Atl-atl's Dodge Ram 2500 Regular Cab Long Bed "documentation" thread.
- Thread starter Atl-atl
- Start date
Atl-atl
Adventurer
I actually have a set but I don't want to bolt plates to the bedsides, rust is so rampant here Id like to get my truck back to Colorado with minimal body damage. My last camper was bolted through the top of the bedsides because the bumpout on either side of the camper sat almost exactly on top of the bed, it was perfect, WAY sturdier than straps or tie downs. Held up to some serious wheeling and washboards. This camper has two layers of 2x4 underneath the floor which I could remove and probably bolt the camper down. I just don't know if I want to go through all that work at the moment. Im pretty seriously considering going flatbed. I need to get a job!
Colorado_Outback
Adventurer
I hear ya, I'd like to do an Aluminum flat bed for mine.
My truck had hauled a large camper for a lot of miles and the front of the bed had 10" vertical cracks from the bolt in front anchors. I welded them up and its better but I really need to get some frame mounts and move the fronts down to the frame. Bolting to the body(bed) in the front and the frame in the back is no bueno for sure.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
So I took the camper off the truck today. My intent was to remove two layers of 2x4" that are fastened to the bottom of the camper. I think a previous owners truck had really high bedsides so they built this platform to accomodate. Well it makes the camper sit about 4 inches above my bedsides. Got the camper out of the truck and floating on the jacks to discover the 2x4"s are REALLY on there. I got the first layer off and thats the end of it. I would absolutely mangle the floor of the camper if I tried to remove the second layer so it stays. This will make my plans for mounting the camper to the bed rails have to change but thats OK. Ill figure out some kind of spacer to put in there. Since I had the camper out of the truck I decided to try a little something...
IT FITS! I cant believe this monster on 37s fits inside the garage with the camper and plenty of room to spare! Bikes, grille, toolbox, shelving all included with room to walk around. There is probably even some room to build the workbench Ive been thinking about. Also per the measuring tape my fiancés car will fit with about 12" to spare. I think we can cram everything in this two car garage, just have to get the leftovers from moving out of the way. This makes me incredibly happy for when stormy weather and winter approach.
IT FITS! I cant believe this monster on 37s fits inside the garage with the camper and plenty of room to spare! Bikes, grille, toolbox, shelving all included with room to walk around. There is probably even some room to build the workbench Ive been thinking about. Also per the measuring tape my fiancés car will fit with about 12" to spare. I think we can cram everything in this two car garage, just have to get the leftovers from moving out of the way. This makes me incredibly happy for when stormy weather and winter approach.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Thanks! Nope I have a 35" tire in the stock spare location, and that barely fits!!! Its close enough in size that it will get me to a safe place if I were to get a flat. I would love to modify the frame so a 37 would fit but that is pretty far down the list right now!
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Since I have a little free time on my hands. Ive decided to start tackling some projects Ive been wanting to do since I bought this truck a few years ago. One of them is the faded headlights. Ive been reading reviews on headlight restoration kits for decades. Most of them with raving reviews and then a mix of "3 months later they turned yellow again" or something along those lines. So I went out and got a kit that comes with all the fancy gadgets: drill attachments, sanding discs, polishing ball, UV protectant wax goop etc. Both headlights on my truck have the typical 06-08 Ram "top of the headlight looks like fries from the bottom of the basket" look and the drivers side light has a pretty significant scratch from the previous owners encounter with something.
The kit came with enough sanding discs to do just about one 4x6" headlight. Two tiny little 1000 grit discs, two tiny little 1500 grit discs and a 2000 grit pad. My trucks headlights have, well, roughly 100 times the square footage this kit can handle. I used the entire kit on one headlight and while it did a decent job, the one light I worked on still has a decent amount of fog. So I went out in search of more sanding discs. I have a 3" and 5" drill attachment. I went to the auto parts store, home depot and harbor freight and I found nothing. No round sanding discs with a higher grit than 240. Anyone have suggestions? Anyway I got some sheets of 800 and 1500, cut them into circles and did another round of wet sanding. Im still not completely happy with it. The round I did with the sheets of sand paper introduced some "new" fog that I need to figure out.
Im not to the point of regretting this and wishing I would have bought replacement headlights, because I believe there is a distinct quality difference between OEM and pretty much anything aftermarket, but this is a lot of work.
Before
After
The kit came with enough sanding discs to do just about one 4x6" headlight. Two tiny little 1000 grit discs, two tiny little 1500 grit discs and a 2000 grit pad. My trucks headlights have, well, roughly 100 times the square footage this kit can handle. I used the entire kit on one headlight and while it did a decent job, the one light I worked on still has a decent amount of fog. So I went out in search of more sanding discs. I have a 3" and 5" drill attachment. I went to the auto parts store, home depot and harbor freight and I found nothing. No round sanding discs with a higher grit than 240. Anyone have suggestions? Anyway I got some sheets of 800 and 1500, cut them into circles and did another round of wet sanding. Im still not completely happy with it. The round I did with the sheets of sand paper introduced some "new" fog that I need to figure out.
Im not to the point of regretting this and wishing I would have bought replacement headlights, because I believe there is a distinct quality difference between OEM and pretty much anything aftermarket, but this is a lot of work.
Before
After
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Thanks for the suggestion. I looked on their site but they only list up to 180 grit for the smaller velcro backed discs. Oh well, I just got some sheets of 800 and 1500, cut them into circles and taped them to used pieces of sandpaper from the kit. Worked like a charm!
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Finished up the passenger headlight and painted the grill and lower metal part of the bumper. Looks WAY better than the weird purplish grey stock color. Now I need to back to black the plastic upper bumper piece. Think Ill try the blowtorch trick.
After
Before, really looks terrible comparatively!
During :sombrero: I hit the rusty stuff with some gloss black while I was under there.
She's really coming along nicely this week. Still on the fence about just going to get a bedliner and keeping the bed/getting a cap. I went to a body shop down the street for ******ts and giggles, they wanted $1500 to fix the dent in my bedside!!! :Wow1:
After
Before, really looks terrible comparatively!
During :sombrero: I hit the rusty stuff with some gloss black while I was under there.
She's really coming along nicely this week. Still on the fence about just going to get a bedliner and keeping the bed/getting a cap. I went to a body shop down the street for ******ts and giggles, they wanted $1500 to fix the dent in my bedside!!! :Wow1:
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Cutting sandpaper and putting it on the discs seemed to work just as well as the ones supplied with the kit. Although I had to use a lower grit to get it to look how I wanted.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
I did some more today. Including the blow torch trick to turn the grey plastic back to black and it worked really well. Except for the spot where I got the headlight UV goop on it. I cant get that ******** off. Tried heat, dish soap, scrubbing etc.
Also painted more stuff under the front of the truck. Looks friggin new in the pictures haha. Threw a fresh coat on the wheels too, just because.
Also painted more stuff under the front of the truck. Looks friggin new in the pictures haha. Threw a fresh coat on the wheels too, just because.
