Ok, so I just scored and older cabover camper to go on my mega cab. It has a queen bed over the cab, a bed where the table is, and a pull down bed. It also has a fridge, oven, stove, crapper, and shower. I dont really know a whole lot about these, but its in pretty damn good shape and I only paid $375.00 for it.

My question is that is doesnt have any paperwork as far as owners manual etc, and I am in the dark about how things work.

It has an on board battery, or the ability to run off of an extension chord, but can it also run off of the 7-pin connector from my truck??

When using the fridge, should I leave it on while driving and have it off of propane or can I use the aforementioned power off of my dodge??

Thats all I can think of right now, but if anyone has any previous lessons learned that they would like to inform me of that would be great, I am not a complete moron, but have been known to do some dumb shit in my day and I would like to keep this nice and not damage it because of my stupidity!!

Dane

It's illegal to have the propane on while you're driving plus those fridges need to be within just a few degrees of level to work properly so that's kind of out. It should work pretty reliably on electric power on the road. Even if it doesn't you could just turn it on before you get somewhere and then when you get there. It should hold a reasonable temp for that time span. If you have to put an ice block in there so be it.

Running off the 7 pin connector would be ok for very light loads, but the wiring is pretty light. On top of that your truck's starting battery is not going to like deep discharges so I would limit using that option to when the engine is running.

You didn't mention what kind of battery it has in it, but I have a sinking suspicion that it's just a regular Marine/RV deep cycle. Do yourself a favor and get a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries and wire them in series to 12 volts for the inverter. You will be able to run a long time off a pair of ~200 amp hour batteries. I can run my two fridges, stereo, TV, PS2, lights, etc for 24 hours on my pair of batteries if I want to cycle them deep. A deep depth of discharge is not the most optimal thing for a battery, but those golf cart batteries have nice big thick plates and should last 3-5 years.

It's illegal to have the propane on while you're driving plus those fridges need to be within just a few degrees of level to work properly so that's kind of out. ....

Not entirely true... Well at least not in any place I've ever been. ~Generally~ it's not against the law to run with propane on.. And if it is, it'll be posted as a sign - like on a ferry, certain bridges, or tunnels.

They work within 3-6 degrees of level when sitting still. When rolling down the road the tolerance is MUCH greater as the bumping allows amonia to circulate as it's supposed to.

Well then there ya go. Use the propane. I would still recommend doing something about the battery if it is in fact an el-cheapo RV/Marine deep cycle.

Might help to post year, make and model.

Running off propane on the road is fine, if it will stay light. Mine usually blows out, so that's a loss cause (and the fridge is to stupid to keep trying to re-light it..)

You are supposed to turn off the propane when refueling the vehicle.

I would not run the camper off the truck battery when parked, you will end up with a dead battery with no way to start the truck.

Might help to post year, make and model.

Running off propane on the road is fine, if it will stay light. Mine usually blows out, so that's a loss cause (and the fridge is to stupid to keep trying to re-light it..)...

Yours ~should~ stay lit.... If not, you could check for the appropriate baffles... They should keep the flame protected from on-the-road winds and high parked winds (like if you were parked along the beach)... Another problem could be your thermocoupler isn't in the best position. This guy detects the flame and keeps the gas on. If it's a bit out of place, it won't detect the flame and then it'll shut the gas off as a safety feature...

~IF~ it won't run on propane when sitting still in non-windy conditions, you likely have a forked up logic board. They do go bad - commonly. I had to replace one, one time that would just randomly stop (on the road, parked, etc)... You can get either a OEM replacement or a Dinosaur brand (knockoff) for about $100.

www.rv.net has some good info on "TC"s. Happy camping!!

Thank you all, this has been helpful to me and hopefully will be helpful to others. It does have some POS marine battery, but I will pick up some golf cart batteries. I wasnt too worried about the batteries in my mega cab, it has two and i have let it sit with stuff on for hours with no restart problems, but I dont really want to risk it.

So, does having the camper hooked up to city power charge the battery in the camper, or do I physically need to pull the battery and put it on a trickle charger when Im not using the camper. Its not a huge issue, but would be cool if it charged off of my house!!!

Dane

The battery should charge when you have the 110 plugged in...

before I leave on a trip, I plug mine in and let the fridge get cold ;)

I didn't test my water heater before I went out with mine the first time... The pilot wouldn't light and we wound up taking things apart and trouble shooting it. Something I should have done at home ;)

not trying to hi-jack the thread... but I thought I heard the mega cab chassis wasn't built to handle a cabover camper?

If it has the old style magnatek battery charger, it will cook the batteries if left plugged in too long. those chargers will just keep charging even when it's not needed.

As for the fridge not staying light in my camper, it's a common and known problem with the model I have, and the suggestion is to pop for the dinosaur electronics board. I'm just too lazy at the moment to order one and replace the old one..

The battery charging all depends on your converter setup. Most that I have seen are a combination converter/inverter with a built in charger. Some stuff is wired to run off 12 volt DC and some off 120 volt AC. What the converter will do is automatically switch on when it senses 120 volt input and turn off it's inverter so that your 120 volt power is all coming from the shore power and the inverter is off. The converter portion will provide 12 volt power to those accesories and it will also charge the batteries. Pretty cool, eh?

The problem is that most of these units SUCK. Iota and several others do make good ones, but you'll pay. Basically I would feel fine using what you have when you're on the road, but don't trust it when the thing is sitting long term. About the best thing you can do is spend $40 on a Deltran Battery Tender. They are the first and still the best when it comes to maintenance chargers. They pulse charge to break up sulphation, turn on automatically, come with quick disconnect leads, etc. You can get a cheaper maintenance charger, but you won't get a better one. If you go the 6 volt golf cart battery route I prefer to get a pair of 6 volt chargers and break the series connection between the batteries instead of using a single 12 volt model on the pair.

The choice is up to you and it REALLY depends on what your factory set up is in the first place, but Deltran gets my vote for offseason storage. Do something atleast. Lead acid batteries will discharge about 3% per day and will get sulphation on the plates as a result. Heck, it's that sulphation that means the chemical reaction is taking place. What kills them is to sit discharged like that because the sulphation gets rock hard and kills the cell. Lead acid batteries like to be worked. If they aren't being worked they like to be charged.....routinely. Don't be that guy that lets it sit for 6 months, throws the charger on for a few hours before he goes out, and then bitches that it doesn't work.....unless you want to keep guys like me in business. :flipoff2:

Read up....good shit on this guy's site.

http://phrannie.org/phredex.html

not trying to hi-jack the thread... but I thought I heard the mega cab chassis wasn't built to handle a cabover camper?

Right!
How much does this camper weigh?
Mega cabs are not rated for a slide in camper.

Shit, you gotta be kidding me. I will try and dig up some info on the truck/camper situation and get back to everyone. I have seen a bunch on the road, but damnit maybe they are just jackasses too!!!

Dane

The battery charging all depends on your converter setup. Most that I have seen are a combination converter/inverter with a built in charger.

Convert/invert with charger are only seen in bigger motorhomes, unless someone has dropped some serious coin to have a coach rewired and one installed.

What you see in regular rv's are converters with charge capability.

Converter turns 120 volts ac into 12 volt dc. Inverter turns 12 volt dc into 120 volt ac. Equipment to invert power is alot more expensive.

If you are looking at a panel with 120 breakers and 12 volt fuses, it's just the power distribution center. All of your fuses and breakers put in one place.

I did something like THIS (http://home.earthlink.net/~whemme/) with a Intellipower converter with Chargewizard, and I've been very happy with it ever since.

I did find scorch marks on the floor under the converter, so I know it got REALLY REALLY hot at one time.

That Intellipower write up is awesome, and should be put in the archives here! Going that route can even be cheaper that a replacement lower unit.

Mine is set up to be cheap, reliable, and foolproof. The only 12 volt circuits I have are those that were stock in the bus. They are run through the j-block and are keyed so I hardly use them anyway.

I have three 120 volt legs installed right now and am looking to add 1 more. All use different colored wires where they come into my electrical compartment for easy ID. I have a pair of 750 watt Vector modified sine wave inverters mounted in that that I paid $80.08 for shipped off eBay. All I do is plug in the circuit I want electrified into either one of those (try to balance the load each inverter takes). I also mounted up a 2 gang 20 amp outlet box with a short 10 gauge pigtail coming off it that runs outside. I hook up my shorepower from the gennie or outlet to that and can plug in the circuits to that. That way I can mix and match what circuits are off the inverter and which ones are off shore power with absolutely no risk of backfeeding from having two sources of power that are out of phase. A couple of used UPS units on circuits such as the one the TV and PS2 are on allows switching power without losing your game. All the outlets have breakers, surge protectors, and GFCI's. I charge the batteries manually because I don't trust a lot of automatic chargers. Sometimes stupid just works....

Get some pics of your electrical cause now I'm interested.....that is....after you figure out if you can evn lug this thing around.

Wow, great information here!!!

I just got off the phone with Daimler Chrysler Technical support...meaning not the local dealer. They said that there is no mechanical problems with putting a slide in camper in a Mega Cab. I have a 3500 so you might want to check if you have a 3/4 or 1/2 ton. They did mention that you need to watch your overall weight for safety issues, but I am super cautious when hauling a big load or pulling a trailer so I dont see this being a concern. Just wanted to update everyone about the mega cab situation.

Dane

Right, thats why I asked what the weight was :).
The Mega cab does not come with an Camper endorsement at all.
Sure you can put one in, I mean heck its only payload.
BUT the weight of the Mega cab is a lot, (even seen a true 1/2 mega cab? they don't exist)
If you have a 3k camper, I would not put it in a megacab.

Right, thats why I asked what the weight was :).
The Mega cab does not come with an Camper endorsement at all.
Sure you can put one in, I mean heck its only payload.
BUT the weight of the Mega cab is a lot, (even seen a true 1/2 mega cab? they don't exist)
If you have a 3k camper, I would not put it in a megacab.

do you mean a 1/2 ton mega cab? I have seen one! The guy down the street has a bright ass red one.

Go look again, its has solid axles and 8 lugs.
Its a light duty 3/4 ton. ;)

Damnit, I will have to weigh the camper and report back, this was such a killer deal that I dont really want to have to turn it over to a friend, but whatever, I will let you all know what it weighs when I get a chance.

Dane

Damnit, I will have to weigh the camper and report back, this was such a killer deal that I dont really want to have to turn it over to a friend, but whatever, I will let you all know what it weighs when I get a chance.

Dane

what size camper? It may still have the tag... my lance is a 1985 10.5' and the tag says 2,377lbs.

Again, I am totally new to these, where might I find the tag with the weight on it?? There is no way this thing is ten and a half feet long, its eight feet max, plus the part over the cab.

Dane

mine is on the outside by the backdoor... The 10.5 measurement is basically the truck bed measurement, mine fits an 8' bed and hangs off 2.5' :eek: The
'cabover' part is not included in the basic size callout.

what size camper? It may still have the tag... my lance is a 1985 10.5' and the tag says 2,377lbs.

That has to be the totally "dry" weight.

My Lance 500 (9'10", 1996 model) sticker says it's weight is 2944lbs.

I'll check this weekend on the weight. Mine fits in the bed of the mega cab and hangs over the back about the distance of the tailgate being down. The bed is about 6' so I am guessing its 8' total.

Dane

That has to be the totally "dry" weight.

My Lance 500 (9'10", 1996 model) sticker says it's weight is 2944lbs.

you mean that doesn't include my wife, two kids, ton's of clothes, toys, diapers, food, drinks and shit? :flipoff2:

not to high jack the thread but do they make campers that will fit a short bed?? i'd like to have a camper AND tow my toyota truck.. am i nuts?:laughing: :flipoff2:

I am planning on having the camper in the bed of my truck and pulling my trailer. My camper overhangs the truck, but I think the trailer will still fit under the overhang of the camper with enough space to clear everything. Airbags are only about $200, so I think I will be o.k., but will need to do some more research on what the truck to handle. I believe that I have seen short bed campers before, but Im not 100% sure.

Dane

Go look again, its has solid axles and 8 lugs.
Its a light duty 3/4 ton. ;)

Nope, 5 lugs.

Possibly a "light duty 3/4 ton" as you said, but Dodge it pimping them as a 1500 on their site. Here is the link where I found the pic (http://www.dodge.com/en/ram_1500/features/interior.html?feature=mega_cab).

not to high jack the thread but do they make campers that will fit a short bed?? i'd like to have a camper AND tow my toyota truck.. am i nuts?:laughing: :flipoff2:

Plenty of campers for short bed trucks, I just bought a 8'6" sunlite 865 for my short bed ford, it fits perfectly with the tailgate down, and can still tow my jeep without a hitch extension.

Nope, 5 lugs.

Possibly a "light duty 3/4 ton" as you said, but Dodge it pimping them as a 1500 on their site. Here is the link where I found the pic (http://www.dodge.com/en/ram_1500/features/interior.html?feature=mega_cab).


Every 06 and 07 I have seen that is 4x4 is 8 Lug. I noticed it this weekend when I was truck shopping at the local dealers.


Maybe that is a older concept pic?

not to high jack the thread but do they make campers that will fit a short bed?? i'd like to have a camper AND tow my toyota truck.. am i nuts?:laughing: :flipoff2:

I have a 10.5' camper and tow my gigantic buggy :eek: just need a 15k super hitch, 24" extension and air bags :D

Maybe that is a older concept pic?

That makes sense as the spec sheet lists a solid front axle, as mentioned earlier.

I have a 10.5' camper and tow my gigantic buggy :eek: just need a 15k super hitch, 24" extension and air bags :D

i'm ok with everything except the extension..... those things scare the hell out of me:eek: not so much the weight capacity or anything like that, it's when you turn you have all that extra leverage pushing the ass end of the truck around but then again i guess you have the weight of the camper. too bad they dont make some wight distributing hitch with an extension:laughing:

post pics.

Nope, 5 lugs.

Possibly a "light duty 3/4 ton" as you said, but Dodge it pimping them as a 1500 on their site. Here is the link where I found the pic (http://www.dodge.com/en/ram_1500/features/interior.html?feature=mega_cab).

Looks like a rendering to me as well.
I have never seen a 5 lug megacab, I don't think they exist.
Quick search on e-bay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Ram-1500-MEGACAB-2006-DODGE-RAM-MEGACAB-1500-4X4-LEATHER-HEMI-SAVE_W0QQitemZ290102860092QQihZ019QQcategoryZ31831 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i'm ok with everything except the extension..... those things scare the hell out of me:eek: not so much the weight capacity or anything like that, it's when you turn you have all that extra leverage pushing the ass end of the truck around but then again i guess you have the weight of the camper. too bad they dont make some wight distributing hitch with an extension:laughing:

post pics.

Dude the super hitch and hitch extension is fukin solid! It is 'triangulated' :laughing: with chain back up to each corner of the hitch. The hitch that bolts to the truck is seriously twice the size of my stock hitch :eek: And yes, you can put a WD hitch on and that's how you get the full rating anyhow. I don't know what you are pullin with but my CC LB F350 SRW pulled better than I thought it would :D

I have a 10.5' camper and tow my gigantic buggy :eek: just need a 15k super hitch, 24" extension and air bags :D

That's just a bit over $1000. Cut them a check. :flipoff2:

Dude the super hitch and hitch extension is fukin solid! It is 'triangulated' :laughing: with chain back up to each corner of the hitch. The hitch that bolts to the truck is seriously twice the size of my stock hitch :eek: And yes, you can put a WD hitch on and that's how you get the full rating anyhow. I don't know what you are pullin with but my CC LB F350 SRW pulled better than I thought it would :D

srw short bed ext cab cummins:grinpimp:

post pics of your hitch

That's just a bit over $1000. Cut them a check. :flipoff2:

for the hitch?!?!?!? holy shit:eek:


the only reason i say i dont like the hitch setup, my step dad had an extension (~18") and all he towed as a little 16' open bow boat and he's only ever done it once:laughing: i never asked him why i just assumed it scared the shit outta him:laughing: but it could have been the fact he used a 97 3/4 chevy with a 350 and 3.54 gears:laughing:

That's just a bit over $1000. Cut them a check. :flipoff2:

I got lucky and scored mine used in great condition for $500 :D

srw short bed ext cab cummins:grinpimp:

post pics of your hitch



for the hitch?!?!?!? holy shit:eek:


the only reason i say i dont like the hitch setup, my step dad had an extension (~18") and all he towed as a little 16' open bow boat and he's only ever done it once:laughing: i never asked him why i just assumed it scared the shit outta him:laughing: but it could have been the fact he used a 97 3/4 chevy with a 350 and 3.54 gears:laughing:

I'll try and snap a pic of the hitch on the truck tonight. I seen them on ebay awhile back for 800ish with an extension. Yeah... they are expensive, but it ain't no janky ass booty fab extension like the one that came with my lance camper :laughing:

fullsizeyota here's the superhitch on my truck

fullsizeyota here's the superhitch on my truck

Why did you just paint one leg of your camper mount (in the background) black? :flipoff2:

fullsizeyota here's the superhitch on my truck

and you think that would do it huh? i'm not being sarcastic, my yota truck weighs around~ 4K i would guess, i have never weighed it.

trailer is prbably about the same

i guess with the dual reciever mount it might work.. i have only ever seen 1 or 2 of those on the road, i thought they were for adjustability:laughing:

how does your truck do with it?? seems it would really maginfy your toungue weight since it's clear back there...

also, this seems stupid, but whats the brand on that thing? when i search "super hitch" all i get is reese brand stuff:confused:

also, this seems stupid, but whats the brand on that thing? when i search "super hitch" all i get is reese brand stuff:confused:
Torklift (http://www.torklift.com/p.php?w_page=superhitch)

Why did you just paint one leg of your camper mount (in the background) black? :flipoff2:

so that my tail pipe wouldn't make it black :flipoff2:

and you think that would do it huh? i'm not being sarcastic, my yota truck weighs around~ 4K i would guess, i have never weighed it.

trailer is prbably about the same

i guess with the dual reciever mount it might work.. i have only ever seen 1 or 2 of those on the road, i thought they were for adjustability:laughing:

how does your truck do with it?? seems it would really maginfy your toungue weight since it's clear back there...

also, this seems stupid, but whats the brand on that thing? when i search "super hitch" all i get is reese brand stuff:confused:

My truck handled decent... I found myself creepin up on 65-70 and not feeling uncomfortable. Did fine on the steeep ass crooked m-f'n roads I gotta drive to get out of my friggin county :laughing: My buggy has got to be in the 5-6k range atleast, it's over built :D and I know my trailer is 1500, truck is 8k and camper says 2400... Conservative estimate puts everything at 17.5k not including people and all the shit we bring on a trip. Figure I'm probably sittin around 19-20k with everything.

I put my buggy in the same spot on the trailer like I always have for comparrison. I think a little less tongue weight next time and I'll have the sweet spot for the truck/camper/trailer/buggy combo. I did do airbags and I filled them to about 90psi cause that's what leveled the truck and trailer out. I have an older WD hitch that I havn't tried yet... but I will. I hear a WD hitch really makes a diff with this kind of setup.

I was skeptical of the superhitch too... but I checked on it at stops and it was tight, felt solid, everything looked good and the whole setup seemed to pull fine :D

Is there going to be a problem if I dont do a hitch extension as long as my trailer doesnt hit the camper??? The only problem I would see would be if I drove down a steep grade to flat area and made the trailer "V" at the hitch, but that would have to be a hell of a drainage ditch!!! Other than that as long as I have enough turning radius without hitting anything I should be cool right?? I feel like I'm overthinking this, but it seems too simple to work out this easily!!!

Dane

put airbags on the mother fucker, call it good. damn trucks can hold some lbs. So if it cant go on the bed then well just have to buy fifth wheel flat beds and put the damn thing on there. Who th hell would ever buy a 1/2 ton mega cab?

40k truck and $400 camper, doesnt make any sense.

40k truck and $400 camper, doesnt make any sense.

I came across a good deal and jumped on it, what part of that doesnt make sense??? I drive my $50k truck every day and use the camper maybe once a month, seems to make good sense to me!!

Dane

I came across a good deal and jumped on it, what part of that doesnt make sense??? I drive my $50k truck every day and use the camper maybe once a month, seems to make good sense to me!!

Dane

hey asshole, post pics of said camper already:grinpimp: :flipoff2:

40k truck and $400 camper, doesnt make any sense.


Makes perfect sense to me, its called logic, buy a 400 dollar camper after you just brought a 40K truck cause its all you can afford!

Ok I will post pics of camper tomorrow or monday!! Although slightly offensive and moderately humurous PHANTOM, that is not the reason.

Dane