Dodge Ram 5500 motorhome

[VanIsle_Greg]

Thanks Greg! I think you were parked two rows behind us at NWOR this year. I thought I recognized your rig and looked back through my photos. We were parked two rows ahead of you and had the black Jeep with the Habitat camper. You have a pretty nice setup yourself!

Annie and I were in about the third row from the front opposite from the entrance side.



I am pretty sure this is Greg's red Jeep on the right side of this photo.




Ward

I very much remember your Habitat on the JK. Funny, so many people on ExPo that were there last year! I was so hot it was hard to get out and meet folks.

Oh yeah Ward, I saw you guys there. Sweet JK! That is Greg's Cherokee. Looking forward to meeting up next time.

And is Mark's a 4BT?

What's new with your build?

Yup, that would be me and my Dad in the XJ. My buddy Mike had the Teardrop and the blue Islander JK beside me.

Very stoked to meet more of you guys in 2016 at NWOR!

 

[Healeyjet]

Paint progress pictures

The interior is now completely painted. They are masking off now for exterior paint.

Living room/kitchen looking back into the bedroom. Fridge and microwave holes on the left.



Sofa area. Entrance to the cab is on the right.



Doors and drawer front all removed to be individually painted.



Heading to ITB on Wednesday to have a look for ourselves. I will have more detailed and better photos then.

Ward

 

[Rebellion]

Ward,
You are going to have one real nice unit there, love to see it when it's finished.
Stewart

 

[Healeyjet]

Thanks Stewart. We would love to show it to you. I am sure we will be hanging around Calgary at some point when we can get together.
Ward

 

[mk216v]

Coolness Ward!!

-Jeremy

 

[kootenay_wanderer]

WOW! Read this build front to back, and just wow. You had mentioned this was being built in Coaldale? I will be through there January 7th, so now Im gonna make a lap through town and try and spot this mobile mansion!! As someone who has done the sheetmetal thing, and welds for a living...the work and precision is top notch!!

If your into a route less travelled to NWOR, stay on Crowsnest/Hwy 3B, past our house, all the way to Rossland, BC (Clancys Coffee cinnamon buns are worth the drive all on their own:coffeedrink, then head south to Kettle Falls, WA, and take secondary HWY 20 to Republic,WA then South to Tonasket. Did that drive this summer, before the fires, and cannot wait to do it all over again. Sorry to get a little sidewards on your build thread!!

 

[Healeyjet]

Kootenay, thanks for the reply. This past summer, when Annie and I went down to NWOR, we did most of the route you mention except we turned down through Nelway, BC to Tiger to Colville to Kettle Falls, Republic and Tonasket. We will try to do the Rossland portion of the trip next time. We hit up Highway 3 quite a bit as my parents live in Medicine Hat and we have very good friends in Cranbrook so we try to go through there often.
Ward

 

[Healeyjet]

A quick question for anyone that has experience or ideas.
Our camper will have a heated grey/gray water tank (by an attached heating pad) but when in real cold areas I am thinking of an alternative solution while still being able to use the kitchen sink. Obviously we could just put a dish pan in the sink and throw the water outside after doing cleanup but wondering if there is another solution.
Thinking that possibly under the sink we could have a diverter of some sort. Position #1 would be straight through to the grey/gray tank. Position #2 could send the water to a small 4 or 5 gallon vessel of some sort under the sink. Problem would be monitoring how full the jug under the sink was and if it does get full how to disconnect it without ending up with a sink full of water in the cabinet. In very cold weather we would not use the bathroom sink and stick to the kitchen sink. As well, body cleanup can be done using the kitchen sink as well if required.
I could very well be overthinking this one but hey that's what we do!

Ward

 

[chromisdesigns]

are you worried about not having enough battery power for the heaters? If not, then why not just let everything run to the tanks which will be freeze protected by the heaters.

 

[Healeyjet]

My fear is that the tank pad heater wont be able to keep the tank from freezing in -25 weather. I haven't used a holding tank in a camper in the winter so not exactly sure how effective the pad tank heaters are and how effective putting antifreeze into the holding tank is.
We are located in Saskatchewan where today it is 10F so it is a real concern here.....I think.
Ward

 

[chromisdesigns]

My fear is that the tank pad heater wont be able to keep the tank from freezing in -25 weather. I haven't used a holding tank in a camper in the winter so not exactly sure how effective the pad tank heaters are and how effective putting antifreeze into the holding tank is.
We are located in Saskatchewan where today it is 10F so it is a real concern here.....I think.
Ward

you are probably right about -25 temps. Never gone that low - zero, -10 a few times were fine, though. I'd be worried about interior heat and stuff in cupboards freezing at -25, as well.

Full strength RV antifreeze is good to around 50 below, I think, but there are a couple types, make sure you get the ultra-duty stuff. Pour is into both holding tanks, and pump it through the pipes and water pump. I wouldn't trust interior plumbing at those temps. Don't forget to drain the water heater. What are you doing for toilet and showers?

Make sure all your batteries are fully charged, and engine antifreeze is up to the task. I had a VW battery freeze solid at 3/4 charge one night at about 30 below in Colorado.

 

[S2DM]

Have you considered tapping your tank, brazing a threaded inlet, and running a small coolant loop through the tank? It doesnt take all that much heat to keep a grey water tank from freezing.

Ward, as an aside, would be curious to hear your experience with your beadlocks. My rims are the same dimensions as the hutchies, and use the same beadlock insert (per the manufacturer). Our beadlock moved a bit after a freeway run requiring a rebalancing until we figured out what was going on. It could be a host of other issues, but the manufacturer thought the sidewall on the goodyears might be thinner than the continentals such that the standard beadlock wasnt holding the bead in place briskly enough. Again, I can't vouch for the veracity of that info, but it might be worth a test, air down to 10 and see how your sidewall and bead look?

 

[Healeyjet]

Chromis, I am thinking more along the lines of protecting from freezing while we are using the camper. Our camper should be finished at ITB at the end of January so we will get to do some cold weather testing in the driveway before heading away. Our shower drains into the grey tank. The toilet is a composting toilet so we have no black tank. Our water system is designed to be drained totally when not in use so no antifreeze is required but we will probably use some anyways to be sure.

S2DM, I have brought that up to ITB to see if running a line through the tank is a possibility. As for the wheels we haven't had a chance to mount the wheels on the truck yet as the camper is still at ITB. Hopefully by the end of January we can take it up to have the wheels and tires mounted. Then I should have some real world experience on them to bring forward.

Ward

 

[pappawheely]

Poopsicles.

 

[java]

Im cold weather we don't use the water (well we never have actually....) We have a regular toilet setup with a black tank. We flush with antifreeze, just pouring out if the jug into the toilet.

This will generally keep the black tank at slushie level. IE can be dumped if needed. The ratio of 'waste' to antifreeze can be adjusted depending on temp.
With a composting toilet, no issues.

I think the diverter under the sink is ideal, I have toyed with the idea myself. I think if your careful a 5 gallon jug would be plenty on capacity.