Front suspension
The front frame section incorporates advanced, high-strength steel that maintains overall strength and durability for adapting an all-new independent front suspension system for the Rebel TRX. Ram engineering collaborated with Dirt King Fabrication in San Diego, California, to custom build upper and lower A-arms with special attention to caster and camber angles during suspension cycling.
The upper arms are linked to the frame with high-movement heim joints, lower arms use bushings. Both upper and lower arms use a uniball at the knuckle. Overall, front- and rear-wheel travel is increased to more than 13 inches from the standard 9 inches. Front loads are managed by state-of-the-art, adjustable, performance coil-over shocks with internal bypass.
The coils handle spring load, but the magic lies in the bypass shock design. This fully adjustable shock allows hydraulic fluid to flow via adjustable internal passages for fine tuning. As the suspension moves closer to the maximum points, top and bottom, the piston inside the shock bypasses select passages, making it harder for fluid to move and slowing down the suspension as it nears “full jounce” and “top out.” The result is a smooth ride over smaller bumps and when the bumps become mounds, the reaction speed and heat dissipation is unbeatable, softening the impact on occupants and maintaining the tire-to-ground contact.
Rear suspension
The Ram 1500 uses an exclusive, best-in-class link coil rear suspension system that provides incredible ride characteristics, durability and lighter weight. The system also shares basic architecture with the fastest off-road trucks in desert racing. Ram Rebel TRX’s rear suspension took packaging barriers and engineering into consideration with a unique application. Dirt King Fabrication collaborated on an innovative solution to produce greater wheel travel without reducing the cargo area of the bed. The frame’s hard points for the five-link suspension system are unchanged and allow the rear axle travel to span up to 13 inches, while standard rear-wheel travel on the Ram 1500 is 9.25 inches.
Upper and lower links are 1.75-inch x .188-inch-wall drawn-over-mandrel tubing. The Panhard bar is constructed from 4130 chrome alloy for increased strength. The four upper and lower links use a heim joint at the frame mount to improve movement and a bushing at the axle. The link placement carefully rotates the axle during full cycle without overextending the driveshaft U-joints or slip yoke. The Panhard rod aligns the rear axle and is linked with heim joints on both ends. Increased wheel travel demands longer shocks. New 2.5-inch rear bypass shocks use factory upper and lower shock mounts. The shock’s reservoir, bypass tube layout and extended/collapsed length are specifically designed for the Ram 1500. The standard rear coils are swapped for performance springs located in the factory-set positions.
Sway bars
Sway bars located in the front and rear use factory mounting points with extensions to accommodate longer wheel travel. Although the Ram Rebel TRX-spec concept sits higher than a standard Ram 1500, applying too much resistance at the sway bar would hurt the truck’s ability to articulate left-to-right and fight the suspension from keeping tires to the ground.