2015 Ram 2500 Carli/Thuren Build W/Four Wheel Camper

[Gibby56]

So yesterday the wife and I went to work on the camper. The camper was pretty clean when we bought it but she went through and deep cleaned the entire inside. I worked on re-selaing all the seams on the outside even though it didn't leak anywhere during the rain here this weekend.

We are planning on remodeling the inside and I am thinking about taking a swing at vinyl wrapping the cabinets since the original veneer is pealing off. I figured if people can wrap cars, I can do basic flat cabinets. I think the benefit of the vinyl wrapped cabinets would be ease of cleanup.

Things I plan on adding:
Roll over couch (currently has a couch but doesn't fold down to a bed)
Frame in under couch storage
Reupholster the couch and bed pads with an updated fabric and incorporate memory foam
wider jack mounting plates to clear the truck better
Completely rewire the entire thing. A previous owner took a swing and missed on this one. (LED's, solar, add battery(s), etc.)
And just general upkeep items


Oh and we already refinished the floor..

 

[Marine]

Absolutely beautiful truck, love the whole setup. Kudos

 

[Explorerinil]

I love them. The main reason I bought them was for the spherical joint at the frame side and the limit strap mount built in. Also, I have seen the factory arms bend on the trail. Granted it was in a section the truck shouldn't have been in..


Yea, a cutoff wheel made quick work of the pinch weld. No more issues now!

Is this the angle you're looking for?



Thanks brother, now I just need some nicer headlights

Thanks for the pic, that’s what I am after.

 

[Gibby56]

Absolutely beautiful truck, love the whole setup. Kudos

Thank you!

 

[Gibby56]

Got a little carried away yesterday after work and started to disassemble the cabinets to get a better look at the electrical system. I figured out my starting point and came up with a game plan.

Here is a list of electrical things I plan on adding:

House Battery
2000W Inverter and Solar Controller combo
Solar
Replace all of the lights with LED's
12v outlet with 4 usb ports for charging the DSLR's, GoPro, phones, etc
Add a 110v Oultet closer to the bed that could power an electric blanket
Digital thermostat
Battery tender hardwired to Shore Power
Sureflow faucet and electric pump combo
Voltage gauge
7 Pin Trailer wiring w/ battery isolator to charge the house battery while driving
110V outlet by the passenger window to plug in lights that will hang from the future ARB awning
Maybe retrofit some clearance lights off of a newer Four Wheel Camper?
Maybe some rear Rigid LED's for work lights?

 

[Austo]

Love it!

 

[Gibby56]

I almost have all of my wiring done.

7 pin trailer plug is added and sealed up with a junction box being inside the camper
Battery isolator is in
Shore power outlet is moved and hidden
5A battery tender is plugged into the shore power outlet
Added 12v outlet with 4 USB ports and wired in a switch
Smoke/CO2 detector
retrofitted the plug that originally fed the camper with 12v into a quick connect that I can plug the solar panel into

I am putting the counter top on hinges so if I need to get into the wiring for any reason, its possible.

Things I have purchased and still need to install:
4000w (2000w continuous) inverter/solar controller combo and switch to power it on
110v outlet off of the inverter
battery level gauge
Sureflow faucet and pump

Still need to size and purchase a house battery and a disconnect switch

Starting to make it our own!

 

[Dalko43]

According to your thread you're using mostly Carli components for your suspension. Is the Carli setup a true 3" lift? Does it settle any over time or as extra weight is added?

I'm wondering if there is a true performance lift (not just a spacer setup) that provides somewhere between 1.5"-2.5" instead of a full 3".

 

[Gibby56]

The Carli suspension is a true 3" but think of it like it levels the front end then takes the whole truck up 1" (3" in front, 1" rear). In my opinion it isn't a lift, its a suspension system and it corrects a lot of the geometry to help with more travel. The truck rides like a dream now on and off road.

It hasn't settled and supposedly it wont. The rear does squat more with weight due to the different spring rate but not enough to bother me.

If you're looking for less "lift" Thuren offers some great options for springs that give a little bit more height, rides better than stock, and doesn't require radius arm drops. They have a 1", 2", and a 2.75"

Suspensions that I would never put on a truck that sees dirt: BDS, Pro Comp, AEV, Fabtech, Rough Country, and Rancho

 

[Explorerinil]

I’m running the 3 inch carli backcountry with rear mini packs and their sway bar. Truck sits level or a tad high in the rear, probably because I have an AEV bumper with warn 16.5. The truck rides and handles awesome, pretty much no comparison, like mentioned above it’s not a lift but a performance system. I got almost 30k on the truck, not one problem. For the rear I have air bags and daystar cradles, when I’m towing the Boston whaler, or flat bed with equipment on it, I level the rear out, if u tow allot I recommend the bags with cradles or carli long travel air bags. If you want less lift and a good ride look at thuren, I have had pretty much everything thuren makes and a few different carli kits on various different trucks, both systems are the best on the market.

 

[Dalko43]

The Carli suspension is a true 3" but think of it like it levels the front end then takes the whole truck up 1" (3" in front, 1" rear). In my opinion it isn't a lift, its a suspension system and it corrects a lot of the geometry to help with more travel. The truck rides like a dream now on and off road.

It hasn't settled and supposedly it wont. The rear does squat more with weight due to the different spring rate but not enough to bother me.

I didn't mean to shortsell the Carli suspension. I realize that it is a total rework of the suspension. I was just wondering if the setup will sink in a little bit from its advertised 3" lift height after modifications (winch, bumper, extra gear) are added.

Also, doesn't Carli offer a set of rear coils and leaf springs which retain OEM payload and towing specs?

If you're looking for less "lift" Thuren offers some great options for springs that give a little bit more height, rides better than stock, and doesn't require radius arm drops. They have a 1", 2", and a 2.75"

I've given Thuren much consideration as well. Those products seem to have gotten great reviews and the owner really seems to know his stuff. The only thing I'm not sure on is how they address the rear leaf springs for a 3500.

Suspensions that I would never put on a truck that sees dirt: BDS, Pro Comp, AEV, Fabtech, Rough Country, and Rancho

Agree. A lot of "lift kits" just raise the ride height without really improving or even maintaining the ride quality and OEM capabilities. I've heard a lot of horror stories of how aftermarket suspensions have caused all kinds of ride quality problems for these big HD trucks, even those from big name companies. Thuren and Carli seem to be the 2 primary names that have a lot of respect and credibility within the HD truck community (at least for Ram's).

 

[Explorerinil]

Mine sits level or a tad higher in the rear, looks perfect for me. I don’t know if it sagged with the aev bumper as I had that on before the syspension.

 

[Gibby56]

@Dalko43 From my understanding, Thuren is currently in the prototyping stage for the rear springs for the 3500. I am not sure when they will release it though. I have seen posts before of people running all of Thuren's parts and putting Carli's leafs in the back and some just leave the stock springs and take out the overload.

Whatever brand you go with, I highly recommend getting the torsion sway bar. it was the first suspension component I installed and I ran it with the stock suspension for a little bit. It really helped smooth things out.

I strongly believe you cannot go wrong with either Carli or Thuren for the Rams. Both companies really did well with the design of their products.

 

[Big Ern]

+1 on the sway bar. I run a Thuren sway bar up front and it was a noticeable difference. I also added the Thuren-King steering damper which I thought was definitely worth it especially if you are running 35"+ tires.

The rear track bar was probably the biggest improvement for the $$. I'm running the Thuren, but have also heard great things about the Carli unit.

 

[Tex68w]

+1 on the sway bar. I run a Thuren sway bar up front and it was a noticeable difference. I also added the Thuren-King steering damper which I thought was definitely worth it especially if you are running 35"+ tires.

The rear track bar was probably the biggest improvement for the $$. I'm running the Thuren, but have also heard great things about the Carli unit.

Did you notice a pull to the right with the Thuren King steering stabilizer? There are some others reporting that the truck would pull to the right once installed, it went away when they removed it. I was planning on purchasing this unit but those reports have made me shy away, what are your findings?