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Luxury Laramie Edition

90K views 745 replies 57 participants last post by  Arth 
#1 ·
Hello all! Welcome to my build page (well, building page). LOL

My goal with my new rig is to chrome it out to be the best damn looking Laramie in the Basin (live just south of SLC).

This is her window sticker:
Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4x4
Mineral Gray Metallic
Dark Slate Gray
Leather Trimmed Bucket Seats
Floor-Mounted Shift Lever
Heated Second Row Seats

5.7L V8 HEMI (Love this part!!)
6 Speed Automatic

Standard Equipment
Power Adjustable Pedals w/Memory
Security Alarm
Trailer Tow Wiring w/4 pin Connector
7-Pin Harness
HD Engine Cooling
Advanced Multistage Front Airbags
Supplemental Side-Curtain Front & Rear Airbags
TPMS Display
Remote Entry
Electric Shift on Demand Transfer Case
Parkview Back up Camera

Interior
Second-Row In-Floor Storage
AC w/Dual Zone Control
730N SAT/CD/DVD/MP3/HDD/NAV
Alpine Surround w/9 Speakers & Subwoof
Heated Front Seats
10-way Pwr Driver w/Memory & 6-Way Pwr Pass
Front Center Seat Cushion Storage
Memory for Radio, Driver's Seat, Mirrors & Pedals
Heated Steering Wheel (very nice feature! no more gloves!)
Wood Grain Instrument Panel Accent
Deluxe Door Trim Panel
SiriusXM Travel Link/1Yr Sub
SiriusXM Sat Radio/1Yr Sub
Uconnect Voice Command w/Bluetooth
40GB Hard Drive with 20GB Available
Steering Wheel-Mounted Audio Controls (a must have)
Rear 60/40 Split Folding Seat (This is NOT true.. they only flip up.. they DO NOT fold down! :4-angermax:)
Power Lumbar Adjust
115V Aux Power Outlet
Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
Sun Visors w/Illuminated Mirrors
Rear Power Sliding Window

Exterior
20inx9in Aluminum Chrome-Clad Wheels
Dual Rear Exhaust
Lower Two Tone Paint
Bright Grille
Body Color/Chrome Door Handles
Accent Fender Flares
Halogen Quad Headlamps
Fog Lamps
Chrome Exterior Mirrors
Power Multi-Function Mirrors w/Manual Fold-Away
Exterior Mirrors w/Heating Element
Auto-Dimming Exterior Mirrors
P275/60R20 BSW All Season Tires

Optional Equipment (the fun starts here!)
Leather-Trimmed Bucket Seats
Floor-Mounted Auto Shift Lever
Heated Second-Row Seats
Ventilated Front Seats (woo baby.. up the neder regions! :SHOCKED:)
Customer Preferred Package 25H
Protection Group
Tow Hooks
Transfer Case Skid Plate Shield
Front Suspension Skid Plate
Monotone Paint (had to have this.. trade in was two tone..not a fan anymore)
Body-Color Fender Flares
Front and Rear Rubber/Slush Floor Mats
3.92 Rear Axle Ratio
Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle
Power Chrome Trailer Tow Mirrors w/Manual Fold-Away
Power Sunroof
Chrome Tubular Side Steps by Mopar
P275/60R20 OWL All Season Tires
Remote Start System (omg.. the best!)
Class IV Receiver Hitch
Trailer Brake Control

More pictures to come!
 

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#296 ·
Well.. I am back from Cancun and wow am I beat! Really not looking forward to returning to work on Monday! Ugh.

As for Gatty.. hubby and I discussed it and he said it sounds like a fun getaway for us (we like road trips).. but we need more time to plan for that looooong of a road trip. So we are planning on attending next year. Seeing as how I just learned about it a month ago, it was too short of notice for us to go this year. But alas!! We shall see you all at Gatty 2014!

I am picking right back up on my Ram.. we are going to be buying the Big Rig Ice (with courtesy light feature) and a bull bar later today. I am just working the numbers and balancing discounts to see which site offers the best deal right now before I pull the trigger. If all goes well, I will be installing both 'mods' within 2 weeks. And, as always, pictures will soon follow. :)

I will be mounting KC SlimLites to my bull bar eventually.. but I figured I need to have a plan of attack and need to buy and install the bull bar first lol.. but yet another set of lights are in my Ram's near future.
 
#298 ·
Thanks for the video! I want the Ice version even more now that I've seen it in action. Worth the $30 difference, IMO. :)

I've submitted a best offer on eBay. Seller is an auth. dealer of Recon products.. has the kit listed at $179.95 with free shipping and says the item will ship directly from Recon's warehouse.. Recon's site has the same price.. but with tbdodge I can knock it down to $152.96 (before $14.99 shipping).. so I offered the eBay seller $152.96 and shall see if s/he accepts..
 
#301 ·
Okay! More Recon lights for me! Just placed my order (directly with Recon this time) for my Big Rig Ice light bar kit... oh the anticipation! Hope they ship it fast! :D Just can't wait! Now to order my bull bar tomorrow! Woot! Oh happy day... err... night! :)
 
#303 ·
Update: So my Big Rigs are currently somewhere between Utah and Florida :D Have an estimated delivery of this Saturday.. can't wait!

Before I purchase my bull bar, I decided to contact the seller/company again to verify again that this bar will mount in a way allowing my tow hooks to remain. They replied with "Use of the tow hooks will not be available since the bull bar will be mounted where the hooks are held."

Okiedoke.. So I sent a PM to the user whose picture I've been drooling over and using for inspiration for my front end look and luckily he replied (has not been active since last November).. said his hooks are still there.. simply put, his tow hook nuts and bolts are pulling double duty now as they're being used to hold the bar in place on the frame as well. Only change he had to make to his truck itself was cutting a bit of the lower air dam. No biggie. So I am going to buy the bar and fiddle around with it until I get it the way I want it.. but isn't that how most 'mods' go anyhow? lol



Thanks much! :) I have come leaps and bounds since last November, that's for sure.
 
#304 ·
I could have told you that! The bull bar I had(still have) is the same way. The tow hook bolts double as the bull bar holder as well.

I don't really see myself putting the bull bar back on however due to the look so this one may be scrap because it is a hair damaged.

Granted my bull bar was an ebay one:

 
#308 ·
What is the code for my truck's color? I copied this from an email I received from Chrysler shortly after buying:

PDM Mineral Gray Met. Clear Coat
QDMS Mineral Gray Met. Clear Coat

So which one is it? lol
 
#309 ·
Bull bar ordered! Big Rigs in the mail! Now waiting for a call back on a current price quote for having my visors paint matched. It's been a great day so far! :)

Many thanks to Arth for his patience and assistance.. :worshippy: Here's hoping it all works out over here!
 
#310 ·
Okiedokie!

Visors are at my local ma & pa body shop for their paint job. I decided to stop by since I was in town today and let them see exactly what I was asking them to paint.. their paint expert, Lance, looked my truck over and said.. "Yep, I can paint those". Inside, the receptionist asked me when I'd like to come by and drop them off.. I went outside and took them off and handed them to her.. she looked at me and said.. "I'll take that as no appointment is needed then?" LOL They will paint them either Friday or Tuesday, and I'll have them back next Wednesday at the latest. :D Oh yes, and this is all for $100 out the door and Lance said he will be painting both sides in order to make it as smooth looking as possible (he said there's a possibility of the job not being smooth if he only painted one side.. okiedoke).

I stopped by the service dept at my dealer too. Back beginning of April I had my truck in for the warping front seats. A tech took pictures, sent them to Chrysler and I was informed a few days later that replacements had been approved but there was no known ETA.. I would get a call when they were in. I haven't heard anything since. Turns out the tech who was handling my case no longer works there and my case kind of fell through the cracks. I spoke with the service dept manager, Lance (not the same as above lol), and he updated me. Says he is now personally handling my case for the seats and that they have received one side but the other side is not expected to ship until sometime in June now. Doh. But Lance called a few contacts trying to expedite this along and he will personally call me in a few days to give me a new status.

I also brought up the DRL topic again. I just can't let it go. If Canadian 1500s have the ability, mine should too. I told them my story of how Cowboy Dodge in Cheyenne, WY said they could turn my DRL option on with a flash but wanted to charge me $150 (since in the US, this is considered a customer preference).. Lance said he will contact them and find out how they would've done it and will then do it for me, no charge.

And finally, my USB ports. I still cannot get either port, in the radio face or the glove box one, to recognize an inserted thumb drive. Very frustrating.

I have an appointment tomorrow at 1pm to have the DRL and USB issues troubleshot and see what they can do about getting those two problems fixed. Lance assured me that "One way or another, Kai, we'll get your rig right for ya".

I LOVE my dealership! I believe a batch of homemade cookies or brownies or something is in order here. Will be flipping through my recipes later this evening to see what sweets I can whip up for these sweethearts! I have read others' accounts about their dealerships and how if you create a good relationship how they will bend over backwards to help you out. I believe I am there now. And it is most awesome! :)
 
#311 ·
Update..

No go on the DRLs. Ah well. I'll live.

Thanks to PaulMys, I asked if they could turn the seat belt chime off for me in the computer.. and they did! Woot!

Lance (service manager) could not get the USB ports to recognize inserted thumb drives (formatted correctly and should've worked) so he is making a few calls to the "Chrysler Gurus" and I should hear back from him next week about this.

We tested my phone connected via USB port and it worked.. but only for music.. not pictures. All of the thumb drives we tried contain both music and picture files and the radio wouldn't recognize the thumb drives at all. He believes we will most likely be replacing the entire unit due to the software being up to date.. seems like a hardware issue to him. Me.. no idea!

I tossed the idea of replacing with a 430N unit.. nope. Chrysler looks at VINs and sends the exact same unit if a replacement is warranted. I would have to pay for the 430N out of pocket. No thanks.. Garmin ain't that important to me.

So, I shall give updates as I receive them myself.

And I came home to a wonderful sight on my front porch.. about to break the box open and read up on how to get these bad boys on my truck either tonight (almost four more hours of sunlight today) or tomorrow! Stay tuned!

 
#312 ·
Installation of Big Rig Ice Running Lights Part #26414X

Recon Big Rig Ice running board lights are now installed!

Been tossing around the idea of doing a write up on this.. seems like a lot of members either already know how to do this or have already done it... but I'll give you my version and run down of my experience.

I didn't take any pics during the install process because, well.. it was just that, a process and I didn't need any distractions.. lol

*******Installation of Big Rig Ice Running Lights Part #26414X*******

I laid the bars on my dining room table and applied 3M tape (I was not about to use the included screws and brackets to mount them!).

Next, I measured the bars (62"), subtracted 2" for the tip of the bar that contains no LEDs, stuck a piece of masking tape at center (30") and marked with a pen. Now I had center (of the actual LEDs) marked on the bars.

Then, out to the truck. I decided to measure for center based on the foot pads on my running boards - mainly because I purchased the Ice version with the white courtesy lights and wanted to have those centered over the foot pads. I don't recall the actual measurements, but I stuck masking tape just below the doors and marked center with the pen again.

Starting with the passenger side, I laid the bar (loom end toward the engine bay) on the running board and lined up the pen marks on the bar and the truck. Removed the 3M backing, slowly positioned the bar, rechecked my marks, rolled the bar up into place and pressed up along the length of the bar to ensure full adhesion of the 3M tape.

Next, I got a length of copper wire.. fed the wire down from the engine bay to come out above the front wheel well liner and just behind my mud flaps. I wrapped the wires in the bar loom to the end of the wire and secured with electrical tape.. then pulled the loom up to the engine bay and just draped it over the edge of the bay for now. I laid down under the running boards and secured the loom with a tie wrap about 6" from the end of the bar to the inside of the body (there were a few holes nearby - it was difficult to feed the tie wrap, but got 'er done).

Next, I separated the white (courtesy light) wire from the loom as far as I could and routed it along the back side of the engine bay (there is a liner, of sorts, that I simply tucked the wire behind) and ran it to the driver's side corner where it would wait..

Next, I opened the dirt guard at the front of the wheel well (it rested quite nicely on my tire as a way to keep it open) and then fed the copper wire/loom assembly down through the dirt guard. I now had my loom dangling inside the wheel well. Since I only had to connect to the parking and turn signal wires, I decided to try to access the turn signal light in the main headlight unit without removing the grille and headlight unit altogether. And it worked! (Albeit very small working space - but not too small for my female hands ;))

At this point, I put the passenger side on pause and repeated everything on the driver side..

Fast forward........

Now, I have the bar looms dangling in their respective wheel wells, dirt guards propped open on the tires, both turn signal lamps unplugged and dangling in place, and the passenger side white wire routed across and laying with the driver side white wire just behind the battery.

Next came the wiring. Easy peasy. On both sides (but obviously not simultaneously) I spliced into the parking and turn signal wires, snapped the t-taps together, tested the bars to ensure my wiring was correct and replaced the bulbs.

To finalize this install, I connected the white wires (for the courtesy lights). The wire from the passenger side was not long enough, so I had to extend it with additional wire (I actually cannibalized my broken Recon Xtreme for the extra wire lol!), spliced the driver and passenger together, and taped the end to the copper wire. Inside the truck, I opened the access panel on the door side of the dash, found pin/wire #13 (white w/yellow stripe that others had identified on other threads as being the wire for the dome lights).. then, with some help from hubby, we stuck the copper wire through a gasket from the engine bay into the driver side foot well, just behind the brake pedal.. then routed the copper wire up through the access panel opening (from behind and below), and spliced the white wire into the dome lights and tested the bars.

It took me about 3 hours for this install. But the results are SO worth it! These Big Rig bars do illuminate during the day, but the LEDs are hardly visible. So, I will take some night shots and perhaps a video this evening to try and show off these amazing lights I've got now! :D
 
#314 ·
I am REALLY lovin' my Big Rig Ice (and my Recon cab lights, and my Recon Xtreme)! Made a run to Wally World for some curtains for the master bedroom this evening.. there was a group of high schoolers hanging out, their cars all circled up, doors open, music blasting, hootin' and hollarin'.. then I unlocked my truck.. the music continued but they all stopped talking and yelling and I glanced over to see them all staring at the lit up rig. I got in, turned her on and started to pull out.. I swear their jaws dropped seeing my running lights and then even more when I engaged my turn signal (they were behind me at this point).. sorry if I say it too often, but... I LOVE my truck!! They can keep their Prius' and low rider Honda Civics! Wouldn't trade my baby for anything! :D

Can't wait til Wednesday when my bull bar arrives.. after I get that installed, I'll order my KCs and rock the night even more! Mwaahaaahaaa!
 
#315 ·
Painted Visors!

Woke up to a voice mail this morning.. my visors are ready for pickup! Paint guy was able to get them painted on Friday and they cured all weekend. They had to remove the manufacturer's applied tape to paint them thoroughly so I went to Auto Zone and picked up the thinnest 3M tape I could get.. it appears to be thin enough, but we shall see when it comes time to install.

I do not have any surface prep or scotch brite pads left over.. question is do I need to find some or will it work without it by putting these back in the channels? I prepped the channels with the included prep pads and scotch brite pads originally so I am wondering if I need to do it again? Or if that one time was good enough for this reinstall? I do have alcohol pads if needed. Any help here would be appreciated. I want to ensure that these go in as solid as they did the last time.

Hopefully will figure out what I need to do it right and get them on in the next few days. Better to do it right the first time. :)

Here's some shots of how they look now.. my ma & pa shop did a superb job!





 
#324 ·
Just got my bull bar on. Mounted it using the tow hook bolts, despite the manufacturer telling me I wouldn't be able to keep/use my hooks after installing their bar. :gy: Just had to saw a few slots into the air dam to pass the mounting brackets through.. worked like a charm.. looks like a factory install :)

Detailed walk through..

Lowered the air dam to allow my husband a bit more room to use the power drill..


Installed the support plates to the tow hook anchor bolts, marked an outline of the plates and drilled two holes so we could see where to drill from underneath..





We snapped the air dam back into place then, using a 3/4" wood drill bit, made two larger holes...


We made a masking tape guide and then used a jig saw to create the slot for the plate to drop through..




The plates fit through the first slots we cut, but we didn't take into account the bolts.. :LOL: so we made a few more cuts with the jig saw and all fit fine after that..




Then we mounted the bar and called it a night.. we have a little adjusting to do still, but we had worked through our normal dinner time, were getting tired and needed a drink! :gy:





 
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