MY "NEW" TRUCK THAT WILL SOON BECOME MY ULTIMATE FLATBED CAMP RIG
As retirement looms less than a year away, I figured that it was time to start putting the plans for my ultimate camp rig into play. I bought this 2004, Dodge Ram 2500, 5.9 ltr. diesel truck and it is in EXCELLENT condition.
Over the course of the next year, I plan to start purchasing all of the materials I'll need to start building it out, so that I'll have everything ready by the time I retire.
I'm going to attempt to build the entire camper myself and it'll be a big undertaking, but hey, I'll have plenty of time to devote to it...right?
I plan to build a flatbed, hard-sided cabover camper with an all aluminum frame and aluminum skin. Imagine a popped up FWC Flatbed that's hard-sided...
Here's what I'm planning so far:
- Aluminess aluminum winch bumper with brush guard (on order);
- 12,000 lb. winch w/synthetic rope (probably Smittybilt)
- Hillsboro aluminum flatbed (on order);
- 1 1/2 inch square tubing aluminum frame with aluminum skin (attached with rivets and VHB tape and insulated with foam panels;
- Artic Tern-style European windows and door;
- Marine grade roof/escape hatch (will also allow roof access to clean and maintain solar panels);
- 450 watts of Renogy solar panels charging two Battle Born lithium batteries with inverter, charger, controller, etc;
- 60-70 liter two compartment DC compressor fridge/freezer combo (probably Iceco);
- Maxxair powered fan;
- Flush mounted sink and two burner propane stove;
- Queen-sized bed on the cabover with under the bed storage;
- Chinese diesel heater;
- Simple Porta-Potty stored in a lower cabinet;
- Dimmable LED pot lights throughout the interior;
- Gravity fed water from several Jerry Cans stored in a rack inside (I don't want to deal with plumbing, pumps, flushing and freezing issues);
- Rear dinette (can turn into a second bed) with under the seat storage;
- Lightweight, bin-style storage throughout;
- Two outer storage/tool boxes mounted under the flatbed;
- Stirrup-type stairs mounted to the flatbed rail;
- Two knockoff MaxTrax recovery tracks mounted on the rear;
- Receiver hitch & bike rack for two ebikes (with solar charging pigtail);
- Two Jerry Cans mounted on the rear of the camper;
- A low-mounted awning on the driver's side of the camper;
- Some sort of wrap or large decal applied to the camper's exterior;
- Etc...
Hopefully, there won't be more fuel, lumber, aluminum, materials and shipping shortages that have become all too common this last year.
I plan to start a build thread on this blog when I start putting it all together and I welcome any suggestions from the more experienced of you out there on the dirt roads...
