Rambox bed divider/extender, officially no longer an extender

[dutchman187]

My guess is that the extender is not illegal in terms of, if you use one or not. Only in terms that the manufacturer has rules and regulations THEY must go by for producing and selling a car. The new regs mist have been implemented for this model year.

There should be nothing stopping you from ordering a part like any other part and installing it. If DOT were to inspect your vehicle, as in commercial types, then MaYBE theyd order you take it off. But state by state, I am quite positive it would never be an issue.

Manufacturers are simply not allowed to sell them as a factory on an OEM vehicle.

As far as them "taking it back", I also highly doubt they are confiscating them, unless someone had one taken away by a dealer (in which case the dealer was probably wrong). I suspect more likely they will dismantle it, consider their job done, and you leave with all parts in the bed.

You put it on at home.

This is closer to my take on it as well. My guess is they can't add it on for you from the factory if it immediately makes it in violation of the federal law. However, if you add it on, I think there are ways to comply with the federal law or at least make it so it would never cause an officer to bat an eye. For example, the reflective tape and especially trailer light kit being added should make the headlight obstruction issue moot.

 

[taff]

I just ordered the pegs from my dealer. According to the parts guy they should arrive in about 10 days, while he was looking at the screen he said they're about to come off backorder.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Longhorn5G]

This is closer to my take on it as well. My guess is they can't add it on for you from the factory if it immediately makes it in violation of the federal law. However, if you add it on, I think there are ways to comply with the federal law or at least make it so it would never cause an officer to bat an eye. For example, the reflective tape and especially trailer light kit being added should make the headlight obstruction issue moot.

An everyday police officer wouldnt be enforcing Federal DOT Auto Manufacturing laws. So I think its TOTALLY fine. They enforce state safety and local laws related to such.

 

[KJRam]

It appears the handle and pin are both backorder as others mentioned. I was told the estimated date for one of them was 1/23 and another as 1/16 but those are subject to change.

 

[EZout]

I ordered 2 ea of the bed extender connection parts from here: https://www.moparpartsoverstock.com/

There was nothing during the order process that would indicate they weren’t in stock.

Thank you, to the forum contributor who posted the part numbers.

 

[KJRam]

I ordered 2 ea of the bed extender connection parts from here: https://www.moparpartsoverstock.com/

There was nothing during the order process that would indicate they weren’t in stock.

Thank you, to the forum contributor who posted the part numbers.

Let me know if they were in stock and shipped. None of the large mopar dealers indicate stock status online but I called four of them and they all said backordered. They obviously stock very little of their own inventory and just drop ship most items it appears.

 

[Pribilof]

Let me know if they were in stock and shipped. None of the large mopar dealers indicate stock status online but I called four of them and they all said backordered. They obviously stock very little of their own inventory and just drop ship most items it appears.

I posted in another thread on this same issue. My parts are being shipped to me today. Confirmed this on the phone with the dealer yesterday afternoon.

 

[EZout]

The supplier did state via an email that it could take up to 14 days to ship the order, which leads me to believe that the items would be drop shipped from their supplier or Mopar.

I’ll post updates as I receive order status reports and/or shipping info.

 

[Pribilof]

Definitely NOT discontinued.

 

[Ellisstrong]

Anyone know the purpose of the key on the divider/extender? I got my original dealer to include one with my truck but I am sure it is keyed specific to a truck and since mine didn’t come with one my key will not work I’m thinking.

 

[SpeedyV]

Anyone know the purpose of the key on the divider/extender? I got my original dealer to include one with my truck but I am sure it is keyed specific to a truck and since mine didn’t come with one my key will not work I’m thinking.

To keep it from being stolen?

 

[Ellisstrong]

To keep it from being stolen?

I’m wondering how that would work based off of where the key is. It doesn’t lock anything in if it slides into the channels on the bed.

 

[Tom488]

I’m wondering how that would work based off of where the key is. It doesn’t lock anything in if it slides into the channels on the bed.

If you lock the extender, you can't turn the handle to release the wings. If you can't release the wings, you can't get the rubber blocks out from the side channels. The extender is effectively "locked" into the bed. Sure, if you yanked it hard enough, it'll probably pop out. But, you can kick down an entry door, too - I bet you still lock the door to your house. Why? To keep the honest people honest

 

[Ellisstrong]

If you lock the extender, you can't turn the handle to release the wings. If you can't release the wings, you can't get the rubber blocks out from the side channels. The extender is effectively "locked" into the bed. Sure, if you yanked it hard enough, it'll probably pop out. But, you can kick down an entry door, too - I bet you still lock the door to your house. Why? To keep the honest people honest

Ok I get it now! I haven’t even tried putting it in my bed yet so I didn’t realize you had to release the wings to slide it in. Can you get a new keyed cylinder for it?

 

[Tom488]

Ok I get it now! I haven’t even tried putting it in my bed yet so I didn’t realize you had to release the wings to slide it in. Can you get a new keyed cylinder for it?

You'll see when you use it, but the act of "closing" the wings forces the rubber bumpers out slightly (it's a cam mechanism), so they "press" into the sides of the bed.

Yes, any lock cylinder can be re-keyed. You simply take it out, remove the tumblers (I believe there's 8 of them), and replace with tumblers that match the key you're trying to match it to.

Each tumbler is numbered 1, 2, 3, or 4 - and each one is cut slightly different (the hole for the key is in a different spot), such that the lands on the key push the tumbler into the correct position. Now - to get the correct "combination" for your particular key, you have two options - either go to your dealer, and they should be able to look it up by VIN - or you can "reverse-engineer" your own by disassembling another lock cylinder and inspecting the tumblers. I recommend doing this to your glove box lock, as it's easier to take apart than your door handle.

Have a look at this video for an idea of what I'm talking about:

 

[@733]

So how is a bed extender on a heavy-duty RAM legal, while the 1500 one is not?
Photos are from the Motor1 article here: https://www.motor1.com/news/301882/ram-heavy-duty-sport-package/ ,presumably taken at the Boston Auto Show this past weekend.

 

[MrHankbot]

Just a guess, but looks to be more open air in that one when flipped open, so maybe it meets the view angle requirement.

 

[Edwards]

I did a bit of googling and found images online of the RamBox extender where there are two versions. One has one middle horizontal divider in the inside rear sections (like in @733's picture above) and others that have two, like this photo:


Maybe the two divider versions were earlier and blocked visibility more? I was not aware that Ram had revised the RamBox extender at least already.

 

[Rich]

So how is a bed extender on a heavy-duty RAM legal, while the 1500 one is not?
Photos are from the Motor1 article here: https://www.motor1.com/news/301882/ram-heavy-duty-sport-package/ ,presumably taken at the Boston Auto Show this past weekend.

You can certainly see by these photos how one tail lamp may be blocked by the extender, but I can't tell from that angle if that far tail lamp would be seen if the extender was not installed. Of course, if you had the extender and any cargo that went to the tailgate, it could block the tail lamps, so perhaps this is the root issue?

It doesn't make sense that they say it's not ok for the 1500 but is ok for the HD RAMs, unless it has something to do with the weight rating of the truck (some light trucks go by passenger car rules, and HD trucks follow different requirements because they are considered a 'truck' vs a passenger vehicle.

 

[1scruffynerfherder]

My dealer ordered the parts and originally said they'd provide them but I guess with the new info they can't but they can still sell them......at a premium it seems based on the price he quoted me. Come drop $50-60k cash on a truck and we'll make sure to gouge you on aftermarket accessories and parts where possible. #servicewithasmile