Traveler I
I bought my 2020 Ram in June after my 2019 2500 was totaled by a lady who was probably texting. The truck is a Laramie with the off-road package options which mainly is factory skids , bilstein shocks and hill decent.
The main reason for owning a full size truck is for work. I’m a concrete polishing contractor so I have to pull trailers although this year with Covid I don’t do a lot of that. About a week after I bought it and 1,000 miles later leveled it , wheels and tires and amp steps put on.
Next I needed to find a rack that worked with the Pace Edwards electric bed cover I had bought for the truck. I needed the bed cover so I could secure tools in the bed for work purposes mainly. I found KB voodoo racks and they made a bracket to work with most covers so I went that route and bought there 70 inch rack. I didn’t go with a long enough rack to fit the long box that way I had a couple feet in the back where different machines could have there handle stick up above The tent so I didn’t have to remove the rack for work.
being new to RTTs and my wife not having done much camping we went with the Smittybuilt overland XL that way we didn’t drop much over a grand to start although now I would like to upgrade that.
after Our first trip in this rig I learned I needed onboard air, I did air down some but I couldn’t go below where I could drive on the road And that just isn’t enough. I looked into different compressors and opted for air horn compressor that said I could handle what I needed and the reviews on Amazon seamed to confirm that. So far it’s worked fine although it would take to long to air up to 60psi. to get around 50 psi from 20 psi takes around a half hour for all 4 wheels so overall I’m happy with it but I have been thinking about going to a CO2 setup.
I used Fist Grips to mount my shovel and axe and all the mounting solutions on the rack helped with that. I had also bought Maxtrax mounts and my Maxtraxs around the same time and I’m unsure why but they definitely did not line up right so I had to pop a couple new holes in my rack even though they were KB voodoos traction boards mount.
I had made a shower / Grey water tank out of 4 inch ABS pipe but had some issues with that setup. So I ended up remaking it and making some aluminum brackets to hold the new one on the inside of the rack instead of the top. Since I had ordered a awning for the rig
I decided I wanted to have awning for a desert trip we had planned but sadly I did not receive it in time Although the Rhino rack Batwing was not the awning I had ordered. I originally ordered a ARB awning but they were so back ordered I Paid the difference to get this one and I’m very glad I did. The only issue I had was again with the parts I bought from KB voodoo and that was there awning mounts. Granted I’m sure they would work with traditional awnings but with this one it’s important to use the supplied mount that way the awning sits flush and unfolds correct. After learning this lesson and a lot of waisted time I got it all mounted and it’s a awesome setup.
I ended up ordering a winch bumper from Chassis Unlimited in the first week of August and 3 weeks later I had the bumper in hand and took it to my painter. I still hadn’t received my winch or lights yet and some of the hassle with shipping is my only complaint about shopping with them. I had the bumper paint matched to the truck which sadly will take a beating but it looks great.
Installing the bumper was kind of a pain but I had helped the instal go better by wiring up what I could before my bumper came back from paint and removed the old bumper the day before I was to install my new one. Once I picked up the bumper I moved all the OEM wiring harness and sensors over and installed the Baja designs light pods and finished the wiring on the bumper so it would be plug and play. Installing The bumper was another ordeal I had only my brother helping me and after mounting the winch it was externally heavy but since we are both young we managed to get it on. It was a very good fit which I’m defiantly happy about but it caused some issues getting it on since it was so heavy. But once in the install went like a breeze.
there is still a lot I have planned for this build and a lot that will continue to happen on it over the fall and winter. Kinda bitter sweet that we won’t be doing a lot more traveling this Year since me and my wife are expecting out 2nd kid this month. but I’m sure we will spend at least a couple more nights in it before the year is out. that just gives me a lot of time to build it out and make sure everything is right because we have a a long trip being planned for next year as well as shorter ones. I will definitely be updating this thread as I do more to this rig.
The main reason for owning a full size truck is for work. I’m a concrete polishing contractor so I have to pull trailers although this year with Covid I don’t do a lot of that. About a week after I bought it and 1,000 miles later leveled it , wheels and tires and amp steps put on.
Next I needed to find a rack that worked with the Pace Edwards electric bed cover I had bought for the truck. I needed the bed cover so I could secure tools in the bed for work purposes mainly. I found KB voodoo racks and they made a bracket to work with most covers so I went that route and bought there 70 inch rack. I didn’t go with a long enough rack to fit the long box that way I had a couple feet in the back where different machines could have there handle stick up above The tent so I didn’t have to remove the rack for work.
being new to RTTs and my wife not having done much camping we went with the Smittybuilt overland XL that way we didn’t drop much over a grand to start although now I would like to upgrade that.
after Our first trip in this rig I learned I needed onboard air, I did air down some but I couldn’t go below where I could drive on the road And that just isn’t enough. I looked into different compressors and opted for air horn compressor that said I could handle what I needed and the reviews on Amazon seamed to confirm that. So far it’s worked fine although it would take to long to air up to 60psi. to get around 50 psi from 20 psi takes around a half hour for all 4 wheels so overall I’m happy with it but I have been thinking about going to a CO2 setup.
I used Fist Grips to mount my shovel and axe and all the mounting solutions on the rack helped with that. I had also bought Maxtrax mounts and my Maxtraxs around the same time and I’m unsure why but they definitely did not line up right so I had to pop a couple new holes in my rack even though they were KB voodoos traction boards mount.
I had made a shower / Grey water tank out of 4 inch ABS pipe but had some issues with that setup. So I ended up remaking it and making some aluminum brackets to hold the new one on the inside of the rack instead of the top. Since I had ordered a awning for the rig
I decided I wanted to have awning for a desert trip we had planned but sadly I did not receive it in time Although the Rhino rack Batwing was not the awning I had ordered. I originally ordered a ARB awning but they were so back ordered I Paid the difference to get this one and I’m very glad I did. The only issue I had was again with the parts I bought from KB voodoo and that was there awning mounts. Granted I’m sure they would work with traditional awnings but with this one it’s important to use the supplied mount that way the awning sits flush and unfolds correct. After learning this lesson and a lot of waisted time I got it all mounted and it’s a awesome setup.
I ended up ordering a winch bumper from Chassis Unlimited in the first week of August and 3 weeks later I had the bumper in hand and took it to my painter. I still hadn’t received my winch or lights yet and some of the hassle with shipping is my only complaint about shopping with them. I had the bumper paint matched to the truck which sadly will take a beating but it looks great.
Installing the bumper was kind of a pain but I had helped the instal go better by wiring up what I could before my bumper came back from paint and removed the old bumper the day before I was to install my new one. Once I picked up the bumper I moved all the OEM wiring harness and sensors over and installed the Baja designs light pods and finished the wiring on the bumper so it would be plug and play. Installing The bumper was another ordeal I had only my brother helping me and after mounting the winch it was externally heavy but since we are both young we managed to get it on. It was a very good fit which I’m defiantly happy about but it caused some issues getting it on since it was so heavy. But once in the install went like a breeze.
there is still a lot I have planned for this build and a lot that will continue to happen on it over the fall and winter. Kinda bitter sweet that we won’t be doing a lot more traveling this Year since me and my wife are expecting out 2nd kid this month. but I’m sure we will spend at least a couple more nights in it before the year is out. that just gives me a lot of time to build it out and make sure everything is right because we have a a long trip being planned for next year as well as shorter ones. I will definitely be updating this thread as I do more to this rig.
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