'97 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4 Cummins Powered

[ExpoMike]

Nice rig roboter. Welcome to ExPo and have a safe and fun trip!!!

Okay, got the front tow hooks installed today. Surprisingly it went very smoothly and only took a couple hours. Definitely happy to have some pull points now! I still think that it should be a requirement for ALL 4x4's to have some tow points...

Brackets that tie into the frame and front crossmember

Hook and trimmed airdam

Much better!

 

[Regcabguy]

A former Cummins tech at Cal Cummins Pacific welded me a gusseted, frame-mounted receiver hitch that went through the airdam on my old 2nd. Gotta have some recovery pts on these beasts.:sombrero:

 

[Regcabguy]

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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The most mileage I ever achieved with my '98.5 24 v was 19.3. Empty with a DTT auto,3.54's,Edbe EZ and Mach 1.6 injectors. My neighbor's never approached those # w/his '99 either. Keep that truck.

 

[ExpoMike]

Okay, took another item off my check list. One problem with adding the HitchGate on the back is that it created a well where the center of the bumper dropped and the crossbar of the HitchGate pass by it. This creates a perfect spot to catch your foot and trip or even worst, twist your ankle. Well I can't have any of that so I basically made a "cover" that creates a nice step out of the camper. I might have built it just a bit overkill but with my tooling, it was a quick and easy method.

Here's the "well" that got created

Machining 4 matching stand offs. I had to use the drill press for making the holes so they are a little off center but it doesn't matter a single bit

Piece of aluminum sheet

Some cutting, drilling and sanding, volia a step. The mounting holes were using existing holes in the bumper

All I need to do now is pick up some non slip tape to put on the two steps. I had created the hitch mounted step a few weeks ago and it works great. Being everything outside of the hardware is aluminum, I don't have to worry about rust or painting.

 

[Regcabguy]

It just occurred to me that my 285-75-16 spare fit fine between the frame rails of my 2nd gen,even with a 4" aftermarket exhaust. It was snug,but fit well.

 

[ExpoMike]

Well, at Discount Tires, we tried the tire/wheel combo and it would not clear and hung up on each edge of the frame rails. It also hit the shock reservoir but I could have moved that had that been the only issue. Not sure what brand tires you were using but I do know each manufacturer (and even different models within the same) can have a difference in actual tire diameter.

 

[Regcabguy]

They were 285-75-16 Bridgestone and BFG AT's on stock steelies. No tellin'?

I did have a tire winch break on mine though. You won't have anything to wory about that now.

 

[blakeape]

I have a 285/75R16 BFG all terrain in the stock spare tire place on my 97 Cummins for now. However it is going away and a full size 37 is going on a swingout on the rear bumper pretty soon though as an aluminum auxiliary fuel tank is finding its way to the stock spare location. I like the tire gate idea, but don't know about pulling heavy (10,000 lbs) trailers off of one though. I think I will have to figure out a way to make my swingout relatively easy to remove/reinstall while loading the camper.

 

[ZJARCHER]

Lovin it! Got any "side" pictures to see how far from the body/tailgate/camper the tiregate sits?

 

[ExpoMike]

Lovin it! Got any "side" pictures to see how far from the body/tailgate/camper the tiregate sits?

I don't but will take some. Hopefully tonight.

 

[ExpoMike]

Lovin it! Got any "side" pictures to see how far from the body/tailgate/camper the tiregate sits?

Sorry I didn't get these sooner but been out of town/busy the last couple weeks. Here's the pics of how far the tiregate sits out,

And onto my next project, OBA system. After a bunch of research, the PUMA compressor seemed to be a good value. I had an idea where I wanted to put it but found that one, it wouldn't fit and two, it would be exposed to possible water damage due to fording any streams/rivers. Well, this didn't leave me a lot of options so I decided I need to seperate the compressor and tank. I found I can fit the compressor in the front corner of the bed where it will be very protected but still have airflow. Still trying to figure out a good spot for the tank. It will likely go under the bed as there is not much room anywhere else.

Here's pics of the compressor/tank. Nothing is mounted yet. That should be next weekend.

 

[ZJARCHER]

Thank you, sir!

 

[ExpoMike]

Well, the compressor project kind of stalled as I couldn't come up with a good temporary mounting system that allowed it to be removed for use. That said, I have been getting some other projects completed. I have been updating my new website but figured I should update here as well.

Project 1 was getting the CB installed. Because of the camper, it creates large "blind" spots so I decided to use a co-phase (dual) antenna setup. I used a pair of Firestick Dodge Ram mounts and a set of Hustler co-phase antennas. The CB is a Cobra 75WX which holds the whole CB part in the mic. Used this style on a number of other vehicles and have been happy with them. Hard part was figuring out the mounting of the mic clip, since Dodge didn't leave a lot of flat, open areas. I ended up mounting it to the front of the useless cup holder.

Project 2, better back up lights. I needed some better lighting then the ones Dodge put on. Another ExPo member used these LED ones and the company happened to be local so I figured I would give them a try. They are 1320 lumen each and I currently have them wired to turn on with the reverse lights. Basic and simple.

Project 3, mount for AT can holder. I wanted to have a place to carry a Scepter gas or water can and use an Adventure Trailers can holder. Since the HitchGate offered a gas can mount but wanted way too much for what it was, I decided to build my own mount for a single holder. I welded up a bracket and mounted the holder. It worked out great and clears the camper with room to spare. Nice thing too, from the back you can't even see it behind the spare tire.

Got a couple other little things like a bed mat, a divider in the fridge and such. More stuff to come.

 

[ExpoMike]

Well, this truck just keeps impressing me the longer we own it. Today I hauled our new toy home. Even with the FWC, trailer and '65 C10 Panel truck, it cruised right along and kept getting the same mileage as without the trailer and truck. True I was only driving at 60mph versus the 70 I typically do. It worked great on AdventureDuo's CalZona trip. Definitely very happy with this setup.

Here's what I brought home.

 

[gahi]

Sweet Panel, what's in it?