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bds fuel lift
32K views 39 replies 15 participants last post by  Granite Ram 
#1 · (Edited)
Accessories/mods so far (updated 2/1/16):

BDS 4" lift (Fox 2.0 Shocks with black boots & 3" rear springs)
20" Fuel Trophy D551 wheels
ARE Overland paint match cap w/yakima whispbars
Bedrug
Decked bed storage system
B&W Hideaway/Height Adjustable Hitchball
Lonnies Aluminum Diesel & DEF caps
N-Fab Hoop Nerf Bars
Hellwig 7709 Sway Bar
WeatherTech floor mats
Locking Matte Black AMI Fuel Door
Mopar Mud Flaps
DeeZee Tailgate Assist
275/65/r20 Cooper AT3 Tires
Edge Insight CTS2 Scangauge on A-pillar
De-Badged the RAM 1500 from doors
Bushwacker "pocket style" matte black fender flares
GDE Hot Tune With Engine Braking
Genos Garage Fuel Filter Housing Socket


Accessories/mods to come:

Rigid Industries grille with 30" LED bar - going to fuse the power, relay it to step down power, and wire it to the CTS2 EAS kit to use the auxiliary rocker switch screen on the CTS2 as the switch

Fab Fours Front and Back Premium Sensor Bumpers (no guard front)

http://fabfours.com/product/premium-front-bumper-4/
http://fabfours.com/product/premium-rear-bumper-6/


Quarantine Cargo Net

http://www.quarantinerestraints.com/exterior-cargo-restraints/

Carhartt Seat Covers - grey

http://www.autoanything.com/seat-covers/carhartt-duck-weave-seat-covers

First pic is prior to the lift & wheels, second pic is current, third is just of the DEF and DIESEL caps. Fourth is of the decked, prior to lift and wheels

Sidenote - Interested in selling the stock 20" wheels (only 5,000 miles). I'll put em on CL, but anyone interested in purchasing them feel free to contact me. Any suggestions on a fair price? I'm thinking of listing them for $800 and trying to get 750.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Truck looks slick. Love the cap & bars. Bed management system looks solid as well.

If I were to suggest anything, I'd think about removing the '1500' on the doors. Doesn't cost you a dime either. Nevertheless, nice looking rig you have there!

Edit* Sorry missed the part you saying you were gonna debadge.
 
#4 · (Edited)
RossCountyRam - Thanks! I'm pretty happy with how everythings turned out so far. Never realized the impact certain seemingly minor mods can have on other operations, i.e. how crucial backspacing of wheels was to suspension lifts so it took me a lot of research to put together what I've done so far. Yeah my plan as of now is to remove the Ram 1500 on the doors, plasti-dip the ecodiesel, plasti-dip the ram logo in the center on the tailgate, remove the Bighorn, plasti-dip the 4x4, and plasti-dip another Ecodiesel badge and put it on the tailgate. on the left side.
 
#7 · (Edited)
SLTeco - Thanks, I'm hoping to overnight the fender flares because the suspension/backspacing of new wheels stuck the tires out further than I imagined, I'll get on plasti-dipping today if it works out. I'm not sure exactly what retailer I got the locking fuel door from, but it's an AMI.

Here's the link to the page on the thread we talked about it on. Somewhere on the page I posted some videos and instructions.

http://www.ram1500diesel.com/forum/...cussion/3872-use-fuel-cap-capless-rams-7.html

AZRB - Yeah stock tires on there right now. I bought 20" wheels originally planning on putting the stock tires back on to save a few bucks for now and use the stock tires up on a cross country road trip, but after seeing it, it's the first thing I noticed that looks a little out of place. So definitely getting new tires on soon.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Just an update - Hopefully this will help anyone else planning on getting a lift in the future.

I chose BDS because they don't void the manufactures warranty because it's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.126 Compliant and it comes with an additional no fine print drivetrain warranty in the event a dealership makes the argument it does. Anyone interested in reading it can find more about it here:

Factory Protection Plus

Along with an unconditional lifetime (nontransferable) warranty for all suspension components.

That being said, I chose to get it installed at the shop BDS suggested in my area, Mid Atlantic 4x4 and Speed. I assumed they've done enough of them on brand new trucks, and I'm happy with that decision. Unfortunately, the one thing Mid-Atlantic doesn't do is alignments. So they told me once I picked it up that I needed to get an alignment asap. I went to a few different shops, only to be told they wouldn't align a lifted truck. After talking to a few people, I was informed a local Dodge Dealership has an offroad shop within that definitely does alignments on lifted trucks. It was Tate Off-Road & Custom Accessories. I first noticed they sold a lot more general OEM aftermarket stuff, nothing super high end, but nonetheless the manager, TJ, was very informative and accommodating. He was able to get me in for an alignment right that second. I gave the mechanic doing the job an extra 20 bucks in the hopes he'd take real good care of it.

I'm also not a mechanic. So I was happy they brought to my attention their current alignment hardware could do damage to my brand new wheels. They didn't have the new hubs that connect to the outside of the tire, but only the ones that need to bolt on to the wheel, which a careless mechanic unaware of how much wheels cost would probably crank down however he could damaging expensive wheels. So they suggested finding an old set of stock wheels with mounted tires, mounting them, doing the alignment, and then putting my new wheels back on, to avoid scratching the new wheels. When that didn't pan out, the mechanic proudly explained he came up with a solution of using a small piece of felt between the clamps and the tires to prevent contact between the screw that holds the clamp and the wheel, and asked my permission to give it a try, and assured me he'd be careful to not scratch them.

With my permission, he went ahead with his fix, only to be hindered by their computer systems being broken.

Mind you, all of these shops are a 45 minute drive from my home. So after not being able to get it aligned, I decided to take it home and find a local place capable of doing the same. The mechanic at Tate was very informative and gave me a good set of questions I should be posing to any shop prior to allowing them to do the alignment, to prevent a careless mechanic from making a rookie mistake and scratching the wheels.

I contacted a local place, Western Auto. They assured me they align lifted trucks often and possess the new tire mounted alignment hardware to avoid scratches all together. Feeling confident, I drop off the vehicle. 2 hours later, I call to check up. The service manager informs me they're having problems. I decided to take my other vehicle and ride down to assess the situation to the best of my ability. The mechanic does his best to explain the tie rods were fully extended, and he was unable to get the camber in. His solution, prior to calling and asking my permission to move forward was to unmount the crossmember that he deemed un-centered and move the crossmember over to give him some more tie rod on one side. Said he did all he could, but from what he could tell the suspension kit was defective, and insinuated Mid-Atlantic 4x4 didn't know what they were doing when they installed it. I call the original shop that installed the lift, Mid Atlantic, and had the mechanic from the shop I was currently at, Western Auto, speak with him, and then the head mechanic of Mid-Atlantic asked me if I could bring it back to figure it out. I was also charged $130.00 for the labor they did their best to perform at Western Auto.

The first thing I noticed getting back in the vehicle was....the alignment being off was slightly noticeable leaving Mid-Atlantic the day before, but dramatically more noticeable after leaving western auto. So much that the steering wheel needed to be turned a quarter rotation to the right just to drive straight. EVIC messages appeared telling me traction control was active, and to check trailer brake system. I assumed this was due to the added resistance from the unaligned tires, tricking the EVIC into thinking a trailer was being towed with trailer brakes engaged. I could hear screeching the entire 30 mile drive back to Mid-Atlanic, and could visibly notice tire marks in the rear view mirror.

Western Auto had me convinced Mid-Atlantic had installed the wrong tie rods, and this was causing it. On the way I called Mid-Atlantic and asked if they or BDS is refunding me the $130.00 I put out for an alignment that didn't happen because of defective parts. They immediately assured me if indeed it was their responsibility, they'd cover it one way or another.

I get to Mid-Atlantic, where the head mechanic meets me. I pointed out the crossmember where the mechanic at Western Auto told me to point out, where he attempted to center to give more room to play with the tie rod. He explained to me, very clearly, that no front end alignment should EVER involve adjustment of this crossmember, which basically keeps the entire suspension in line. He was in awe that a mechanic would even attempt to mess with or modify this crossmember. I asked him if he'd mind telling the mechanic at Western Auto that, which he did. The Western Auto mechanic then started backtracking and denying manipulating the crossmember. I was on speakerphone, and informed him not only was I absolutely certain he pointed at the crossmember and said he moved it, but I had a picture of him pointing at it on the lift.

Mid-Atlantic fixed the knuckleheads half ass attempt to do an alignment and got it back to where it was before it left their shop the day before, free of charge. He also asked me not to take it back there anymore, and was clear and concise on what anyone working on the alignment should ever touch, and what they shouldn't.

He also pulled a favor and called a local friend who owns a tire and auto shop, and was able to get me squeezed in last second at a shop where the manager allowed me to hang out with the tech while he performed the alignment. This was Baxter's. Baxter's owner, Jeff, and the mechanic, Bill, were both informative, accommodating, and thorough in their work. They provided me with a print off the of camber, caster, and toe showing initial degrees and final. The mechanic said he'd like to take it for a test drive, and asked me if he could drive while I rode shotgun, just so he could ensure all felt well. Once back, he put it back up on the lift, attached the hubs and ensured all was still within parameters.

Robin & all mechanics at Mid-Atlantic 4x4 and Speed in Glen Burnie were more than helpful, and do excellent work. If anyone in the PG county, Baltimore, DC metro area is looking for a BDS installer I highly recommend them.
Jeff, owner, and Bill, mechanic, at Baxter's were also very helpful and diligent and accommodating. I highly recommend them as well.
TJ Foster, manager, and Quentin, mechanic/tech, at Tate Offroad and Custom Accessories were equally as professional and helpful, even though their computer systems were down.

Western Auto on Kent Island, which I plan on visiting tomorrow morning 8am sharp to discuss their reimbursement of the $130.00 charge for doing more harm than good, not to mention their lack of communication throughout the process, is full of the most manipulative, unprofessional, unknowledgeable employees I've so far been in contact with.

Moral of the story, I assumed Mid-Atlantic, the company that installed the suspension, also did alignments. To those like me who aren't mechanics, it may be wise to confirm the shop you plan on having an installation of a suspension lift does indeed align the front end. If they don't, do some research and find a local place capable of aligning a lifted truck, and if you have nice aftermarket wheels, they have the new "tire mounting" hub system, and make an appointment before hand.
 
#14 ·
AZRB- Thanks! With all the weight of the decked, cap, wheels, tires, and pre-GDE it ranged from about 20-22mpg. Now that the GDE is in hopefully it'll gain a couple. In a couple weeks I'll give an update, but I will say the GDE tune was immediately noticeable. Lag was much less, I could hear the turbo prior to the tune but only at 67% VGT pos precisely. It's much more audible, and really just the EGR delete was worth it.
 
#27 ·
Hey, how are you liking your canopy? Highly considering the overland for my truck as well. I've heard question about the integrity of ARE, curious as to how it's holding up for you.
 
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