[Caitlyn Byrne]

Hello,

So I have a 2500 (CC/LB) on order. This is my first truck, and want to assemble an daily / recovery kit to keep in the truck at all times. Community feedback would be appreciated! (Over specced? Under specced? missing? Impractical?)

Among the list of things I am thinking about:

Daily:
Water, clothes, boots, snacks, etc. in a get home bag.
12"x12"x1.5" plywood board to serve as a landing pad for a jack
Polyester strap, 30klbs
Nylon strap, 30klbs
2.5" to 2" hitch adapter
2" hitch mount D Ring receiver
A couple extra 3/4" D Ring shackles
Front hitch mount (installed on truck)
Puma 12V 3/4HP 1.5g air compressor*
Air impact wrench
Sockets, wrenches, and other common tools
Ratchet staps, rope, etc.

Anticipating off roading:
12klbs winch (Front/rear Powerpole plugs will be installed on the truck w/ 1/0 wiring and appropriate fuses and switches)
hitch plate for winch
three >30klbs snatch blocks
air-down valves
hi-lift jack**
Ground anchor

I should state that my goal is getting the 7-8klb truck onto beaches, get to the end of trails, etc. Not interested in mudding, not likely to rock crawl.
I don't forsee forging new trails, merely getting me and the camera to remote places for interesting pictures. Do need to be able to go out in emergencies if snowmageddon hits.

* Unless anyone has suggestions for a tire compressor that actually works for 80psi. My current tire compressor that I keep in my Mazda struggles to fill my tires to even 40psi. Powering an impact wrench is a requirement for tire changing.
** It seems hi-lift style jacks, in addition to being near limit with 7klb trucks, are of limited use as 2500s don't have factory hi-lift points. Would a bottle jack or floor jack be better to carry around to assist with common tire problems?

Thanks all for the feedback / suggestions!

 

[rem26]

The hi-lift can be used as a come-along or winch, and look cool, but I find changing tires easier with regular jacks. I have a high lift in the garage, but have not installed it in/on my truck.

 

[Brewtus]

With a 2500, I'd stick to 20k straps. Otherwise, you'll be spending a lot of money getting higher rated connection components. If you do think you'll use all of the 30k straps, get shackles to match 3/4" are probably too small. 7/8" would be more appropriate.

Get a good quality hitch mount D-Link. The one Harbor Freight sells is cheap and works well for 1/2 tons and smaller, but I wouldn't trust it with anything bigger. I've got one and it hasn't broken yet, but I plan to do some pretty serious upgrades to it as I'll be going on a snow trip next year and will likely be hitting it pretty hard.

An air compressor with a reservoir is nice, but it takes up a lot of room. I have a little tiny Husky inflator from Home Depot. I think it goes up to 120 psi. Obviously it takes a while to fill a tire up to that point, but it will get to that pressure. We had three trucks out in the snow a 1500, F350, and a Taco; between mine and one other inflator, it took us about 30 minutes to air all three back up to 40 psi. Just enough to get us home.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-12-Volt-Inflator-HD12A/203356023

It sort of depends on how much money you want to spend. If you want something that will do the job, get a small "inflator" rather than a compressor and get a four way lug wrench for your wheels. That will also save on weight. If you have the money to do so, get an on-board air setup. ARB makes one that generally gets good reviews. Then it's under your hood and you don't have to use up storage space for it.

The 148 piece Crescent tool kit is fantastic. I have two. One for the car and one for the truck. I've had to use a 6 ft cheater bar on the 1/2" drive ratchet to get my axle nuts off and it didn't break.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CRESCENT-148-PIECE-MECHANICS-TOOL-KIT-WITH-CASE-CTK148MP-/261633429861?pt=AU_Hand_Tools&hash=item3cea915165

Also, as time goes on, you'll have to get tools to fix certain things like the axle nut socket which is much bigger than anything a tool kit will have. As you get truck specific tools, throw-em in the truck so you always know where they are.

High lifts come in different styles with different capacities. Get the All Cast version at least. This has a 7k capacity, your truck weighs about 7k lbs. unless you're going to be lifting the whole thing at once, you shouldn't have a problem. We usually use ratcheting straps to sling around a bumper then tie a big loop in them and lift on that. A bottle jack for regular tire changing is much more convenient and much safer.

What in god's name are you going to need 3-30k snatch blocks for?! Two at most. Even that seems a bit much. It doesn't sound like you'll be doing anything that would require that much routing/reduction. Also, snatch blocks are typically designed for cable size rather than for weight. So, if you get one to match your winch cable size, it should be rated such that it would break the cable before the pulley. Something to verify, but I believe this to be the case.

You'll need something to keep all of these in. Most of the tool boxes you can get from home depot, sears, lowes etc. are terrible. Even DeeZees aren't all that great anymore. I have a Lund Challenger. It's welded all the way around the box so it keeps moisture out and the lid is fairly robust, you can walk around on it without bending it. And the locking mechanism works very smoothly. But they cost significantly more than others.

Other things to consider:
Tire Plug Kit
Dedicated Winching Gloves
Winch Line Damper
Fire Extinguisher
Jumper Cables
First Aid Kit

[Edit] Also, a tree saver sling(s) ~6' One per snatch block plus one for the end of the line.

 

[Caitlyn Byrne]

Thanks for the replys so far.

I was erring on the side of 4x, but I am ok if 3x the trucks weight is safe for recovery gear.

For air, I definitely want something to live in the truck. I might start with a cheap inflator, but I get impatient pretty easy OBA is what I want to eventually do, but still have a lot of research to do on it.

The three snatch blocks were for snatching in reverse. (at least according to the tutorials I have seen online.) Only, I wasn't thinking straight, as you only need three snatch blocks if your winch is hard mounted on one side of the vehicle.

Definitely will add the other stuff to the list.

 

[dodge man]

Do you have a job that is paying for all this stuff? Is it a serious hobby? If not save your money and leave all the weight out of your truck and just plan on getting someone to pull you out if you get stuck.

 

[davetha]

Which RAM 2500 model are you getting? If you are trying to go all out here and you didn't get the power wagon, then get some lockers. Lockers are a night and day difference off roading.

 

[DonT]

I no longer rock crawl, I now do much the same as you.

I carry an ARB twin setup in a case. It has a small tank in there too. It works great for tires and will run an impact to change tires too.

I went with a replacement front bumper with a permanent mount 12k Warn winch.

Get more than enough air hose too. I tried a couple of the coiled hoses, they both kinked on my. Now I just use standard air hose and roll it up.

You can't have too many shackles.

I like bottle jacks in the rough. Just because you have a base, you won't always have level ground, the side loads are hard on jacks. I have ruined scissor jacks, and floor jacks out there on uneven ground and I don't trust high lift jacks. I have two I won't use. As far as I am concerned all they are good for is raising and pushing sideways to get out of something but I have not had to do that since I always have a winch.

Fire extinguishers!

Trash bags.

Water.