SOLD 1999 2nd gen Dodge Ram 24V Cummins with loaded 2006 Fourwheel camper

mib1392

Observer
For sale is our beloved truck/camper setup “Priscilla”, as our family is outgrowing it and we will move to another continent in not-too-far future. We hate to sell her as we’ve had a ton of great trips with her, she is the perfect setup to have a base camp and go out to explore, surf, ski, hunt, you name it.
Take the 4x4 Diesel 2nd gen Ram with its well-known capability to go everywhere and forever on a reasonable thirst (1 million miles are frequently seen on these trucks. She gets about 14-17mpg with the camper. Go flat through central valley with 60mph and you get close to 20), get it as a pampered and maintained, rust-free 2-owner California truck. Put a forever-lasting four wheel camper on it that is known to be small in footprint while giving you all the creature comforts you need when being out more than just a weekend in a Subaru. This is what you need if you really want to be independent and beyond just Lake Tahoe for 2 days. The lovely lady is way more capable and reliable than any syncro or #vanlife rig. I still have my syncro awaiting resuscitation in Europe, so I know what the difference is. We would really hope to see her go to a home that gives her just the appreciation that she deserves. I would love to take her back to Europe, but the 4-ton-weight and large volume engine makes taxes ridiculous.

We looked and worked hard to put this setup together into its current state, and mostly used it for driving the highways to the Sierra, and then being out in the woods up there to go biking, hiking, paddling; or for holiday trips to BC, Utah/Yellowstone, Baja. We don’t wheel or crawl, but she probably could if you really wish to. She has solely been our holiday car for us, not a daily driver. We never towed or hauled anything but the camper. The previous owner used it for his contracting/landscaping business, but did not tow with it (he replaced it with a new 4-grown-up-compatible double cab gasser Dodge 1500). Bottom line, this truck never had to work as hard as Cummins trucks can.

She is ready to go for a couple or a 3-person family (4 persons if you don't have a lot of toys... we do), all critical technical components of the truck have preemptively and/or recently been taken care of. The camper is upgraded in all major points that make sense for this size and purpose. Both the truck and camper model are known to run for years and decades and surely have a lot of life and adventures left. Put your clothes, toys and some food in it and head out for months.


I won’t sell the truck or camper separate, so don't ask. This is the 100% perfect and best possible truck-camper combination for this size and footprint, it wouldn’t make sense to me to swap any component.

The truck is located in Palo Alto, CA and I would welcome a thorough look at it, so that you are confident and happy with it. I want to sell it to someone who appreciates it, as our family does have an emotional bond to it. I also welcome a pre-purchase inspection with an independent mechanic if you carry the costs.

Take a minute to evaluate the market situation and alternatives for either of the components, let alone the combination with carefully selected upgrades. This is not a 1500 gasser with a moldy wood camper.
That said, if we see Priscilla being happy with you, I am open to talk. But this will certainly not be on the first phone call, and you have to be able to convince our son to let go his beloved camper.




Some hard facts and deeper infos:
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 extended Cab short bed
Cummins Diesel 5.9 24V. 287k miles total.
VIN 3b7kf2369xg226143
Bought and driven by me in 2014 with 255k miles from 1st owner (SF Bay Area), clean title, mostly stock, always and only registered in CA.
230 on engine (she had a #53 block. Now no more, replaced by Dodge on warranty. Impressive receipt:Wow1:),
about 80k on auto trans,
about 70k on the VP44. I have all receipts from day 1 for all of this. Upon my purchase, service and repairs done by me and/or very trustworthy mechanic that I am happy to refer to. No affiliation but being a happy, critical customer.


Replaced since I own it (if no date, then in the first few months after purchased)
Tires: 265/75R16 General grabber AT2, now with 30k miles on them, about 60% profile left. Spare with same size.
Shocks: Bilstein 4600 all around. Now 30k miles miles on them.

Fuel Pump: Fass DDRP (preventive maintenance. Old stock pump comes in box and still runs)
Mechanical Isspro fuel pressure gauge (15-17psi@ idle, 14psi @hwy, 6-10psi @kickdown)
Oil change ball valve (no, they don’t come loose. It’s protected, loctited and the lever is additionally secured).

Front end redone as follows: (no play, drives straight at 70mph+, no wobbles or drift)
DOR (Dodge offroad) Steering brace (new in 2014, look it up, it’s the best to use. Not the cheap ebay ones)
Luke’s Link track bar and new steering tie rod end (new in 2014)
Redhead steering box (new in 2015).

Alternator new in 2015.
AC compressor, condenser and belt all new in 2017, airways cleaned. AC is ice cold.
Front left ABS sensor, wheel bearing unit replaced in 2016 (ABS sensor went bad and was only doable as the whole unit)

Cabin:
SLT interior, i.e. top of the line, electric everything (including driver seat), brown/tan leather
Coverking Seat covers (new in 2014)
Dash mat (New in 2014. Yes, the original dash is badly cracked. This is a normal with these trucks)
Mid jump seat replaced with custom console with 12V/USB ports, cup holders, tablet/phone holder, hidden drawer (original seat comes with it if you want).
Floor sound-proofed with dynamat (during deep carpet cleaning 2016)
Custom wind fairing on Yakima towers. Provides storage for 2 camp chairs (included), and has 100W flexible solar panel mounted to it. You may even believe that it increases mileage by .3mpg or so. Also has a 18” LED bar if you need some extra light (switch next to steering column).

Negatives:
She does have dents and bruises, she has been a work truck for much of her life.
Soon after we bought it, the hood popped open while driving (scary...). Turns out the safety latch spring was rusty after 15 years and stayed open. Cleaned and lubricated, so it shouldn't happen again - but the hood hinges and the rear corners are bent. It still aligns completely when closed, and you can open it easily, so we never bothered to replace it. No further damage from that fun experience, luckily (windshields can shatter when this happens).

Fully loaded 2006 Kestrel Four Wheel Camper: Bought by me in late 2014
The Kestrel is a hawk, but has 2” less height at the bottom to fit into the 1st gen Tundras that have lower rails. It's now sitting on a 2" plattform (see below).
No leaks, no mold.

Queen bed above cabin with memory topper.
Rollover couch, modded to safely accommodate Guava travel crib (3ftx2ft, i.e. big enough for toddlers. Rollover and couch function all completely possible as stock. Travel crib does not come with it).
Whole mod is removable in 10 minutes if you don't want it.
We gutted much of the camper (all furniture panels, couch, tank, … ) when we bought it for a thorough cleaning and paint job (who decided on that oak veneer – meeh). The camper has no smell or grime, but we have used it for the past 3 years as decent human beings. It’s still a 10-year old camper though, so please don’t expect a factory new one with that particular RV smell. Rest assured that we don’t put our kid into a moldy, smelly cave.

Stock propane furnace and propane stove. Cooks and heats as these things do. I retrofitted the stove with some piezos, but they turned out quite noisy to use, so we end up using the long lighter mostly.
Custom Reflectix insulation. Way better than the FWC insulation package (compared with IR thermometer), but you have to bear the reflectix look. Can stay mounted when top is down. Like them or toss them.
Hidden safe for passports, phones, keys etc.
25gal water tank (new by previous owner, we always used inline filter to fill) with inline faucet filter (we drink the water, and we’re really picky with chlorine taste). Rear plastic winterizing faucet replaced with aluminum adapter and ball valve (i.e. use it as an outside gravity-fed faucet that doesn’t break every season).
4gal grey water tank in truck bed (custom, from PVC pipe). Enough to stay clean for 2-3 days and fulfill some state park requirements. Empties with ball valve, reachable from both in- and outside.

51qt Truckfridge compressor fridge box (3 years old), on drawer slide. Mounted in camper and only run in there while traveling. Make ice cubes if you want, no comparison to the 3-way ones. Also has 110V input if you want to run it in your house as a backup.

55Ah Optima Bluetop battery (relocated to truck bed)
New 2nd battery wiring (replacing the FWC one): CTEK Dual250, wired to charge 2nd battery from generator (when engine running) and from solar panel (MPPT charging system, so very upgradeable and efficient, unlike the cheaper PWM chargers). Advantage over stock: FWC just connects the camper to your generator for charge-while driving. Charging is either incomplete or cooks your battery, you will never match the voltage your battery actually needs. The CTEK charges with a dedicated IUoU program, i.e. adapts voltage depending on charge level. Lead batteries need that to stay healthy.
Upgraded original FWC Iota 110V->12V charger with IUoU module (same reason as with the CTEK). This keeps your battery healthy if you plug it to a landline.
Renogy flexible 100W solar panel (new in 2014), mounted on the custom wind fairing.
So overall: fully self-sustained electric system, runs about 2 days in summer, when you don’t drive and there’s no sun. Make it warmer and it’ll be less, but then park the truck with the solar facing south and you’ll be good. Especially if you drive every 2-3 days for a bit (which we always did). If you need more battery capacity, the system is fully compatible with any lead acid battery. Just replace the 55Ah with a 200Ah and you can sit for days. Or get another solar panel. The CTEK handles 250W, so 150W to go.


Since the Kestrel was made for the 1st gen Toyota Tundra (only 18” high bedrails), the camper needs a 2” support underneath. This creates a 6ft long storage space between camper and truck bed. We mounted a slim pull-out bench/table that provides a great place for outdoor cooking or putting your beer bottles. We also stored paddles (fishing rods should fit too) and (2) GFK sandboards (3ft long, included in the sale) underneath.
Gas shocks to lift roof: front in the interior, back on the exterior. New in 2014-2015. Roof lifts with almost now force with box on.
Trasharoo on the back (CA sun, so it's not black anymore).
Roof carrier: Yakima Q towers on tracks, surfboard pads, Thule box with locks.
Bike carrier: Bauer swing-away, i.e. you can perfectly enter the camper with all bikes staying mounted.
Camper mounted to truck bed with high-quality (McMaster) cast iron eye bolts and turn buckles. Loctite them and there is no movement. Camper is fully removable in about 10 minutes with mounted jacks. Remounting takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on your skill (total free space at tailgate is about 4 inches, so you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to get it done). I will give you my supersturdy sawhorses that have exactly the right height to get the camper stored off the truck without much height adjustment. 4 titan jacks come with it. I usually stored them in the garage, as I usually had the camper on the truck.



Contact me per PN, and we can continue per mail or phone.
Cheers,
Michael


Some pictures, more to come.
Ask if you want to see something specific.
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Last edited:

mib1392

Observer
schweeSu: One way flights to San Jose are less than 200$, and I'll pick you up with her :) I made the drive solo from the Peninsula to SLC last year with 1 night sleeping on the road, for our summer holiday (picked up wife&kid there, then Yellowstone, Arches, Zion). This would be a great starting trip to drive her back!
:smiley_drive:
 

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