Alaskan Camper Build Up

[Larry]

The rig is looking great as usual Carl. Definitely my favorite build on Expo! :drool: I still can’t wait to see it in person sometime. Man, that is a real bummer about the leak behind the siding.

Just got back from having my alignment re-checked, wanted everything gone over before I head to WA and Oregon next week. BTW, it's great to have lifetime alignments, found a shop in Colorado Springs that does this. One of my ball joints is already having play in it at 23k... Also, front differential seal is leaking. Not sure how Dodge is going to warranty this, but it seems extremely premature for this stout of a vehicle. I was going to change the differentials over to Amsoil shortly (tranny is done), but I'll wait until this is resolved.

The build looks great! An observation on those Rickson wheels, from the pictures they seem to have an aggressive offset compared to other SRW wheels on the market. The offset would concern me as the front unipack bearings are pretty finicky already as well as the ball joints used in those front AAM axles. Add aggressive offset and you may have a front bearing and ball joint eater on your hands as well as road speed steering issues.

Hmmm, I’m not too surprised with the balljoints as I predicted in the quote above early on in your new RAM build as I was concerned about the excessive positive offset on those Rickson wheels. As long as you run those wheels I predict you will continue to see premature balljoint wear and probably start eating the front unibearing$$$$ before much longer as well. It will be interesting to hear what the Dodge dealer says when they see the offset on those wheels. I still vote to ditch those Ricksons or have them build a different set with more negative offset. Then again, maybe it is just the pictures that make those wheels look like they have so much positive offset??

I thought of your truck not long ago as I stumbled across these guys in Indiana a while back that build brush fire trucks. Their single wheels look well-built not to mention they appear to have the correct offset to prevent premature balljoint and wheel bearing issues. It looks like they only list 20 x 11” wheels on their website but I bet they could build anything you want. Just a thought

Hope we can connect soon

 

[Overland Hadley]

I thought of your truck not long ago as I stumbled across these guys in Indiana a while back that build brush fire trucks. Their single wheels look well-built not to mention they appear to have the correct offset to prevent premature balljoint and wheel bearing issues. It looks like they only list 20 x 11” wheels on their website but I bet they could build anything you want. Just a thought

20x11, that is a wide wheel!

Here is the website page with info on their super singles. http://1stattack.com/brush-fire-trucks/super-single-wheels

 

[Larry]

20x11, that is a wide wheel!

Here is the website page with info on their super singles. http://1stattack.com/brush-fire-trucks/super-single-wheels

Thanks for the catch, I forgot to add a link to their website in my post.

 

[Carlyle]

Thanks for the catch, I forgot to add a link to their website in my post.

Looks nice Larry, but the Conti's probably won't fit a 11' rim well and the Mickey Thompson Load Range E tires they quote at the website are only rated to 3500 lbs. Any thoughts?

The 275/80R20 MPT 81 Measures 37.4" Tall and 10.43" Wide. It is speed rated for a maximum of 68 MPH. Max load rating is 4674 Lbs at 77PSI. Preferred rim is 9" Wide

 

[Larry]

Looks nice Larry, but the Conti's probably won't fit a 11' rim well and the Mickey Thompson Load Range E tires they quote at the website are only rated to 3500 lbs. Any thoughts?

The 275/80R20 MPT 81 Measures 37.4" Tall and 10.43" Wide. It is speed rated for a maximum of 68 MPH. Max load rating is 4674 Lbs at 77PSI. Preferred rim is 9" Wide

I agree, those wheels are way too wide but my thoughts are to call them and see if they can custom make you a wheel to your width specs. I was never promoting the 11” wide wheels all along, I was just showing their offset looks better than Rickson and the fact there may be other single wheel options out there besides Rickson. The next question for 1st Attack is if their wheels are DOT rated. I’m would think they are but you never know as they may consider their brush fire trucks as off-road only. If you call them, let us know what they say :coffeedrink:

I just want to see your awesome rig with some better wheels someday :elkgrin:

 

[Carlyle]

They're closed and email sent.

Carl

 

[Carlyle]

It's been a few weeks since I posted so a few updates after a little fall camping.

Installed outside 12 volt outlets on each side of the camper for running a fan etc.

Second set of side LED lights in place.

Camping by the Arkansas river.

 

[chilliwak]

Your rig looks excellent parked and ready to enjoy for camping Carl. I wish I was there to share a cold one...

 

[shanz3n5]

The Flat Bed

Haven, who is on this forum found this beauty:

I have this flatbed coming from the US dealer at an awesome price and should be here next week. The bed is sans the side rails and headache rack.

Thanks Haven!

Any info as to where i can purchase this bed
Thanx
John
shanz3n5@gmail.com

 

[Francis]

Carlyle,

Where are you? I have a few questions to ask.

I hope all is going well.

Happy New Year.

Francis

 

[ashamberg]

Carl:
Again thanks for the inspiration. Can you speak to the specs of Viair compression system? Which model? Why dual compressors and tanks? Also do you have an air leveling system for camper? What spec? Is this tied into the compressors?

Thanks again, Aaron

 

[Carlyle]

Any info as to where i can purchase this bed
Thanx
John
shanz3n5@gmail.com

Hi shanz325!

Sorry about the slow response, but I've been busy on projects and not catching up on the forum recently. Bad me….

The bed, or at least the pieces I used were made by Ute an Australian company, they do have a distributor in Seattle, WA. Talk to Randy Cryer, owner I believe at 206-510-8621 and he should be able to set you up with something at a reasonable price.

 

[Carlyle]

Carlyle,

Where are you? I have a few questions to ask.

I hope all is going well.

Happy New Year.

Francis

Hi Francis,

Good to hear from you and hope all is well in the new year! I'm wintering it out in Colorado as usual and counting down the days until my next vacation. Drop a pm and I'll shoot my email to you and we can chat.

Carl

 

[Carlyle]

Carl:
Again thanks for the inspiration. Can you speak to the specs of Viair compression system? Which model? Why dual compressors and tanks? Also do you have an air leveling system for camper? What spec? Is this tied into the compressors?

Thanks again, Aaron

Ashamberg,

The Viair system I'm using is the "X'treme", but using two instead of one tank so that I can run air tools a little bit better. http://www.viaircorp.com/oba-xtreme.html

I use air bags in the rear for leveling, but they are not tied to the system as i have heard of people having issues, so i just adjust as needed. I use the on-board air for tire inflation, air bag inflation, running air tools, using my jack, transferring water to the water tank etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[ericvs]

Hey Carlyle,

I looked through the thread, but didn't find what I was looking for. (sorry if I missed it) How do you have your propane setup? You have the exact same bbq and camp stove as me and I see they are plugged into the truck. Did you run a high pressure line from your propane tank and a quick disconnect so you can connect your camp accessories there or did you convert your weber and camp stove to run on a low pressure connection?
Thanks for the inspiring build!
Eric