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CB's 2012 PW ST build thread

20K views 108 replies 25 participants last post by  Griffon 
#1 ·
The 8 week wait on my PW ST factory order is finally over!! Picked it up a couple days ago.

Thought I'd start my build thread with a few picks of it all brand new with 15 miles on it before I drove it home.

The dark gray grille, monochrome paint, and "tailgate only" PW decal are how the ST's come standard.

I love how it looks stock now, but can't wait to get the chrome bumpers off and have gloss black Ranch Hands on!

No inside pics yet, but loving the vinyl floor. Dropped some black Husky liners over top. They fit great and vinyl on vinyl movement is minimal.

Just had the solid rear glass swapped for a Mopar manual slider today. Much better. (Solid rear glass now for sale so let me know if anyone is interested/needs a replacement.) Also just dropped a bed mat in and put a plastic Mopar bedliner tailgate cap on the gate to give the spray in liner some added protection.

Will post more pics & write ups as mods get done.

CB
 

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#46 ·
PS...feel free to say it if you want 'cuz I'm not 100% thrilled with the way the front bumper looks and the way it entirely changed the lines of the front end.

No goin' back now, but there's lots to be said for the look and simplicity of the stock PW front bumper.

CB
 
#47 ·
The truck doesn't look bad with the bumpers just different. It's more of a work truck now, but I still think it looks good. It just makes me want 35" tires more.
 
#49 ·
I forgot to ask- with this setup do you rub anywhere at full lock? My old truck always rubbed on the right control arm at full lock and drove me crazy.
 
#50 ·
Nope...no rub anywhere at full lock either way with this set up.
 
#51 ·
Looks awesome! I really like the clean look of the stock bumper but they won't hold up very well to dragging them across the rocks.
 
#52 ·
Thanks. Yeah, unfortunately true about our stock bumpers. They're built for looks & fuel economy these days...not protection unfortunately. Really wish that wasn't the case.

I considered having higher line, steel plate style bumpers fab'd by a very high end fab shop I know instead of the Ranch Hand route but they would've been unbelievably expensive (more than Aluminess) and maybe not quite the look I wanted either.

Oh well...these aren't doing me any clearance favors at all but they're stout. Really wish Ranch Hand wouldn't have added the front uprights to the front of this bullnose bumper for the 4Gens. This same bumper they make for the 3Gens is much cleaner. Tried to make the 3Gen model work but their bumper brackets on that are incompatible with our stock winch mount.
 
#54 ·
WYwagon, not sure what year yours is, however on my 05, the spare tire does not fit with 35's on the rims. I am putting a mount in my bed so I can have the spare tire there when wheeling the truck, I normally don't carry it with me though as I have a tire repair kit and pump that will handle most issues and AAA for the rest :)

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
 
#55 ·
The reason the 35" tire didn't fit under your truck is your dual exhaust. On the 3rd Gen Ram as long as you have a single exhaust the 35" will fit, even though it's very tight. Once you go dual's you're SOL.

From what I've seen on the 4th Gen Ram's a 35" tire will fit in the stock spare location. I'm not sure if a dual exhaust will effect that or not, but I have seen a few pic's of the single exhuast and 35" tires tucked up under the truck.
 
#56 ·
The TPMS "Low Pressure" warning did go off when the new KM2s were installed but only because it didn't quite like where the pressures were set front & rear. Just had to correct those, get them within its acceptable "light load" range and then set it. No prob.

Bound to happen with this system any time you do any tire change, work, etc. I'm trying my best to like this system and think we'll get along fine soon. I must say at least mine is extremely accurate thus far.

To answer the question about how well the 35" spare fits...perfectly. Like I said earlier though, it is just a hair close to the rear diff and they might make very slight contact at full stuff but I'm not worried. The 35" BFG barely touches the heat shield at the top but not at the bottom at all. No tweaking required to that at all. Nice clearance in fact and it fits just right between frame rails without having to cram it up there and pinch anything.

From what I know of Toyo Open Country MTs, they tend to run on the tall/wide side of their stated dimensions. I really doubt a 35/12.5 in that tire would fit in the stock spare location. Worth a shot though. Let us know if you make it work.

I considered that tire for a second, but I believe they only come in E range in that size and they're about 17 lb heavier per tire than the 35/12.5/17 KM2 (which only comes in D range in that size). The Toyos are great/super tough tires, but too stiff and heavy for my taste.

CB
 
#57 ·
Truck is riding & handling amazingly with Carli setup. Makes it feel like the world's heaviest front bumper (kidding but not) isn't even hanging on the front at all!

Finally getting around to posting pics of the custom fire extinguisher bracket I had Armorology (Co. Springs) make me a couple weeks back. (They did the steel part and machined aluminum spacers.)

They tapped the center mounting holes with threads so I could add a Drake Q/R mount and H3R Halgard bottle. Sandblasted the raw steel bracket to finish then I just shot it with a clear satin finish to protect. I upgraded the stock seat mounting bolts to grade 10 (and longer to accommodate) and Loctite'd in.

Simple, but typical Armorology work. Nails every detail and dimension to perfection.

No conflict with footroom even being 6'3" and long legged. I would like it up a little higher but at least it doesn't conflict at all with the ST manual seat fore/aft adjustment.

Still need to just trim the little plastic cover that goes on outside seat rail so it will clip back in around the spacer to keep factory look. Will do that with some special plastic trimming tools they have rather than Dremel myself so it looks/fits super clean.
 

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#58 ·
That looks awesome!
 
#59 ·
Thanks. Yeah, it's an extremely solid functional mount and an easy, fast grab if ever in need. Let's hope not.
 
#60 ·
congrats on the rig man, looks awesome...I also bought my truck from Brandon...had them ship it to PA...what else is planned for your beast?
 
#61 ·
Nice. Yeah, Hal Turley, the fleet mgr at Brandon is awesome as is the whole rest of their team in sales, service & parts.

Next couple mods up:

*Custom full DOM weld on tube sliders from Armorology. They already ordered all the materials. Just in their project queue to get made so should have them on and complete by end of August.

*Custom full Cordura seat cover set for front & rear (incl. center console and all headrests) from Marathon Seat Covers, Bozeman, MT. 8 week lead time with them right now. Ordered late May so will have on by end of July.

Really looking forward to both these. After that I think it'll be set for a bit. :rck:
 
#62 ·
You should add a set of JBA headers to that mod list! :D
 
#64 ·
Haha...I hear you but I prefer to keep my intakes & exhausts totally stock with the only possible exception being the addition of a snorkel somewhere down the road. I think leaving that stuff stock is better for both short and long term reliability.
 
#65 ·
Thanks. No, they don't have any plans to manufacture & sell these. This was just a little one-off.

However, the Drake Q/R mount is a totally separate, mass-produced item you can get anywhere.

Not hard to replicate the steel bracket at all.
 
#67 ·
That's true. Just have to find the right fabricator.
 
#68 ·
Getting around to posting a few pics from a southern Utah trip a couple weeks ago.

Highlighting the need for additional rear load support. Carli long travel airbags are in the not too distant future.
 

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#69 ·
Haha I got to have a bit of a chuckle that NorthFace items so far South!
Utah is such a nice area! I want to take my mountain bike down to Canyonlands and hit up a few trails, with both the bike and PW.
What suspension set-up do you have? the Carli 3.0? Or just the Carli steering upgrade?
I am kind humming and hawing about both for mine after I plastifab my grille black and do my rear bumper
 
#70 ·
Funny...yeah, TNF gear goes anywhere. Yep, Utah is an amazing place. So much to explore.

My Carli set up is front coils, chro-mo control arms, track bar, low mount stabilizer, ball joints, diff guard, rear full progressive leaf pack, and Bilstein 5100s matched to the setup. (Got it all from 8 Lug.)
 
#71 ·
Great truck! ST Power Wagon's are my favorite...not all of the BS you don't need in a SLT or Laramie just all of the goods that make a PW a PW. Your touches to an already sweet truck really set it off! I too do a lot of roaming around UT but a '78 GM truck with a late model fuel injected big block. It would have been great to see you out there a few weeks ago.
 
#72 ·
Thanks. Yep, all my thoughts exactly on STs.
 
#73 ·
Finally got my SuperHides seat covers from Marathon Seat Covers in Bozeman, MT after a 2 month wait.

Here are a few pics. They're 1000 denier real DuPont Cordura so should be very durable and water resistant. And...as I've done with as many other accessories as possible...they're made in the good ol' US of A.

The color is called "flannel". A very close match to the tan weave in the factory seat center panels. Really lightens up the inside and should hide dirt pretty well too. Very pleased with the fit and install was pretty straightforward.
 

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#74 ·
Those look like they fit great! And look good too!
 
#75 ·
Thanks. Yeah, they fit nice and tight. (Wish they had individual panels sewn on the front seats rather than just one solid panel. Then they'd conform a little better to the side bolsters but that would just add to cost and seams can fail quicker so oh well.)
 
#77 ·
The ST PW (like any other ST trim level) only has a one piece back seat with no fold out center armrest. it still lifts up "whole" to get to the underseat storage.

You have to get an SLT or Laramie to get the 60/40 split rear seat with fold out center armrest. I really wanted a split seat but wasn't willing to buy an SLT just to get it.

The SuperHides cover is a two piece. Seat back then seat bottom. They attach independent of one another. They make covers custom cut for the split seats w/ armrests too. Just have to specify when ordering.
 
#79 ·
Any ETA on those rock sliders from Armorology? Can't wait to see them... if they turn out like the other products on their webpage I think that is the route I am going to go.
The steel is all bought...sitting in their rack waiting for available production time. There's a chance they'll be on & done end of week of 8/27, but more likely 1-2 weeks later than that.

Will keep you posted and share pics once done. Looking forward to them.
 
#80 ·
Truck finally went into shop today to get sliders made. Had to put it off a couple months as I've been in process of moving.

Brief details:
Inner/main tube 2" dia. x .120" DOM
Outer tube 1.75" dia. x .120" DOM
Frame mounts: 2" x 3" x .188" square tubing

Welded to frame. Should be stout enough without being too heavy. Estimating about 55 lb. per side.

Will post pics asap....should be done a week from this Friday at latest. Looking forward to finally having them.
 
#82 ·
This sounds great. Your truck is one of the baddest here on DT!
 
#81 ·
Nice! Looking at their website, their products look top notch! I really like that rear bumper design....

I can't wait to see how these turn out!
 
#83 ·
Can't wait to see pics!
 
#84 ·
Thanks...can't wait for 'em to be done and post pics. Production is going slower than expected, but it's really hard to get 'em exact when you're dealing with side to side inconsistencies on these bodies & frames. They will be exact though and going to be sweet.

We think of these bodies as more or less straight until you put something truly straight up to it and see just how convex these cabs are.

They also vary slightly side to side in distance from the frame to the cab pinch seam. Then the way the bed tucks behind the cab creates a little visual challenge too.

With all that and the move I've got going on these won't be on & done until about Nov. 7. Post pics when I can.
 
#85 ·
My Armorology sliders are finally on. Very happy with them. Came in at 65 lb per side.

These were extremely difficult to get uniform to the body and side to side. Very labor intensive, but they nailed them. Ended up about a 1/4" tighter to the body than we shot for though.

Powdercoating is a subtle texture...some kind of "cross linked polymer" blend that is very durable & UV resistant. Awesome job by Spectrum Powdercoating in Co. Springs. Pretty much a perfect match to the factory flares too.
 

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#88 ·
Thanks. Yes, they're barely steps which is what I wanted. You can get the ball of your foot and a couple toes on. I should've taken a pic with the door open.
 
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