We were running over 13K on the rear axle of a 2019 Ram 3500. Despite it handling the load well (with mods), we knew it wasn't responsible to continue with that rig and have spent the last few months looking for a F-550 or Ram 5500.For those interested: SuperSprings (4600lb pack) and 245/70R19.5 tires worked wonders on the 3500 with that load.The market for trucks in general is insane right now, and finding a high-trim 5500 was next to impossible. The wait for ordering one more or less ruled that out.We ended up finding a 2021 Ram 5500 Limited, 84CA, Cummins, 4x4, with most of the options we wanted in a new truck. It's Granite Crystal with Indigo/Frost interior. Bought it sight-unseen from a dealer 1700mi away from our current location, and had it shipped to us. Has 74gal of fuel, and 4.89 gears.This week it's getting a Ranch Hand Sport front bumper, 17.5K winch, 11'4" flatbed, and 255/70R22.5" Hercules DT320 tires on 22.5" direct-bolt wheels (Alcoa style, rated for 6K each). That's roughly a 37" tall tire with a fairly aggressive A/T tread. Effective gear ratio with those tires will be around 4.27, or halfway between the optional 4.10 and 4.44 gears.I'll post updates to the build in this thread, but it should be a beast when done. I decided not to go the popular super single route, because in my opinion it has more tradeoffs than benefits. We never had any issue getting anywhere we wanted with the old truck, which ran 245/70R19.5 Cooper RM253s up front and Continental Terra HD3s in the rear as duals.We boondock extensively with both the truck camper posted above, and a 39' fifth wheel that has extensive modifications. We also flat tow a 5700lb Jeep Wrangler when hauling the truck camper.

Looking forward to seeing the build and tires!

I should add for anyone interested in F-550/5500 trucks that I found that the 2021 F-550 doesn't even have LED headlights as an option. It's 2021! and those should be standard. There were a lot of other frills - like adaptive cruise for instance - that can't be optioned and those options are ultimately why we stayed with Ram.Though I generally don't worry too much about the CP4 pumps, it's a nice bonus that when I popped the hood on this 5500 I found a CP3 as rumored.

Are you going to have boxes built against the headboard? You should have some space there although I'm not familiar as to how your camper drops in the back. I'd like to see the clearance inside the front wheel wells with the new rims. Sounds like a nice project. I bought my 5500 site unseen after it sat for over a year. That population did not like the color! Ram only ran it for maybe 2 years.

mike/kellie wrote:Are you going to have boxes built against the headboard? You should have some space there although I'm not familiar as to how your camper drops in the back. I'd like to see the clearance inside the front wheel wells with the new rims. Sounds like a nice project. I bought my 5500 site unseen after it sat for over a year. That population did not like the color! Ram only ran it for maybe 2 years.The camper will sit 14.5" back from the headache rack. I'll use that to store the spare tire, 2000W generator, and fuel tank - so no boxes. I'll take photos of the clearance, but talked to several people including a guy who runs these exact wheels and same tire size (different tire) and they clear fine and never rub.Here is a 2020 with the same wheels and different tires, but in the same size:

That’s going to be a tall rig. Congrats!

New Ram 5500 Build | Good Sam Community

Pete_k
Explorer
Sep 05, 2021
Glad you found this truck. Sure tough finding a 4500 or 5500 these days. Dealer close to us, had a 4500. Guy paid $4500. over MSRP for that one.
EYEMLOST
Explorer
Sep 05, 2021
Subscribed! :)

Definitely looking forward to the build.
n0arp
Explorer
Sep 06, 2021
Not a lot of progress on the truck today, but while I had the camper off the truck I decided to fix the sag just forward of the rear passenger side wing. It was drooping about 3/4", which I assumed was due to a broken frame weld. I patched it temporarily on the road a while back by welding together a 90 degree brace to support it on the outside, to keep it from getting worse.

Upon investigating, I found a warped/twisted portion of frame rail instead of a broken weld. I reinforced it by bolting on a length of 1/8" steel angle (all I could find on labor day weekend) and we'll see if it holds. Might need something stronger. I straightened out the diamond plate (bent from the sagging) to the best of my ability, but need a new piece for it to look perfect. I don't know that I care - but will probably replace it at some point because this isn't our forever camper and will eventually be on the market, and aesthetics matter.

On the truck front, I installed the window visors and Midland MXT275 GMRS radio from my old truck. I also checked to see how the SuperSprings pack from the old truck would fit the new spring pack, but without making some custom (easy to do) brackets, they won't fit without adding a ton of preload. I'm hoping I won't need them anyway.

--

My wife drove the truck today for the first time and she felt it drove a lot like the old one, but with much more responsive steering -- something I didn't notice so much in my initial drive, but is very apparent now that it's on my mind.
n0arp
Explorer
Sep 07, 2021
Dropped it off this morning to have this installed:

Requested 48" toolboxes in front of the tires, and 18" toolboxes behind, on each side if they can fit them.

Having them push the toolboxes out to 97" door to door (edge of the rub rails) for reasons to be explained later...
zb39
Explorer
Sep 08, 2021
Looking good. I doubt you will need to modify the suspension. I understand a heavy TC. How is your jeep at 6K?
n0arp
Explorer
Sep 08, 2021
zb39 wrote:
Looking good. I doubt you will need to modify the suspension. I understand a heavy TC. How is your jeep at 6K?

Jeep weighs 5560 with a full tank of fuel. It's a 2020 JLUR, MetalCloak Gamechanger 3.5 suspension + all their steering upgrades, some heavy steel armor, winch, etc. Sitting on 37x13.5 Cooper STT Pros (LRE). Plus whatever we store in it... it can hit 6K pretty easy.

Also 5.13s and RCV shafts, but those don't add much weight if any.

It would be the "Trailer Axle" in this weigh-in. I wanted an actual weight for the Jeep so it was empty of all cargo. It usually has 150+lbs of recovery gear, tools, and other junk in it. If we're in a hurry and don't pack up the truck fully, we'll throw a few hundred pounds of whatever in the Jeep, pushing it over 6K.

Also are the reasons we are moving from a 3500 to a 5500...

---

Are you running the Kelderman front+rear on your 5500? How do you like it with the Cascade?
zb39
Explorer
Sep 09, 2021
Yes, 4 link in rear and replaced coils with bags in front. I LOVE it. Best mod I have ever done.
n0arp
Explorer
Sep 09, 2021
zb39 wrote:
Yes, 4 link in rear and replaced coils with bags in front. I LOVE it. Best mod I have ever done.

Which leveling system do you have?

I had their rear suspension w/ mechanical auto leveling on my old 2500, and it was great, but I didn't bother with it on my 3500 because I was skeptical of how it would handle the big camper.

I'm considering it again on the 5500, and looking at the 3H air control system, since I think I could use that to level all four corners individually when parked (within limits, of course) sort of like a class A or fifth wheel with hydraulic leveling.
zb39
Explorer
Sep 09, 2021
I have the 3H and it levels the camper very well. Also great for loading and unloading and dumping tanks.

It handles the weight extremely well. The unloaded ride is awesome. Very comfortable.
n0arp
Explorer
Sep 09, 2021
zb39 wrote:
I have the 3H and it levels the camper very well. Also great for loading and unloading and dumping tanks.

It handles the weight extremely well. The unloaded ride is awesome. Very comfortable.

I know you probably don't have any bearing interest in Kelderman, but don't work too hard to part another $10K from my wallet...

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