STREGA
Explorer
Thanks, it was a little scary for awhile.
STREGA'S 2016 Ram 3500 cab/chassis adventure truck build
- Thread starter STREGA
- Start date
Thanks, it was a little scary for awhile.
STREGA
Explorer
Flatbed and camper step mods:
I've always wanted a truck with a flatbed. Way back in the early 60's when I was about 6 years old my grandparents from Colorado came to California to visit us on their way down to Mexico driving a Chevy with a stake side flatbed. It was love at first sight, 55 years later I finally have one.
Justafurnaceman asked who is building my flatbed, I went with AT Adventure trailers in Prescott Az. for a few reasons. First was it's AT and they are known for their quality work and the people behind that. Second is they are located convineatly to me which is a important thing. Third they were able to build what I wanted. The team @ AT were great to work with, they spent a lot of time with me. They listen and understood about what I wanted from my truck, made some good suggestions on things I hadn't thought about and we came up with a flatbed that I believe will get the job done. They made the process very easy, thanks Clint, Dave, Lauren and Martyn.
One of the great things about a cab/chassis truck is that the frame rails are straight and flat compared to a regular pickup truck frame rails which tend to curve and have a hump where they go over the rear axle. This makes building/installing a flatbed or a service body a whole lot easier. I'am not 100% sure about this but I think there is a standard dimension used by all the 3 truck manufacturers. The frame rails are 34" wide (outside to outside) which is quite a bit narrower than a regular pu frame and the rails were 9' long.
Pic showing CC frame rails.
I've always wanted a truck with a flatbed. Way back in the early 60's when I was about 6 years old my grandparents from Colorado came to California to visit us on their way down to Mexico driving a Chevy with a stake side flatbed. It was love at first sight, 55 years later I finally have one.
Justafurnaceman asked who is building my flatbed, I went with AT Adventure trailers in Prescott Az. for a few reasons. First was it's AT and they are known for their quality work and the people behind that. Second is they are located convineatly to me which is a important thing. Third they were able to build what I wanted. The team @ AT were great to work with, they spent a lot of time with me. They listen and understood about what I wanted from my truck, made some good suggestions on things I hadn't thought about and we came up with a flatbed that I believe will get the job done. They made the process very easy, thanks Clint, Dave, Lauren and Martyn.
One of the great things about a cab/chassis truck is that the frame rails are straight and flat compared to a regular pickup truck frame rails which tend to curve and have a hump where they go over the rear axle. This makes building/installing a flatbed or a service body a whole lot easier. I'am not 100% sure about this but I think there is a standard dimension used by all the 3 truck manufacturers. The frame rails are 34" wide (outside to outside) which is quite a bit narrower than a regular pu frame and the rails were 9' long.
Pic showing CC frame rails.
Last edited:
STREGA
Explorer
Camper steps:
One of the reasons we are changing up the adventure rig from the FJ Cruiser with a RTT is to get away from climbing up and down nearly 8' of a ladder. At our age, I'am almost 61 the wife is .....will just say a few years younger than me I felt we were just asking for trouble. So it was important to us that whatever we got that getting in and out of the camper be easy and safe to do, I plan on using this rig into my mid 70's if possible. The steps needed to be solid and stable, no plastic Rubbermaid steps for this job.
One of the great things about this forum is being able to see what other people are doing with their rigs which gives inspiration on ways to do things. I've been following a few threads here on flatbed/popup campers for ideas on various things. Weejeep2 has a good one and he had posted a picture of the scissor steps he was using which were Torklift Glowsteps. He said he was happy with them even if they were a bit pricey, quality usually is. Got on the Etrailer website and yep they were not giving them away but all the reviews on them were good. Looking over the different models and options (steps with options have got to be good) I came across one that was made for replacement on travel trailers, they came with a frame around them that bolted onto the trailer frame. The dimension of the frame fit (barely) inbetween the frame rails of the truck, perfect. But the question was would they be able to clear the trailer hitch when extending and retracting the steps from the stored position? Nobody knew for sure the answer, only way to find out was to order them and try it out. The guys @ AT were able to get it to work with a small modification to the stabilizer feet. They also had to move the rear frame cross member inwards about 12" or so to get the step assembly in a spot where it was out of the way for trailer towing that also pretty much gets them out of harms way.
I'am very happy with the way these steps worked out, couldn't have been better. Yes they were expensive, about $600, I cried once but well over it now. The way I look at it is the steps are way cheaper than going to the ER because one of us fell and broke a leg or hip because of a flimsy step/ladder. Another benefit of this built in step system is I don't have to find a place inside the camper to store the steps which I have had to do in the past with other campers I owned.
Here's some pics of the steps:
Stored position
Extended
One of the reasons we are changing up the adventure rig from the FJ Cruiser with a RTT is to get away from climbing up and down nearly 8' of a ladder. At our age, I'am almost 61 the wife is .....will just say a few years younger than me I felt we were just asking for trouble. So it was important to us that whatever we got that getting in and out of the camper be easy and safe to do, I plan on using this rig into my mid 70's if possible. The steps needed to be solid and stable, no plastic Rubbermaid steps for this job.
One of the great things about this forum is being able to see what other people are doing with their rigs which gives inspiration on ways to do things. I've been following a few threads here on flatbed/popup campers for ideas on various things. Weejeep2 has a good one and he had posted a picture of the scissor steps he was using which were Torklift Glowsteps. He said he was happy with them even if they were a bit pricey, quality usually is. Got on the Etrailer website and yep they were not giving them away but all the reviews on them were good. Looking over the different models and options (steps with options have got to be good) I came across one that was made for replacement on travel trailers, they came with a frame around them that bolted onto the trailer frame. The dimension of the frame fit (barely) inbetween the frame rails of the truck, perfect. But the question was would they be able to clear the trailer hitch when extending and retracting the steps from the stored position? Nobody knew for sure the answer, only way to find out was to order them and try it out. The guys @ AT were able to get it to work with a small modification to the stabilizer feet. They also had to move the rear frame cross member inwards about 12" or so to get the step assembly in a spot where it was out of the way for trailer towing that also pretty much gets them out of harms way.
I'am very happy with the way these steps worked out, couldn't have been better. Yes they were expensive, about $600, I cried once but well over it now. The way I look at it is the steps are way cheaper than going to the ER because one of us fell and broke a leg or hip because of a flimsy step/ladder. Another benefit of this built in step system is I don't have to find a place inside the camper to store the steps which I have had to do in the past with other campers I owned.
Here's some pics of the steps:
Stored position
Extended
STREGA
Explorer
For 2016 this is all the mods that will get done, hopefully will be able to get most everything else done in 2017 at least all the big things. I will post up here whenever something new gets done with new weights of the truck as well.
The list of projects to get done and probable order they get done:
1. The storage box between cab and future camper. Still figuring out what to do here, should It be a tunnel box, only a box on one side and other side left open or no box at all? Some of the items that will occupy that space will be the spare tire since it will not fit under the flatbed, 2 or 3 Rotopax 3 gal fuel cans, 2 20 or 30 lb propane tanks, propane campfire, Hi lift jack, floor jack and a few other items. The approximate size of space available is 80"w x 30"l x38"h so a decent amount of room for listed items. One of the ways I'am thinking of carrying these items is a rack kinda like how they do it on off road racing trucks.
2. Slider/steps, this may get done next actually the wife struggles a bit getting into the cab.
3. The storage boxes under the flatbed.
4. Get the camper installed.
The list of projects to get done and probable order they get done:
1. The storage box between cab and future camper. Still figuring out what to do here, should It be a tunnel box, only a box on one side and other side left open or no box at all? Some of the items that will occupy that space will be the spare tire since it will not fit under the flatbed, 2 or 3 Rotopax 3 gal fuel cans, 2 20 or 30 lb propane tanks, propane campfire, Hi lift jack, floor jack and a few other items. The approximate size of space available is 80"w x 30"l x38"h so a decent amount of room for listed items. One of the ways I'am thinking of carrying these items is a rack kinda like how they do it on off road racing trucks.
2. Slider/steps, this may get done next actually the wife struggles a bit getting into the cab.
3. The storage boxes under the flatbed.
4. Get the camper installed.
STREGA
Explorer
I also need to update the new weight of the truck with the flatbed and steps installed.
GVW = 6,780 lbs.
Steer axle = 3,960 lbs.
Drive axle = 2,820 lbs.
GVWR = 10,000 lbs.
Exactly 500 lbs for the flatbed and steps together. The best I could tell is the steps weighed about 60 lbs, the flatbed with hardware, lights and other stuff was 440 lbs. So far all the weight has gone onto the drive axle. Still have 3,220 lbs. to play with.
GVW = 6,780 lbs.
Steer axle = 3,960 lbs.
Drive axle = 2,820 lbs.
GVWR = 10,000 lbs.
Exactly 500 lbs for the flatbed and steps together. The best I could tell is the steps weighed about 60 lbs, the flatbed with hardware, lights and other stuff was 440 lbs. So far all the weight has gone onto the drive axle. Still have 3,220 lbs. to play with.
STREGA
Explorer
Wow:Wow1:nice flatdeck! I cant wait to see the camper you put on it...
Nothing special for camper. Our planned popup camper is a FWC Hawk slide in shell model to help keep cost down. I would of liked to have a flatbed model FWC Hawk but they don't offer a shell version and they start out at $25K which did not fit in our budget for this project.
WeeJeep2
Adventurer
Nice looking truck. You'll like having the stairs in place and just having to pull them out. On our side entry flatbed it really wasn't an option.
Any reason you didn't put a head ache rack on the front of the flatbed? Seems like it would be the perfect place to U-bolt the spare standing vertically when you don't have a camper on it. Or something to secure the future tunnel box to and give you the option to have that removable too.
I can admit to admiring the AEV Prospector and flatbed at OVX in 2015, the year prior to my build. It played a big part in configuring my truck the way I did.
Any reason you didn't put a head ache rack on the front of the flatbed? Seems like it would be the perfect place to U-bolt the spare standing vertically when you don't have a camper on it. Or something to secure the future tunnel box to and give you the option to have that removable too.
I can admit to admiring the AEV Prospector and flatbed at OVX in 2015, the year prior to my build. It played a big part in configuring my truck the way I did.
STREGA
Explorer
Thanks WeeJeep. After having other campers in the past and dealing with steps and where to put them I really wanted to get it right this time around. Your thread help me find those steps, thanks again.
I still have the option of putting a headache rack on the flatbed, not really needed if I go with a tunnel box and would just take up room and add to the cost of the build. If I go with a rack to hold all the gear and spare tire will probably add the headache rack.
STREGA
Explorer
Stefan, I had checked out their website a year or so ago and do not remember seeing any info about flatbed pop ups. I went to it today to see what they might have and sure enough there is a flatbed shell option available now. There is not a lot of info on their website about the flatbed model and there was only one picture of a flatbed popup. Their website is a little lacking but so is FWC's IMHO.
What I did see I kinda liked, enough to go ahead and give them a call to get some more info. Talked to Jeff @ ATC and came away feeling their camper might be the one to get. One of the reasons they don't have a lot of info on the website for the flatbed popup is that they are all custom made which is perfect for me. Jeff asked me a few questions on what I wanted like how tall I needed the interior to be and if I wanted the entry door on the side or the rear, I need a rear door, an option not available with FWC.
Length of the body is customizable as well, most companies offer a 6.5' or 8' body length I can get one 7' long which will leave me 2' for a storage box in front of the camper since my bed is 9' long. Width of the body can be whatever I need as well. They seemed willing to build what I want in my camper. There pricing is pretty reasonable as well compared to the competition. I also spent some time today over at Wander the West to see what other people had to say about ATC and a lot of good things were said about the quality of the campers and their customer service.
A couple downsides came up though. They are 6 months out on delivery time and although they will deliver their slide in campers they cannot deliver a flatbed camper. The truck has to come to the factory which would be a minimum 3 day trip, getting 3 days off in a row from work is tough to do. Neither are insurmountable problems. That was one of the reasons I was looking at the FWC's so hard is that I could get one through Adventure Trailers which is a 2 hour drive from home. Convient but I'am not getting want I really want either, I could live with it but why do that if I can get what I want. I won't have vacation time until December 2017, that will make for a looong year but probably worth the wait.
Anyway thanks Stefan for getting me off my duff and checking out ATC again this maybe the answer to my camper delima.
Doug.
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