BETTER LIVING
ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF THIS BUILD WAS TO KEEP THE VEHICLE RELIABLE, WHILE ALSO BEING CAPABLE.
Results
Nothing on this build came easy, as there is an extreme lack of aftermarket options designed to work on the Ram Tradesman cab and chassis base truck. There are lots of Ram 3500 parts that will generally work, but there are enough differences on this chassis to make even the most basic bolt-on accessories into a major job. Without the custom work and patience of quality professional companies like Kaiser Brake and Alignment, Arcform, and Highway Products, there is no way that this build could have happened, or have been completed to the level of refinement that it has.
One of the main goals of this build was to keep the vehicle reliable,while also being capable. To do that it was really important to keep the vehicle as light as possible, which is no easy task with the long list of options this truck and camper have. The truck weighed in at around 12,500 pounds fully loaded when showed at SEMA. Wirth expects this number to go up a touch as he continues to refine the build and his gear load, but for it to still stay well below the vehicle’s 14,000-pound GVWR.
Truly comfortable and capable overland vehicles like this are not inexpensive, either to build or to buy. Aaron Wirth estimates that it would take about $165k to replicate this build, with a lot of that
expense going into the new truck, camper and one-off custom parts, like the bed and utility boxes. While there is little on the market that combines the off-road capability, on road ease, huge storage capacity and comfortable living accommodations, the few that you could compare all cost north of $200,000.
Sure, this impressive overland truck camper build is ready for the open road, or lack thereof, but there are always things to upgrade and refine. Wirth plans to work on the throttle response and power next through a DEF system delete, a tuner and possible re-gearing. Above all thought, Aaron, Renee and their two dogs plan to hit the road less traveled, exploring all the places that they weren’t able to visit over the last year during the truck build. You can expect to see this build at a variety of Ninkasi Brewing and overland industry gatherings over the next year, including King of the Hammers, Overland Expo West, Northwest Overland Rally, BC Overland Rally, and many more. With lots of adventure ideas for this new build brewing, it’s first big test will be a two-month Alaska adventure this summer.