New Battle Wagon 04' Durango

libarata

Adventurist
So, I kept the Roo as a spare, but here we have a new to me 2004 Dodge Durango, 5.7l Hemi SLT. I am having a hard time finding much in the way of bolt on aftermarket, aside from the usual cargo compartment rubber mats, and some windshield visors.

Does anyone have suggestions for companies that make stuff for these things? I need some A/T tires to start with, but then I am probably going to look for a bumper guard of some sort, then work on suspension.

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Good buddy of mine has one of these. There is pretty much zero aftermarket support for them and nothing from the Ram or Dakota market carries over to them. Anything you want in terms of bumpers, rocker guards, or skid plates will have to be fully custom. Not a bad rig by any means, just lacks any aftermarket support the way there is for other trucks and SUV's.
 
On the good old facebook, someone piped up that this is essentially a Grand Cherokee. I have my homework trying to figure out if anything with the Cherokee will carry over. Its a good thing all I want is a bumper, mild skids, and a 2 inch lift. I'd have come home with a Yukon XL, but the tranny blew headed up the mountain -.-

Don't get me wrong, I know this is a funky soccer moms vehicle by all means. I just think it would look nice, and function fairly well softroading it out there. Watching a video of a stock one doing the canaan valley loop.
 
I've always liked these. The bummer is that there's no selectable locker for the rear-end. That would have been nice (especially for me, since I was looking at swapping the rear from one under my Astro...)
 
I think this can be a capable camping and soft roading vehicle. As long as you do not have rock crawling dreams this could be an excellent platform, IMO.
 
If it's got a transfer case and low range, I'd wheel it! I had a '99 Dakota 4x4, the most annoying thing with that truck when off road was not being able to see the front fenders. Eventually I got the hang of it but it was like driving by braille in the beginning. I had the same issue with the Dakota that you are having...virtually no aftermarket support.
 
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Skids ought not be impossible to have someone fab up quick, and I am sure I could get away with a Westin front grill guard. Other than those two things, I just want a 2" lift. I am trying to move my cargo rack from the Roo, to this, but one of the bolts is being stubborn, and soaking in some PB Blaster.

I went out yesterday, and did a few hundred miles on dirt roads, and little forest tracks I couldn't take the roo due to tires and height. Never had to switch to 4x4(4-lock, or whatever), but did it anyways.

Really, we bought it because we have libarata Jr/Jrette on the way, and needed something better for the family roadtrips that was safer, and more comfortable to spread out in. Also, snow above 18"" paralyzes our Roo fleet.

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Hah! Finally got this thing transferred. The rack was on the roo for two full years, so I am glad it actually came off. It looks quite tiny now.
 
On the good old facebook, someone piped up that this is essentially a Grand Cherokee.

Negative Ghost Rider. Grand Cherokee is a unibody construction with IFS and IRS. Durango is body-on-frame construction with IFS and a solid rear axle. The powertrain (5.7L Hemi, trans, and t-case) might all be the same but beyond that the two platforms are kissing cousins at best and nothing will carry over.
 
Well dang, I was going to look at a same MY grand cherokee to verify what the internet was telling me. I probably still will... I live within a little driving distance of some body shops, so I will probably ask them if they have any experience making skid plates.
 
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