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03-10-2020, 04:46 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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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.
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03-10-2020, 05:05 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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__________________
"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.
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03-10-2020, 05:10 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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__________________
"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.
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03-10-2020, 05:31 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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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.
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03-10-2020, 05:34 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Posts: 7,616
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Beautiful welding.
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03-10-2020, 05:39 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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__________________
"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.
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03-10-2020, 05:55 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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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.
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03-10-2020, 06:02 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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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.
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03-10-2020, 06:08 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
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Better then anything you could buy that would meet your needs! Nice!
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
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03-10-2020, 06:14 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Saunderstown, RI
Posts: 812
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Quote:
Originally Posted by babock
Beautiful welding.
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Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!... ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by A32Deuce
Better then anything you could buy that would meet your needs! Nice!
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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.
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03-10-2020, 06:44 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,043
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Really nice work !
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03-10-2020, 06:49 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,011
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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.
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03-10-2020, 07:22 PM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 98
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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......
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03-10-2020, 07:35 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
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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
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03-10-2020, 10:20 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Posts: 7,616
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rollscanardly
Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!... ...
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LOL...and some people will actually believe that.
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03-10-2020, 10:36 PM
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#16
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Retired Old Fart
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: McDonough, GA
Posts: 971
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Quote:
Originally Posted by babock
LOL...and some people will actually believe that.
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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
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03-10-2020, 11:08 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 212
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rollscanardly
Thanks! I bought a HF welder and some torches and learned how to use them on this job!... ...
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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
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03-10-2020, 11:17 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 288
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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
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03-10-2020, 11:23 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 878
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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.
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03-10-2020, 11:35 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PatrickY
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).
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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
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