Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-10-2020, 04:46 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
Insane modifications....

...so that I can tow with my new-to-me-truck.


Backstory- this is me...(crazy SOB)...


https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...vy-125403.html


I tow with a 2004 Ram 2500 (5.7L Hemi).
It tows fine, but I was on the lookout for a 3rd gen. (5.9L Ram 2500 CTD), for a lot of reasons.



I found a 2006 beauty. Drove from RI to PA to pick it up. Super mint condition with 49,932 miles on it, Jake Brake, air bags, remote tonneau cover, and more.
















It came with these hitch rails...





This Super-Glide rail system is easily removed for full bed use.





My '04 Ram has a Hide-away ball in the bed floor, and the camper has a traditional goose neck adapter.


To use that adapter in the '06, I'd have to remove the rail system, cut a hole in the floor, and install a new ball.


Didn't want to do that, plus it's a PITA to hook up and unhitch.


So, I want to keep the rail system.


The '04 ram is 2WD, so the bed is quite a bit lower than the '06 (4WD).


When I went to back up the new truck to the camper, I realized that I had a bad case of no bed rail-to-camper clearance.


Because of all the issues here, I was forced into getting creative. Either that, or get rid of something.
__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:05 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
The first thing we (my friend and I) did was to lower the truck, some.


We removed some shims from atop the leaf springs, and removed the air bags. I don't need them. Our camper is 7900 lbs gross wt.





This lowered the truck by 2" at the tailgate. Nice...


This is how it sits now...





Next, I decided to build a custom hitch that will fit the rail system. i figured that since I was going custom, I would make the hitch so that I could see the ball when turned around in the driver's seat.


I have a TON of pictures of this , so I'll restrain myself and just show some pertinent ones...























__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:10 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
The ball(s) post...























__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:31 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
Next, the pin box had to be modified...


I was amazed at how flimsy these things are, but I guess they're as good as they need to be.


The original setup...





Removing a 21 y.o. adapter ain't easy!


















YAY!!


This is the pin box. The plate that the king pin is welded to is 3/16" thick. The rest of the steel is just over 1/8" thick (.135")...kinda thin (15K box).


The pin is welded to a 6" square plate (1/4" thick), and just tacked there!











__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:34 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Posts: 7,616
Beautiful welding.
babock is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:39 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
































__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 05:55 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
These are the pin box height adjustment side plates...





I worried about them hitting the truck bed while turning.


So, I trimmed them...











More shots of the hitch...





Towing mode.. 2nd ball reversed so as not to hit the gooseneck...





Backing up mode...brings camper 7 more inches away from truck cab.


Easily makes 90 degree turns.


__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 06:02 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
Last issue...

The camper needed to be lifted. So, I made some lift tubes that lifted the camper 2.25". This was the final piece to the puzzle...








Needs a little more tweaking (going to raise the front of the camper a bit more, also Timbrens), but I now have 5.75" of space at the tailgate!








Tows nice and tight, too.


So, am I sane, or no??


Rich
__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 06:08 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
A32Deuce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
Better then anything you could buy that would meet your needs! Nice!
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
A32Deuce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 06:14 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
rollscanardly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
Quote:
Originally Posted by babock View Post
Beautiful welding.

Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!......


Quote:
Originally Posted by A32Deuce View Post
Better then anything you could buy that would meet your needs! Nice!

Yes...I don't think that I could find anything like this, anyway.


Rich
__________________
"rolls down one hill, can 'ardly make it up the next..."

1999 21' Wildwood WDF21RK

2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, Quad cab, 5.9L Cummins, 3.73 gears.
rollscanardly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 06:44 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,043
Really nice work !
MR.M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 06:49 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,011
Rich, those welds look great. So does the product! Jay
__________________
Old Rv 2016 Rockwood 2504s.
Old TV: 2014 Silverado 1500 double cab.
New RV 2020 Jayco 24RBS
New TV 2020 2500HD gas.
Jay2504 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 07:22 PM   #13
Member
 
mxtreme30's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 98
Excellent work! That hitch will outlast the trailer for sure! Love the Sharpie CAD program on some of the pieces. What would you say your total man-hours are on this project?
Now to get back to the offroad bumper you promised me for my Nissan frontier......
mxtreme30 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 07:35 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
A32Deuce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
A pro welder told a friend that HF does make one of the best welders!
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
A32Deuce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 10:20 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Posts: 7,616
Quote:
Originally Posted by rollscanardly View Post
Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!......
LOL...and some people will actually believe that.
babock is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 10:36 PM   #16
Retired Old Fart
 
dward51's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: McDonough, GA
Posts: 971
Quote:
Originally Posted by babock View Post
LOL...and some people will actually believe that.

Yeah, those are not HF welds in the photos I saw!
__________________
Just the 2 of us in a...
"Currently between trailers"
Sold the 246RKS in 2023
dward51 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 11:08 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 212
Quote:
Originally Posted by rollscanardly View Post
Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!......
I was a little scared at first - a rookie welder building something like that could easily end up with cracked/splitting welds - but then I went back and actually looked at the welds - yours are a thing of beauty - no porous spots, almost no spatter anywhere, nice steady bead ...

My guess is that you've done about 50 miles of welding in your life, and judging by some of the tool boxes and pick-a-nut cabinets in the background you're probably in your 60s or you inherited your grandfather's garage. That, or perhaps you own a fab shop.

Either way, great job!


[EDIT] I just went back and read your profile - that explains everything [/EDIT]

As far as the truck goes - AWESOME score!!! I thought I found a unicorn when I came across a 2012 2500 CTD with only 64,000 miles - and that took me 3 months, I can't imagine how long you searched before this one came up.

But I question your sanity: wouldn't have been easier to simply skip lowering the truck and building your custom hitch/receiver and just buy another (slightly newer) 5th wheel? You know, one that actually uses the newer "air-filled" tires? (sorry, just looking at the racks of stuff and cabinets again, I was thinking the trailer might have wooden tires).

In all seriousness, great design, great planning, great finished product and great truck.

Now if you could just figure out how to replace the 8 track player with one of them new cassette deals … (couldn't help myself)
__________________
2012 Ram Laramie 2500 4x4 CC SB Cummins
2016 Flagstaff 8528RKWS
Patrick (order taker), Barbara (order giver) & Jasper (Dutch Shepherd) and now Jade (Boxer/Lab/Pointer hybrid) aka PB&JJ
PatrickY is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 11:17 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 288
My dad is a welder by trade. I spent a ton of hours in shops with him as a kid while he worked on roll cages for friends. I learned enough to be dangerous, but it's easy to tell his work from mine. You sir, are no amateur, and that's no HF weld job.
__________________
2019 Rockwood Mini Lite 2509S
2018 F-150 XLT FX4 Crew Cab 3.5EB 3.55
Equal-i-zer E4 hitch 1,000lb bars
pilotpip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 11:23 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
CincyGus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 878
Very nicely done! I love it when I see someone that's determined to build a better mousetrap, doesn't take it's not available on the market as a show stopper and gathers the energy, time and effort to overcome! I'm not a welder although I've slid an electric stick a couple times tack welding things and ran a few things that started out attempting to be beads. You're a skilled artist with that tool clearly and either have a great engineering mind or friends that helped that do. I believe you could pull a 50k trailer with that hitch if tit was moved to a truck that could handle it.

Again, Very nicely done!
__________________
2020 Chevrolet 2500 LTZ, 2019 Forest River Wolfpack 23Pack15, 2014 EZGO Golf Cart.
CincyGus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2020, 11:35 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
Quote:
Originally Posted by PatrickY View Post
But I question your sanity: wouldn't have been easier to simply skip lowering the truck and building your custom hitch/receiver and just buy another (slightly newer) 5th wheel? You know, one that actually uses the newer "air-filled" tires? (sorry, just looking at the racks of stuff and cabinets again, I was thinking the trailer might have wooden tires).
You must not have read the "backstory" that he linked to in his opening post. He already has a "practically new" 5th wheel - he (re)built it himself!
__________________
1988 Coleman Sequoia - popup (1987-2009) - outlasted 3 Dodge Grand Caravans!
2012 Roo19 - hybrid (2012-2015)

2016 Mini Lite 2503S - tt (2015 - ???)
2011 Traverse LT, 3.6L, FWD
2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab, 5.3L, 4x4, 3.73
2016 Silverado 2500HD Dbl Cab, 6.0L 4x4, 4.10
rockfordroo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
cat, modifications

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:07 PM.