Back to a truck Camper!

[docdave]

Made the swap....traded a 20 year old truck for a 10 year old one....


Then built different hold downs...the one's off of the 95 didn't fit the 2004 box...





bolted across the front of the box in 4 places...with rubber bumpers against the front edge of the box.





I'm re-using the happijac rear tie downs from before. Hope to get everything loaded this weekend.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Diesel or Gas? 3/4T or 1T?.........Nothing like Dodge to haul a camper! Good luck with it (Great color BTW)

 

[docdave]

It's a 3/4 ton with a 5.7l Hemi...VERY hard to find a long box, gasser in my part of the country. This one's a 5 speed manual, haven't had a manual truck in a while, my wife's not thrilled, but she says she won't drive it much anyway, unless I have a heart attack in the back country...LOL. The cab in comfy though, she has fibromyalgia, and the other truck was too unconfortable for long rides. The truck needs some paint touch up, and the front air dam is missing....which apparently involved bending the bumper a bit, but I like the color too.

 

[Regcabguy]

View attachment 170789

Made the swap....traded a 20 year old truck for a 10 year old one....


Then built different hold downs...the one's off of the 95 didn't fit the 2004 box...


View attachment 170790


bolted across the front of the box in 4 places...with rubber bumpers against the front edge of the box.


View attachment 170791


I'm re-using the happijac rear tie downs from before. Hope to get everything loaded this weekend.

Hopefully you are attached to the frame. The tinfoil metal of the newer trucks won't hold up to the stress and the ears could very well rip out. I only had the ears with the stabilizer bar on my 2nd gen but went with the frame mounted setup on my '07. You'
ll love the newer one. The only thing I miss about my '98.5 is the seats. Brakes are a quantum leap over the 2nds.

 

[docdave]

Maybe I do need to add frame attachment, the bar is 3/16 by 2 1/2 and runs all the was across the front of the box.....bolted through with fender washers.

 

[docdave]

Finally was able to load the camper on the 'new' truck today. I like the balance of the quad cab and the cabover, it looks like it shouldn't catch as much wind as before. The cab is a bit higher than the old one, so I needed a sheet of 3/4" plywood under the camper to clear it. I can tell that I'll miss the power of the V10...but I know I won't miss buying gas for it.....about 6mpg with the camper loaded....up to 8 on a good day. We'll see how the Hemi does, it get's almost double the mileage of the V10 empty, probably not as well loaded.



Now all I need is a weekend off.

I also removed the tacky chrome trim previously added around the wheel wells.....and touched up the paint where they had rubbed it off. Also purchased some touch up paint from 'paintscratch.com' and redid part of the silver....turned out pretty well. Found some black fender flares on ebay for only $100, and they worked well also.....don't ya love it when a plan comes together? Used some 3M adhesive remover to remove some residual foam tape around the windows....took some scraping with a plastic putty knife , but it worked....followed up with rubbing compound...polishing compound and wax. Can't hardly tell it was there.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Looks awesome...Nice color combination.

 

[yokuts1]

Looks Like a Nice Set-up !! Hope you get some time off soon. BTW, if that sheet of plywood under the camper becomes a problem a rubber bed liner runs about 3/4" thick and won't rot..

 

[Regcabguy]

I've got a rubber mat and a 2x2 frame under my Northstar. I'm thinking I could shave the 2x2's a bit to bring the camper down a little.

 

[boblynch]

We use horse stall mats purchased at the local feed store under our flatbed truck camper. They are very durable and inexpensive.

 

[docdave]

I thought about the mats....but they're kinda heavy....the real clincher was that I had the sheet of plywood in the garage.

Loading up today for the first outing in the 'new' truck....a loop through NW Nebraska and a swing over to Cheyenne to see our son stationed at F.E. Warren afb.

 

[docdave]

... dropped the camper off at the Hallmark factory yesterday on the way to Christmas shop in Denver. The guys are going to modify the rear of the camper to eliminate the two piece door, and install the new Emmett door. I thought about tackling it myself, but don't have the time, and I'd like it ready to go for spring. A few upcoming mods for the truck too.... rear stabilizer bar, upgraded shocks and maybe a hitch system that will let me pull a heavy trailer with the camper loaded.... we'll see how it goes.

 

[Beafire]

Gas mileage

So what kind of mileage did you get out of your Hemi with the camper on it?

 

[docdave]

Fuel mileage on the interstate at 75 to 80 is only about 8 or 9, 10 to 12 on the highway at 60-65, 12 to 16 empty, depending on speed and wind. Not great, but almost double what I got with the V10 in my previous truck. I run pretty heavy, my family isn't much for packing light. I think a cab to camper cushion might help a little at higher speeds.

 

[rotti]

I think a cab to camper cushion might help a little at higher speeds.

Your paint job will hate you....