners have really caught my eye as of late. Yours looks amazing!

Glad to have you on here and can't wait to see how the Rebel turns out!

 

[LaxDfns15]

A discussion about lift and UCA:
Fox indicates that using their 2.5 resi w/ DSC 2-3" lift (part number #833-06-166), an aftermarket UCA is required. However, knowing that Rebel is lifted 1" already, I will need to subtract their advertised lift size by 1 inch. In reality, at 3" setting on the Fox, I will only have 2" of lift compared to stock Rebel. This posts the question: is UCA really needed, since UCA is not required on the #833-06-165 kit that offers 2" lift?

I had some questions about the need of wheels with UCA as well. Most UCA manufactures recommend a wheel with at least 4.5" backspacing. Initially, I thought I need new wheels but I want to avoid dropping another $1500 on wheels (set of 5, matching spare) due to budgeting. After much research, I found out there's no need for aftermarket wheel at this time:

• Stock Rebel wheel spec is: 18x8, ET19.
• Using the chart here, I found out that the stock wheel's backspacing is 5.25in, well over the UCA manufactures' recommendation of 4.5".

That's a relief for my wallet! Now I just need to find out if I need UCA with the Rebel.

You'll have 2" of lift compared to a stock Rebel, but you'll have 3" of lift overall. If you're serious about it you need UCA's. I have 2" spacers on my Rebel (so 3" total) and I didn't swap out UCA's, but they are my next suspension upgrade in the near future. The angle on the ball joint gets pretty bad when they're flexed.

 

[boogielander]

Really looking forward to following along with this thread! Congrats on the Rebel! Huge fan of the hydro blue. And I don't know what it is, but 4Runners have really caught my eye as of late. Yours looks amazing!

Glad to have you on here and can't wait to see how the Rebel turns out!

Thanks!
I began the "parting out" procedure on the 4R today. Took off the onboard air and some LEDs. It was a sad day. If you ever consider buying one just for trails you know where to look!

I'm on the 3rd week pushing 4th week. Still no update on the Rebel

 

[boogielander]

You'll have 2" of lift compared to a stock Rebel, but you'll have 3" of lift overall. If you're serious about it you need UCA's. I have 2" spacers on my Rebel (so 3" total) and I didn't swap out UCA's, but they are my next suspension upgrade in the near future. The angle on the ball joint gets pretty bad when they're flexed.

roger that. I guess i'll just order them through work and eat instant noodles for a while to get it over with. i can't have the angle on the ball joint get that bad since this will probably see a lot of flex.

 

[ccf2mb]

Looking forward to watching your build. Always been interested in overlanding, but never taken the jump in.

 

[boogielander]

Looking forward to watching your build. Always been interested in overlanding, but never taken the jump in.

well let me just say that be prepared to spend a lot of $$ lol
I started out basic with a ground tent, sleeping bag, a cheapo stove, and a cooler.
Then in 2 years I graduated to roof tent, 2 sleeping bags (one for warmer days and one for colder days), 2 stoves, a propane heater, a pressured water tank, 3 chairs, lots of string lights, and my newest addition: portable AC unit lol

 

[ccf2mb]

well let me just say that be prepared to spend a lot of $$ lol
I started out basic with a ground tent, sleeping bag, a cheapo stove, and a cooler.
Then in 2 years I graduated to roof tent, 2 sleeping bags (one for warmer days and one for colder days), 2 stoves, a propane heater, a pressured water tank, 3 chairs, lots of string lights, and my newest addition: portable AC unit lol

Yeah, I've definitely looked. I'm also not sure if I would used the Ram or my '96 XJ. Definitely intriguing thought.

 

[boogielander]

Yeah, I've definitely looked. I'm also not sure if I would used the Ram or my '96 XJ. Definitely intriguing thought.

If you're gonna do it i'd do it with the Ram and leave the XJ as a dedicated trail rig. Those can be very capable crawlers with the size and dimension.

 

[ccf2mb]

If you're gonna do it i'd do it with the Ram and leave the XJ as a dedicated trail rig. Those can be very capable crawlers with the size and dimension.

You are probably correct. Plus the wife hates the XJ. Its my third one and the first that I've gotten to do everything I've wanted to.

 

[boogielander]

You are probably correct. Plus the wife hates the XJ. Its my third one and the first that I've gotten to do everything I've wanted to.

my first "car" that I bought for myself was a XJ. It was a 96 Sport with the 4.0. Drove like a tank but the ride was kind of rough lol bought it to go to classes and run errands while I was in college at Michigan State. I did miss it at times but eventually I grew out of it. Now customers at work bring them in at times and I get to relive the days of driving and working on them lol

 

[boogielander]

What I ordered this week:
With no ETA on my truck (still stuck in D status), I've decided to say "screw it!" and began ordering parts since most of the stuff I want all have some sort of lead time. So I went to work and ordered the following at cost:

• Fox Performance Elite Series 2.5 Front and Rear
  • Extended Travel Front w/ DSC and Resi
  • Rear w/ DSC and Resi
• Icon UCA
• Decked System

I also ordered a Chassis Unlimited Bed Rack. No ETA on this because I told the bossman to hold it until my truck is delivered.
I chose CU because my friend has their front and rear bumper on his 2500 w/ 39" tires. When he ran into some problems while booging in the desert with the swing arm due to spare tire weight, CU bossman involved the engineers in a 3-way conference call and came up with some modified design free of charge. Then bossman shipped said replacement part over to my friend. To me, that shows how CU is willing to work with customers to improve their own designs.
*rant alert*
Being in the industry installing various kinds of bumpers, shocks, lights, and accessories and also working on various brands of vehicles, too often we see products that have performance or fitment issues that are not addressed. Yet, people still buy them because of the brand or because the products are cheap, and then pay more shop hours for us to modify them to fit. These are also the same companies that won't listen to feedback, simply because not enough people complain or they just don't care as long as they get paid to ship the products out.
Because of that, when I see a company whose bossman would involve the engineers in a conference call to fix the problem immediately instead of saying "just weld it together" or "maybe don't put anything over 37," I know that is a company I can trust and support.
*rant over*

Finally, the ICS dash mount I ordered came in.
I put it in my friend's TRX as test fit to see how the fitment is, and to see if I need to drill (optional per ICS) to secure it. But since my truck is not even scheduled to be built yet, I told him to keep it and just order another one for me.

In other news:

• I am waiting for Dark Dunes to respond to my email and PM regarding their front bumper light mount. I am interested in the mount that make installing 2 LP6s and 1 LED bar possible. It's been 3 days and no response. I wonder what's going on and if I need to find alternative vendors or even attempt to make one myself.
• Also waiting for @Shifts And Grins Fab for their decision on making something similar to what PowerTray makes so I can install bus bars and fuse block near my SwitchPro controller. Please make it happen!
• I've made peace with the fact that I'll have over 12" of RTT hanging out the back of the bed, since there's no way I can safely put the tent over the cab while maintaining ride composure and performance during high speed. New tent is not really an option because I only paid $600 for my power operated RTT, and new tents are over $2000.
• I need to figure out ARB compressor situation, particularly where to mount it and how to run the wires.
• Also need to figure out how to mount the fridge in the back seat. Probably need to make some kind of mounting platform to secure it. My current plan is to run a constant hot 4 gauge cable to the cab and connect it to a Blue Sea fuse block, and run all the accessories (solar controller, fridge) from there

I will update the thread if anything related to the truck comes up.

 

[silverWS6]

Sounds like it's going to be a promising build! Any plans for wheels/tires?

Any specific meaning behind your username? Or am I reading too much into the WS6 part?

 

[Shifts And Grins Fab]

What I ordered this week:
With no ETA on my truck (still stuck in D status), I've decided to say "screw it!" and began ordering parts since most of the stuff I want all have some sort of lead time. So I went to work and ordered the following at cost:

• Fox Performance Elite Series 2.5 Front and Rear
  • Extended Travel Front w/ DSC and Resi
  • Rear w/ DSC and Resi
• Icon UCA
• Decked System

I also ordered a Chassis Unlimited Bed Rack. No ETA on this because I told the bossman to hold it until my truck is delivered.
I chose CU because my friend has their front and rear bumper on his 2500 w/ 39" tires. When he ran into some problems while booging in the desert with the swing arm due to spare tire weight, CU bossman involved the engineers in a 3-way conference call and came up with some modified design free of charge. Then bossman shipped said replacement part over to my friend. To me, that shows how CU is willing to work with customers to improve their own designs.
*rant alert*
Being in the industry installing various kinds of bumpers, shocks, lights, and accessories and also working on various brands of vehicles, too often we see products that have performance or fitment issues that are not addressed. Yet, people still buy them because of the brand or because the products are cheap, and then pay more shop hours for us to modify them to fit. These are also the same companies that won't listen to feedback, simply because not enough people complain or they just don't care as long as they get paid to ship the products out.
Because of that, when I see a company whose bossman would involve the engineers in a conference call to fix the problem immediately instead of saying "just weld it together" or "maybe don't put anything over 37," I know that is a company I can trust and support.
*rant over*

Finally, the ICS dash mount I ordered came in.
I put it in my friend's TRX as test fit to see how the fitment is, and to see if I need to drill (optional per ICS) to secure it. But since my truck is not even scheduled to be built yet, I told him to keep it and just order another one for me.

In other news:

• I am waiting for Dark Dunes to respond to my email and PM regarding their front bumper light mount. I am interested in the mount that make installing 2 LP6s and 1 LED bar possible. It's been 3 days and no response. I wonder what's going on and if I need to find alternative vendors or even attempt to make one myself.
• Also waiting for @Shifts And Grins Fab for their decision on making something similar to what PowerTray makes so I can install bus bars and fuse block near my SwitchPro controller. Please make it happen!
• I've made peace with the fact that I'll have over 12" of RTT hanging out the back of the bed, since there's no way I can safely put the tent over the cab while maintaining ride composure and performance during high speed. New tent is not really an option because I only paid $600 for my power operated RTT, and new tents are over $2000.
• I need to figure out ARB compressor situation, particularly where to mount it and how to run the wires.
• Also need to figure out how to mount the fridge in the back seat. Probably need to make some kind of mounting platform to secure it. My current plan is to run a constant hot 4 gauge cable to the cab and connect it to a Blue Sea fuse block, and run all the accessories (solar controller, fridge) from there

I will update the thread if anything related to the truck comes up.

That's going to be nice. We made the power trays for the 4th gen which turned out to be a flop but then again, everything 4th gen has been a flop. I will look at the 5th gen when we get one back in (possibly monday) and see if our 4th gen ones will work or what mods need to be done to the files to make them work.........or if we need to start from scratch. Where is your switch pros mounted so we can keep that in mind when looking at it?

 

[boogielander]

Sounds like it's going to be a promising build! Any plans for wheels/tires?

Any specific meaning behind your username? Or am I reading too much into the WS6 part?

thanks! wheels and tires will stay OE for now until the tires are done. I assume it will be about 2 years maybe some 20-30k miles, based on the performance of Duratracs that I put on the 4Runner in the first year. I just can't shell out more cash for wheels and tires right now. I am already at over $6k with suspensions, BD LP6s, and bed rack.

Regarding my username: WS is basically my elementary school code and 6616 was my student ID that year. I've been using that since then because im too lazy to think for a new one

 

[boogielander]

That's going to be nice. We made the power trays for the 4th gen which turned out to be a flop but then again, everything 4th gen has been a flop. I will look at the 5th gen when we get one back in (possibly monday) and see if our 4th gen ones will work or what mods need to be done to the files to make them work.........or if we need to start from scratch. Where is your switch pros mounted so we can keep that in mind when looking at it?

awesome! Thank you guys for trying!
I've yet to receive my truck, but I have a rough idea of where to put it. I'm hoping to place it near the battery somewhere between the alternator/ e-torque machine and the ECU, because the battery terminal cables provided by SwitchPro are pretty short. On the other hand, if that space is too limited, then wherever provides a solid mount will be fine. I can always crimp new battery terminals to make it work.

Attached is something 100% similar to what I have in the 4Runner that I really want to mimic over. (credit: trail4runner.com)

 

[boogielander]

Update for 7/28/2022
Today I pulled the trigger on a set of LP6s with amber lenses through the shop. I could've gone with LP9s but I worry LP9s and a LED bar will be too much weight on the bumper mount. Also ordered a set of wiring harness for the LP6s even though I could just make my own harness since wiring is what I do. But making harness is the last thing I want to do after working on customers' rigs all day lol

I know there's a long lead time on BD stuff. We've ordered a pair of S2 Flush Mounts for a customer and they haven't showed up yet, and that was almost half a year ago! But oh wells, I am in no rush anyways.

 

[Shifts And Grins Fab]

Update for 7/28/2022
Today I pulled the trigger on a set of LP6s with amber lenses through the shop. I could've gone with LP9s but I worry LP9s and a LED bar will be too much weight on the bumper mount. Also ordered a set of wiring harness for the LP6s even though I could just make my own harness since wiring is what I do. But making harness is the last thing I want to do after working on customers' rigs all day lol

I know there's a long lead time on BD stuff. We've ordered a pair of S2 Flush Mounts for a customer and they haven't showed up yet, and that was almost half a year ago! But oh wells, I am in no rush anyways.

Wow that is a crazy lead time. I am glad Diode Dynamics is way faster than that. BD makes nice stuff but I found them difficult to deal with and requiring too much time following up with them. If you're not too stuck on BD I recommend giving Diode Dynamics a try. We have been extremely happy with them and run nothing but Diode Dynamics on our TRX. I love Rigid, Baja Designs, and even Tomar (Tomar makes a lot of Police and Fire lights but has a nice offroad line as well) but all of those companies were difficult to deal with and seemed to care more about influencers and race teams (government contracts for Tomar) than the average shop and or customer. Diode never treated me that way and that is why we have spent just over $20,000 with them this year. Rant off lol.