Trucks with well over 4000# payload...

[WindFromTheWest]

Rear doors tend to collect the most dirt/mud/... but do allow easy access to everything in a "galley kitchen cabinet" setup, especially with an 8' width on a DRW. (I know you are feeling pressed for time regarding obtaining a DRW.) Use a flip-down shower stall that hides a swing-out composting toilet (with buckets you can swap out hung on the back of the rig).

A bobbed back allows for a good departure angle. Moving the door to the side does change access to cabinets. Consider two side doors opposite of each other just in front of the bobbed back. Use the entire back for storage of lighter item all the way to the ceiling, or, put your kitchen there with a window or two and a vent fan. Enjoy the open space. Have screen doors so you can open both side doors and have a nice cross ventilation in pleasant weather.

Oh sorry, the door is on the passenger side, just as far back as possible, so the whole angled part (the bobbed back) is storage for my clothes and shoes, and one, maybe two 20lb propane tanks. I don't have any fancy SketchUp drawings like most folks have, I have a hand drawn blueprint somewhere but its mostly just in my head because that's how I'm used to fabricating things

 

[rruff]

It is 100% my plan to make the camper right on the frame rails with wheel wells built into the floor, any advantage I can get in keeping my center of gravity low, I will take. I also considered long skinny storage hidden in the floor between the wheels for fishing rods/rifles etc.

Remember what I said about headroom in your cabover berth. Might be good to see what you want there first. You may find that a higher floor makes more sense (as I did). It doesn't necessarily mean your CG is higher since you can put a lot of heavy stuff (water, batteries, etc) under the floor, though you'll want to keep them in your insulated space if you camp in the cold.

I don't know if Ram has this readily available, but Ford has "body builder guides" online with detailed dimensions. It can let you get a good start on the camper before you actually get the truck.

Are you building the camper yourself or having it built?

 

[WindFromTheWest]

Are you building the camper yourself or having it built?

Building it myself, I will look into the body builder guides!

 

[1000arms]

Building it myself, I will look into the body builder guides!

Scroll down to the Body Builder Layout Book:

https://fordbbas.com/publications

 

[1000arms]

... I don't have any fancy SketchUp drawings like most folks have ...

Bah! ... Do it right! ... Sketch it out on a flattened greasy donut box with a lumber crayon!

 

[chet6.7]

Home | Dodge Body Builder's Guide

Dodge Body Builder's Guide

www.rambodybuilder.com

 

[WindFromTheWest]

Bah! ... Do it right! ... Sketch it out on a flattened greasy donut box with a lumber crayon!

I used to run an aluminum fab shop and the amount of times I have been given drawings on the back of napkins or receipts is too damn high!

 

[1000arms]

Bah! ... Do it right! ... Sketch it out on a flattened greasy donut box with a lumber crayon!

I used to run an aluminum fab shop and the amount of times I have been given drawings on the back of napkins or receipts is too damn high!

"Look, I prefer sketches on graph paper, and I've tried to accommodate you by accepting sketches on napkins and receipts, but, I've got to put my foot down. Absolutely no more napkin sketches from when you were eating at the All You Can Shovel Buffet. I need to be able to read the sketch, and I just don't want to see what you ate."

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I think a fixed-wall hard-sided camper is a very good choice for what you want. I will, however, include 3 links with photographs of hard-walled popup non-cabover Alaskan Campers that might give you ideas/solutions for a popup camper. The Alaskan Campers have lifting mechanisms on the interior.

An Ultimate Alaskan Camper Rig

Carl Isner went all out designing his new off-road ready Alaskan and Ram 5500.

www.truckcampermagazine.com

Pretty sure there was a build thread on here for that truck.

Found it:

Alaskan Camper Build Up

Hi folks, I'm a refugee from the Expedition Camper forum who has been forcibly transferred over to this forum...Just joking! I had a thread going on over there that was about the build up of my new camper. I will bring over pertinent parts of the thread to bring you up to date and look forward...

expeditionportal.com

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Great thread, lots of info. I'll add just a note from my perspective. If you go F450/F550 or Ram 4500/5500, the main advantage is the TURNING RADIUS that wide front axle gives you. This is not a trivial advantage. Go drive one and you will see. Flipping around on remote forest roads or in tight canyons is hard. 2nd advantage is the tougher running gear, and at camper weights, and you want it. Fact is you may end up be de-rating the springs or mitigating it somehow (Kelderman, spring packs, Sulastic spring etc) especially if you remove the camper at all to do truck stuff, whereas with a 1 ton you will be accentuating it (airbags, helper springs) so that's a wash. A drawback is if you want to avoid dual rears, you have to do super singles at a cost of $6k minimum. Then you are tied to huge tires like MPT81 or you lose payload with 37 inch Mickey Thompsons etc. You also have longer bed lengths available with 84"c/a. But that kills breakover and gives you a longer truck. Alas, it's all compromises.

If going flat-deck, the primary advantage of a tapered rear on your camper has nothing to do with departure angle, it's simply to squeeze a larger floorplan from a smaller footprint. Ei you can have a 10 foot camper on a 8 foot bed. Departure angle is limited by your bumper/hitch and any other below deck stuff. I've yet to see a duck ass camper whose departure angle advantage isn't completely defeated other stuff below the deck. Also note your read camper jack points have to be higher with those designs. I think flatbed designs are the way to go, but remember there are ZERO off the shelf campers available in flat-deck config, so custom or self built, and the attendant 1 to 4 year build lead or build process, rears its head. Just some food for thought.

So my plan is thus: get an interim "imperfect" camper for my flatbed that I can use for a year or two while my custom camper is being fleshed out. Shouldn't lose too much cash when I sell it AND I get to go camping THIS YEAR. Well that's the theory anyway.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Oh also, I thought you were all smoking crack on all of these 1 ton payload capacities a until I followed your links. AMAZING what they are doing with 1 tons nowadays. Just wish they used the wide track front axles in that range.

 

[WindFromTheWest]

but remember there are ZERO off the shelf campers available in flat-deck config, so custom or self built, and the attendant 1 to 4 year build lead or build process, rears its head. Just some food for thought.

• Four Wheel Campers
• Alaskan
• Bahn Camperworks
• Hallmark RV
• Nimbl
• Bison Overland
• Overland Explorer

All offer flat deck configurations, among many other companies I'm sure. But I am still going to build my own aluminum and composite panel camper, doesn't take anywhere near a year before it is usable, just because it won't have pretty cabinets or all the lighting installed etc doesn't mean I cant be out making the most of it

 

[DirtWhiskey]

• Four Wheel Campers
• Alaskan
• Bahn Camperworks
• Hallmark RV
• Nimbl
• Bison Overland
• Overland Explorer

All offer flat deck configurations, among many other companies I'm sure. But I am still going to build my own aluminum and composite panel camper, doesn't take anywhere near a year before it is usable, just because it won't have pretty cabinets or all the lighting installed etc doesn't mean I cant be out making the most of it

Yep. And none of them are off the shelf. They are all built to order and mostly custom. Believe me. I've talked to all of them. Shortest lead time is 12 months at Bundutec. Great on you for tackling the build! My intimate knowledge of my abilities/proclivities says it would take me half a decade to build something.

 

[Tex68w]

Yep. And none of them are off the shelf. They are all built to order and mostly custom. Believe me. I've talked to all of them. Shortest lead time is 12 months at Bundutec. Great on you for tackling the build! My intimate knowledge of my abilities/proclivities says it would take me half a decade to build something.

So ordering/buying one of the semi-custom's would be five times faster lol.

 

[Trail Talk]

The 2017+ F-350 pickups have stiffer frames than 2017+ F-350 chassis cab trucks, the springs on the pickup truck are better for your needs, and they come as completed vehicles, but, you might want to check what is needed to register and insure a chassis cab truck in Canada.

Great thread. FWIW, I had no problem registering my 2020 F350 cab chassis in Alberta, just had to produce a dealer-supplied document verifying production and the VIN. There is a name for this document but I’m travelling right now so don’t have access. Was trickier with insurance as their VIN search predictably came up as incomplete vehicle. Once I supplied photos of VIN plate and completed camper, they submitted all to the underwriter for approval. In the end, although I have an integrated camper, they decided to cover the cabin under property insurance policy, separate from the cab chassis.

On the subject of builders, OEV will not be offering the Summit cab chassis campers for 2021 as they are at max capacity with the Camp-X slide-in pop-top.

Good luck with your build ?