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brandonjansen - 2012 Ram 3500 Laramie Limited Cummins Build Thread

168K views 969 replies 75 participants last post by  brandonjansen 
#1 · (Edited)
Well the day finally came where I got my Cummins :SHOCKED:

A bit of my story:
I've wanted a Cummins ever since I was 14 or 15 years old... they were always just so cool and I got the bug that I needed to build one. So it essentially became my dream to do that one day. Obviously it's not something I could afford right out of highschool, especially since I went to college right away, so that was put off. So that brings us to the point where I bought my 2012 Ram 1500 SXT (that many of you have seen). At the time when I bought it that was a huge purchase for me. I had just started a job with my new company so I didn't want to dig in too deep before everything was a little more routine and normal for me. Well since then I've been promoted and gotten a few raises so the Cummins bug was back at me again. I started looking on and off for the right deal to pop up. I wasn't overly serious about making a move but the option was definitely there. Well finally searching Craigslist one day this 3500 fully loaded Laramie Limited popped up and I knew I had to take a look. Well one thing led to another and bam! Now I own it.

For me this is everything I wanted in the truck to start with. It has every option I could think of, the right colour, Laramie Limited, 2012 (no urea junk)... it is essentially the start of my dream truck. So I'm very stoked about it. I figured now was the time to get into a truck like this before I'm overwhelmed with other bills later in life and won't be able to afford this truck. At least now I have the truck and I can slowly mod it as money comes in.

Numbers:(remember, I'm in Canada)
Since I already know a bunch of you are going to ask what numbers I got in the deal I might as well post them now. I ended up negotiating with them on my truck as a trade in to what I consider a decent price considering what it was. I paid $25,500 10 months ago and have put about $10,000 into it since then. With the trade in value and tax savings because of it, it worked out to about $30,500 for my truck which I'm fairly happy with. Considering the depreciation of the truck I got a fair bit back for my mods.

Now for the new truck. The window sticker on it was $76,000. They had it listed for $70,000 on the lot and I got them down to a final price of $60,000. Again, I'm fairly happy with that deal as well considering everything the truck has.

Sponsorship:
This truck and myself are now sponsored by Bully's Performance. The majority of the parts (everything possible) that I want to put on this truck will be supplied by Bully's. I can't say enough about both Andrew and Jeremiah. They are incredible guys to work with and provide exceptional customer service. If anyone needs anything for their truck (even if it's not listed on their website) give either Andrew or Jeremiah a shout at sales@bullysperformance.com. They will help you find what you're looking for and give you the best pricing possible. Very stoked to have these guys supporting me on this build!

24hr Review:
Well so far I've had this truck for about 18 hours and it has been amazing! HUGE step up from my base trim 1500. The ride is incredible, a lot smoother than I expected for a 3500. The interior is immaculate and so well done. The features that it have literally blow my mind. Last night my dad and I just sat in the truck for an hour or so messing around with things and finding out what they all do both amazed at some of the features. The Cummins is amazing, more power and torque than I know what to do with at the moment. But I have huge plans for it, so things will come.... Overall I am 100% satisfied with the purchase of this truck.

Mod Plans:
I definitely have tons planned for this truck in my head already. Overall this will be a much slower build than my 1500 just because of the cost of things and warranty issues. But here are some of my short term and long term mod plans.

Short Term:
Remove mud flaps - complete
AntennaX 7" billet antenna - completed
Remove running boards - within a few days
Remove intake baffle - within a few days
LED license plate, reverse, and cargo lights - within a few days
Bakflip G2 Tonneau Cover - will be ordered right away
Rough Country Leveling Kit - within a few months
Boost and Pyro Gauges in A-pillar mount - within a few months
S&B intake - within a few months

Long Term: (at the moment)
8" or 10" lift, not sure what brand yet
22x11 Fuel Krank wheels
40x15.5 Toyo MT's
H&S Performance Tuner
EGR delete
DPF delete
4" MBRP turbo back exhaust

Obviously I will think of other mods as time goes on... there will be lots. Everything will be updated in this thread.

Pictures:
And finally the part everyone wants to see.... At the moment I only have a few iPhone pictures, but once I have some time I'll get some with my T3i








And a picture of me with my old 1500 SXT and my new 3500 Laramie Limited. The 1500 is quite a bit closer to the camera, that's why it looks so much bigger.... But for a brief period of time I owned both these trucks. Very happy to be driving away in the Cummins though ;)
 
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#2 ·
you don't understand the jealousy i have right now.


you are like the 3rd guy to finally lift then sell the truck not too Long after. definitely a better upgrade for sure tho
 
#12 ·
I am sure my jealousy level is about the same as yours right now.

I am having serious thoughts about discontinuing mods and start saving that money towards a cummins.. AHhh.

That truck looks amazing.. Congrats:smileup:.. I want to steal it, but would take way to long to get out to b.c:LOL:.. Can't wait to see your future plans for this truck.
 
#4 ·
Haha ya.... Definitely lost a bit of money on it. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to upgrade to a fully loaded 3500. The 4.7 just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I needed a Cummins ;)

bstc00, the dealership (at least the one I wanted to deal with) only had 2012 3500's left on the lot, no 2500's. This just happened to fit everything I needed. Plus I figured if I'm going to do it I might as well go big. That way I can't regret anything about my decision. I have it all.
 
#8 ·
Damn nice looking truck and I am also jealous. Best of luck with it.
Thanks guys! I'll definitely enjoy this truck like crazy. Already am!

Wow. It's exactly as I envisioned it.
Looks BADASS
Can't wait to see the mods start rolling in
Thanks Andrew! Definitely ready to start a few mods. The quicker you can get me that tonneau cover the better ;)
 
#14 ·
sweeeeeet!!!!!, nice, hmmm, jealous for sure, nice truck, congrats on the new family member.
Thanks guys!!

saw the sold next to your signature pic of the 1500 and had to look. congrats on the new truck.. id love to have a cummins too but the idea of paying more for the truck and paying more for fuel every fill up has me hesitant. so ill prolly do the same and drive the 1500 I just got for a couple years, dump a bunch of money into it, and lose my ass when I finally pull the trigger and upgrade again lol
Haha, ya that's kinda how it goes. I decided to make the jump before pouring even more money into the 1500. I never planned for it to be a long term truck for me anyway where as this one will be.
Right now diesel is about the same price as gas in my area so I'm not really forking out much more money for fuel. A couple bucks a fill up. And once the Cummins breaks in a bit more it should be getting better mileage than my 4.7 was getting. Especially once I do the deletes and a tuner down the road ;)

I am sure my jealousy level is about the same as yours right now.

I am having serious thoughts about discontinuing mods and start saving that money towards a cummins.. AHhh.

That truck looks amazing.. Congrats:smileup:.. I want to steal it, but would take way to long to get out to b.c:LOL:.. Can't wait to see your future plans for this truck.
Thanks bud! Definitely a long drive to attempt to steal my truck that you can't get in to :gy:
I'd say if you can make it happen, start saving up for the Cummins man. Definitely worth it. It's a whole different league of truck. So nice to have.

No jealousy here Brandon.

The 3500 Cummins is not for everybody. As much as I like their eye-candy factor, I'm one of those people they're not for.

I'm just happy for you, buddy.

Fine purchase with a whole list of sweet mods planned.

Good move with the Bully's thing.

Congratulations and safe driving.

:smileup:
No worries Grub, totally understand what you're saying. Thanks for the compliments though! Definitely looking forward to this build over the next few years.
 
#11 ·
saw the sold next to your signature pic of the 1500 and had to look. congrats on the new truck.. id love to have a cummins too but the idea of paying more for the truck and paying more for fuel every fill up has me hesitant. so ill prolly do the same and drive the 1500 I just got for a couple years, dump a bunch of money into it, and lose my ass when I finally pull the trigger and upgrade again lol
 
#13 ·
No jealousy here Brandon.

The 3500 Cummins is not for everybody. As much as I like their eye-candy factor, I'm one of those people they're not for.

I'm just happy for you, buddy.

Fine purchase with a whole list of sweet mods planned.

Good move with the Bully's thing.

Congratulations and safe driving.

:smileup:
 
#15 ·
you are definitely right. But at least Brandon pulls the racecar him and his dad have. so it's not like he's rolllin around in a 3500 for no reason haha. If I got a HD truck, I'd definitely have me a boat to pull behind it. I'd make sure I needed that big of a truck. Then of course I'd have a gas getter car. One day, one day.

for now any boat I want/get will be just fine behind my 1500. looking at 17' center consoles now.
 
#16 ·
Yes, I definitely plan to use the 3500 to it's potential in the future. Obviously my dad's flat deck trailer with his car on it isn't enough weight to warrant a 3500.... but I do have Uncles with big 32ft enclosed trailers that I might end up pulling from time to time. And down the road (once the truck is payed off) I'll probably look into buying a travel trailer of my own. So it definitely will be used.
 
#22 ·
Good pictures of the truck completely stock

So the mistake I made with my last truck was not taking any good pictures of it 100% stock.... so with this one that was the first thing I did. Here are a bunch of pictures I took as soon as I got it home.







 
#23 · (Edited)
First Round of Mods

Here's the first round of mods that I've done to the truck so far.

First thing was removing the mud flaps. Couldn't stand those.


Next was removing the intake baffle. With it installed you literally couldn't hear the turbo at all unless you were really listening for it. Plus something that big and chunky in the intake can't be good for airflow. Now with it removed you can definitely hear the turbo better. It still isn't too loud but there's at least some sound.




Not a mod, but here's a quick one I took of the engine.


Next was removing the running boards. I've never been a fan of those either, so they needed to come off!


I also put all the white LED lights in the license plate lights, reverse lights, and cargo lights but didn't take any pictures of it. I figure most guys know how that looks and it's hard to get a good picture of lights like that. If someone really wants to see them I'll try to snap a few pictures.

My 7" billet stubby antenna was transferred from my old truck to this one as well. Forgot to take a picture of it though...

As stated earlier, next mod will be the tonneau cover which should be arriving in the next few days. From there I haven't decided what mod to do next. Right now it's between an S&B intake, leveling kit (and how far I want to go with it), or A-pillar gauges (boost and pyro). Anybody have any suggestions?
 
#26 ·
Ya I've been thinking about pulling that tape off. I'll have to go find that thread talking about it again and read up on the best way to do it. I also wouldn't mind seeing a few pictures of mineral grey trucks with it done just to make sure it's what I want to do.
 
#33 ·
I see what you guys are saying about the steps.... That picture makes it looks a little more bare than it actually is too though. Once I get it levelled and bigger tires on it it will look a lot more proportionate though. It will all just take some time....
 
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