Build: Ram 3500 and Aluminum/Composite Expedition Camper

[DirtWhiskey]

There's a different intent when someone starts publishing YouTube content 2-3 times a week.

Not this again. Ask yourself this question: Are they producing quality post here with useful information for the general forum population? Are they constantly badgering people to buy their services? I'll say it again: higher ups n this forum need to finally implement a premium paid model that removes those terrible eye-sore, screen-seizing trojan horse ads. That their reviews on the front page are basically basically late night, expo-flavored infotainment advertisements. That some on this forum monetize their content on Youtube doesn't bother me one wink as long as their knowledge is being shared and is useful here. Like TrailTested.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Yeah... the admin folks here are nothing like they were when I first joined many moons ago. Now they get their panties all wadded up over trivial nonsense.

I think it’s that they never had power in any way shape or form before and now they abuse the little they have as an admin via the forum.

I’ve been on ExPo since basically day one and it’s gone downhill pretty bad.

There’s still some good info to be found, but the articles announcing $400k Tacoma campers and the like are so overbearing and annoying, it’s to the point now it’s just annoying spam...

Part humorous, part pathetic

NOTE: I love your vids and ageee with @Victorian, I never once got the vibe you were selling anything or even trying to

BINGO. BTW, your "Lucrative Youtube Video Largess" has probably saved me thousands of dollars in my own build. Not bad I say, and a damned right level of value as well. All these Youtube Fortune Magnates, giving us free knowledge, honest reviews and pointers on how to not mess stuff up and save money is soooo terrible.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

BINGO. BTW, your "Lucrative Youtube Video Largess" has probably saved me thousands of dollars in my own build. Not bad I say, and a damned right level of value as well. All these Youtube Fortune Magnates, giving us free knowledge, honest reviews and pointers on how to not mess stuff up and save money is soooo terrible.

Hahahaha! Yes! Thanks, and i agree! Folks YouTube videos on various things has literally saved me THOUSANDS of dollars on my build. Not an exaggeration!

Thats why, and only why, i decided to do the same.

There's always haters and folks that get butthurt, with anything, in any forum. Those are the types that have nothing better going on in their life, and simply pick fights online to make themselves feel good.

I REALLLLLY wish ExPo had a BLOCK feature. I "Ignored" that fella above, but his idiotic comments still show up in my build thread.

Oh well.

 

[TrailTestedMFG]

We did not make any money on YouTube when we started this build and that was never the intent. We love the overland community and wanted to contribute. If a picture is worth 1,000 words then a video is worth 1,000,000. It's really difficult to write a concise and informative forum post and we thought the videos would add to the posts and better explain what we were doing. Of course that helped us promote our YouTube channel! And yes, now we are monetizing on YouTube, but the idea that we're getting rich off it is laughable.

If Lance990 doesn't want to watch our videos, he doesn't have to click the play button.

Expo has a giant community to creating very high quality content on their behalf for free so they can generate ad revenue. They don't like that we pushed some traffic away from the site to potentially see advertising on a different platform.

Thanks everyone for commenting on this thread, watching our videos, and following our journey! We really appreciate all of the support! I'm sorry that at this time, this platform isn't working out for us. Maybe someday we'll be back.

 

[Alloy]

Not this again. Ask yourself this question: Are they producing quality post here with useful information for the general forum population? Are they constantly badgering people to buy their services? I'll say it again: higher ups n this forum need to finally implement a premium paid model that removes those terrible eye-sore, screen-seizing trojan horse ads. That their reviews on the front page are basically basically late night, expo-flavored infotainment advertisements. That some on this forum monetize their content on Youtube doesn't bother me one wink as long as their knowledge is being shared and is useful here. Like TrailTested.

I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong. It's where I see a differnce between Camperthing (who I assume isn't a vendor) and TrailTrusedMFG.

 

[Alloy]

What does it cost to be a vendor on here?

 

[Dances with Wolves]

@TrailTestedMFG : I thoroughly enjoy your videos. let the haters hate!

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

@TrailTestedMFG : I thoroughly enjoy your videos. let the haters hate!

“They hate us, cause they ain’t us”
-Some Rapper

 

[zb39]

After watching RAM5500 put air ride on his I did the same thing. Just got back from Iowa where they installed the whole thing. I can now control all 4 corners, level the camper, raise, lower, do it all, and connect air tools. love it. I still say RAM5500 has the best build out there. I didn't go that route because i'm lazy. I bought a new Host cascade and put it on a new Ram 5500 that now has full air ride.

 

[zb39]

 

[rhinolions]

Sounds good. An overlap should work.

You show a ladder, top rack, and bike rack. How will these be attached?

I think you'll be able to tell... the flexible frames will twist like crazy even with no weight. By hard mounting you make it much stiffer, and your flatbed and camper end up taking most of the load. Also the frame may get overstressed at the transition (forward mounts). You say the panels will flex enough, and indeed they may... but since you are using weak foam I think it adds extra risk. On the other hand I saw some photos and videos showing that the newer Rams are pretty stiff, so you might be fine.

You are right about dynamic mounting. It's a trade-off between on-road and off-road performance I think, and tough to get just right.

Anyway, try it and see... if it passes the "ditch test", you'll have some peace of mind when hard mounting it.

sorry for the late reply after the project is probably done, but your frame will 100% crack and split in two, I guarantee it (ask me how I know this ) there is no way you can put that box on the back of it, without a system to allow the frame to flex, it will fail 100% , I know it happened to me, (pics to prove it) on a f350 SD that I thought was indestructible, I then had to find a f550 at auction, just for the frame, and had to put it under my truck, because I have an amazing motor (7.3) it was a nightmare, but I did upgrade to 42 inch tires, and made it ************** with a custom built box, good luck to you,,,, but I would absolutely put a 3 or 4 pivot system under that flatbed..

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

sorry for the late reply after the project is probably done, but your frame will 100% crack and split in two, I guarantee it (ask me how I know this ) there is no way you can put that box on the back of it, without a system to allow the frame to flex, it will fail 100% , I know it happened to me, (pics to prove it) on a f350 SD that I thought was indestructible, I then had to find a f550 at auction, just for the frame, and had to put it under my truck, because I have an amazing motor (7.3) it was a nightmare, but I did upgrade to 42 inch tires, and made it ************** with a custom built box, good luck to you,,,, but I would absolutely put a 3 or 4 pivot system under that flatbed..

Agree 110% with this

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

View attachment 666551View attachment 666552

That looks like a kick ass setup! Well done and happy to help!

 

[BoJackNorseman]

Very nice. Thanks, I've really enjoyed following this thread!

 

[TrailTestedMFG]

For Sale!

2015 Ram 6.7 3500 Custom Camper, located in ID

****SALE PENDING**** After two years and a lifetime of adventures we’re selling our custom built Expedition Truck. While we’re going to be sad to see it go, we are excited for the opportunity to build the next one! This truck and camper were built to provide all the comforts and amenities...

expeditionportal.com