2009 Dodge Ram Suspension & Upgrades - Project Black Sheep

Day 15
We welded the brackets to the frame so that the lower aluminum A-arm would hit the air bump during hard compression. We were worried about the aluminum A-arm, but Dodge engineers explained that the arm is a forged-aluminum piece and should be very strong. If we ever have issues, we'll most likely work with Blitzkrieg to make a fabricated lower A-arm similar to the upper.

Day 17
The Edelbrock team made special air-bump mounts that were TIG-welded into the center of the upper coil mount. The air bump replaces the factory bumpstop in this location. Even though these American-made air bumps are designed and engineered to work as well as any air bump on the market, they also incorporate some cost-saving measures to bring them in well under the normal price of competitors' products.

Day 17
To weld the rear bumpstop mount in place we used the new Miller Diversion 165 TIG-welder. This is the most user-friendly welder we've ever tested, and with a price tag around $1,600 it's also affordable. TIG-welding isn't the easiest type of welding, but this welder simply requires turning the machine on, setting the material thickness, and setting the material type. Plus it comes with a TIG Welding for Dummies book and instructional DVD to help get you started.

Day 18
In addition to the air bumps in the rear coils, the rear suspension also has new 4130 chromoly suspension links from Spidertrax and modified coils from Eibach. The links should take much more abuse than the stock links, and since we were short on time, the coils were tweaked for some additional lift until we decide on a new coil rate.

Day 18
Each suspension link also uses a 1 1/4-inch forged Johnny Joint from Currie Enterprises. We initially test-fit the joints with a 9/16-inch mounting bolt, but since the brackets in the frame and axle brackets use a larger metric bolt, we eventually decided on a 5?8-inch through-bolt.

Day 18
In the rear we installed some Edelbrock extreme-travel IAS rear shocks. We upgraded our rear shocks to remote reservoirs for additional cooling, plus the zinc coat and clearcoated finish, Nitro Steel piston rod, and rolled-closed shock tubes all equal a durable leak-free shock.

Day 19
The interior of our Dodge Ram 1500 TRX4 package was made for comfort and use, with no extra glamour to get in the way. The fabric-covered high-bolstered seats were great for our cross-country trek, but since this truck was going to be part show, part go, we opted for an upgrade.

Day 21
Mopar has an optional Katzkin leather recover of any Dodge, Chrysler, or Jeep vehicle, and it's really a nice upgrade. We went full tilt and had the Ram logo and the Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road logo stitched in bright red and black. Katzkin offers a wide range of colors and styles, and these days refurbishing your truck is sometimes smarter than buying a new one. Katzkin seats may just be the ticket to give your used truck that new-truck feel.