FAQ: How to Adjust/Remove RamBoxes

[Judead]

No, because they are still not perfect. The adjustment just makes them less crooked. My passenger side wasn't crooked originally, just too high on both sides. After adjustment is was virtually perfect but now after a Texas summer the top black plastic is bowing upwards on the ends and I've got no fix for that yet.

I did respond to @RamCares when they wanted extra info on the truck for this particular issue to report back which tells me that someone at Ram is at least collecting data on the issue.

My driver's side is still high on the rear but since I've got the original latch that requires full removal for adjustment I ran out of giveadamn before I got it perfect. I'll lean on the engineering excuse that it's due to the latch not being centered on the lid...

Edwards,

hey I just registered because I was reading this thread. I have a 2021 ram 3500 Laramie I just took delivery on. The ram boxes are not aligned properly so I plan to tackle this I have an ulterior motive as well. I decided to keep the passenger ram box clean to be used as a cooler. I tested it yesterday on vacation in Florida. It wasn’t real hot in fact mostly overcast maybe 90’s at one point. 5 bags of ice and at 8-9 am they were dumped in. All ice was gone by 5pm. I am a little disappointed on seeing the really good write up you did as there looks to be no way to insulate these. Obviously you can’t the bottom because they rest on the bed. Probably acts as a thermal conductor from the bed as well. Wonder if it is possible to build a form and spray foam around the rambox as well as get some under that support to help keep ice a little longer? It’s been a while since you did this but was wondering if you would remember. I have access to a CNC router so wanted to know if this was possible. May follow in your footsteps to figure this out. I also think my tops are slightly warped and they are brand new. Even with all this slight problems I would rather have them than not. I might look at the tops and see if I can make a way to straighten them with stainless. I am sure you have to be careful due to the lid becoming too heavy for it to stay up or slamming your hands while in the box.

 

[mikeru82]

Edwards,

hey I just registered because I was reading this thread. I have a 2021 ram 3500 Laramie I just took delivery on. The ram boxes are not aligned properly so I plan to tackle this I have an ulterior motive as well. I decided to keep the passenger ram box clean to be used as a cooler. I tested it yesterday on vacation in Florida. It wasn’t real hot in fact mostly overcast maybe 90’s at one point. 5 bags of ice and at 8-9 am they were dumped in. All ice was gone by 5pm. I am a little disappointed on seeing the really good write up you did as there looks to be no way to insulate these. Obviously you can’t the bottom because they rest on the bed. Probably acts as a thermal conductor from the bed as well. Wonder if it is possible to build a form and spray foam around the rambox as well as get some under that support to help keep ice a little longer? It’s been a while since you did this but was wondering if you would remember. I have access to a CNC router so wanted to know if this was possible. May follow in your footsteps to figure this out. I also think my tops are slightly warped and they are brand new. Even with all this slight problems I would rather have them than not. I might look at the tops and see if I can make a way to straighten them with stainless. I am sure you have to be careful due to the lid becoming too heavy for it to stay up or slamming your hands while in the box.

Just so you know, the HD trucks are still using 4th gen sheet metal. The ramboxes were redesigned for the 5th gens, and are made by a different vendor. I never owned a 4th gen with ramboxes, so I can't say what the differences are first hand, but I'd be surprised if there is much that's the same other than the appearance at a cursory glance.

 

[Edwards]

Edwards,

hey I just registered because I was reading this thread. I have a 2021 ram 3500 Laramie I just took delivery on. The ram boxes are not aligned properly so I plan to tackle this I have an ulterior motive as well. I decided to keep the passenger ram box clean to be used as a cooler. I tested it yesterday on vacation in Florida. It wasn’t real hot in fact mostly overcast maybe 90’s at one point. 5 bags of ice and at 8-9 am they were dumped in. All ice was gone by 5pm. I am a little disappointed on seeing the really good write up you did as there looks to be no way to insulate these. Obviously you can’t the bottom because they rest on the bed. Probably acts as a thermal conductor from the bed as well. Wonder if it is possible to build a form and spray foam around the rambox as well as get some under that support to help keep ice a little longer? It’s been a while since you did this but was wondering if you would remember. I have access to a CNC router so wanted to know if this was possible. May follow in your footsteps to figure this out. I also think my tops are slightly warped and they are brand new. Even with all this slight problems I would rather have them than not. I might look at the tops and see if I can make a way to straighten them with stainless. I am sure you have to be careful due to the lid becoming too heavy for it to stay up or slamming your hands while in the box.

Ha - I've actually thought about this! If you look at the pics you can see where there is some room for external insulation on the removed RamBox before you reinstall it. You just need to ensure the box can drop into the sheet metal. The bottom would be the hardest as you mention, but it is reinforced with all of the vertical plastic sections that make it stand off from the bottom. You could certainly spray insulation into those indentions just making sure the foam didn't extend beyond the plastic for fit reasons. It would have to help.

The last idea is the most extreme. Once you do the two mentioned above, reinstall the RamBox and then from the holes below, spray foam all around the RamBox. Now I've not done this and it could cause future problems but if you used a more brittle foam it might not cause too many. I suggest this as a hard foam would make removing the RamBox virtually impossible in the future but a more brittle foam (like what's inside an old Coleman cooler lid) would be easy to just yank the RamBox out and destroy the foam. That would give you insulation now and not make future removal too much of a bear.

The only other idea I've toyed with is going the opposite route. Get one big or several small collapsible coolers and use them inside the RamBox. Not as sexy as opening the lid to a full RamBox brimming with ice and beer but much easier to pull off and already insulated.

Let us know what you wind up with!

 

[1awesomelaw]

Ha - I've actually thought about this! If you look at the pics you can see where there is some room for external insulation on the removed RamBox before you reinstall it. You just need to ensure the box can drop into the sheet metal. The bottom would be the hardest as you mention, but it is reinforced with all of the vertical plastic sections that make it stand off from the bottom. You could certainly spray insulation into those indentions just making sure the foam didn't extend beyond the plastic for fit reasons. It would have to help.

The last idea is the most extreme. Once you do the two mentioned above, reinstall the RamBox and then from the holes below, spray foam all around the RamBox. Now I've not done this and it could cause future problems but if you used a more brittle foam it might not cause too many. I suggest this as a hard foam would make removing the RamBox virtually impossible in the future but a more brittle foam (like what's inside an old Coleman cooler lid) would be easy to just yank the RamBox out and destroy the foam. That would give you insulation now and not make future removal too much of a bear.

The only other idea I've toyed with is going the opposite route. Get one big or several small collapsible coolers and use them inside the RamBox. Not as sexy as opening the lid to a full RamBox brimming with ice and beer but much easier to pull off and already insulated.

Let us know what you wind up with!

How about going to a pool store and get a spa drain flange and install it in the box

 

[Edwards]

How about going to a pool store and get a spa drain flange and install it in the box

I'm not sure what the purpose of that would be? The RamBoxes already have two pop out rubber seals for draining.

 

[1awesomelaw]

I'm not sure what the purpose of that would be? The RamBoxes already have two pop out rubber seals for draining.

I did not read the post all the way through from the beginning about insulation.
Couldn't you just drill holes in from the bottom and spray in insulation, for sound proofing and then put a rubber plug in those holes, just don't over spray it.

 

[Edwards]

I did not read the post all the way through from the beginning about insulation.
Couldn't you just drill holes in from the bottom and spray in insulation, for sound proofing and then put a rubber plug in those holes, just don't over spray it.

If you look at the sheet metal pics from post #1, you'll see where that could wind up with a lot of spray on the ground. There's not a sealed cavity behind the plastic RamBox to contain the insulation - unless you removed the box and made one with taped off plastic sheeting or something similar. Seems to me like possibly more work that way.

 

[1awesomelaw]

1. Why remove or adjust RamBoxes? Maybe the doors don't close or sit right? Maybe you need to get into this area to install modify the bed, wheel well or insert, or you are installing another custom RamBox mod? Doesn't matter. Here's an easy walkthrough.

My passenger RamBox just didn't close enough to suit me. Kind of looked like it was already open when walking up from the side. Looked all over for ways to adjust and decided it had to come out. Here's the tour:

1. From underneath near the bumper, you'll find an access hole on each side. Unclip the right, larger connector shown [EDIT the left connector is the bed light and does not need to be disconnected] (slide red tab out with screwdriver maybe 3mm and then you can access the part to push in and it will disconnect). Driver's side is a double connector as it has the AC wiring for the outlet as well. This photo is passenger side with bumper to your left. The fiber cover seen at the bottom has the air compressor above it.
View attachment 5568

2. Remove all bolts inside the RamBox including the two black ones on the latch pin (where you see two welded on nuts - but leave those alone) and two each on the outside hinges that go into the bed. All of these 8mm bolts are identical and appear to have red locktite on them.
3. With RamBox lid open and from standing inside the bed, pull up on the whole assembly by grasping the two sides of the lid. It pulls straight out. You can then set it in the bed but it will want to tip over if the lid is open. You can close the lid (you can open it via the physical key since it doesn't have power) or you can lay it on it's back in the bed and carefully let the lid open. The black top of the lid will be against your bed and not the lid paint.

Here are shots of the bed without the RamBox installed. These are all passenger side and this is looking toward the rear. No idea what the scalloped "patch" is on the left outer wall. Very hard and feels glued on.
View attachment 5569

Looking down at rear. The square hole is where you disconnected the wiring from below.
View attachment 5570

Looking to the front. I know some had asked about stake pockets on a RamBox. You can obviously see they are not there but you can also obviously see there is plenty of room for them should you be a better welder than I am.
View attachment 5571

And front looking down.
View attachment 5572

Here's the RamBox removed, back end.
View attachment 5573

From back.
View attachment 5574

Least exciting, the front.
View attachment 5575

And the outside where the lock is. The lock can be adjusted, just not without removing the RamBox. Not sure who designed this but by removing it, you can now access these two black bolts and there is a fair amount of free play in it. This box was adjusted all the way up leading to the "looks open" I was dealing with. I tried lowering it a few times but no dice. That led to other fun and games. See the shiny silver washer on the bottom left?
View attachment 5576

Well there were two of them silicone glued to the bottom as shims.
View attachment 5577

After replacing the RamBox in the bed, I was pushing down on the bottom and the left bolt hole with shim still had a little travel to hit the bed. The right one was bottomed out so I pried the washer off and what do you know, it fits far better now. I also wound up moving the adjustable latch part all the way to the bottom of travel.

After all was reinstalled, it's a tad too tight now. You really have to slam it but it looks perfect. I'm going to leave it a week or so to see if the weatherstripping gets persuaded, otherwise I'll just pop it out and readjust again.

How about when the box is out of the vehicle you cover all the threaded holes and spray some bed liner material in there or rust proofing for extra protection. id say that the scalloped patch on the side wall is for a sound barrier but i don't see why it is even needed, it's not like you are hearing anything outside your bed.

Thank you for the great photos and explanation.

 

[mikeru82]

The "scalloped patch" is sound deadening material. It's normally used on larger areas of sheet metal. Even on the bed, resonance can propagate to other areas and can be heard by passengers inside the cab.

 

[GIJain]

Thank you so much and excellent post with pictures! Someone tried to pry open my Ram boxes and popped the bolt from hinge off the black plactic lid. Dealer said new boxes at about $5k?!! I said no thanks and have been squirrling with the stupid hinges for awhile. Now I can take them off and fix them correctly. I'll post pix if I can

 

[Grape_Ape]

Just came across this thread but thank you for the write up! I'm going to be installing airlift 1000hd airbags this weekend hopefully and want to run the airlines to my driver's side rambox. I'd much rather take the box out so that I can have more control over where I drill the holes for the airline fittings.

 

[Darksteel165]

Good post.
My wife left my passenger side open and I didn't realize until I was going 75 on the highway and now it's kinda hard to open.
I'm going to take mine apart and see what I can lube\bend back.

I thought it would be a lot harder.

 

[ArcotRAMathorn]

Found this video to help with RamBox lid replacement

and this video which aligns with OP's pictures/instructions

Also this TSB

 

[ArcotRAMathorn]

Was at the dealership yesterday for leaking rear window fix. Asked about RamBoxes - guy said that all the trucks suffer or will suffer from warping and there's no current fix from Ram for it. There own guys trucks are stuck with the problem too