Trestle 2022 Ram 3500 Cab/Chassis Build Thread

[Trestle]

Next step adding stairs.

Option A was to find some premade and pick them up in the Valley, but none were at the 10' height needed. They either under or over shot at 8' or 12'.

Option B was to use a kit that consisted of steel support beams and wood steps/risers. It would have been in the $2k range without the 2 x 6 lumber.

Option C was to buy the metal and build it myself. Including the 60 amp plasma cutter the total for materials was $1650ish...and like the pallet stacker situation, I get another useful tool that I've been wanting anyway.

Cutting sheet goods by hand using a guide for the steps and risers. 16 7.5" tall risers, 15 10" deep steps at up 3x full 4' x 8' sheets of diamond plate:


Chopping steps and risers to width using an Evolution metal cold chop saw:


A bit (ok lots) of grinding to remove the dross (from plasma cutting) and some mill scale to prep for welding is required. It makes a bit of dust and a mess, but more takes up a lot of time.

Tacking in the first step and riser at the top:


5 steps in by my first night. Hope to get the rest of the stairs and risers in by this weekend unless we opt to go on a trip:

Has a bit of an issue getting that last riser in, so need to go back and adjust the trim width. You can see a small amount of bend where it is not perfectly strait.

The risers (top and bottom) reinforce and stiffen up the treads...and vice versa. Beams are C channel, 8 x 11lbs, diamond plate is 1/8". Treads boxed by the risers on each end have no deflection at all.

No, I am not a professional welder, but there will be so much bead when done that this thing will be overkill for its task. It would hold together fine with the stitch welding alone. V-notch welding uphill for penetration leaves a fair amount of crown to the weld due to it sagging under gravity. Welding down give a flatter, more attractive weld, but usually provides less penetration. I've been experimenting with both. I think going forward I'll weld down, then reinforce from the back side to ensure adequate strength. It's only time/wire/gas/electricity right?

The plan is to finish weld and clean up the stairs, then add railing to the stairs and deck. The pallet stacker reaches to 11 feet, and the deck height is 10 feet. We'll put a movable rail in the center front of the deck to lift items up onto the deck, or move them down.

More updates to follow on other things we've been doing over the past 6 months...

 

[Trestle]

Hurricane, UT

Spent a week remote working while traveling to Gooseberry Mesa to do a bit of MTB and get away in mid-April.

Just before the trip we ended up fostering this Australian Cattle Dog that washed up in the neighborhood as a stray. About 4 days until my wife could coax and catch her. No tag, no chip, no response to putting the word out in many places, and now (then, we found a great home for her) we're looking for someone to adopt her. The household has been without a dog since we lost our Aussie, so this was a good test to see if we were ready yet. Unfortunately short haired dogs set off asthma with my wife if in small quarters, so we cannot keep her. Not like we spend much time in small spaces like a truck camper or anything.


So we set out night 1, dog in tow, and bed over just north of Page, AZ in an area we frequent during these types of trips. Not a bad place to work for the day until we can pack up and do the rest of the trip the next night.


The next day we find a spot after quite a but of searching. Lots of people camping on Gooseberry Mesa, but it was mid week so we could find a better spot in the AM.

We end up finding this choice spot and park about 12 feet from a cliff drop. Lots of wheel chocking with large rocks, leaving the truck in 4 low, and the e-brake...the wife's anxiety slowly dissipated from being worried about an earthquake or something unknown. Heavy winds kept the no-see-ums at bay at times, but was a little taxing. When the wind died down the bugs came out. It was a bit of a song and dance each day, but overall not too bad.

We were about 8 feet from the MTB/Hiking trail, so getting out each night after work was easy and quite scenic as the trail contoured the edge whether we went in one direction or the other. People on bikes stopped by to check out the rig and the camp sight. Not sure which was more popular, but a lot of rigs rolled up in search and turned around in disappointment. We could not find a better site despite the intermittent traffic, and bug/wind thing.


Clearly this dog has boundary issues and does not like company at all. I think this was day 3 or 4 with her.


After about a week or so, we rolled back and did the reverse trip stopping at the same area North of Page, then back home. It was a nice break, but never seems long enough. We had to get back because we had another surprise in store with an actual date not he calendar.

 

[Trestle]

Eli, code name Havoc enters the scene

Upon return from our trip from Utah, we picked up Eli as he was weened and of age for a new home. We've owned multiple breeds, and this is the first time we stayed with the same breed on our next dog. I guess we're Aussie people. We actually had two Aussies in the house for a few weeks. The stray Australian Cattle Dog we fostered for about a month, and our new Australian Shepherd. The wife doesn't have issues with longer haired dogs triggering her asthma, or else we may have ended up keeping Juno and never meeting Eli.

For now this little guy, with big paws, sharp teeth, and a penchant for water (more so that the Golden Retriever we had) is ruling the roost. Just under two weeks until his shots take effect and we can start to walk him in public areas, expose him to other dogs, and people. That will improve our social life, and give him the necessary socialization he needs to get along in the world.

As puppies do prior to waking up and attacking:


Help with the dishes:


Studying:


Whatever you're doing, he wants to be a part of it no matter what. It's been about 15 years since we had a puppy, and we forgot about all of the challenges that you work though but things come back real quick.

 

[Trestle]

Memorial Day Week Trip - Eli goes camping for the first time.

Most of our travels are where we work during the day, remotely tied in via Starlink. This trip was a full week off from work, actual vacation time. I do not bring my work stuff with me when on PTO, I mean what's the point you may as well stay home and work at that point.

We proceeded towards Bishop, CA, by way of Nevada. A quick departure after work on Friday necessitated an overnight along the way between Vegas and Pahrump after temps cooled down, followed by a detour through Death Valley the next day. Steep winding downs and ups are where this truck shines. The engine brake is like cruise control on the downhills, and for real steep sections you just pair that with the tow/haul button on for more aggressive down shifting. Monitoring the engine specifically the transmission and coolant temps, there was barely any rise on any of the climbs. I think the transmission hit 165f as its highest temp (it usually sits at 163f) throwing a 8-9 percent grade at it with lots of winding to prevent maintaining any momentum. Clearly plenty of air making its way through the bumper into the various radiators that cool the transmission, coolant, steering, and intercooler. We chose the LP-6s up front for a little less blockage due to their smaller size than the LP-9s, but I don't think it would have mattered. This truck just doesn't seem to care.

Topped out on the West side of Death Valley we pulled off down a dirt road to make lunch. There were tons of Joshua Trees along the trip to see. You can see the Sierra Nevadas off in the distance.


A short walk from where we parked was an abandoned mine shaft. Not paying attention one could have easily walked into an open hole, especially at night...so be careful out there pard'ners. My approach was from the opposite side that this picture was taken. I do not like mines, so I don't explore past the entrance. Would not have made a good tunnel rat in Vietnam I guess.


I am often disappointed on how much trash we see at camp sites, and we often pick some up if we have room in the trash-a-roo. It is clearly not a new trend because all of these cans were old school from a bygone era. Now we just have more people doing it so things get trashed much quicker these days.


After lunch we ventured over the mountain and descended down to Lone Pine before turning North along 395 toward Big Pine. Probably the worst time of the year to do so, we made an attempt to find camping in Alabama Hills. Such an amazing place, but it was so busy. We ended up finding a spot to the North after poking around for a bit on some of the decomposed granite trails.

Keeping Eli in the shade as it was on the warm side:


Enjoying the end of the day:


Waking up to quite a view at our feet:


A full view that morning, such a scenic area:


We rolled North toward Bishop the next morning with a plan to return sometime later in the week when it was less crowded. It is amazing that the highest point on the continental US is within view here, and less than 100 miles ago we were near the lowest spot in North America. Such insane topographic relief in such a small distance.

 

[Trestle]

East of Big Pine, HWY 168 winds it way up a steep grade, then diverting North up White Mountain Road we climb to around 10k feet. We stopped at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Visitor Center. Since Eli is not up to snuff on shots at this point, he stayed in the camper while we did the short 1 mile hike to check out some of the oldest trees in the world. We wanted to do the longer 4.5 mile loop to see Methuselah Tree, but he was howling like the moon this we wanted to keep it short. The oldest if the trees in this area is estimated to be 4700 years old. Gnarled and tortured the hard life these trees endure is what allows them to live as long as they do. We snap a few pics of some of the more scenic before rounding the short loop back to the camper to search for a site that night.

Close up of the bristlecone pine.


A few shots of some of the more impressive trees which have since died, some with a nice view of the Sierras in the background.


Camp was a good 1500 or so feet lower with a distant view of the Sierras. Not a bad place for the night.

Eli surveys the site from his perch, eventually giving his approval.


Nestled in and awaiting a sunset.


The next day we made our way West back toward Big Pine, then North through Bishop to resupply. Then North to a lake between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes (Rock Creek Lake). No pics, but tons of video of Eli playing in an alpine lake. He took to water immediately. Much faster than the golden retrieve we had some time ago. An overnight in one of the campgrounds and exploring before heading North toward Mammoth Lakes area.

Lots of exploring, but everything is on lockdown when it comes to off grid camping. Staying in a traditional campground is problematic when we cannot spend much time in heavily travelled areas due to the shot thing. The biggest risk being Parvo at this point in his life. So we found an area across the highway South and East of Mammoth Lakes. Many new pinstripes on the camper, we nestled into a site all to ourselves with views of two different ranges and proving a 270 degree view.

Mammoth Lakes is to the right of what is seen in this photo.


After a few days we worked our way back home. About 100 miles or so away from home we stopped and fueled up for the first time since Pahrump, NV where we topped off tanks before going into California. The point of all the extra range of a diesel combined with 74 gallons fuel capacity is for situations such as this. Fueling up when Diesel is $3.39 per gallon instead of when it is $6.00 or so. Being able to Bridge the gap if say you are in Mexico and ULSD is not as readily available at every fuel stop or in smaller towns. Range anxiety is less of a thing, especially when going into the back country. Also the plan to have a diesel air and water heating setup with the next camper will eliminate the need for propane for those same uses...unless we want one for the portable fire pit. You get the idea.

Here are the fuel results for this trip. Keep in mind that we spent time in 4 low, were repeatedly either climbing or descending steep grades between below sea level and over 10k feet, mixed in with some highway along the way. When fully topped off with fuel and water we're sitting around an estimated 12.8k, and shaped like a low brick on 37's with no re-gear (not that we feel the need for one).


Overall it was good to get away from work for a bit, but would have been better if we could have explored more (puppy pre-final shots restrictions) or had timed some of the locations better (crowding or temps). We never did return to Alabama Hills as it was in the 90's on our way back. Thus we climbed to toward the bristlecone forest and its more comfortable mountain air.

 

[Trestle]

Not done, but progress...

Between Juno the stray and Eli the destroyer we've built up a little damage to the lower screen in the camper. I'll replace it, but what's the point without protection from further harm. $15 worth of aluminum grill screen on Amazon and very little work ended up with a tidy solution:


Stairs are stitch welded, hand rail added, and removable opening on the platform in place. Still need to fill in the gaps in the rails, but at least structure is in place. On a trip the next two weeks, so a fresh tank of C25 and some quality time with both the grinder/welder is in order upon return.

The pallet lifter raises about 1' higher than the 10' platform so the center sections opens up to allow lifting or lowering items as needed.


Also put some matte finish poly on the floor for now until we decide if we like the rustic look or want a different surface. Maybe we just leave it as is and not worry about the mezzanine floor in a warehouse/workshop. Better things to do are piling up at this point.

Northward bound to our old stomping grounds to visit some friends and old places.