2006 Dodge Ram 1500 - bed Cover - Photo 9616746

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Total installation of the cover took less than 30 minutes and it all snapped into place. Another great feature of the cover is the ability to quickly and easily remove the two tension bars and cover to gain full access to the bed.

Lifting your truck doesn't necessarily mean you have to go sky high or cross the line of becoming impractical. Many of the new 1500 series trucks run a strut-style shock for the front suspension. This coilover design makes it easy for aftermarket suspensions, such as this Rancho Quick-Lift strut, to give you up to 2 inches of lift without dropping or modifying any of the control arms or attachment points. Most of these 1- to 2-inch kits, commonly referred to as leveling kits, will usually allow you to squeeze on a healthier sized tire than the pizza cutters that most of the new trucks come from the factory with. The adjustability of the Quick-Lift gives you a variety of options to harden or soften the ride depending on the terrain.

A tool that is a must-have when working frequently with coils and struts is a coil compressor. If you don't plan on opening up a shop we suggest running the struts down to your local 4x4 shop and having them swap your original spring onto your new strut.

Just like rotors, not all pads are created equal. Holding both pads side by side it's hard to tell the difference, but high-performance pads such as the yellow EBCs are designed with different tolerances than what you get from the factory. The thing to remember is that car manufacturers design their vehicles around average driving characteristics, and as we all are aware, if there is an average, that means there is an above and a below...

...What does this really mean? Depending on who you ask, the aftermarket world may sometimes carry an advantage by creating a product that allows the vehicle to reach its full performance potential, thus creating more advance compounds for brake pads allotting for higher heat capacities and performance characteristics.

Here's a quick tip if you know you're going to be removing your calipers. Pictured is a simple S-hook that attaches the caliper on one end, then secures it to a hole in the vehicle's frame. Don't have hooks? Try using an old coat hanger, a bungee cord, or even a tie strap. Anything is better than letting your calipers hang from the lines.

Even though you're not changing the track width by replacing the knuckle, it's still a good idea to determine the best backspacing before ordering your new wheels. An easy way to measure is by putting the original wheel against a flat wall and measure from the center (inner mounting surface) of the wheel. Then using a long ruler or a straight flat piece of material, determine how many inches your wheel is spaced from the back lip of the rim to the center. This will give you a good idea of how far your new aftermarket wheels may stick out and also guide you when determining a new tire size. A lot of the time the more you can keep the tire inside of the fenderwell the bigger the tire you can fit onto the vehicle.

We know choosing the right tire can be a real pain and inevitably when there is something gained, there is something lost. We had to really think about what was the right tire for our Dodge. We knew that we'd be towing and of course we'd be throwing this thing in the dirt, but what about our commute? A 60-mile roundtrip is pretty much the norm for us here at the 'zine and California roads aren't the best in the world. After much deliberation we decided on Goodyear's new Wrangler with Silent Armor technology in the 285/70/17 variety. The tread design offers an aggressive enough pattern to get through the trail, but gives a smoother ride with almost zero road noise.

For wheels we went with 17x8 7005 Cast-Blast Pro Comp Xtreme Alloys with 4.5 inches of backspacing. The lightweight material and black finish are both big pluses as indicated by our custom bling meter we keep on the dash of our ride.

We all know that one of the best parts about owning a truck is being able to toss all of your junk into the bed. But what about the stuff that's too dirty for the cab, but too important to be left uncovered. We run into this situation a lot and have found that one of the best solutions is a bedcover. One of the easiest and best bang-for-your-buck covers on the market is the snap-down cover from Stylin' Concepts. The four bedrails and clamps install in just a few minutes and don't require any drilling or master technician's certificate to install.

Total installation of the cover took less than 30 minutes and it all snapped into place. Another great feature of the cover is the ability to quickly and easily remove the two tension bars and cover to gain full access to the bed.

We know you're excited about all your new goodies, but don't forget to save your original parts and pieces. This will keep you from spending unnecessary dough getting your truck back to stock, and will have the dealer impressed at how well you've maintained your stock equipment!