Hello everyone,
I bought my 2002 4.7L QC Ram Sport last week. It still has the factory warranty and the Chrysler 8/80 certified warranty I traded in a 98 Blazer. I am very happy with the transition so far. I have a few questions to bounce off of you.

My one complaint is that the motorized seat shifts when stopping and starting. I took a look and noticed the shaft that from the drive motor to the sleeve that telescopes to pitch the seat up and down has a sloppy fit. Is this a common problem with this model? Has anyone encountered a similar problem? If so, was the dealership able to remedy the problem?

I already started adding accesories to the truck. I completed my first addition today. I installed a Extang Tuff Tonno II. So far so good. I shot from the hip selecting this cover based on a few factors. I have other additions in mind but would enjoy some feed back before I purchase anything else.

1. Bed Liner - Any recommendations between drop-ins and spray-ons? I am leaning towards a Line-X but am unsure of the cost benefit vs. drop-ins. Any insight from those who know first hand would be appreciated.

2. Nerf Bars - I have looked around a bit and am unsure which brands carry a solid rep and which ones do not. I have found a set of Mopar nerfs on Ebay for $355. Is that reasonable for nerfs compared to say Bully, Westin, etc? What about durability, both finish and structural integrity?

3. My other additions will include Sirius radio w/ custom sub enclosure, front window tint, CAI, and exhaust upgrade. My experience with these items leaves me with no questions.

I have looked at a few drop ins from JL Audio, MTX, and some other company. I do not want to lose my fold flat floor, atleast not the larger section. None of these setups allows me to avoid this situation. I will be building a custom fiberglass enclosure to fit under the seat behind the driver. When I am finished I will have a plaster mold to build additional enclosures if anyone is interested. This setup will be for a 10" sub either SVC or DVC. Once finished I will post pictures. I will also develop a costed bill of material and labor to sell to any ram owners who are interested. I am targeting <$250 for a finished enclosure.

I guess that is all for now. Hope to see some replies soon! Thanks in advance

 

Congrats on the new ride! I have first hand experience on the drop-in bedliners. DO NOT get one! Sorry, did not mean to yell at you, but trust me on this one. I do not have any rust spots from the thing sliding around, but do have several worn places from that happening. The center of my bedliner flies up when I'm at highway speed( looking out the rear view mirror you can see it coming up from the bed) and I drive at least 70 mph on the highway. LineX or Speedliner are both reputable and I would definitely go with either one. I am planning on a LineX when $ is a little better, myself. They should be willing to send you a sample, and also if you would like it customized to the color of your truck, they should be able to do it for you as well,at an additional charge, of course!
I have Westin Nerf Bars and have not had any issues concerning them, they don't rattle, I believe I paid around 275 for them a few years ago, look good, hold my weight with no problems,(can't reach the windshield unless I stand on them). They are available on Chrome, Stainless, and Powder Black, I believe. Hope this gives you some ideas...
Let us see what it looks like !

 

OK here's my $.02. 1) Bed liner. Dropin protects bed against dent but rubs the paint. I t can eventually rub to bare metal. Sprayin best for rust protection but it something hits a soft area like a wheelwell it will dent. I had line-x in a different truck and a rim got loose that i was carrying. Nice dent and the line-x flaked off. It could be not good enough prep by the installer. It had a lifetime warranty and was resprayed. You can go with both a sprayon and a dropin for the best of both worlds, but a lil more $$$. There is a company at www.checkerpro.com that is a factory outlet that sells the carpeted bed liners for $150. If you do the dropin and bedrug, you might run into probs since the rug attached with velcro and may not stick to the sprayin.

2) Nerf bars. The chrome, black and krinkle finish will chip and rust. Stainless wont but dulls over time, just takes some time to polish them out. The painted ones can be repainted. There is a process called powder coating that is more durable than plain painting. Chrome ones would need to be rechromed. I have luverne stainless that was on my reg cab truck when i bought it used. The prev. owner paid $250. I had smittybuilt crinkle finish but they lasted a heck of a lot longer than friends that had black or chrome. The smitty's mounted to the frame the orginally bolted on but I had them welded. The luverne mount by brackets that attach to the cab ounting bolts. Ont thing that someone pointed out to me was that if they are mounted to the frame and you take a hard enough hit you can possible mess up you frame, where the cab mounts would bend and asborb the hit. But of course if it hits hard enough your TOS. Being in nebraska the salt killed the chrome.

3a)Stereo; If you truck has the Infinity system it is a lil different that a standard radio because behind the glove box is an amp. You should be able to get an adapter that will take the low level(RCA) from a new radio and hook up to the wiring to the amp. Cruchfield is a great source of info. If you are going to replace all the speakers or dont have the Infinity system then you dont have to worry about it. If you get an amp for the sub that can run in mono then you wont have to go with Dual-Voice cone.

b)Front window tint; To keep johnny law off you back any tint shop will be able to tell you if you are able to legally tint the door window or the level that you can. States like IL you are NOT allowed to tint the front windows.

c)CAI the only thing i can say it that make sure that you have one with a heat shield. If it is just an open filter you will be sucking in hot engine-heated air. Voliant has one of the better ones that I have seen. Completely closed, they even offer a "ram" air option that hooks up to the passenger fog light that has to be removed.

d)Exhaust; opinions are like *ssholes everyone has one(hahah). Tomorrow I am putting on a "redneck" glasspack system. Its a cheap start and least restrictive. With the onboard computer I will be able to see if it actually helps on MPG. I know that it helps with power.

I have attacked a pic of my 95 S-10 ext cab that I used to compete with. It had 5 amps dash, door, rear pillar and 1 in mono for each tube(2). I dont know if you have room for a tube. They were 10's and tube measured 12". Well it started as $.02 but looks more like $1.50. hahah

[IMG]local://upfiles/2144/Ge952804548.jpg[/IMG]

 

Thanks for the feed back so far...any insight the the loose seat?

 

I have the manual setup. One thing i might suggest is go to the dearler and look at a few others to see if it is the same.

 

I was wondering the same thing about the seat. I just purchased a 2004 QC and the seat does the same thing (I feel just a slight movement when accellerating from a stoplight..). I think I'll take it in and have it looked at..

Dave

 

You definitely have to get dual exhaust. I took my truck to a Flowmaster dealer after I had it for about a month. It's like having a whole new truck once you can hear the engine roar. My truck is a standard so I really enjoy the pipes. I've heard alot of exhausts but so far I think the flowmasters sound the best on Dodge's. As far as bed liner goes, I have the Rhino Liner and so far it hasnt peeled away or anything and it looks great. I also had them spray Rhino liner on the bottom half of the truck so the paint won't start to peel if I ding it up off roading. Havent put a pic of my truck on my profile yet but here's a link.

http://www.ratemyride.com/profile.php?uid=36531

 

Can only coment on the bedliner. I went with line-X It looks sharp, and i'll never worrry about rust. The drop ins look cheap in comparrison to me.

 

Did the Rhino guys say the side lining have the same lifetime warranty. Also how textured is it? Is it goning to be a pain to clean the mud off? Thanks