'97 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4 Cummins Powered

[ExpoMike]

Well, got a few things going right now. Recently picked up an aluminum flatbed to use in the future build up of the bed. Going to swap on the flatbed and then add boxes down the side for storage. That's the biggest thing I notice with a truck/FWC, is the lack of storage, especially items you would want to keep out of the camper. This project won't likely get going until after this fall/spring camping season.

What is happening as we speak is, the rig is out at National Spring having a new, custom made set of coils and leafs installed. I had the rig out there for measurements a month and a half back and fully loaded, it will be raised 1" in the front and 2" in the rear. This really puts the rig back at a stock, unloaded height, which will keep the CG down and hopefully not cause a lot of additional front suspension/steering issues that can arise as you lift them. I normally would do this type of install myself but with the weight of the rig (none of my current floor jacks are rated correctly) and time available, I decided to have them do the install. This also allows them to deal with any issues that could arise.

With the new rear spring pack, this eliminates the hooky ***** factory lift blocks that causes some really bad wheel hop, especially in the sand. These are full packs that mount to the axle directly. I can't wait to see how things come out. Since I will likely be asked, custom made coils and full pack ran me $1300 plus installation. BTW, for those who may not know, National Spring is where all of the Turtle Expedition trucks have had their springs built and installed by.

I can't wait to pick it up, which should be later today. I'll get pics up soon.

 

[lstzephyr]

On a flatbed I have thought it would be a good idea to cut the area above the wheels out, add a wheelwell into the bed, then add boxes over the top. That would keep the bed lower instead of up high like most flatbeds. It then wouldn't be as flat, but if you are adding storage boxes it doesn't matter.

This is something I've considered for my truck is I get a fwc/alaskan and a flatbed.

 

[ExpoMike]

On a flatbed I have thought it would be a good idea to cut the area above the wheels out, add a wheelwell into the bed, then add boxes over the top. That would keep the bed lower instead of up high like most flatbeds. It then wouldn't be as flat, but if you are adding storage boxes it doesn't matter.

This is something I've considered for my truck is I get a fwc/alaskan and a flatbed.

That's exactly what I am looking to do. I want to keep it as low as possible. Since I am not looking to haul anything outside of the camper, I am not worried about the bed not being flat. As you say, with the boxes, it won't really matter at that point.

As for picking it up yesterday, that got nixed when SoCal lost power. I got a call a little after 2pm saying it was running long as thing were taking longer to come apart. When the power went out, that basically stopped work. Should be picking it up later today...

 

[DOCBRONSON]

I have watched your build thread and love it. Although I don't have a Dodge (it was one of my two favorite trucks) I find your thread throughly enjoyable and informative. I too had thought about a flatbed and boxes but decided after a few trips that I didn't really need the extra storage space, seeing that I travel mostly by myself. Great job on the build, I'll keep watching.:coffeedrink:

Doc

 

[ExpoMike]

Thanks for the comments Doc.

Well, here are the pics of the new springs. I still need to go back to National so they can add an extra leaf on the driver side. Since these springs are more flexy than the stock ones, the extra weight of all the camper appliances is causing that side to sit lower than the pass. side. Also, the truck basically sits at the stock height WITH the camper versus sitting an 1" lower in the front and 2" lower in the rear. This keep the CG low, still allows me to get to all the camper latches without a step stool and keeps steering and suspension parts in factory specs, which should help with wear issues. I also got rid of those STUPID blocks that the factory uses in the rear.

Front

Original rears with factory blocks

Look Ma... no blocks!!!

The ride is sooooo much better, especially in the rear. There is almost zero freeway hop and bumps disappear. Should be nice on the trail.

Still need to redo my rear bump stops.

 

[turbolab]

very nice

 

[locrwln]

Looking good.:bike_rider:

Jack

 

[MVRover]

Your rig is comming along nicely! I have enjoyed your updates, I too have a 97 12'ver, 4x4 qc, but the 5 speed and 3.55's and just turned 170,000. I have the time this winter, and wanting to tackle the KDP. Could you please lend any pointers for doing it yourself? Thanks-Brian

 

[Bobfab]

The spot we were camping at had a old house foundation, which worked great as a level spot
That's it for now.

Hey i know that spot. Pinyon Mountain trail in Anza Borrego?

One of my favorite spots (missing SW & CA... sigh)

 

[ExpoMike]

Your rig is comming along nicely! I have enjoyed your updates, I too have a 97 12'ver, 4x4 qc, but the 5 speed and 3.55's and just turned 170,000. I have the time this winter, and wanting to tackle the KDP. Could you please lend any pointers for doing it yourself? Thanks-Brian

Well, a couple things that helped were,

I removed the driver side battery and tray. This gave me more room to get the washer bottle moved out of the way without having to disconnect the fluid line. Just disconnected the wiring part. I had almost full bottle of fluid and didn't spill a drop.

Disconnecting the upper radiator hose and pulling it up and back. I used a bungy cord to keep it pulled out of the way. Lost some fluid, about a quart or so. Moving this definitely helps with getting the fan shroud out of the way.

You definitely need to put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, as you have to pull the fan up against that and don't want to damage the radiator.

To pull of the fan support, I ground down the box end of a 10mm wrench to fit the one bolt behind the pully. Once you get it broken loose, you can use the open end side but I could not break it free with the open end.

Make a cardboard template of the housing cover, marking where the bolt locations are. Then drill a hole in each spot and when you remove each bolt, place it in the location on the template. Bolts are different lengths and require to go into the right spot.

Everything else is basic remove, clean and bolt up. Took me about a day and a half but I went slow to make sure I didn't miss a step.

 

[Regcabguy]

Looking good! My '98.5 had terrible wheel hop with the monster blocks. The new springs will be a huge improvement.

 

[ExpoMike]

Well, check other thing off my list for the moment. I needed to get a spare tire mounted and the larger size would not fit in the stock location between the frame rails, under the bed. Well, with some upcoming trips planned and not a lot of time to custom build something myself, I had been looking at a couple options out there. TireGate makes a couple units that would likely work but the cost was in the $800 range. Not knowing if I am going to keep the stock bed or move over to a flat bed, I didn't want to get tied into something with a lot of money, that I might not end up using. The simplest thing was the TireGate HitchGate. It's basically a swing out that mounts into the receiver hitch. Again, cost was a big factor. I was doing some Criagslist searching and happened to find one in Whittier for sale. Wooo Hooo!!!! It was priced so if/when I am done with it, I should be able to sell it for what I paid for it. This will work for the time being. Next project will be installing factory tow hooks up front. I haven't been able to decide on a bumper so this will give me tow points for the time being. On to the new pics...

Mounted up with my new spare wheel/tire

Swung open

Camper door clears no problem

It will rotate all the way around and clear the door and camper

Another nice thing is I will FINALLY have a place to hang my Trasharoo!!!

 

[jasonL_031]

looks great

 

[Smksignals]

The simplest thing was the TireGate HitchGate.

Cool Mike. I love mine. I have a spare set of Hi Lift bolts from Tire Gate if you want them. You can mount a Hi Lift jack to the swing out. PM your addy if your interested.

 

[roboter]

Our 99 Rig

We leave from a port in LA and start in Ecuador for southern tip of Chile and then back up to Argentina. More later with our website. This is our first post.

Im at a hair over 400hp. Edge comp, Banks intake elbow, 35/40 hybrid turbo, 4inch ss exhaust from turbo back, and desert diesel billet transmission. Detroit rear locker, ARB front locker, dual front shock setup with a 3.25 inch lift. Oversized steering with sterring gearbox brace. It has 37 inch tires, which is a bit big and i could get better mpg if I had smaller, but 22mpg isnt too bad. It also has a 100gal transfer tank in the bed, which gives up a 2000 mile range.

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