2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Sweet!! Anyone recognize this bumper?

[SRath]

I ran across this photo of a really good looking Ram with one of the nicest front bumpers with grill guard that I've seen. Anyone know who makes it?



I like everything about this truck (especially if it has a manual transmission and if it had an extended cab): paint color, wheels & tires, and bumper.



Amsoil, too.



edit: I fired off an email to the owner of the company advertised on the truck. Maybe I'll hear back.

 

[SRath]

In case anyone else likes that bumper, Ricksons, and truck, I'll share the email response the (former) owner sent me:



Hey Scott, thanks for the compliments on the truck!





I sold that truck about a year ago. My friend Matt has it and its running great. But he didn't want the Ricksons so I took them off and sold them to a guy in Washington state. He is also an AMSOIL customer of mine and tells me how much he loves them every time I talk to him.





If you get them, be sure to get them match mounted and balanced, and get the optional balance beads. These options are worth paying for! These tires are very heavy and hard to balance. To keep them from shaking you to death, match mounting and balance beads are essential. I had that done with mine and at highway speeds they were the smoothest tires I have ever ridden on. Seriously like glass smooth. My new 2010 Dodge Cummins is a great truck, but I can tell that my tires are not running balance beads. I am a total believer in balance beads after owning those Ricksons. I think 19. 5" tires are a great decision if you haul heavy and want the stability and safety of a G rated tire.





The bumper I had was a Tough Country bumper. Very stout and well made. I ordered it powder coated from Tough Country, then had it shot on all sides with Armorthane bed liner before installing it on the truck. Road salt is tough on steel, and I figured powder coat with bed liner on top was a good idea.





Thank you and take care!

 

[JKreiss]

I don't have much, but i'd give up dang near all of it for that truck! You can tell she's all business:-laf

 

[SRath]

The friend that bought the truck was fairly foolish to pass up the Ricksons and nice 19. 5 tires imo. But if it was his first diesel truck, he may not have appreciated the improvement they make and preferred something prettier.

 

[SRath]

I have always liked the faceted bumpers and have considered building one, especially since my recent blowout shredded my stock front bumper facias. But I need a stout deer strainer and I want a winch mount and I need to be able to mount my Boss V plow. that means the bumper and deer strainer cannot stick out any more than the stock bumper does.



This one closely follows the curves of the truck and smoothly compliments it. The whole truck just looks muscled and poised to leap because of it, doesn't it? It also looks like it might not protrude too far and interfere with the plow.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Hmmm, Tough Country? Those bumpers are in El Campo, Tx, wayyyy down South Texas, Southwest of Houston. But I can't say I've ever seen that style bumper anywhere around here... . Touch Country doesn't build that style anymore. Makes me wonder if it wasn't a custom build... . anyway, they don't offer it anymore in thier product lineup. You'd just have to see if they'd custom one for you. They usually list @ $1500+.



On another note, that looks like it sits out a little far for your plow, probably around the same as any other tube type bumper. For the grille to clear the top pipe of the guard, it has to be at least a couple inches forward..... not that it can't be modified.



It does look very nice, though. I'm betting there's a ton of plate in there for the winch mount!! Definitely would need some springs and ball joint upgrades!!

 

[The patriot]

Nice truck!

I wish I could find a used set of 19. 5's.

I like the bumper, but I like my UTE too. The only thing I dont like about it is it needs a good polishing. :-laf

I dont have a winch box, I opted for the front receiver. My license plate bracket is made if 2" x 2" box tubing, and 1/2" plate. It came in handy when my brake line failed last year.

Beat the shyte out of the minivan in front of me, but my truck was unscathed.

 

[dclassens]

That truck used to belong to Duluth Diesel. PM the old owner for all the data you need. Good Luck.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=16100&albumid=1272

 

[SRath]

If that is the same truck, he removed the front bumper/grill guard, put a stock bumper back on, and switched to a different grill guard. They are quite different. We already know the Ricksons went a separate direction, so it would be hard to tell if it was the same truck or not by just the photos if the bumper/grill guard were changed. Then it looks like he switched to yet another bumper/grill guard. I like the one in the first photo I posted the best. The westin, from experience, is more for looks than protection. The last one is too bulky.



Both are nice looking trucks, though.

 

[dclassens]

yes it is the same truck and in fact he just sold it like months ago, maybe a year. We both are Michigan TDR members even though the upper peninsula

of Michigan is like another country.

 

[SRath]

Does he have any photos with that Tough Country bumper on the truck? I really like that bumper & if they are no longer available may consider building one similar to it. More photos from different angles would be useful.



My most recent LF tire blowout destroyed my stock bumper fascias and I need to do something about that. So this is a good excuse for a better, stouter bumper and deer strainer.

 

[dclassens]

I sent Duluth a PM, will see what he has to say.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Yeah that was my truck. It sold just as pictured at the top of the thread, except the buyer put tires on the OE wheels I had, left me the Ricksons, and drove off in the truck. I sold the Ricksons to another guy through Craigslist. The bumper was a Tough Country and is still on the truck to this day. I even sold it with the AMSOIL stickers on it and the new owner took them all off of course.

They were 285 series 19. 5" tires, so they were over 36" tall. The truck was a 2002 Heavy 2500 (Dana 80, NV5600) with no CAD (late 2002 Dana 60 front ends didn't have a CAD) with a 2" front lift. It was a great truck and the only reason I sold it is because I needed cab space for my 3 kids.

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You can see that before the 19. 5s I ran OE wheels with 315/75R16 Coopers. Also, before the Tough Country I had a custom AliArc bumper on it until I smoked a whitetail buck at 75mph.

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[Duluth Diesel]

Additionally, the truck had Timbrens in the rear (in addition to stock camper springs), plow coils up front, and I replaced the OE receiver hitch with a Reese Class V Tow Beast. It had a Blue Ox Renegade gooseneck hitch in the bed rated at 30k pounds. RV275 injectors, Edge Juice w/ Attitude, ICEBOX air intake, Southbend clutch, 4" turbo back exhaust. It was a solid puller and EGTs were in check. If it had been an extended cab, I'd be still driving it today.



But I replaced it with my new 2010 and I don't miss the 2002.

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[SRath]

I like your taste in decking out a truck! Good stuff. That was my first thought when I saw it: "If it was an extended cab, and provided it has a manual transmission; it would be near-perfect. "



So that monstrous aluminum bumper/grill guard took one-and-done from a big northern whitetail, huh? It sure looks like it should have held up. Late October rut? With the frontend problems these trucks already suffer from due to the poor design & the weight of the Cummins, aluminum is a very tempting choice. But in overpopulated deer country, maybe not...



Question: Do you recall what the offset on those Ricksons was? They list 0. 25" offset for pre-2000 trucks and 1. 41" offset for 2000 and up; but I don't see why the 1. 41" offset, if it fits well on a 2002, wouldn't fit equally well on a '96.



Thanks for posting those photos! There's much to like about that truck.

 

[Duluth Diesel]

The AliArc took a very hard corner hit on the drivers site. I was somewhere past 75mph with my foot still planted on the floor accelerating with the Edge on 5x5. I never had a chance to lift when I tore that buck in half. Flung dung everywhere too. So with the offset hit, some welds on the AliArc failed and it got into my fender a little. But with a hit that hard, I'm glad the AliArc's aluminum gave and saved my frame. I think a steel bumper would have transferred too much energy to the frame and caused frame damage.

The Ricksons were ordered specifically for the 2002, so I would guess that means they were 1. 41" offset. I'd ask Ricksons directly what their logic is and if the 0. 25" would fit.

Here are pics of the AliArc after the deer annihilation.

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[Duluth Diesel]

In the last pic you can see where I took a sawzall to the bumper skirt to get it to clear the tire during right hand turns. I drove the truck like this for 3 weeks while the new bumper was made and shipped up from Texas.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Did you get Tough Country to custom fab that bumper for you?

 

[Duluth Diesel]

I think you can order one just like it from Tough Country here: Deluxe Front Replacement Bumper for Dodge Trucks & SUV's Deluxe Front Replacement Bumper for Dodge Trucks & SUV's [DFRxxxxD] - $1,199. 00 : Tough Country Products



Pics here: Tough Country Photo Galleries : Photo Keywords : dodge •dfr | SmugMug



-Chuck