Trestle 2022 Ram 3500 Cab/Chassis Build Thread

[Trestle]

After waiting close to a year to receive a factory order vehicle, we will chronicle progress on a personal build, and interim shake down trips to dial in this build.

Reason for the build: Travel/exploration for two adults, and one to two dogs. Weekend trips, to several month long trips for a working couple where both work remotely full time. Eventual four to six month non-working trip between Alaska and Baja in the next 2-4 years.

Considerations: We chose a combination of truck/flatbed/camper so that each component can be changed over time, or as necessary due to unfortunate circumstances. If we decide on a different camper, it can be swapped out. If we have damage or high mileage on the truck, it can be swapped out. While there is some redundancy in terms of weight, and compromise in convenience as compared to an integrated unit, this was a conscious decision/trade-off on our part.

Chassis: 2022 Ram 3500 Cab/Chassis, four door, diesel, 60" cab to axle, 4wd, Tradesman, with minimal upgrades.

• This vehicle is meant to be a workhorse, with vinyl seats, no carpet, and rubber floor mats.
• When purchasing a cab/chassis diesel, a derated Cummins (standard is 370hp/850ft# vs. derated 360hp/800ft#) is paired with the Aisin AS69RC transmission (typically only available with the Cummins HO engine rated at 420hp/1075ft#). These vehicles are typically fleet vehicles used in heavy duty situations by employees who may not have much mechanical sympathy for the vehicles, hence the combination of a derated diesel with the heavier duty transmission option. The goal is to have plenty of capacity for our needs, with a likely more durable setup for long term use.
• Upgrades include: dual 52 & 22 gallon fuel tanks (for increased range), 115v power (so the passenger can run a laptop and work while traveling), trailer brake controller, dual 220 amp alternators (extra capacity for winching and charging the house batteries), cold weather group, backup camera, remote keyless entry (not sure why this is even considered an upgrade, so I guess we're soft), upgraded 8.4" head unit with nav (an admitted luxury), electric sliding rear window (easy to vent a window far back in the dog house area vs. manual controls), push button 4wd (did not chose this option, but ended up with it...it's a long story).

Tray: Summit Expedition Trucks (www.setoverland.com) Expedition 108 model, modified for use on cab/chassis for a total length of 111". Includes 4' slide our rear drawer, 40" front tool boxes, 32" rear tool boxes, deleted headache rack, 12.5 gallon water tank. Powdercoated by a local shop in Northern Arizona.

Temporary camper: We purchased a 2019 Four Wheel Camper Granby flatbed over 6 months ago which had been modified by the original owner. Some of the upgrades we kept, and other upgrades we modified for our use. Will discuss this in more depth in another post within this thread.

Accessories purchased: 5x AEV Salta wheels, Thuren HD track bar, Fox 2.0 ATS steering damper kit from Thuren, 2.25" front lift coils from Thuren, temporary Bilstein front shocks from Thuren. Rear lift will be sorted out now that we have the truck as there are no readily available turn key options for the cab/chassis. 1up USA bike trays for a to be built custom rack, WeBoost Driver Reach OTR cell booster kit, Expedition One front bumper with XHD bull bar (ordered raw for some additional customization prior to powder coating, ComeUp 16.5rs winch.

More to follow, but as they say...if there are no pics it did not happen so here are a few to start with.

 

[Trestle]

Sourcing and storing the Four Wheel Camper.

We purchased a 2019 Granby flatbed from an original owner vicinity Portland, OR in April of 2022.

Owner modifications we liked include:

• Airhead composting toilet (we used one of these (Natures Head) in our 1971 Airstream build that we lived in full-time for a year and a half while traveling the Western US, and are really happy for this modification.
• Upgraded power package including 300 amps of Battleborn Lithium batteries, 600 watts of solar, and all Victron components (solar charge controller, 3000 watt inverter, DC to DC charger, supporting fusing/accessories) which was some of the most detail oriented and tidy wiring work I have seen to date.
• Upgrade from 20 to 40 gallons of freshwater to include a UC-200 filtration system with dedicated faucet.
• Full sized sink/faucet/plumbing.
• Induction cooking system, replacing propane cooktop.
• Build in storage in front section of cabin, which made the standard slide out bed, into a full time king bed with memory foam mattress (never owned a king bed, nor needed one, but its there).
• Heavier duty roof gas assist cylinders to offset additional weight of solar panels.
• 2x additional platform jacks with collapsable tripod stands, beyond the four (one per corner) that came with the truck.
• Upgraded countertops and matched items throughout cabin for a cohesive look.
• Custom cabinetry to include a lit backsplash with separate red or white LED lighting (to draw fewer insects into the cabin when going in/out).
• Wallpapered interior with birch trees was very cool...thought we had to replace it due to the bunk beds...see mods we did not like below.

Owner modification we did not like:

• Removed dinette, and replaced with bunk beds so that the camper could sleep two adults and two near adult sized teens.
• Addition of exterior rear skirting so that the camper could be slid all the way forward on the 8' 6" HPI flatbed. The 6' camper left a notch at the rear. Skirting was added to the rear, and everything was bed lined to conceal the notch which the owner thought was unsightly.
• Some switch changes that required running lights to be turned on independent of the truck's lighting system.
• Some drain work that is a compromise, but we will work around.
• Additional of a wireless back up camera to the rear top portion of the camper - we like the idea, but did not need this so it's one more penetration in the roof that is not needed.

So after seeing about 40 pictures, and talking to the owner in depth, I realized that they put a lot of time and good components into this build. We've used composting toilets before, have designed/installed numerous power systems to include solar and lithium, and he said all the right things without me asking any leading questions. It was worth sending a 5% deposit locking in the camper at an agreed upon sale price. I flew to Portland, met the owner at his bank to remit payment/collect the camper. Then he brought it to a storage unit we secured in Portland where it sat until we could retrieve it once we received our truck and mounted the tray. He was/is a great guy, and brought timbers to construct a makeshift camper stand at the storage unit. I flew home that same evening, happy to have one more thing off our plate on this build out.

The camper ad. I found out later he sold the truck and tray. We would have just purchased the entire setup from him if it was available at the time, and that there would be such a long delay in getting our truck.


The camper sitting in its temporary storage location South of Portland, Oregon.

Note: beavertail trim piece at base of camper rounded section we would have to remove later

 

[Trestle]

Retrieving the Four Wheel Camper

Flashback to August 2022. We ordered the truck in March, which was estimated to arrive in July. It's not even built yet. We're paying storage fees to keep the camper in Portland that are adding up. We cannot make the necessary repairs/modifications to the camper while it is in storage some 1000 miles away, and we're sitting here twiddling our thumbs.

Decision...time to go get the camper, bring it back, and get to work on it before snow starts to fly. Maybe if we get our truck soon (growing doubt), we can slap the modified camper on the truck and enjoy traveling this Fall.

We borrow a neighbor's flatbed trailer, trade some trailer welding/wiring/LED lighting for its use. Then we download the dimensions of a Granby flatbed and built a cradle out of scrap steel from a deck project removed from the house.



We also built an assembly that the jacks could bolt onto which extended the front jacks past the width of the trailer fenders. Planning in advance was key. It had to work, and we would not have the tools to make something new if it didn't. How would we get the camper onto the trailer then?

We spent three days of driving (an extra day just in case we had an issue), and a day on site to load the camper onto the trailer, and two days return trip.

Good thing we built in an extra day. On the way, our tow vehicle starts having issues, and we barely make it to the storage location. Lacking the diagnostic equipment to fix whatever sensor keeps putting the vehicle into limp home mode, we opt to leave the tow vehicle at the storage unit, rent a tow vehicle (read: expensive option), and bring the camper back to home.



Later, not able to make another trip to Portland, I arrange for a vehicle transport to pick up the tow vehicle from the storage unit and return it back to AZ. I mentioned the guy who sold me the camper is a nice guy. He agreed (actually offered without being asked) to meet the transport truck, provide access, give over the keys, and help load the tow vehicle onto the transporter on his own time. After everything was done, we used the same account we initially sent the camper deposit to, and sent him $150 to take the family out to eat for his time. He expected nothing, and would have done it for free. When we got the camper home, the fridge was stocked with a half dozed local micro-brews from Oregon. Again, what a guy.

The cradle was removed from the trailer, extended in height to be higher than the minimum height of the jacks, and served as storage while we worked on the camper and endlessly waited for the truck. The casters on the cradle were listed at 400# each. The moment I tried to move the angle of the camper cradle combo, one of them bent. We subsequently replaced them with cast steel more HD options. My guess is the camper weighs a bit more with the modifications done to it. All the cabinetry modifications were done in baltic birch by someone who seemed to know how to build cabinetry.

 

[Trestle]

Removing the "beaver tail" on the camper. Not sure why I call it that, but it will do for conversational purposes.

You really never know what you're getting into when popping open a finished product. The tail was constructed out of plywood, screwed through the sheetmetal into substrate, sealed up, then caulked and sprayed with bedliner.

Removal started with cutting into the caulk as carefully as possible so as not to damage whatever was below. A magnet was used to find the screws diligently hidden under wood filler and bedliner, then digging them out to the point where they could be backed out with a bit. Work was slow, so as not to create any damage. What we had left was about 20 screw penetrations through the thin aluminum sheetmetal that would have to be fixed. Holes were filled with a urethane sealant that I used in my days repairing an old Airstream. TremPro 635 in a medium gray is a 50 year elastomeric polyurethane based sealant. I hate, and refuse to use silicone products for sealing sheetmetal. TremPro is the modern version of what they used to use when assembling airstreams for years, and is amazing stuff if used correctly.

The previous owner installed a cable gland for power from the trucks battery to the DC to DC charger in the camper. We abandoned this routing, and moved it to the front of the camper as the beaver tail would no longer be available to conceal the wiring. Everything was sealed up using a combination of aluminum tape, TremPro, and a few tricks learned from times past. It will be skinned over with aluminum sheet, so strength was not a concern so much as being water tight.

I reached out to my old vendors for Airstream items, and purchased some Alcoa aluminum sheet to reskin the entire beaver tail section, then proceeded to work in much the same way you would on...you guessed it, an Airstream.

5/32nd Olympic shaveable rivets are used to secure the aluminum sheeting. Cleco fasteners temporarily hold things in place for alignment, before holes can be drilled, and rivets secured. Rivet holes, rivet shoulders, and the entire perimeter is sealed with TremPro as an additional form of bonding and to prevent water penetration. Combining both mechanical and chemical fastening is a very robust combination, which likely was overkill...so of course that is what we did.



Rivet stems are then trimmed, and shaved off using a proprietary Olympic shaver tool. The end result is a machined looking rivet head, which when polished, look identical to standard buck rivets used in Airstream and aircraft production.



Once things set up, everything was masked off, abraided for adhesion, wiped clean with mineral spirits, and two coats of Raptor etching primer applied to the raw aluminum in preparation for bed liner.



The seller confirmed that they used Raptor two part mixed bed liner, so we used the same product to match. The good side is it matches in color and sheen. I am disappointed that I was not able to obtain the same level of texture as the previous spray. Having never sprayed bedliner before, and not having a way to take it to a vendor, this is where we are at today. I may have a vendor prep and respray to even things out, but this is for another time. She is sealed up, matches, and is protected from the elements.

 

[Trestle]

Bunkbed removal, rebuilding dinette.

The original owner put two twin size bunks where there was originally a dinette. While this may have made sense for a family of four, it does not meet our needs.


We removed the bunk setup, which revealed that the birch wallpaper was cut off at the base of the bunk, thus it would have to be replaced.


We removed the wallpaper throughout the camper, and put in a more modern take with a sort of mid-century themed outdoor wallpaper. The color scheme inside will be gray with accents in orange, some Tiffany blue, with some other accents. We also built removable benches that sit atop the false floor. Beneath the floor is the battery and electrical system, two drawers for storage. While we do not need access to that very often, we do need to get in there to bolt down the camper, service any electrical issues, etc. Fortunately most of the administrative items can be done via the Victron app via bluetooth.


More pictures to come once we have the upholstered cushions back, curtains redone, and table installed to see the final result.

 

[Trestle]

So you have no truck, no tray, and time/material that you've been collecting on hand. What to do, what to do? Let's build a bumper.

The plan is to marry up a 2" x 6" piece of 3/16" thick steel with a Curt 16k pound hitch, then adjust heights to sit below the tray.

Lots of looking at hitch drawings, rear camera drawings, working with SET to determine exactly where their tray will sit in relation to the truck's frame rails. Measure, take pics, share them with SET, confirm reference locations, remeasure, ad infinitum. No idea if it will actually fit when all is said and done, but do everything you can to get it right...so let's do this.

Procure a 6' section of steel, add an under taper to the ends so it looks a little more finished. Stop taper just outside the frame rails.


Cap the ends.


Add in 1" x 2" shackle holders, weld on both front and back faces of the bumper.


Add in a hole for the backup camera, and a protective shroud.


Confirm for the 100th time where to attach to the hitch, and cut the hitch height to ensure the bumper will sit no more than 1" below the finished tray when installed.


Cut out provisions for a combination 7 pin and 4 pin electrical connection.


Now we're in waiting mode. I have dimensions for the camera down to the millimeter, but no way to confirm the camera's orientation. Online forums did not help. Will have to wait until the truck arrives to confirm by connecting the camera to the truck to see which way "up" is. In the mean time, here is what we're left with. the hitch attaches to the bottom of the C channel in the frame. The plan is to add some additional outside supports in the web portion for a total of 10x bolt through attachment points. That will also have to wait until the truck is on site. A few pics of the non-finished work, coated in primer to keep any rust at by in the interim.


Did it work? Time will tell (I know the answer, but we're not at that post yet).

 

[Trestle]

Expedition One XHD Bullbar

Touring around Expo West in Flagstaff this past year we looked at all the bumper options, and really liked the Expedition One. Their site has a bumper only, an added full upper, and an upper with reinforcing cross bars below the headlights. Since we encounter elk on the roadsides where we live, and often deer, elk where we like to travel, we opted for the XHD reinforced bumper with full upper coverage. It may not prevent sheetmetal damage, but it does three things for us. First is protection from being stranded for most animal strikes. Second, the uppers are visible over the hood. We think they will give a nice reference point where the front end limits are. So far, driving without the bar in place, it would be a wild guess as to where the front bumper, headlights, and sheetmetal actually are. That's a big hood compared to every other vehicle we have owned save for the forest service truck. Finally, it provides an option for a winch. We often travel solo, and this rig is going to be heavy compared to our Land Cruiser...which is not exactly light.

We order it raw so that we could modify it.


We anticipate two lights mounted on the middle cross bar, likely some LP6 or LP9s from Baja Design. Light tabs added, and some zip tie routing tabs were added too.


We also added 4x tabs at the top bar. The two outer will likely go unused, but are there if we ever want to add limb risers. The two inner would be used for antenna, a sand flag (not likely to dune a rig this big, but nice to have a place to mount something), or whatever we decide to mount at a different time.


We also order the truck without front bumper sensors. Expedition one includes some aluminum blank spacers. Our thoughts were that they look too busy for our taste given all of the other holes present. So I ordered up some 3/16" plate, traced out the 6x tabs, cut them to fit, welded, then ground them smooth. No more sensor holes, and the cleaner look we desired.


Of course if you have a cradle, you may as well use it for recovery so we picked up a 16.5k winch with synthetic line.


Off to powder coating, and now sitting in the garage waiting installation.

 

[Trestle]

Summit Expedition Trucks (SET) aluminum flatbed tray

We looked at a number of Australian style flatbed trays, some traditional flatbed options, custom work, and self build tray options. We wanted aluminum, and I have no experience welding aluminum so that was out (I'll get there, but not at this time). Many manufacturers were booked our well over a year. We bumped into SET accidentally when looking at a MITS Alloy model, and reached out for a quote from SET, to be fulfilled via Basil's Garage in San Diego. We ordered the tray setup thru Basil, with the plan of having it either powder coated or bedlined black. Basil would handle all of the logistics, so the installation, etc.

Incidentally, we ordered the tray well before Expo West in Flagstaff. While at the show we bumped into Ralf who owns SET. He walked me through everything on his sample Tacoma. I was really impressed with the work. I asked a ton of questions, not just what he did but the why. Decisions often have to be made in manufacturing, and life for that matter, that are a compromise in order to create the best product. The why often guides this, and I really gelled with his way of negotiating that process. Then he threw in a couple of T-shirts, and we parted ways.

Then our truck kept getting pushed out, with no ETA. Basil would bump us in his production schedule, then was stuck with an open slot that he could not book. In the end it we would not be able to schedule the work until weeks after we got the truck. Conversations between Basil, Ralf (from SET), and myself ended up with us having the tray delivered to our local powder coater (we needed a commercial address with a forklift to receive the tray).

The tray arrived, and we had a short window on my lunch break to unpack some of the items to prep for powder coating. It took about an hour to remove items that would not be coated (water tank, drawer internals, latches, bulb seals, lights, etc.). Due to frequent and higher than average snowfall several weeks went by before it was ready for pickup. I dropped off the front bumper at the powder coater at the same time picking up the tray.

Loading it onto the trailer was easy since the powder coater has a forklift. Offloading it on the other side was a bit more involved.


In the end, we used a cherry picker on the rear section, and two jacks (the extra that came with the camper) combined with a welded up "truss" on the front. The same setup used to clear and lift the camper on the trailer some months ago, but modified. It worked like a charm.


While waiting, we installed the drawer, lights/reflectors, water tank to the tray. Also the bulb seals, and latches to each of the four tool boxes. By this time we had the front bumper back from powder coating. It was all stacked on the tray and tarped to free up space in the garage for other projects, and to keep things from being buried in the snow. January we were just under 300% of normal snowfall, and February has been trending high as well.


Once I got to unpacking some of the smaller boxed items, I found two more T-shorts in two different colors. Always good to find SWAG when you don't expect it.

Now all we needed was a truck. Tick tock, tick tock. We are closing in on one year since ordering it. It's been built for months, sitting in a logistical mess of a parking lot at the manufacturing plant with no relief in sight. In logistics the rule is first in, first out. Someone clearly didn't get that memo.

Meanwhile I am on my way to the Dentist, and take a wrong turn. I probably don't go there often enough to remember the location that well. Once I realize that I'm not on track, and late, I proceed to pull into this micro-neighborhood, and see a really cool rig. I make a point after the dental visit to go back and take a look. I talk to the owner for a bit, and leave really chomping at the bit to get this truck built. His build was done by Mario at AT Overland. It sits on 37s, has a 3" AEV lift, is indeed a cab/chassis, but the shorter Hawk camper.

 

[Trestle]

We finally have a truck!

Just not the truck we ordered from Ram.

I friend who has a Four Wheel Camper Hawk flatbed camper, ordered near the same exact truck we did, from the same dealer, a month after us...down to the color.

There were only four differences. 1 - He ordered fender flares, we did not. 2 - He ordered push button 4wd selection, we opted for manual. 3 - He decided he might want the rear seats, we deleted them. 4 - We ordered electric drivers seat with memory, he opted for manual.

His truck, ordered more than a month after us, arrived more than a month before we bought it off of him with a grand total of 74 miles. Ours was still sitting in Mexico in the aforementioned parking lot from hell. First in, first out...failure.

So we make arrangements, wire payment, pick up the truck, drive it home. Being impatient (I mean we only waited 11 months on a truck that was estimated to take 12 weeks) cost us a few grand more, but we finally had a canvas to work with. Not more than six hours after doing the deal, I get a call from the dealership. "Hey, your old sales rep (who essentially ghosted us for the past month) is no longer with us. I'm your new rep, and we just found out your truck shipped yesterday and will be here in three weeks." Not going to say what my response was, but I was civil.

So here it is, in the driveway ready to be outfitted.


NOTE: If ANYONE is interested in the truck I ordered, it is due in to a Phoenix dealer around March 14th 2023. Exactly 347 days after we ordered it. Right now, even though I told the dealer that I was not purchasing it/why/etc., I told him that my buddy may be interested (unlikely due to timing, not desire). The dealer said he would call when it arrived, and I can let him know if I have a buyer at that time. The timing is not great for my friend, so I would be happy to marry someone up with the dealer if interested. PM me for further info. The pricing is early 2022 pricing, and these things are not exactly easy to get these days without waiting.

NOTHING in it for me, other than to help out a forum member if I can.

 

[Trestle]

Rear bumper test fit/partial install

Several things remain unknown on the rear bumper. Stellantis provides drawings in great detail with one omission. Which way is up. I've read plenty of blueprints and technical drawings, so I don't think that I missed it. I went on forums, and no one had an answer. I pulled old technical information from 2018 and earlier models, and I am led to believe that the wire is supposed to point toward the driver's side. Now that we have a vehicle, it is an easy fix. Plug it in, and try it out. Indeed, the cable points toward the driver's side when the lens is facing to the rear of the truck.

Now knowing where to weld in the two bolts holding the camera in place, as well as the relieve hole in the rear of the bumper to accommodate the cable, we can move forward.

There is also the question of side tabs. First we secure the bumper assembly in place by using instructions/hardware from the Curt hitch that has been modified into a bumper. Drill out two frame rivets, drill four more holes, for a total of six. Three on each bottom side of the rear c-channel. Tabs can then be added to the outside web section of the c-channel, and holes drilled the correspond with existing holes in the frame.

Hitch bolt heads are welded to the frame so that installation/removal is easier once the tray is on. This way bolts will not spin without being held with a tool, as getting to them would be darn near impossible once everything is assembled. Nuts are tightened in place, then welded to the web portion so that bolts can be inserted without needing a tool on the backside for the very same reason.

Great pains are taken to protect the fuel tank, electrical lines, fuel filler/vent tubes, etc. from being drilled into, or heated up when grinding/welding. Everything is cleaned off, primer and paint applied afterwards to prevent rust formation down the line.

The end result is that we have a bumper mounted by 10x fasteners. The initial six provided with the 16k pound rated hitch, and another two on each web. The web tabs are 1/4" inch thick, and are welded directly to the 2x 1" x 2" shackles which protrude through the back of the bumper. Why all this beef if we don't anticipate ever towing more than 10k pounds? To have a very secure anchor point if ever needing the shackles. Zinc bolts for the tabs will be swapped out with higher grade hardware once the bumper is reinstalled.


We have a 1" gap between the top of the bumper, and where the bottom of the tray should fit. We shall see if it plays out once the tray is installed.


Oh hey, not only does the camera work, it is even right side up. Bonus! I do need to get in there and figure out how to turn the guidance lines on. I have so little time with this truck, having owned it for less than 24 hours at this point.


We will have to pull the bumper to do some wiring, clean it up a bit, and have it powder coated. We may spray it with black paint, live with it for a bit, and decide if any modifications are necessary/desired before spending coin on a powder coat job.

 

[ExpoMike]

Enjoying the build so far. Sucks about the your truck order that shows up to be shipped right after you buy your buddy's truck.

 

[Trestle]

Prep for tray installation

Next up is putting the tray on the back of the truck. A few items have to be done prior.

First is connecting the wiring harnesses provided by SET. Here's where we run into our first issue. Ram did not specify mail or female in their schematics. This is one of the first two trays made for a RAM cab/chassis. We had a 50/50 chance at it, and ended up with two male ends. So we will have to cut and splice.


Next up is installation of the brackets which connect the frame of the tray to the frame of the truck. There are four in each side. All factory holes on the truck were used, and the installation locations are exactly where Ram specifies they should be in their up fitters guidance so as not to stress an incorrect part of the truck's frame. Brackets were installed snug on the driver side, since they are the hardest to get to. Brackets on the passenger side were installed loose, so there is no binding. We did have to pull the three rear as the jacks would not raise the tray enough to clear them.


We lifted the tray in the same way we removed it from the trailer. Cherry picker at the rear, camper jacks and "truss" at the front using straps. All straps and hardware were rated for 2800 pounds each, and the tray is approximately 600 pounds without all the items bolted on, so it was fairly safe. We still removed the stacking blocks using a shovel so that no one was ever underneath the tray while suspended in the air.


Finally the tray was lowered into place, adjusted for fitment, and side brackets tightened. The bumper is narrower than the tray, and I'm not sure how good I am with that at this point. But everything plays nicely, there is just under 1" clearance between the bottom of the tray and top of the bumper, and the bumper sticks out just a bit further than the tray providing some protection in case of a rear impact.


Holes were drilled into the C-chanel frame of the tray, 2 per bracket, using the holes predrilled into the brackets as templates. Finally hardware was installed and torqued down.

We think the total length of the truck with camper will be around 23 feet including additional stick out of the new bumper once installed, and rear overhang of the camper past the edge of the tray. It's not a small vehicle, but our Sprinter van was right in the same ballpark, and we took that thing into places it had no right to be. This thing will certainly be a bit wider though.

 

[Trestle]

The next day it was time to install the camper. We had a series of snowstorms coming in the next day, so I wanted fewer items to clear snow from, and fewer obstructions to shovel and blow snow around.

Since bolts go through the tray, it is easier to sort all of this out before putting on all the fenders and under tool boxes.

The first thing needed was to pivot the camper so the it was easy to back the truck underneath. I anchored one rear corner of the cradle prior to jacking up the four corner jacks a few inches off the ground. It would be a sad day if it wasn't anchored, then rolled down the driveway on casters. Next was using a come-a-long to pull the camper laterally from one of the forward parts of the cradle. Once all was lined up, simply drop all four legs to the point where the cradle could be moved from beneath the camper, and line up the truck. Then slowly jack the camper up to clear the tray. These campers when jacked up in a lower setting are fairly stable. Once at or near the end of extension, they get a bit more tipsy. The neighbors probably thought I was crazy. Four cranks, move to the next jack, four cranks, the next, and next over and over again to keep things level.


In the end, there was barely enough space to back the truck under. It was high in its travel due to barely having a load. I'm not sure how difficult it will be once lifted with bigger tires, but guess I will need additional spacers under each jack. That's a problem for another day.


Backing it in went fairly well. The only issue being that when the truck was place into park, it would roll forward an inch or so. OK, let's back it up again, this time set the parking brake, then put it into park. After a few adjustments we got it right. The driveway is not level, so the rear passenger corner made contact with the tray first. Taking advantage of the lateral play in the jack stands, we could guide the front end down to the exact spot we wanted. In the end, the entire thing was off by 1/16th of an inch over an 80" wide and 96" long span. I can work with that.

I did have to get longer hardware that what came with the camper, so I went two inches longer on the four 1/2" bolts to accommodate 1/4" aluminum plates placed both inside the camper and under the tray to spread out any point forces on the tray or camper floor. SET recommended at least 3" squares on the tray, and the camper came with 3" by 5" plates from the original owner. Once everything was assembled, I added an additional bolt, and used that as a reference point. Then cut off the excess threads, remove the reference bolt, and you have a uniform flat threaded stick out for every bolt. This was perfect as it allowed the bold sticking out to clear the under boxes once installed.


Fenders installed on both sides. There are to channel extrusions running North/South on each side of the tray for mounting fenders and tool boxes. Ralf at SET warned me to have the powder coater NOT coat these extrusions. I did, and they missed that one. Getting bolts into the channel wasn't easy, and ate up a lot of time...but we got it done.


Front and rear tool boxes added to the passenger side only. They are not quite right, but I ran out of time and will have to adjust them again later. Once the box placement is nailed down, then I can use the fuel filler kits which come with a cab/chassis truck from Ram to route the two fuel fillers where they need to be based upon where the boxes will not be. At that point we can install the tool boxes on the driver side, and attach the filler necks to the box or tray as appropriate. Hope to get to that this weekend in between snow storms. I have an open day on Saturday before we get another 11 inches.


You are officially caught up on all the work and content I have to date. All of the content thus far happened just prior to me starting this thread. I'll be traveling for work, and posting as I get work done, so the pace of these posts will slow down from here to near real time.

 

[Trestle]

One days break in the weather between storms to get the vehicle drivable.

First up, adjust boxes on the passenger side to their final location.

Next, reroute the rear fuel filler lines so they will go around the boxes once installed on the drivers side.

Ram provided two kits. The contents of one shown here. While it has two 90 degree fuel filler tubes, they did not include any 3/4" fittings for the fuel vent.


Existing rear filler location.


Rerouted, but not yet attached to anything. It will attach to the rear tool box once fitted.


Rear box fitted, and a very close squeeze to gain access to the larger 52 gallon tank. One must unscrew, then move the cap down to get it out of the way. Once out of the way, there is plenty of room for a fuel filler...even the big rig style with the larger nozzle.


Existing front filler location.


Rerouted, but not yet attached to anything.


Front tool box fitted, and filler attached. This one is much easier to access.


Next up, we have some wiring to complete. This necessitated removing the rear bumper for access.


Not shown is rewiring the rear lights. The harness provided had a male fitting, and the truck had a male fitting. I had to split the adapter loom provided by SET, and trace the wires accordingly. Test, then repeat on the other side. All good now, and the truck can be taken on the road since we have lights.

Next up is wiring the 7 pin trailer connections. We used the up fitter sheet downloaded from Ram's up fitter site, then made a X color to Y color cheat sheet. This took all the guesswork out of the process.


Finally, a temporary spray of the rear bumper, and reinstallation. Since it was in the mid 40s as the high of the day, I spent a little time helping the bumper dry with a heat gun before putting it back in place.


The only thing left to do was a test drive to see how much more wind noise the camper would make (literally none), how it would ride with a load on it compared to empty (significantly better), if there was any side to side head toss (one thing we hated about the two Sprinter vans we had in the past, and it was absolutely minimal), the wife had to test the seats for comfort as she had not ridden in the truck yet (passed the test), and finally how noisy would this thing be on the road. That went something like this..."Hey hon, how fast do you think we're going?"...while covering the speedo from view. "I'm thinking 65." "Try 78, we'd better slow down." Suffice to say it moves out with minimal effort, is quite on the highway, and has a great ride for a bottom level work truck. Bonus!

 

[Trestle]

Electronics cradles

We ordered a turn key dash mount setup from Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions that consists of a "rubigrid" mount, two ball type arms, one phone and one tablet holder.


The "rubigrid" top plate is held down by four Phillips screws (small driver included) which are threaded into the tapped bottom section. You must remove this prior to mounting the lower bottom portion to the dash.

Installation was about as easy as it gets. Pop the dash rubber plate out, remove two Torx screws (wrench included with kit), clean with alcohol, peel two 3M double sided strips, align with screws, then put the two Torx screws back and snug.


The 2x ball mounts are then put into place using the included Phillips bit, and a (not included) 8mm wrench. Bolts are of the nylock variety. You can fit three total, so if we ever wanted some sort of forward-facing camera mount or other it would be a simple add.


Once the ball mounts are configured to your liking, screw the top plate back into the lower portion.


Arms installed, and a Samsung tablet on the right.


No devices. Note the top mount on the tablet extends upward under spring pressure. Each of the bottom feet can be slid out for additional stability. In the above pic they are spread out. In this pic, they are collapsed to stay out of the way. A bonus feature is that you can use the tablet holder to hold a phone if the passenger wants to use it, and there is no tablet involved.


We will add a USB plug, then pre run the appropriate cord to the phone and tablet, which will likely stay in place with zip ties or other.

We have a trip the end of this week to pick up some materials in Phoenix, which will be the test run for this setup. I think the entire process took about 20 minutes moving at a very relaxed pace. Too easy.