DirtWhiskey
Western Dirt Rat
Awesome detailed write up of these little beasts. I see a little to be desired in the welding side of things but they are half the price of FWC and they seem to be a good value. My buddy LOVES his.
Palomino Backpack
- Thread starter Mack4
- Start date
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
I've had a Northstar TC800 for 20 yrs and two trucks with the Happijac system on both trucks. No chains,straps,just the quality steel hooks and adjustable tie downs. The Happijac setup contains centering cones up front for zero movement. It uses the button drilled into your bumper which looks substantial.Thanks for the feedback guys! One of my favorite things about this community is the level of detail you can pull out of these forums! Always a pleasure to give back in the same way.
On the tiedowns, why use chains and turnbuckles instead of straps? I've heard that you need to keep those tie downs tight, but not too tight, or it will pop the chain, damage the camper etc. Does anyone run a strap setup in their rig? Seems like a strap would provide the elasticity required by a shifting load better than a hand tightened turnbuckle.
This is what I've cobbled together, I need to change it but, not sure if I need to purchase Torklift frame mounts, build some kind of cradle like FWC uses or some other option.
Here is the front:
Tied into the frame with a carhauler strap:
On the rear, I had carhauler straps wrapped around the frame and then going to toklift turnbuckles and I was also thinking about tiesing the turnbuckles directly to the rear bumper as pictured.
Thoughts?
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Also, have to say the Ram has been a great platform for this camper, I can't imagine a 550S on a 1/2 ton pickup. I know it can be done well, but that camper is a heavy package.
Exhaust brake is extremely sweet on mountain roads. We went down Pikes Peak and being able to hold a low speed without hitting the brakes was fantastic. High mountain passes in the ice/snow was also much more manageable with the exhaust brake.
The weight in the bed really settles the back end down and the Cummins still had plenty of power when I needed it to pass, merge, etc. Timbrens we're perfect, no issues with sway and rode like stock off-road.
We tend to talk a lot about off-road performance on here, but the highway is where the consequences are. Compared to my past vehicles (Excursion excluded) the Ram is a pig off-road, but I am happy with the compromise when I am barreling down the interstate.
I struggled a bit to maintain good tire pressure, found the sweet spot at 74 PSI in the rear tires when cold, heats up into the low 80s at highway speeds.
Ram boxes worked great for all the hoses, cables, etc that goes with these things. I was able to load all of my elk hunting gear in one ram box (except the bow), and kept all the tools, camper stuff in the other.
One post trip mod, drilled a hole in the top of the tailgate for the backup camera, I can relocate it when the camper is loaded. Works pretty good, was way cheaper than buying a Furion or another Ram camera. 3/4 drill bit and a clip is all it needed!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Exhaust brake is extremely sweet on mountain roads. We went down Pikes Peak and being able to hold a low speed without hitting the brakes was fantastic. High mountain passes in the ice/snow was also much more manageable with the exhaust brake.
The weight in the bed really settles the back end down and the Cummins still had plenty of power when I needed it to pass, merge, etc. Timbrens we're perfect, no issues with sway and rode like stock off-road.
We tend to talk a lot about off-road performance on here, but the highway is where the consequences are. Compared to my past vehicles (Excursion excluded) the Ram is a pig off-road, but I am happy with the compromise when I am barreling down the interstate.
I struggled a bit to maintain good tire pressure, found the sweet spot at 74 PSI in the rear tires when cold, heats up into the low 80s at highway speeds.
Ram boxes worked great for all the hoses, cables, etc that goes with these things. I was able to load all of my elk hunting gear in one ram box (except the bow), and kept all the tools, camper stuff in the other.
One post trip mod, drilled a hole in the top of the tailgate for the backup camera, I can relocate it when the camper is loaded. Works pretty good, was way cheaper than buying a Furion or another Ram camera. 3/4 drill bit and a clip is all it needed!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Kyle Gilbertson
New member
How high will the jacks lift it, or what is the max bed height? I have a 2017 with 4.5 lift and 37s.
kamicrazy99
New member
I had a Palomino 1500 on a 2014 ram 2500 on a level and 37s. There was not much more than 4" clearance, at full height. You could air down your tires, bolt an extension to the bottom of the jacks, etc. I had to run jack bracket extensions on the front as well, to clear the rear tires.
Last edited:
Buddha.
Finally in expo white.
Yes I think that’s how it’s intended to be used. I assume you have the truck charging the camper batteries? Don’t run the fridge on 12v when the truck is off.
My previous camper had a two way fridge, propane and 120v.
I tried to run it on propane while in transit but it would blow out. That’s the only problem I ever had with it.
The 4 year old sleeps in the dinette bench and the baby sleeps up with us in the bed.
Next mod will be bunk beds for the kiddos. We're thinking that will last us a while, but my girls are pretty small.
We used to run a hammock in the cab for the 4 year old when we had an RTT. That worked pretty well.
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ViperNL
Observer
Hey, thanks for the response. We ended up checking one out locally at a dealer. The wife decided we should get 1 size bigger, which has a bathroom / shower. so we ended up with a used '14 Lance 825, which works great for us at the moment. Oldest one probably has a couple years before we put him outside, lol.
bubbaedc
New member
Also, have to say the Ram has been a great platform for this camper, I can't imagine a 550S on a 1/2 ton pickup. I know it can be done well, but that camper is a heavy package.
Exhaust brake is extremely sweet on mountain roads. We went down Pikes Peak and being able to hold a low speed without hitting the brakes was fantastic. High mountain passes in the ice/snow was also much more manageable with the exhaust brake.
The weight in the bed really settles the back end down and the Cummins still had plenty of power when I needed it to pass, merge, etc. Timbrens we're perfect, no issues with sway and rode like stock off-road.
We tend to talk a lot about off-road performance on here, but the highway is where the consequences are. Compared to my past vehicles (Excursion excluded) the Ram is a pig off-road, but I am happy with the compromise when I am barreling down the interstate.
I struggled a bit to maintain good tire pressure, found the sweet spot at 74 PSI in the rear tires when cold, heats up into the low 80s at highway speeds.
Ram boxes worked great for all the hoses, cables, etc that goes with these things. I was able to load all of my elk hunting gear in one ram box (except the bow), and kept all the tools, camper stuff in the other.
One post trip mod, drilled a hole in the top of the tailgate for the backup camera, I can relocate it when the camper is loaded. Works pretty good, was way cheaper than buying a Furion or another Ram camera. 3/4 drill bit and a clip is all it needed!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Thanks for all the details!
I just got myself a SS-550 for my wife and two small kids, also in a cummins with factory backup camera, I saw the pre wired backup, then got the idea of doing a basic license plate camera and finding the pin out in the tailgate harness then only to realize the tailgate needs to stay on because of how much it hangs past the bed
how did you do the camera here? just take it out of the factory housing and move it to the hole? TIA!
aaaslayer
Active member
You have pics of your setup?Thanks for all the details!
I just got myself a SS-550 for my wife and two small kids, also in a cummins with factory backup camera, I saw the pre wired backup, then got the idea of doing a basic license plate camera and finding the pin out in the tailgate harness then only to realize the tailgate needs to stay on because of how much it hangs past the bed
TIA!
justbecause
perpetually lost
we are soon going to be upgrading trucks and getting a popup camper. My plan is to get a 6.2 f250 and put the smallest backpack I can find on it. I have a 5 year old and a soon to be 2 year old. I would love to see more about your sleeping situation.
@justbecause we've tried a couple different setups. We wanted it to be something we could break down and setup quickly, so bunk beds we're out. I also have little kids, 5 year old and 18 months. This is what we've settled on for now.
Hammock for the 5 year old tied into the aluminum frame and a piece of unistrut. It stores under the bed and I just clip it in at night. She loves sleeping in the hammock, so it was an easy sell! Your mileage may vary!
For the 18 month old, I made two boards that slide in between the passenger side cabinet and the back wall. This is high enough so she can't climb out and the foam keeps her from bonking her head on the wood.
When they get taller, we're going to have to figure something else out!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Hammock for the 5 year old tied into the aluminum frame and a piece of unistrut. It stores under the bed and I just clip it in at night. She loves sleeping in the hammock, so it was an easy sell! Your mileage may vary!
For the 18 month old, I made two boards that slide in between the passenger side cabinet and the back wall. This is high enough so she can't climb out and the foam keeps her from bonking her head on the wood.
When they get taller, we're going to have to figure something else out!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk