2007 Dodge Cummins "Power Wagon" Camper

[rube bonet]

Rob, top notch work as always!

I will be watching this one as close as I watched your build up of the scout.

I had a few questions for you regarding the skids:

How are you forming the .250 steel for the skids?

Any estimate on how much they weigh?

Thanks!

Mike

Thanks! Weight on the main belly pan is approx 100lbs (1/4 inch plate is 10.2 lb per sq foot), the bends were done on a big brake, capacity on the brake is 1/4x10'. The oild pan and fuel skid were made out of 3/16, so noticeably lighter.

 

[rube bonet]

For sliders, the Third Gen Power Wagons '05 thru '09 are all the same, be it quad cab or long bed.

The 4th Gen trucks are longer by roughly 9", and only come as the quad cab.

We have a factory fuel skid, but yours is by far and away stouter, so there may be interest in that as well. I'm going to post a link to this on the Power Wagon Registry.

One thing you might consider is using button head cap screws instead of bolts. I've destroyed enough of both on rocks, but the button heads are usually easy to remove after they have been damaged.

Mark

Hmm...what about a kit for DIY welders, or even to give components to a local fabricator? The square tube could be purchased locally, saving a ton on shipping. I could assemble and weld the support box sections, be fairly easy for anyone to assemble after that point.

As far as the bolts, the ones in the pic are mock up, on a project like this I also tend to run the button heads. On dedicated crawlers I usually countersink the holes, it just seemed unnecessary in this application.

 

[rube bonet]

Here are some pics of the oil pan skid, 3/16 plate with 1.5 tube supports to the frame. You can also see the heat marks left from welding in the x bracing on the top of the skid.







Here is a pic of the drivers side at full bump, tube still needs gusseting and welding...

 

[my1stcummins]

Rob, you are a cruel man, this is torture for all of us Dodge owners who would love these bits. :drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:

 

[rube bonet]

On a different note...why doesn't dodge have a crossmember in front of the steering box area? It seems absurd not to. What keeps the front frame rail from flexing under steering loads? It also seems to leave the radiator and intercooler vulnerable.

I set about to rectify that situation, in addition to solving a couple other problems.

 

[crawler#976]

A Power Wagon does...

...a factory winch cradle for the Warn 12K (actually it's a 15K, but that's another story) :coffeedrink:

There are a lot of options out there for that, the best also offer support to the steering box. DT ProFab here in Prescott offers a tried and true one. If you haven't been to Dave's site, it's worth your time as a fabricator. He's got a lot of builder parts available, and has a big CNC laser if you decide to go into production on stuff, as well as CNC large capacity breaks.

 

[crawler#976]

FYI, it looks like Photo Bucket doesn't want to play anymore...

 

[Xfactor]

Any updates? very much subscribed

 

[rube bonet]

Update time: Sorry for not doing it sooner, but I have been extremely busy as of late. I finished up the front cross member/ sector shaft support/ receiver mount then had to ship the truck out to have the ARBs installed. While we were waiting, I moved the camper in and began the the rack.



Crossmember is the same height off the ground as the front skidplate of the bumper, and protects the radiator and intercooler while joining the two rails together. I still need to box the front of the frame rails, and add the receiver.



The steering box brace that was in before was interfering with the sway bar at full suspension compression (swaybar was actually acting as a prybar on the sector shaft), so I fabbed a new one up. Plates now tie the steering box mount together with the crossmember and the sector shaft support. The support is removable to allow easy removal of the steering box.




One other little thing I got done was adapting the swaybar to rod ends instead of bushings for a little better feel. I machined some tapered washers to fit the bushing seat, and welded a clevis for the end.

 

[rube bonet]

Other updates to the project include:

Tire and wheel combo, 37" Continental MPT-81 mounted on 20" Walker beadlocks are in the works, should get the rpms back to reasonable.

New seats and center console...any suggestions on either? Current choice for seats are: http://www.mastercraftsafety.com/performance-seats/recreational-seats/mastercraft-baja-rs.html

Project is in full swing, I will try to keep the updates coming, more pics in the next day or so of the camper progress...plus the many questions I have for the camper build portion.

.

 

[Metcalf]

That's an interesting tire choice. I can't wait to see it.

What gears is the truck running now? 3.73 or 4.10?

 

[rube bonet]

That's an interesting tire choice. I can't wait to see it.

What gears is the truck running now? 3.73 or 4.10?

The truck has 3.73's in it, this should put us at 1900 rpm at 70 mph. These are the tires, pics stolen from Carlyle thread.



http://www.expedition-imports.com/product/0474035/Continental-MPT-81---27580-R-20---105R20.html,


They are pizza cutters, 37.4 tall by 10.43 width, customer did not want a tire any wider, so this is the solution. Weight rating is good, most reviews are satisfactory. Speed rating is 68mph, but we should be operating significantly under load rating, most often in a cool climate, so we should be able to push that by a few mph. Having run 11.00x 20's in the past offroad (and highway), I think these will actually be an excellent match for the intended usage. I was a little worried about offroad performance, but a few phone calls to some guys running these tires hard and my fears were put to rest.

.

 

[Metcalf]

It will be interesting to see how the tires work out. I like the idea of the sidewall height being shorter with the 20" rim since the tire is so narrow.

I ran a set of 325/85/16 Michelin XML's on my Dodge when I 1st built it. They where speed rated at 62mph if I remember right. Even though the weight rating was about 5000lbs per tire if I pushed them to 65-75 the tread wore VERY quickly. After a longer stretch on the highway the tread actually felt a little sticky. I tried a bunch of different air pressures but couldn't find anything that worked well for higher speed highway travel. Lower tire pressure around town seemed to be the best for ride and traction. Overall I was happy enough with them for what I paid, but they did have there limitations.

Just a few notes from a similar(ish) situation.

 

[rube bonet]

I tidied up the front suspension, boxed in lower control arm mounts, plated and reinforced the track bar mounts, etc...

 

[rube bonet]

It will be interesting to see how the tires work out. I like the idea of the sidewall height being shorter with the 20" rim since the tire is so narrow.

I ran a set of 325/85/16 Michelin XML's on my Dodge when I 1st built it. They where speed rated at 62mph if I remember right. Even though the weight rating was about 5000lbs per tire if I pushed them to 65-75 the tread wore VERY quickly. After a longer stretch on the highway the tread actually felt a little sticky. I tried a bunch of different air pressures but couldn't find anything that worked well for higher speed highway travel. Lower tire pressure around town seemed to be the best for ride and traction. Overall I was happy enough with them for what I paid, but they did have there limitations.

Just a few notes from a similar(ish) situation.

My experiences varied from yours a little bit, I ran the 11.00 x 20s tube type tires on my M-37 (6500 lbs), at least 4 different brands of tires, and all aggressive off road treads, and cruising on the highway at 75 in az temps. I used to run them at 30 psi (max rating around 90 to 100), they never seemed to get hot or warm, I believe one set was even a max speed of 55 mph IIRC:yikes: Tread life was decent (wonderful compared to the swampers or pitbulls I have run), the only thing lacking was rock crawling traction...
I am personally surprised that more taller but narrower tires aren't being developed again for light trucks, especially with the big rim sizes being so common.

That said, I am worried about the wear, Carlyle wore his quickly, but also had some other issues. Others report decent mileage, even on heavier earthroamers and mogs...so your speed to wear relationship may be right on the money....

Truth be told, I would've run a more traditional 37, but the width was a deal breaker for Mr C, his experiences and his terrain made the narrower width a priority. With the 20 inch beadlocks, it at least gives him some more tire options in the future also. The other thing to consider is that another set of tires is already in the planning stage, for when offroad travel isn't a necessity.


.