New Ram 5500 Build

n0arp wrote:

EYEMLOST wrote:

1) How much sway do you feel with your camper as depicted in the first pic?
a) My concern with a behemoth camper like yours is it's weight swaying during traveling on unmaintained backcountry fire/dirt roads.

Little to none. The rig was extremely stable due to 245/70R19.5 LRH tires and 4600# SuperSprings, which are basically DIY add-a-leafs. I expect the new truck to be just as stable.

EYEMLOST wrote:

2) Any issues with the pull-out as a result of traveling on unmaintained dirt roads?
a) My concern is the vibrations of traveling offroad like we do could wreck havoc on the tracks of said pull-outs causes damage and/or maintenance nightmares.

Nope. Never had issues in our fifth wheel either, and don't know any other people who've had slide issues that could be tied back to your concern.

EYEMLOST wrote:

3) Any issues with the wheelbase while offroading?

Sort of. We have to be aware of it, and that'll be even more apparent with the 84CA. However, we've never found it to be a detrimental issue and the most damage we've had was some dents in the bottom of the factory steps on the old rig. We'll see how the new one does.

EYEMLOST wrote:

4) How much do you think you actually use 4WD while off the road?
a) During my 45 years of offroading (entire Moab spectrum) I've found that I genuinely only use 4WD about 25-30% of the time; granted my rear is locked.
b) Hubs are locked, but I'm mostly driving in 2WD.

We use 4WD often, especially in mud and snow. We use 4LO even when traction doesn't require it, because it the low range just lets you crawl over obstacles you'd otherwise have to throttle out on. I had the old rig stuck a handful of times, but had the winch/ recovery gear/ Jeep to get it out with and that was part of the fun.

EYEMLOST wrote:

5) Any flexing/flexing issues in the rear frame/flatbed area?

Yes, but not since going flatbed. The factory bed was a lot less rigid and was subject to twisting off-road, but we've never seen the same movement with a flatbed. We blame that movement for some frame sag issues at the rear passenger corner. I reinforced the area with some angle iron bolted to the frame and the sag is gone. We did go with the 84CA to get more camper support.

1) Interesting; exactly the same as my Bronco with the 950lb FWC Grandby in it's bed.
With my rear set up: 1ton rear dually axle/5.13 gear/1ton (front) leaf springs; I barely know it's back there.

2) Wow; reading many threads on 2 different sites, slide-out issues seem to be common-enough in general.
Then add in the backroads that we drive/travel, I assumed issues with slide-outs would increase.

5) Interesting; Flatbed basically eliminates flexing.


Good info to know! :thumbs up: