Thoughts on Full-Size overland build? 2018 Ram Power Wagon 2018 68k miles

[clawfilm]

First post* I have a friend selling his 2018 Ram Power Wagon with 68k miles for $80,000. This is more truck than I'll use but at the price point I feel I might not be able to pass this up. Spec'ing out a full size truck with camper gets be close to the price. I wanted to get a second opinion. Any thoughts?
Here are the specs:
Thanks for any input

CAMPER
-AT Overland Atlas with skylight, roof rails
-Cellphone booster (not sure which one but far larger than a WeBoost)

ELECTRICAL/LIGHTING
- AEV ProCal module
- sPOD Source SE w/ touchscreen
- Baja Designs LP9 sport combo lights (x2)
- Baja Designs LP9 sport spot lights (x2)
- Baja Designs XL80 ditch lights (x2) w/ZROADZ brackets
- Rigid rear bumper backup lights
- Morimoto XB LED headlights
- Morimoto XB LED taillights
- ABEL components locker bypass w/ kill switch

ENGINE/DRIVETRAIN
- AEV raised air intake w/ pre-filter
- AAM 5.13 AAM regear front/rear
- Dodge Off-Road steering brace
- Magnaflow 12589 muffler w/ resonator delete
- Dethloff hydraulic steering assist
- Synergy drag link
- Synergy HD tie rod
- PowerStop Z36 pads and rotors

SUSPENSION/AXLE
- Toyo 40x13.50R17 MT/R
- TrailReady HD beadlocks (World Series rings); RAD valves
- Thuren rear trackbar
- King 2.5 shocks; Thuren-tuned stage 3 (rear)
- King 3.0 shocks; Thuren-tuned stage 3 (front)
- Thuren 1” rear coils
- Thuren 1.25” front coils
- Thuren front track bar
- Thuren active rate sway bar
- JKS sway bar quick disconnect
- JKS sway bar lanyard
- Boogie rated bumpstops (front)
- AirLift air suspension w/ Daystar cradles (rear)
- ARB twin air compressor
- VIAIR 2.5 gallon auxiliary tank

ARMOR
- AEV front bumper
- AEV rear bumper
- AEV differential covers
- White Knuckle .188 DOM rock sliders; rhino-lined
- Dethloff oil & transmission skid plate
- Thuren front axle truss
- Maple Off Road skid plates
- Maple Off Road cross members

INTERIOR
- WeatherTech floor liners
- AirLift double needle/path air gauge
- Lockr Down console safe
- Expedition Essentials RAMPAM accessory mount

EXTERIOR
- AEV front/rear fender flares
- Dixon DC20S 303 stainless steel quick connect auxiliary air fitting attached to front bumper
- Factor 55 FlatLink E shackle mount
- Master Pull 7/16" x 85' 29,700 lbs. breaking strength Superline XD black winch line
- MAXTRAX MKII (x4)

RECOVERY/EMERGENCY GEAR
- Pro Eagle 3 Ton Big Wheel Off Road Jack "Kratos" w/ extension and mount
- Hi-Lift 60” first responder extrication rescue tool
- Heliar LED road flare
- WARN 92093 3/4” epic shackle (x3)
- Bubba Rope GatorJaw 7/16” 32,000 lbs. breaking strength soft shackle (x2)
- Factor 55 2.5” hitch link
- WARN wireless winch controller
- WARN 93195 Epic snatch block
- WARN 91575 winch dampener (x3)
- VicTsing car safety hammer (x2)
- Amerex Halotron I Class B C fire extinguisher
- Deadman Off-Road Earth Anchor
- Bubba Rope 176680RDG 7/8" x 30' 28,600 lbs. capacity breaking strength snatch rope

 

[grubworm]

WELCOME, DAVID!
good to have you as a member

bluebook on a 2018 power wagon is probably going to be high 30's and a used overland atlas will probably rate just under 10k...i think they are generally around 20k new, so you are looking at half of the asking cost with the truck and camper and that means that rest of the gear and accessories will need to hit the 30k mark or more to add up to 80k.

the list says the rig is running on 40" tires, so there are some pretty good stresses that are placed on the drive train/suspension and although the rig has 68k miles on it, i would say that those miles are harder than normal miles and i would expect to see more than the average wear and tear on these components....bluebook doesnt take that into account

there are some nice mods done, but they are also 6 years old (assuming they were done around time of purchase) and their value drops off a good bit. i think its a bit on the high side, but i recently saw a ram pickup on the lot that was listed at over $100,000, so its getting harder to figure whats a "good deal" when the entire market is so crazy

you certainly cant get a new rig built out like that for 80k, so i guess if it looks to be in good shape and its what you want/need, then its probably an ok deal. im sure you could drive it a year or so and be able to recoup a majority of that money if you sold it. its already taken the major hit of depreciation, so there is also that going for it.

do you have any pics? sounds like a really nice rig

 

[clawfilm]

Thanks Grubworm. I greatly appreciate the opinion. I'm coming from being a Toyota owner for the last 12 years. My original plan was to get a Tundra with a camper but this Ram popped up for sale. Not knowing the platform or community on these builds it's very hard for me to understand what the depreciation is on these mods. Again, this is way more truck then I'll use but I'm ok with some premium for a turn-key family ready adventure vehicle. To your point if this is too much truck and we decide to sell I want to make sure we can recoup most of what we paid for it.

The list of mods when new roughly adds up to $62k. Most of the miles on it are actually highway, + a lot of forest service and only a few "intense" off-road trips (Moab + some harder MT trails). The Truck by itself is valued at 37k, meaning the depreciation of the mods over the 6 years is 18.5k. It seems like the mods should depreciate more but building a truck like this from the ground up would cost $$$$$. Lastly, I have spent a lot of time as a passenger and very much trust the seller.

I have an older pic from 2021. not much has changed except for new 40's that were put on in 2023.

 

[grubworm]

My original plan was to get a Tundra with a camper

ha! yeah, that is what i have. a 2018 with a leer shell and a few accessories...



wow! that is a sharp rig! well, after seeing it and the fact that you know the seller and trust it hasnt been abused, it does seem like a fair deal. i had two 4x4 rams in the past and really liked them and had zero problems, and if i got rid of my tundra, i would probably go back to ram since toyota has now dropped the v-8 engine from their line up. that is a hell of a package...and its already tested and got all the bugs worked out. yeah, i dont think you would go wrong getting it.

i used to live a half hour from wenatchee...if i had that rig up there, i would certainly get my monies worth out of it.

 

[clawfilm]

My original plan was to get a Tundra with a camper

ha! yeah, that is what i have. a 2018 with a leer shell and a few accessories...

View attachment 283203

wow! that is a sharp rig! well, after seeing it and the fact that you know the seller and trust it hasnt been abused, it does seem like a fair deal. i had two 4x4 rams in the past and really liked them and had zero problems, and if i got rid of my tundra, i would probably go back to ram since toyota has now dropped the v-8 engine from their line up. that is a hell of a package...and its already tested and got all the bugs worked out. yeah, i dont think you would go wrong getting it.

i used to live a half hour from wenatchee...if i had that rig up there, i would certainly get my monies worth out of it.

Great build! That is similar setup to what I was thinking.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[MMc]

Nice rig for sale. Your friend doesn't understand that its just a truck. If you are trying to get 80% of you what you have into it, you are over pricer. what is the insurance replacement value? \

 

[clawfilm]

Nice rig for sale. Your friend doesn't understand that its just a truck. If you are trying to get 80% of you what you have into it, you are over pricer. what is the insurance replacement value? \

This is what I’m here to find out. From my understanding to get the truck on 40’s there’s a considerable jump in parts needed (opposed to 37s). And that’s where I believe most of the cost is going towards.

I’ve been tracking Prospectors, other power wagon builds from pre-2019. And they are mostly ranging in the 65-73k range. The low end usually aren’t on anything larger than a 35’s and the high end are on 40’s but don’t have all topper, lighting, recovery gear, full armor. So 80k feels right however I agree that usually mods don’t retain their value.

I’m definitely trying to justify this purchase to myself. But when I look at the numbers on paper, it does make me question the lack of depreciation of the mods.

The flip side to this is I know him personally, and know how this truck was cared for. The maintenance has been meticulous. It’s also turn key which I mentioned above (not necessarily a good thing, I love building rigs out. But with two small kiddo in the mix, time is fleeting these days).

I didn’t see that this forum has a full size rig thread. Would it be wrong to repost this there as well?