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Wheeling upgrade priorities

A

aceroth

1/2 ton status
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Oct 5, 2016
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Location
NorCal
My old man has a place in the mountains that had a mediocre forest service road going into it but the road has deteriorated over the last couple years from passable in an explorer to easy in his 99 Ram 3500 4x4 to barely passable in the Ram. He hit the t-case pretty good on the last trip, is constantly hitting the rear diff and is worried about getting seriously high center stuck (which would suck being as it is 25 miles down a bad road out of a one horse town) or breaking something mission critical. He generally doesn't drive it in the mud but the road is rutted to shit and washed out to where your left wheels are 14" higher than your right even where it isn't rutted.

What should our bang for buck priorities be in making the Ram a reliable option to get in and out? We are going to add a t-case skidplate partly because he hit that hard, partly because they are available, cheap and do not look that hard to install. He wants to protect the control arms. I say pinion next for ease, price and likelihood of breaking. Should we be protecting the front diff?

Do we just want to go after ground clearance? On an old leaf-springed square, I would add 3 or 4" of suspension lift but that is not going to be as easy or cheap on a 99.

His tires are going. It looks like 35s might fit. Is that the answer or at least part of it?
 
I was going to say taller tires too.
Taller tires should do the most. Not that you shouldn't look at other things as far as protecting the underside, but the only way to keep the differential from getting high centered is more tire.
Of course I have found that now with aging knees, getting into a taller truck makes me look for a step.
 
Pretty much what Dave said. The only way to get the entire truck up higher is with tires.

Being a 3500, you already have the big axles, so maybe put so thick diff covers to keep the fluid in...
 
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Is the damage like hitting the tcase due to bouncing. I know it's a pain, but for a 25 mile trip, I would air down the tires. It will cut down on the bouncing. It would also mean having some sort of way to air up the tires.

I would also think about lockers because they will allow more control. The extra traction will reduce the need to accelerate into and over the bigger rocks.
 
Good ideas guys. Keep em coming. What is the most cost effective way to get 3" of suspension lift on the rear?
 
You would need 6” of lift up front to need 3” in the rear.
They already have essentially 4” of lift stock.
That’s why 2” up front gets you level enough to run 35s.
If you are looking for an additional 4” out back, then shackle flip or just new lift leaf springs.
 
mrk5 said:
I would also think about lockers because they will allow more control. The extra traction will reduce the need to accelerate into and over the bigger rocks.
Click to expand...

I actually almost started with lockers, but it seemed like clearance was a bigger problem than traction. But that was my first thought too
 
K85 Octane said:
plow or grader "accessory"

:D
Click to expand...

That was my first thought too. Hire a grader and throw some gravel on there. The road will only get worse and take more time. Is the entire 25 mile road to town dirt or just a portion? If there are others who use it then they all need to chip in, that’s what our community does for our 5 mile stretch of dirt road.
 
2” level spacers , 37-12.50/17 17x9 4.790 BS wheels. Minor rubbing on the inside plastic fender well liner at full lock on uneven ground .

1” longer control arms would totally fix that .

46FB3550-8E51-4C31-A2C4-51153EBF7F51.jpeg
 
Also if it’s a Forest Service road you WILL get in trouble for doing any maintenance, ask me how I know :( . My place in New Mexico is off a forest service road . I got a nice fat fine for running my grader down it .
 
yellowK20 said:
Also if it’s a Forest Service road you WILL get in trouble for doing any maintenance, ask me how I know :( . My place in New Mexico is off a forest service road . I got a nice fat fine for running my grader down it .
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I was just wondering about that. Sucks for you to have found out the hard way.
 
First thing I would do is to contact the Forest Service about the road condition. I don't know how the system works but if they simply don't pay attention to the road and nobody comments about the condition then they probably don't bother grading it. As mentioned above the road will only get worse over time.

For truck modifications do as mentioned above. Do a quick 2" leveling kit on the front and throw some 35" tires on it. Airing down is a good idea and will provide better traction and a better ride. Maybe some heavy duty diff covers and t-case skidplate for protection. A locker in the back would be next and makes a big difference. Also as asked above, is the truck bouncing around because he is trying to power over stuff or hitting obstacles with speed? What size tires is he currently running? With better clearance and traction it gives you better control of what line you take and be able to crawl over obstacles versus trying to bounce over them.
 
Thanks, guys. I oversimplified to keep it short but we have 2 problems. Short washout in forest service road and long washout in our quarter mile private "driveway." We have some neighbors running agricultural operations that benefit from a lack of federal government oversight, if you know what I mean, so nobody backs us when we ask for help from USFS. In fact, I would not be surprised if the current administration affirmatively blackballs us from assistance given our neighborhood's largest cash crop and voting history. (No judgment, I dont love it either.)

We are good fixing our driveway but our road contractor cant tow his grader past the forest service washout and hell if were gonna fix a forest service road for the tax man and weed growers' benefit.

So back to the ranch . . . I looked at the rear leafs on the Ram and they have blocks that look like 3" or 4". (Always looked jacked up to me but the old man said no and I know jack shit about mopar) so PO must have done something to the front too bcs it rides level. What should I be looking for to figure out what? Keep in mind I have never messed with ride height on a coil spring truck, only leaf springed 70s squares and a gen 1 ranger that I body lifted.
 
Sorry, no help on the Ram, but I hear you on the neighbors with agriculture ops. That describes about 99.9% of my neighbors and what pays for our road maintenance. What part of NorCal are you from?
 
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