I'm seriously considering another 4X4. This one would be a full size 2003-2006 Ram 2500. They run $7000-$10,000. I'd need to put a complete lift kit in it. Kor Racing has what I want. Either 35 or 37 inch tires, five, and wheels. New 5.7 Hemi engine as the average mileage on a 2003 is about 137,000 miles. A few other things, like a custom front bumper, so my angle of attack matches my angle of departure. 4.56 or more in the differentials. True-Trac in the front and a Detroit Locker in the back.
I'd need a trailer to tow it behind my camper rig.
I figure $20,000 to $25,000 all together.
It would have twice the range of my Jeep Wrangler. I would sit higher up for better visability. With a roll bar in the bed, I could sit on it to glass, etc.
I'm thinking I'm going to need something else where I'm going to be hunting. Flat, thick washes of desert Ironwood. 100 sq. miles of land where I'll need to stay on the move to find fresh tracks.
Yes, I can afford it.
So, what do you think ? E

they use salt on the roads out your way? i had a 05 1500 with the 4.7 and it was a complete POS. it was shot by 2012. rotted body, frame, shackles and gas tank. rear end shot, tranny slipping, you name it. under 100k miles. i would run not walk away from mid 2000 dodges.

No, we don't salt our roads.
Any truck I would consider has to be in good shape. You go used truck shopping in old clothes. Not hard to crawl under the truck and look.
Anything already modified and used off road is out. Anything used in constuction is out. Here in Kalifornia, lots of people buy heavy duty 4X4's and don't use them much. They may put alot of miles on them, but not much else. That's what I'd consider. E

I have had trucks with 4:56 gears. You don't, in my opinion, need that kind of gearing in a hunting truck. I much prefer 3:76 or so.

Negative, the OP stated he wanted a lift with 35"or 37" tires therefore 4.56 gears or even lower will be needed to maintain performance.

A truckers next rig has got to be one of those four door ones!

There must be some nick name for them? What is it?

Station Wagon.

Not sure why you want a 3/4 ton if you are going to tow it instead of tow with it?

I would be towing a jeep or a small tacoma 4x4 if it were me

Even a first gen tundra if you want more room.

Hunting for what?

Desert mulies. The place I want to hunt is over 100 square miles of washes.
They run across it in over a dozen places, often almost flat and thick. I'd need lots of range, and the ability to get off the ground to glass the edges.
With 33 inch tires, the Power Wagons use 4.56 and 4.10 raatios. With 35 inch tires, I may be better off with 3.89's because the Power Wagons are geared for rock crawling. E

A ram in those years with big tires and a lift I'd go Cummins. We have both at work and in stock form either one has plenty of power but with lower gears and big tires I'd want a tuned cummins. Not only for getting up and going but for fuel mileage.

Or buy a power wagon with the 6.4 hemi.

He already said it would get a new hemi.

I missed that.

I would guess your mileage in the truck you describe isn't going to be great with the low gearing you want. I run 35" tires with 4:10's and get about 12 mpg off road in 4 wheel high and that is on packed two track forest service and private land roads. No sand washes. I can run about 200 miles with the 22 gallon fuel tank before I start worrying about it. I carry a 5 gallon fuel bottle in the truck bed that gives me another 60 miles or so.

Since you are towing your truck to the place you hunt you can start with a full tank. I drive mine to the sites and am going to drop down to 3:76 or so as the highway mileage isn't too good. I am running a 5.3 Chevy V8 with an auto trans.

Anyway good luck with this I like trucks like you are describing. Post a photo when you get it built.

I'd watch for something with low mileage/engine that was already setup.

Would you believe I found a 2005 2dr. Power Wagon with 76,000 miles on it for $20500..... ? All it would need is to change the differential ratios. I don't need the rock crawling 4.56's. E

Don't change the diffs. It's more fun to put bigger tires on it to get final drive where you want it to be. Did you buy the truck?

Correct, when you put the larger tires on the truck the "Effective Drive Ratio" will be lower. There are various calculators on the internet that will allow you to determine your new drive ratio when you install the taller tires. Without me doing the calculations I would think that going from 33" tires to 35" tires would get you to an Effective ration below 4.00, and going to 37" tires should get you close to the 3.89 gears you discussed earlier.

I went to 4.56 gears from 3.73 in my Ford Super duty when I went from 32" tires to 35" tires. I put ARB Air Lockers in both front and rear so doing the gears was a no-brainer at the time. My effective ratio is around 4.17 compared to the original 3.73 and the truck pulls better and gets better fuel milage on trips, it stays in Overdrive longer when pulling grades.

I'd happily run 4.56 gears with large tires for anything off the pavement.

No, I haven't bought the truck. As to bigger tires, after one goes above 35 inch tires, you run into fender rubbing problems and off set concerns.
4Wheeler magazine did a story about going to 35 inch tires in a Power Wagon. Didn't make any difference.
What I'm going to do, considering all the money it would cost, is run my 2014 Wrangler for a season and see just what's involved in my new area(s).
I'd dearly love to have a 2500 Ram with big tires with lots of range and power. But the Jeep I have now does everything I need and it fits in the tight places where the Ram might not go. So, that is also a consideration.
Heck, after talking to my buddy down there, he suggested I try an area even bigger than the one I was looking at. Good bucks and very little hunting pressure.... E

Customizing a truck to be exactly what you want is all personal taste. Most of the OP's choices sound fine on paper, (not a mopar guy) but lower gears, bigger tires that can be aired down in soft sand, lockers, a winch and lights are all pretty standard if you're going to be wandering.

For desert dwelling a ladder rack might be great. You can set it up where the platform can be turned upside down in transit, flipped over with a chair & even maybe a way to rig shade. Mount some big lights on top above the cab on the front of the rack for jamming down the desert roads heading back.

Buy the best side wall tires, carry two spares, and self recovery equipment. Not having concerns about getting stranded will give you the freedom to wander where you want and enjoy yourself. There's usually a lot of unseen gems hidden.

Just a thought. the late model RAMs offer a version called the "Outdoorsman" in 1500, 2500 and 3500 since 2011. It has lots of extra goodies that you might want to check out including skid plates and heavy duty components.

I just put a deposit on a 2016 Outdoorsman 2500 diesel with 37K miles. That mileage loses the basic warranty on the truck, but the engine and power train warranty should be good for a few more years.

Living in NM, I am not too worried about frame rust, et al. I do wish I am getting the version with the locking gun and fishing compartments over the rear wheels, but that wasn't available in a used 2500 right now.

I would double check the gears....they use to come with 3:73 and the 5.7 hemi (that was the major complaint about the older power wagon, mane slightly underpowered with too high of gears fro what the truck was designed for) and then changed to the 6.4 hemi and 4:10 gears. I don't think there is an option for anything lower from the factory. I did a bit of research on them before I bought my 2016 Power Wagon....

Great truck on a side note and I don't think u have to do anything to them to do what u want.

Get a diesel!

I've got one. It's an '06' 2500. E

Just bought a 2017 dodge power wagon tonight. Long day.
I'll be figuring out all the bells and whistles tomorrow.

WOW ! Let us know what you think of it. E

As long as I don't pay attention to the mpg I love it.

Big truck with lots of get up and go. Still getting used to where all the buttons are. Will be trying it out in some snow over the next week or so. Right now with our weather all I can say is it's waterproof.

Tell me about it.... We will get some rain and some snow in the passes on Sunday or Monday. Then the long range forecast is for dry weather until at least the middle of March. E

Me too, want one bad