Desert Dawg Ram Rebel Build

[orange01z28]

I don't know if this is the right thread, but does anyone know if Pro Comp wheels have any fitment issues on Rebels in the 18" size?

 

[TruckDriver]

@TruckDriver; thanks for the photoshop...that does look amazing and I think I am really liking that! Curiously, the poll is still dead even so I am going to just have to make up my mind and go for...or not!

Well the poll is tied!

The best of both worlds to really see it might be to plastidip spray it; wax it a few days in advance and buff well - it'll peel easy, but for ~$8 you can see for yourself if you like the matte black look for a few weeks

 

[RockYacht2020]

This is getting serious...if you come from AZ and @Skater comes in from TX and @Rico joins us from here along with a couple of other local guys I know, we'll have a little caravan so need to figure out a good trail that will make it worth everyone's effort! The Rio Puerco is a nice little day trip for local wheeling but I don't think it's worth the long drives. I need to think about something around Silver City (southeastern NM) where we can wheel in the Gila Mountains and/or desert? If so, we can plan a two-day trip over a weekend where we can do one longer day trip and come back to town by early evening and head out along a different shorter trail the second day or folks can take off to get back home. If so, want to make sure the trail is just rough enough to be fun but not too technical that it will beat up everyone's rigs. But the real challenge will be logistics to see when folks are actually able to do something given everyone's family, work, and COVID-19 restrictions. But what a trip if we can pull it off!

I get excited about doing this so some teaser shots with a couple of my other rigs (excuse the other makes but all in fun):

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I'm in Tucson, and would also be intrigued. Just ordered my new trailer; should be here end of summer. If we keep the trails to something just a stock Rebel (and admittedly newer off-road driver; I've mostly done forest roads and some double-track) could handle, that would be awesome! I won't have the time to make the mods this year that I want to, but would love to get out there.

 

[Ccheng23]

Yes, mine are 18x8.5s; the issue is "potential" for rubbing between the balancing weights and the brake calipers. On mine, it was close but I got no rubbing at all. However, @Helmetface did have rubbing with the tack-on weights rubbing the calipers and had to replace them with the hammer-on weights along with some grinding of the calipers. I think the difference is that there are always minor variations within the acceptable production line tolerances and mine happened to have just enough. That is why Black Rhino only show 20-inch wheel sizes for the +2019 Rams in order to make sure there are no fitment issues.

Thanks for the response! I think I'll just go with the 20's just in case, although I still kind of like the 18's more

 

[rzims]

just read through this entire thread...amazing build you've put together. I've been looking at a campershell to replace the soft tonneau and your pictures just sealed the deal.
Some friends and I did a hut to hut mt bike trip from Telluride to Moab a few years back and those pictures look really familiar. Would love to take my truck up through there some day.

 

[Desert Dawg]

Well the poll is tied!

The best of both worlds to really see it might be to plastidip spray it; wax it a few days in advance and buff well - it'll peel easy, but for ~$8 you can see for yourself if you like the matte black look for a few weeks

Well, the "leave it alone" fans are starting to pull away...lol.

I thought about the plastidip too but too lazy to take the time as I really want to spend the time on getting my LED light switches installed into the center console. Will be pulling that out soon to check on the clearances and then order the appropriate 3-way switches and redo my entire installation.

 

[Desert Dawg]

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I'm in Tucson, and would also be intrigued. Just ordered my new trailer; should be here end of summer. If we keep the trails to something just a stock Rebel (and admittedly newer off-road driver; I've mostly done forest roads and some double-track) could handle, that would be awesome! I won't have the time to make the mods this year that I want to, but would love to get out there.

That is awesome and would not be a long drive for you either! I will put you on the list of folks that have expressed interest thus far. I am thinking we will pick a trail that any stock Rebel can handle which will make it fun for all (and not beat up everyone's daily drivers either).

What kind of trailer did you order? My friend that just purchased his new Rebel also went and purchased a new nuCamp TAB 400 Teardrop Camper and he loves it. He and his wife have already taken it out for two intrastate trips already and now my wife and I are thinking about similar (although I still think I want an off-road style camper if we ever decide on doing something).

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Photo courtesy of nuCamp website

 

[Desert Dawg]

Thanks for the response! I think I'll just go with the 20's just in case, although I still kind of like the 18's more

I hear ya; I really wanted 18-inch wheels too for the better off-road performance but probably a good idea if you don't want to worry about the fitment. Since I purchased mine through my shop, Desert Rat, I knew I could return them for the 20-inch wheels if needed. But like I mentioned earlier in my thread, I have successfully trailed on 20-inch wheels with +34-inch tall tires and never had an issue.

 

[Desert Dawg]

just read through this entire thread...amazing build you've put together. I've been looking at a campershell to replace the soft tonneau and your pictures just sealed the deal.
Some friends and I did a hut to hut mt bike trip from Telluride to Moab a few years back and those pictures look really familiar. Would love to take my truck up through there some day.

Thanks; this is turning into quite a read now so thanks for taking the time!

I also have a friend who did same exact hut to hut trip...hats off to you guys as I would be driving the van...lol. Hopefully you get to go to either location with the Ram. Going to Moab with the Ram is on my bucket list too as I have not been there for a very long time.

 

[Desert Dawg]

I don't know if this is the right thread, but does anyone know if Pro Comp wheels have any fitment issues on Rebels in the 18" size?

I looked at ProComps during my wheel shortlisting and they do not make anything for the current Ram generation. I did not call them to find out if anything was coming out.

 

[Stevenc150]

That is awesome and would not be a long drive for you either! I will put you on the list of folks that have expressed interest thus far. I am thinking we will pick a trail that any stock Rebel can handle which will make it fun for all (and not beat up everyone's daily drivers either).

What kind of trailer did you order? My friend that just purchased his new Rebel also went and purchased a new nuCamp TAB 400 Teardrop Camper and he loves it. He and his wife have already taken it out for two intrastate trips already and now my wife and I are thinking about similar (although I still think I want an off-road style camper if we ever decide on doing something).

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Photo courtesy of nuCamp website

You've prob done ur research into offroad campers but Ive dabbled a bit in the past and found these that were pretty interesting (if a bit $$$)

https://www.blackseriescamper.com/

 

[RockYacht2020]

You've prob done ur research into offroad campers but Ive dabbled a bit in the past and found these that were pretty interesting (if a bit $$$)

https://www.blackseriescamper.com/

The Black Series (BS) have been in the states for some time now, and what I've ordered is VERY similar, but a different company that's been working for a few years now to get into the US from AUS called Market Direct Campers (MDC). Check them out at mdcusa.com or for the full lineup check out the Australian site. Here's the link of the model I ordered, which isn't on the US site. It'll be the first one (of this model) stateside.

XT16HR ISLAND (15YR EDITION) Offroad Caravan

Built for the toughest terrain your off roading can dish up, the XT16HR Island will get you there and back time and time again. It's time to Escape with Confidence!

www.marketdirect.com.au

And, because I like to have a little fun, I did a mock-up of how it'll look once it comes. I'm pretty excited.

 

[Desert Dawg]

You've prob done ur research into offroad campers but Ive dabbled a bit in the past and found these that were pretty interesting (if a bit $$$)

https://www.blackseriescamper.com/

I did! Been checking out their videos and do look like they are up for the task if you want to take them off-road some (especially the smaller models). But they are also double the price starting ~$50K for the smaller HQ15 and go up appreciably from there. I don't do enough off-road camping to justify that but sure would be nice.

 

[Desert Dawg]

The Black Series (BS) have been in the states for some time now, and what I've ordered is VERY similar, but a different company that's been working for a few years now to get into the US from AUS called Market Direct Campers (MDC). Check them out at mdcusa.com or for the full lineup check out the Australian site. Here's the link of the model I ordered, which isn't on the US site. It'll be the first one (of this model) stateside.

XT16HR ISLAND (15YR EDITION) Offroad Caravan

Built for the toughest terrain your off roading can dish up, the XT16HR Island will get you there and back time and time again. It's time to Escape with Confidence!

www.marketdirect.com.au

And, because I like to have a little fun, I did a mock-up of how it'll look once it comes. I'm pretty excited. View attachment 61343

Just checked them out...great looking setup! Congrats on the order and hope we get to see it in person if we get to organizing our wheeling trip later this summer!

 

[RockYacht2020]

Just checked them out...great looking setup! Congrats on the order and hope we get to see it in person if we get to organizing our wheeling trip later this summer!

Thanks. Hopefully it doesn't get caught up in customs too long. It should be on its way over the pond shortly. I'd love to show it off.

As for the $$$, I actually built my first trailer with a rooftop tent setup for ~$7k just to see if it was something we'd use. After 2.5 years, we've spent 60 nights in the trailer, so I'm selling the wee one and upgrading to the MDC. I figure if I'm spending 5% of my nights per year in a trailer, the justification becomes a lot easier. And the MDC should allow me to spend more mid-summer and mid-winter nights without going too far, so the numbers will likely increase. Off-road boon-docking is all we do, but my wife wants something with a little more sound insulation cuz she's a light sleeper and isn't too fond of nearby pew-pew.

 

[Desert Dawg]

Thanks. Hopefully it doesn't get caught up in customs too long. It should be on its way over the pond shortly. I'd love to show it off.

As for the $$$, I actually built my first trailer with a rooftop tent setup for ~$7k just to see if it was something we'd use. After 2.5 years, we've spent 60 nights in the trailer, so I'm selling the wee one and upgrading to the MDC. I figure if I'm spending 5% of my nights per year in a trailer, the justification becomes a lot easier. And the MDC should allow me to spend more mid-summer and mid-winter nights without going too far, so the numbers will likely increase. Off-road boon-docking is all we do, but my wife wants something with a little more sound insulation cuz she's a light sleeper and isn't too fond of nearby pew-pew.

Totally worth the investment when you're doing that much camping. That is the conundrum I am always in; my wife is not much of the outdoor camping type while I was indoctrinated during my young scouting days and love being outdoors. So having a camper would be nice middle ground for both of us (along with the that fact that I am too old to be sleeping directly on the ground now anyway...lol). But trying to determine how much value we'll get will be a function of determining how often we will actually get out each year and therefore determine how much to invest. So far, we are only managing 2-4 trips a year which might justify a smaller camper but if we really get into it and get out 6 times a year or more, then we 'll regret not having a larger one...lol.

 

[Rollint]

Fabtech 3-inch Dirt Logic Suspension


Finally got my Falcon 2.25-inch Sport suspension replaced with the Fabtech 3-inch Lift Dirt Logic suspension. What a difference…could not be happier!

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The suspension and tire combo actually netted closer to 3-inches over the stock factory ride height. Despite the new suspension which hasn’t settle in yet and the more aggressive MTs, it is amazing how smooth the ride quality is.

None of these photos are working

 

[Desert Dawg]

None of these photos are working

Yeah, I just noticed that too. I have been using Photobucket for many years to host my online photos and just recently been having issues with them as I can upload onto their site but can't retrieve them. Ironically, I literally just paid for an upgrade to my account so that I can do more, and now their site is unstable. So I am having to go back and re-upload each photo directly from my computer. I have a done a few but have a lot more to complete so apologize for the blanks right now!

 

[Helmetface]

Yeah, I just noticed that too. I have been using Photobucket for many years to host my online photos and just recently been having issues with them as I can upload unto their site but can't retrieve them. Ironically, I literally just paid for an upgrade to my account so that I can do more, and now their site is unstable. So I am having to go back and re-upload each photo directly from my computer. I have a done a few but have a lot more to complete so apologize for the blanks right now!

I always thought it was interesting that you use photobucket. I used them for everything many moons ago, but it seemed like more often than not they had issues on their end.

 

[Rollint]

I always thought it was interesting that you use photobucket. I used them for everything many moons ago, but it seemed like more often than not they had issues on their end.

Yeah, seems like imgur is the way to go these days