My father passed away in 2021 and I inherited my father’s 2011 Dodge Ram 1500. It was a 2 wheel drive base SLT with a 8 cylinder 5.7 hemi and only 10,000 miles on the truck. I decided I could modify it into an overlanding vehicle. I began with installing a slip differential so the truck would have drive from both wheels on sand, dirt and snow. This would allow the truck to have improved overlanding qualities in the back country. Next I installed a 6 inch lift and new 35 inch tires. This increased clearance in going over rocks in the road and clearing large potholes. Then I installed nerf bars for stepping into the truck, black wheel flares to protect truck from gravel and spray from tires and also a tow hitch to attach a kayak carrier, step or bike carrier to back of the truck. I decided to install the tallest camper shell to the bed instead of a slide in camper and build out the back into my living area. Upon the shell is a roof rack system so I can attach different storage and are tractable tarp.
I decided on a pretty simple base build the camper interior. A narrow bed, with a slide out system underneath on the right side of the bed. this would have 4 inch memory foam bed with a feather topper for supreme comfort. A large lockable box near the cab to store photography gear and other stuff. This box would be Teig’s platform bed for him to sleep and rest on. A 2 tiered shelf system to store cooking gear and easy accessible things needed on a daily basis. This would become my table inside. A cleared location near the tailgate for ice chest of fridge. There is a narrow walkway in the middle of the camper which has a collapsible shelf if I want extra storage instead of the walkway. I installed an electrical system coming from the engine battery to charge a goal-zero 1500 watt hour battery for the living space and also an electrical cable to the outside as a hookup to an exterior electrical systems at campgrounds or houses. The build took me a couple of months but I am super happy with the final product. I named this new beast “Bumba”. Modifications are ongoing but I am super happy with this starting base.
