Josh Edgar Designs - 2020 RAM 1500 build and adventures

[Desert Dawg]

Good job! So did you adjust the lift height at all? Be curious to what your measurements look like.

 

[jedgar81]

Good job! So did you adjust the lift height at all? Be curious to what your measurements look like.

I gained exactly 1” with the height set how they came. The said 1” of lift height for an off road package so I left it at that. So 24” from center of wheel to fender. I guess a $3000 leveling kit? Ha. I have the ADD front bumper plus a Warn VR-10s weighting things down also.

I am going to play around with the clickers some at this height and give it a decent shakedown and see if I need to raise it up some.

 

[jedgar81]

Did a pavement test and full out on the clickers feels like factory for bump absorption and body movement. I set both to 3 (which is recommended settings from fox) and it feels nice and smooth still with less body roll. Overall just better all around. With high speed at 3 and low speed at 6 it eliminates all body roll and handles amazing although you can for sure feel it is a bit more hash. Will update when I can test it off road.

 

[Desert Dawg]

I gained exactly 1” with the height set how they came. The said 1” of lift height for an off road package so I left it at that. So 24” from center of wheel to fender. I guess a $3000 leveling kit? Ha. I have the ADD front bumper plus a Warn VR-10s weighting things down also.

I am going to play around with the clickers some at this height and give it a decent shakedown and see if I need to raise it up some.

Well, no leveling kit is going to perform like this truck...lol.

So do you have the Fox Performance Series 2.5 Adjustable 2" (part no. 883-06-165) or the Adjustable 2"-3" (part no. 883-06-166)? I am hoping to get 2.5"-2..75" of front lift and dial in 2" for the rear.

Did a pavement test and full out on the clickers feels like factory for bump absorption and body movement. I set both to 3 (which is recommended settings from fox) and it feels nice and smooth still with less body roll. Overall just better all around. With high speed at 3 and low speed at 6 it eliminates all body roll and handles amazing although you can for sure feel it is a bit more hash. Will update when I can test it off road.

That sounds great! Can't wait to hear about your off-road trial. Truck is getting real!

 

[jedgar81]

Well, no leveling kit is going to perform like this truck...lol.

So do you have the Fox Performance Series 2.5 Adjustable 2" (part no. 883-06-165) or the Adjustable 2"-3" (part no. 883-06-166)? I am hoping to get 2.5"-2..75" of front lift and dial in 2" for the rear.

Sorry I missed this message somehow.

I just tried to figure out which one I have an I honestly can't. I don't see any part numbers on the coil over itself, and my invoice says nothing other than the BDS part #s. I have easily 2/3 (over 4") of the adjustment threads left, so I am thinkingI could easily get another inch of lift if I wanted to so maybe the 2-3" one? Just a guess. You are shooting for 2.75" of lift over you Rebels factory height?

 

[jedgar81]

I bought my RSI Smartcap used so I didn't have any idea how it was originally assembled. It rained the other day and water was pouring in at all the seams. So today I pulled it off the truck (I would not recommend doing it solo like I did!) and fully disassembled it, put RTV on all the seams and reassembled. Was a huge pain to do but hopefully will solve my leaking issues. Always worth doing things the right way even if it takes a ton of time!

 

[Desert Dawg]

Sorry I missed this message somehow.

I just tried to figure out which one I have an I honestly can't. I don't see any part numbers on the coil over itself, and my invoice says nothing other than the BDS part #s. I have easily 2/3 (over 4") of the adjustment threads left, so I am thinkingI could easily get another inch of lift if I wanted to so maybe the 2-3" one? Just a guess. You are shooting for 2.75" of lift over you Rebels factory height?

Sounds like you probably do have the 2-3 inch adjustable lift version. I am looking to get a least 2.75-inches, if not closer to 3-inches, if I can retain a smooth ride using the DSC adjustments. My current Fabtech-Dirt Logic system initially gave me the full 3-inches of lift front and rear but the front has settled some. I talked with Ben at Filthy Motorsports (great YouTube videos) and he wasn't too optimistic about getting more than 2 inches for the Rebel with the current Gen 5 Rams without getting coil bind (very achievable with just a regular 1500).

I also emailed BilsteinLifts.com since they sell the Fox Elite Series 2.5 Body 2"-3" lift coilovers too. I asked them (4) specific questions about the system for the Rebel before I spend +$3500 on their site and I got back a brief 7-word response simply stating that I will get nearly 2" of lift. If that's the best they can do in helping me evaluate the system before sending them thousands of dollars, I'll pass and go spend somewhere else...lol.

Anyway, based on the above, and the fact you have 1-inch of lift on your ORP equipped truck (with maybe enough adjustability remaining for another inch of lift), it sounds like the Fox Elite system will not provide above 2-inches of front lift for the Rebel/ORP. So I reached out to King to see about having them build me a custom setup for 3"-4" of lift assuming I can marry up with a front diff drop kit, carrier bearing kit, and maybe better UCAs, and longer Eibach springs and King coilovers for the rear. They are quite busy right now and asked me to be patient for a response, so we'll see how that might work out.

I bought my RSI Smartcap used so I didn't have any idea how it was originally assembled. It rained the other day and water was pouring in at all the seams. So today I pulled it off the truck (I would not recommend doing it solo like I did!) and fully disassembled it, put RTV on all the seams and reassembled. Was a huge pain to do but hopefully will solve my leaking issues. Always worth doing things the right way even if it takes a ton of time!

Well that sucks, I can only image how hard that was to do by yourself. Hope that resolved the leaking issue!

 

[jedgar81]

Got a chance to test the new suspension out this evening and I am blown away. I hit up a local ohv so I could get a good mix of terrain and it worked amazingly well everywhere. Here are my thoughts.

Pavement:
Better bump absorption all the way around and drastically better handling. The truck stays flat and feels way more precise. Even braking feels better as it doesn’t nose dive when you hit the brakes.

Dirt Roads:
Again smother than stock and ZERO chatter or loss of control on stutter bumps. Feels super planted and in control.

Whoops:
This is where things were really amazing for me. The truck stays high in its stroke and even hitting sets of larger whoops (1-2 feet) the truck stays super planted and damp and never gets the rebound buck that happened before. Of course you can get in a cycle where things get worse in a hurry, but even with a full bottom out it never felt harsh or bouncy.

Rocks:
Everything felt less harsh overall. Just took the sharp edge off. Before going down a steep hill with rocks or ledges was really bad as the truck would wallow in its travel and would bottom out easily due to being so low in its stroke. Now it stays higher up and doesn’t dive and wallow at all.

Overall I couldn’t be more impressed. It was a fairly expensive kit and I can say it was WELL worth it. The rear does feel like it could use better shocks and I may upgrade to some that match the front better than what the kit came with, but overall just a drastic improvement over stock.

 

[jedgar81]

White Knuckle Off Road sliders arrived. Overall very impressed with the quality and packaging and stoked to have some real rocker protection!

Install tonight!

 

[Desert Dawg]

White Knuckle Off Road sliders arrived. Overall very impressed with the quality and packaging and stoked to have some real rocker protection!

Install tonight!
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Nice, I really wanted to go with these too but decided against it in favor of wider side steps for the wife and business folks that sometimes ride in the truck. But sure wish I had these on my last mountain run. Great choice!

Edit: White Knuckle does offer a full length top plate.

 

[jedgar81]

Nice, I really wanted to go with these too but decided against it in favor of wider side steps for the wife and business folks that sometimes ride in the truck. But sure wish I had these on my last mountain run. Great choice!

Edit: White Knuckle does offer a full length top plate.

I originally got some N-Fab rkr body mount ones for a tiny bit of protection but 2 of the mounting studs snapped off the truck using a standard ratchet. Decided I needed frame mounted right then! I debated on going with the top plate too, but my wife was used to getting into the Jeep so the truck seems easy after that!

 

[jedgar81]

Mounted. Love the look and the protection.

 

[jedgar81]

Headed out for a 4 day trip around eastern Oregon and Idaho. Ended up having a sick kid back at home so had to cut the trip short after a day, but got to see a few nice spots.

I am absolutely blown away with the new suspension. Better handling on road, incredible on dirt roads, and manages the trucks weight on obstacles so much better. I don’t feel like I am driving a glorified minivan anymore!