RAM5500 CAMPERTHING
OG Portal Member #183
I was just thinking to myself today, and most days when i come to EP, that they're aren't enough cantankerous folks spreading negativity and never adding anything helpful.
Yet here you are...
Build: Ram 3500 and Aluminum/Composite Expedition Camper
- Thread starter TrailTestedMFG
- Start date
I was just thinking to myself today, and most days when i come to EP, that they're aren't enough cantankerous folks spreading negativity and never adding anything helpful.
Yet here you are...
D
Deleted member 12023
Guest
Cool build! Good call on the spool gun. I wish I had coughed up the funds and gone that route. TIGing everything is a slow and tedious process
TrailTestedMFG
Active member
Got the roof rack, back rack, and ladder done! The racks are made of 3/8" 6061 bar stock, the ladder rungs are .080 sheet metal bent into C shapes. The roof rack really added a lot of rigidity to the nose of the camper.
For those interested, currently the COG is about 12" behind the front wall.
It was remarkably calm out so we spent two entire days welding and GOT IT ALL DONE! Trying to spool gun the .080 butt joints together was not working out very well. We ended up grinding those welds out and TIGing those joints from both the inside and outside. It was super tedious especially up on a ladder, luckily Courtney's Eastwood 200 TIG welder came with a finger trigger! I never understood why you would use the finger trigger until I was trying to operate the pedal up on the ladder.
Here are some nice golden hour pics. Next step is to paint the structure and then I think we're ready for some panels!
We have been working on planning out the interior and would love some input. Here is what we have so far:
36x24 wet bath on driver side rear
14" deep closet/ vertical storage taking up the entire rest of the rear
Passenger side galley kitchen
L shaped dinette on driver side/front (water tank, batteries, inverter, water heater, etc under here)
upper cabinets above kitchen and dinette and small his/hers storage in bed area.
Unique idea: The kitchen cabinet is actually going to be a "garage" accessed by a large door on the outside. It should be big enough to store our mountain bikes inside of if we take both wheels and the handle bars off. The "garage" door will swing down and be able to double as an outdoor table.
Inside bike storage is really important to us. They need to be able to be locked up out of sight and out of the weather if we aren't using them for an extended amount of time or are headed somewhere where theft could be an issue. We are also planning on a rack to hang them vertically off the back of the camper if we are using them daily.
Thanks for following along! Next YouTube episode coming soon.
For those interested, currently the COG is about 12" behind the front wall.
It was remarkably calm out so we spent two entire days welding and GOT IT ALL DONE! Trying to spool gun the .080 butt joints together was not working out very well. We ended up grinding those welds out and TIGing those joints from both the inside and outside. It was super tedious especially up on a ladder, luckily Courtney's Eastwood 200 TIG welder came with a finger trigger! I never understood why you would use the finger trigger until I was trying to operate the pedal up on the ladder.
Here are some nice golden hour pics. Next step is to paint the structure and then I think we're ready for some panels!
We have been working on planning out the interior and would love some input. Here is what we have so far:
36x24 wet bath on driver side rear
14" deep closet/ vertical storage taking up the entire rest of the rear
Passenger side galley kitchen
L shaped dinette on driver side/front (water tank, batteries, inverter, water heater, etc under here)
upper cabinets above kitchen and dinette and small his/hers storage in bed area.
Unique idea: The kitchen cabinet is actually going to be a "garage" accessed by a large door on the outside. It should be big enough to store our mountain bikes inside of if we take both wheels and the handle bars off. The "garage" door will swing down and be able to double as an outdoor table.
Inside bike storage is really important to us. They need to be able to be locked up out of sight and out of the weather if we aren't using them for an extended amount of time or are headed somewhere where theft could be an issue. We are also planning on a rack to hang them vertically off the back of the camper if we are using them daily.
Thanks for following along! Next YouTube episode coming soon.
rruff
Explorer
Me too. After considering pretty much everything, I decided the whole rear end of the camper would be an access door that flips up (so an awning of sorts as well). On one side is a "cabinet" that the bikes are mounted on top of, plus storage including a heavy slide out that will contain outdoor specific stuff. On the other side is another cabinet (not as long) for storage/cooking/sink plus a table that slides out to the rear. The 4' "couch" is in front of that with a Lagun table, with a 2.5' seating area on the other side and another Lagun.
BTW, love your camper, looks so nice!
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TrailTestedMFG
Active member
Our next YouTube video is live now. Thanks for following along!
RAM5500 CAMPERTHING
OG Portal Member #183
Since you asked... If possible, build the shell first and buy all the components you want/plan to use before committing to an interior design.
Small hiccups will creep up and thing are likely to be moved around.
Example: The way my subframe was built, I had literally ONE place I could mount my furnace and run the exhaust, etc.. This complete threw a monkey wrench into my interior layout plans I spent weeks on. Stuff like that...
That, and DONT cut the window holes until you have the seating in the exact spot you will end up with for a final design.
Build is looking awesome man! Great work!
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Great looking build; I am really enjoying watching it come together (and I also watched the Container House build series). We also travel frequently with bikes. So far we have been OK with the bikes on an external rack, but if we had to, I am pretty sure we could get them both into the rear seat area of the truck. It would definitely require removing wheels, and maybe handlebars. And, in our case it would require removing a large dog from the rear seat area.
What about raising your dinette / seating area and placing the bikes horizontal under the raised platform. You will end up sitting higher up in the camper so the seated person will be closer to eye level with someone standing in the kitchen, you'll also be able to place your windows up higher further from people looking into the camper in an urban environment.
I forget now where I saw it but maybe in a converted ambulance, they built the seating area up higher to get more storage down low under it. When you're seated you have all this wasted space up above your head when you build your seating based around feet on the floor.
I forget now where I saw it but maybe in a converted ambulance, they built the seating area up higher to get more storage down low under it. When you're seated you have all this wasted space up above your head when you build your seating based around feet on the floor.
RAM5500 CAMPERTHING
OG Portal Member #183
This is actually what i am planning as well. Its better used space under the dinette than in overhead cabinets in that particular area at the dinette IMHO
rruff
Explorer
I suppose everyone is different... but if these are nice bikes that you ride frequently, I would not want to stuff them into a space horizontally (where they will surely get banged up and scratched), or remove bars on a regular basis... mostly because that is a critical component (bad things happen if it breaks) that isn't made to be removed and retorqued over and over.
Like packing your bike into a travel bag for flights. Pull the stem off leaving your bars in the stem. Pull your wheels and pedals.
A well thought out drawer with a couple straps that slides into the space will keep everything from rattling around.
It sounded to me like this would be the space for bikes when they are not on the rear rack. Maybe times when it will be a couple weeks between rides. Certainly not for the daily.
A well thought out drawer with a couple straps that slides into the space will keep everything from rattling around.
It sounded to me like this would be the space for bikes when they are not on the rear rack. Maybe times when it will be a couple weeks between rides. Certainly not for the daily.
rruff
Explorer
Maybe so. I keep thinking fulltime, but for occasional trips it wouldn't be that bad. I'd never carry my bikes outside on a regular basis though, and they aren't that fancy. Just more maintenance from dirt and rain.
TrailTestedMFG
Active member
Update!
We painted the structure. We started with sanding/scuffing the entire surface, followed by a wipe down with acetone. Then we primed using Rustoleum Self Etching Primer in a rattle can. The top coat is Rustoleum Semi Gloss Black from the quart can with enamel hardener from Tractor Supply mixed it. We sprayed it using a Harbor Freight pressure pot gun (link). Hopefully the paint holds up over time. We tried to get it powder coated but our local places had a 2 week lead time and that wasn't going to work for us.
We decided to give spring mounting the rear a shot. The springs fit very well in the factory bed bolt locations because there was clearance for a socket already integrated. Used a 5/8" bolt and a 4" long die spring. There are two springs per side so four springs total.
Next up was to build the floor. However, Courtney realized last minute that we needed to install the fuel pickup for our diesel furnace while it was easy to get to. You can see the pickup and fuel pump in this picture.
The floor was built by bonding aluminum sheet to the sub frame using Sika 252 to make it water tight and then we layered 1/2" UV Baltic Birch on top. It is very solid feeling. It will get insulated after the ceiling and walls are in.
Cutting the panels has been pretty easy using the little cordless circ saw and a fresh fine tooth blade. I like how light this little cordless saw is for reaching across awkward cuts.
Each panel gets vinyl wrapped before installation. We cut away the edges to expose the aluminum for gluing.
We add a 1/2" strip of VHB tape near the edge of the mounting flange, and then a liberal amount of Sika 252. The tape acts as a spacer for the Sika, provides an instant bond to clamp it, and keeps the sika from oozing out and making a huge mess on the outside of the panel. Its working pretty well. We did end up riveting every 8" too because we weren't happy with some of the gaps. Things warped and moved a little during welding.
The roof panels also got a white textured vinyl wall paper applied before installation.
We painted the structure. We started with sanding/scuffing the entire surface, followed by a wipe down with acetone. Then we primed using Rustoleum Self Etching Primer in a rattle can. The top coat is Rustoleum Semi Gloss Black from the quart can with enamel hardener from Tractor Supply mixed it. We sprayed it using a Harbor Freight pressure pot gun (link). Hopefully the paint holds up over time. We tried to get it powder coated but our local places had a 2 week lead time and that wasn't going to work for us.
We decided to give spring mounting the rear a shot. The springs fit very well in the factory bed bolt locations because there was clearance for a socket already integrated. Used a 5/8" bolt and a 4" long die spring. There are two springs per side so four springs total.
Next up was to build the floor. However, Courtney realized last minute that we needed to install the fuel pickup for our diesel furnace while it was easy to get to. You can see the pickup and fuel pump in this picture.
The floor was built by bonding aluminum sheet to the sub frame using Sika 252 to make it water tight and then we layered 1/2" UV Baltic Birch on top. It is very solid feeling. It will get insulated after the ceiling and walls are in.
Cutting the panels has been pretty easy using the little cordless circ saw and a fresh fine tooth blade. I like how light this little cordless saw is for reaching across awkward cuts.
Each panel gets vinyl wrapped before installation. We cut away the edges to expose the aluminum for gluing.
We add a 1/2" strip of VHB tape near the edge of the mounting flange, and then a liberal amount of Sika 252. The tape acts as a spacer for the Sika, provides an instant bond to clamp it, and keeps the sika from oozing out and making a huge mess on the outside of the panel. Its working pretty well. We did end up riveting every 8" too because we weren't happy with some of the gaps. Things warped and moved a little during welding.
The roof panels also got a white textured vinyl wall paper applied before installation.
i really enjoy how this build is about taking what is readly available and getting it done quickly. i was curious how you would lap those panels and now see your method! i used VHB tape to glue aluminum to trailer frame and it s so strong no other glue is needed. and it seal very well also!!!