Griz's Build - 2017 Power Wagon

[It'sGriz]

Hello everyone.

Just really getting started on this build. So here we go......

My truck is a 2017 Ram Power Wagon. I am the first owner and it is was my first totally new vehicle. And yes it was love at first sight.

Current Mods include:

Suspension Modifications:
Thuren - front coils, front and rear trac bars, sway bar end links. King 2.0 shocks.
Exterior Modifications:
Stubby Antenna, ARE Topper, Rhino roof rack, 35" Firestone Destination MT2

Engine Modifications:
S&B Intake, Black Widow Race Venom Exhaust, Resonator delete

Interior Modifications:
None.

Recovery Equipment:
Warn 12.5 winch, synthetic winch rope, warn epic hawse failead, Smittybilt shackle mount thimble. 4 XBull recovery tracks.
Electrical Modifications:
None.

Planned Modifications:
Sliders, Camping setup and topper build out.

 

[It'sGriz]

After looking around and considering different options, I ended up ordered the Rhino HD roof rack from amazon. I am extremely pleased with it so far. It seems to be versatile and very well made. I think that for $375-ish I made the right choice.
The install went pretty smoothly. It is a little nerve racking to drill so many holes in the topper. Scary. The install is pretty straight forward. Having a second person to help with the layout and double checking measurements are even on each side would have sped up the process significantly. Total install time was about 2.5 hours. Of course the instructions state the install time as a half hour just to make you feel good about yourself.

 

[It'sGriz]

I finally got around to insulating and carpeting the topper. Everything went pretty smoothly. I ran out of carpet and was roaring in the sun but I am happy with the results.
Lots of parts on the way. Suspension, sliders, winch upgrades and much more. Getting stoked to head out.

 

[It'sGriz]

Quick trip set up last weekend. And pork loin.


Some components are starting to come in.

 

[rgk401]

Nice truck. Iv seen you around Nola before. Very clean setup [emoji1303]

 

[303JETSET]

Following. Just recently picked up my 2016 PW in Blue Streak. Going to be adding rack capability to my topper soon too.

 

[It'sGriz]

Some progress on the build. Thuren front coils, front and rear trac bars, sway bar end links and King shocks all installed. The springs leveled the truck out pretty well. I now have 1” rake from back to front. The back is sitting at 44 3/4” and the front is now 43 3/4”.
Carli diff guard installed on front differential. Purple Cranium diff guard installed out back. I wanted to change over to a synthetic winch line.
We fabricated a bracket to mount the new Warn Epic hawse fairlead. It turned out pretty good. The cut out in the bumper is a little small for the Smitty Built shackle thimble so I’ll have to figure out how to widen it a bit to accommodate it. Pulling the rope to do the initial pre loaded wrap was so much easier. I think I am going to like the synthetic.
The truck seems to handle better in the corners already. I have only driven it a few miles before leaving town. It takes bumps much easier. The Kings are a big improvement over stock. I will do a more in depth review once I get some good seat time and everything has settled in.

 

[It'sGriz]

I have been traveling and have not posted in a while. Here is a link to some more info on the Power Wagon. https://whereisgriz.blogspot.com/2019/08/power-wagon-run-down.html There are also some blog posts about some of the trips places I have been in the past few months.

I ended up doing about 9k miles in the last 2 months. I started in New Orleans and bummed around Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. What an awesome area of the country. The truck did amazingly and I have no complaints save for the small fuel tank. That may be a future upgrade. I ended up doing a lot of off-roading, some of which was pretty extreme I would say. Here are a few pics in action.

 

[JCWages]

Looks like you got to fully test out the suspension on that trip. Great shots!