New-to-me truck and camper
I thought it would be a good idea to join this forum, as I just bought a truck and camper. I will be full-timing for at least a year, possibly longer. I would love your thoughts, tips, tricks, hints...
Forum Discussion
Well, in the weeks since my last post, we’ve been busy preparing for the camper. We installed a Bluetooth head unit in the dash, Rancho 7000 shocks in the front and 9000 adjustables in the rear. We will install the rubber bed mat and upper StableLoads later this week (basically right before we pick up the camper). The dealership will install the tie down system. Truck actually has stock sway bar, which we will try out first. If needed, I will install a Hellwig later.
The truck was in very good shape, but the radiator was corroded, so I had the entire cooling system replaced (new radiator, degas bottle, hoses, engine oil cooler, BPD EGR cooler), as the cooling system is the pivotal failure point on the 6.0 (and is responsible for the EGR failures and, ultimately, the famous head gasket issues). FICM was weak (reading 40 volts or lower), so that got replaced. Injectors were in good shape, practically like new. Metal air inlet connections, turbo got cleaned and rebuilt with new unison ring, new glow plug harness, connectors, O-rings, any hoses that were getting soft got replaced, new batteries (the old ones were 7 years old), new fluids and filters, etc.
Besides the cooling system replacements/upgrades and FICM, the most critical work was the new O-ringed heads, ARP head studs, and the tuner. The tuner was a “need.” The O-ringed heads and the studs were a “want” that I decided to go ahead and do while the cab was off. The custom tune deletes the EGR cooler without having to remove it or weld it, and it interacts with the truck’s computer to stop it from throwing codes due to the delete. If I ever want to go stock again (for emissions testing or for resale), I can set the tuner back to “stock” mode and open the EGR valve. Note that I am *not* running any “performance” tunes, adding HP, etc. The tuner also has a very good gauge displays. I’ve got EGT, TFT, EOT, and ECT on the screen. Those temps are set to give me an alarm when they start approaching critical temps (I know what those are and why they are important). Brakes are in good shape, as is the suspension system. Ball joints are good. Tie rod on driver’s side is a tad loose, but still good for another year or so. Shocks were replaced, as I mentioned above. I want to replace the spare tire with the same tire as my current Nitto Terra Grappler G2’s (which are larger than the stock 275’s), but I’m not sure if it will fit in the space allotted under the bed.
I’m having the camper dealership install a Froli sleep system and a Cirrus foam mattress, as well as an updated charge controller and a 170 watt panel (for a total of 320 watts on the roof to match with the 300 amps of batteries). Oh, I forgot to mention that last time – the batteries are in very good shape, two Lifeline 150 amp 12v batteries.
We couldn’t find any high-quality jumper cables, so we made our own with 1/0 gauge pure copper wire and clamps. Now I know why we couldn’t find the jumpers we wanted – just the components themselves were rather pricey since we bought quality. It is seriously heavy-duty, I’ll probably have them for life. I also have a 4000 amp lithium jump starter. I will be prepared to start my 6.0 diesel if I ever run the batteries down… or to start a Mack truck.
I’ve still got to get my road kit, generator, recovery straps, come-a-longs, air compressor, camp chairs, etc., etc. But the actual truck is pretty much ready to receive the camper, and the actual camper will be pretty much ready to use once I pick it up. So lots of progress made. I’ll post another update (hopefully with pics) once the camper is on the truck and I start living in it, and I’ll go back to the CAT scale and weigh the truck and camper “wet” (with 40 gallons of water and 40 pounds of propane) and post my weights here.
The truck was in very good shape, but the radiator was corroded, so I had the entire cooling system replaced (new radiator, degas bottle, hoses, engine oil cooler, BPD EGR cooler), as the cooling system is the pivotal failure point on the 6.0 (and is responsible for the EGR failures and, ultimately, the famous head gasket issues). FICM was weak (reading 40 volts or lower), so that got replaced. Injectors were in good shape, practically like new. Metal air inlet connections, turbo got cleaned and rebuilt with new unison ring, new glow plug harness, connectors, O-rings, any hoses that were getting soft got replaced, new batteries (the old ones were 7 years old), new fluids and filters, etc.
Besides the cooling system replacements/upgrades and FICM, the most critical work was the new O-ringed heads, ARP head studs, and the tuner. The tuner was a “need.” The O-ringed heads and the studs were a “want” that I decided to go ahead and do while the cab was off. The custom tune deletes the EGR cooler without having to remove it or weld it, and it interacts with the truck’s computer to stop it from throwing codes due to the delete. If I ever want to go stock again (for emissions testing or for resale), I can set the tuner back to “stock” mode and open the EGR valve. Note that I am *not* running any “performance” tunes, adding HP, etc. The tuner also has a very good gauge displays. I’ve got EGT, TFT, EOT, and ECT on the screen. Those temps are set to give me an alarm when they start approaching critical temps (I know what those are and why they are important). Brakes are in good shape, as is the suspension system. Ball joints are good. Tie rod on driver’s side is a tad loose, but still good for another year or so. Shocks were replaced, as I mentioned above. I want to replace the spare tire with the same tire as my current Nitto Terra Grappler G2’s (which are larger than the stock 275’s), but I’m not sure if it will fit in the space allotted under the bed.
I’m having the camper dealership install a Froli sleep system and a Cirrus foam mattress, as well as an updated charge controller and a 170 watt panel (for a total of 320 watts on the roof to match with the 300 amps of batteries). Oh, I forgot to mention that last time – the batteries are in very good shape, two Lifeline 150 amp 12v batteries.
We couldn’t find any high-quality jumper cables, so we made our own with 1/0 gauge pure copper wire and clamps. Now I know why we couldn’t find the jumpers we wanted – just the components themselves were rather pricey since we bought quality. It is seriously heavy-duty, I’ll probably have them for life. I also have a 4000 amp lithium jump starter. I will be prepared to start my 6.0 diesel if I ever run the batteries down… or to start a Mack truck.
I’ve still got to get my road kit, generator, recovery straps, come-a-longs, air compressor, camp chairs, etc., etc. But the actual truck is pretty much ready to receive the camper, and the actual camper will be pretty much ready to use once I pick it up. So lots of progress made. I’ll post another update (hopefully with pics) once the camper is on the truck and I start living in it, and I’ll go back to the CAT scale and weigh the truck and camper “wet” (with 40 gallons of water and 40 pounds of propane) and post my weights here.
