Desert Dawg Ram Rebel Build

[Ccm12]

Sorry, I missed seeing this earlier! You can check my post here: https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/desert-dawg-ram-rebel-build.20220/post-278614

Thank you. That is awesome

 

[Desert Dawg]

So not a Ram nor my build, but I have featured off-roading my Rebel with my brother in his FJ. He is a graphic artist so thought it would be fun to highlight his Star Wars inspired FJ Cruiser wrap he designed and applied.

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[c3k]

^^^
Talented guy!

 

[75Jimmy]

So not a Ram nor my build, but I have featured off-roading my Rebel with my brother in his FJ. He is a graphic artist so thought it would be fun to highlight his Star Wars inspired FJ Cruiser wrap he designed and applied.

​

I'll always love the FJ Cruiser. That's actually what I had before the Rebel. Loved everything about it except that I seemed to go through windshields every 5,000 miles.

 

[Desert Dawg]

I'll always love the FJ Cruiser. That's actually what I had before the Rebel. Loved everything about it except that I seemed to go through windshields every 5,000 miles.

Yeah, those windshields are not very aerodynamic...lol. This is his second FJ and it's the Trail Edition. He almost sold it too but I convinced him to keep it. Glad he did as these are getting harder to find and value is going back up, but they truly are awesome off-road with the short wheelbase (especially with the suspension, gearing, and tire upgrades). He also plans to modernize it more including dropping in a Chevy small-block V8, so I can't wait until he does that!

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[Desert Dawg]

So my brother and I are planning a trip to Moab this coming spring, but I am still worried about tackling some of the more popular runs (like Fins and Things). As I proved out during a recent desert run in which I manage to bash in my front skid plate on hard pack sand, the front approach angle is still not enough for sharp declines. Of course, the rear tail hitch and tailpipes will be a problem for departures as well since it is a truck after all. TFLTruck has a pretty good video on taking a 2019 Rebel on some of the Moab trails but that truck has an air suspension (on 33s); even with the air suspension at full height, they still managed to so do some plowing on the front end and lot's of scraping of the rear. With my current setup (~3-inch lift and 34s), I calculate that I am almost 1/2-inch lower due to the front settling and will have even more front droop after the winch install.

My current Fabtech/Dirt Logic setup does fine on the faster runs, but Moab needs to be "slow and easy" (although the Dirt Logics should be fine on the rock outcroppings if crawling really slow).​

Nonetheless, I was hoping to be looking at new Kings or Fox setups that would at least get me at 3- or 4-inches max. of total lift (before accounting for the larger tires) but nothing on the market yet. I really like the Fox 2.5 Series remote reservoir setup, but the total lift they provide is maxed out at 2.5-inches of lift which would be too stiff over normal street imperfections/speed bumps (but better at higher speed trailing). To get those shocks at normal travel settings and a lift, the only thing currently out there is the BDS 6-inch Fox coilover system. I am still sort of mind-wrestling with myself that I could be slightly lower at ~5.5-inches of front lift if I dial down the shocks a bit and after the winch load settles the front as well. For Moab, it might be ideal since it is slow run and I'll have significantly improved approach/break-over/departure angles but at cost of decreased performance (higher speed stability) for highway driving and/or high speed desert runs and/or off-canter wheeling on mountain trails.

I am just too impatient to wait. Been talking to a vendor on another forum and he is saying that Fox is coming out with a new coilover that will fit the BDS/Zone 4-inch systems. That is exactly what I want as it is a good compromise for both road and off-road performance concerns (get the additional approach/departure angles I need while maintaining good highway/off-road stability especially if I increase the track width slightly). Plus, a 4-inch lift with 35s looks a lot more balanced than a 6-inch lift. But that potential has been months in the making with no current news, so might also be just rumor.

Maybe I am over thinking everything, but maybe not if I keep using my daily driver as a toy...lol.

 

[RockYacht2020]

Been talking to a vendor on another forum and he is saying that Fox is coming out with a new coilover that will fit the BDS/Zone 4-inch systems. That is exactly what I want as it is a good compromise for both road and off-road performance concerns (get the additional approach/departure angles I need while maintaining good highway/off-road stability especially if I increase the track width slightly). Plus, a 4-inch lift with 35s looks a lot more balanced than a 6-inch lift. But that potential has been months in the making with no current news, so might also be just rumor.

I'm all ears. This is the setup I'm looking for as well. I'm still on stock, and only want to do this once. It's the last big mod I want for my truck. BDS doesn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling that it's going to be a good compromise of performance and ride, as it's my daily driver too. I also do a lot of towing our trailer and want the confidence with 6k lbs behind me. 2.5" isn't enough and 6" is too much. I just keep waiting for you to figure out what the right answer for me is.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[ayoslickxd]

im in same boat 3.5 inch 4 is what i want but got the fox 2.5s

 

[NHjake98]

I think a lot of us are in the same boat. I know I am. A 4" lift that rides without breaking your teeth but gives good off and on road performance would be the sweet spot for me.

 

[Desert Dawg]

I'm all ears. This is the setup I'm looking for as well. I'm still on stock, and only want to do this once. It's the last big mod I want for my truck. BDS doesn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling that it's going to be a good compromise of performance and ride, as it's my daily driver too. I also do a lot of towing our trailer and want the confidence with 6k lbs behind me. 2.5" isn't enough and 6" is too much. I just keep waiting for you to figure out what the right answer for me is.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

im in same boat 3.5 inch 4 is what i want but got the fox 2.5s

I think a lot of us are in the same boat. I know I am. A 4" lift that rides without breaking your teeth but gives good off and on road performance would be the sweet spot for me.

For sure. I was told Fox would have the new shocks out by spring 2022. If true, they probably won't be out on time since I plan to be in Moab the first week of March.

So @ayoslickxd, are you saying you have a 3.5-inch lift with the Fox 2.5 coilovers? If so, how did you get the 3.5 inches of lift? I think that is close enough and would make me very happy!

 

[ayoslickxd]

For sure. I was told Fox would have the new shocks out by spring 2022. If true, they probably won't be out on time since I plan to be in Moab the first week of March.

So @ayoslickxd, are you saying you have a 3.5-inch lift with the Fox 2.5 coilovers? If so, how did you get the 3.5 inches of lift? I think that is close enough and would make me very happy!

no i have 2.5 … was thinking of adding 1 inch spacers to the coils but i read bad reviews on it

 

[Desert Dawg]

no i have 2.5 … was thinking of adding 1 inch spacers to the coils but i read bad reviews on it

Okay, thanks...I was wondering about that. I definitely would not add a spacer to the front Fox coilovers as that would seriously degrade the shock travel and ride quality performance (and put your very expensive Fox system on same performance level as a much cheaper and restrictive ReadyLift system).

 

[Desert Dawg]

Well, it's been a while due to my hectic work and travel schedule, but finally decided to replace my silver Rebel skid plate with my new powder coated replacement skid plate. I had decided to split the difference between the silver and black selections of my survey (where results favored the black skid plate) by going with a gun metal grey color and glad I did! I think this color better suites the overall color scheme of the truck.

First off, I decided that all I wanted to do this weekend was get the new skid plate installed as seeing my self-inflicted damaged skid plate every day (from bouncing around in the desert several months back) was driving me crazy. I didn't have time to do the full hidden winch install since that would have necessitated another day without the ability to use the truck, but I can add the winch anytime (especially since I now know what it takes to remove the whole bumper).

I also imagined that it would be a simple job to just unbolt the skid plate and replace, so I initially didn't bother taking off the entire bumper. While I spent a couple of hours prepping and getting most of the bolts undone, I could not remove the skid plate as there are additional bolts that are hidden and cannot be accessed unless you remove the whole bumper assembly. And that stressed me some more as I had to undo all of my off-road lights' electrical connections as well which added more time to my simple project. I finally got the bumper off (after dealing with the lights, loosening the wheel well fender liners, disconnecting the front bumper wiring harness, and removing the 6 frame mount nuts of which 2 were not easy to do). So, I wasted a half-day in the process.

[​

Anyway, got her all done for now. Took some quick pics; the change is subtle, but I think looks perfect with the color scheme.

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Edits: spelling and grammatical corrections, added clarification content. ​

 

[Desert Dawg]

Well, this is an interesting predicament. I thought I had noticed that my truck looked like the passenger side was leaning just a tad but didn't pay too much attention as the truck does lean slightly side to side and I also thought maybe the pavement was sloped a tad and playing tricks on me. But on the way home today, I started hearing all sort of noises when going over bumps and on turns, and I thought the ride just got rough all of a sudden.

So I finally get home and find this:

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I think I must have fatigued/cracked the piston rod when fully extended when off-roading at some point in the past and it finally sheared off. The rod is hanging on the lower control arm while the coil is deformed and touching different components. Considering the cost that Fabtech charged for this system and Dirt Logic bragging about how well built the shocks are for this application, I am really disappointed this happened as I never had any issues when I hit the trails hard with my King, Fox, or Icon systems on my other full-sized truck builds.

I can't seem to find a replacement coil-over as it seems they are only sold in pairs which means I have to spend another +$1400 on top of the +$3200 for the original Fabtech/Dirt Logic system. However, I haven't tried calling FabTech yet so hoping they have one in stock they will send and ship ASAP.

I thought about maybe just going to a stout BDS system with the Fox 2.5 remotes front/rear, but you can only get their 3-inch Fox system for over $4800 (with adjusters and UCAs) that only nets about 2-inches of lift for the Rebel (so not high enough for off-roading with 35s and aftermarket wheels) or +$5700 for their 6-inch Fox 2.5 system (way too high for off-roading).

If all else fails, I may have to return the Rebel to stock and rethink my options after that.

 

[ayoslickxd]

Well, this is an interesting predicament. I thought I had noticed that my truck looked like the passenger side was leaning just a tad but didn't pay too much attention as the truck does lean slightly side to side and I also thought maybe the pavement was sloped a tad and playing tricks on me. But on the way home today, I started hearing all sort of noises when going over bumps and on turns, and I thought the ride just got rough all of a sudden.

So I finally get home and find this:

​

I think I must have fatigued/cracked the piston rod when fully extended when off-roading at some point in the past and it finally sheared off. The rod is hanging on the lower control arm while the coil is deformed and touching different components. Considering the cost that Fabtech charged for this system and Dirt Logic bragging about how well built the shocks are for this application, I am really disappointed this happened as I never had any issues when I hit the trails hard with my King, Fox, or Icon systems on my other full-sized truck builds.

I can't seem to find a replacement coil-over as it seems they are only sold in pairs which means I have to spend another +$1400 on top of the +$3200 for the original Fabtech/Dirt Logic system. However, I haven't tried calling FabTech yet so hoping they have one in stock they will send and ship ASAP.

I thought about maybe just going to a stout BDS system with the Fox 2.5 remotes front/rear, but you can only get their 3-inch Fox system for over $4800 (with adjusters and UCAs) that only nets about 2-inches of lift for the Rebel (so not high enough for off-roading with 35s and aftermarket wheels) or +$5700 for their 6-inch Fox 2.5 system (way too high for off-roading).

If all else fails, I may have to return the Rebel to stock and rethink my options after that.

why not. get fox 2.5 and add a top hat spacer ? im gonna add a half inch spacer on my fox and should give me about 3 inchs and lift… currently have 2.6 inchs from the fox 2.5(fully cranked up )

rides good no issues i have bds upper control arms and maxtracc end links for front 2 inch lift

was also thinking of. geting bds 4 inch lift they said i would have to change the coilovers … which inlike the fox 2.5 dsc

 

[Desert Dawg]

why not. get fox 2.5 and add a top hat spacer ? im gonna add a half inch spacer on my fox and should give me about 3 inchs and lift… currently have 2.6 inchs from the fox 2.5(fully cranked up )

rides good no issues i have bds upper control arms and maxtracc end links for front 2 inch lift

was also thinking of. geting bds 4 inch lift they said i would have to change the coilovers … which inlike the fox 2.5 dsc

Yeah, I could go with the top hat spacer. I talked to a couple of shops as well as BDS directly and all strongly advised against it as it will severely limit my wheel travel if I try to take it on moderately difficult off-road trails. But getting a true 3-inch lift height and overall stance would be perfect and I keep thinking I would not even notice the .5 inch spacer if I stay away from moderate boulder trails.

Good to know that yours are cranked to about 2.5-inches and riding fine! So I just need to make a decision. I can't re-sell the Fabtech/Dirt Logic system with only one coilover since you can't buy a second one to complete the system, so I just wasted $3200 plus additional fees for installation, alignment, and taxes. Then pay another $4800 (for Fox 2.5 DSC front/rear) for 2-inches of lift z(hopefully dialed in closer to 2.5 inches with .5-inch top hat spacer) plus paying again for installation, alignment, and taxes. Easily a $10K exercise by the time I am done with this thing!

How do like those MT Baja Boss ATs so far?

 

[ayoslickxd]

Yeah, I could go with the top hat spacer. I talked to a couple of shops as well as BDS directly and all strongly advised against it as it will severely limit my wheel travel if I try to take it on moderately difficult off-road trails. But getting a true 3-inch lift height and overall stance would be perfect and I keep thinking I would not even notice the .5 inch spacer if I stay away from moderate boulder trails.

Good to know that yours are cranked to about 2.5-inches and riding fine! So I just need to make a decision. I can't re-sell the Fabtech/Dirt Logic system with only one coilover since you can't buy a second one to complete the system, so I just wasted $3200 plus additional fees for installation, alignment, and taxes. Then pay another $4800 (for Fox 2.5 DSC front/rear) for 2-inches of lift z(hopefully dialed in closer to 2.5 inches with .5-inch top hat spacer) plus paying again for installation, alignment, and taxes. Easily a $10K exercise by the time I am done with this thing!

How do like those MT Baja Boss ATs so far?

no issues mud and snow. and honestly quite … taking turns you hear some noise but great over all and life from them good also 20k miles still look good

 

[Desert Dawg]

Update:

Well, I had to make an executive decision based on two controlling factors; 1). aftermarket availability is still pretty limited on a lot of parts and systems, and 2). my shop, Desert Rat, had a limited window to get something done for me since my vehicle is currently not safe to drive (being my daily driver as well, waiting a few weeks for parts and service would be painful).

So I opted for the Bilstein B8 6112s and Desert Rat was able to secure a front set through one of their product suppliers who overnighted my new front suspension:

​

I also got lucky as Desert Rat had an unexpected cancellation and so they called me up to see if I could get the Rebel to them early this AM! They are fully booked through the next 6-8 weeks but if they can get my truck into one of their service bays, they can work on it in stages for next couple of days (considering it's Labor Day weekend, that means I'll get it by mid-next week). Nice having a +25-year long relationship with the shop manager (if there, ask for Derren)!

According to Bilstein, this set is specifically designed to give the Rebel/ORP 2-inches of max lift (or 3-inches over the base Ram); this should put me close to the Dirt Logic height (within 1/2-inch) and still work with my current Fabtech UCAs and aftermarket wheel/tire setup along with the Dirt Logic 2.25 rear shocks. The Bilsteins are definitely high quality products but just not in the same league as higher-end Fox, Icon, King or even the Dirt Logics, but should get me up and running with decent all around performance (and still much better than stock).

 

[ayoslickxd]

Update:

Well, I had to make an executive decision based on two controlling factors; 1). aftermarket availability is still pretty limited on a lot of parts and systems, and 2). my shop, Desert Rat, had a limited window to get something done for me since my vehicle is currently not safe to drive (being my daily driver as well, waiting a few weeks for parts and service would be painful).

So I opted for the Bilstein B8 6112s and Desert Rat was able to secure a front set through one of their product suppliers who overnighted my new front suspension:

​

I also got lucky as Desert Rat had an unexpected cancellation and so they called me up to see if I could get the Rebel to them early this AM! They are fully booked through the next 6-8 weeks but if they can get my truck into one of their service bays, they can work on it in stages for next couple of days (considering it's Labor Day weekend, that means I'll get it by mid-next week). Nice having a +25-year long relationship with the shop manager (if there, ask for Derren)!

According to Bilstein, this set is specifically designed to give the Rebel/ORP 2-inches of max lift (or 3-inches over the base Ram); this should put me close to the Dirt Logic height (within 1/2-inch) and still work with my current Fabtech UCAs and aftermarket wheel/tire setup along with the Dirt Logic 2.25 rear shocks. The Bilsteins are definitely high quality products but just not in the same league as higher-end Fox, Icon, King or even the Dirt Logics, but should get me up and running with decent all around performance (and still much better than stock).

dam sucks i was thinking of upgrading my fox 2.5 suspension to ones that are about 4 inchs also haha

 

[ayoslickxd]

dam sucks i was thinking of upgrading my fox 2.5 suspension to ones that are about 4 inchs also haha

but awesome cnt wait to see finish product