Lifted Dodge Durango Should Be a Factory Build
With a few simple mods, this Durango went from grocery-getter to all-weather dominator.
The Dodge Durango, like other offerings from the automaker, is essentially marketed as an on-road vehicle. Not to say that it won’t tackle a trail or two, of course. But Dodge’s focus remains on paved road performance. And sure, the Durango SRT is certainly awesome. But what about those of us who crave a beastly off-road performer in the mold of the Ford Raptor or Chevy Colorado ZR2? Surely, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Dodge to give us a similar Durango offering, would it?
Just take Dodge Forum member Thekoning and his Durango Citadel build, for example. Even though we rarely see any sort of lifted Durango, this thing just looks natural sitting up on knobby BFG K02 rubber. Almost like it came from the factory like that. This, in spite of the fact that the humble SUV began life as your average soccer mom grocery getter.
The idea for turning a new, stock Durango into a lifted off-roader came courtesy of mother nature, as the OP explains.
“Not the best handling in the winter with its low ride height and crappy all-seasons. We did some research and found out about Rocky Road’s lift kit. The kit costs $450 and made for the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But it fits the Durango fine, adding 2.5 inches of lift. And it allows for 32.1-inch tires with minimal trimming of the felt liner. The lift was installed by Performance Sales and Leasing in Belleville. They took 15 hours to do it, a lot longer than it should have taken. Some other users say it takes about 5.”
That dreaded cold and powdery white stuff also drove the OP to choose the aggressive set of tires to replace the standard all-seasons. And they look rather perfect wrapped around a set of 7033 Pro Comp 275/65/R18 wheels.
“The tires we went with are BFG T/A K02s because they are actually Trac severe snow approved, which is unusual for an all-terrain tire. This tire can get you insurance discounts. It is considered a winter tire by insurance companies. These tires are the successor to the original KO, which were not so good in snow but overall an excellent tire. The new KO2s are generally cheap for a tire of its class, and they offer aggressive looks with lots of functional traction. The tires are also quite quiet!”
Next, an LED light bar helps with the dark Canadian winters.
“Wanted more light for night driving, so I bought this 32-inch LED bar off eBay. It has a 3 year warranty and cost only $130, a steal compared to $1,000 for a Rigid Industries light bar.”
A couple of minor touches made a major difference in the look of this formerly tame Durango.
“Threw on the fender stripes as most people have and added the block text “Hemi” to the hood. The Durango’s appearance has dramatically changed and we couldn’t be more happy with it. Definitely a mean looking truck now.”
To give the Durango a sound to match those looks, the OP made a few changes to the exhaust system as well.
“I got more sound from the Hemi by cutting out the resonator and installing an H-pipe for $110. A local muffler shop did the installation.”
The results of these simple changes speak for themselves. It makes us wonder why Dodge doesn’t offer some sort of off-road package for the Durango. Which, by the way, looks rather fantastic in this guise. You can check out more info and pics on Thekoning’s awesome ‘ute (which is now up for sale!) by heading over to the build thread!
