BILSTEIN WANTS TO INVESTIGATE THAT JUMPED RAM TRX

Last week, we wrote about a rather crazy 2021 Ram TRX video that involved jumping the 702 hp behemoth over a creek. That massive jump had quite the landing, with the front passenger side of the vehicle taking the brunt of the impact, visibly twisting the frame and bed of the truck. It was clear there was going to be some significant damage, even if the owner didn’t realize it in directly after the jump.  Now, StreetSpeed 717 has given us an update video with a full damage report on his 2021 Ram TRX, but one aspect of the video really caught our interest. Bilstein wants the owner to send in the shocks so they can be studied.

Ram engineered the TRX to take jumps, but not like that. Bilstein wants to see how their shocks hold up with abuse they weren’t designed for, and sent the owner the following message via Instagram:

“You took ‘send it’ to a whole new level with the TRX and it was awesome! Our Technology & Innovation engineers caught wind of the video and are curious to get these dampers back and construct a tear down for research purposes.”

Bilstein obviously tested the Blackhawk e2 shocks on the Ram TRX thoroughly in the lab, but we aren’t surprised their engineers want to take a look at some that have been seriously abused in the real world. They also offered to send the owner some “Bilstein swag” in return, taking advantage of some easy brand visibility if he goes through with it.

As for the rest of the damage, the Ram TRX in serious need of repairs. For starters, the frame twisting on landing shattered the rear window, and put some body panels out of alignment. Around back, the tailgate is somehow cracked, and the bed is bowed out in by the cab. The bed contorting on landing even made a dent in the frame of the truck.

The worst visible damage is up front, right where the near-3 ton truck came down. The front bumper looks like it ate dirt for dinner, and it and the skid plate are completely bashed in. Under that skid plate, the remote shocks were knocked out of their holsters. Finally, the passenger front wheel well is also broken.

With such significant damage, there’s a lot that needs to be replaced on the jumped Ram TRX, and a lot that may just always be broken. Because of that, the owner said he’s planning on doing more similarly crazy stunts because there isn’t any sense in babying the truck anymore. We aren’t sure any other 2021 Ram TRX owner will be ok with that mindset, but StreetSpeed 717 has probably recouped the cost of the truck with the views, so there really isn’t much for him to lose at this point.

There also isn’t any reason he shouldn’t send in the shocks. The owner said he isn’t going to fix much of the truck because finding parts this early in the vehicles life will be difficult, but the shocks need to be replaced, so hopefully we will be able to hear what Bilstein finds out.