2022 RAM 5500 Composite "Super Camper"

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Glad to see you're out enjoying your rig. Haven't seen you around here in a while.
Figured you were among the many that stopped coming here, haha

Thanks. Yeah, i am one of the many that have stopped spending as much time here as i used to, for reasons listed previously LOL

But, I also enjoy some things here, and feel its important to share info with others.

i just posted the pros and cons on my build on my thread, a lot learned after living in it for 3 weeks with wifey

 

[StenchRV]

I had the honor and the privilege to meet with @StenchRV aka Craig and Angie recently, and check out the rig in person. Holy hell!

The photos dont even remotely do it justice, whatsoever!

HANDS DOWN, THE (not one of, THE) best DIY camper and layout i have ever seen, and i have seen a TON.

Attention to details, and quality of craftsmanship is actually BETTER than many of the "Professionally Built"

Lets just say, i visited a builder that ryhmes with Murf Foamer a few days after touring Craigs, and both the wife and i agree Craigs was nicer, and better built, true story.

His layout is HANDS DOWN the best use of space i have seen in ANY camper, and 4 of us were in it very comfortably. Mine is very close to the same dimensionwise, and 3 are cramped.

During this trip we spent time in ours, Craigs, a Bliss Mobil, and 2 Murf Foamers. I would take Craigs any day of the week out of the bunch.

Those that know me, know that compliments dont come easy, sooooo... LOL

Yeah, the rig is amazing, but so are the owners, wife and i loved our time with Craig and Angie and they are amazing humans, which will now be lifelong friends.

I said to the wife after spending time with them, "See hon, that's how i want to retire, and do those things"

Her reply was, "Yeah, that is pretty awesome, we just need to make some changes inside so its more comfy, and then we will be good to go"

WOOHOO shes hooked! (note: this was wifes first time joining me for more than a week, and things fell into place perfectly so she loved it)

Bravo Sir (and Madam) for an amazing build, and we look forward to more camping with ya

NOTE: I will 100% be swapping out my Tern windows for the Outbound windows at somepoint soon after seeing the insane quality difference

Kevin, @RAM 5500 CAMPERTHING

I am not usually at a loss for words, being Irish, LOL.

WOW....THANK YOU and THANK YOU! for the kind words, about us and the rig

Angie and I had a wonderful time with you and Judy. Camping time and shop talk hangout time was a perfect way to relax. I do have one complaint about our meetup, it was too short! You both are wonderful people and agree "amazing humans, which will now be lifelong friends" Looking forward to our next trip together, hopefully sooner than later!

Kevin......THANK YOU for EVERYTHING during our build. NOT just the videos. The text, the phone conversations, the help, and the friendship! Kevin and I have been bouncing ideas off each other for MANY MONTHS and this "team work" has helped me immensely!

Thank you kind Sir!

Until next time.......CHEERS!!

 

[rruff]

You will notice one thing that is missing in the pictures so far is a table. Having read some mixed reviews on the Laguna, not looking to start a flame show...LOL, we sought out some other options. Fixed telescoping pedestal, fold away, removable pole type.

My wonderful wife came across this.

Home - Cass Hudson Co. EZ-Reach System

Ergonomically designed, the EZ-Reach system is perfect for small areas where you need just a little bit more countertop space.

ez-reach.com

It now resides in our hanger for installation later this month. I can always add a few slides to the top if we feel we need them. We are working on the perfect placement of the mount bracket now.
The thing is a beast! I like the build quality, now to see if it works a advertised. Paid full price.

CHEERS!!

Hello! Curious about the attributes that led to you picking this over a Lagun. Are the bushings plastic like the Lagun, or something else? Thanks!

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Hello! Curious about the attributes that led to you picking this over a Lagun. Are the bushings plastic like the Lagun, or something else? Thanks!

I wont speak for @StenchRV but i did see and check out his table mount and it was considerably more stable than the Lagun and i plan on redoing my interior with the same mount

 

[StenchRV]

Hello! Curious about the attributes that led to you picking this over a Lagun. Are the bushings plastic like the Lagun, or something else? Thanks!

There are a few different peoples opinions I respect, not favoring a Lagun. I was able to inspect a Lagun shortly AFTER we purchased the current steel one. We purchased the EZ Reach figuring if we did not like we could send it back or sell it.

After 10 weeks of use, using it almost everyday, I would absolutely buy it again.
The Lagun in the Van I saw never really got tight, always had some play. The EZ Reach is tight and if mounted firmly, a beast.

My 2 cents. Glad to post pics if you feel you need them😃

Cheers!!

 

[rruff]

I'm curious about the bushings, since the plastic Lagun ones tend to wear out if they are used much... which is also probably the cause of play to begin with. Not too important though as I'm sold on the EZ-reach anyway...

 

[Victorian]

The lagun is great when you need flexibility and have limited space. Great for smaller table tops. The bushings are some type of plastic to prevent squeaking and they can be replaced easily. In other works it’s a product that can be repaired/fixed and not just ending up in the landfill. Let me know if you need new bushings. We have every part in stock!

 

[wfv56]

I noticed earlier in the thread you had hopes of routing the urine from your composting toilet to the holding tank. Was that a successful endeavor?

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I noticed earlier in the thread you had hopes of routing the urine from your composting toilet to the holding tank. Was that a successful endeavor?

Again, not speaking for @StenchRV but i know both of us had contemplated this.

I went back and forth many times with this, and ultimately decided i was NOT going to route the pee to the gray tank.

Pros and Cons of both.

For ME and MY decision, i just dont have enough time testing the "green drain" one way valve yet to be confident it will 100% prevent odor from coming back into camper from the tank. So far, so good, but i've only used it one trip so far. It would be a fair amount of work to route the pee to the gray tank, so i am not going to do it, unless i am 100% sure the odor wont get back into cabin.

Time will tell, but for now, everything is working as needed.

AGAIN, this is just MY THOUGHT process, and MY .02

 

[StenchRV]

I noticed earlier in the thread you had hopes of routing the urine from your composting toilet to the holding tank. Was that a successful endeavor?

True, it was the original plan. I even purchased the smaller urine bottle to cut up and hide the entire drain. Not a hard process, plenty of examples on the internet to show process and before and after photos with basic hardware store parts.

@Ram 5500 CAMPERTHING hit the nail on the head!

My ORIGINAL shower grey tank fit up was going to allow a small P trap for odor control inside the enclosure, the storage box hiding (protecting) the poly grey tank. As things do during a build, stuff changes. The grey tank enclosure, AFTER installing the insulation and heating pad, became tighter than expected. Could I still stuff a small P trap into the box to ENSURE no odor or issues, probably.

The green drain that Ram 5500 CAMPERTHING found was a SIMPLE and EASY solution and allowed for a 3/4" hose from shower drain to grey tank. An electric valve on the tank allows dumping from an up fitter switch inside the cab. We even brought along an old white hose for dump stations.
I put a brass hose end on the grey tank drain.

PRO TIP...most national parks, and some state parks, allow dump station use and fresh water fill for $5 for non campers, money well spent!

URINE TANK.....the larger airhead Pee bottle, with two adults, needs to be emptied ABOUT every 3 days. On our 10 week trip we had ZERO issues with finding a place to dump it. You need to remember to dump it! Once you get in the habit, or you almost get it over full, you remember
A friend told me his filled up once...a mess..so that also helped me remember to empty it!

The Air Head toilet is a winner! We emptied the solids once on our 10 week trip, was not totally full but we were in a good place. EASY in the field process, ZERO odor inside and VERY LITTLE near the exhaust fan. Urine bottle is easy to dump and deal with, again no odor.
I would absolutely but it again!

My 2 cents......CHEERS!!

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

True, it was the original plan. I even purchased the smaller urine bottle to cut up and hide the entire drain. Not a hard process, plenty of examples on the internet to show process and before and after photos with basic hardware store parts.

@Ram 5500 CAMPERTHING hit the nail on the head!

My ORIGINAL shower grey tank fit up was going to allow a small P trap for odor control inside the enclosure, the storage box hiding (protecting) the poly grey tank. As things do during a build, stuff changes. The grey tank enclosure, AFTER installing the insulation and heating pad, became tighter than expected. Could I still stuff a small P trap into the box to ENSURE no odor or issues, probably.

The green drain that Ram 5500 CAMPERTHING found was a SIMPLE and EASY solution and allowed for a 3/4" hose from shower drain to grey tank. An electric valve on the tank allows dumping from an up fitter switch inside the cab. We even brought along an old white hose for dump stations.
I put a brass hose end on the grey tank drain.

PRO TIP...most national parks, and some state parks, allow dump station use and fresh water fill for $5 for non campers, money well spent!

URINE TANK.....the larger airhead Pee bottle, with two adults, needs to be emptied ABOUT every 3 days. On our 10 week trip we had ZERO issues with finding a place to dump it. You need to remember to dump it! Once you get in the habit, or you almost get it over full, you remember
A friend told me his filled up once...a mess..so that also helped me remember to empty it!

The Air Head toilet is a winner! We emptied the solids once on our 10 week trip, was not totally full but we were in a good place. EASY in the field process, ZERO odor inside and VERY LITTLE near the exhaust fan. Urine bottle is easy to dump and deal with, again no odor.
I would absolutely but it again!

My 2 cents......CHEERS!!

All this poo talk reminds me...

My airhead is going on 3 years old and the fan has been on the entire time.

Going to order a spare fan and keep it in a cabinet, just in case...

NOTE: I may or may not have been THAT GUY that overflowed his pee bottle into the poo part and made ONE HELLUVA stanky mess ONCE, now, like clockwork, it is dumped every single night before bed!

 

[NateC]

Well if anyone is going to Expo East
We applied for the DIY area and were accepted


A little show and tell to answer questions and possibly help out a future builder.
View attachment 797193


Headed home from a family visit in NM this week. See you in Virginia

CHEERS!!

I have been enjoying quietly following your build thread the past 1.5 years. Was initially not planning on going to Expo this year, but can’t pass up the opportunity to see this and hopefully meet y’all, so took tomorrow off work and will be making the drive down from Maryland.

 

[StenchRV]

I have been enjoying quietly following your build thread the past 1.5 years. Was initially not planning on going to Expo this year, but can’t pass up the opportunity to see this and hopefully meet y’all, so took tomorrow off work and will be making the drive down from Maryland.

Nate,

I did not read the portal in time...but..it was GREAT to meet you and chat. Thank you for hanging around after the group talk, my wife and I really enjoyed chatting with you. We just returned home and I am catching up. You saw how busy we were at the Expo around the camper.

If you ever need ANYTHING please feel free to reach out, even just to chat and swap ideas.
Good luck with your build and PLEASE keep us posted. It would be awesome to see!

CHEERS!!

 

[StenchRV]

All this poo talk reminds me...

My airhead is going on 3 years old and the fan has been on the entire time.

Going to order a spare fan and keep it in a cabinet, just in case...

NOTE: I may or may not have been THAT GUY that overflowed his pee bottle into the poo part and made ONE HELLUVA stanky mess ONCE, now, like clockwork, it is dumped every single night before bed!

I have been thinking the same thing, SPARE FAN! As my little brain works, BETTER fan...LOL.
Maybe I should not mess with a 3 year constant run fan...LOL.

I came SO CLOSE to repeating the pee mess on this trip, right before we met up. NOTE TO SELF!!

CHEERS!!

 

[Vance Vanz]

Hey Craig!

Good on you for presenting at the Expo. I hope you and Angie enjoyed the experience. It looks like others appreciated it.

It also must have felt good to show off all your hard earned work on the rig/build.

Don't give out all of your build-knowledge/experience-charity too soon, I'm going to need some of it when I get started on the inside of my build .