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Grit dog

Black Diamond, WA

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Posted: 09/21/21 10:27am

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EYEMLOST wrote:

This thread:
Pure truck camper po.rn!! [emoticon]

Excellent resource as well indeed.

Agreed!

2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Grit dog

Black Diamond, WA

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Posted: 09/21/21 10:28am

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n0arp wrote:

jimh425 wrote:

That’s going to be a tall rig. Congrats!

I actually measured this morning -- we should lose 3" with this rig! That'll be around 12'9". The flatbed on the old truck was really far off the frame rails due to it being a bed delete. The deck height was 48" unloaded. This truck should be about 45" (35.5" to the top of the rear rails (highest point), around 2.5" additional height from the tires, and 7-1/8" for the flatbed, but might squat less -- so it could end up a wash. Should be far under 13'6" regardless.

Thanks!

Phenomenal looking rig! And looks like you have enough clearance for a 3” lift now for them big tires!

EYEMLOST

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Posted: 09/21/21 11:21am

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n0arp wrote:

EYEMLOST wrote:

1) How much sway do you feel with your camper as depicted in the first pic?
a) My concern with a behemoth camper like yours is it's weight swaying during traveling on unmaintained backcountry fire/dirt roads.

Little to none. The rig was extremely stable due to 245/70R19.5 LRH tires and 4600# SuperSprings, which are basically DIY add-a-leafs. I expect the new truck to be just as stable.

EYEMLOST wrote:

2) Any issues with the pull-out as a result of traveling on unmaintained dirt roads?
a) My concern is the vibrations of traveling offroad like we do could wreck havoc on the tracks of said pull-outs causes damage and/or maintenance nightmares.

Nope. Never had issues in our fifth wheel either, and don't know any other people who've had slide issues that could be tied back to your concern.

EYEMLOST wrote:

3) Any issues with the wheelbase while offroading?

Sort of. We have to be aware of it, and that'll be even more apparent with the 84CA. However, we've never found it to be a detrimental issue and the most damage we've had was some dents in the bottom of the factory steps on the old rig. We'll see how the new one does.

EYEMLOST wrote:

4) How much do you think you actually use 4WD while off the road?
a) During my 45 years of offroading (entire Moab spectrum) I've found that I genuinely only use 4WD about 25-30% of the time; granted my rear is locked.
b) Hubs are locked, but I'm mostly driving in 2WD.

We use 4WD often, especially in mud and snow. We use 4LO even when traction doesn't require it, because it the low range just lets you crawl over obstacles you'd otherwise have to throttle out on. I had the old rig stuck a handful of times, but had the winch/ recovery gear/ Jeep to get it out with and that was part of the fun.

EYEMLOST wrote:

5) Any flexing/flexing issues in the rear frame/flatbed area?

Yes, but not since going flatbed. The factory bed was a lot less rigid and was subject to twisting off-road, but we've never seen the same movement with a flatbed. We blame that movement for some frame sag issues at the rear passenger corner. I reinforced the area with some angle iron bolted to the frame and the sag is gone. We did go with the 84CA to get more camper support.

1) Interesting; exactly the same as my Bronco with the 950lb FWC Grandby in it's bed.
With my rear set up: 1ton rear dually axle/5.13 gear/1ton (front) leaf springs; I barely know it's back there.

2) Wow; reading many threads on 2 different sites, slide-out issues seem to be common-enough in general.
Then add in the backroads that we drive/travel, I assumed issues with slide-outs would increase.

5) Interesting; Flatbed basically eliminates flexing.

Good info to know! :thumbs up:

1998 FWC Grandby
1994 Ford Bronco 5.0 XL 4X4
Sky's ORD 6" Lift / Sterling 10.25 Dually 5.13 Gear Detroit Locker / '99.5 Front F-350 Leaf Springs at Rear / HMMWVtires

thomasmnile

Lake Mary, FL

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Posted: 09/21/21 11:40am

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My 11 year old grandson would say the OP's rig and setup is just totally sick!!! And that's a very good thing. Me? Just green with envy! [emoticon]

n0arp

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Posted: 09/21/21 12:53pm

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EYEMLOST - I think hydraulic and rack/pinion slides are likely to avoid issues. There are probably much larger chances of issues with cable and/or schwintek slides.

thomasmnile and anyone I missed - thanks for the compliments. We're loving how it's turning out.

EYEMLOST

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Posted: 09/21/21 01:07pm

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n0arp wrote:

EYEMLOST - I think hydraulic and rack/pinion slides are likely to avoid issues. There are probably much larger chances of issues with cable and/or schwintek slides.

thomasmnile and anyone I missed - thanks for the compliments. We're loving how it's turning out.

Ah; very good tip to know; thanks! [emoticon]

EYEMLOST

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Posted: 09/23/21 12:13am

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n0arp wrote:

EYEMLOST -
thomasmnile and anyone I missed - thanks for the compliments. We're loving how it's turning out.

What's the wheelbase and height of your rig?

EYEMLOST

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Posted: 09/23/21 10:29am

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n0arp wrote:

jimh425 wrote:

That’s going to be a tall rig. Congrats!

Ah! Just found the answer to one of my questions. [emoticon]

n0arp

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Posted: 09/23/21 12:36pm

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EYEMLOST wrote:

n0arp wrote:

jimh425 wrote:

That’s going to be a tall rig. Congrats!

Ah! Just found the answer to one of my questions. [emoticon]

Final height is 12'10". Got into a remote site in the national forest this morning and it handled some fairly sketchy terrain through the trees like a champ. I'll take photos later.

n0arp

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Posted: 09/23/21 02:59pm

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This is in an area we frequented with the 3500, but further up the road than we ever ventured with it. We traveled the road in several times with the 3500 but always ended up with a corner up off the ground regardless of the line we picked. The 5500 rolling on taller tires stayed planted firmly on the ground the whole way.

The longer wheelbase almost caused an issue where the drivers front toolbox would have contacted a large boulder in the middle of the road, but we were able to put a rock in front of the rear tire to crawl comfortably up and over. It might have made it otherwise, but with little to no wiggle room. Getting here was a great shakeout/test. It feels notably more stable than the other truck in off-camber situations.

[image]

The front tires also caught the front bumper when compressed and turned at the same time, so we pulled out the angle grinder and did some trimming before proceeding up the road.