It’s time for us to set up our heavy-duty overland truck.
Roman and Josh from Juniper Overland, take us on a tour of the company’s outfitting facility. We’re looking for advice for our upcoming build, and we decided to go to a lauded source. Over time, overlanding went from using the bare essentials to massive, expensive rigs. Still, there are plenty of overlanding enthusiasts who fall somewhere between a sleeping bag and rations to a fully equipped off-road RV.
Our 2022 Ram 2500 Cummins will be the platform we’re using to build a heavy-duty overland truck. This means that we are looking to make a few adjustments on this rig, but we want to keep its towing capability. On top of that, we want to keep an eye on our bottom line. Adding quality equipment is pricy to say the least.
A big chunk of our budget is going to the Alu-Cab topper, or something similar. Base prices start at about $13,000 for the basic Alu-Cab and go up from there. Once you add accessories and installation, prices move up significantly. It’s not unheard of to hit $20,000 or even $30,000 on a build, if you go crazy with the accessories. In a way, that’s what it’s all about: accessories.
According to alu-cab.com, their cabin comes with:
- An easy-access door with heavy-duty hinges can mount a 33-inch spare wheel (You won’t need to fit an aftermarket rear bumper and wheel carrier)
- The door solves the problem of dust entering through the tailgate
- Proprietary extrusions are used throughout the construction for a drill-free fitment
- Tried and tested dual-layer canvas tent
- Flip-away bed means ample headroom and standing space
- Bedding remains in place whether the tent is open or closed
- Roof rails to facilitate the mounting of various rooftop accessories
- Side-access canopy doors
- A zip down/roll-up Fly Sheet
From there, customers tend to get things like heaters, water, modular kitchen setups and a lot more. Sure, it’s exciting to set something like this up, but it’s pricy. We need to keep an eye on the bottom line and choose carefully.
Check out this video and let us know how you would outfit our HD Ram!
