"Overlanding" with a 2500/3500HD: Anybody setup their trucks for this?

sheath · January 27, 2022

Have any of you setup your HDs for dual purpose towing/overlanding?

Would be very interested to see what you've done on your rigs.

Great thread on the 1500 sub-forum on setting up their rigs for overlanding:

Got some great ideas from this thread, and also what I've already done with the '07 Ram, and a JKUR (4 door Wrangler Rubicon).

For the 3500 CCSB on order, I'll be pulling a 5th wheel around the country as a "base camp" using a Reese Goose Box to keep the bed clear, and setting the truck up for more localized camping (up to a week).

Will need to look into a more "all terrain" tire that still maintains the load rating. But no plans to lift the truck because of the 5th wheel. So probably just air bags to keep things level when pulling the 5th wheel.

Since I always travel with a dog or two, the back seat area of the Dodge is setup with a thick pad for their comfort. There is a cutout in the pad to fit an electric cooler for sodas & sandwiches (for my comfort). Underneath the platform is a tire plug kit, air compressor, tire deflation tools, jumper cables, battery jumper pack, assorted dog leashes, etc. I'll make something similar for the Chevy. The height is set so the rear windows can be down without worry of the dogs falling out when getting bounced around on the trail.

Two Springtail M-Pac seat back Molle panels, that are really handy are covering the seat backs. Currently there is a small quick grab first aid kit attached. These will go in the Chevy as well.

(please pardon the "Dodgy" and "Jeep-ish" pictures. lol).

The Puma 12V compressor will be mounted in the bed. This is great for inflating large tires to high pressure (picture of it mounted in the Jeep).

Also have a Dometic Fridge/Freezer. It is sectioned so that part of it holds frozen goods (Ice Cream mostly), and fridge temp goods (beer). This was mounted in the Jeep as well, and it works awesome, so will keep this in the truck bed when exploring. It swallows more groceries than you'd think.

For communications there is some redundancy:

For emergency and staying in touch with family/friends an InReach PLB. This is a subscription based satellite personal location Beacon. It sends my location info to a web site every two minutes, and includes unlimited text. Family/friends can either look at a password protected website with a Google map overlay to see where I am, or send a text.

For voice comms a dual band Ham Radio (Icom 5100) that can be setup as a repeater to work with a hand talkie when out hiking works really well.

two dual band Baofeng "hand-talkies" are kept "handy". Also carry a couple of Motorola FRS radios. Mostly to help parents with lost kids, or kids with lost parents.

For "CB" a Cobra C75 WXST is used. Mostly when traveling in groups who don't have Ham, but it works pretty well for limited range communications on the road.

When the Jeep was sold, I kept the Warn 9000 winch. The Chevy will get a front 1,000 lbs hitch, and the winch will get mounted on a hitch plate, so that it can be used on the front or rear of the truck. Also kept all the support gear, so that will go in the truck as well. Most will fit in the Chevy optional side boxes. If I stick the truck worse than a doubled lead will handle, I deserve to be stuck there with a shovel, and an MRE... lol

Will need to figure out some type of portable cap, like a Besttop Supertop that can be stowed in the 5th wheel while traveling to the next "base camp" (aka RV park).

Looking forward to see what you are doing! :cheers:

Dunn · January 27, 2022

really dont see why most dont use a 2500 for overlanding.......stronger frame, axles, brakes, running gear just everything is stronger......with higher payload and overlanding usually loading up bed with well over 500lbs it makes a 2500 driver super plush and they handle weight much better than half ton......fact its already alot taller in stock form with bigger tires and a bigger motor seems like best option......wheelbase is a bit long but dbl cab versions arent that bad....

mine drives really nice with bit of weight in it and super stable in the wind.......if you want a winch you can buy stiffer torsion bars for the front or just buy a 2500 with higher GVWR......

seems like all pluses with very few cons.......

saw one other day on street a guy had converted a 2500 to overland rig and looked like he had 1000lbs easily in bed with all his gear......damn near throw 35s on stock truck without much trouble.....

i dont overland but think i would choose 3/4 ton based on owning both 1500 and 2500s in last cpl years.......just a stronger truck

Another JR · January 27, 2022

Size and weight are the big cons. Fine for open country but too big for forest roads. Heavy for sandy conditions unless you have huge tires, which are not what you want for highway towing.

Not that I don’t love my truck.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Another JR
Add picture

sheath · January 27, 2022

You make a good point about size. And yes, I'd be pretty stoked with your truck too. :thumbs:

While they definitely are not a Jeep, they are pretty competent. I don't expect it to be as capable as my current Ram, but I do expect to get it off road. Similar to what the TFL guys did, but a few worse rocky sections.

The Ram weighs in at a lofty 8K lbs. It's been twisted up pretty good on some rocky/rutty trails getting back into fishing/hunting areas in the Rocky Mountains, and high desert. It has a rear LSD and open front dif'.

Before taking it into the back-country I went to a local OHV park to see how it would do (please pardon the Dodge pictures, just using for comparison sake). The Cummins is a struggle with all the weight. To counter that I use 4 wheel drive sooner, added Timbrens up front, and 34" tall tires. I can tread pretty lightly with the tire pressure dropped into the mid 50/40 psi range (F/R). Timbrens up front and airbags in the rear limit flex, but help with off camber steadiness.

The Chevy will be lighter. The front end will be much lighter with the L8T. Stock tire size is not that much smaller, and I can go to a 34" tall tire if necessary. The Dodge tows fine with these tires in a 17", so should be as good or better towing with the 18" rims.

The downside to the Chevy is wheelbase (mostly) and width. The ram is 140" WB, which is really short for a quad cab truck, it's also pretty narrow. I can pull the mirrors in, and get through some pretty tight Jeep trails. I don't expect that with the Chevy, but I do expect to do forest service and decent 2-track along with some limited rocky trails. With the Dodge I don't feel the need to carry a winch. With the Chevy I expect to need it.

One area I totally screwed up is the color. Should have ordered white, because it will get trail stripes. I'll get it coated with something to help stave it off, but the inevitable first scratches are going to be a gut buster.

sheath · January 27, 2022

15 hours ago, Dunn said:

really dont see why most dont use a 2500 for overlanding.......stronger frame, axles, brakes, running gear just everything is stronger......with higher payload and overlanding usually loading up bed with well over 500lbs it makes a 2500 driver super plush and they handle weight much better than half ton......fact its already alot taller in stock form with bigger tires and a bigger motor seems like best option......wheelbase is a bit long but dbl cab versions arent that bad....

mine drives really nice with bit of weight in it and super stable in the wind.......if you want a winch you can buy stiffer torsion bars for the front or just buy a 2500 with higher GVWR......

seems like all pluses with very few cons.......

saw one other day on street a guy had converted a 2500 to overland rig and looked like he had 1000lbs easily in bed with all his gear......damn near throw 35s on stock truck without much trouble.....

i dont overland but think i would choose 3/4 ton based on owning both 1500 and 2500s in last cpl years.......just a stronger truck

Good point! I think this is why Dodge started with a 2500 chassis for the Power Wagon.

I wanted the double cab, but couldn't get it with a sunroof.

Edited January 27, 2022 by sheath

tjtx · April 11

This is exactly why I bought our new 2500 ZR2. Towing our Dweller trailer off road (or honestly on road) with a Tacoma sucked, now I've got payload to put whatever we want to in the back *and* tow the trailer.. Moving up to a 1500 was only a marginal payload/towing gain over the Tacoma for nearly the cost of a 2500. Now to move the ARB compressor over to the 2500 and run a dedicated Anderson plug to the trailer hitch to charge the trailer when we're on the road and I'm set..

Elite130 · Tuesday at 05:20 PM

sheath... I'm building my 2022 CCSB Duramax similar to yours to do camping and overall preparedness.. Right now I have the Baja Designs fog light kit (I have a Custom, so my truck didn't come with fog lights), Viair 300P compressor and 800w inverter that will be mounted under the rear seat. I have a truck box that holds tools, lights, recovery gear, extra clothing, towing gear, and miscellaneous other things.

Regarding tires... I'd highly recommend the Yokahama Geolander G117 AT-XD tires in 295/65/20. My truck is stock, not leveled, and these are the largest tires you can fit stock. I wanted an aggressive tire, non-mud terrain, that would handle deep snow, packed snow, sand and still have on-road manners pulling our 13,000lb 5th wheel. The tires have a 4,080lb rating. These tires came out about 9 months ago and does not have many, if any, reviews from the US. Most are from Australia, and even those are not user reviews. I took a chance on them and so far I love them. They do great in deep snow and packed snow. I know they will do great in sand. On-road they do have a very slight high-pitched hum, but nothing that is annoying. I have only 2,000 miles on them. I'll do a review once I put more miles on them and run them through sand and mud and other off-road scenarios.