New to us, 2004 Grandby

[M1010 Mike]

Hi everyone. This is my first post here on WTW. I am very active on Expedition Portal (xj_mike) and have been using a 2000 Jeep Cherokee and Kamparoo Weekender trailer for the last few years. It has been a great setup and we have taking it over areas that non trailing rigs have had problems. We decided to make the move to a single, self contained rig for ease when I just want to go out.

Recently we bought a 1997 Dodge Ram 2500, club cab, 4x4 long bed with the Cummins diesel. Very nice setup but I need to setup the suspension to fit my needs. We bought this rig in anticapation of picking up a FWC Grandby. We found one in Redding and Modesto and had been planning to go up from San Diego this Thursday. It was going to be a long drive. As luck had it, we found one in LA that was exactly what I would have ordered. It has the extended cab over, which I really wanted and the water heater/outdoor shower the wife really wanted. Something we both wanted was the interior heater as our last Death Valley trip, it got down to 23* inside our Kamparoo. I think that trip started the wheels in motion to head this direction. We got the Grandby picked up and back down to San Diego. I need to setup the bed with the correct eye loops and setup the wiring. We are very excited with our new setup and look forward to getting out soon... before it gets too hot.

Well, here's some pics.

We feel we are now part of the FWC brotherhood.

 

[SunMan]

Very nice, congrats and welcome.

 

[Snider]

Nice setup!! And you got the last year model of the 12 valve cummins that don't require a emissions
test.. Score on both counts

 

[Barko1]

3/4 ton is the way to go with a Grandby, looks good!

 

[ski3pin]

Congrats on the new truck and camper!

 

[M1010 Mike]

Nice setup!! And you got the last year model of the 12 valve cummins that don't require a emissions
test.. Score on both counts



Thanks everyone. As for the truck, this is exactly why I was looking for this year/model. All the good without the bad.

 

[Desert Rancher]

Welcome, perfect set-up. Nice that it was close to home. Get a good deal?
If you need any tips, this is the place! Good advice w/o the b/s.

 

[Snider]

That looks a good 2-3" taller over the door frame than my 99 Grandby.. Where they all that tall in 2004?.... Custom order for a Ford maybe?....

 

[UglyScout]

That looks a good 2-3" taller over the door frame than my 99 Grandby.. Where they all that tall in 2004?.... Custom order for a Ford maybe?....


I think my grandby looked about like that on my dodge... I'll have to check and see for sure.

 

[simimike]

Welcome Mike, A white Dodge CTD 4X4 xtra cab long bed two tone! I have to say that is the second best looking truck and camper I've ever seen. You have impeccable taste. But some how I'm getting a sense of deja vous. Anyway I thought I'd trow in a pic of my rig.

Mike

 

[M1010 Mike]

Wow, simimike, our rigs could be brothers. LOL

Yeah, I was a little surprised by the clearance between the roof and camper. Seemed like a lot more than I was used to see but then I started going through pics here on WtW and I guess this era Ram's must of had a lower cab height in relation to the bed. The next body style (like simimike) must have a higher cab roof as it's much tighter to the cab. Well at least that's my theory.

 

[pods8]

Wow, simimike, our rigs could be brothers. LOL

Yeah, I was a little surprised by the clearance between the roof and camper. Seemed like a lot more than I was used to see but then I started going through pics here on WtW and I guess this era Ram's must of had a lower cab height in relation to the bed. The next body style (like simimike) must have a higher cab roof as it's much tighter to the cab. Well at least that's my theory.

My 03 with the new body style only has ~1.5" clear on my hawk.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

The space between the top of your truck cab and the cabover of the camper is more than normal.

I would have to say almost without doubt the camper was originally built for a Ford SuperDuty (F250 or F350) that has a taller truck cab.

We used to add 3" to the upper wall height.

(Good eye Snider)


Really no big deal to have a little extra gap there.

It gives you more headroom inside the camper.

BTW: the camper & truck do look good together !

 

[M1010 Mike]

The space between the top of your truck cab and the cabover of the camper is more than normal.

I would have to say almost without doubt the camper was originally built for a Ford SuperDuty (F250 or F350) that has a taller truck cab.

We used to add 3" to the upper wall height.

(Good eye Snider)


Really no big deal to have a little extra gap there.

It gives you more headroom inside the camper.

BTW: the camper & truck do look good together !

Okay, that explains a lot. The wife and I both thought that with the top down, we had more headroom then we would have expected. We can sit in the couch and still have 1-2" of head room. Actually makes it really nice to not have to pop the top if we wanted to grab a bite to eat in the back.

I'll need to get some inside shots. Another thing I find weird is that the fridge is at the forward end (near the cab) of the cabinets versus all the pics I have seen of them being at the back end. Is that normal or a custom build?

Also Stan, I sent you an email today. Did ya get it? Thanks!

 

[Jamesiam]

An extra 3 inches is a total score! I would be golden in my Ranger II with that much extra room. It's funny to me how an extra 3 inches can make so much of a difference, but indeed it does.

 

[chnlisle]

Get that guy a pencil.

 

[pods8]

It's funny to me how an extra 3 inches can make so much of a difference, but indeed it does.


That's what she said...

 

[NWCamper]

My 2004 Grandby is like that too but it has a 3-inch riser factory installed under the floor level. I believe it was built for a newer F150. I am planning on removing this to get a better fit as its no advantage to me in terms of more headroom.

 

[M1010 Mike]

I difinitely know there are no risers under the floor and as it is, there is no way to lower it as it only clears the bed rails by about an inch or less.

The weird thing is, if you look the picture of simimike's rig, the side window and awning look to have the same spacing on the wall as mine does. I would think if mine was 3" taller, there would be some extra wall space showing compared to his. If you do look at the cab windows on his truck, you will notice they are taller as is the cab. It might just be that the 2nd Gen Ram's had a short cab height. Who knows? In the end it really doesn't matter.

 

[UglyScout]

You have way more room between the cab and the camper then I did. Mine is a 1993 through....