Eating crow....2018 Ram Power Wagon build

[Tex68w]

How is ingress and egress into and out of the camper? Climbing in over the tailgate and under the hatch, closing/opening the tailgate from the inside, etc. I love the habitat, especially on a full size, and think there is a lot more usefulness than a roof top tent in the fact that you can stand in the bed for changing clothes and usable space in inclement weather, but it and all of the wedge style campers recently to market seem to be screaming for the tailgate to be removed and a set of barn doors added. I have not seen the habitat in person and would love to find one close by to climb around in. But it looks great on the Power Wagon!!!

There's no question that barn doors would be a better setup for these units, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon considering how many different nuances those doors would have to accommodate with numerous makes/models they could fit on. Closing the tailgate isn't as easy as grabbing a door and closing it but these modern tailgates are fairly light and reaching over isn't bad at all. There's no need to climb over the tail gate, climb in and close it and the lift gate and you're done. The upper lift gate has metal loops on the corners to aid in pulling it closed, fairly easy and straightforward.

It is certainly a better setup than your standard RTT but it damn well better be for the price. I will hang out in it here at the ranch tonight and then we will be in it full time starting tomorrow morning through Monday morning so we should have a pretty good idea of how we feel about it after three continuous nights.

 

[Tex68w]

The AT Habitat has come and gone, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it was around. I plan to do a write-up in regards to our experience and thoughts, but at the moment we are having some formatting issues with our SD card, new camera struggles.

Here are a few pics from our trip last week.

 

[chet6.7]

That was quick,looking forward to your review.

 

[Explorerinil]

That looks like allot of fun! That would be great for my hunting trips.

 

[Tex68w]

That was quick,looking forward to your review.

It was a loaner from the very beginning, it was never meant to stick around. That said, if momma didn't have a say in all of this then I likely would have kept it on the truck indefinitely, it really is quite a nice unit.

 

[Regcabguy]

Yes, Method Vex in Titanium. I like them, glad I went with them over some other options, but I do like the Black Rhino Armory as well.

Thanks.I need a 5.75 bs at least.

 

[Austo]

I am not sure what all is entailed in getting the system to work with the trucks software, but it's pretty simple in physical design. It comes with a fuse relay box that has a positive wire and a harness that runs to the original switch area in the center stack. You plug the original connection into the harness and then it has a pig tail that then plugs into the panel. You have to run a ground for each item that you power but that's easy.

The owner of 4th Gen Ram Electronics was super helpful in answering my questions and getting my order to me in a timely manner. I am not sure what kind of sorcery he performs to make these work, but apparently he knows something that the factory doesn't or doesn't want to provide a solution for, because the dealer will tell you that they can't be added after the fact. The price was a drop in the bucket when compared to sPOD and the Switch Pros 9100.

Thanks for the Rec on this, just got mine in, and love the OEM look.

Haven't read up on this Flatbed diesel thread Did you decide?

 

[Tex68w]

Gonna be doing some "Glamping" this weekend. Looking forward to giving this FWC Hawk the old college try lol.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Looks like a nice set up. Enjoy.

 

[Regcabguy]

Looks killer! Love the wheels too.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Sweet! Did you measure how much the rear dropped with it on there? Any driving around assessments yet?

 

[Tex68w]

Sweet! Did you measure how much the rear dropped with it on there? Any driving around assessments yet?

No I didn't, but I can measure before I take it back off next week. I added Airlift Loadlifter 5000 airbags earlier this week along with Daystar cradles to help stabilize the load, these Power Wagon's are just too soft in the rear to run that kind of weight up that high and unsupported in any way.

With 45lbs of air in the bags it feels firm yet not harsh, at 25-30lbs it feels almost like stock but borderline not stable enough when in turns or at speed should you find yourself needing to make a quick maneuver or in an emergency situation. I took my tires up to 50 psi from their usual 40 psi to help with the load as well. I'll see how it does on the trip down to PINS tomorrow with those pressures.

I was getting 16-16.5 mpg's at 65 mph on the way up to get the FWC last night with my SnugTop on and that dropped to 13-13.5 mpg's on the way home with the FWC in the bed, a noticeable hit but acceptable. Now I hadn't messed with my tire pressures prior to the return trip home and the bags only had 25 psi in them which was barely enough to get the bed back to level, I prefer it to be 1/2-1" high in the rear with that kind of load in the bed as it helps to eliminate the squat when under way. For comparison, I only get 11-12 mpg's when towing the M1101, so even with the added drag to the slip stream up top, it is still more efficient than towing and without the hassle and liability of the trailer.

Regular bed!

Big Bed!!!

 

[Explorerinil]

That’s the cats meow! I would kill for that set up!

 

[Copperhead14]

I tried to convince my wife on a FWC. She wouldn’t go for it. I told her it would be cozy with our 2y/o twins.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I tried to convince my wife on a FWC. She wouldn’t go for it. I told her it would be cozy with our 2y/o twins.

Yeah. Cozy is one way to put it.


We sold my Lance Hard Side when we had our second child. It all is awesome when the weather is sunny and you spend the days and evenings outside. Spend a couple of days in a truck camper with a family of 4 when it's raining and a 20-25ft long travel trailer with bunks for the kids to hole up in becomes a necessity.