Dodge Ram 5500 motorhome

[Healeyjet]

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully the decisions we made will work out. The camper will end up taller than I was hoping but as Vince mentioned once when we were discussing it that if I feel cramped while inside or hit my head constantly that will be no good either. I am a fairly big guy.
As for the wheels we went with Hutchinson wheels and Goodyear G275 tires. The speed rating on the Goodyears is higher and hopefully a bit more durable than the Continental MPT81s. The wheels ate ready to ship early next week so we should have the tires mounted on the wheels in a couple weeks. The King shocks finally showed up today but I had already left for the weekend so wont see them until Tuesday.
AEV is still looking like they wont have fenders available until Christmas at least so not sure what we will do until then. Yes. iTB cut the wheel wells on the camper for a 41"tire.

 

[S2DM]

We just ordered a set of g275 MSAs for our beadlock rims as well (on an f550). We'll have to compare notes on longevity. Apparently they use a less flexible but harder compound in the tread which gives the higher speed rating and longevity at a small expense to performance aired down in rocks. But the reports I have seen indicate they are superior on the road and in sand (we do a lot of beach camping). Our tires and rims should be here in 2-3 weeks.
Looking forward to your thoughts on the kelderman once you get the tires on. Still debating what mods to make on our suspension.
Congrats on the build progress. I think yours is proceeding at 3X the speed of ours

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully the decisions we made will work out. The camper will end up taller than I was hoping but as Vince mentioned once when we were discussing it that if I feel cramped while inside or hit my head constantly that will be no good either. I am a fairly big guy.
As for the wheels we went with Hutchinson wheels and Goodyear G275 tires. The speed rating on the Goodyears is higher and hopefully a bit more durable than the Continental MPT81s. The wheels ate ready to ship early next week so we should have the tires mounted on the wheels in a couple weeks. The King shocks finally showed up today but I had already left for the weekend so wont see them until Tuesday.
AEV is still looking like they wont have fenders available until Christmas at least so not sure what we will do until then. Yes. iTB cut the wheel wells on the camper for a 41"tire.

 

[Healeyjet]

A couple computer models we saw this morning while visiting our camper.

 

[Healeyjet]

Got a chance to visit the truck on Friday and have some updated and better photos to add.

The walk-through was cut in before we arrived. In fact by the time we got there on Friday the walk-through had been mostly completed.



Here is a shot of the frame right behind the cab. This aluminum tubing is bolted to the frame and the frame on the shell is welded to this.



Here is a photo of the entrance door. Note the ruggedness of the door handle. I really dislike the flimsy feel of a typical camper door handle. Yes, you are correct, that is the handle from a walk-in freezer. The lower compartment beside the door is for some mechanicals and storage.



This rear street-side compartment will be home to the water fill, shore power, cable or satellite TV attachments, and all of the cables and hoses will be within the compartment on cable reels attached to the inside of the door.



Here is a shot of the interior of the shell. This location will be home to the television once we are all finished. Inside the aluminum shell will be composite "studs" followed by insulation between the studs. This should make for a nice thermal break and keep us on our path to have no wood to rot should water somehow find it's way inside or from condensation from us enjoying it in the winter.



Here's one for scale. Annie's right hand is sitting in the spot where the walk-through will be cut soon. For a height comparison, Annie is about 5'7". ITB will be making a cover for the walk-through so that down the road if we chose to have someone sleep up there we will have a stable base for the mattress. We will be using the area for storage.



Here is a photo of the curb-side rear compartment. This door will open up to the same cabinet as the door across the rear of the camper. It will allow us to store longer items that may not have fit through the rear compartment door. The D-handles being used will all be locked and unlocked by the same key fob that unlocks the truck cab. Isn't the quality of the construction excellent. ITB makes all of the doors in house. The door and the frame are made by the same craftsman at the same time so the fit is excellent.



This is a shot of the street-side front compartment. This will be home the thre three AGM batteries giving us 870 AH of battery storage. Between the battery compartment and the rear wheel arch will be the box housing the Kelderman air system as well as the grey water tank.



This is a photo of the rear of the camper shell. The door on the left will open to the same compartment as the rear door. The door on the right will open to a shallow compartment which will be home to the shore hook-ups. The rear compartment will be about 24" High and 24" deep. Just towards the front will be the 85 gallon water tank. Above the rear compartment and the water tank will be the base for the bed.

 

[Jeep]

That looks like it's going to be pretty roomy inside, let me know next time you are heading down there, I'd like to go for a ride. Are you going to use any spring mounting on the subframe or is it getting bolted solid? The 5500 frame is really stiff and we solid mount pickers and HD decks, but they are designed to integrate and stiffen the chassis in the process due to the loads placed on them, and the shear plates are quite substantial, but I would be inclined to use something that will accommodate an inch or so of twist with an aluminum body going on top. I'm sure ITB would have it addressed if it was an issue, lots of them out there getting the tar beat out of them.

 

[Healeyjet]

A photo update.

Inside of the camper shell looking forward.


Ward

 

[Healeyjet]

Mounted. Now the real work can begin.
Ward

 

[adam88]

Great photos. These guys sure work fast. Looks really nice mounted.

Is it bigger than you thought it would be now that it's mounted?

 

[Healeyjet]

I had originally hoped it would be lower in overall height. When I originally planned it out the shell was 4" shorter but we added the extra height in the design process. I am 6'4" and everyone convinced me that I would like the extra height inside. I had originally wanted no roof air conditioner but the ceiling fans are 5" when stowed so the AC unit is only another 3" higher than that. In total, I would say we are 7" taller than I had originally hoped. Hopefully not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I believe we will be around 12'3" to the top of the A/C unit. Once the larger tires are on it should lower the visual centre I am thinking. The actual COG is nice an low at this point.
It will be a large camper when off-road but we plan to live in it for up to four months at a time and stay married.:bike_rider: I figure the extra height might limit the places we can go one or two times a year but the extra height will be enjoyed every day. For extended trips we will be towing our Jeep so we will be able to do our off-road excursions with that.
Ward

 

[pappawheely]

It looks very much in proportion to me. I am 6' 4" also. I got tired of hitting my head in my pop-up.

 

[Healeyjet]

Thanks Joaquin. Actually the cutouts for the rear tire are temporary until the tires are installed. We will then cut them out to their finished size. We didn't want to cut them too big for the tires. We are using the Goodyear G275 335/80r20 which should arrive next week. They are a 41.6" diameter tire. The suspension is a leveling kit air ride from Kelderman so not much lift. The camper shell was designed around a 41" tire so we are all good there. Thanks for taking the time to have a look though and keep me honest. I am sure I missed something and offering it up here for critique is a great way to find something that can be changed easier along the way.
Ward

 

[simple]

Wow! Nice work. Can you elaborate a little on the composite studs you are using in the construction? What are they and what do they do?

 

[Maninga]

I had originally hoped it would be lower in overall height. When I originally planned it out the shell was 4" shorter but we added the extra height in the design process. I am 6'4" and everyone convinced me that I would like the extra height inside.

You'll be glad for the extra interior height when living with it. I'd never given much thought to what it would feel like, we ended up with 7'3", makes it feel so much bigger inside than it really is.

Really interested to see it with larger tyres, current ones make the new body look out of proportion to the truck.

Are ITB fitting the windows?

 

[Healeyjet]

Simple, in regards to the "composite" studs.

What ITB is using is composite sheet material ripped and built up to the required thickness which I believe is 2" x 2" in our case. This is used in place of wooden studs. There are two areas where water may impact the wall stud material. There could be water intrusion into the wall from outside (which I highly doubt there will be) or water on the inside through condensation or the shower. In either of these cases wooden studs would eventually rot. The composite "studs" will not rot and will be lighter than 2x2 wooden studs. The composite material is very popular in the marine industry.

Maninga, in regards to the windows.

Yes, ITB is fitting the windows which will be the Hehr brand 6400 series.

Ward

 

[Ozrockrat]

If it were me though, I would increase the height and length of the rear tire bays in your box. That way, when you go to MTP 81's you will have the space for the larger tire to travel upwards... thus keeping your suspension height at the minimum (AKA: no re-arching springs or blocks).


My compliments of your awesome project!

I will second Jack on this one. Setting it up to clear 43" will both open up the tire selection (365/80R20 XZL for example or 11R20) if you find that either the tire availability is limited or you need more footprint/aggressive tread.

Having reworked my wheel arches twice already I know the pain involved.