Tonkaman’s Tonka truck

The time has finally come! My new truck finally found its way home!

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It is a 2022 Ram Powerwagon. FULLY LOADED with every possible option minus a sunroof and ram boxes. That level 3 interior is almost too luxurious!

Most of you are familiar with my love for Tacomas, so this new truck may seem a bit off beat for me. The truth is the Tacoma was an AMAZING off road rig, but we were bursting at the seams. Lately we had given up on camping whenever the whole family would be going, since it was too difficult to haul a full crews gear. I got sick of always feeling like our adventures were being limited by cargo space.

I was having a hard time nailing down exactly what type of vehicle suited our needs. In hind sight it’s because our needs vary too much and I would need 10 rigs to always end up in the ‘right’ one for the day. So finally I made a list of all the things I needed my rig to accomplish. After writing the list, I crossed off all but the top 4 so I could focus on what really mattered.

1- Offroad capability. I hate adventuring in the backcountry only to get turned around when the trail gets rough. I needed a vehicle that could give me the peace of mind to keep pushing deeper into the gnarly trail condition.

2- More cargo Capacity. Our preferred method of travel is in the deep backcountry, alone. Those risks come with the responsibility to be prepared, and being prepared means packing a fair amount of ‘just in case’ gear for repairs, extractions, and emergencies. Even though we learned to pack like backpackers, this family of 3 + 1 dog still struggled to pack everything needed.

3- Payload/Towing. At this point I know the obvious answer is just stick a 4 wheel camper or Offroad trailer behind the Tacoma! To be honest that thought scares the hell out of me. The Tacoma is way over its GVWR and it always feels like it is one emergency maneuver away from catastrophe.

4- Aftermarket support. I love to tinker and modify things. I don't have the fabrication skills that many in this community do, so I depend heavily on being able to buy rather than build. There are many vehicles out there that have been transformed into complete beasts, but they take years of someone’s time and talent to get that way. That’s why having proven aftermarket support was high on my priority list.


ENTER THE POWERWAGON!

1- The capability is off the charts with its linked suspension, F&R lockers, sway bar disconnect, lift, and winch.

2- Obviously the bigger size is going to make it suffer Offroad, but size was one of my biggest issues needing to be addressed. There are only a few trucks thats size lands between the Tacoma and Ram, such as Tundra, Titan, and 1/2 tons. In the end I decided those trucks just couldn’t compete with the Rams ability after proper modifications.

3- So now I have a full size pickup and lots more space in the cab. Don’t think I fell off the deep end though, because it’s still a 6.5’ bed and only a 1200lb payload capacity. As far as full size goes it’s pretty wimpy, but still worlds better than the Taco. I went with a short bed to maintain the best turning radius and break over possible. It was a hard choice, giving up valuable dirtbike space, but capability was higher in my list. The low payload ratings are strictly due to the soft powerwagon coils. I can always change coils or add airbags to get the typical 4,000lb payload capacity. That’s an easy swap and I’ll still have the full sized frame/brakes/suspension/steering components.

4- The possibilities are endless with this platform, that’s what really pushed me over the edge. With slight modifications I can clear 40” tires on 3” of lift. I can swap out bumpers for higher clearance and stronger alternatives while keeping every single camera and sensor in place. With the AEV Prospector package I can garuntee that everything works together seamlessly. It’s so seamless that Ram trusts AEV enough to build their trucks and leave the full factory warranty on it.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
Those issues are frustrating. It’s like how did it make it past their inspections?
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Dodge's interiors are fantastic! What a great looking rig.
I can’t believe how nice it really is! Larry Miller said this was the first ‘Level 3’ interior package they have ordered.


At least it's all under warranty!
Yeah thank goodness! I just hope it doesn’t become a hassle.


Those issues are frustrating. It’s like how did it make it past their inspections?
I don’t think they did an inspection on site, especially since they didn’t bother setting up the winch.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I’ve been trying to collect parts and supplies to get this build started. It seems like nothing can ever be done due to backordered bits and pieces.

I found a second battery tray available from NH Overland. It’s all aluminum with a nice powder coating. I had several fitment issues assembling the pieces, so I ended up doing a bit of drilling and fab to make it all work.
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I mounted a RedArc DC to DC charger as well as a Switch-Pros 9100 inside the battery tray giving me a very clean solution.

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The wires on the RedArc BCDC come only about 12” long so I had to find a clean solution to add length to them all. I really don’t want to have splices anywhere on the wiring so I knew I didn’t want to use the included but connectors. I also wanted the ability to remove it easily future engine maintenance.

As much as I wanted to put Deutsch connectors on everything I couldn't stomach $25 a wire for the 8AWG DTHD connections. I chose instead to use 50A Anderson SB connectors as an easy disconnect on the large wires, and a 2-way Deutsch DTP on the smaller wires.

Each wire gets a crimp from a proper crimping tool, adhesive heat shrink covering wire to crimped connector, covered with braided loom, and covered again with adhesive heat shrink to lock the loom down on each end.

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Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
After the battery tray was in place under the hood I dropped in a new Optima Yellow top H7 (94R).

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I needed a clean solution for all the potential pos/neg lugs I’ll be needing. In the past I’ve used bus bars, but I don’t have much extra space. I found these terminals from Slee Offroad. They should give me plenty of mounting solutions, while keeping it very clean.

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I had an extra Blue Sea Safety Hub 150 so I figured I’d try to find a suitable mounting location. It ended up fitting with just enough space to remove the cover while still sitting underneath the fender brace. I fabricated a bracket that piggybacks off of the battery hold down to secure it into place.

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Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I’ve learned my lesson the hard way and been left with a dead starting battery. I knew I wanted to fix that issue with a battery isolator. I also wanted the isolator to be able to combine batteries on demand for jump starting and for winching purposes.

I decided to go with the RedArc 200A electronic isolator. I’ll wire the bypass wire up to a relay that combines batteries whenever I use the winch or at the push of a switch.

First step was trying to find a mount I g location that was close to the start battery, would not make other maintenance difficult, and would facilitate in keeping the wiring clean.

I was able to fabricate a bracket to mount the isolator from 2 existing holes and eliminate the need for any extra holes in the new truck.
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J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
I’ve had issues with an isolators charging the aux batteries to full once you run them below the main starting battery. I’ve since moved to a 60 amp DC to DC charger and haven’t had issues. Hopefully you have better luck than I did.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I’ve had issues with an isolators charging the aux batteries to full once you run them below the main starting battery. I’ve since moved to a 60 amp DC to DC charger and haven’t had issues. Hopefully you have better luck than I did.
I am using a DC to DC charger as well. The isolator is really only being used for an easy way to jumpstart the main battery and for added amps while running the winch.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I took the truck down to Caineville for the weekend. This gave me a chance to see how it behaved while towing and finally use the 4WD.

Towing was great! The internet will have you believe that the powerwagon pulls about as good as a Tacoma, but that certainly isn’t the case. I was only pulling a 7 x 16ish enclosed with dirt bikes and camping gear, so it wasn’t very heavy. I was however pleasantly surprised that the truck had PLENTY of power to pull up Spanish fork canyon and I never felt the trailers weight back there.

Off-roading was a blast! I practiced my drifting skills around every single corner I could find! The torque of that motor + traction control off = smiles X-D The truck is SUPER SMOOTH while bombing down dirt roads and open washes.

The sway bar disconnect was awesome and definitely helped smooth things out, but it automatically tries to reconnect over 20 MPH. With the sway bar disconnected I wanted to see how much flex the truck had and made @jeeper take a few power shots of me. The pictures don’t do it justice, that’s one TALL truck when the suspension is fully drooped. B8723F05-EECA-41C5-AF4D-FD7793AED79F.jpeg05347D81-8E7E-4029-AD68-3E2F5F4FB61B.jpegAD0A7E13-C64F-4F60-B261-31A5A478055E.jpeg

I also made sure to test the lockers and climb one of the super steep dirt hills is camp. With the tires aired down to 20 psi it crawled up to the top without breaking a sweat. It was AWESOME :cool:

I learned that I need to defeat the sway bar reconnect after 20 MPH, the locker in only 4WD, and the traction control only partially turning off.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I got some big milestones accomplished with the build. It looks a bit goofy the way it sits, but 40s will fix most of that 😎

The AEV front bumper provides a much better approach angle, as well as some serious anchor points. The bumper was also necessary to incorporate the high mark flares. Unfortunately the new bumper was not compatible with the factory winch, so I opted to put in a Warn 16.5ti with synthetic line 15CDBE5D-0D16-4DD7-BF27-F84A29159120.jpeg
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The AEV dual sport kit beefed up the steering components, and pushed the front axle foreword 1.5” which centers it in the wheel opening.
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The highmark flares are what really make this truck look different from the rest. These make plenty of room for up to 42” tires at full stuff.
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Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I absolutley love how this is coming together, Derek! I think the 40's combined with the AEV parts are going to create one very capable, propotional 4x4 that is going to be the perfect truck for your needs.
Thanks! I’m stoked to get out and explore like I used to.

With those major items off the list I can get back to focusing on other stuff. I still need to:
-mount the air compressor and run it’s power
-mount the fridge and run power to that location
-mount Switch pro controller in cab
-terminate switch pro switches
-install the under hood lighting
-install traction control nanny override
- order and install front diff guard
-order and install skids (once in production)
 
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