tv_larsen's 2001 Dakota Quad Cab 1-ton crawler

Owners Name & City-
tv_larsen - Logan, Utah​

Make, Model & Year of Vehicle-
2001 Dodge Dakota Sport Quad Cab​

Engine-
5.9L Magnum V8​

Transmission-
46RE​

T-Case-
Box4Rocks 231/231 Doubler with an Advance Adapters SYE​

Axles-
Front - Dana 60 kingpin high pinion with 5.38 gears, an ARB, Yukon 35 spline inners and outers, Yukon Hardcore hubs, and a Rock Crusher diffcover.​
Rear - Sterling 10.25" with 5.38 gears, a Detroit Locker, and a Ruff Stuff diff cover.​

Suspension-
Front - Skyjacker 4" GM 48" front leaf springs.​
Rear - 57" 2wd Ford F150 leaf springs, spring over, no blocks.​

Wheels and Tires-
H2 aluminum 17" wheels, 37x12.50x17 BFG KM3 tires.​

Winch-
Vintage Warn 8274 with 100' of 3/8" synthetic rope.​

Favorite Trails-
Hell's Revenge, Fins-N-Things, Kane Creek, Rusty Nail, Golden Spike, Providence Canyon.​

Other-
JB Fab billet transfercase shifters, Tom Woods driveshafts, home made bumpers and rock sliders, York OBA system, Ruff Stuff drag link and tierod, 1.5" Redneck Ram hydro assist.​


This is my 2001 Dakota Quad Cab. I bought it from RME member cruiserhead81. He had already completed the 1-ton solid axle swap with the GM front springs, he also installed 37" wheels and tires, and trimmed the fenders so they would fit. The SAS required a large portion of the frame rails to be cut out and replaced where the original 2wd front suspension mounted. For a steering box he used one from a Scout II.

The truck ran and drove great. But since it started life as a 2wd truck it had no transfercase. First, I bought a used 4wd 42RE trasmission and installed the 4wd tailhousing parts onto the stock 42RE transmission. I installed a Box4Rocks kit into a NP231 from a '96 Ram 1500 and upgraded it to a 6-pinion planetary. I used an NP231 from a '01 Ram 1500 for the rear transfercase with an Advanced Adapters slip yoke eliminator, a used 6-pinion planetary, and long input shaft from a TJ. When I assembled the cases together I clocked the rear case up 12 degrees. Total gear crawl ratio is 109:1 (not counting the torque converter).

The rear driveshaft is a 1410/1410, and the front driveshaft is a 1350/1310, both are from Tom Wood's.

For transfercase shifters I used JB Fab's billet twin stick cable shifters. They had a pre-made cable bracket for the front transfercase, but I had to fab my own for the rear case.

Next I had Thunder Mountain in Logan install a set of 5.38 gears in both axles, the front got an ARB and the rear got a Detroit Locker. The rear axle used a long pinion gear-set, and got upgraded to Dana 70 ring gear bolts and a crush sleeve eliminator. Later I installed Yukon 35 spline 4340 inner and outer axle shafts in the front axle with Yukon 35 spline Hardcore hubs.

I rebuilt an old Warn 8274 winch that I had bought from RME member TheSpecialist. I installed 100' of synthetic rope with a Factor 55 thimble. I don't think anyone makes a winch bumper for a Dakota with an 8274 so I built my own. It has a 1/4" thick plate center section, and the tubing is 1.75"x.095 HREW. For recovery shackles I used a pair from a 2.5 ton military truck. Then I built a matching rear bumper, also with military recovery shackles.

The truck's maiden voyage was the 2015 EJS. The truck did fantastic. The only problem was the old front leaf spring bushings gave out and the leaves sagged. I replaced them with Tuff Country 2" lift EZ ride springs, when they sagged I replaced them with Skyjacker 4" springs.

It has a OBA system with a 5 gallon tank and a York AC compressor. Compressor brackets are from Jungle on ramchargercentral.

In 2017 I bought a 2002 Durango donor and converted the Dakota from a 3.9L V6/42RE to a 5.9L V8/46RE.

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
Last weekend I upgraded the front Dana 60 and installed Yukon 4340 35 spline front inner and outer axles shafts with new Spicer U-806 u-joints w/o zerks. I also upgraded the hubs from the stock plastic junk to the new Yukon 35 spline Hardcore Hubs - they are super nice!
 

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
Thanks.

When I was upgrading the front axle shafts and hubs I noticed that the condition of the front springs were worse than I thought. The 2.5 year old Tuff Country 2" front springs were shot, in fact they had negative arch and I had almost no up travel left. So I replaced them with a pair of Skyjacker 4" C140S leaf springs. It's amazing how much better it rides now.
 

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
Spent a couple days in Moab last week and ran some easy trails. The new front springs worked awesome.
 

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
Last month the Dakota got new shoes, 37x12.50x17 BFG KM3's from Impulse Offroad (thanks John and Ben).
It also got a new HD offset tierod from Ruff Stuff, and a 1.5" Redneck Ram from West Texas Offroad.
 

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
Visited the San Juan mountains earlier this week. It's disappointing that Black Bear Pass won't be open until next week, but we had a good time nonetheless.

Mineral Creek, Poughkeepsie Gulch, and Imogene Pass.
 

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tv_larsen

Well-Known Member
Location
Logan, Utah
When I'm out adventuring one common problem seems to be navigation, both off-road and in unfamiliar cities. Of course I used my phone, but I wanted something better. So I finally cut up my dash and installed a 7" Android double DIN stereo called "ATOTO S8 Standard". Because it is Android I can install most apps from the Google Play store. This opens a world of possibilities. Also it has a backup camera, and wireless CarPlay.

I had hoped to use the OnX Offroad map app, but it just doesn't work on a fixed landscape orientation, and it doesn't work with CarPlay. I will be investigating other apps (Magellan, Gia, etc...) but for now I just downloaded certain Google maps regions for off-line use. It works great.

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