Those extra 4 inches are used to increase the interior room of the vehicle. However, for a truck it’s impressive, especially considering this is within the ballpark of much smaller vehicles like the Challenger and Charger.ĭespite its sleeker styling and design, this Ram is actually larger than its predecessor by approximately 4 inches from front to back. In comparison to high performance vehicles this seems quite lousy. The engineers took to the wind tunnel to bring its drag coefficient down to 0.357 (to put this into perspective, most sporty cars are under 0.30…the 1969 Dodge was 0.28!). That’s right this bad boy may look like a brick but cuts through the proverbial wind like butter. Why so smooth? Well, Ram took the initiative to increase the aerodynamics of the truck. Buyers will also get to choose from three headlight styles. The headlights are much more streamlined to match the sleeker bodylines. The available grilles are much more refined, and Ram has done away with the crosshair style. The first difference Ram lovers will quickly notice are the changes to the front end. The overall profile of the new Ram is similar to the previous model, but some obvious styling adjustments and a few tweaks that make create some major differences. Starting in 2019, Ram gives the world a new but familiar platform. top of strut is set up for Kayak rack.After a nine-year run of the 4th generation, the 5th gen of Ram trucks is finally upon us. Strut is 1 5/8 by 1/5/8' approx 2 feet long. I also incorporated two washers between the aluminum bar and the U bracket to allow the strut to slide more freely. I then fabricated from 1.5' aluminum flat bar a spacer for the front side between the U bracket and the rail for stand off and spreading the load. I removed the springs as they were not necessary. Here are the first pictures of the U bracket attached to the rail system and also a strut configured for the kayak rack.įor the U brackets, I used strut nuts (1/2') that I ground down to fit in the rail system. Eventually, I will paint the kayak rack when it is finished. Anyway, I will provide pics as I get those done. I did get sidetracked as my wife wanted me to create a way for her to take her kayak by herself. My plan was to be able to use the same struts and just swap out the hardware for the top vs. I then started on the rack for my kayaks.

Ram 3500 rambox