61 replies to this topic

[Bad Habit]

Finished?  Never say finished, if the truck hears you say that, things will start breaking so you show it some attention

 

Nice job on the skid plates, those look beefy enough to give you some good protection.

 

I was just pondering a way to add some sort of retaining clip or something for the turnbuckles the other day, that's a good idea, thanks!

[smlobx]

Nice work...

A couple of questions.. Are the interior mounting plates installed over the carpet?

Did you put that cotter pin and washer on the turnbuckles yourself? I love that idea.

Love the tank protection! I wish i could find someone near me to do that...

[Bad Habit]

Look for Jeep and other offroad shops, many do fabrication and don't stick to just Jeeps for that kind of work.  they'll understand what your after and probably have a lot of good suggections

[DoGMAtix]

You're right, Bad Habit. There will be more (hopefully minor) catastrophes along the road and the end will undoubtedly be a tragic one in a God-forsaken wash in the middle of nowhere. But for now we're looking pretty solid and are ready for another season of seeing where our truck/camper can get us to.

 

Smlobx: Mounting plates are installed over the carpet. You could cut out a section of carpet to mount the plates more cleanly and have them sit a bit closer to flush with the carpet surface beneath the cushions. Maybe we'll do that to ours now that you mention it. I will have to at least make a mental note to tighten the carriage bolts when we've driven it a bit, the carpet will probably compress some.

The metal fabricator drilled the holes for the cotter pins. I didn't ask how he did it exactly, but I suspect he used some kind of industrial drill press and vice. I would have probably injured myself trying to work that out with a small vice and hand held power drill.

It's a shame if you don't have a metal fabricator who specializes in off road vehicles in your area. Our local shop is fantastic. The 4x4 supply place everybody goes to will only install factory-made stuff. Fortunately, they don't hesitate to refer people to the fabricator when custom work needs to be done.

By the way, Dodge doesn't offer factory-made skid plates for their 2500s(!). Even if they did, the plates truck manufacturers make tend to be pretty wimpy for serious off roading.

 

So to summarize our experience (thus far!) for the benefit of others:

If we'd known before what we know now, we'd have scrapped the original plates and had some larger and stronger ones made. Could probably do that without going to a specialty metal fabricator, although getting the parts cut and drilled and welded for self-install would probably not have cost much. Without the damage we wouldn't make plates as big as the ones we have now, but at least long enough to reach the back of the dinette bench and the under-stove cabinet (maybe 10-12" long?) and probably the 7" width we now have. Strong steel turnbuckle mounts welded to the underside plates also seem like a no-brainer.

We'll do our best to dial in the suspension (adjustable shocks and air bags) and religiously air down tires to minimize shock-loading of the anchoring points. And we'll keep the rear turnbuckles just snug enough so that the rear of the camper doesn't jump up and down in the bed on bumpy roads.

But we're not going to dial back the ruggedness of the roads we drive. Quite the opposite. We fully intend to keep living and learning. And our truck/camper will undoubtedly be getting more of that attention it so desperately wants!

Edited by DoGMAtix, 24 February 2017 - 05:55 PM.

[DoGMAtix]

...just in case anyone was wondering whether all this breaking and fixing and breaking and fixing is really worth it...

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Edited by DoGMAtix, 25 February 2017 - 11:02 PM.

[OpenSpace]

Nice, plates and pics look great! And cherish every day with the little ones. You'll blink and they'll be all grown up.

[Happyjax]

That looks worth it to me

[smlobx]

Fantastic pics! I wish I had been able to do this when my kids were younger and get them off the pavement!

[meandmydog]

Hello DoGMAtix from Farmington, NM. I've been following your thread with a lot of interest. I bought my 2nd Hallmark Ute last fall and have been reading all the posts on this web site along with a lot of others for ideas for solar upgrades and anything else. I'll have to look at my mounts to see where they are on the Ute and what they look like. I like the idea of upgrading before they blow out. I grew up in Albuq. and still visit quite often as most of my family still lives there. Can you tell me who the fabricator is? I might have to bring him some more business.

[DoGMAtix]

Maverick Auto and Fabrication on High st just off Candelaria right in the middle of town. Will is the owner and he's a very skilled and thoughtful guy who does serious modifications to off road vehicles. No job too big or small. I imagine your Ute's mounting points will be similar to our Guanella's. You can probably find the plates if you look around (or feel under the dinette carpeting), or just call Hallmark and ask Bill. I'd give Will (at Maverick) a call while our job is still fresh in his mind.

 

I'll get around to solar one of these days, for now we're managing on the charge we get from shore charging and driving. I did talk to Bill about doing our own solar wiring while we were getting the camper mounted in their factory (he showed me how they route the wires), and it seems like a reasonably easy/ straightforward process. I just don't know that I want a heavy panel mounted on the roof with our manual lift, and I'm told lightweight panel technology is improving quickly. In the mean time I think my next project will be to prepare the camper for a portable panel we can set outside optimally directed toward the sun on the rare occasions we will be camped in one place long enough to need to top up our batteries. Please post if you do a home solar project on your Hallmark, though, the more info we have going into our project the better!