My Dodge Dakota, the "Comvee"
- Thread starter Nick02
- Start date
Nick02
Member
Bump from the dead! Major EXPO work ahead! hehehe!
The new rims and tires made an unreal difference, 80+ on the highway now and "normal" handling characteristics are back. I have been using the truck for more expedition type stuff now with the camper shell, but it is a bit too top heavy with the campershell. I really want an RTT or wildernest but I keep visualizing flopping over again lol!
The truck has been sitting badly, the frame has bent to the point that the bed contacts the bed so I pulled the bed off and found some major frame damage.
Exceeded the limits of a stock 2wd dodge Dakota rear frame lol!
So the frame will be chopped in half and re-made.
I want to do something different with the back of the truck, something that has never been done before, I want an light RV like camper with lots of room, low COG and fast setup. I settled on a Coleman Colorado, it is lightweight, small, easy to setup and offers alot of room. The Colorado trailer is also roughly the same dimensions of the stock Dodge Dakota bed, it is a perfect fit. I have been looking for a Coleman Colorado for a few months and finally found one, it is in poor shape but new canvas can be had for a reasonable amount. I have to incorporate fenders and design a mounting system with an incorporated linear slide necessary to access the front door. This is going to be one hell of a project!
The new rims and tires made an unreal difference, 80+ on the highway now and "normal" handling characteristics are back. I have been using the truck for more expedition type stuff now with the camper shell, but it is a bit too top heavy with the campershell. I really want an RTT or wildernest but I keep visualizing flopping over again lol!
The truck has been sitting badly, the frame has bent to the point that the bed contacts the bed so I pulled the bed off and found some major frame damage.
Exceeded the limits of a stock 2wd dodge Dakota rear frame lol!
So the frame will be chopped in half and re-made.
I want to do something different with the back of the truck, something that has never been done before, I want an light RV like camper with lots of room, low COG and fast setup. I settled on a Coleman Colorado, it is lightweight, small, easy to setup and offers alot of room. The Colorado trailer is also roughly the same dimensions of the stock Dodge Dakota bed, it is a perfect fit. I have been looking for a Coleman Colorado for a few months and finally found one, it is in poor shape but new canvas can be had for a reasonable amount. I have to incorporate fenders and design a mounting system with an incorporated linear slide necessary to access the front door. This is going to be one hell of a project!
I love your Dak and the fact that you have pressed on with what you had and made a very respectable off-road rig. Well done. You know, fancy paint jobs are certainly nice, but the desert pin striping, rock-rash, multi-colored (from body bang fixes) tells me you are a get-out-and-do-it guy and I respect that much more than the pretty mall-crawl mentality. Welcome to the forum.
You, sir, are a steely-eyed missile man. I watched many a Thornberry episode when my daughters were young. I admire the McGivers of the world that can transform an idea into reality. I don't have skillz but am looking forward to the purchase of my first 4WD and getting off the beaten path. Never too late to start -- I hope. Your build is a delight to read about
Nick02
Member
A quick MS paint "photoshop" for fun of another members Colorado on the back of the dakota for reference...
The camper is starting to take shape!
Also dropped some coin,got the canvas and road cover ordered, color TAN! yay!
Here is the frame slider design so far, 8 bearings on each corner will allow the entire bed to slide out 3' for door and entry ramp access , this is a similar design that RV sliders use.
I am building the trailer with its own 2" sq tube 14ga frame which will sit atop the Dakotas new 6x2 1/8" boxed frame on a suspended subframe made from 1.75" 1/8" wall tube that will allow a linear sliding motion. The sub-frame will articulate separate of the Dakota frame to prevent binding, the pivot mechanism will be a copy of my unimogs box pivot, just on a smaller scale.
The camper is starting to take shape!
Also dropped some coin,got the canvas and road cover ordered, color TAN! yay!
Here is the frame slider design so far, 8 bearings on each corner will allow the entire bed to slide out 3' for door and entry ramp access , this is a similar design that RV sliders use.
I am building the trailer with its own 2" sq tube 14ga frame which will sit atop the Dakotas new 6x2 1/8" boxed frame on a suspended subframe made from 1.75" 1/8" wall tube that will allow a linear sliding motion. The sub-frame will articulate separate of the Dakota frame to prevent binding, the pivot mechanism will be a copy of my unimogs box pivot, just on a smaller scale.
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Nick02
Member
Got the frame on, it is made of 1/8" thick 2x6" rectangle butt welded and plated with fishplate to the rest of the frame. I also waterjet holes in the frame itself for shackles.
Got the new rear shackles on, I cut up my old ones and used scrap for the rest, I am pretty happy with them. I Installed the battery and a couple other things, she fired up and went to work!
Got the new rear shackles on, I cut up my old ones and used scrap for the rest, I am pretty happy with them. I Installed the battery and a couple other things, she fired up and went to work!
Thunderbear
New member
Haha, your truck's bigger cousin lives in Alaska:
Dusty has chopped his Ram much in the way you have chopped your Dak!
Dusty has chopped his Ram much in the way you have chopped your Dak!
Awesome Build ! Is there any way to get the pictures in the beginning of the thread to work again ? Some of them are still here but most are not ... I have been following this truck for a while and would like to start reading again from the beginning and see the progress taking shape ...Thank you ..
Nick02
Member
I will work on getting the old photos up, they are on my old computer collecting dust somewhere.
I started work on the camper, got the pivoting bed made, it is a copy of the Unimogs three point bed mount system.
I dropped it down 2" to keep the camper lower.
Linear slide and skinning the camper this week, if I get it done in time I can bring it to SEMA!
I started work on the camper, got the pivoting bed made, it is a copy of the Unimogs three point bed mount system.
I dropped it down 2" to keep the camper lower.
Linear slide and skinning the camper this week, if I get it done in time I can bring it to SEMA!
Wh1t3nukle
I gotz dis
Nice work! I've followed your build for the SAS way back on another forum. Nice to see the progress still going and in this flavor.
i'm not familiar with the unimog 3-pt system and the design from the picture you posted looks interesting. I understand the goal to mitigate bind considering the weight you'd want to carry for a trip. As a structures guy, it's always an opportunity to see what a designer comes up with. Correct my interpretation here, but I'm making the analogy that the subframe is to a sway bar. Street driving it will be locked out. On the trail, you'll disconnect or have some method to control the subframe.
Looking forward to your unveiling!
i'm not familiar with the unimog 3-pt system and the design from the picture you posted looks interesting. I understand the goal to mitigate bind considering the weight you'd want to carry for a trip. As a structures guy, it's always an opportunity to see what a designer comes up with. Correct my interpretation here, but I'm making the analogy that the subframe is to a sway bar. Street driving it will be locked out. On the trail, you'll disconnect or have some method to control the subframe.
Looking forward to your unveiling!