2021 RAM 3500 Tradesman | AEV Prospector | FWC Grandby

[ramblinChet]

What is it your building, I dont see any pics?

I am building a vehicle that I will be living in for the next several years. My plan is to travel all around these United States, visit many small towns and spend most of my time traveling through the forest, mountains, etc. and enjoying primitive camping. Much of my time will be spent reading books, taking pictures and relaxing.

In short, it will be a RAM 3500 with a Four Wheel Pop-Up Camper (Grandby) on the rear. Nothing special, just a rig to take me where I want to be.

 

[ramblinChet]

OK, here is what I have decided to use in the bed for the connection between the Four Wheel Camper and my truck. The system can accept 6 AWG wire and handle 70 Adc and this is what each wire will be used for:

• 12 Vdc at 30 amps running from vehicle battery to DC charge controller
• ground running from engine block to DC charge controller
• 12Vdc running from 7-pin trailer connector to camper running lights

MARINCO 70A 3-Wire Trolling Motor Plug & Receptacle Combo

 

[McHenry2500]

Maybe a crazy question, but since you're going to be overlanding quite a bit, have you looked into some form of solar powered add on for the roof of the camper? Just to help with the battery charging?

 

[ramblinChet]

Maybe a crazy question, but since you're going to be overlanding quite a bit, have you looked into some form of solar powered add on for the roof of the camper? Just to help with the battery charging?

Oh heck yeah - my plan is to try and squeeze 1 kW in total panels up top although I may be limited to 60-70% of that. My primary source will be solar although I wanted to install a DC-to-DC charge controller from the vehicle as a secondary method.

 

[McHenry2500]

TBH, I'm surprised more "off-grid" campers don't have the solar panel roof as an option. Seems like it'd be very popular given the increased efficiency compared to what they had just 10 years ago.

 

[ramblinChet]

And here is some fine 6 AWG Ancor marine grade tinned battery cable I just ordered to be used with the connector above.

 

[Houston762]

Today I was able to install the OEM rear inner fender liners along with the Mopar off-road fender flares.

Truck with new Mopar off-road fender flares:
View attachment 15643

Close up of front:
View attachment 15644

Close up of rear:
View attachment 15645

Close up of inner fender liner:
View attachment 15646

Oblique shot of front:
View attachment 15647

Oblique shot of rear:
View attachment 15648

Detail shot of front rear section:
View attachment 15649

Detail shot of rear rear section:
View attachment 15650

Do those actually bolt on at each visible bolt or adhesive strips ?

 

[ramblinChet]

Do those actually bolt on at each visible bolt or adhesive strips ?

The Mopar off-road fender flares use many of the same factory screws that hold the inner fender liner in place. The bolts you see about the outer circumference of the flare are real bolts although they are very short and are just for aesthetic appeal - they do not perform any other function. There are no adhesive strips used anywhere and the system is very nice overall,

 

[ramblinChet]

Today was an interesting day regarding upgrades to my truck - I am now scheduled for my Prospector build at AEV in Michigan.

We initially began discussing my desire for their suspension, rims and BFG ATs. The conversation turned towards my desire to mount the Warn 16.5ti so we began reviewing their bumpers. Time is critical to me and being able to ship my vehicle to them in late July and to have everything completed and delivered back four to six weeks later is worth it right now. My Prospector build is as follows:

• Prospector package
• AEV Salta HD wheels - black
• BFG 37" K02 All Terrain tires
• AEV 3" DualSport suspension
• AEV logo headrest
• Mopar high flare kit
• AEV front bumper light bezel
• AEV front bumper low tube
• Tire pressure sensors (TPMS) x4
• AEV HD front bumper
• AEV HD rear bumper
• Warn 16.5ti winch
• AEV branding kit - black
• AEV license plate mount
• AEV full-size trail recovery kit

My total including Michigan sales tax is $16,687.22

 

[SFAngus]

That's awesome! I've always been a big fan of the AEV conversions. I'm assuming this doesn't change anything with the camper set-up, or are you going with the AEV platform bed?

 

[McHenry2500]

TBH, that's cheaper than what I assumed an AEV conversion would be. Keep us posted!

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Today was an interesting day regarding upgrades to my truck - I am now scheduled for my Prospector build at AEV in Michigan.

We initially began discussing my desire for their suspension, rims and BFG ATs. The conversation turned towards my desire to mount the Warn 16.5ti so we began reviewing their bumpers. Time is critical to me and being able to ship my vehicle to them in late July and to have everything completed and delivered back four to six weeks later is worth it right now. My Prospector build is as follows:

• Prospector package
• AEV Salta HD wheels - black
• BFG 37" K02 All Terrain tires
• AEV 3" DualSport suspension
• AEV logo headrest
• Mopar high flare kit
• AEV front bumper light bezel
• AEV front bumper low tube
• Tire pressure sensors (TPMS) x4
• AEV HD front bumper
• AEV HD rear bumper
• Warn 16.5ti winch
• AEV branding kit - black
• AEV license plate mount

My total including Michigan sales tax is $16,183.71

View attachment 16898

That’s really not a bad price. I know I have over $5k in my AEV front bumper/ warn winch alone. Can’t wait for the finished pics.

 

[loveracing1988]

Today was an interesting day regarding upgrades to my truck - I am now scheduled for my Prospector build at AEV in Michigan.

We initially began discussing my desire for their suspension, rims and BFG ATs. The conversation turned towards my desire to mount the Warn 16.5ti so we began reviewing their bumpers. Time is critical to me and being able to ship my vehicle to them in late July and to have everything completed and delivered back four to six weeks later is worth it right now. My Prospector build is as follows:

• Prospector package
• AEV Salta HD wheels - black
• BFG 37" K02 All Terrain tires
• AEV 3" DualSport suspension
• AEV logo headrest
• Mopar high flare kit
• AEV front bumper light bezel
• AEV front bumper low tube
• Tire pressure sensors (TPMS) x4
• AEV HD front bumper
• AEV HD rear bumper
• Warn 16.5ti winch
• AEV branding kit - black
• AEV license plate mount

My total including Michigan sales tax is $16,183.71

View attachment 16898

I was just there when I was picking up my AEV wheels, awesome place.

 

[ramblinChet]

That's awesome! I've always been a big fan of the AEV conversions. I'm assuming this doesn't change anything with the camper set-up, or are you going with the AEV platform bed?

I am sticking with the traditional bed and slide-in camper since I am only $18k deep for the Grandby shell with a few options. The flat-bed camper and tray combos are awesome but that would cost $40-50k total and that was not in the plans for this particular build. Maybe someday in the future though!

TBH, that's cheaper than what I assumed an AEV conversion would be. Keep us posted!

Yes, if you figure a minimum of forty hours of labor at $125 per hour that is $5k right there. I am not sure exactly how long it takes them but I can assure you that I would not be able to locate all of those parts, unpack, inventory, perform research for the installation, take all the old parts off and bolt the new ones on, set the alignment, test drive, clean and deliver in forty hours. And even if I could I would be doing this for the first time whereas this is what they do all the time - I'll pay for expert service.

That’s really not a bad price. I know I have over $5k in my AEV front bumper/ warn winch alone. Can’t wait for the finished pics.

It's really not and you can speak from experience but I can't imagine moving around that bumper with a winch in it.

I was just there when I was picking up my AEV wheels, awesome place.

Unfortunately they were closed due to COVID although I was able to check out some cool rigs in the parking lot. I called them and the gentleman I talked with said pretty much everyone in the office is working from home so there is no visitation. It's a sharp looking building though and seeing those trucks outside sold me.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Today was an interesting day regarding upgrades to my truck - I am now scheduled for my Prospector build at AEV in Michigan.

We initially began discussing my desire for their suspension, rims and BFG ATs. The conversation turned towards my desire to mount the Warn 16.5ti so we began reviewing their bumpers. Time is critical to me and being able to ship my vehicle to them in late July and to have everything completed and delivered back four to six weeks later is worth it right now. My Prospector build is as follows:

• Prospector package
• AEV Salta HD wheels - black
• BFG 37" K02 All Terrain tires
• AEV 3" DualSport suspension
• AEV logo headrest
• Mopar high flare kit
• AEV front bumper light bezel
• AEV front bumper low tube
• Tire pressure sensors (TPMS) x4
• AEV HD front bumper
• AEV HD rear bumper
• Warn 16.5ti winch
• AEV branding kit - black
• AEV license plate mount

My total including Michigan sales tax is $16,183.71

View attachment 16898

Damnnn that's sexy!!

 

[GeneralClortho]

That escalated quickly, lol. This build is getting better and better. I was chatting with you on sheet 1 when we were both ordering our trucks in a similar way. I ended up going with a base, Tradesman Power Wagon as the cost of adding the aftermarket parts would make it a wash, and it would not have lockers or disco's. I see your build is going way beyond what mine will be.

Please keep up the great posts!

 

[ramblinChet]

Here is my thinking - I was going to purchase the AEV lift, rims and BFG tires anyway so I was already part of the way there. A winch was going to be installed also and I had been considering using the Power Wagon brackets and the Warm M12000. Since I would have a 2k camper on the back and other gear I really wanted to use the Warn 16.5ti but was not confident the Power Wagon brackets were designed for that load so in the interest of safety I began to consider the AEV front bumper which was specifically designed to mount the Warn 16.5ti. Problem solved.

Well gosh, if I am going to mount the front bumper I might as well balance things out with the rear. Plus, I am betting AEV will eventually release a rear tire carrier to add to the existing bumper so now lugging a 37" spare is not an issue. OK, now I have a rear bumper also. With the suspension, rims, tires, and both bumpers I am essentially buying all the major components of the Prospector kit. Time is critical for me so buying all the parts, the cost of shipping them down, scheduling time to install, etc. all adds up. It made perfectly good sense to plan to drop my truck off at AEV and pick it up four or so weeks later. They are the experts and I will gladly pay the few extra dollars for them to perform the install since they had all the knowledge, specialized tools, etc.

@GeneralClortho - Your truck looks great - talk about getting right down to business!!!

 

[ramblinChet]

For some time now I have been researching Coyote and Staun automatic tire deflators and decided the Coyote's were better for my application so I ordered up a set of four with an initial setting of 20 PSI.

 

[ramblinChet]

Of course, a good tire gauge from Longacre Racing Products will work well for checking tire pressures for on and off road.

 

[Brewbud]

For some time now I have been researching Coyote and Staun automatic tire deflators and decided the Coyote's were better for my application so I ordered up a set of four with an initial setting of 20 PSI.

View attachment 17288

I like that they set the initial pressure for you. It was a bit of a pain to set up my Stauns the first time.