2007.5 Ram 2500 | Synergy Long Arm and Fox 2.5″ DSC Build
When buying a used truck, there are certainly many things to be wary of. We often measure a vehicles lifespan in miles driven, but it also takes less than a mile to kill anything, if you want to. Certain clues are left that a truck was cared for though, like oil change stickers, maintenance records in a file etc. You can tell a lot about the previous owner of a vehicle by the tires they put on. Many will toss a set of no-name of tires on, so we have an inside joke here: When shopping used, buy the one with Michelins on it. While they may not be the best tire for our intended usage, they certainly aren’t the cheapest option, and usually a good indicator that the PO spared no expense and kept up on the important maintenance.
Contrary to what you might think, we aren’t always working on new trucks here. Sometimes, pre-owned allows you to stretch the budget a little farther. Other times, it’s about finding a specific year where a certain combo of parts was available. For our warehouse manager, he knew exactly what he wanted: a Ram 2500 with the 6.7 Cummins paired with the 68RFE, BUT with the older ‘Quad Cab’ 4 door design, a combo that was only offered from mid year 2007 until 2008. After many months of patience, he finally found one wearing Michelins and knew it was the right time to pull the trigger. This unique combo results in a pseudo crew cab truck with a shorter wheelbase than the newer offerings, and more rear seat space than your typical ‘extended cab’ offering. If it’s going to be your do-all truck, having the extra maneuverability can be very nice.
For the suspension architecture, this era of Ram uses the tried and true Mopar 5 link design and simple leaf springs out back. Since this truck already came with it’s fair share of miles on it, we didn’t have to regret taking the gas axe to the factory mounts to make room for a Synergy MFG long-arm kit. While Dodge’s 5 link design works OK at factory ride height, it quickly binds and loses good geometry when lifting. Additionally, so many moving parts means more wear points. Synergy’s long arm kit corrects the geometry when lifting the truck, while also adding usable wheel travel and lowers the range of motion each part sees. This dialed setup can be added as an upgrade to most existing short arm lifts, or purchased as part of a complete kit. Combined with heavier duty Dual Durometer bushings, one can expect a much longer service life. A pair of Synergy progressive rate 3” front coils, adjustable sway bar links, rear progressive add-a-leaf, and replacement 1” lift shackles were all added to complete the suspension transformation.
One thing that this era of Ram is not known for, is good steering. The original inverted-Y design was known to wear quickly and suffer from toe change as the suspension cycles; the factory ‘upgrade/update’ to an inverted-T design isn’t much better as it still uses low quality tie rods, and the geometry is less than ideal. Synergy, long known for being the premier purveyor of steering correction for Jeep JK’s, also has a fantastic steering offering for the ¾ and 1-ton Ram trucks from 94-13. This kit also uses an inverted-T design to prevent toe change, but with revised geometry to correct the bump steer introduced with the factory ‘upgrade’. The tie rod is made of the same heat treated chromoly Synergy is well known for, and a heavy duty metal on metal tie rod end is found at each of the 4 pivot points in the linkage. Finally, a pair of ‘low-misalignment boots’ prevent the ‘tie rod flop’ that can occur with an inverted-T design. Ensuring the steering linkage upgrade doesn’t go to waste, an adjustable track bar and steering box brace, also from Synergy. It’s important to note, that on a build like this we prefer to use as many parts as possible from one manufacturer. Despite the size of these trucks, the clearances are tighter than you’d think, especially with going to larger, stronger tubing and pushing the limits of wheel travel.
The next area to tackle was the dampers, all around on this truck. Being such a large platform, and knowing the end plan for this truck (hauling a slide-in camper and buggy on a trailer all over the West Coast’s best trail heads), meant it would certainly need an upgrade for all the shocks. At the forefront of the shock market, is Fox’s revolutionary DSC Remote Reservoir equipped 2.5” factory series shocks. The Dual Speed Compression adjuster allows independent fine tuning of the high and low speed compression circuits to dial in the ride quality exactly where you want it. If you’re not familiar with the nuances of each compression force, it’s actually pretty simple: low speed compression refers to slower shaft speeds from things like body roll, brake dive and road undulations; high speed compression corresponds to faster shaft speeds, so the input from speed bumps, potholes and ‘chop’ on dirt roads applies to that zone. Being able to independently adjust each zone ensures that the ride can be tight on the highway and around town, without sacrificing sensitivity. It also allows the driver to dial in more or less compression when a large load is added to keep things under better control if necessary. Keeping the tires turned straight is the responsibility of a Fox ATS stabilizer, very similar in design to what is used on a JK. It’s through shaft design and adjustability options ensure no steering wander or tire pull associated with simpler stabilizer designs.
Going into this knowing that the truck would be required to haul a lot of extra weight from time to time, a few less off road oriented upgrades were added to the rear suspension. While the Synergy progressive add a leaf does a good job of smoothing out the ride in back, some load capacity is sacrificed for comfort. However, a common addition to any tow rig is a set of load leveling air bags; the usual caveat to this is that the bags restrict travel as they are rigidly mounted top and bottom. Daystar, a specialist in rubber and plastic parts, offers a unique piece to eliminate this restriction. Their air bag cup mounts directly to the rear axle, but is a floating design, so that the airbag is only attached to one side of the frame. This allows the rear suspension to full droop out when needed, but also absorb additional load through the airbag when needed. When running around town unloaded, the air bags can be left empty without any complications and there is no penalty typically associated with air bags. Last but not least, a proper set of wheels and tires were chosen. A set of polished Method Race Wheels MR301 ‘The Standard’ in 17” x 8.5” complement the chromed grandpa nerf bars nicely, and Nitto Mud Grapplers combine the high load rating needed for a truck like this with an aggressive tread pattern that guarantees traction. Whether you’re shopping for a new or used truck, and whatever your end goal is, we’re standing by and ready to help you with your next build!
