Tom Reese did not set out to build one of the more complete overland rigs you will see on the trail. He wanted a truck that was comfortable, that could carry everything he needed for a few days out, and that suited the way he actually uses it. Close to two years later, his 2015 Ram Mega Cab with the 6.7 Cummins has turned into something well past the original plan, and the last piece of the puzzle was the one nobody thinks about until they need it.
Tom runs OGS Overlanding, and the brief for this build was simple enough. He wanted a vehicle comfortable enough to spend real time in and big enough to haul his necessities, whether he was hunting or just camping for a stretch. The Mega Cab gave him the room. Everything after that got added as he learned more about what overlanding actually demands of a truck. He is the first to admit the vision was not this grand at the start, and he calls the whole thing a bit of a rabbit hole.
The payoff for a truck like this is access. Tom describes pulling into Manatee Meadows, a spot secluded enough that there are no trains, no trucks and no trailers, and no cell reception either. On one trip they rounded the last canyon and found two airplanes parked in the middle of a field, which tells you something about who else makes the effort to get there. It is a project to reach, and that is exactly the point. Fewer people, running water a hundred feet from camp, and dinner cooked over a fire.
Here is where a lot of overland builds run into trouble. Tom did the suspension and the tires, then added the gear, the storage and everything else that turns a truck into a basecamp. It rode really nicely. The ride was never the problem. The problem was that he had added a serious amount of weight to an already heavy truck, and the factory brakes were now being asked to stop a load they were never specified for.
So Tom did what most people do and started asking around. He talked to people in the industry, did his research, and kept getting the same answer. Every direction pointed at R1 Concepts. He got in contact, we got back to him, and we offered to fit a brake system and see if we could help him stop that heavy beast.
He picked the truck up just before this trip and noticed it immediately. Pulling out of the mechanic’s shop, he could tell the difference in how much space it took to stop and how much response there was in the pedal. That was the moment he knew he had made the right call. A big brake kit is one of the few upgrades where the improvement is obvious before you even reach the trail.
Street manners are one thing. The real test was the trip. Uphill, downhill, through water and through dust, Tom reports no squeaks and no complaints. His summary at the end was short and to the point. When you are a long way from pavement with a heavily loaded truck, stopping predictably is not a luxury.