Same here. I’m trying to keep weight down, given the limited GVWR and would rather have more space and less stuff off the back. Those Boreas Campers are sweet. I couldn’t get my wife convinced to go that direction (nor to move to Seattle). They’re located about 20 minutes from me and we went to check them out. The tires look great on yours.
2021 Ram 2500 Power Wagon (Gigantor 2.0)
- Thread starter bikelanta
- Start date
Pnwfullsize
Active member
Thank you! The trailer has been great, I'm not even sure my wife is convinced yet and we have had it for a year lol.
UglyViking
Well-known member
@bikelanta nice looking rig man. Love the interior on those 75th editions. One point of clarifications, the factory steps on the power wagon are only mounted on a single side to the rockers. They are made of mostly light aluminum and some steel. They may protect from a light "whoops" but they are by no means "rock sliders". If you want serious rock protection there is no replacement for frame mounted sliders from white knuckle offroad or maple offroad. If you still want protection but aren't gonna be hammering it quite as much plus want to run the AMP steps looking into the Randy Ellis design sliders, they are still rocker panel mounted but on both sides and make of thicker steel. Before anyone claims that the RED sliders are garbage because they are still rocker mounted, I grant you they may not be as strong as frame mounted, but the XJ guys have been cutting out their rockers and replacing with square steel for decades and those guys wheel hard.
@ramblinChet I don't know why RAM has so many part numbers for coils, but I don't think that AEV has a clue either. Perhaps FCA has different coils to try and balance the weight of different engines, trims, cab and bed lengths, and packages (such as plow prep). That said, all that pretty much goes out the window once you start slapping on different wheels and tires. I don't see the benefit for keeping the factory coils if you're changing from the horrid factory tires and 20s to 17s and 37s. In terms of validation and SAE testing, thats good I guess but it clearly didn't help AEV with a lot of the quality control issues they faced on that lift kit.
Thuren and Carli put a lot of seat time behind their shock and coil work. While it may not go through SAE validation I can tell you that my Thuren coils and Kings ride far better than my truck did on factory suspension. I can also tell you that I get a ton more travel out of the Thuren kit than I would out of the AEV kit.
To each their own and to be fair I've never ridden in an AEV lifted 2500/3500 but I can't see how it can ride any better with the factory coils, no additional travel and those Bilsteins.
@ramblinChet I don't know why RAM has so many part numbers for coils, but I don't think that AEV has a clue either. Perhaps FCA has different coils to try and balance the weight of different engines, trims, cab and bed lengths, and packages (such as plow prep). That said, all that pretty much goes out the window once you start slapping on different wheels and tires. I don't see the benefit for keeping the factory coils if you're changing from the horrid factory tires and 20s to 17s and 37s. In terms of validation and SAE testing, thats good I guess but it clearly didn't help AEV with a lot of the quality control issues they faced on that lift kit.
Thuren and Carli put a lot of seat time behind their shock and coil work. While it may not go through SAE validation I can tell you that my Thuren coils and Kings ride far better than my truck did on factory suspension. I can also tell you that I get a ton more travel out of the Thuren kit than I would out of the AEV kit.
To each their own and to be fair I've never ridden in an AEV lifted 2500/3500 but I can't see how it can ride any better with the factory coils, no additional travel and those Bilsteins.
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
I LOVE the toned down graphics. I was never a fan of the vertical behind the cab stuff. The 35's are a great compromise. Matching spares are essential.
nater
Adventurer
Aev - a solution that yields 3" of lift on a non-power wagon. On a power wagon (where you will loose much of your flex vs a normal truck) it yields 1.5" of front lift and no rear.
You can't ever remove it without replacing knuckles ($), and it only moves the axle forward if you buy the 40" kit.
Dave and AEV love to talk about how much oem engineering went into it - but no one who is serious about their trucks run it. It's a solution looking for problems. Run thuren or carli and be done with it.
You can't ever remove it without replacing knuckles ($), and it only moves the axle forward if you buy the 40" kit.
Dave and AEV love to talk about how much oem engineering went into it - but no one who is serious about their trucks run it. It's a solution looking for problems. Run thuren or carli and be done with it.
Took the truck for our first road trip. Headed to Telluride for the long weekend and met up with some friends from Atlanta who are spending the month there.
I was quite impressed with the truck as a road trip vehicle. The rear end rode better now that it had weight in it. Plus, the adaptive cruise was amazing in the terrible stop and go traffic you get on I70 out of Denver when the weekends hit, not to mention a holiday weekend. Even as traffic crawled along, it did it’s thing. Honestly, it keeps you well rested and your energy levels up in that type of situation. At least, it did for me.
On our return, we took a different route and saw many trucks parked along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir. My wife and I agreed it looked like a good spot for a picnic lunch and stretching kiddo’s legs. Was fun being able to drive out on the sand knowing we wouldn’t have been able to make that stop in my now gone GTI. The Softopper with the sides rolled up made for a good picnic space out of the sun.
I continue to be pleased with the truck.
I was quite impressed with the truck as a road trip vehicle. The rear end rode better now that it had weight in it. Plus, the adaptive cruise was amazing in the terrible stop and go traffic you get on I70 out of Denver when the weekends hit, not to mention a holiday weekend. Even as traffic crawled along, it did it’s thing. Honestly, it keeps you well rested and your energy levels up in that type of situation. At least, it did for me.
On our return, we took a different route and saw many trucks parked along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir. My wife and I agreed it looked like a good spot for a picnic lunch and stretching kiddo’s legs. Was fun being able to drive out on the sand knowing we wouldn’t have been able to make that stop in my now gone GTI. The Softopper with the sides rolled up made for a good picnic space out of the sun.
I continue to be pleased with the truck.
Last edited:
My understanding, but I can't find a link on it, is that the 3" lift applies to the standard 2500 and standard length coils and shocks. The Power Wagon comes with a factory 2" lift, which should include longer shocks and coils. So, I'm making up math here, these are not real numbers. But if you had a 15" coil on the 2500 and 17" coil on the Power Wagon, adding a 3" spacer to the standard 15" coil nets you 18", which is only one more than a Power Wagon is when stock. Thus, if you add this to a Power Wagon you have to buy standard 2500 coils from Ram to go with the AEV package. You can't add the 3" spacer to the 17" PW coil (20 inches total) because the shocks and other parts wouldn't be long enough to accommodate and would be out of alignment. Additionally, the standard 2500 springs are stiffer than the PW, hence the loss of flex. From a technical perspective, I wish I could find what the spring rate is on these different coils, but unlike for Ford F-250s, I can't find that information anywhere.
UglyViking
Well-known member
Hi, I know this wasn't pointed at me but I'll step in 
Also, keep in mind that you talk up about how AEV overengineers their lift kit, but you would expect the factory height and pw rams to both have 3" of lift? How could that be if the power wagon would be 2" taller than the factory height ram after lift, which means all that engineering would have gone to waste.
If you look around at the guys that really beat their trucks, they have Carli and Thuren or full custom fab stuff. Outside of the mall crawlers and instagram crowd no one really uses AEV unless it's some sponsored build or they just aren't into suspension mods.
Now, I grant you that it's an interesting and unique system, I toyed going with it for a while even, but unless your only goal is to just run large tires it's a waste. No additional travel (factory suspension with pucks basically), no additional flex (constrained by factory springs), no additional comfort from the suspension (factory springs, undersized shocks).
To be honest, I'm not sure what data I could present that would change your mind. Perhaps you can point to certain aspects of the kit you think are important and we can discuss why they are/aren't?
I do not know if anything has changed for the 19+ trucks but the 4th gen trucks require that you purchase new coil springs, I don't see how that would be necessary unless it was basically turning the PW into a 2500 then adding the AEV kit. Also of note is that their website states a single coil front and rear, when I'm 99% sure that the coils have specific sides as well. For all their talk of springs you'd think they would know that and put it on the site with all 4 springs, not just the front left.
Also, keep in mind that you talk up about how AEV overengineers their lift kit, but you would expect the factory height and pw rams to both have 3" of lift? How could that be if the power wagon would be 2" taller than the factory height ram after lift, which means all that engineering would have gone to waste.
I think the point was made for the fact that you have to wreck a knuckle to install this kit, or at least you've got a wrecked one if you want to uninstall it.
For a guy that supposedly digs into the technical aspects I'm a little surprised by your lack of data here. Thuren and Carli kits extend the up/down travel of the suspension. This allows for more flexibility for one and more comfort for another. The AEV kit will not add any additional travel, as it's using the factory springs in basically identical location. Additionally, the 5100 shocks that the AEV kit comes with are comically undersized for running 37s at any real level of off road performance, they don't have enough surface area or cooling to control such a large vehicle with 37s, let alone 40+.
If you look around at the guys that really beat their trucks, they have Carli and Thuren or full custom fab stuff. Outside of the mall crawlers and instagram crowd no one really uses AEV unless it's some sponsored build or they just aren't into suspension mods.
Now, I grant you that it's an interesting and unique system, I toyed going with it for a while even, but unless your only goal is to just run large tires it's a waste. No additional travel (factory suspension with pucks basically), no additional flex (constrained by factory springs), no additional comfort from the suspension (factory springs, undersized shocks).
No idea, won't comment.
To be frank, your counter argument holds up pretty poor as well. You are just stating that AEV has done the research, keeps mopar warranty, and has some marketing about how they engineered the product. I don't see that as hard data either. I see numbers like suspension travel vs stock as hard data. I see the fact that the hardcore guys almost exclusively use Thuren and Carli and not AEV. I use the fact that they offer better shocks and upgraded rate springs.
To be honest, I'm not sure what data I could present that would change your mind. Perhaps you can point to certain aspects of the kit you think are important and we can discuss why they are/aren't?
UglyViking
Well-known member
I want to be respectful to OP since this is his thread for his build and not an AEV discussion thread. That said, I think you are seriously misunderstanding my points. One last thing to think about is what the AEV kit solves for that leaving it stock won't? These trucks can fit 37s from the factory, so with the AEV kit you're raising the center of gravity, adding in a ton of additional components, all for no net gain except for height, which you don't want or need for overland travel.
Either way, if you wanna discuss more I suggest starting a new thread on the topic, and we can flesh this out further for ourselves and hopefully as a help to others.
nater
Adventurer
Call AEV - ask them "I have a 20XX power wagon and want to run your lift - can I run it with my factory springs, or do I need standard 2500 hemi springs" - let us know what they say... Because I have made that call, and they told me (and others) "You need springs from a standard 2500".
Tex68w
Beach Bum
@ramblinChet, hit up Rob (@overlandv1.0) on IG. He just built the same truck you are building, FWC, AEV, 37's, etc. except that his is on a Norweld tray but that's a non-factor. Driving it home from Pennsylvania to Utah was all the time it took with just a few mild trails along the way for him to realize that the Bilstein 5100's and stock springs were trash on his AEV kit. He's already ordered Kings and will be replacing it all once they arrive. He's not rock crawling the Rubicon or running high speeds in the desert either, he's simply running mild trails with his camper atop his 3500.
I know you're invested in the kit so you're on the defense, but what everyone here is saying is true. It's a glorified puck kit and for those running up and down the highway, surface streets, or along the beach it works just fine, but you will find it's drawbacks in short order with the travel you intend to do and at that point it'll be up to you to decide what your next move is.
I know you're invested in the kit so you're on the defense, but what everyone here is saying is true. It's a glorified puck kit and for those running up and down the highway, surface streets, or along the beach it works just fine, but you will find it's drawbacks in short order with the travel you intend to do and at that point it'll be up to you to decide what your next move is.
UglyViking
Well-known member
Seems odd that the pass side is almost a full inch taller. I was toying with doing the exact same thing you did here, love the idea of a softopper.
I thought so too. It’s also possible my driveway isn’t as flat as I think. I’ll have to give it another try somewhere else.