The Dirt Sherpa Build

[GCecchetto]

I've seen a lot of posts about a "leaking rear main seal" on other forums, and most of the time it's just some sort of lube used in manufacturing. Probably nothing to worry about.

Which EVIC do you have? My '13 had the 7", I chose the "dumber" version on my '14. I usually leave it on Trip A or Trip B, and it stays on that screen at each start up.

Yes, I'm aware of the assembly lube theory, and I hope that is the case. Cummins builds the best diesel you can get in an LT truck and they usually don't have mechanical issue like that. We've wiped off the oil 3 times and it keeps coming back, so I don't know how much assembly lube there could be in there but I hope it stops soon.

I have the same small EVIC that you have. I normally keep it on the drive train vitals screen, and once in a while it will still be on that screen when I get back in and start the truck, but most times it's on the TPMS screen, but then other times it's all the way back out at the parent menu. Pretty random really. I also got in the truck once and the drivers seat was reclined all the way back. I have the premium bench so the drivers side is electric but it doesn't have any memory, so go figure that one out. Chrysler should be ashamed of themselves for building crap like this!

 

[GCecchetto]

Well, tomorrow morning we head out for two weeks on the road. Sure would be nice to have the interior completed, but we'll have to make the best of it as it is. It's in much better shape than it was last time around. Here are a few photos of the current state of the build.

Here are the finished doors to the wheel well access holes. I may redo these at some point, if I can come up with a cleaner way to build these. Note the Temp floor covering for the trip as well.



Rear flood lights.



Propane tank box finally installed. No more reaching in to unlock the camper door. This is a key component to being ready to start the casework.



Temp switching for the porch and rear flood lights. Temp wiring sure is ugly! Propane box from the inside.



Temp 12 volt power outlets.



And finally....new sneakers for the offroad exploration parts of the trip.



This evening I'll be installing some cargo tie down tracks on the floor of the camper so we can secure our gear.

Peace Out.

 

[rayct77]

Looks awesome. Nice and clean


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bill harr]

Camper is coming together, the small stuff takes the time. You will find things you want to do or change on your trip, keep a note pad handy. Looking forward to your trip report.

Bill in STockton

 

[Sock Puppet]

Looks great! Have fun on the road!

 

[GCecchetto]

Thanks guys. At Billion Ram in Bozeman at the moment. Check Engine light came on yesterday but fortunately the truck was still running fine. There was an update needed for the ECM. These folks are awesome, wish our CA dealers were this good. The truck has been awesome the whole trip, too bad it through a code and tainted the first road trip. The truck still ran fine and the code cleared this morning so not that big of a deal. Hopefully the update solves whatever caused the code.

What has been really nice is the integrated exhaust brake. The only time I use the brakes on hills is to lightly tap them to engage the exhaust brake. The mileage has been really good too. The Ram gets better mileage with the camper on than the tundra did empty. The tundra would average 10.2 with the camper, the ram is averaging 15.5, hand calc'd of course.

 

[chet6.7]

Do you carry a code reader to reset codes?
It is my understanding that if the CEL is not flashing it is OK to operate the truck.
Glad you found a good dealer,I wonder what that is like.

 

[soulpatch]

Inspirational.

 

[escadventure]

Camper mods looking good.

 

[GCecchetto]

Howdy Folks;

Thanks for the kind words. Just got back in town yesterday, 8 states, 15 days, 3,891 miles. I hit the point where I has settled in to the routine and could easily have kept going. The stop at Billion was a quick one, in and out in an hour. No further issues with the truck, other than the radio that keeps switching inputs on it's own. The tech at Billion reset it, but the problems persist. The Tech did tell me that there are a couple of additional updates coming out soon, one for the trans and one to address the hunting throttle issue, so i'll get those done as soon as they are available. The truck really did perform well, and the MPG's were excellent.

It will take me a while to get all the images from the camera sorted and processed so hang tight for a trip report.

Here's a few spoiler photos. They're just from my phone, the real deal to follow.







The site isn't letting me upload additional photos, or any of the panoramas. I'll try again in a new post.

 

[GCecchetto]

And another.



Can't get the others to upload. Wish it would take the panoramas, but no dice.

 

[GCecchetto]

I'm Back!

Howdy folks;

Been a long time since my last post. Haven't had much ambition to work on the Sherpa over the winter, but know that summer is here I'm back at it trying to get my dinette built before our big trip in August. The first step in the process is to get the 21 gallon fresh water tank and the bulkhead that closes the tank of installed. I've been working on that this weekend and am getting close. To finish that step off I'll have to order my pump and tank level monitoring system. Made the decision to build the interior panels below the dinette seats out of 1/8" aluminum that will be covered with an indoor/outdoor carpet. I made that decision to to save space and to allow for the radius corners I want so it doesn't look like every other camper interior. I post some photos of the progress some time in the next week.

Here is a photo of the real reason I haven't gotten anything done on the Sherpa. Have been tricking out Katie for two wheeled adventures.

 

[Super Doody]

Howdy folks;

Been a long time since my last post. Haven't had much ambition to work on the Sherpa over the winter, but know that summer is here I'm back at it trying to get my dinette built before our big trip in August. The first step in the process is to get the 21 gallon fresh water tank and the bulkhead that closes the tank of installed. I've been working on that this weekend and am getting close. To finish that step off I'll have to order my pump and tank level monitoring system. Made the decision to build the interior panels below the dinette seats out of 1/8" aluminum that will be covered with an indoor/outdoor carpet. I made that decision to to save space and to allow for the radius corners I want so it doesn't look like every other camper interior. I post some photos of the progress some time in the next week.

Here is a photo of the real reason I haven't gotten anything done on the Sherpa. Have been tricking out Katie for two wheeled adventures.

View attachment 293410

Thanks for the update. I have been wondering about your camper build.

 

[GCecchetto]

Hopefully I'll get my mojo on again and start making some progress.

 

[GCecchetto]

So I've been bust trying to get the dinette built out for our trip coming up at the end of the month. Wish I hadn't have let this go so long, now it's a full court press get this done before we leave. Doesn't seem that many are following the build anymore (what do I expect after dead air for long) so I didn't take a bunch of photos. Don't really have the time for photos either. Any way here's a few photos of the progress so far, not sure how I'm going to get this done before we leave.

I made the decision to build the lower storage units under the dinette seating and water tank bulkhead out of aluminum. It durable, unaffected by moisture, very thin so preserves as much useful space as possible, and allows for the radius corners I wanted. It is a lot of work though.

Here are the lower storage unites temporarily fastened in place. The smaller unit to front has to be removed to access the port to the wheel well when putting the camper on the truck.


Here's the Lagun table arm in place and the fold-over seat in place while I figure out how I want to build all of this.