Power and Precision: 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie

Josh Chambers’ 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie

Photos by Victor Lopez

There’s nothing quite like taking a brand new, bone-stock truck from factory-fair to the truck of your dreams. Just ask Josh Chambers of Magnolia, Texas. After purchasing his 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie, it wasn’t long before he started building it out to be his next favorite truck. And the results two years later, well, have a look for yourself!

Josh is no newcomer to the diesel truck world. In fact, if you don’t recognize his name, you might recognize his other well-known truck—a gorgeous white and blue F-250 Super Duty that’s been winning top awards in the lifted truck scene for a number of years now. So when he bought his new truck back in the spring of 2021, the pressure was on to build yet another amazing truck. But this one was going to be different—this one was going to be not only a gorgeous rig, but also a high-horsepower diesel that Josh and his family could enjoy for years to come. Call it the perfect match of form and function.

  There’s Always Room for More Power

Ultimately wanting a high-horsepower diesel first and foremost, Josh entrusted his 2020 Ram to the The Diesel Source out of Porter, Texas, to take the 6.7L Cummins Inline-6 under the hood to the next level. This was done in part by tearing out the factory turbo and hardware, and replacing it with a Slosh Fab 2nd Gen swap, featuring a S472.83.90 forced induction turbocharger and Steed Speed angled manifold. To aid in the balance of airflow, a CFT Performance cold side intercooler pipe was also added.

When you’re looking for more power, improved fueling must also be considered, so The Diesel Source incorporated an S&S Diesel Motorsport CP3 conversion kit with a 12m pump into the Cummins, giving the I6 a higher fuel-flow capacity for even more power potential. Bolstering the engine’s fuel efficiency even more are Dynomite Diesel Products Inc. 100 percent injectors and a FASS Diesel Fuel Systems 165 pump. Added air flow from the Glacier Diesel Power heater delete to cylinders four through six gives the Cummins even more strength for some additional hps.

But it wasn’t all about power under the hood for Josh when he took on this build—it was also about the fit and finish. So, a D&J Precision Machine valve cover, as well as additional engine dress-up pieces from Pointblank Performance, Full Send Diesel, and Black Market Performance, were added all done in gold to match the truck’s unique color scheme.

Wanting to put the best behind his high-horsepower diesel engine, Josh decided to back the Cummins with a WP Developments 800 series transmission, specifically built for higher horsepower applications. This bad boy features a Sonnax billet input shaft, overdrive drum and bearings, as well as a WPD high PSI pump and valve body setup, and custom stud kit. Matted to a Randy’s triple disk torque converter, this high-performance transmission spins a polished driveshaft, while 24×14-inch JTX Strife wheels wrapped in 35×14.50R24 Versatyre R/T rubber plants the bad-to-the-bone-diesel to the pavement.

A Little Lift

Now there’s always going to be debate out there about how much lift a diesel truck should have, but for Josh, it was once again more about the combination of form and function. For the lift on the truck, Josh chose a Stryker Off Road Design coil spring suspension lift, with the truck’s rear springs being maintained with just a single inch spacer added. Giving the truck a better ride quality even with the lift in place are Fox remote reservoir shocks on all four corners. The suspension system, which was installed by Blake Gamez and Ryan Dylla, is completely framed out with Elevated Diesel frame rail plates.

Of course, the Stryker suspension lift was treated to gold coating for the ultimate pop of color on the undercarriage, which also plays host to a HornBlasters spare tire delete kit with gold coated horns, for all those train horn blasting needs!

Go for the Gold

Josh’s truck is certainly built for performance but he also put a lot of emphasis on making the truck aesthetically pleasing and one of a kind. After all, you can’t be going out to shows looking like everyone else!

For starters, setting this 2020 Ram apart from the crowd is the beautiful Pearl White and gold color  scheme done by Plain An Simple out of Houston. This is immediately what caught our eye first when we saw the freshly finished truck.

Up front, the truck’s factory Laramie grille and bumper both received a sleek and refined touch of the same gold gracing the truck’s suspension components, while the color is also carried through to the truck’s badging and even the light surrounds. Adding to the sleek and refined finish, everything from the headlights to the taillights and third brake light were expertly color-matched to the truck’s White Pearl paint and detailed by Plain An Simple, giving the truck a clear congruency from all angles. Color-matched mirrors and secondary plastics add even more detail. Lighting for the truck is provided by Morimoto headlights, as well as an additional 28 rock lights from Nxt Lvl Industries, which light up the entire undercarriage and wheel wells on the Ram.

Moving to the inside of the truck, you’ll find cushy factory Laramie seats and upholstery. All of the stock gauges were taken out of the truck and replaced by superior US Speedo instrumentation. But above all else, the added black suede headliner steels the show, outfitted with a FCKLightBars Performance Lighting 1500-piece Starlight Headliner Kit featuring 14 shooting stars. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re in a different world driving your truck around at night, this is the way to do it!

Truly a gorgeous truck, we can’t wait to see what awards Josh is able to bring home with this latest build. His F-250 is certainly hard to beat, but we think this Ram 2500 is truly tops!

2020 Ram 2500 Laramie 

Owner 

Josh Chambers
Magnolia, Texas

Chassis & Suspension 

• Elevated Diesel frame rail plates
• Stryker Off Road Design coil spring suspension lift
• Fox remote reservoir front and rear shocks
• Factory rear springs with 1-inch spacer
• HornBlasters spare tire delete kit
• Suspension components installed by Blake Gamez and Ryan Dylla

Wheels & Tires

• 24×14-inch JTX Strife wheels
• 35×14.50R24 Versatyre R/T tires

Engine & Drivetrain 

• 6.7L Cummins Inline-6, modified by The Diesel Source
• Slosh Fab 2nd Gen turbo swap with Steed Speed angled manifold
• S472.83.90 forced induction turbocharger
• CFT Performance cold side intercooler pipe
• S&S Diesel Motorsport CP3 conversion with a 12m pump
• Dynomite Diesel Products Inc. 100 percent injectors
• FASS Diesel Fuel Systems 165 pump
• Glacier Diesel Power heater delete
• D&J Precision Machine valve cover
• Engine dress-up pieces from Pointblank Performance, Full Send Diesel and Black Market Performance
• WP Developments 800 series transmission
• Randy’s Transmissions triple disc torque converter
• Polished driveshaft

Body & Paint

• Factory Laramie grille and bumpers
• Morimoto headlights
• Nxt Lvl Industries rock lights
• Pearl White paint with gold accents
• Color-matched mirrors and secondary plastics
• Headlights, taillights, and third brake light all paint-matched by Plain An Simple

Interior & Stereo

• Laramie seats
• US Speedo gauges
• Black suede headliner
• FCKLightBars Performance Lighting 1500 Piece Starlight Headliner Kit with 14 shooting stars