Party Rated: Our Ram 5500 budget build

akhummer

Member
View attachment 557203
Also mocked up front mounts. They have since been attached.

I had some trouble locating bushings that work for these mounts, which are from the front spring mounts on an F450. But I got there in the end, with the help of some local diesel shops. It's good to be near a large city.
I'm curious about your mounts being attached directly to the frame without a sub-frame. Doesn't this concentrate much of the load to a single point along the frame that can lead to failure? Have you checked out Ram Builder website info? Lots of good info there about how to mount truck bodies. I'm looking for ideas for my build too and looking forward to seeing your project come together. Good luck.
 

dentedvw

Wire twister
There's a subframe. Here we are building it today. It's a typical three point mount system. It's 3/16th wall. The mounts are on the frame, and the subframe sits on that, the box on top of that.
I didn't get pics of the truck with the subframe on it, we worked until it was dark. Supposed to get a lot of snow tomorrow, so I may not get any tomorrow either. I'll try again tomorrow.

drillingholes1small.jpg

timweldingtubesmall.jpg
 

dentedvw

Wire twister
A little progress.
subframe welded and placed. Some fasteners to install still. Some of the rear mount to trim off. FWIW, those are Ford F450 brackets. About FIFTY bucks at the dealer. Not bad!

subframe1small.jpg

bumperinstalledsmall.jpg
Bumper first install. Had to modify the mounts a fair bit, they were for a Ram 2500/3500. It's not quite cartoon hero chin, but a little bit. Still, I like it a LOT better than many available. Also, nearly nobody makes one to fit the Ram 5500, so I compromised and found a shipping damaged bumper that needed only a little repair and modification of the mount bracket. Will need to find something to plug the parking sensor holes, too. Small stuff.
Really appreciated my Father in Law's help the last few days. He's a talented welder, so it was good to have him here showing me some things and evaluating the welds I've done so far.
We assembled the subframe with one of those cheap china HITBOX TIG welders, from Amazon. He was absolutely amazed at what it was capable of. I was too, for sure. A highly recommend. The wires are maybe not as long as they could be, and the power cable is low quality and very stiff in the cold. It's sheath failed in a tight bend, but it was in the twenties. I can easily replace it with a better SJO or similar cable, something far more flexible. The welding leads could be a bit longer too, but we made do.
 

Fatboyz

Observer
it's -41 here today, and has been/will be -35+ since the weekend, and into next weekend so my "working on the driveway has ceased. Did you do your cut out fender flares yourself? That's on my list closer to spring when I can work outside again.
 

lbarcher

Adventurer
it's -41 here today, and has been/will be -35+ since the weekend, and into next weekend so my "working on the driveway has ceased. Did you do your cut out fender flares yourself? That's on my list closer to spring when I can work outside again.
But above zero for Monday! Outdoor work weather.
 

dentedvw

Wire twister
Since it's a 5500, they are either already larger, or it just looks larger. The AEV flares are definitely going to require cutting. We'll see how it goes when the time comes, which will probably be late spring/early summer. Meantime, we'll be rocking the low traction dually. The wheels and tires are on order, but they come when they come, it seems.
Temps were varying, since it's Northern Utah it could be 20 or it could be near 50. It snowed a lot briefly, then melted again. We had some pretty good ski days, but I opted to skip since I had qualified welding help and an itch to make some noticeable progress.
Speaking of which, I took a break from heavy steel work and had a whack at some cabinet work.
This build jumps around, in no clear order either because I am ADHD, or because I am a creative mind. Possibly both.
cabinetframe1small.jpg
Pardon my mess. The cabinet frame needs a few legs in the front still, but a test fit was in order. Yup, these are Ikea cabinets. Heavy, but versatile and relatively robust.

fridgeslide1small.jpg
By this time it was getting dark, and so the photo is a little blurry. But, the fridge slide is functional, so that's nice! Planning to add some caster wheels to the front so that can also double as another seat, since it's across from the couch it will make it seem almost like a dining area. We're reusing the Whynter fridge from our van because it's worked well for us so far. Drawer will have a cabinet face attached to it when the time comes. Unfortunately, the sink we chose is too deep to use above the fridge, so it will be moved to the other end of the kitchen. No big deal, it makes more space to set groceries, random gear, etc when we come in the door.
 

Sixinarow

Adventurer
Nice progress. I've been looking at 2013+ 5500 Laramie crew cabs.

What are you using for the rear pivot? I think you said F450 brackets?
 

akhummer

Member
There's a subframe. Here we are building it today. It's a typical three point mount system. It's 3/16th wall. The mounts are on the frame, and the subframe sits on that, the box on top of that.
I didn't get pics of the truck with the subframe on it, we worked until it was dark. Supposed to get a lot of snow tomorrow, so I may not get any tomorrow either. I'll try again tomorrow.

Ok, I was under the impression that the brackets themselves concentrated too much force to a single point on the truck frame vs. spreading it out along the entire surface similar to how a flatbed is mounted.

I'm getting ready to purchase a 5500 as well and am very interested in how your build is progressing. Appreciate the pics, looks like you've got some good fabrication skills.
 

Euler

New member
Not sure if I missed it somewhere, but did you go with the Pirelli Pista tires? I was looking at them as well, and I can’t really find any good info on them. I’m curious if you bought them and if you have any thoughts on them.
 

redruby

Member
I’m planning on doing the same thing using a dodge 5500 with 120” cab to axle, I can put a 16’ box with a sub floor on it going to be built out of 2x3 aluminum with 3” of insulation, the same stuff they used for walk in freezers , will have a full shower,kitchen, composing toilet, stove, heater, and hot water will all run of diesel, solar panels on roof about 400-600 watts with an inverter, 50 gal fresh water tank placement still unknown as is the gray water tank. Will use it for the time being as a dually and convert to singles at a later date. Any advice that you or anybody else has to offer is greatly appreciated
 

Sixinarow

Adventurer
I’m planning on doing the same thing using a dodge 5500 with 120” cab to axle, I can put a 16’ box with a sub floor on it going to be built out of 2x3 aluminum with 3” of insulation, the same stuff they used for walk in freezers , will have a full shower,kitchen, composing toilet, stove, heater, and hot water will all run of diesel, solar panels on roof about 400-600 watts with an inverter, 50 gal fresh water tank placement still unknown as is the gray water tank. Will use it for the time being as a dually and convert to singles at a later date. Any advice that you or anybody else has to offer is greatly appreciated

10 feet cab to axle? Regular cab? I've been looking at some trucks and the crew cab is 60" or 84" CA.
 

DzlToy

Explorer
5/4 ton trucks in RCLB are optioned for longer than normal beds for customers wanting to use that chassis for roll backs or the like. You won't see that WB or CA on a 2500 or 3500 truck.
 

dentedvw

Wire twister
So here we are a few years later. Been on a few trips in the truck this year.
Wife was diagnosed with cancer only a few months after my last update, and the truck wasn't ready to travel yet so we bought a Tiger. She wasn't ready to stop doing things when possible, and wanted a place to throw up and sleep cozy while we travel around. I considered giving up on the camper project altogether, but eventually I found the will to keep going. Traveling in the Tiger gave us some perspective and resolve to get more room and a bit more capability.
This summer I finished it enough to take it to California for a week, and since then Moab and a few other small trips. It's flipping fantastic, but far from "done".
Tiger is now for sale.
 

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