Build: Ram 3500 and Aluminum/Composite Expedition Camper

[TrailTestedMFG]

would it be easier to get big sheet of continuous aluminum vs laping them to make the walls? it would be easy to find some .040 in 8.5 roll and that is plenty strong for a composite wall? asking as i m thinking of going that route and find the roll of aluminum cheaper then 4x8 sheet.

I think .040 would be plenty strong. I honestly didn't know those rolls existed until you referenced them. Thanks a lot, now I have to start over! Just kidding.

 

[Jonnyo]

I think .040 would be plenty strong. I honestly didn't know those rolls existed until you referenced them. Thanks a lot, now I have to start over! Just kidding.

i usually purchase those from truck tractor repair shop. They carry it for trailers and i had better chance buying from them at ''cheap'' price. i will make some test panel like you did to test and see.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Subscribed! Very Nice

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

That's probably a test worth doing however it doesn't seem valid without any weight on the truck. I'm still undecided on whether to use springs in the back to "clamp" the camper down or to directly bolt it down.

I strongly disagree. I initially thought the same thing but was convinced to test is anyway and was blown away but the amount of frame flex.

Fast forward to about 5:16 for my unloaded test:

 

[TrailTestedMFG]

I strongly disagree. I initially thought the same thing but was convinced to test is anyway and was blown away but the amount of frame flex.

You have a long open C channel frame, I have a short fully boxed frame with a giant goose neck hitch cross member. I would expect your frame to flex.

I appreciate the feedback though, sounds like I had better do some testing either way.

 

[rruff]

I strongly disagree. I initially thought the same thing but was convinced to test is anyway and was blown away but the amount of frame flex.

Ya, it's a completely different paradigm. A flexy frame is surely lighter for the load it can carry and is able to keep the wheels on the ground much better in crossed up situations. Think I'd rather have a stiff frame for offroad though, along with greater suspension travel. Definitely some tradeoffs. Note how much higher the Rams wheel is from the ground (these are 3500/350s).

You have a long open C channel frame, I have a short fully boxed frame with a giant goose neck hitch cross member. I would expect your frame to flex.

I think you'll be fine in that case. Newer Ram 3500s are stiff.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Ya, it's a completely different paradigm

I fully understand the difference between C channel and fully boxed and the length differences.

But.... if I’m getting close to 2 FEET of flex in my frame before tire is coming off of ground, even if he’s only getting 25% of that, that’s 6” of deflection. That’s still a fair amount.

All speculation of course

 

[shirk]

Does the 3500 share a similar chassis to the 2500?

LandcruiserPhil did some flex on his 2500 to show it's stiffness.

RamCruiser...the build

According to the Dodge bodybuilder pdf, the 2009 power wagon has a GVWR of 8,510lbs with a payload of 2,180lbs. http://www-5.dodge.com/bodybuilder/2009/docs/dr/mlup2500.pdf

expeditionportal.com

 

[rruff]

I fully understand the difference between C channel and fully boxed and the length differences.
But.... if I’m getting close to 2 FEET of flex in my frame before tire is coming off of ground, even if he’s only getting 25% of that, that’s 6” of deflection. That’s still a fair amount.

I think it will be far less... couple inches maybe.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I think it will be far less... couple inches maybe.

Id definitely be curious to see

 

[TrailTestedMFG]

Does the 3500 share a similar chassis to the 2500?

In that year they probably do share a similar chassis, I'm not really sure. That is a "3rd gen" truck. Mine is a "4th gen" truck. They went through a pretty major chassis/ suspension redesign between the two. On the 4th gen trucks, a 2500 is coil sprung in the rear and a 3500 is leaf sprung. A 3500 has a significantly higher GVWR (mine is 11,700# vs the 2500 9000#) Looking at my truck I don't think it would be possible for the 2500/3500 to share a frame. The rear suspension mounting points are entirely different and weld on.

rruff that is a great photo, thanks for sharing.

 

[TrailTestedMFG]

We'll start off this post with a screen shot of the model that we're working off of. It's not as visually complete as the slick looking concept image in the first post. This model is an accurate representation of what we're building, it contains the part files that we can send to the plasma table and we can pull dimensions from the model (extremely useful for checking if things are square!).

Cab over starting to come together:

Building a nose cone to finish off the front, we're working in the shed because it was windy and raining out and we had vacation renters using the house (no access to garage):

Cutting parts for the cab over gusset, this is 3/8" 6061.

Used a router with an 1/8" radius cutter with bearing guide to add a radius to the corners.

This gives the parts the billet aluminum look we were going for. I wasn't sure if this plan was going to work, but I'm very happy with the results.

Here you can see the finished products (nose cone and cab over gusset). The nose cone turned out to be a lot of work. Weld grind sand repeat. We're really happy with how it turned out!

At this point we were able to load it back on the truck. It is still light enough that Courtney and I are able to lift it ourselves (after figuring out we were fighting a tree branch, not weight!). Also in this picture you can see that Courtney has been working on vinyl wrapping the truck. She watched a bunch of YouTube and dove in. It's a tedious process that I can't even pretend to have the patience for.

 

[ITTOG]

Love it. It is looking good.

 

[rruff]

That is super nice; love it!

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Awesome work sir!